We recently connected with Miss. Dee and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Miss. Dee thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I like to say this passion and vision for my business found me. Or God just threw it in my lap. In 2017 I was 27 years old and working for a children’s hair salon in Houston when I realized the town where my family lived just 2 hours away didn’t have any children hair salons so I randomly decided i needed to bring one there. Upon starting the planning process my coworker told my boss my plans and my boss told me she wasn’t okay with that so I needed to quit. Yikes right?! Did I mention I was a single mom? so picture it ,single mom deciding to open a salon with no experience in starting a business and no job. One of my favorite things about myself is that I am a hard worker so i wasn’t without a job for long. I hopped on indeed and started pulling out all of my skills. I quickly got a job teaching Zumba/dance classes at mental health hospitals and for a local college as well as got a part time job at another children’s salon. I was sure to tell the owner about my salon in a different city. She was happy to give advice and guidance. Upon leaving the original salon there were some very unhappy mamas that didn’t like that I was no longer there so the took to social media and found me on Facebook, asked if I wouldn’t mind coming to their home to cut their kids hair. I of course jumped at the idea because as someone who has never felt good enough this was such a huge compliment that so many moms are choosing me for their kids hair care needs. From there my number circulated around town and this is where the mobile business was birthed. I was going around from house to house town to town cutting little ones hair in garages, kitchens,
bathrooms, backyards front yards and other places in all types of weather. All while maintaining my salon in another town. This was my way of performing business until Covid hit in 2020. Truth is I’ve always toyed around with the idea of owning a tiny house but since i’m obsessed with fashion and have so many clothes I knew a tiny house wouldn’t work for us. So the thought changed to wanting a tiny salon. Things were going smoothly the way we were dong things but something was missing. I felt guilty that my little clients weren’t getting an actual salon experience. I was still able to operate my business for most of the covid era doing haircuts outside and with a mask. Eventually i was able to save enough money to make a down payment on a food truck. i then had it outfitted into a tiny salon. words can’t describe the joy i had when i picked up our original “hair taxi”. It was the sweetest little 17 ft trailer equipped with everything we needed. It never stopped being exciting for the kids the parents and myself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into the hairstylist industry sort of by chance. I believe Jesus perfectly fit everything in to place for me. I was fresh out of high school visiting family in Texas when i randomly decided to stay. August rolled around and i realized i needed to be in school. I knew i didn’t want to go to traditional college so i settled on beauty school. Little did I know this would be the very thing to change my life forever. I finished beauty school. had a baby while i was in there but I finished. After graduating and getting my license I secured a job at a salon in the mall. I quickly realized that certain aspects weren’t my preference. Fast forward a year and a half later i landed a job at a children’s salon. This is where my gift found me. It was here that i learned I had the patience and demeanor to cut children hair and children that had disabilities. i learned that i could provide a safe /calm place for children who are afraid or have had traumatic experiences. Salons can be overwhelming and overstimulating for most kids. With my home visit services I am able to ease some of the stressors that come with getting a haircut. Laughing and playing with my tiny clients is my super power. I’m most proud of my ability to connect with the kids to get on their level and speak to them in a way they understand because of these attributes my major specialty are babies and children that have unique sensory needs.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

A story that best illustrates my resilience is when the “hair taxi” (my original mobile salon ) got stolen. I dropped off my daughter at school. Drove by the storage where i parked the trailer only to see it wasn’t there. my heart dropped but I was headed to teach one of my classes and as I previously stated i’m a hard worker. I did however quickly make a post on social media to let my customers know if they saw the trailer it was not me driving it and they needed to call the police. After teaching my class I go back to the storage to try to talk to the workers and find out if there is anything they saw or heard. the day was long and I didn’t get anywhere with the storage facility. Upon making the post my customers rallied around and got the word out about what happened. they pulled their resources and got me a few news segments and also the radio to help get the word out. I should also note that I had just paid the trailer off a few month prior and when I did the insurance went with the company so we didn’t have insurance at the time the trailer was stolen.There was nothing we could do except wait One of my customers started a go fund me account for me which generated quite a bit of funds. We the money to purchase and outfit our current mobile salon “bertha the magic hair bus” the trailer did end up being found but it was too badly damaged that I could only sell it for parts to a dealership. During the time the trailer was stolen i never stopped working.When people asked what they could do the only thing I kept saying was to keep getting haircuts. I didn’t want to take a break children still needed my services and truth be told being there for my kids took my mind off of the trauma. My faith my daughter and my kids is what kept me going in this season. I knew I was never alone.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

There are a number of things I believe the that helped me build my reputation within my market. One of which is by being extremely reliable. even before i had a booking system clients knew that when they booked me i would be there and i would be on time. Another factor would be is my moral ,values and demeanor. I believe my kindness and gentle nature towards children help to build y reputation. I also believe this is what helps grow my clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.missdeeandfriends,com
• Instagram: Missdeeandfriends
• Facebook: Missdeeandfriends
• Youtube: Missdeeandfriends
• Yelp: Miss Dee and Friends
• Other: tiktok: Missdeeandfriends

Image Credits

Ashley Newman photography