Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicky Nocera. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Nicky thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I never really saw my self owning a salon. However, after commuting into Midtown Atlanta for 7 years, I decided it was time to work closer to home as I felt like I was missing out on a lot of time with my family. I found a small salon in the up and coming Atlanta suburb Lilburn that was only 8 minutes from my house to work at. After 6 months of working at the salon, the opportunity arose to purchase the historic building the salon is in, which included a space next door that is rented by a restaurant for events. I was still a booth rent stylist, but had shifted into being the landlord. It was a deal that was too hard to pass up as it was a great investment opportunity given the continued growth of the community. Less than a year after the purchase, the COVID-19 pandemic began which put my family in a very stressful situation as I was not working and we had no idea what the future held. Unknowingly, the pause in our very busy lives allowed me to reflect on myself and what I wanted for my future. I have been doing hair since 2009 and educating with the haircare brand Surface since 2010. I had spent years educating other stylist on hair techniques and how to have success in their career. Additionally, I have always had a strong passion for helping make the world around me a happier place and taking my role as “day-maker” hairstylist very serious. I had all the right tools to run a business and hit me that having that platform would allow me to have a bigger voice when it comes to my passion for philanthropy. After further discussions with my husband and the previous owners, we decided that we wanted to move forward with bringing the business to life that I dreamed up while there was a pause in my life to do nothing but dream to distract from the chaos of the world around me. My dream was to have a salon that radiates positivity through art, community outreach, and an overall loving atmosphere. My plan was to make sure that every single person that walked through the door felt welcome. Every client would leave the salon not only looking good, but more importantly, feeling good. My salon would be an inclusive, safe space that would attract like-minded people. The plan was to go in on New Year’s Eve of 2020 to renovate and then open as Salon Nine Seven by January 7th.
Nicky , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I went to school for marketing for a bit before shifting to cosmetology school. It’s what I always wanted to do, but I just wasn’t sure about the path I wanted to take to get there. I have always loved art and fashion. I am equally fascinated by people. So, becoming a hairstylist seemed like the career that checked all of those boxes. When I was 15, I lost my older sister (17) to suicide and my hairstylist back then was someone I could talk to and helped me through that difficult time. Once I was established in my career behind the chair and in education, I realized that I too could be that person for others. I was open to developing those deeper connections with my clients and encouraging other stylist to do the same. I believe that hairstylist have the opportunity to help the rising mental health crisis in our world in a grassroots effort. Since we opened our doors in January of 2021, my salon team and I have contributed over $15,000 to different causes through events and volunteer roles. The events we have hosted and participated in include: a Sweetheart Soiree in which parents come with their child for a date night and we teach them how to do their hair, a Celebration of Women, and volunteering and having a team in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Atlanta Out of the Darkness Walk. We have made contributions to Partnership Against Domestic Violence, Single Parent Community, Childhood Cancer research, The Arbor Foundation, Grace Note Foundation, Lilburn Pride, Parkview Highschool, and more. Additionally, we recently started to host monthly art shows featuring local artist. We specialize in curls cutting and have gained a local reputation for that. It can be difficult to find stylist that know curly hair so when people find someone that can give them a great cut and help them get the best version of their curls through helpful style advise, they stick with them!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Last year, I committed to doing hair for a Lilburn Pride event that was a “Royal Tea Time” for kids. They could get their makeup and hair done, have tea and snacks and listen to books read by a lovely drag queen. As soon as it went public with my logo on it, many community members were not happy about this event happening in Lilburn and arguments began on a local social media group. We received harrassing phone calls at the salon, some stylist’s clients expressed that they planned to boycott my business, there were plans to picket, and the event ended up getting kicked out of the space it was scheduled to take place in. It made me so sad to learn that people in the community that I had shown so much love to were ok with being unkind to me over my participation in the event. There were words thrown at me like in targeting, grooming, and indoctrination. By no means do I feel like I needed to change anyone’s beliefs, but what I will not allow is false narratives being spread. I took the time learn more about research and statistics involving the LGBTQ community. Much of this was found on the Trevor Project website. I talked to my friends that are religious leaders, and listened to stories from my friends that are LGBTQ. I did this so I was prepared to have conversations with people that did not agree with me showing love to a group of kids who just wanted to be in a fun, safe space with allies others like them. I chose to stand by my choice to participate and we had the event in a different location. Two of my team members and I did makeup and hair and had a blast. If I lost a percentage business, that’s ok. I do believe the uproar surrounding the event did shed light on a misunderstood topic that caused productive conversations and softened some hearts. I felt only a tiny dose of the kind of discrimination many LGBTQ people have experienced their whole lives. I will always stand up against that and hope that more businesses use their platform to do so as well.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
To save money, my husband and I did all of the renovations on the front the salon. In what seemed like a miracle, we finished in 7 days minus the flooring. The plan was to have professionals renovate the back part of the salon in the fall of 2021. However, the contractor we were working with decided to refuse to give us our deposit back when we chose not to work with him due to shady behaviors. We lost $6,000. It felt like a hard punch to the gut because I worked really hard in my first year in business to save that money. We chose not to go to civil court with the contractor due to the fact that we learned he was already going through a legal situation and it would likely cost us more money to fight him for it. Finding commercial contractors for small projects is INCREDIBLY difficult as it doesn’t seem to be worth their time. Ultimately, we had no choice, but to do it ourselves because the layout was not very practical and it was causing stress for my team and I. My husband and I did as much as we could from a Saturday to a Tuesday in October of 2022, but then we had to be back open for business and work in a construction zone. It ended up taking nearly a month before we were done and thankfully some contractors were able to come in and help us finish. The whole thing was pretty stressful and tough on my family and salon team. This was a pivot we certainly did not prefer, but I am so grateful that we have/can learn the skills to step up when we have to. It’s amazing what kind of trades you learn as a small business owner.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.salonnineseven.com
- Instagram: @salonnineseven
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/salonnineseven
Image Credits
Clint Alexander