We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sara Wright a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara , thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I had been working in salons for over a decade before deciding to open up my own. I have been extremely passionate about hair since day one. I saw it as my gateway to allowing me to be a professional artist as well as gain financial freedom. I consider myself a highly sensitive person…. call it past trauma or a gift, I don’t know. That being said- my atmosphere and environment I am in everyday is of upmost importance. I continued to try and find the salon that felt right for me and my career. I am you average salon hopper and in hindsight I know it was apart of the journey to opening August & Omi. I was able to really take notes not knowing this was the rolodex I would refer back to when eventually open my own.

Fast forward to my late 20’s, two kids later, and probably my 5th salon in the area I started to dream up a space I spent my days away from my family. This was the spark to ignite the fire of salon owning. I played around with lists of exactly what the perfect atmosphere would look like. What I wished I had many salons ago. I dreamt of a safe space of continuous growth and opportunity. I saw a place where luxury meets laid back, professionalism meets warmth. In my experience prior it seemed you could never have both. A ‘high end’ salon would lack freedom and felt cold. A Salon mixed with independent stylists seemed to have little to no consistency. I saw a need of both. I wanted to create a space where the guest and stylist felt like they were home. – and thus our tagline was created ” A PLACE TO LET YOUR HAIR DOWN.”

As my daydreaming became consistent and the vision became clearer and clearer my first step in action was to take my inquisitive personality to the next level. I never stop asking questions but now I was asking how instead of what. I had no clue what the first step in opening a salon was. The process of renting and building an entire entity felt insanely daunting and terrifying. So I asked everyone I came into contact with- my clients, my friends, other salon owners, my mentor, and definitely google and asked any question that came up. I started looking at actual spaces to get a feel of cost and size.

In the midst of me looking for spaces and feeling very called to pursue this I had become pregnant at a surprise! I felt discouraged of how I would make this happen. I had two young boys at home (age 3, and 8 months) and was a full time stylist .. not to mention my husband has his own company. January 1st 2019 I went to church and I remember praying and asking for doors to be open for this next journey and if we were strong enough to handle it while also having three kids and another business.

The following day I received a text message from my nail tech that knew about my potential future endeavor. She wrote, “Hey, my friend is selling her salon studio to move to Colorado. Are you interested?” The answer was 1000% yes. I went to visit the space and for $3000 I could take her lease over for a 400 square foot space and purchase an eclectic mismatch of things I didn’t necessarily want.. But that 3k would be my foot into where I got started.

At this time I had 4 months until my son was due. That 4 months was filled with branding + concepts, design, contractors, contracts + loans, research and A LOT of prayer!
August and Omi opened in March. I had my son in April and I came back with my first employee in June. It was a whirlwind of fear and excitement.

Starting off in the 400 square foot space was the best thing that could have happened. It was almost the practice round of what was to come… which was Covid and an triple size expansion during 2020 of the salon. I thought having a newborn in my first year of salon ownership was going to be my most challenging year.. boy wasn’t I wrong.. but that is a whole other discussion question.

I am so fortunate to say the concept and culture of the salon has been implemented by the stylists within the salon as much as myself. Looking back to the beginning is re-inspiring for me. From the idea to execution was predominately pushing past fear and paying attention to what aligned.

Sara , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Sara Wright. I am the founder of August & Omi, A Hair Studio. My main focus is education and growth of the individual stylist/ team. I have recently joined the R+Co Education Team which allows me to stay on top of current trends and training.

At August & Omi we provide an exclusive salon experience. We specialize in luxury hair care, color, and cutting. Our goal focus is to provide a space where our guests can feel well taken care of. We are a team of individual artists and staff who believe in professionalism, creativity, and growth. Our foundation is a based on communication and efficiency to provide the most ideal services for each individual. We are a place to ‘let your hair down.

We are most known for natural luxury hair services (colors, cuts, and treatments.) Our team is made up of advanced artist that specialize in diverse services. Each stylist has been trained efficiently to provide such services. We also have an Event Styling Team of Hair Artists as well as Makeup Artists. We are do predominately bridal but collaborate for photoshoots etc.

We often work as a team to provide the guest with the best outcome. We use well known professional products and have a option for all guest’s needs. With brands such as R+color that has a 4 hypercomplex system that allows the guest to leave with well treated hair and longevity in color. We also use R+Co and R+co Bleu products, Oway for an organic choice, and IGK.

A family feel has been curated at our space. We take care of each other and each others guests. It creates a level of trust that I don’t think is implemented often in other spaces.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I actually opened my first small space with two 0 interest for 24 month credit cards!

Any advice for managing a team?

I think this question is so important. I truly feel communication is everything when it comes to managing a team. Not just communication but HOW to communicate. I discuss with my team from the jump that my goal is to be solution based instead of reactive. I want anyone I work with to know they are in safe space to communicate with me. Not every conversation is easy but at the end of the day most team members want to feel heard. If they have a place to go to feel heard with an open mind a level of immense trust forms.

Contact Info:

• Website: augustandomi.com
• Instagram: @imsara.withnoh @augustandomi.com
• Facebook: August and Omi

Image Credits
Madison Compton Natalie Cartwright