We recently connected with Shelby Wladkowski and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shelby, thanks for joining us today. Any advice for creating a more inclusive workplace?

My advice for creating a more inclusive workplace is to treat everyone the same and to help my employees work on things as a team. Now, being a salon owner, I strive to make sure that clients and employees have a warm, welcoming second home to come to. Whether my partners and I are throwing a summer bash for our employees or a fancy Christmas dinner, we make sure there is a good balance of fun and work.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started in the hair industry 11 years ago. I always loved doing my friends hair for dances growing up and really wanted to pursue that as a career. After feeling a little lost I found my home at Tranquille Hair and body. Working hard for years to build a steady book of clients was an uphill battle. But I can finally say I am most confident behind the chair. My clients are like family to me and I make sure they know that I genuinely care about every single person that sits in my chair. A little over a year ago my two partners and I took over the salon and have been working on rebranding. Our salon feels like home to anyone that walks in the door. I feel like that really sets us apart from other salons. I am so proud of the direction our salon is going. We are always continuing education, having employee events, doing giveaways for our clients, and including them in our content on social media.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building a social media presence for any business is one of the hardest parts of the job. When I got into the hair industry, social media wasn’t as big as it is today in being able to reach new clients. Consistency is key! Post as much as you can. I also like to go onto pages of other businesses in our area and follow as many people as I can. If they follow us back we send them a little welcome message so that next time they are in the market for a new stylist they will remember us!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Taking on the new role of being a business owner, boss, and stylist at the same time was a huge pivot in my career. It’s definitely hard to juggle that all while being behind the chair and giving my clients the same costumer service that they have always had. I will say, I have the best clients that have been so patient when I have to step away to handle a business matter. The hardest part for me has been knowing when to give myself grace and taking a beat at the end of the day to decompress. At the end of the day, we are all humans that need that time so burn out doesn’t happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tranquillehairandbody.com
• Instagram: Mermaidhairby_shelby and tranquillehair

Image Credits

Pictures taken by Samantha Vetri