We were lucky to catch up with Tasheara Neshell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tasheara , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

It was the last quarter of the sales year for Park Avenue CURLS. Usually, this is when I predict business performance for the following year. The entire country was growing tirelessly due to the pandemic. There were increasing concerns about the unstable economy, a vast decline in the human population, homelessness, unemployment uprises, and families forced to homeschool children. In addition, African Americans were fighting for civil rights and injustices. While there were many deterrents and uncertainties, there were many opportunities and a need for growth and inspiration.

The risk taken was expanding and adding value to the community I serve, niche natural hair. I created a space that would provide comfort, love, and inspiration despite the times we were all facing causing an increase in spending to build out a new location.

We moved from a single-person workspace to a multi-person workspace in the heart of Dallas, Texas. The relocation project was not in the fiscal plan but necessary for morale. While I was uncertain about the short-term ROI, I was sure that the client experience would positively increase tenfold and ultimately yield a high ROI in the long term.

My partner, Eddwado, and I located the space and began the design process. We used every creative resource possible. We custom-designed a beautiful salon loft space out of the flex-use living property. We invested in electrical wiring, plumbing, decor, and custom woodsmanship to bring the idea to fruition. We executed our goal to perfection in which we were able to uplift and change moods while adding calm and healing to the entire salon experience.

Though the relocation and build-out to provide a new aura and emergence of diversity during hard times cost a great deal of money, the ROI did increase three hundred percent over one year. The absolute best risk I ever took.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

According to Google, I am Tasheara Neshell; the name celebrities refer to me as, and happens to be a separate business from Park Avenue CURLS. Tasheara Neshell (I am she) was born in Chicago. As an Army brat, I partially grew up in Europe, California, and New York. I began styling my hair as a teenager and became the neighborhood stylist on demand. I became a teenage mom by the age of seventeen. The stigma of becoming a teenage parent was that I ruined my future. Instead of me believing the negative thoughts of others and trying to fit into spaces I did not feel accepted, I decided to focus on doing what felt therapeutic to me.
At twenty-five years old, I traveled a world tour for Paramount Film Studios as a private stylist to Hollywood Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson. By twenty-eight years old, I accumulated more celebrity clients such as Viola Davis, Keke Palmer, Tika Sumpter, Angela Simmons, Sherri Shepard, Jurnee Smollet, Ke Ke Sheard, and many more. By the age of twenty-nine, I began working with corporate brands such as Revlon and Colomer, delivering education as an expert and celebrity stylist.
I was a special guest on a world syndicated talk show, The View, by the age of thirty. And I was filming commercials for BET and TV One.

After being a single mom for years, I sent my only child off to college by thirty-four. I became an empty nester and decided maybe I should date someone worthwhile. Two months after dating long distance, he proposed, and I said yes and moved to where he created a home for his family to be.
I started a new journey in Dallas and fell in love with the people, which was the start of becoming a salon business owner.

I wanted to stay true to my craft by focusing on healthy natural hair care services. However, to do so, I had to remain disciplined because of Dallas’s hot climate and the lack of options women had for wearing their natural hair comfortably. When I arrived in Dallas, many women wanted to let their hair down but only had the chance to wear wigs, braids, extensions, and relaxers. Showing up in an unknown market with a new service that goes against the norm was not easy. It took time to develop my business and attract my ideal client.

Once I understood Dallas for myself, I was able to craft services that serve many women with excellence in hair care. Our client base’s feedback is that we offer various unmatched services to choose from among many salons in the DFW natural hair market.

I want potential customers to know how proud I am to deliver a quality of service, education, and experience that suits every woman with textured hair. We designed our brand’s posture to embody the affluence of natural hair.

We use various products that consist of eco-friendly ingredients, texture care, color care, strengthing, hydrating and moisturizing benefits to the hair, all chosen to display the positive attributes of natural hair.

We are Park Avenue CURLS, “Home of healthy hair.”

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I am a licensed educator by trade with over a decade of experience. Combining the two has positioned me to create a strong foundation for guiding others to embrace their natural hair. I am authentic in that I show humbleness yet expertise and care for my client base. In addition, I don’t compete with other salons personally or work outside my expertise to gain followers. As a result, I’ve been able to build a reputable brand being true to who I am as an artist and educator. Such attributes have created a solid foundation and reputation in the natural hair market.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Funding my business has been a personal investment. I took my time, earned the cash flow, and flipped it, making the initial cash investments out of pocket to add some skin to the game. I wanted to become 100 percent owner invested in my vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.parkavenuecurls.com
• Instagram: parkavenuecurls.com

Image Credits
Image of CEO Tasheara Neshell Dress: Zimmerman Photogragher: Kauwane Burton Make Up: Glamourrx.com Hair: Park Avenue CURLS Salon