We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Liberatore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Taylor thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
I remember being unhappy and having the “fake it until I make it” attitude almost everyday. Crazy right? There would be nights when I would come home to my husband and explode in emotion because I had to hold everything in from working everyday with people who treated work as their personal time to act on their childhood traumas. It was a lot. I was never the type to be confrontational, especially at a place where I make a living so I let a lot slide, it just wasn’t important to me I always knew there was a bigger picture. I had to stay focused. I would always vent to my husband specifically about things like “I cannot wait to have my own space,” “I need my own salon.” “ I can’t do this anymore.” “I don’t think I want to do hair anymore.” I even went as far as looking at other options for my career. I just didn’t understand why work couldn’t just be work. After a while I got tired of talking so I put my words into action. During the pandemic of 2020 I decided to do my own research. I googled and watched hundreds of YouTube / TikTok videos (proud graduate of TikTok university, got my degree in less than two years) I made a vision board and I wrote down my business plan. I have a family of entrepreneurs so having them helped out tremendously. I gathered information and I did what I had to do. First starting with my business plan, my business name, motto, website, and logo, then buying my suite, then my LLC, studying the difference between s-corp or C-corp how to file taxes, etc. it was a lot to understand but I was determined especially after taking the tour of the suites.
Taylor, 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?
At the time I was only 26 years old. I went through the most traumatic years of my life after loosing my aunty in October and then my mother in November 2018. For me nothing was worse 2020 was not going to be the year that slowed me down, how could it after that? 2018 was my 2020. For me I never had to turn to the abuse of drugs or alcohol to numb me. I’ve always pushed myself through the fire. Knowing who those women were in my life it wouldn’t have sat right with me to just give up, my mother would’ve never wanted that. The last conversation I had with her was “mom I’m going to make you proud, I’m going to start my own business.” I had to buckle down and get disciplined there was no other way. I needed a way out, I needed my freedom.
I learned alot from the salons I’ve worked at in life, a lot of what not to do. I learned that it is okay to be compassionate towards people, it is okay to have a soft heart in todays world, it is okay to be weird, it is okay to not put your personal business in others hands, it is okay to love who you are unapologeticly, and it is okay to be quiet, it is okay to accept everyone for who they are. It is okay to be yourself because the people that are for you will be for you and the people that aren’t will eventually remove themselves.
My clients are some of the most amazing humans in the world. Being able to wake up each and everyday and leave my job smiling knowing that I changed perceptions of beauty standards, or that I was actually able to give women, men, and children confidence to be exactly who they are naturally. Woah to thee! My craft that I get to create with my hands I get to see come to fruition. Woah to thee! I am a naturally curly hair expert and the cuts I provide are “taylored” for each and every curl pattern. For every type of curl there is a regimen. We will create one for you to follow so you know the ins and outs of your curly hair. Especially being out here in this dry climate. It is amazing to see that I’m not just selling the dream of curly hair to people. I am proud of that!
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective way that I have grown my clientele has been from word of mouth that is number one in client retention! I would also say making sure my SEO was set up correctly to be found on google. Instagram has also been an eye opening adventure for me as well. Making sure that I am connected with my clients so they can get to know me in a way is very important. I like to make people feel like they’ve known me for forever or from a past life. We cross paths for a reason and each and every client has something special about them. We are what we attract right? So I try my best to make sure I’m putting out what I want to receive from the universe!
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
In order to fund my business I had to get my priorities in order. That meant no more crazy shopping sprees or wild splurges. When working at my previous job I saved every last paycheck. I had enough saved from the four years I was there and then some from my previous jobs. I made sure to pay off my student loans and any credit card debt I had. I made sure before opening my own salon, that I was debt free. It was tough at first, but it takes 21 days to build a habit. I focused on what I wanted my future to look like. I had 2020 vision.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ROLYATMadeCurls.com
- Instagram: Rolyat_made_curls