What If You Believed in Yourself? A Sola Pro’s Story

I used to think believing in yourself meant knowing exactly what you were doing. Turns out, sometimes it means doing something that scares you and figuring it out along the way.

After years in commission salons, I knew I was ready to go independent. The challenge was finding the right location while honoring the 10-mile noncompete I'd signed with my previous salon. That's when I found Sola Salons.

It was 11.8 miles away, and I still remember how much those extra 1.8 miles mattered. But that was only the beginning. I'd spent years building relationships with my clients, and now I was asking them to travel farther to see me. Would they follow?

Not everyone did, and that's okay. Many did, and the experience taught me something important about building a business: give clients a reason to choose you beyond convenience.

For me, that meant specialized services like hand-painted balayage, extensions, and French haircutting. Investing in education and building those skills helped me create a different experience for my clients. If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be this: Find what excites you. Get really good at it. Build an experience around it that feels like you.

When clients connect with what makes your business different, they'll seek you out, even if you're no longer the closest salon to their house.

More Than the Decor

Every salon-suite company talks about making your own hours, decorating your studio, and being your own boss. Those things are great! But what I found at Sola went far beyond that.

Sola has an online platform filled with business resources for independent beauty professionals, something I hadn't found with other salon-suite options. But what really made an impact was the people.

I started connecting with other Sola professionals on social media. They weren't just sharing pictures of beautiful hair and studios. They were entrepreneurs who had written books, hosted podcasts, created education programs, and built businesses around coaching and mentoring other beauty professionals. And the best part? They were willing to share what they'd learned.

I reached out, asked questions, followed their journeys, and engaged with their posts. Long before I became a Sola ambassador, those connections were helping me grow. Eventually, I was honored to be selected as one of eight ambassadors from a community of approximately 20,000 Sola professionals.

That meant a lot. But the relationships I'd built along the way meant just as much. I came to Sola looking for a place to run my business. What I found was a community that encouraged me to think bigger. And I think we don't talk about this enough: being independent doesn't mean figuring everything out alone.

From the Chair to Leadership

After more than 25 years at the chair, I started feeling something I hadn't expected. I wasn't being challenged the way I wanted. I still loved the beauty industry, my clients, and everything I'd worked so hard to build. But I knew I needed something different, and I wanted to stay in the industry while finding a new way to grow.

When the chance came to step into a leadership role with Sola, I was excited. And scared, of course. I'm human! I knew the industry from a stylist's perspective, but leading operations and sales across six locations was a whole different world.

What I did know was how to connect with beauty professionals. I'd been in their shoes, and I understood the excitement, the challenges, and sometimes the fear that comes with running your own business, like taxes.

Today, I'm the Leasing and Operations Manager for six Sola locations across Michigan and Ohio, and my days look a little different than they did at the chair.

A big part of my role is meeting beauty professionals who are thinking about going independent. We talk about their businesses, goals, and concerns, and what their next chapter could look like. I give tours, help them find the right studio, and walk them through becoming a Sola Pro.

I also support our current Sola Pros: managing leasing and day-to-day operations, coordinating with vendors, and addressing facility concerns, so our locations are places where pros feel supported and can focus on their businesses.

You get the independence of owning your own business without the responsibilities of running an entire building. Think about it. No calling the plumber when a toilet backs up. No coordinating HVAC repairs, scheduling maintenance, managing common areas, or figuring out who to call when something breaks. We handle the building so you can focus on your clients and growing your business.

Thankfully, I work closely with a great maintenance guy, and I'll tackle what I can safely handle myself. Which brings me to the not-so-glamorous side of management. I've unclogged toilets, picked up a paintbrush, hauled trash, installed door handles, and climbed ladders. I've even climbed onto a refrigerator to figure out what was going on behind the washers and dryers. Not exactly what I pictured when I joined the beauty industry, but here we are!

More Than a Manager

What surprised me most about this role is how much the little things matter. Filling studios and welcoming new Sola Pros is exciting. But sometimes the best part of my day is helping someone solve a frustrating problem, making them laugh during a rough week, or showing up to support something they're passionate about outside of work.

Whether they're donating their services to a charity, performing in community theater, or organizing an event for their nonprofit, I love seeing what matters to them beyond their studio. I want them to know it matters to me, too.

I don't want to be just the manager who collects rent and sends emails. I want to be someone they feel comfortable coming to: someone who listens, understands what it's like to be in their shoes, and genuinely wants to see them succeed. I've been an independent Sola Pro. I know how much of yourself you pour into building a business.

Sometimes you need help solving a problem. Sometimes you need encouragement. And sometimes you just need a hug and someone to listen. I want our Sola Pros to know I'll be alongside them, not just when they're opening their studio, but throughout their journey.

Still Figuring It Out

I spent years at the chair fine-tuning my craft. I knew my clients and had built a business I was proud of. Then I decided to start learning something completely different.

I'm enjoying being challenged again. Some days I feel like I have everything under control. Other days I'm Googling how to fix something, having conversations nobody wants to have, and wondering how one day turned into five different jobs. But I'm learning, I'm growing, and I'm doing something that feels meaningful.

When I opened my Sola studio, I had to believe I could build a successful business. When I accepted this leadership position, I had to believe I could succeed at something I'd never done before. Now I get to encourage other beauty professionals to believe in themselves, too.

Maybe you've been thinking about going independent but keep finding reasons to wait. Or maybe you've already built something you're proud of, but you know you're ready for a new challenge. I get it. I've been in both places.

Here's what I've learned: you don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to know exactly where the next step will lead. You just have to believe you can figure it out along the way.

Because sometimes the biggest thing standing between you and your next chapter isn't opportunity. It's giving yourself permission to try.

So I'll leave you with one question: What if you believed in yourself enough to take that next step?