I only had two employers before I opened my own
salon," says Rose Fraser, owner of Hair Reflections
in Birmingham, AL. "The first taught me to
work physically hard. Some stylists think if they
know how to do hair, they can go wherever they
want, but that's not true."
"My second employer taught me to be realistic,"
says Fraser of the owner of the small, mom-and-pop
salon where she worked for six years. "He
didn't, however, provide me with any education,
pay for any seminars or send me to any shows."
Less than satisfied, Fraser, who attended cosmetology
school during high school, decided to open a salon
of her own. She was only 22 and had a mere $4,000
to her name. "I asked myself, 'What's the
worst that can happen?'," says Fraser, who
located the shop in Pelham, AL, a small town 30
minutes from Birmingham.
An attitude like that could have very easily
caused the salon to fail, but Fraser's lighthearted
approach backed by her natural determination made
her an almost-instant success. In fact, demand
from the suburb's full-time mothers and working
women was so constant that Fraser soon premiered
a second Hair Reflections location in Pelham and
was ready for a third before long.
But while many owners would have gone ahead and
opened it, Fraser's passion for the minutiae of
her business stopped her. "We had grown to
the point where it was time to expand further,
but I didn't want to open a third location. I
didn't trust anyone I knew to open and close the
place, train the stylists and, basically, run
the operation and I didn't feel good about just
hiring someone. We would lose what we're about,"
says Fraser, referring to the salon's focus on
customers -- and her reluctance to delegate authority.
Still, she had to do something, so she closed
down both Pelham salons -- not exactly an obvious
choice for someone whose business was thriving
-- and relocated to a modern, purple, cream and
black space in a small shopping center in downtown
Birmingham. Members of both staff -- including
Fraser's mother and two sisters -- joined the
new enterprise which now employs more than 20
stylists, colorists, estheticians and nail technicians.
One way Fraser sees that it happens is to take
a deserving employee to the Intercoiffure business
seminar she attends annually. "Every year,
we choose someone different," says Fraser.
"This year, we took the fellow that handles
operations. He's not a hairdresser, but he is
one of the first people the clients see and talk
to."
Fraser is also conscientious about involving
her salon in the community, arranging events that
not only benefit the citizens of Birmingham but
her staff, as well. "We do an ongoing monthly
program where battered women who don't have a
lot of money come in with their children to have
their hair styled by our junior stylists. It's
great experience for everyone."
She also
recently spoke to a church group about wellness
and presented those who attended with gift certificates
for services. According to Fraser, it only took
two days for the majority of her audience to call
requesting appointments." There were 26 people
there that night. Can you imagine what it would
cost in advertising dollars to bring in 26 people?"
says Fraser, who prefers to let people know about
Hair Reflections at gatherings like these, rather
than by spending money on buying magazine or newspaper
space or radio air time.
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Meet Rose Fraser
