Today we’d like to introduce you to Ally Towery
Hi Ally, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My business was just a small idea that kept looming around in my head as we were all in the depths of the unknown of COVID-19 quarantine. During that time, I was on furlough with my former employer due to the world-wide pandemic. Weeks in, I was stressed and worried about when we would get our salon jobs back. We would have a series of conference calls week by week, they would tell us “We are going to come back better than ever!”, but nothing ever felt reassuring. I was collecting very little amounts from unemployment, and I knew that this was not the life I wanted to keep living. So I then decided to take matters into my own hands. About thirty minutes after my final conference call stating that my former boss was transferring our manager back to their home state, I knew something was up. Something was tapping me on the shoulder that this was my perfect window to jump out of. That’s when I quietly reached out our HR representative and I immediately resigned from my 6.5 year position. Not even a month and a half later, the owner of my former salon announced their official salon closure. They did have a new owner buy the salon, but I didn’t have it in me to go back and start again with a third owner and figuring out new management. It was personally just a huge hassle.
The day after my resignation was given is when I started getting to work on my own business model. The world was still shut down, but the home improvement stores were not. So instead of saving as much money as I possibly could during this time, I did the complete opposite and took a huge risk by investing my money into renovating and designing my own salon suite. From the ground up I redesigned the flooring, wall panels and even drop ceiling tiles. All while doing that process I was also reaching out and messaging clients for weeks to let them know where I was going to be opening come May 2020. It sure was a challenge trying to decide on a new hair color and product line without getting to view it all in-person!
I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my amazing clients and all of my supportive friends & family members.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would be lying if I said that this all happened very smoothly.
I personally think that if I didn’t have any bumps in the road then I would have never learned and grow from my mistakes. I took what I thought was a great deal right when opening up in May with a family friend who I would get my own hair done with for years. (From high school and college). Only come to find out 13-months later that she was personally pocketing my money. I never owed her anything more than just my base rent for the building because I would purchase my own inventory and materials. She hardly had to work month-to-month because I was essentially paying for the both of us to be in the building. I was not working for her or under her own salon. She was a standard tenant just like I was. I am and have always been my own boss with my own LLC. It was a bittersweet lesson because yes I was not tied to any paperwork, so I was able to leave at my own discretion. But, that is also when I learned going forward that everything needs to be handled in writing. I moved down the street even if it meant I had to pay more money in rent per week. The principle of someone taking my hard earned money when it’s not deserved did not sit well with me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a hair color specialist and enjoy working with medium to long hair lengths. I take special interest in hair color mixology. I have taken several advanced education classes to get the credentials that I have obtained over the years. I still very much stay with the trends and continue to further my education.
Color correction commissions are services that I also enjoy doing. It takes a lot of patience to perform this type of service because results can be unpredictable. Most correction services take about 8-9 hours. Hair color theory can be both tricky and confusing. You and the client are taking a chance to try and “fix” something that once went wrong or maybe even just wanting to change their entire look overall. Rome was never built in a day of course. But when someone puts their trust into my hands, it makes me happy that I can help make their main hair goals come to life. Sometimes it does take a couple of sessions. Just like getting a new tattoo. It can be a hard pill to swallow because we all just want the instant gratification. But changing hair color is simply not the same as changing out your nail color. I think the most satisfying moment for me is when the client achieves their goal look and they thank me for not being the ‘yes stylist’ and essentially frying it all off in one session. I simply just care about all of my clients’ hair!
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My friends and family have always been my biggest cheerleaders. They were there on the days that I needed to bring in live models to practice on to now getting their routine services done by me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hairbyallytee/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/hairbyallytee/
