Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Hankemeier.
Hi Emily, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My professional journey started in college. I went to the University of North Texas to major in Interior Design. I was an artist and I wanted to be paid as an artist. There aren’t many careers like that. I took classes in design, drawing, sculpture and art history. While I loved creating art, I quickly realized college, and Interior Design weren’t right for me.
I quit college and started Cosmetology School. I wasn’t skilled at hairdressing, but I strongly believed it would be something I would enjoy doing every day. I was right. I fell in love with Cosmetology and the skills required came naturally to me, I’m sure because I had such a strong background in art, and the fundamentals from college. I spent a long time feeling like I had wasted time and money by going to college first, since I didn’t finish my degree. I can see now that the education I received there set me up for the success I enjoy today.
At 20 years old and shortly after graduating from Cosmetology School, I found myself in the middle of a divorce, with a baby. I moved back to my hometown and opened my first salon. I took out a $30,000 micro loan from a local bank and they made me put my car up as collateral. It was the only thing I owned outright. I renovated a small space in a shopping center and opened with 4 chairs. The salon was clean, modern and professional in a small town that had never seen anything like us. We actually won an award for design our first year open. We were inclusive to guests of all races and never said no to learning something new. The salon was a success and 7 years later I sold it to another stylist.
After selling my first salon, I opened up a small suite salon in Round Rock. For 5 years I enjoyed working one-on-one with my guests, but I missed the busy salon atmosphere and educating and growing stylists. I was restless and knew I had more to offer.
Today you’ll find me at Grow Salon + Wine Bar in Downtown Georgetown, Texas, a 3200 square foot salon, with 15 employees. We are spacious, bright, clean, modern and totally devoted to offering the very best care to our employees and our guests.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Success is never a smooth road. I think I hit every bump in getting Grow Salon + Wine Bar off the ground, but I also got really lucky. The beautiful space we are located within couldn’t be a better fit. The space was apart of a car dealership in the 80’s and our spaces were service bays. This gives us soaring ceilings and some pretty cool architectural features. I wanted to preserve as much of the original character as possible in the renovation.
I hired Embree Construction Group, based out of Georgetown, Texas, and they put a female led team on my project. The team was amazing, and I credit so much to them. However, we hit quite a few snags in the process of bringing the space up to code-particularly salon code.
Prior to signing a single document I secured pre approval for an SBA 7(a) loan to fund the construction and furnishing of the salon. When our construction team came back with an estimate that was 3X over the original estimate-necessary to bring everything up to code, my lender dropped me entirely, refusing to “fund half a project.” Devastated doesn’t begin to cover the terror of that moment. I was crushed. I had already signed a 10 year lease, committed to the project, legally, and invested over $100,000 of my personal funds in the project. We went to a local bank who advertised taking pride in funding local businesses, in desperation, even offering my home as collateral. They turned me down.
I didn’t see a way forward, but quitting was not an option. Forward was the only way. In the middle of all of this, construction is beginning and I’m hiring an entire team, trying not to break down and wondering how I’m going to pay for any of it. The weight of it all was crushing.
I rewrote my business plan and went back to my original lender with cautious optimism. I convinced them and they agreed to fund my project. You don’t stop holding your breath until that money is in your account and your construction team is paid off, 6 months later. The hurdle felt absolutely insurmountable, and the relief was indescribable.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At Grow Salon + Wine Bar, we do things differently. We sell restaurant quality wines by the glass or bottle, and you can take them to go, or relax in our gorgeous lobby, or our outdoor patio. The wine subsidizes the salon sales, and this allows us to offer our employees more flexibility and a better living.
Our golden rule is People Over Profit.
We truly believe that by putting our stylists and their clients first, profit follows. We see our stylists as humans with lives, dreams, families and goals, not as numbers. It’s a radical idea that we don’t think should be so radical, and so far, it’s working really well for us.
We are a modern haircolor salon and offer cuts, colors, highlights, balayage, vivid, updos and, of course, wine!
We also carry our own private label haircare, all made in the US by a female chemist and 90% naturally derived.
On our website, we offer a fun, 5 minute quiz that will match you up to the top 3 stylists for you in our salon, based on your personality, hair type and hair goals. It’s called Meet Your Stylist and it totally takes away that new client-new stylist fear.
What does success mean to you?
Success = financial stability + creative freedom + lifestyle design. Success is being able to say in 30 years: I designed this life. I didn’t settle for it. I didn’t quit.
Pricing:
- Haircuts-Starting at $49
- Highlights-Starting at $89
- Balayage-Starting at $109
- Blowouts-Starting at $39
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@growsalongtx.com
- Website: www.GrowSalonGTX.com
- Instagram: @GrowSalonGTX
- Facebook: @GrowSalonGTX
Image Credits
Melissa Espelien
