Today we’d like to introduce you to Mina Huynh and Jana Novelen.
Hi Mina and Jana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Our story started with our parents immigrating over from South Korea in the early ’80s. They wanted the American dream and moved all along the East Coast and the South to different factory jobs. They landed in Arkansas in 1987 and stayed there for 17 years. They worked endlessly and saved their money to invest in a piece of commercial property, which was a driving range. My parents added onto it and turned it into the first family fun center in Rogers, AR. In 2003, they sold it and moved to Arlington, TX. With both my sister and I living apart from them, they slowly wanted our family to be together in the same city again. Mina was attending the University of Arkansas and convinced her parents that if she could attend cosmetology school, she would move to Texas. Jana had moved to Tulsa, OK to start her career in accounting at PwC. Mina started her career in hair in 2008 and built her clientele in Dallas. She had done everything from being a receptionist in a salon, assisting, educating, and finally running her own business with booth rental and finally her own salon suite. We were all together in the same city, and we all know what happened in 2020. So, in 2021, Mina had stumbled upon an Instagram ad for Image Studios Richardson. It was a salon suite concept she had never seen before, and was instantly drawn in. Speaking to the owner of that location, she learned that it was a franchise and pitched the idea to her family. Everyone loved the concept, and fast forward to 2023; we are under construction to bring Image Studios to Dallas off 75. With our parents’ entrepreneurial mind, Jana’s accounting background, Mina’s industry knowledge, and our husband’s financial and engineering backgrounds, we have confidence that we will make this business successful!
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?
It was not smooth at all. It took us 2 years to find our location. With a lot of contingencies when looking into plazas and locations to build a salon suite, it was hard to nail down a location specifically off 75 that met the requirements for a salon suite, had ample parking, and didn’t already have an exclusivity to another salon. Mina’s career had been off 75, so she knew she wanted it in this specific part of Dallas not only for clientele but for beauty professionals. We lost out on a couple locations and finally landed on our unicorn of a location under Eastline Residences. Construction by itself can be difficult, but adding all the current supply chain issues on top makes us very nervous, but we are trying to keep a positive mindset, and we believe good things come to those that are patient.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
IMAGE Studios is a luxury salon suite brand that specializes in modern, updated space for beauty professionals — from hair, estheticians, lash artists, permanent makeup artists, and more. IMAGE Studios is set apart from other salon suites with their modern design of open space with glass penthouses, state-of-the-art sliding doors, and a support system from not only their peers but owners. The franchise started in Salt Lake City, Utah by 2 brothers, Jason and Shaun Olsen. Jason has led an amazing team behind him with award-winning titles of top franchises, top COO, top leaders, and more. There are 200+ locations in development nationwide and growing with the best culture from the leadership team down to the owners. The culture is something we are so thankful to be a part of. We just got back from the 2023 annual retreat where we got to collaborate with owners all across the nation and learned how to provide the best customer service to our future beauty professionals that rent from us. IMAGE’s culture is unmatched with their focus and drive aiming towards entrepreneurs. Whether that’s with the franchise owners making the investment or the beauty professionals that take the leap of faith in themselves to open their own business. These salon suites offer professionals to build their own empire with the creativity of their own individual minds, the freedom to decorate and build their own schedule, and the success of running their own business, the way THEY want to do it.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
In a perfect world, we would have already been open a long time ago after signing our franchise agreement in 2021, but who would have predicted the Russian-Ukraine war and rising interest rates and inflation? We learned that commercial real estate moves at a much slower pace than residential. We’ve learned to rely heavily on our networks. IMAGE Studios Corporate provided us with guidance and reassurance every step of the way. The franchise owner network, especially the DFW owners who are now like our family, has also been an invaluable group to lean on. Lastly, we were always a tight-knit family, but this business venture has brought us even closer together.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ImageStudios360.com
- Instagram: ImageStudiosDallas
Image Credits
Eastline Residences
Image Studios 360
