Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Johnson.
Patrice, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started this journey over 15 years ago after working in the mortgage industry and getting laid off numerous times, I wanted to do something where I could by my own boss, but make a difference in the lives of young women and adults. I loved going to the salon and listening to women tell their stories while there were being transformed by getting their hair done. My aunt owned a salon and although I had never thought about being a hairstylist before, I realized I loved it. She did something for my mother and me when my mother lost her job, that I will always remember. She allowed my mom and I to get our hair done for free until my mom found another job. She didn’t make us feel bad about, she just did it. That’s when I realized I wanted to be a hairstylist, that not only made women look good, I wanted to make women and girls feel good. Getting your hair done and going to the salon, does something to a women’s inner spirit and I wanted to help a woman feel that experience. I wanted to meet women from all walks of life and listen to their stories and change their lives for a couple of hours a day just like I watched my aunt do. It was about not only being their personal hairstylist but developing relationships. And that’s what I do today, I build relationships. We talk, we cry, we laugh and I listen and make women feel and look good. I also followed my aunt’s example and every year, I give salon scholarships to deserving middle and high school girls. I teach them about healthy hair, but the main focus is on positive self-esteem and self-image. It’s amazing what a simple and cute hairstyle can do to make you feel good about yourself. My business continues to grow because I give back. I like to say I work to transform women through hair every single day and I get to meet some amazing women while doing it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been challenging. Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. There was no social media when I first started the business. I passed out business cards and got clients through word of mouth. I’ve had to learn how to promote my business via social media to stay competitive and it’s very time-consuming. It was a learning curve at first. I still haven’t mastered doing videos and going “live” just yet but, I continuously work on building my brand and keeping myself out there. There is also a lot of competition so I work really hard to set myself apart from other stylists and focus on the client experience and making sure I’m flexible and can accommodate all of my client’s needs. The service industry is challenging especially when people are strapped financially. Often, the first thing they stop doing when they have no funds is their hair and other personal things that aren’t necessities. So, the summer months are a little slower. I have to come up with a few incentives to keep those clients coming when kids are out of school and money is tight. I make it work. I also can’t take things personally. People will complain of every social media platform they can find it they’re not happy and I have that happen before. I have to remember that I can’t always respond because social media will kill your business today.
Trichotomy Salon – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I like to call myself a hair artist because I transform women and doing hair is an art. I get to be as creative as my client allows. I specialize in creating and maintaining healthy hair. I’m best known for hair color. I love to push the limits with different colors if my clients will let me. The chemistry and the science behind achieving the perfect color give me a natural high. I love taking hair color from dark to light all in the same day. I am best known for what is called a silk press. Natural clients come in to have their natural hair straightened without chemicals and I work to give their hair body, shine and naturally silky straight hair. I’m known as the “silkpresschic.” My biggest accomplishments so far is giving back through my salon scholarships to two deserving middle and high school students every year. I go through an intense application process and girls are awarded a “hair” scholarship for the entire school year. They get their hair done twice a month for free and we talk and bond and I teach them about their hair and positive self-image and they teach me about what is happening in their lives. It helps me to stay in touch with what young people are doing but I teach them to develop healthy hair habits. It’s so rewarding just to give back and develop relationships. The students usually remain, clients, even after their year is up.
I think what sets me apart from others is that this is my passion and I treat it as such. I absolutely love what I do and I know my clients feel that as well. I make it a point to listen, encourage and just be there for my clients even outside of the salon. It’s all about building relationships. I’m very flexible and make myself available to them whenever and however I can. I’ve developed some very strong friendships and I love the fact that I get to choose my clients and meet some phenomenal women every single day. And also what sets me apart is that I value my clients’ time. They will not sit in the salon waiting all day. I schedule one client at a time and I guarantee that they will be out in an hour or less depending on their service. That’s what truly sets me apart. I give each client their individual appointments and there is no waiting.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I personally define success as being excellent at what I do and what happens when clients refer their family and friends. When clients come back every week or every couple of weeks and they’ve been doing that for years, I feel like I’m doing the right thing. Building my business daily is what pushes me towards success and actively seeking new clients via phone calls, social media and passing out business cards and getting positive feedback and reviews are what makes me feel successful. Pushing every single day to build the hair empire I want is how I define success and getting that text message with a selfie after my client leaves and she loves her hair and has received tons of compliments is what success means to me. It’s not always the money, but how I make a women/girl feel that makes me feel successful and want to stay in this business every single day.
Pricing:
- my silk press start at $65 with a rosemary shampoo and conditioners
- Color treatments start at $85
- Precision haircuts for men/women $25
Contact Info:
- Address: 215 S. Main Street Duncanville, TX 75137 (I’m inside Salon Bloom)
- Website: https://square.site/book/4B2JQHNB3QR3T/salon-trichotomy-duncanville-tx
- Phone: 469-337-6958
- Email: iamhair4you@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instragramcom/trichotomy_salon
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/trichoto
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