In Good Company

Emily’s story began at Paul Mitchell the School Orlando where she became an assistant to a salon owner (helping with inventory, improving her skills, and managing clientele). She then moved on to becoming a booth renter and eventually an owner of her own booth-rent salon. Emily has always had entrepreneurial tendencies and began thinking about making the jump to owning her own salon in 2012, but the timing just wasn't right. However, she finally signed a lease in 2017 and spent a year creating her business plan and recruiting stylists. 

Good Co. Salon was born in 2018 on a historical reservation. As Emily was renovating the space she learned that back in the early 1900s this building was owned by the Albertsons, who just happened to be related to Emily’s Uncle Leonard who she has always gone to for business advice. Crazy, right? 

The focus of Emily’s salon was to create a positive, drama-free environment with a high-end feel where everyone was welcome, no matter a person’s age or look. She also wanted to save the historical feel. The salon name is actually branded to look like an envelope stamp from the 1900s and to attract “good company.”

Emily really focuses on building her team to attract all the right people. She has always been a hard worker and likes to lead by example by doing the jobs she would expect from all of her staff like sweeping other people’s hair, getting to know everyone’s clients, and doing laundry. Her example is definitely reflected in her drive of her team to who are eager to create and stay educated. She also knows that having a work-life balance is extremely important and that team bonding is crucial. Emily has set up annual team events to make sure each and every team member knows they are valued. This intentionality by Emily has lead Good Co. stylists to have a relationship outside of their passion for hair. As a booth rent salon, Emily’s stylists have the freedom to choose their brands and their hours.

Something that sets Good Co. Salon apart is it’s social media presence and consistent brand. Emily found that hiring a social media expert to correctly showcase her team's work has proven to be a tremendous success. Emily said, “The difficult part of being a business owner today is that you need to worry about your business in reality and your business online.” Good Co. Salon does a fabulous job in their social media. Their Instagram follows a consistent color scheme, so it looks polished and professional. They also use elements that promote their work and show off their culture, which is important for potential clients to know what to expect. They accomplish a professional presentation of their culture by including photos of their team, fun posts from events, and relatable posts (such as motivational phrases). By doing this they are creating a community that makes everyone who follows them feel as if they are ‘in good company’. They also share photos of their work and retail products so that someone new to the salon understands can see their work and learn more about the products they carry. (give them a follow @goodcosalon)

If Emily could give one piece of advice, it would be to find a mentor and learn from them, whether it be their work ethic or what sets them apart in the industry. Having a mentor is a great way to be set up for success.