Renaissance Curls is a salon in Harlem, New York City, specializing in kinky, curly, and coily hair. A lot of clients come to us carrying hair trauma, even from professional salons. Our goal is to offer the highest level of comfort and care with every service, whether it’s styling, cutting, or color.
My passion for the hair industry goes back to when I was a baby. My grandma is a hairstylist and she had a salon in her home. I grew up watching her serve clients, then later became her mini assistant and receptionist. Very early on, I knew I was going to follow that same path.
In 2007, I went to cosmetology school in Montreal. I mostly worked with straight hair for the first few years until I decided to focus on natural hair. My “why” was having loose, natural hair at the time and having to figure out how to work with it on my own. There was really no cosmetology school out there that taught you. I had to travel to the U.S. to learn.
Eventually, I moved to New York. I noticed that with natural hair, many stylists overlook the comfort of their clients. Many also didn’t receive proper training because of the lack of education in cosmetology schools. It’s why Renaissance focuses so much on supporting our team’s development and showing clients how to care for their hair at home.
We’re currently in a period of growth, so every day is really different. I work at the salon from Friday to Monday, and from home from Tuesday to Thursday. Here’s how that looks on a typical day.
Morning
7:30-8:00 am
On days that I’m going to the salon, I’m usually up around 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. I do my morning routine then head out the door.
8:50-9:00 a.m.
I take the train into Harlem. The commute is about 40 minutes. I use that time to get ahead of the day. I’m responding to my operations manager or my virtual assistant about anything client-related that day.
9:30-10:00 a.m.
Before I get to the salon, I usually stop at the bakery for a hot chocolate and a carrot muffin. I get in around 9:30 to 10:00 a.m., talk to my salon coordinator, and catch up on anything I missed.
Afternoon
12:00-4:00 p.m.
I typically eat lunch around noon. From there, it depends on the day. I don’t work with as many clients as I used to. Sometimes I’m working on a client, helping to train a stylist, or working on my computer.
Evening
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Closer to the end of the day, I’m usually assisting. We have newer stylists, so I’m either supervising or answering their questions.
7:00 p.m.
By 7:00 p.m., I typically go home, eat dinner, and relax because it usually gets to be a long day.
What happens at the salon is only part of running the business. A lot of the work to keep it running continues when I’m off the floor.
The work behind the scenes
At home, I handle everything that happens behind the scenes. This includes all of the admin or redundant tasks that I can’t delegate to my salon coordinator or virtual assistant.
I always have a to-do list, whether it’s reminding me about payroll, meetings, or whatever needs my attention that week. One week, I was in back-to-back calls to renew the salon’s insurance. Another week, I was doing the same for the lease. Thankfully, it’s not always like that.
The main thing that’s been a constant is making sure that we can make payroll. I always want to make sure I have enough for that.
What has made all of that easier is Relay. I follow the Profit First method. I allocate a percentage of what I earn toward profit first, then payroll, taxes, and operating expenses. Before Relay, I was doing the calculations in Excel then transferring the money manually. It was taking a lot of time out of my day. I was also being charged for the transfers. Now, I don’t even have to think about it. Everything happens automatically without the extra fees.
Every couple of days, I like to check the dashboard. I can see at a glance what’s in each separate bucket. It makes financial decisions easier. I also like that there’s a feature showing how much our cash flow has grown compared to a year ago or even a quarter ago. It gives me an idea of where things could be in eight weeks.
The payoff and the bigger vision
What makes all the moving parts worth it is both the clients and staff.
When clients find us, they’re always very grateful because they’ve been looking for a salon like ours for a long time. It’s the best feeling ever to see them experience that relief and be super happy about the results.
With my stylists, it’s just as rewarding. Seeing them grow from their first year to their third, especially in a skill that’s still not widely taught, always makes me so excited.
Looking ahead, I’m focused on building toward making our services more accessible.
I’m not looking to have multiple locations. I’d like one flagship location with several floors for the salon and a training space. I also want to include a daycare. Many stylists in the industry are women, and a lot of clients aren’t able to come into the salon because they can’t find someone to watch their children.
I also want to be able to travel around the world more to provide education. For example, I’m talking to someone in Japan right now. They have their own agency for makeup and hair and want us to do a workshop. So that’s the goal: one space to build from, while creating more opportunities to teach natural hair, whether that’s through stylists coming to us or us going where we’re needed.
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