We love celebrating our Suite Elite Members and their successes! Today, we get to “meet” Emaley Oxley from MY SALON Suite – The Woodlands located in Shenandoah, TX. Emaley has been a Suite Elite Member since April 2019 and owns Emaley’s House of Hair.
A little background about Emaley: Emaley originally enrolled in cosmetology school so she could pay for college and work while she went to school to be a history teacher. However, she ended up falling in love with the industry. She explained, “I didn’t realize that it was going to be such a rewarding thing for me. I love making people feel good.” So she decided to stay in the salon environment. Over the years, she worked in several salons that were open concept and grew tired of working for other people or having to move because salons were sold to new owners. “I was at the mercy of what the salon owner wanted to do and the clientele I had worked really hard for didn’t really belong to me because my clients were considered the salon’s clients.” As the years went by and she worked for another salon that was eventually sold, she decided to rent a booth at a salon but she still did not feel fulfilled. “I felt like I was at a point in my career where I wanted more and I wanted to put myself at the next level. I wanted to offer higher- end services so I started looking into private salon suites… Since joining the Suite Elite, I have built more clientele in the first six months of moving than I ever had before. People were impressed with how beautiful the location is.”
What does owning your own business mean to you? “I love that I’m not at the mercy of someone else… like an owner wanting to change commissions or product lines or sell the business. I don’t like moving around. The only reason I ever moved was because I was forced to or it was a better business decision to move at that time. I was frustrated with working to build a clientele that wasn’t my own. I wanted to be able to preserve what I’ve worked for.”
How has being a Suite Elite Member impacted your life? “I had a significant income increase my first year. Being a business owner helped me create the life that I wanted as far as schedules go. I can go on vacation if I want to. I love how Aaron (the location owner) and the brand helped us out during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was really terrified. I work less than 40 hours a week and have two kids and my income is essential to our life. During the COVID-19 closure, we (the Members) didn’t have to pay rent. Once we reopened, we paid partial rent for the first few weeks after coming back to work to help us get restarted.” Emaley goes on to explain how her location owner, Aaron Gillaspie, would provide webinars and video, as well as state regulations and guidance to his Members. The corporate team also provided Members with steps on how to reopen safely. Emaley said she also had guidance on PPP (paycheck protection program) loans and how to secure PPE (personal protective equipment) to keep her and her clients safe. “The entire company was super helpful with that.”
What piece of advice would you have for someone thinking of joining The Suite Elite?
“Be self motivated but take advantage of all of the things this company has to offer such as medical and life insurance. Listen to the ideas on marketing. Take pictures of the suites because they’re beautiful and encourage people to come to the suites.”
You can follow Emaley on Instagram @emaleyshouseofhair and on Facebook; Emaley’s House of Hair. Check out Emaley at work, her beautiful salon suite and her stunning hair transformations below.
