Interview an entrepreneur
I interviewed Alex McIntosh, owner and senior stylist of silk Hair studio in Richmond, Virginia. I have relied on Silk hair studio for all of my hair care needs for the past 4 ½ years. Alex is extremely driven and hard-working, showcasing her talents through her creative and innovative hairstyles. Alex received her cosmetology license at Aver institute in Atlanta, Georgia. Shorty after passing her state board exams Alex had the pleasure of working under renowned hairstylist Derek J. While under Derek’s wing, Alex further learned the craft of cutting, color and styling hair. This led her to find her niche in the world of hair, creative cutting and styling. Alex competed in the Bronner Brother Hair show in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Alex took home bronze medals in the first two competitions, but took home the gold in the latter three. Shortly after winning the Bronner Brothers Hair Show Alex’s grandmother who had been battling cancer passed away. It took her a while to cope with the loss of her loved one because her grandmother had been the inspiration for her pursuing a career in cosmetology. Alex shared her dreams of eventually becoming an entrepreneur and owning her own boutique salon with her grandmother before her passing and was surprised to hear that her grandmother left her $450,000 to pursue her dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. In 2008 Alex got engaged to the love of her life and moved to Virginia to be closer to her husband and start their life together. Shortly after getting adjusted to her life in a city, Alex began to check out local commercial properties for her new salon. Still unsure of a name or location, the search made her even hungrier for her dreams. After browsing a couple of locations Alex got a general idea of how much capital she would need to rent a place with the location and size that she was interested in. Alex had the capital she needed to rent the space for a couple of months but she wanted a cushion in case the business didn’t take off as she hoped it would. Not to mention she still needed to buy equipment and hire employees. Alex’s sister in law Vanessa was also in the beauty industry, specializing in esthetics. They agreed to be partners in this new venture, which didn’t sound like a bad idea since this boutique was seemingly costing way more than Alex had initially anticipated. Her dreams were to open a high end salon boutique to rival all salons and she wasn’t going to settle for anything less.
Alex and Vanessa decided to take on this project as a joint venture. The two filled the necessary paperwork and took the proper steps to initiate an LLP, with Alex being the general partner, assuming most of the liability. This process took about 3 years to get everything in place and they finally found the perfect location for the boutique. The two worked hand in hand, carefully considering every detail from the style of the chairs to the paint on the walls. Finally in 2012 Silk studio was up and running and everything had seemed to fall into place after investing about $450,000. The skills and credentials of both Alex and Vanessa created a loyal following, making the salon very popular and consequently, very successful.
Vanessa opted to not give full details as to the financial history, but she did include that the salon was making a profit within the first year. Although things seemed to be taking off and business was booming, Alex mentioned that she and her partner had different views on certain matters of business which caused conflict. Vanessa wanted to relocate to larger location since business was unbelievably good in the first year. Alex wanted to take a more conservative route and stay put, to allow a cushion for any declines in revenue. Alex felt as though Vanessa was putting the cart before the horse and wasn’t willing to invest in such a risky project, which could possibly lead to them both losing everything. The two managed to keep things