A passion for beautiful hair at the April Ray Hair Salon in Montrose, California

Women who are sensitive to hair color may want to try the April Ray Hair Salon in Montrose, California. It is conveniently located to Pasadena, Glendale, and downtown Los Angeles. April Ray and the professional stylists with her serve a variety of clientele. I recently interviewed April to learn more about her business and her career choice.

What prompted your interest in hair care and styling?

When I was a teenager, I had a mentor who sparked my intrest in doing makeup for the entertainment industry. She suggested that I go to beauty school, so I went during my senior year. After finishing beauty school, I realized that I had more interest in doing hair rather than makeup and that the salon atmosphere would provide me with a better education than on the set. On occasion, I still accompany my friend on the set to do hair instead of makeup, of course.

How did you make the decision to buy and operate a salon?

I started my career as an assistant in Beverly Hills but my heart always belonged to Montrose. When I decided to leave Beverly Hills to build my clientele in Montrose I found Tomas Hair Salon to be the perfect salon for me. However, Tomas quickly took the opportunity to let me run the place. My Beverly Hills Standards for Customer service and Passion in Hair styling is what made his salon successful. It was a no brainer for him to sell the business to me. He still owns a salon near by but we do not compete. We’re still old pals.

April has a web site featuring the stylists working with her at April Ray Hair Salon.com.

Did you do either a formal or informal business plan before opening?

Yes. It might be considered a little informal but it works. Of course I have numbers figured out but the numbers are not my main concern. Relationships come first, then the money comes later as a result. No matter what I keep my focus on my clients, customer service and my relationship with them and my colligues. I think that is the main reason why I always reach my goals. Secondly, I will always keep up the networking. I love supporting other local business, and they support me.

What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned in running a small business?

There is no need to compete. It’s true…there is no shortage of hair salons in the area. But I don’t concern myself with their success or failure. There are enough heads to go around.

Is there anything you’ve done to make your salon unique from others in the general area?

There are many things that make us unique. This could be a long list. One example is that we use amonia free hair color by CHI and that's a nice alternative for those who are sensitive to hair color. Another example would be our special is our ability to work with the most unruly hair without the use of a flat iron. Our "power blow dry" (as our clients have nick named it) has become our most popular service for someone with long hair who wants to look like a "Victoria's Secret" Model for the day.

What do you like about being located in Montrose?

I love being part of a community that has such strong support for small businesses. It just has a special charm and I am so proud to be a part of it.