Tune in to hear how Maria navigates and discovers balance with family, salon ownership, and seeking advice and education to realize her dreams with less stress than most.⁠Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!KEY TAKEAWAYS:?Maria was an assistant at 2 salons, then a licensed stylist at another salon, ran a home salon, and then went to a suite for about 10 years before opening her own salon.?Seeing fellow hairdressers at a salon that she assisted at own their homes, have nice cars, and have more control of their lifestyle, Maria knew this was the career for her!?Once Maria started growing a family, she decided to launch a salon in her home, which meant no rent, and that was the year she says she was " RICH"!?The home salon made it hard to have boundaries, which led to her going to a salon suite, which made things great!?Looking for a commercial broker, she discovered that male brokers gave her a lot of crap and even hung up on her! Finally, she found a spot to rent that was part of a spa and started her booth-renting salon!?If you think you will make a lot of money, do not open a booth rental salon unless you have a large space.?Do not go to a booth rental until you have a full clientele because of the rent that comes out weekly or monthly.?Being innovative with business models means you could be discovering something new that the entire industry adopts.?Maria sold her house to ensure she was well capitalized for her business to give her, her family, and her team stability and security.?You should have 6-12 months of bills when you start to give yourself peace of mind to build your business without pressure.?Peace of mind is important for you to focus on building your business. Stress will reduce your productivity.? Follow Maria on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mariaalexstyles/The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.CONNECT WITH US? Subscribe to our free newsletter? Connect on Instagram? Connect on TikTok? Watch on YouTube? Check out our BlogThe views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com.