IAM1924 – Salon Owner Offers Full-Service to Multi-Cultural Clients

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Roxanne Loveless Teaser 00:00

Bringing everybody together because we have the ability to do better for each other and help those people out. I want to make people feel good.

I want to be there for people and I want to help out my community. I want to help the newer generation coming in and just be able to give everybody opportunity for success.

Intro 00:21

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I AM CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:49

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresham from the I AM CEO podcast, and I appreciate you listening to this episode. If you've been listening this year, you know that we hit 1600 episodes at the beginning of this year. We're doing something a little bit different where we're repurposing our favorite episodes around certain categories, topics or as I like to call them business pillars that we think are going to be extremely impactful for CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners, or what I like to call CB nation architects who are looking to level up their organizations.

This month, we are focused on innovation, disruption, women entrepreneurship, DEI, gig economy, remote economy, even the cannabis industry, think about these industries and these disruptive technologies that really sometimes aren't as disruptive, but this people that are just paying attention to what the market needs and they're providing that. So really think about the things that are quote and quote outside of the norm, but really help entrepreneurship to grow and fully develop.

I think it's an extremely exciting time when you're talking about any type of innovation or disruption, because I think that there are so many opportunities and needs that aren't felt that are starting to be filled by different groups, different organizations, or even different industries. So what I want you to do is sit back and enjoy this special episode of the I AM CEO podcast.

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Roxanne Loveless of Jackson Harlow. Roxanne, super excited to have you on the show.

Roxanne Loveless 02:13

I'm excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

Gresham Harkless 02:15

Yes, absolutely. It should be a phenomenal interview. What I wanted to do before we jumped into the interview was read a little bit more about Roxanne so you can hear about some of those awesome things that she's working on.

Roxanne is CEO of Jackson Harlow, a full-service multicultural and LGBTQ plus inclusive beauty Lounge. The Beauty Lounge expanded in 2019. Roxanne has been in business since 2012 and all of her experience coupled with her work ethic has made her one savvy businesswoman and allowed her business to survive the pandemic and continue to thrive.

Roxanne, again excited to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Roxanne Loveless 02:50

I'm ready. Let's do this.

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Gresham Harkless 02:52

Let's get it happening then. So, to kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock, hear a little bit more on how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

Roxanne Loveless 03:00

So I actually worked for a multimillion-dollar corporate company before I started my business. It was within the beauty industry. I learned so much from them, but then along the way, I also learned what I didn't really appreciate and I didn't like and the things that I would want to apply to my business and my missions and my values. I did great for them. I always was in the top three of 51 locations. I helped them open up multiple locations and I really worked my way up from like the bottom to the top. So most of my experience as a business owner is from experience, from being at the bottom to the top. I think that's the best way to learn.

I did not do any formal education for like business and management or anything like that. But if I were to, that's what I would want to do. I think that my experience alone is more than what I could probably get and also outlets like yours. So anyways, with that being said, I decided to move on from the company because I wanted more. I knew that I was going to be losing. I was going to be taking a pay cut definitely by moving over to another salon that my best friend owned. And then with that being said, I started doing lash extensions. It was when nobody knew what lash extensions were in the DMV. It was just a rare thing. I started that in the basement of my townhouse and I was a single mom.

And so I was waking up before my daughter would have to go to school. I would take a client in the morning. They would go to work. I'd go get my daughter ready, take her to school, go home, get ready, go to the shop, go home, get her to bed, do the same thing. It got to the point where I was either having to stop taking clients or would start training somebody. So I started training someone and it grew from there. And then my best friend who's salon I was at, we had both decided that we were going to move forward and open up the first eyelash extension facility in Loudon County. So we really paved the way for this area. It was called Lashes by Ricky box.

Two years in the space, it was pretty difficult just because nobody knew what it was. And we were starting the bandwagon, so we really had to stand strong and then still maintain what we were doing at the shop as well. So I was going back and forth. Needless to say, the lease was up and I was tired of going back and forth. And a lot of my staff was doing the same as well. I decided to consolidate and bring it all under one roof. That is how Jackson Harlow became a new entity because at the time my business partner and I just couldn't agree on certain things and so we decided to split off.

We're still great friends. Now Jackson Harlow has evolved since 2019, and it's been so nice because we've increased revenue. Just made it easier because a lot of the clients that were coming to one location we're going to the other location. So now we're all in one place, just walk back and forth.

Gresham Harkless 06:12

I absolutely love that. You don't see the behind-the-scenes. You don't see, I think the quote is the secret to the overnight successes. It takes ten or sometimes fifteen years or so. So seeing you working from top to bottom at the organization and how that has contributed to your success, I appreciate you shedding light on that.

Roxanne Loveless 06:27

Thank you. Yeah, it's been exciting and fine and all the emotional things.

Gresham Harkless 06:36

Yeah, that makes so much sense. I wanted to drill down, hear a little bit more on how are you serving your clients. Can you take us more on what that looks like and how you're making that impact?

Roxanne Loveless 06:46

Yeah, absolutely. So we are a multicultural salon. Men, women, Children, any hair texture. We service everybody in the community. Even women who may not want to, but Muslim women who have their haircut covered like we cater to everyone.

So we're doing hair, we're doing waxing, we're doing skincare and we're doing lashes and asked to do education. Along with that, I also mentor and go to some of the schools and I do guest speaking and just as a motivational speaker.

Gresham Harkless 07:20

Nice. I absolutely love that. I appreciate you for also helping those younger generations.

Roxanne Loveless 07:26

Yeah, it's really nice to guide them. They definitely make you like realize like how long you've been in the business because they'll say certain things. And I'm like, he has compared me to his mom. It's okay, thanks. We also do airbrush spray tanning and like I said, I do a lot of training with in house training.

And yeah, it's just nice because what we do, it makes people feel good and we're low key therapist as well. So.

Gresham Harkless 07:52

Absolutely. And I don't know if this touches on what I call the secret sauce. The thing you feel sets you apart and makes you unique or the organization, but it seems like you're really into, I always say we forget about the human aspect of business and the human aspect of life. But it sounds like from whether it be your clients, your team, just understanding that human aspect, not just, hey, we provide these products and services, but hey, how are you doing today? What are you going to do? Oh, you're doing better at this.

It sounds like you have a really good pulse on being able to have that incorporated in your business and in your life. Do you feel like that's part of your secret sauce?

Roxanne Loveless 08:25

Absolutely. I am wholeheartedly just that type of person. I always want to see the best in people, and I want to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I will say that I've been burned before. So there was an incident that had happened and not to go into details, but basically I was really taking care of someone. I always want to take care of those who are around me and I want them to do well and be able to be successful. And I got used and it wasn't a good situation. I was like really upset because, my girlfriend was like, Roxanne I told you you always just let people in right away and you always. think that everyone's got the right intentions like you do. And that's just not how it works. And that's just who I am as a person, but I was like, so irritated by this, that I was like, I'm done.

I'm not going to be that person anymore. I'm over it. Like I'm just strictly business. I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to be more hardcore. And then I was like, okay, I don't know who I'm fooling because it's who I am as a person. I can't help it. Like I just can't help it. But what I started doing was creating more boundaries. And when I see that red flag and when I need to make a decision, even if I don't like confrontation, which is funny as a business owner, right? I don't like confrontation, but when I have to handle something, I do it sooner rather than later.

Instead of waiting to see okay, this person has so much potential. Let's give them a chance. Let's give them a chance. And the next thing you know, it's really something I should have maybe handled sooner. So, again, creating those boundaries where they're still my family. I'm still that person that wants to help other people, but just knowing when to call it and when to take certain actions, behavior and words for what they are.

Gresham Harkless 10:13

Yeah, absolutely. And I think a lot of the strong foundation is shown during times like COVID when there's so much disruption and change, you end up finding out a lot about the business, but I think even more about ourselves and like how we're built and we're the way that we're structured. So absolutely appreciate that.

I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Roxanne Loveless 10:40

I have to make notes for myself. I like my notes on my phone, are like my everything. So everything's in my notes as far as what I need done. But also I have to give it up to an admin and she helps me so much. So definitely delegating responsibility and holding everybody accountable. I do love reading motivational books and even listening to your podcast. It's like tapping into hearing other people's perspective, whether I agree and I can apply it or I can debate it in my head.

I guess I just like to read a lot more like with the motivational books the most, but delegating for sure. You have to understand that as a leader, you cannot do everything. You have to give up some control and delegate and get the help where you need it. And with that being said, things get done like in a more timely manner. You're not overwhelmed. You're not stressed. You're not forgetting about anything. But I don't know if that's what you would call a hack, but definitely letting go a little bit and asking for help.

Gresham Harkless 11:50

Yeah, I think that's definitely a hack. And I think that understanding of not trying to do it all and be all the things and tap it into like you mentioned, books and podcasts, just different lessons that people have that we can learn. But I love that kind of two part way that you can delegate that I definitely heard where, of course, being able to write all those things out into our phone. And you mentioned the notes app and being able to leverage that, but also the people that admin that you have and being able to realize that the more last times, the more you hold on, the more that can fall out.

So you want to try to clear the decks, delegate it to the right people so that you can focus on those bigger things that need to be taken care of.

Roxanne Loveless 12:27

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Because if I try to do it all, it's like I've run out of time in the day.

Gresham Harkless 12:33

You're right. There's not enough. There's not enough hours in the day. I've definitely tried it myself. Yes, but there's definitely enough people we could lean on, our technologies that can make that happen. So absolutely appreciate that.

So I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. This is a little bit more word of wisdom or a piece of advice. I usually say it might be something, if you were to hop into a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

Roxanne Loveless 12:57

Oh, gosh, there's so much, right? So every day I'm learning something new and I think going back to the hack too as well is really listening to those around you, not just the networking and the reading the books and stuff like that, but just day-to-day experience, every day you're learning something new.

I always tell my girls, it's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes because from those mistakes, you're going to learn from them. As long as you're learning from your mistakes, it's okay. And not to be scared about making those mistakes and don't be hard on yourself about it. Just know what you did and how you can do it differently.

Gresham Harkless 13:39

That's absolutely huge. Now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping our different quote and quote CEOs on this show.

So Roxanne, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Roxanne Loveless 13:50

It's really important. Like for me, my mission and my values is when people come first success will follow. And I feel like what was really important to me as a business owner and the best form of marketing is giving back to the community. I rather pour money into those who need it and the community and that alone elevates us and puts our name out there. So not only are we marketing, but we're doing good, and that is something that's always been so important to me. And definitely one of the reasons why I wanted to become a business owner is I wasn't really giving that leeway with that corporate company to be able to use that platform to give back, and it could be in the most simple ways.

So that was definitely like one of the top priorities for me was being able to use my platform to get back to the community. Every year we do an annual like huge food drive event and I also bring together other small businesses. Partnerships are very important. But bringing everybody together because we have the ability to do better for each other and help those people out. I just want to make people feel good. I want to be there for people and I want to help out my community and I want to help the newer generation coming in and just, be able to give everybody opportunity for success.

Gresham Harkless 15:12

Yeah, absolutely in control, which you can control. So absolutely appreciate that, Roxanne. Of course, I appreciate your time even more. So, what I want to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know, and of course, how best people can get a hold of you find about all the awesome things that you and your team are doing and the impact that you're having in the community.

Roxanne Loveless 15:31

Make time to just cleanse yourself, get your mind to release those things, do what you believe in if it's speaking to God or whatever it might be.

But just taking that moment to just release. And that goes back again to quality of life. So my email is JacksonHarlowbeauty@gmail.com. You can follow us on Instagram at jacksonharlowbeauty, and then we're also on Facebook.

Gresham Harkless 15:57

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And to make it even easier, we'll have the links and information on the show notes, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Roxanne Loveless 16:02

You too. Thank you so much. Have a good day.

Outro 16:05

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community.

Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google podcast, and everywhere you listen to podcasts, subscribe and leave us a five-star rating. This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless, Jr. Thank you for listening.

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