MAD LOVE MONDAY - SOBER SATURDAYZ
The business I have created is called Sober Saturdayz. I work hard to plan really rad, alcohol-free events around YEG! I’ve teamed up with some of Edmonton’s
The business I have created is called Sober Saturdayz. I work hard to plan really rad, alcohol-free events around YEG! I’ve teamed up with some of Edmonton’s most amazing restaurants and bars to build community and implement non-alcoholic options into their establishments. Although this business is on the up-rise now, the brainstorming started at a very young age. I grew up in an abusive home this includes physical, verbal and substance abuse. I saw first hand how alcohol altered my family and I felt first hand how it started to deteriorate my own personality. I became obsessed with the idea of how to help my family, reading numerous self-help books, researching resources online and reaching out to advocates. Even though I put in so much time and energy, I felt like I had hit a dead end. I became frustrated with the fact that I was unable to save or cure some of my family members and that lead to my own binge drinking. Things were dark and felt helpless for a little while but eventually when I began to help myself, my passion project arose! Its amazing how things line up when you start taking care of yourself, and that was the birth of Sober Saturdayz.
Growing up I always knew I would own my own business and that I would help people rekindle the fire within themselves. I just didn’t know how, I tried a few different things but nothing ever came to full fruition. It always felt like I was forcing things, until Sober Saturdayz came around. Initially it was me and another friend who brainstormed ideas, but slowly the project became too big of an idea and I was alone. I knew I was relatable because of what I had been through and I knew I needed this project just as much as this project needed me.
“The goal is to become a little more awake and aware each day. You have come too far to fall back asleep dear sister. Weave your wisdom. Search for ways to wake up”.
Besides the Sober Saturdayz project I am also in school to become an Acupuncturist. I Will finish my Degree by march 2020, this is my toughest goal and will take the most dedication!
I was lucky enough to have a meeting with some of the crew at Start Up Edmonton, they are really good at breaking things down into easy(er) steps. The ability to hold (sold out) events every month is goal one. Finding the most delicious non-alcoholic products is goal two. Collecting resources for addictions and other support in the city and adding it to my website is goal 3. Integrate DELICIOUS non-alcoholic beverages into local establishments is goal 4 and creating my own non-alcoholic product is goal 5. Man that feels good to write down!
There have been more than many times where I wanted to end things. My own mental and physical health played a big part, lack of support from friends added to that and then dealing with my own family was the icing on the cake. Dealing with it all was gross, I’m not going to lie about that. I lost some friends, had to spend a lot of time alone and take risks that I didn’t feel brave or capable enough to take. But here we are, and seriously if I can do it, so can you.
I knew things were going to be okay when I started getting attention from the press. When CBC radio messaged me, followed by an interview on CityTV news and then a 15 min convo with Ryan Jesperson. This showed me that importance of my project and that I wasn’t the only person hungry for change!
I definitely get the best responses from people/community on Instagram. But facebook has been really great for media to get in contact, I think they’re both important platforms to use. I don’t mess with Twitter, I think that will lead to me spreading myself thin. Also I have to say WIX has been THE BEST for creating a webpage. It the only site that was easy enough for me to use and with the layouts I needed!
Finding balance with work and school and Sober Saturdayz has been a ride for sure. Not drinking DEFINITELY helped with that. For me it was really important for me to do things slowly and on my own time. Staying in on weekends, getting enough sleep and long walks (without my phone) with my dog were seriously therapeutic. Not to mention baths with candles, essential oils and face masks. Because for some reason face masks always make me feel like I have my shit together!
The support within the YEGBOSSBABES community is what i'm most stoked about! The fact that we are encouraging one another and helping out with advice when we can (without judgment) is incredible. It’s a seriously amazing feeling seeing woman around you following their passion and glowing because of it!
Interested in being featured? Contact us at yegbossbabes@gmail.com
MAD LOVE MONDAY | MYX Beauty
Introducing to you a brand new beauty salon that just opened up this month called MYX Beauty. The owners…
Introducing to you a brand new beauty salon that just opened up this month called MYX Beauty. The owners Hair By Shakera and Hair By Lauren Kyle are over the moon excited about this new venture they are creating for Hairstylists in YEG.
Hello Ladies! My name is Lauren I am one of the owners of MYX Beauty. I’ve been doing hair for over 7 years. I started out in the Hair Industry at a very young age and got my red seal at the age of 19. I use to work at many high end salons around Edmonton but I learnt quickly that working for another company wasn't my passion. Two years ago I opened up my first one chair salon that was located in a beauty house just off Whyte Ave. Shortly after opening my salon I reconnected with Shakera. We use to work with eachother at a past salon. Shakera and I always got along. Anytime Shakera was doing the extension install and I was doing the colour our clients would tell us we are the “dream team” haha it sounds so silly but it was true! We understood eachother like we were sisters growing up together for years! It always felt so natural. This moment on I knew Shakera and I would be the perfect match to create a successful business. This is when we started MYX Beauty.
Shakera & Lauren
What is your professional goal for your business?
Our goal for MYX Beauty is to create a atmosphere for all stylists to own their own business. We help all our staff understand what it takes to own a business for example how much money you need to save for taxes & GST, What cashing out system / booking system you should use, how to advertise your business and the quickest most effective way to build a successful clientele. Most salons don’t want their staff to own their own business as their goal is for them to stay working under their salon. BUT MYX Beauty is a one of a kind salon. We consider our salon a support group for all independent stylists to have guidance for a successful future! We still have room for more stylist to join in the future so if you’re thinking about making that jump into owning your own business Keep MYX Beauty in your mind!
What Platform do you find most success from?
I feel like every company is different depending on their clientele they are trying to attract. Personally I found more success from Instagram but Shakera found more success from Facebook. I have a younger clientele as I specialize in Long Hair Balayage. Shakera has a older clientele because she specializes in Hair Replacement & Extensions. For some reason that’s just how social media is going these days!
Did you ever have times where you wanted to give up? How did you overcome that feeling?
Shakera and I had lots of moments where we felt that way. What’s amazing about having a business partner is the support. One day I’ll feel so overwhelmed that I just want to quit but then Shakera will bring me back up and give me that confidence that all this work will pay off one day... which eventually it did! If you’re stuck in that moment where you want to give up and don’t have the support like I did from my amazing business partner then that’s when you turn to a community like YEG BOSS BABES. Everyone on this page will give you that motivation to keep going! We are all here to help!
Interested in being featured? email us at yegbossbabes@gmail.com
MAD LOVE MONDAY | Bailey Brown - Below Hair Studio
I would say my passion in hair and make up began at a very young age! I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by hair and make up my entire life!
How did you find out you have a passion for being a Hair Stylist?
I would say my passion in hair and make up began at a very young age! I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by hair and make up my entire life! When I was really young I would attend hair and nail conferences with my mom as she was a nail tech. My mom always let me do whatever I wanted to my hair, and which I totally regret some decisions, my creative juices were always flowing! My sister was also in the beauty industry, she was a make up artist. When I wasn’t being used as her guinea pig for makeup, I was sneaking into her bathroom to steal all the cool make up she owned. Needless to say, my mother didn’t raise tomboys, I was destined to be in the beauty industry!
When did you know that you wanted to become a salon owner instead of just being behind the chair?
Let’s just say I was never someone to take direction easily from others haha. My personality definitely conflicted with what the definition of being a good employee was! I’m loud, I love to crack jokes, I love coming up with new ideas, etc. I needed an outlet that I could just be myself and surround myself with people like me. When the decision was made to enter into the world of self-employment, I remember my dad saying to me, “I knew this day would come, I always knew you needed to be your own boss.”
Why did you decided to expand your salon / how did you know it was the right time to expand?
I started Below Hair Studio in my basement with one of my best friends Danielle. We made it our mission to have the salon atmosphere that we always wanted. A fun, friendly, high end vibe that at the end of the day, just had a good time! All of our clients became more like family to us, and we decided we needed an assistant. I hired someone to help us with day to day duties that we were finding to be too much for us to do on our own. Before we knew it, our social media presence was making an uproar and we weren’t able to keep up with the amount of people that wanted to book with us. After 4 very fast years in the basement, the perfect store front location became available and my curiosity led me to look into it. I had always talked about expanding but never took it too seriously. When I went to look at the space, I had the same feeling im sure that a bride would get when she found the perfect wedding dress. Everything just felt right, nothing was rushed, it was time to expand. We knew we had outgrown the basement salon, we needed more people! We had become one of the most followed salon instagrams in Edmonton and we were in a 500 sqft basement! We made an unbelievably smooth transition to the bigger space and flash forward a year and a half later, we have 8 stylists on our amazing team and rent out a room to an awesome eyelash technician.
What makes you happy about being your own boss babe?
I would like to say that if you’re your own boss you can do whatever you want and take as much time off as you’d like, but it’s quite the contrary. My hours have grown longer, vacations have become fewer, and the hours behind the scenes that no one sees are the hardest. There is not a lot of glamour in being the boss, but the incredible feeling I get watching Below Hair Studio grow into what I always dreamed of is priceless. I’m happy that we’ve created a community of amazing stylists, developed so many new relationships with clients, and have a platform to share our passion the way we want it shared. Those are some of the many things that make me happy about being a boss babe.
If you could go back and tell yourself one thing in your first year of business what would it be?
OMG where do I start?! I would say my biggest piece of advice I would give to myself would be to take the time to understand the actual BUSINESS side! Source deductions, gst remittances, budgeting... I didn’t want to believe there would be actual numbers to crunch in owning a business! Thankfully my mom, Shelley, took care of all of that for me so I could put more focus into growing the business, but not everyone has a Shelley in their back pocket like I did! Learn about your business taxes, hold on to ALL of your receipts, know your inventory...they are a very important part of running a successful business. (But for real thank god for Shelley haha)