Women in Business: Main Street business takes a team approach to success
Published 6:45 am Wednesday, October 31, 2018
The Style Lounge has been a fixture on Main Street in Austin for a number of years, providing a unique hair care experience.
It’s a warming environment, filled with hard-working and dedicated professionals who take great care in providing the best customer experience they can.
And that has been a primary goal for owner Lindsey Haney.
Haney has put great effort into making sure her employees get the most opportunity they can get so, in the end, that experience is passed down to the customers.
“We create a culture, a code of honor,” Haney said, sitting in the trendy front waiting area. “Rules that we live by. Having that like-minded attitude helps grow each other. We’re always wanting more.”
Haney has been in the profession for 20 years, a profession that was as much a surprise to her as anybody else.
Haney had no intention of getting into hair styling. Her world in high school revolved around art.
“It actually fell into my lap,” Haney said. “I was an art student first. I did one year at Riverland for general education and I needed something more creative.”
On a whim, she decided to pursue cosmetology, making the decision a week before the semester started.
However, it turned out that art background helped give her a boost. She took to cosmotology right away.
“Immediately,” she said. “All those art classes I had taken through all my years in school … it all came very naturally for me.”
She worked close to seven years at Regis Salon in the Oak Park Mall while working as a substitute at Riverland in the cosmetology department. During that time, she grew a clientele and eventually moved to The Edge Salon.
“It was great,” Haney said. “I was surrounded by people who were very passionate about education and making a career out of it.”
That very same idea began guiding her to opening her own business. After some time, she met Jill Erhich and the pair opened The Style Lounge, building on a shared passion for a career.
“(We) had the same vision,” Haney said. “Create a space where you walk in and didn’t feel like you were in Austin. I love Northeast Minneapolis and that was our inspiration.”
In the beginning there were seven stylists hired, a number that has swollen to 15, all of it driven by advancing experiences and advancing opportunities.
Among the many opportunities is an advanced associate program that requires a new associate to simply observe for four months before they start seeing guests.
They also host monthly meetings where ideas are introduced.
“The staff is super involved,” Haney said. “I facilitate and they brainstorm.”
These ideas, these steps, create an atmosphere of togetherness at The Style Lounge.
“Everybody felt a part of it,” Haney said.
Business Name: The Style Lounge
What does the business do? Expertise in hair services with highly-trained, highly-educated professionals
How long have you owned the business? Eight years (four years solo)
How long have you been in the profession? 20 years
What do you see as the single most important thing people see in your business? “Giving (stylists) amazing career opportunities.”
Women in Business