Fifteen years into her career as a hair stylist, Donette Lambert has arrived at a crossroads. She has, she says, arrived at a junction where she must take a leap forward. She has seen the industry grow and witnessed her competitors expand and diversify their businesses, making strategic adjustments to take account of the dizzying vicissitudes of the industry, not least the drift away from the styling and treatment regimes that used to be the order of the day not so many years ago, to a passion for natural hair. The shift in taste, she says, is driven not just by changing taste but by the view that the contemporary natural hair regime circumvents the application of chemicals that can eventually ruin your hair altogether.
But that is not all. Donette believes that she is being left behind by advancements in the sector, not least, the contemporary ambience of the up-market styling establishments whose modern equipment, furnishings and designer overtone is intended to attract a broad-based clientele that includes the ‘with it’ young women for whom hair is a passion. While the hair dressing world is getting on with its business Donette believes that her own establishment, housed in an area above the Bourda Post Office is inexorably being left behind. This, she says is reflected in a steadily declining clientele.
Climbing out of her present circumstances, however, is no ‘walk in the park’. She is in the process of shifting her business from what she says has, over time, become an unsuitable location, to an apartment in a modest complex on Cemetery Road. She has already closed the deal on the location and is now on the cusp of making a significant investment in upgrading. It is a pursuit that not only involves a carefully prepared business plan but a fairly hefty investment in the appurtenances of a modern hairdressing salon.At a very basic level, however, there is still a great deal of work to be done. Donette’s business plan is still incomplete and she is still to garner the funds to cover her estimated budget for remodeling her business. Donette works alone and her reduced clientele at least affords her the opportunity to do the ‘running around’ necessary to get her restructuring exercise going. It is, she believes, the challenge of a lifetime and she is not averse to a business partnership.
While Donette is registered with the Small Business Bureau she is yet to receive a grant from the institution. The Stabroek Business has agreed to seek an early appointment with the Bureau’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Lowell Porter, in order to help determine what assistance she can access. Meanwhile, after fifteen years in the hairdressing industry Donette believes that she now stands at a critical crossroads.
