Rhonda Grovosner-Marcus’ passion for the beauty industry derives, she says, from enjoying “seeing other people look good.” Hair, she says, is one of the key elements of ‘good looks’ in women and that is the mission of her Perfect U Beauty Salon.
Styling hair, Rhonda says, is part of the very essence of responding to an insatiable desire among women for “making grand appearances.” There are “no ends” of opportunities for doing so, given the fast- growing popular weekend entertainment industry and the surfeit of Pageants and performances by local and international artistes providing more than sufficient opportunity for those indulgences.
But the extent of the industry does not stop there. Working women too, Rhonda says, have routinized their visits to the hairdressers. Apparently, the appetite of women for ‘turning heads’ does not stop at the weekend entertainment industry.
More than a decade ago we had met Rhonda in another life, as a stylist at the popular Kevin’s Reflections. Back then she had expressed to us her desire to run her own show. These days she appears more than keen to parade the accomplishments of her 80 Croal Street, Georgetown ‘spread.’ It had taken her seven years of hard work to arrive at the point of owning her own Salon. Even before then she had taken every conceivable opportunity to become proficient in the skills of the industry.
She had begun with plaiting relatives’ and friends’ hair and offering parochial advice of hair treatment. Prior to establishing a business of her own she had worked for seven years as a Salesgirl and as a Stylist at a salon.
Perfect U was launched by Rhonda and her husband at premises situated on D’Urban Street. The fact that her husband was a Barber meant that they could offer a wide range of styling and hair care services.
There had been no previous experience in managing a business. That made the transition from employee to business owner all the more challenging.
Perfect U was opened for business with two Stylists’ Chairs acquired from Rhonda’s savings. She had, as well, acquired two hairdryers, a Stove Iron set, and an assortment of hair products. Her overall startup cost including rental of business premises amounted to around half a million dollars.
She had been encouraged by the returns from the very beginning, recalling that while her weekly take-home earnings as an employee was seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000). “At the end of the first week of opening my salon I earned fifty five thousand dollars! No regrets there.”
Still, in the initial stages, it had been a ‘hard grind’ for the Perfect U. In the beauty business it takes time to build customer confidence to win trust and confidence. The contemporary style-conscious woman is not likely to place her ‘looks’ in the hands of a new stylist, willy-nilly.
At the outset, too, when generating income for growth could not be realized from her limited clientele alone Rhonda resorted to the good, old-fashioned ‘box hand.’ “I threw some pretty big box hands and even took loans from the bank to enhance the Salon,” Rhonda says.
Her growth since then has been impressive. She has acquired her own home and secured modern hydraulic chairs for the Salon’s Work Stations. The facility is also equipped with a Shampoo Chair and boasts an assortment of hair and aftercare products.
In 2016 Rhonda relocated her Salon to 80 Croal Street, between Albert and Light Streets. The rationale? The new location was closer to home and this fitted in better with the discharge of her responsibilities as a parent.
After fifteen years she still considers her enterprise to be ‘a work in progress.’ If she describes business as “good” she is mindful of the effort that it takes to realize client retention and to continually grow her clientele. Much of her time, she says, is spent “looking at ways to enhance my customer experience.” In this regard she has gone the culinary route, offering her clients Pepper Pot and bread and other ‘eats’ during the Yuletide season. Snacks and even roses are offered on Mothers’ Day. She occasionally offers ‘give back’ promotional events and her Fifteenth Anniversary, celebrated last March saw the staging of a Get Together and special Give Aways for clients.
Not one to rest on her laurels Rhonda says that she is continually seeking ways of increasing her earnings. Beauty Care cosmetics, she says, are usually ‘good sellers.’ She also offers training for Stylists.
COVID-19 was an experience that she would wish to leave behind altogether. Once the pandemic arrived at the level of a national emergency she had been forced to close her business altogether and to ‘dig deep’ ‘into her savings. She is, she says, appreciative of the fact that The Bank had agreed to ‘hold over’ her loan repayments for several months. The break from work has also afforded her time for ‘bonding’ with her two young daughters. Now that the restrictions have been lifted she is busy playing ‘catchup.’
Social Media are her primary marketing outlets. She is pleased, too, that many of her current clients are ‘referrals.’ She believes that the number of referrals can be used to measure the extent to which her work is regarded.
Evidently not one to rest on her laurels, however, it is not difficult to determine that Rhonda is already contemplating where to go next.
