Today we’d like to introduce you to Gloria Lee.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My name is Gloria Lee, my friend from first grade nicknamed me Glory Be so long ago that I decided that would be a good name for my salon. I was born and raised in the Virginia-Highland area and started my business there in January 1988. I had Just finished five years of working in the salon on cruise ships, traveling throughout Asia and the Caribbean, Alaska and the Mexican Riviera in the mid-1980’s. Lots of adventures, mostly good, some bad, and some were life threatening!
I feel So blessed to have a continuous flow of wonderful clients in my salon for many years. Some of them still see me regularly since my first year in business. My parents were wedding photographers, also portraiture and bar mitzvahs, first communion and high school graduation photographs. They had their studio on North Highland Avenue on the ground floor and we lived upstairs. My Mother was raised in Paris, France in the 1930’s. She was 13 when WW2 was starting. They had to escape on a ship that crossed the Atlantic with blackout curtains over the windows so the ship didn’t get spotted on the ocean.
My parents took us out of school for a year,( my 9th-grade year) and we flew to Europe and my Mom looked up family that she had never met. My parents bought a car and a camper and we traveled around Europe. We had many fantastic adventures and kept in touch with people that we met for all these years, since 1971. So my Mother gave me and my siblings the travel bug, and artistic creativity. That’s my life in a nutshell.
Has it been a smooth road?
I started My business in 1988 in the back of a barber shop at Virginia and Highland. The rent was cheap, but the barber, Jimmy Watson, chain-smoked cigarettes and I couldn’t wait to find my own space. I moved Up the road and renovated a space next door to Camille’s Restaurant and stayed there for 10 years.
I’ve always done booth rental as opposed to commission whenever I had Any hairdressers work in my salon. My landlord sold the building. The rent kept going up, so I moved Out after my lease expired the summer of 1999. I relocated To Piedmont Ave next door to Smith’s Olde Bar and stayed there 16 years until my Landlady passed away. I had to move because the family sold that building.
Now I’ve got a salon space in a spa type building on Wimbledon Road at Piedmont Avenue. Through the years I’ve looked around, wanting to buy a small building to have my salon in, but that never worked out. It’s not wise to move around and change salons when you’re a hairdresser. People don’t like to follow their hairdresser around, seems unstable. But I’ve managed to keep a good clientele for over 30 years! Many of them since 1988.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
When I worked on cruise ships, I became Friends with people in Bali, Indonesia. I went To Bali on my honeymoon in 1992 and met someone that helped me get started with an import business that I added To my salon when I was next door to Camille’s. I imported Clothing, jewelry, wood carvings, masks, art, paintings and furniture. I ended Up doing shows at art festivals and Midtown Music Festival. I had A booth at the very first Midtown Music Festival in 1993.
When I moved My business to Piedmont Ave, I had A much larger space. I had Many unusual items for sale year round. During the holidays I had Big parties for my clients with entertainment. I had Bands, a fire breather, snake handlers and acrobats. Along with lots of food and drinks.
What makes me the most proud is my client loyalty. I always Do my best work at a fair price, so that they will keep coming back.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Any hairdresser needs to build a clientele in order to make money. If they start out in Atlanta at a place like Super Cuts where they take walk-ins, they can work on building up their speed and volume of clients. But those clients will always be Super Cuts clients, looking for a cheap haircut. The hairdresser would need to leave that behind and work in a neighborhood salon to get a following of people that care about the personal attention, a haircut and style suited for them. Atlanta is such a big city with lots of traffic.
Most of my clients drive a long way to see me. They pass hundreds of other salons to get to me. I don’t want to lose them, so I have a calm setting so that they feel relaxed as soon as they walk in the door. I try to be on time and am always friendly and welcoming. There are so many good neighborhoods in the Atlanta area especially since the Beltline is so popular.
Contact Info:
- Address: 595 Wimbledon Road Atlanta, Ga. 30324
- Website: glorybesalon.com
- Phone: 404876-7713
- Email: girleeatglorybe@yahoo.com
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