Today we’d like to introduce you to Arlene Lyons.
Hi Arlene, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My life story starts as a very shy girl from the small island of Tobago in the Caribbean. After working in the technology field in my home country of Trinidad and Tobago for six years, I embarked on a purposeful, somewhat intimidating, journey to the US to pursue my education, with a goal of transitioning from a technology career to a successful career in business management.
The first stop on my journey was at the Howard University School of Business, where in December 1990 I graduated first in my class with a perfect GPA and a BBA degree in Computer Information Systems. This hard-fought achievement set the stage for my acceptance into a number of top US business schools, leading me to obtain my MBA from the Stanford University School of Business in 1993. At Stanford is where the seeds of my ultimate entrepreneurial passion were planted. However, the strong allure of Corporate America, with its promise of executive leadership experience and substantial financial rewards, proved too much to resist. And so, after graduating from Stanford, I started a long, rewarding and successful Corporate career in the Financial Services industry, culminating with a Vice President role with Fidelity Investments.
At the pinnacle of my corporate career in 2007, the entrepreneurial bug finally bit, and I took the unlikely decision to leave all of my corporate achievements and financial success behind and embark on an unpredictable entrepreneurial career in the beauty industry, an industry about which I knew very little at the time.
Why the beauty industry? Because in my corporate career, I moved around the country quite a bit, having lived in seven different US states. Whenever I relocated, my most difficult challenge was always finding a beauty salon that offered the quality of service and delivered the exceptional results that met my discerning needs.
So, when I got the burning desire to start my own business, I decided to explore the beauty industry to see if I could make a positive difference, and found my passion and purpose as a franchise owner of Paul Mitchell cosmetology schools – my flagship school, Paul Mitchell The School Esani, which was started in 2007 in Alpharetta, Georgia, and another in Sacramento, California, which was acquired ten years later in 2017.
My experience as a beauty school owner has been simultaneously the most challenging and the most rewarding experience of my life. I entered the beauty industry to make a positive difference in service excellence but ended up finding ultimate fulfillment in transforming the lives of many young and talented people, some of whom prior to joining our school had always been underestimated and discredited for not following the traditional path. My greatest joy comes from seeing our students overcome an unimaginable series of life challenges to become highly successful salon stylists, estheticians, business owners, film/TV stylists and makeup artists, platform artists, and so much more!
In addition, Paul Mitchell The School Esani has become a mainstay within the Roswell/Alpharetta community, not only as a “dream factory” for our talented students, but as a welcoming place where the community could come for affordable skincare and hair services, and as a beacon of hope for the many local and national charities we actively support.
Over the years, our school has been honored with over thirty national Excellence in Education awards, and was proud to be named the 2023 School of the Year in all of the US by the American Association of Cosmetology Schools. What an affirmation of all of the hard work and dedication of our students and team members!
Through this unlikely journey, I have also been personally humbled to be recognized for my life’s work and entrepreneurial endeavors, including:
– A Business Outlier Award presented by celebrated author, Malcom Gladwell, at a Caribbean Leadership and Innovation Conference in 2012
– A Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Southeast Hairstyling Awards (SEHA) in 2022
– An Exemplar Award presented by the Howard University School of Business in 2025
Much more important than the individual accolades is the deep sense of gratitude I feel for the many mentors and supporters who propelled me to success in an industry that I had to learn from the ground up. My most notable mentors include the Dean and Founder of Paul Mitchell Schools, Winn Claybaugh, top Atlanta salon owners, Candy Shaw-Codner and Van Council, and my most loyal and avid supporter and business partner, Ozzie Moore.
Success is a team sport; no one can do it alone. Starting with the strong family foundation and cultural roots that were developed all those years ago growing up as a shy girl on the small island of Tobago, my life has taken an unpredictable and exhilarating trajectory, driven by a willingness to take bold chances and supported by so many selfless and inspiring people along the way!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No entrepreneurial success comes without challenges. One of the biggest is getting started, especially in an industry where you have no track record and no direct experience. Opening a cosmetology school requires a substantial capital investment and a cadre of well-trained professionals. While I was fortunate to have accumulated significant financial resources over my corporate career to be able to invest in my business, I still needed additional investment capital. The best way to secure that initial bank loan or startup investment is for you to be able to show a deep and genuine passion for your business vision and to have a well formulated business plan to show how you will get there. At the end of the day, you have to get the right people to believe in your vision and to believe in you. And, so I did.
The other major struggle most entrepreneurs encounter is finding and retaining great people to work in your organization. Almost every entrepreneur has stories to tell of team members they took under their wing, invested generously in, nurtured, rewarded; only to have them turn around and leave, sometimes with no notice and no appreciation. My journey was no exception. However, if you build and nurture a strong positive culture that you stand firmly behind; the right people will stay, some for a lifetime, and the wrong people will leave.
Finally, many people may not know that schools receiving federal Title IV funding are very highly regulated. And over the last ten or so years, there have been forces that seem intent on putting all private for-profit schools (including cosmetology schools) out of business. This has been an ongoing battle that has taken me to the halls of State Capitols and to the Congressional Offices of the US Capitol. I have had to play a key role in advocacy for our industry and for all the students, employees, and clients we serve. It has been a true “labor of love”. Anything born out of passion and purpose beyond ourselves is worth fighting for. So the fight continues!
As you know, we’re big fans of Paul Mitchell The School Esani. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Paul Mitchell The School Esani opened its doors in 2007, and over the years has built a reputation of excellence in education, an affordable, diverse array of hair and skin care services for our local community, and a culture of charitable giving,
Our school prepares students to become licensed cosmetologists and estheticians with superior technical and professional skills for careers in a variety of beauty fields, working in hair salons, day spas, destination spas, med spas, on film/TV sets, as platform artists, in a variety of roles with beauty product manufacturers and distributors, and as beauty entrepreneurs.
We pride ourselves on not only preparing our students to pass the professional state board licensing exams, but to also acquire the advanced skills needed to excel in the professional world. We are a CIDESCO training school, offering the most prestigious skincare credential that allows our CIDESCO graduates to work anywhere in the world. Other certifications and spa services we offer include the popular Hydrafacial spa treatment, Microdermabrasion, Microcurrent, Advanced Chemical Peels, and more.
As our students hone their craft, members of our community have the opportunity to receive this diverse array of skin and hair services at very affordable prices – from haircuts, hair color, hair styling for all textures (including natural hair services), and a wide array of spa facial and body treatments. We offer exciting new service and product promotions each month, as well as special packages for weddings and other special occasions.
In addition to the exceptional education and beauty services we provide, we also take pride in our annual fundraising campaign that raises tens of thousands of dollars for local and national charities, such as Every Color Matters, Children’s Miracle Network, Gary Sinise Foundation, CAST (Coalition for the Abolition of Slavery and Trafficking),Food 4 Africa, and many more.
We are exceptionally proud of having been named the 2023 School of the Year in the US by the American Association of Cosmetology Schools. This pinnacle achievement is testimony to the hard work, dedication, and passion of all of our team members and Future Professionals.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Starting a business is not for the faint-hearted. But if you stay true to your vision and values, remain resolute in your determination to overcome obstacles, and enthusiastically embrace change before you are forced to change; then you will be successful. If you stay ahead of the change that will inevitably come, then you get to show up in the most advantageous way and set yourself apart from everyone else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://paulmitchell.
edu/atlanta-esani - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/pmts_esani/
