Life and Work with Dorothy Pinney

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorothy Pinney.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Dorothy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
During my junior year of business school at Georgia State, my best friend Jill had just finished beauty school and convinced me it was also the route I should take. I began cutting and coloring her hair in our apartment. I would hide when she went to check my work, with luck and some hidden talent it always turned out well.

After graduating from Georgia State with a Business Management degree, I began an apprenticeship at DASS Salon in Dunwoody. It was a fast ride through the program putting me on the floor with clients just 7 months in. One key to my successes is that I wasn’t ever afraid to just get into the client’s hair and do it. I would watch senior stylists work and emulate their work on my clients, learning as I went.

After I completed my apprentice hours and obtained my license, I knew I wanted to move to a salon in town where my coworkers and clients would share a similar lifestyle as I did. That lead me to Grow Salon in Decatur. It was a great fit. There, I began to do color as well as cuts and developed my love for continuing education classes at Bumble and Bumble salon in New York. I have taken almost every cut, color, styling, teaching, and business development class that Bumble and bumble have to offer. Every class I take, makes me yearn to be better at my job. I have also been inspired by classes at Vidal Sassoon, R and Co, Whittemore House, and Kingly Hairgroup.

During my years at Grow, I always kept my eye on the runnings of the business, not really knowing how much I liked that part of salon life. I left Grow after 5 years to rent a chair at DADA salon in Inman Park. When a stylist is lucky enough to have a loyal clientele to support you and you can handle the extra work/time, it takes to book clients and keep your own supplies stocked chair rental gives you more freedom and you don’t have to split a commission with your salon owner.

DADA was run like a co-op. We all pitched in to clean and keep the salon running. It was a lovely group of five stylists that were at a peak of our careers. Even though things were going great I would still have daydreams of having my own salon. I would make lists in my head about what my ideal salon would look like and how I would want it run. I even looked into possible locations.

It was at DADA that I met my now business partner Jennifer Kelley. I would share my salon dreams with her in the break room. Lucky for me when Jennifer found the space for Cameo she asked me to join her in the venture. We spent al lour free time planning, designing, and shopping for our new salon. Her family was able to do the buildout which made things move quick, three short months later we opened.

It was Jennifer and me alone at Cameo for the first few months. We built our team one stylists at a time and today have an amazing team of eight. I have always enjoyed doing hair and spending time with clients. It’s an added bonus that I get to work with this great group on a daily basis. I’m proud of what Cameo has become and look forward to its future.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Generally speaking, the road has been smooth with small hurdles along the way. I have lucked out with choosing salons that were very popular to build a clientele at and since then have been very fortunate to keep most of those loyal clients and gain more through referrals.

Opening and running the salon, of course, added more work on top of seeing clients. There will be weeks where I am at the salon 7 days a week and I often bring the bookkeeping home with me to work on in the evenings. Having a business partner can be helpful. I do more of the bookkeeping and retail inventory, whereas Jennifer works on salon aesthetic and social media. Four years in and we have a good flow going. Both of us get to relax on most weekends and take time off to be with family.

My advice to young women looking to start a business is going for it! If you want something to work towards making it happen. I’m not saying to take out a loan that is 20x your annual income, but aims within reason and put your heart into it. It’s going to be a lot of hard work ahead but extremely worth it in the end

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Cameo Salon – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I do women’s and men’s haircuts and color. I enjoy them both. I have clients with all lengths and types of hair that come from all walks of life, ranging in age from 2-80. I work mostly with natural hair colors and cuts that grow out well between salon visits. Along with providing the assumed hair service I really enjoy building a relationship with my clients, I have clients that I consider friends and am grateful for that.

As the co-owner of Cameo Salon, I aim to provide a professional and comfortable place to work for our stylists who rent space from us as well as for the clients we all see in the space. I try to use my experience as a stylist in past salons to make things work for everyone. I try to make sure our stylists needs are met and work to remedy those that aren’t. We want our stylists to enjoy their time at Cameo as much as I do, providing them with the ideal environment to see their clients.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
Finding a mentor – I think you can find a mentor by just looking around you. I was brought into the hair business by a good friend and have always looked up to her for many of life’s choices. Perhaps your mentor is already there and you haven’t realized it yet. My mom who has no connection to the hair industry has been my biggest mentor. She has given me immense drive and a good work ethic. She has always pushed me to strive for better.

My childhood girlfriends are another inspiration. I have two other friends with their own businesses, one at the top of the corporate ladder, all of them doing their best to follow their dreams.

If you don’t think you know of a mentor just yet start watching people around you, once you find one that seems to have some things working out right. ask them how they did it.

Pricing:

• Men’s cuts $45
• Women’s cuts $65
• Single Process Color $75
• Partial Highlights $110
• Hair Painting $150
• Full Highlights $140
• Color Gloss $35
• Blow out $45

Contact Info:

• Address: Cameo Salon
  26 Waddell St NE
  Atlanta, GA 30307
• Website: cameoatlanta.com
• Phone: 678-907-0945
• Email: [email protected]

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.