Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Caver.
Stephanie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I believe it is not how pretty you are….or smart you are…but success is achieved by those who have a passion and work diligently to achieve it.
At age 18, my sassy mouth got me in trouble with my mother that she subsequently decided to put me out of the house. Apparently, I thought I was too grown to follow my mother’s rules. Years later, I realized, I was wrong and you are never too old or grown to be respectful, especially to your mother.
A few years later, I met my first husband and it would take me a whole book to write about my marriage. To put it in a nutshell, we divorced. The glimmering and sparkling light from our marriage was my first born, Calvin. I worked as an Accounts Payable Specialist in corporate America and realized very quickly that my passion in life was not accounting. I was a single mom and decided to pursue my passion. I went to night school at Gwinnett Technical College. Looking back, my hunger to succeed and love for my son fueled my drive and determination. My schedule was brutal. I went to work from 8am to 5pm then went to school from 6:00pm to 11pm and picked up my son in the late night at 11:30pm. For two years, it was wash-rinse-repeat. When I graduated with my diploma, I said goodbye to corporate America.
By age 25, Calvin and I met my third husband and had my second son ““Lil Handsome TeeJay”. We eventually terminated our marriage but not our friendship. We shared joint custody of our two sons, Calvin and TJ. Our love for Calvin and TJ bonded our friendship. While raising two loves of my life, my sons, I formed a partnership with two talented stylists at Salon20. We built our clientele and quickly became a local household name.
Five years later, I sold my partnership and connected with another talented stylist and we opened Atria Hair Studio. Our business did very well and clientele grew rapidly by word of mouth. During that time, I faced a dark period and my dad went into a coma after his battle with cocaine. This so different for me because along with my siblings we had to make a decision to take a man off life support that we hardly even knew. His body was not able sustain the long-term effects of the drugs and he passed. It was truly a struggle to balance everything I dealt with but my passion and boys propelled me.
I was then hit with another roadblock….my mother passed from pain medicine drug overdose. What could possibly happen next? Well, God is good when you least expect it. Another marriage, 7 years later (5 years together, 2 years married) He wasn’t happy. Really? What? When? I saw nothing coming and it knocked me down so hard that I thought I would not make it back from that deepness that tormented my soul. When you hit rock bottom, you can only go up. 1 year later, I met and married the true love of my life and soul mate, Edward. With the support of my husband, sons, and loyal clients, I moved to Phenix Hair Salon. This move and chance I took to become a solo stylist was a game changer. Although I downsized the salon to a suite, my business eventually grew exponentially. I thank God I had faith in myself to make this move.
I am blessed to provide hair care services with a lovely shampoo assistant and braider, Makayla T Finch, and the athlete, runner & personal social media guru Makayla Hopkins (Whom works from her college dorm). We put our heart and soul into the services we provide. Our “dynamic trio” creates a reliable, honest, and friendly atmosphere for our clients. Our clientele includes professional women, homemakers, hardworking moms trying to make ends meet but deservingly treat themselves, and many other women from different walks of life. All of these women come not only for my haircare transformation but also the sisterhood bond and judgement free and welcoming environment. Our salon is filled with laughter, engaging conversation about politics or our favorite television drama or reality show. Our clients tease us that they also come for my candy jar. What can I say? I am a full- service salon!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My story includes all of my obstacles with marriages, divorces, building my business and clientele, working more hours and experiencing ”mom guilt” since I was not able to spend that time with my family. My challenges will always be challenges, just on a different day and at different times. What I pride myself in, is the ability to get through those challenges. It is not always easy… but I somehow manage to defeat them each time. I want everyone in this industry that is deserving to succeed. I keep no secrets and I share what I can without bias. I believe when you are transparent and share your story with others, you find out you are not alone, and somehow you are able to help someone out.
One of my biggest challenges is finding recipients for my Pay It Forward program. I offer hair care, free of charge or for a considerably discounted price, to teenage girls. These deserving young ladies are good students. They only need to write me a letter via email or text, cosigned by a parent or teacher, as to why they would like to be considered in the program. I consider one teen girl every three months. I understand that not everyone has the financial means for haircare, especially when their family’s disposable income needs to be allocated to the basics-food, utilities, clothing. I want to use this program to pamper these young ladies and teach them healthy haircare. I also want them to feel special and see the beauty that they may not see but their friends, families, and teachers see in them. If you know of a deserving young lady, please contact me at gonegirlhairstudio@gmail.com.
Please tell us about Gone Girl Hair Studio.
What do you do:
I am a licensed Master Cosmetologist & Mentor that specializes in:
- Microlink Extensions
- Braidless Extensions
- Traditional Sew In Extensions
- Short, sassy cuts and styles
- Natural Hair Silk press
- Vibrant and professional hair color treatments
What are you known for: Reliability, performance, honesty, and integrity and customer satisfaction
What are you most proud of as a brand: I take pride in the ability to provide and maintain a lifestyle of stability for my family and being able to offer my clients a true and honest professional relationship.
We’d love to learn more about your work.
What do you do, all kinds of ethnicity from extensions to color. From relaxers to natural hair silk press of hair. Olaplex treatments and steam conditioning & some braiding and crochet.
What sets you apart from others? Not one thing can really set us apart because it is thousands of hairstylists that go over and above for our clients. I have the opportunity to do what I love for the past 23 years and the majority of my clients have been with me for decades. I pride myself in continuously educating myself and learning the latest haircare techniques for my clients.
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
I feel as every experience I went through paved the way for my career and taught me independence, being respectful of others, leadership, hard work and more. When I as a teenager, my mother encouraged my siblings and I to participate in every talent show at our high school. We formed a dancing group “Total Jam Inc”. This kept us motivated, taught us discipline with all the rehearsals and ignited our creativity. We constantly learned new routines and to be humble in our achievements. I never knew that being in a dance group and playing drums in the school band would be building blocks to running my own business. All of these building blocks prepared me for the defeats and success I was to come up against.
Pricing:
- Microlink Installation start at $385
- Basic Shampoo and Styles start at 47
- Natural Hair silk press start at $57
Contact Info:
- Address: 1500 Peachtree Industrial Blvd Ste 117
Suwanee, Ga 30024
Inside of Phenix Salon Suites - Website: www.vagaro.com/gonegirlhairstudio
- Phone: 4702147312
- Email: gonegirlhairstudio@gmail.com
- Instagram: gonegirlhairstudio
- Facebook: gonegirlhairstudio
- Twitter:gonegirlhairstudio
Image Credit:
gone girl hair studio
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