Meet Felicia Flores of Shop Key Pieces and Girlfriends Salon & Spa in Buckhead

Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Flores.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Felicia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Quite frankly, I’m a serial entrepreneur. It started back when I was really young. I always knew I wanted to run my own business or do things my way. It started in 4th grade. I had my own pseudo labels that I drew graffiti and would sell them at school for like .50 cents. Then in the 6th grade, my best friend and I started a business selling candy at school. You see, my mom was so cheap, I had to figure out a way to pay for the things I wanted.

I always loved doing hair. I use to style and cut hair in the halls of my high school. It was something that I throughly enjoyed. It was my passion. While in college, I started working in corporate America. In 2006, I was laid off from my corporate job, it was at that time I decided to go to cosmetology school and get licensed so I could work in a salon. The layoff made me realize that I needed something else to fall back on, especially being a single parent. So in 2006, I began Girlfriends Salon & Spa. By this time, I also went back into corporate America. I was doing hair part-time after work and on weekends and I’ll never forget a stylist said to me, you’ll never make money in this business starting off part-time. I said to myself, I need the security of that corporate paycheck. I was scared to depend on me.

Fast forward 2008, the market was crashing and everything was tumbling. I was called into my bosses office and was given the dreadful news. Once again, I had been laid off. I said to myself, here we go again, but this time was different. I thought to myself, maybe God was trying to tell me its time to be your own boss. I was scared of being self-employed because to me, I’ve always depended on that guaranteed check. It was fear of the unknown. At this point, I had no choice. I started working for myself full-time. I’ll admit, it was frightening at first, but then my passion grew my business, so much so that in 2011 I opened my first Salon in Buckhead, Girlfriends Salon and Spa. I was working day in and day out, and being a single mother, I still had so much joy. I had joy because finally I wasn’t depending on a paycheck but feeling rewarded doing what I loved. I even surpassed my corporate salary three times over. Since 2011 we have grown into our third location.

Even with the success of the salon, I had another passion; and that was fashion. I was always creative in mixing high end and low end items. Girlfriends of mine would always want me to style them. And when I traveled to other countries, I was always looking for the best deals and the latest in fashion. Obsessed with bargain shopping and remaining fashionable, my other dream was to open start an online boutique. Key Pieces was then born. Online shopping to provide women with pieces that are sometimes hard to find, designer brands, contemporary clothing, and also consignment. I wanted to give women with all budgets, options to enhance their wardrobe without breaking their pockets.

In the midst of all of this, being a single mother, running a hair salon and an online boutique. In 2015, I decided to reveal to the world that I suffer from Alopecia. Alopecia is sudden hair loss that starts with one or more circular bald patches, or even total baldness. Alopecia areata occurs when the immune system attacks hair follicles. It can also be brought on by severe stress. Before I let go of my wig, I lived in fear and embarrassment. I thought I wouldn’t be accepted for who I was. Fear prevented me from doing a lot of things in life that I loved. I could no longer bare it. The outpouring of support, love, and encouragement has been so emotional for me these past few years. Women and men around the world have reached out to me, thanking me for being an inspiration. An inspiration I didn’t even feel I deserved. In 2019, I was featured in Dove’s online campaign for Alopecia Awareness, for which I was so honored to be a part of. This entire experience lead me to create Bald And Free LLC A project aimed at inspiring and educating people suffering with Alopecia and other forms of hair loss around the world.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has definitely not been easy. As a single mother of two, it can get overwhelming juggling business, family, career, and not to mention taking care of yourself. My biggest struggle came when I decided to become a flight attendant and my son was only six months old. That was a huge struggle for me. I had to juggle the salon and fly the skies and be a parent. Nonetheless, I knew the reward would be great. I needed health insurance for my kids and I loved to travel and I wanted that for my children. I had a great support system from family, friends, and clients, that have helped me see my dreams through. The thing is, nothing worth having is easy to come by. I have passion for doing hair, fashion, and traveling. All of that can be accomplished with perseverance, determination and amazing community of friends and family to see your goals through.

Shop Key Pieces and Girlfriends Salon & Spa – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Girlfriends Salon and Spa has created a unique environment that sets us apart. You come to Girlfriends and you can relax, relate, release, in a judgment-free zone. No feeling uncomfortable as you enter. No such thing as asking too many questions. We chill, we laugh, we have fun and intense conversations, all while making your hair healthy and beautiful. That was one of the reasons I had to own my own salon. I needed to create that relaxed atmosphere. I needed to set the tone. I had to provide a safe haven for my clients and stylists to feel at home. I’m proud to house some of Atlanta’s most talented stylists in a drama-free fun environment.

With Key Pieces, my goal was to bring a variety of fashions that caters to everyone. There are three parts to Key Pieces, one is our consignment pieces, which provide luxury designer brand items. Second is our contemporary line. One of my goals was to find clothes that work with the everyday woman and body type and still be fashionable. I’m excited that we cover all shapes and sizes with fashion-forward trends. Lastly, is our key pieces. Those are pieces that are new and hard to find. So if you see an item grab it because there is only one. I’m proud to finally showcase diversity in fashion trends that everyone can keep up with.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far is seeing my vision come to fruition in all areas of my life. I always knew I was going to be an entrepreneur, but I never imagined that I get to pursue all my passions at once. Since the inception of Girlfriends Salon and Spa in 2006, with the last nine years in Buckhead. We have grown into a community of supporting and empowering women. And with the recent launch of Key Pieces, I get to use my creative eye to enhance women wardrobes. And now, I get to use my condition with Alopecia as platform to inspire and encourage women and men to be brave in their baldness through Bald and Free LLC. I love making woman feel beautiful and now thats exactly what I get to do.