Meet Taylor Griffis | Salon Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Griffis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, what do you attribute your success to?
Branding your business is so important to its success! When we first opened the salon we wanted it to be different than the other salons in the area which is hard to do when you are surrounded by great salons that are over flowing with talent. After thinking about it for months, we decided to capitalize on what makes us different as people. Our salon decided to focus on client relationship building and offering a comfortable and safe environment to our clients. Our mission statement is to pririotize the customer experience by providing a comfortable and relaxing environment where we provide professional and up tp date services that allow our clients to express their individuality and to feel pampered and confident. The idea behind our mission is that we meet you where you are at. Life is crazy and on any given day you can show up the salon a hot mess. We live for the hot messes of the world, the people that don’t have it all together and don’t feel like the need to pretend to have it all together to get their hair done.

How many times have you walked in a hair salon and felt that you weren’t cool enough to be there or immediately felt judged by everyone in the salon. That environment was not created here. A true team of talented individuals that appreciates everyone for what they offer the world. We have open conversations with our clients about the hair goals, connect with them on a deeper level and provide them with rockin’ hair! On any given day you will walk in the salon and find multiple conversations going on with clients and stylist. When you come to get your hair done everyone in the salon is involved! On the flip side, if you want quiet or have to get some work done you are free to do that! Whatever makes you feel most comfortable. That’s the whole idea behind our branding – in a world where we are pressured to be anything but yourself, here, you can be yourself messy and all. We have fun, support each other and make each other feel welcome.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I was younger I had always wanted to do hair. I was one of those people that had to have a creative outlet. Initially, when I wanted to go to cosmetology school when I was 19 I was discouraged by people who didn’t think it was a viable career option, so I didn’t go. I was already enrolled in college so I just continued on the journey that I believed I was supposed to be doing. While attending college, my husband and I had our first child. It was kind of a crazy time but we made it work. We had started our little family and I knew I had to get more serious and focus on being able to provide for my new family. In 2010, only 3 weeks before giving birth to my second child, I graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology.

After graduating and now a mom of two, I went to find the perfect career. What I mostly found was toxic work environments, disappointing pay and long work hours. I never shied away from hard work but I got burnt out really quickly. This is not to say I didn’t have some great bosses and co-workers! Initially, I worked as a supportive employment professional for people with disabilities, and then worked for a local WIA program which allowed me to work with people who struggled with addictions. At some point. I realized that was not my calling or at-least at that point in my life that was not what I needed to be doing. So I tried going into corporate America. For those of you who are laughing now, because obviously going to corporate Americaa WAS NOT the answer to finding a more balanced work/home life or fulfillment. I then decided, at 33, to go to cosmetology school while people snickered behind my back and told me that I was insane for having made that choice. The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was easing years of discouragement from former bosses, co-workers, friends and family. The voice in my head was no longer my own. it was filled with the negative voices that surrounded me.

I do not regret going to college, or my previous job because they taught me what I needed to know to get to this point. I learned about how to run a business and what kind of boss that I would want to be some day. All the experiences we have in life are necessary to create the person you see standing before you today. All the pain, the happiness, and the challenges you had to overcome. The good and the bad. Once I embraced all the experiences I was able to focus my energy into building something that I could be proud of, and be the person that I was meant to be. Cosmetology school went by quickly and we opened the salon in September of 2020 – yes during covid. It was risky but we jumped in. This journey has certainly not been easy, at all. Even though it has not been easy I have found my passion in life, the thing that sets my soul on fire! This makes everything easier to deal with. It doesn’t make things less difficult, it just makes you attack the problem in a different way. Your focus changes and its about resolving the issues so that you can get back to doing what you love. I have learned so many things along the way and I will continue to learn and adjust to be the best person, boss, hairstylist, mom, partner and friend that I can be. I think its important to remember that your inner voice is how you ultimately feel about yourself. Don’t let the world dictate what that voice is! The people around you will come and go but you are stuck with yourself – so take care of you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I like the city but I must prefer what the surrounding areas have to offer! If I had a week with my best friend we would definitely do brunch most of the days. I firmly believe brunch should be served everyday. My favorite brunch places are Hobnob at Halycon or South City Kitchen in Avalon. I really enjoy going to the movies and Halycon has a great movie theater called CMX. Every Sunday after brunch we take my daughter to cheer at ATA. The amount of talent coming out of this gym is incredible. Its always fun to watch! On Monday we would head to the aquarium because it is truly amazing and educational. After the aquarium we would head to Mary Mac’s Tea room a staple in the Atlanta Area. Then we would head to the Atlanta Vintage book store to see if we could find any treasures! Tuesday we could head to a show at the fox theater and pop over to Livingston’s in the Georgian Terrace Hotel before the show. On Wednesday, we would go antiquing in North Ga and spend the day in Dahlonega – which is incredible at Christmas time. Wrapping up the day we would head to Atlanta Motorsports park and race their 55mph go karts! On Thursday we would head to this great local zoo and sanctuary called the North Georgia Zoo, there are several wineries on the way that you have to stop at! Then we would head to an escape room. Have fun is it to be locked in a room without your closest friends and family members to have to figure out really difficult puzzles? Some of my favorites Paranoia Quest Escape room and The Escape Game Atlanta.. Friday would be dedicated to shopping! We would hit up the North Ga outlets, mall of GA and Avalon. We would end the day with dinner and drinks at Rumis or Oak Steak House at Avalon. Saturday we would see what local events were happening and head to Warbington Farms to pick strawberries and head to the local farmers market in Downtown Dawsonville located right next to the racing hall of fame and the moonshine distillery which we would obviously have to go to! After dinner we would head to Nofo Brew Co for a night cap!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The Station Salon is not and will never be a one women show. Our friends and family helped us do most of the construction on the space when we first started . My father-in-law and mother in law built beautiful custom color organizers and organized and tracked all the inventory. Our friends showed up and painted, cleaned and built furniture. We have has so much support and dedication from the stylist that work here and continue to have passion in the industry. We wouldn’t be where we are without our team and their support. Our Salon Centric business partners, mainly, Cynda Fraser, Kim Gordon and Jordan Woodward have offered amazing professional advice and support throughout our journey while also keeping us up to date on the latest and best techniques and products. Since we have opened we have developed great relationships with some local salon owners and educators in the area. It is so much easier to run a salon when we have someone to call on the days that aren’t so great. We have been given a ton of support from the local Dawson County Chamber and we really appreciate their partnership through out this! The real backbone of the operation is my family. It is because of their sacrifices that we have been able to make the salon work. My husband, Brian, is the one who gets the I don’t know how to fix it phone calls. Brian handles everything from the backend paper work (everyone loves the person that processes payroll!), handles all the technology aspect and fixes whatever we break. It happens more often than we would like to admit. My sister handles the graphics for the business and provides comic relief when necessary. I am so thankful to my children for giving me the courage and support to start this journey. They show up for everything and are always lending a helping hand. Mostly, they have shown me so much grace, love and support while we work through the ins and outs of creating something we can be proud of.

Website: www.thestationsalon.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestationsalonga/

Other: tiktok – @the.station.salon