We had the good fortune of connecting with Sherlon Franks and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Sherlon, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
So, after all, my schooling I opened a shop in my home, with Cosmetology Esthetics, Massage and I make Natural Hair & Skin Care Products I felt I was ready. At the time, I thought it was great, having a place, I was very excited! My husband gutted the basement and built me a salon waiting/makeup room and spa room, it was beautiful and all mine, all I needed was clients, and they were soon to come because I did sales at local Flea Markets. It worked for a while, the clients came but soon problems begin to arise! First, it was in small increments, I would find myself downstairs fixing up this or that, going over client files. As the client base grew I would find myself downstairs later and later! By being home base I began to feel like I was always at work, and that began to cause problems for my family. House could not look lived in, always had to be clinically clean, the hubby and kids had to be quiet while clients were there. Oh, did I mention I have a little dog, a Shih Tzu named Bishop lol, he’s so cute and he barks every time the doorbell rings and that became a big problem! Some people were afraid of him and didn’t want to come in, even though I put him upstairs or were never relaxed cause every time the doorbell rang he barked! The biggest problem I began to see was strangers coming into my home, I didn’t fully think that one out, and after a while didn’t feel as comfortable! Home is where you rest, love, study, entertain family and friends, not clients, not strangers, Plus it hinders your business. Do you want to put your home information out there, personal number, making it easy for clients to text and contact you throughout the day? Instead of making consultation appointments or saving questions for appointment time? These things and more issues are what put my thought process into starting a real business. The one thing that stayed in my mind was fear! Was I ready, was I afraid of failing? Yes to all that, but I had more confidence in myself, my skills, and in my ability to communicate along with my great customer service than I had fear in my heart! So I began the process of starting my business, I already had my trade license now I needed the rest. Salon Licence, State License, Tax license, Insurance, and a building. The Salon License took the longest to receive, the others, you just go to County Offices and file. Now things get interesting because do I want a Suite a Brick & Mortuary or go and work under another Company? I had enough of working for other people, after working for a major company that filed for bankruptcy and I spent almost five years climbing to the top only to get there and have the rug pulled from under me! Lost severance pay everything except my 401k and that is what motivated me to go back to school to learn something I love and do that! So a Company was out, with the Suite, it was more about space and what kind of vision did I have for my shop, now that my dreams were coming true. The brick and mortuary was my best option to build the business I want. So in October, I found a place Located at 1760 Lee Rd. in the heart of Lithia Springs, Ga. 30122 surrounding five counties and right off I20 West. A beautiful place, a Spa for parties, facials, body treatments, sculpting, lashes, waxing & more, a Hair Salon, Retail for Natural Hair & Skin Products, along with professional Skincare Products. Even enough space to rent a room or two, I love it!!
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sherlon Salon Hair & Skin Care is located at 1760 Lee R. Lithia Springs, Ga. Where we provide a wide range of services for hair and skincare, including massage as well as sell natural hair & skin products. Not only offering cut color and style, but we also do specialty treatments for hair loss, damage, and thinning hair. Results will leave hair healthy and strong! Our skincare services are the best!! Specializing in hyperpigmentation, acne, and eczema treatments for Skin of Color. The body services include back treatments, body sculpting, butt lifting, and skin tightening, with same-day results. Skilled in seven types of massage to provide relaxation and healing for the mind and body. Sherlon Salon uses professional chemical and natural plant-based products, according to skin type, giving your skin amazing results! Our results are amazing, but it’s our customer service that sets us apart! Putting our client’s needs first! The one thing I’m very proud of is my Natural Hair & Skin Products! Starting out just making flaxseed gel and that took me into a whole new arena. I have always loved skin, couldn’t look at people without noticing their skin. So I decided to go to school and learn more, I ended up going to hair school trying to learn about skin! Even though the school did not focus on skin, I decided to stay and learn what I could since hair & skin were connected. While in school I would use my flaxseed gel but started having problems on hair that was not natural. So, I did some research and made my flaxseed gel into a cream! Naturally Soft Flaxseed Cream was born! Everyone loved it, so I started making shampoo, conditioner, and Head & Chin Cream for black men. Seeing a lot of back men with ingrown hair damage (Folliculitius) to their skin made me create a cream that would not only stop ingrown hair but heal the skin as well. One of the clients there had eczema, so I made her some Eczema Cream and it healed her skin! From there it was on and popping..LoL After graduation I went back to school for Esthetics and then again for Massage. I love skin, to care for it, to heal it, and to see it at skin’s best, Because Beautiful Looks Good on You! Now I have a full line of natural products online Etsy.com/shop/SherlonSalon. My products are plant-based and have great results! I arrived at where I am today from hard work and a commitment to myself. Not to give up on me, to do one thing every day for the business I want. It has not been easy, has taken every ounce of commitment and discipline to make things happen, and things were going really good! Then COVID-19 hit and I had to Mandatory Shut Down for two months, having to come to a complete stop hurt my business. So now I’m slowly rebuilding, back at “Ground Zero”, and with all the uncertainty of times and what’s going to happen, I’m just taking one day at a time. Someone told me “God does not call the equipped, He equips the ones He calls!” I have learned so much from this journey and continue to learn on a daily basis! A few important lessons I have learned is to stay on top of all business requirements and to be patient but ready. Invest in an attorney for questions and guidance. So that I can do things properly and people won’t take advantage of my company or products. I want people to know that I have a real passion for skincare, and I work very hard to get the best results. I specialize in acne, aging, irritated for Skin of Color and all skin types! The products I make help Skin of Color conditions. There is not a big market of products for us, so I focus on ingredients designed to work according to the skin it’s in! To educate Skin of Color on how their skin works differently and has healing properties within itself. I love using my products & services hope you will try them too! You can visit my shop Etsy.com/shop/SherlonSalon or give our office a call at 770-892-6900 set up an appointment or consultation. We do visual consultations via Zoom, IG, iPhone,& more Care Credit Accepted. Sherlon Salon Hair & Skin Care takes every measure to keep me and you safe due to COVID-19 sherlonsalon..skincaretherapy.net
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
At this time due to the COVID-19 effect, it’s hard to say places people and things to visit! And that’s just keeping it real, not even sure if a lot of places survived due to social distancing rules.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would definitely like to shout out my parents James & Winona Turner for building and shaping me into the person I am today! Thank my husband Ronald and children Ebony & Ashley for believing and supporting me. Jessica Ammons for nominating me for your article, The Elaine Sterling Institute for giving me the education and tools I needed for success So many people have helped frame my character and self-esteem and have motivated me to continue to move forward.
Website: Etsy.com/shop/SherlonSalon
Instagram: sherlonsalon
Facebook: Sherlon Salon Hair & Skin Care
Youtube: Sherlon Salon
Other: sherlonsalon.skincaretherapy.net
Image Credits
Give a very special thanks to all the clients who trust me with their hair & skincare. Jessica Ammons @glamm_boss for the referral and for making me look so beautiful with hair & makeup Nathan Pearcy @npearcypics for his amazing photography Sherlon Salon @sherlonsalon for her amazing skincare products got my skin on point!