As we all know, the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on everyone and everyday life. But one local entrepreneur isn’t letting COVID-19 negatively impact her businesses.
As the owner of three businesses — S.S. Beauty Bar, S.S. Beauty Spa and a beauty supply store — Shannon Sherrell properly prepared herself for times like this.
“One thing that put us ahead of our time, which is a perfect example of HR forecasting, in my opinion, was the fact that I’ve already had a studio-style business,” Sherrell said. “Everybody has their own space; each contractor has their own door, so everybody has been social distancing, but it’s been that way since we’ve opened.”
Sherrell opened her first business, her hair salon S.S. Beauty Bar, in March of 2018 after receiving her cosmetology license in 2016 and years of gaining clientele. Shortly after opening her hair salon, Sherrell opened her beauty spa in January 2019 and finally opened her beauty supply store in July of 2019.
“What inspired me to initially open up everything was the fact that I’ve been interested in beauty and hair my whole life,” Sherrell said. “I learned how to plait at the age of four, and ever since then, it’s always been, like, my hustle.”
Since the launch of her hair salon, beauty spa and beauty supply store, business has been booming, and continues to boom, even during the pandemic.
“The inventory [of the beauty supply store is still the same, everything is just based online [now] and I still have the same amount of clientele,” Sherrell said.
Although business has been booming, Sherrell took some extra steps to ensure everyone’s safety.
“I’ve had to adjust a little bit; I had to close one of the businesses, which is the hair store, and I decided to take it online,” she said. “I’ve had to downsize, so, even though we’ve had to adjust, it’s been a blessing for everybody.”
With everything transitioning to online, Sherrell needed more of a social media presence to gain more clients, so she decided to hire a FAMU student, Imani Thomas, as her intern. Thomas and Sherrell were introduced to each other when Thomas booked a hair appointment with Sherrell.
“So I run all of her social media pages … if she needs a video done,” Thomas said. “Right now, we’re doing a lot of hair tutorials because she’s starting [a] YouTube [channel].”
Thomas enjoys working with Sherrell and admires her entrepreneurial spirit.
“She [Sherrell] said, ‘Hey, let me start this salon,’ which is crazy because she’s 28 and being a Black person, a Black woman and owning three hair salons is super huge,” Thomas said.
Despite some minor challenges that the pandemic has caused, Sherrell continues to push forward and serve her community. For more information on Sherrell, visit her website at www.ssbeautytally.com.