If it hasn’t been made evident by now, we love people here at AAT! We love hearing about their stories and passions for our community, but we also love hearing about what our fellow locals do and why they do it! For example, we have some wonderful neighbors who own/manager some fantastic local businesses and serve our town tremendously by doing so! This fact is why AAT has partnered up with our good friends at B3 Glass, to bring you all “Small Business Fridays!” Each week, we’ll feature a different, local small business and talk with its owner and hear about their journey, their business in general, as well as their heart for their customers and our city!
In the blog previous to this one, we took some time to hear the perspectives of four local people living in a community impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Each one of those guests had brought a unique perspective to the topic because they are all experiencing the situation from different walks of life. For example, one of our contributors was a business owner, and another was a mom who is now homeschooling her children. However, one voice I (Anthony Crosby) purposefully left off that article was that of someone who owned a business that was forced to close its doors for the time being for the safety of the public as it was not classified as an “essential” business. I chose to do that because I wanted to dedicate these “Small Business Friday” features specifically to giving the local establishments who have had to shut their doors a chance to share their heart for the community. We may not be able to walk in and visit them in person right now, but we can still keep them in our thoughts, prayers, and support them any way we can.
Therefore, this week, we decided to reach out to out the amazing Jade Herzog! Jade is the owner of, and one of the hairstylists at, Elko Bei Capelli salon! Since February 2014, Jade and her talented team of fellow stylists, nail techs, and lash techs, have been bringing positivity and a welcoming atmosphere to the lives of every client who has walked through their door. Unfortunately, salons were one of the businesses classified as “unessential,” so their doors are closed for now, but we’re glad to have Jade join us this week, nonetheless! We’ll discuss how hard it’s been for Jade to not be open to the community in a minute, but first, we need to hear a bit of her story!
Jade, what made you want to open a salon, and what has your journey been like so far?
“I’ve always wanted to do hair, even when I was little. The only other thing I wanted to be growing up was a mechanic; my grandpa used to own a shop here in town called Elko Truck. I’ve always been super girly but also kind of a tomboy at the same time. In my senior year of high school, we had to write out our four-year plan. I wrote that I was going to go to cosmetology school in Salt Lake, move back here, do hair, and open my own salon. And that’s what I did!
“When I first opened this salon, I would work seven days a week. I would come in at six or seven in the morning and leave at ten or eleven at night. On top of that, at the time, I was a wife, I took care of my son and newborn daughter, and I still tried to find time to work out every day! For the past six years, I worked Monday through Sunday, but in the past year and a half, I started taking more time off for my kids. Yes, I get tired sometimes, but I love coming here. I have the coolest job in the world! I get to hang out with people that I love every day and do their hair!”
So, you’ve been running Bei Capelli for six years now. What’s your driving motivation to keep it up and running day in and day out?
“To be honest, owning a booth rental salon doesn’t mean I have all this money coming in; my life would probably be a lot easier if I was just a booth renter. But I’m so passionate about doing hair! I love doing it, and I love my clients! The people who sit in my chair are like my friends and family. So, I wanted to create a place where my clients could come and feel comfortable and loved. We [Jade and the other stylists] all truly care about what’s going on in their lives; we laugh a lot in here, but we’ll also cry with our clients because we really try to form those kinds of relationships [with them]. I wanted to create an environment for other professionals to have a place to work where they can be successful and comfortable inviting others in. I want my salon to be a light in the community!”
What would you say are some of the biggest aspects of your job that stylists, such as yourself, have to keep in mind that many people outside the industry may not realize?
“We have to sacrifice a lot of time with our friends and family to do this. We’re busier when everyone else is off because that’s when people can come in. There’ll be days when I come in on a Saturday to work, leave to coach my kids’ t-ball team, and then have to come straight back for the rest of the day. My kids are also here all the time because of the time commitment; my youngest daughter came to work with me every day until she was seven months old! We also travel a lot for education, and we have to keep up on that because education’s the most important thing when it comes to doing hair. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to take one class every other month to learn and improve. However, with all this [the Coronavirus pandemic], there’s no way that’s going to happen right now.”
Yes, now let’s transition into that topic. How have things been for you ever since the mandate came from the Governor that you would have to close up your shop for a while? Please, walk us through where your mind has been these last couple of weeks.
“It’s been so hard—me not being in here every day seeing everybody and having that energy has been freaking hard. To be honest, the hardest part has been worrying about all the stylists out there, not just us here at this salon. Our income is completely gone. One day we were doing our thing, and the next day, bam, you can’t work, and you have no choice. If we try to be open right now, we’ll get fined one thousand dollars a day.
“Thankfully, before this all happened, we as a salon got really into budgeting and managing our money not too long ago. The girls and I even took a Dave Ramsey class at my church together. We started holding each other accountable with our budgets, and that made it easier to do. I know God was in that because now a lot of us are fine and have savings! This has really strengthened my faith in Him.
“So, when I first heard we had to close, I knew God was in this and had control. But what did happen was me getting so emotional. I was crying and depressed because I was worried about the other stylists in Elko. There are some others who are single moms, like me, who don’t have a savings account. They need to be in the salon working, and they can’t. I miss my clients, and I’m craving being back in here with all the noise. I already hug all of my clients, but when this is all over, I’m going to love on them even more! In the meantime, I’m going to use this time wisely. I’m going to come in and deep clean my salon, change things around, and do things to make this place better! I know other stylists in Elko who are using this time for their online education. Many of us started with stress, but now we’re looking forward to taking advantage of this time and come out even better!”
That’s a fantastic attitude to have, Jade! I’m sure many of your clients cannot wait to walk back into your salon and give you the biggest hug! For now, is there anything else you’d like to share with the community as it looks to support you and Bei Capelli in these times?
“I was born and raised in Elko. I’m raising my kids here. My family is from here and has even owned businesses here. I genuinely love it here! We have the best community ever! I pray all the time that me owning this salon can be a light in this community and serve this community. I want this place to be a good thing for Elko. I want to be able to relate to people, stay humble, and for people to see that every single one of us can love and be here for each other.”
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Until next time, we’ll see you around, Elko!
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