What I Learned Walking Back Into the Business I Built

Recently, I walked back into my old salon.

Not as the owner.
Not as the leader.
Just as a woman revisiting a place she poured eleven years of her life into.

I stopped in to support the small business and pick up skincare. The space had been remodeled — beautifully. The team was kind. Everything was “fine.”

And yet… something was missing.

Not in an obvious way.
Not in a dramatic, failing-business way.

But in an energetic one.

And that’s what this post is really about.

Energy Is the Brand (Whether You Like It or Not)

Back when I opened that salon in 2008, the market was polarized.

You either went to:

• quickie nail shops that felt transactional and rushed
  
• or expensive day spas that were quiet, stiff, and—let’s be honest—sometimes judgmental
  

I didn’t want either.

So I built something in between.

We were priced intentionally between the two — but the experience was entirely different.

It was:

• personable
• warm
• friendly
• welcoming
  

You weren’t shushed for laughing too loud.
No one talked behind your back.
No one made you feel judged while sitting in the chair.

It was a place where people connected, relaxed, and had fun while receiving what were, at the time, very everyday beauty rituals.

That was the red carpet experience.

The Red Carpet Experience Isn’t About Luxury — It’s About Memory

The red carpet experience isn’t about gold fixtures or fancy branding.

It’s about the thing people talk about at brunch the next morning.

It’s the story they tell a friend:
“You have to go there. It just feels different.”

For us, it wasn’t just manicures, pedicures, and Brazilians — though over eleven years, we delivered millions of them.

It was how people felt while they were with us… and after they left.

That feeling is what built a cult following.

Not clever marketing.
Not trends.
Not chasing what was working elsewhere.

Energy.

Leave-the-Door-Open Moments

One of the principles I lived by as a business owner was this:

When something ends, leave the door open.

Whether it was:

• a client choosing another place
• a team member moving on
• a project coming to a close

I made it a point to close things with kindness, clarity, and love in my heart.

No burning bridges.
No passive-aggressive goodbyes.
No ego.

And over the years, something fascinating happened.

Clients left… and came back.
Team members moved on… and returned.

Not because we begged.
But because the way we said goodbye mattered.

Closure is a brand touchpoint most people don’t realize they’re creating.

Brand Ethos: The Invisible Thread That Holds Everything Together

Our salon didn’t run on scripts.

It ran on ethos.

From day one, our training program centered around three non-negotiables:

• consistency
• friendliness
• personal connection
  

We weren’t delivering services.
We were creating experiences.

People knew your name.
You felt remembered.
You felt welcome.

And as a leader, I didn’t just say this ethos — I embodied it.

Before long, something powerful happened.

The team mirrored it.
Then the culture carried it.

Eventually, even when I wasn’t there, the ethos lived on through every interaction.

That’s when you know you’ve built something real.

Walking Back In — And Seeing the Difference

When I walked into the salon recently, not a single familiar face was working there anymore.

Again — no shade. Truly.

The space was beautiful. The staff was friendly.

But it wasn’t busy.
It didn’t hum.
There wasn’t that electric current moving through the room.

When I owned the business, some of our most successful days were the ones where I was in my office working — and I could hear laughter spilling down the hallway from the main service area.

That sound was the signal.

When that kind of motion pulses through a business, you’ve built something alive.

As I walked out that day, I felt something unexpected.

Gratitude.

Not because the business looked worse.
But because I could clearly see the distinction between the brand they are building now — and the brand I built for eleven years.

We had clients who were with us from day one… still with us when I exited.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

What This Means for Your Business

If you’re building a brand right now, here’s what I want you to consider:

• What does your business feel like when someone is inside it?
• What do people talk about after they leave?
• What ethos are you modeling — not just teaching?
• What energy pulses through your business when you’re not in the room?

Because in a world saturated with offers, aesthetics, and strategies…

Energy is the differentiator.

It always has been.
And now, more than ever, it’s what lasts.

If this stirred something for you, that’s not random.

These are the kinds of conversations I love having with founders who care deeply about what they’re building — not just how fast it grows, but how it lives.

And that kind of brand?
It doesn’t just succeed.

It endures.