2010 Featured Business: Sistas Salon & Spa
Address: 68 Charles Street
Location: Meriden, CT
Website: www.sistassalonandspa.com
Phone: 203.440.3996
eMail/Contact: Isiah Shuler
Business philosophy:
At Sistas we service a multicultural clientele base. We believe that everyone is entitled to beautiful hair and a healthy radiant body regardless of age or cultural heritage. We truly believe in the proven age old values and ethics of our ancestors. These beliefs are incorporated into our daily activities and company vision. Our vision is to inspire people to be the best that they can be and to serve our clients well with integrity and loving care.
Why do clients contact you?
Our clients choose us over our competitors, because of our commitment to giving our clients highest quality in hair, skin and nail services. We are the leading hair extensions salon in the state. Because we do all hair textures we have clients who travel from Stamford, New Haven, New London, Hartford, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Florida. Our Cosmetology Director, Isiah Shuler has traveled all over the US and abroad for Paul Brown Products, Mastey, Secrets and Ian Zachery as platform artist training stylist on proper haircutting and color techniques.
How do you market your business?
Local advertisement and word of mouth are our current forms of marketing, so we hope that by joining the InBusinessLinks Network, we can get the word out on our community projects. We have also been featured several times on WTNH CT Style.
What are these community projects?
Our first big commitment is our education program at Sistas Academy of Cosmetology. Called "Learn to Earn". For a fraction of the cost of some schools, we offer students an affordable alternative to getting their license, and we reserve a payable internship position with us. I know how difficult it is for people to get started. The costs are the biggest obstacles to overcome. We remove that obstacle. Our program requires one major commitment: Our students give back to the community by volunteering to help those who need assistance. Our standard voluntary commitment is 750 hours of community service.
What a wonderful idea. How does this work?
We work with organizations that need assistance. For example, the Hannah Gray Home in New Haven is one client. Our stylists volunteer to work there. The residents cannot afford or even travel to get quality service, so we provide them the same professional service at no cost. It is important to be a successful business, but it is just as important to give back to the community. We hope that our efforts will show other businesses that you can grow and be successful by helping people. We have other programs which are just as successful. We hope that InBusinessLinks Network will help us get the word out.
Contributing Editor & Photography by:
Vincent J. Messina Jr.
