Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamari Zeigler.
Tamari, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Growing up, I was kind of groomed to be a hairstylist and entrepreneur without realizing it. As a kid, I was really interested in hair and would try to mimic the cuts and styles I saw in the hair salon when I went with my mom (all my dolls had different cuts and hairstyles). My father was an accountant and taught me the importance of managing money and had me help with bookkeeping for our household and for the properties that my family owned.
Once I became a freshman at Cal State Long Beach, my hairstylist, at the time took me on as an assistant and braider in her salon to help me make extra money. I quickly realized I loved doing hair and had a natural talent for it. When I asked my parents if I could take a break from college to go to cosmetology school, they made me a deal that if I graduated college they would support me to go to whatever cosmetology school I wanted. So, I agreed and continued honing my skills by doing freelance braiding and working makeup counters while in college.
Once I graduated CSULB, I went to cosmetology school at Paul Mitchell The School, Costa Mesa. While in cosmetology, my teachers realized I had a talent and put me in their honors program and even had me teach some techniques in makeup and textured hair styling. Once I got my license, I began working part-time as a stylist in the Long Beach area in several salons while working full time in the medical administrative field. After about four years, I decided I wanted to do hair full time and moved my business to a salon in the LA area. After spending about five years building my business as a stylist behind the chair, launching my own hair extension company called FAB Hair International and studying the salon business under the salon owners I worked with, I decided I was ready to work on my goal of opening my own salon. After losing my father in September 2018, I decided to start the process of opening my salon to hopefully carry on the lessons he taught me which had made me a successful hairstylist and business owner.
After a lot of work and planning, I opened my salon FAB Hair International in Inglewood in June 2019. Even in the short time it’s been open, business has been great, my clientele continued to grow, I was able to hire another stylist in my salon and I have expanded my product line from hair extensions to include my own hair care products. My goal is to continue growing my salon by continuing to provide my clients with the best customer service while specializing in healthy hair care for all hair types and textures.
Has it been a smooth road?
Owning a business always has its ups and downs. When I decided to go full time and move to an LA Area salon, I basically started over from scratch. I had to build a newer bigger clientele because many of the clients I had in Long Beach area weren’t willing to travel to LA because many of them were already driving from Orange County. It was a great lesson though because I learned how to effectively market myself and my services and since I was starting over, it allowed me to adjust my business structure so that I could make enough money to live comfortably. I definitely had to learn that I was in control of deciding my worth as a hairstylist and I developed a great clientele that respected me and my business. There were definitely times when I was building that I was struggling to make enough to pay my household bills and booth rent at my salon but I wasn’t willing to give up on my dream and go back to working for someone else. It also taught me to think outside the box and get creative with ways to market myself and my services especially now that social media had become a huge factor in marketing.
For women starting businesses, my best advice is to find what you love not just something you think will make money. If it’s something you love, you’ll be more likely to stick with it even when it gets hard or you go through slow seasons. Also, do as much as you can to plan for your slow seasons so you can remain productive and be able to maintain and grow your business when busy seasons come back around. All businesses go through the peaks and valleys but how you deal with the valleys will help you reach higher peaks.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with FAB Hair International Salon – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I do all types of hair and my services range from natural/curly hair styling to hair color to relaxers or smoothing treatments to weaves and extensions. No matter what type of service or style I’m doing, my main goal is to make sure my clients’ hair is healthy. I like to educate my clients on what I’m doing as well as what they can do between appointments to make sure they’re maintaining the health of their hair at home. I’m very honest with my clients and if their hair can’t handle the type of service they want, I’m good at finding a healthier alternative or helping them understand that what they want may take time to achieve. This is something I started as an independent stylist when my brand was just known as Hair By Tamari and it’s carried over to my salon FAB Hair International by myself and the stylists who work with me there.
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
My dad teaching me how to manage money and run a business definitely played a huge role in why I’ve been able to become a salon owner and grow my business successfully. Also, my love of hair as a child is definitely showing in my passion that I have for my business today. I was the only 8-year old I knew who would go to the salon asking for hair extensions and the latest styles featured in the hair books and magazines. Most important is the support of my wonderful parents who really supported my goals and dreams and allowed me to follow my passion even at times when it didn’t make sense to them. If it weren’t for all of those things, I would definitely not be where I am.
Contact Info:
- Address: FAB Hair International Salon
1100 W. Florence Ave #A3
Inglewood, CA 90301 - Website: www.hairbytamari.com, www.fabhairinternational.com
- Phone: 323-677-1994
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @hairbytamari, @fabhairinternational
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/hairbytamari
- Other: www.facebook.com/fabhairint
Image Credit:
Tamari Zeigler
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