January 30, 2017

Meet Brandon Balderrama of Liberated Salon in Atwater Village

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Balderrama.

Brandon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Liberated salon began its journey in January 2015. Since salon inception, it had been our mission to become one of the most accommodating, sustainable, and eco-conscious environments that Los Angeles has to offer. In efforts to lead by example, the storefront design was approached with essentialism, in which all furniture and salon decor were purchased recycled, reclaimed, or refurbished. The shop contains 100% led professional salon lighting and all products are obtained with extensive research, in order to fulfill the salon standard. All products are certified vegan, cruelty-free, ammonia free, contain certified organic ingredients, and sustainably packaged. The Liberated staff is an eclectic group of talented, warm, creative, and inviting individuals that fit right into artistic environment that Atwater village provides. Transformation haircuts, creative color, balyage, and overall progressive/edgy looks are specialty services of the salon team. Some of their work can be seen on TV shows, motion pictures, editorial publishings, and all Liberated social media outlets. Most events in which we participate or hold on location, are attached in raising money and awareness to local animal shelters, women’s shelters, or any cause that is socially relevant. We hope to become a cornerstone of the neighborhood and provide amazing services with a conscious approach

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Liberated comes with a turbulent story. Our first location came with a 6-year lease and was bought within the first 10 months we set up shop. The new buyers of the building wanted the entire location to open up their own personal business. After only 11 months of revenue, most businesses is still in the red and trying to pay back their initial setup costs. Which add up to ALOT. After hiring lawyers and pre-litigation, it was decided that I would leave that location upon receiving extra time to find and establish a new buildout plus a firm amount of relocation money. I agreed to this due to the fact that we were outgrowing the original space and the new landlords were very threatening to the staffs’ livelihood. Upon exit, they had decided to evict me early in violation of our agreement and paid me nothing. We survived with only 11 months of revenue without any loans in a space 4 times the original shop’s size. Since then our staff has doubled and business is great.

Some would say it’s a blessing in disguise. The entire staff and my family are much happier in the new location.

Update : That original location was Red flagged for illegal construction by the department of building and safety. They have been shut down for over a year and have yet been able to pull necessary permits in which to move forward. The location is zoned for residential and was attempting to be used for commercial. Some would say we got out at the PERFECT time? 😁

Please tell us about Liberated salon .
Our business model is designed to provide warm, accommodating, and eco-conscious hair services. We specialize in transformation haircuts, creative color, color correction, balyage, and edgy/progressive looks. We carry vegan, ammonia free, cruelty free, sustainably packaged products that contain certified organic ingredients. We are most proud of the warm energy the shop produces, which can be attributed to our creative, chemical-free environment . Liberated prides itself in leading by example. Our rigorous research in obtaining the cleanest products, events in which we are involved to give back to the community, and our sustainable approach in salon lighting, furniture, and decor, set us apart from most businesses.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have opened my shop at the second location first.

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