“At one point in time, I had thought that maybe doing hair was not in the cards for me. But I kept going, I had lots of support and I just had no fear.”
Change in Events…and The Weather
Lily Bray has been with Salons by JC for almost four years and has been practicing the art of hair since 1991. In 2013, the salon she was working at was in the direct path of destructive tornadoes that hit Moore, Oklahoma.
“Before these large tornadoes came through the city of Moore, I was working a booth rental in an open floor salon. I remember sitting and waiting, hoping for walk-ins or some type of advertisement that might get more people to come in our direction.”
When the tornado hit, Lily lost all the tools and products vital to her business. Everything she had worked hard to collect was now gone. She soon found herself looking for another place to practice her art. This is when she toyed with the notion of owning her own salon. “I had bounced around to a couple of different salons trying to find a good home to go to, and it just so happened that the Salons by JC Moore location had recently opened. I received a postcard in the mail one day and came in the next day for a tour.”
Lily went from hoping for clients to come through the door to having illustrious growth in her professional career and now growing her own business.
“Going from nothing, where everything is taken away from you, to being so busy – I feel like I’m ready to have an assistant to help me relieve some of the work load”.
Staying Inspired
Lily loves owning her own salon and especially enjoys all the people she meets on a daily basis.
“There is something special once the client sits in your chair. You suddenly become their therapist or psychiatrist. You start opening up to a complete stranger. When you transform the way their makeup is done or their hair; they leave feeling like a new person. It makes you feel so good because you helped someone that day.”
To remain creative and evolve with the changes in the hair industry, Lily turns to other sources of inspiration for her work. “When I start to get in a rut, I attend a hair show or an education class. Something away from the actual salon. Getting additional education opens up your eyes to different techniques.”
Helping Others
As Lily grows in her craft, so do her dreams. Lily would like to one day own her own salon to further help those who are looking to learn and achieve.
“I would love to be able to have a nice opportunity for future stylists to come in. When I meet somebody who doesn’t have the experience that I do, I am always willing to help them with little tricks and little things that they can do to get their business up and going.”
“You can never learn too much. And I think that is what helps me keep going forward.”
We admire and appreciate the tenacity of Lily Bray, and are proud to have her as a part of the Salons by JC network. We wish her continued success in Moore, OK!
About Salons by JC: In 1997, Jack Griffey and Cecil Miller began their journey to transform the beauty industry one salon suite at a time. Like most young entrepreneurs, they started out with a big idea but had to learn how to start and run a business from scratch. After much perseverance and hard work, one year later, they opened Salons by JC in Dallas, TX in 1998, welcoming beauty and wellness specialists who were ready to break free from the traditional salon model. The company has since moved its headquarters from Dallas to San Antonio, where it continues to grow through franchising. Today, Salons by JC has over 87 locations in 24 states and Canada. For more information, visit salonsbyjc.com or salonsbyjc.com/franchise
