Exploring Life & Business with Ally Parker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ally Parker.

Ally, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always loved all things “beauty”. While I was growing up my mom and I would run to the store and I would imagine giving people makeovers. I always wanted to brighten people’s days and help in any way I could, and that hasn’t changed.

I became a stylist fairly young and helping make women feel beautiful from the inside out has driven me from day 1.

Now almost 7 years later, I still love what I do!

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have definitely been struggles! Finances and learning how to run a business can be very overwhelming for someone who doesn’t naturally come to understand numbers, projections, etc. Luckily I have a few business-savvy people in my family that have been able to help me.

I have struggled with insecurity in my personal life and my work life as well, major imposter syndrome. It’s been a learning curve for me and while I still struggle sometimes with this, I’ve been able to separate facts from my insecurities. Being able to do so has significantly helped with my confidence in the salon and has in turn given me more opportunities to have new clients, take risks, and have fun while doing it.

When you’re a baby stylist and you are still learning all the important things in this industry, I found it very hard to speak up for myself. I think the beauty industry has become more and more accepting of people and their strategies for learning and figuring out how to do what’s best for themselves.

That being said, I also had to learn to speak up for myself and voice the things that are important to me for my business and brand. Things like, charging your worth, being upfront and honest even if it hurts, and moving on when a situation is no longer fruitful.

As you know, we’re big fans of Ally and Co Hair Salon. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am an independent salon owner and hairstylist. My salon is just me in an adorable suite at Phenix Salon Suites Peoria.

I focus mainly on color- offering a variety of services from highlights and balayage to all-over color change and vivids. I am a blonding specialist and what that means to me is that I work with lighteners a lot. It doesn’t mean I only have blondes in my chair! I definitely work on all different hair colors, textures, and thicknesses. I also love big changes so someone who has been brown forever wants to go blonde or vice versa, is such a challenge! It’s the best.

It’s really important for me to build lasting connections and friendships with my clients. The cheesiest thing about my business is that the “co-company” in the name is actually representing my clientele because, without them, this wouldn’t exist. The thing that I hope people really feel from my business is being able to come to a safe place to unwind, tell stories, laugh, and rejuvenate (both outside and inside).

Something I think that sets me apart from other salons is the raw honesty I’ll have with my clients. an example would be if their goal is something very light but through the process of lightening I need to pull the foils so the integrity of their hair isn’t compromised, their hair won’t be near as light and will most likely pull warm. I am going to be very honest and say hey this is what happened and go from there to problem solve. I think it’s important for the client to know that not absolutely everything with hair can be controlled because ultimately you are working with chemicals and sometimes they like to do their own thing.

Through my experience, this has only built stronger relationships with clients. They feel like they can trust me more with their hair because they are in the loop. I wish this was something more people did, but when I was in school and even after, you’re taught to keep it to yourself and just fix it. Well, it’s not like your client can’t see you trying to fix something, better to just be upfront.

Something I’d love to share is that I recently set up a referral program! It is pretty wonderful. The details are on my instagram so definitely check that out if you’re looking for a stylist in Glendale.

Any big plans?
I currently don’t have anything crazy planned. I did just update the look of the salon and working on my instagram page to show the more fun, colorful, bubbly side of things and everyone is loving it!

The things I have planned for the future right now are to continue building my clientele with more and more awesome women, take classes to ensure I’m learning all the fun, and new techniques, and possibly grow into a bigger space someday.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shop.saloninteractive.com/store/AllyCoHairSalon?utm_source=SalonInteractive&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=ShareMyStore
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allisongracehair/

Image Credits
Grace Carter @_bygracephotography_