Owning a salon is, no doubt, challenging, but also rewarding and fun if you love it. Follow your passion and success will follow. Salon owner, Rmes, lives by this belief. He’s seeing now the fruit of his hard work. He claimed that the passion he has been giving for his work made all the difference. His eponymous chain of salon has seven branches and one franchise to date.
When you visit a Rmes Salon, you can right away feel its homey and welcoming atmosphere. “It's a perfect mix of warm and comfort to a non-intimidating and inviting atmosphere. I just want my clients to feel that RMES Salon is their second home,” shared the young entrepreneur.
Rmes Salon specializes in creative hair-coloring, precision hair cutting, keratin treatments and makeup services. “We also make sure that our clients have the best experience possible and get exactly what they need,” Rmes quipped. He wants to position the salon as experts in hair coloring.
Where did he learn the ropes of salon business? “I already had a tiny bit of idea on how a salon business runs since I used to work in one. But it was more of just self-taught in the beginning,” he said.
First and foremost, the success of your salon is the ability to satisfy your customers. “There is no better way to keep existing customers than to have them leave happy on every visit,” he rationalized.
Most importantly, you need to love what you're doing. “Creativity and passion will give you the drive you need to be successful in the career path you have chosen. As a salon owner, I must say that you must choose a business that you are really passionate about and that you just keep moving forward if there are setbacks along the way.”
Color trends for 2019
Copper brown will always look great on men with a warm skin tone, especially this season. This will give you that beach, surfer vibe to your look. Gray hair is also in especially for the hot dads out there. This color brings a perfect combo of gray and natural white hairs that are a result of genes or aging. It also makes them stylish.
For women, the rose gold hair trend is still more popular than ever this year. Aside from being fun, bubbly, and creative, the color brightens your skin. For that summer glow, your natural dark roots with a touch of golden or dirty blonde is still super trendy this year.
Humble beginnings
Rmes looks back at his humble beginnings, recalling the hard times in his native province in Davao. “While walking through the rice fields in my province, I saw a pair of rusty scissors and I knew that time that it will change my life,” he shared. “And it did. Life was hard in Davao. I was willing to jump at any chance to get a better taste on life.”
The opportunity came when he left for Manila and worked at a well-known salon. He knew that he didn’t want to work for anyone else, so he prepared himself to open his own salon business. With the money he saved, he started buying basic things he needed to open a salon. In the beginning, he did everything on his own – from carpentry, wiring, design, painting, etc., and the rest was history. It wasn’t hard to name his salon “Rmes” because it stands for his real name (Ronel Mesiona Egang, and the S for Salon).
His typical work week
Rmes’ typical work week revolves around his customers and staff.“ I am a very hands-on owner. I visit and check all the branches if possible,” he said.“ My long day include meeting clients, answering to queries on the social media pages, supervising employees, maintaining the appearance of the salon, managing the books, advertising and staying on top of professional happenings.”
His most challenging experience, thus far, while running the salon business, has been how to manage and motivate the staff. “Managing and motivating the staff can be a real challenge especially when dealing with artists who follow their own path,” he said. “There is always a risk that she/he will leave and go work for a competitor, or open her own business.”
When Rmes is not too busy with work, he goes on an adventure. “I love to travel because I want to feel, experience and learn,” he said, smiling. He has been to Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Macau. “I would like to travel to the US and Middle East soon (fingers crossed), and planning on visiting the beautiful islands in our country.”
Rmes is grateful of his achievements. “Being a small salon business owner has given me the freedom to be who I am. Seeing where I came from and believing that I will continue to achieve success is very rewarding. My hope in sharing my story is that it will encourage you to reach your dreams and to keep believing. As of today, I have 7 branches in Metro Manila. I’m also open for franchise, so I could help and assist people who would want to start their own salon business.”
True enough, if an individual has passion, there is greater chance that money and gratification will follow because the time and effort invested in the venture comes with enthusiasm and zeal.
By Ruby Asoy-Lebajo
Photos by Patrick Uy