13 minute read
Shear Bliss Salon and Day Spa 20 year
Stylingfor years20
Hairstyling is a career that has dated back to the Egyptians. The 20th century has brought this form of art and expression to mainstream life. And now in 2022 Heidie & Lisa, co-owners of Shear Bliss, proudly call it their passion, their career, and lifestyle.
Their career path however didn’t start in the hair industry. As teenagers, Heidie &Lisa worked together at Chicken Chef in Morden while in high school. They often were mistaken for each other or thought to be sisters. For the record, they are not related.
After High School, Heidie & Lisa went their separate ways. Both perusing University in Brandon and when university didn’t seem like the right fit for them, hairstyling seemed like a career to carry them through till they found what they really wanted to do. Unknowingly, they both entered the world of hairstyling; Heidie in Brandon and Lisa in Winnipeg. Upon graduating Hair School, the pair both moved back to Morden to begin their careers. They initially worked in separate salons, but it wasn’t long until life would bring them back together. The owner of the salon that Heidie had been working for decided to expand and bought the salon where Lisa was working to amalgamate the two together. As time went on, they both were looking for a new challenge. rental. This would allow the ladies to see what it might be like to be their own bosses on a smaller scale. It was also the place where they would start dreaming about what a meaningful career in the industry could look like. Something that both Heidie & Lisa desired was a workplace where they could grow both personally and professionally. The dream of owning and building a salon grew stronger. Ownership of the salon they worked at would change hands to someone who was not a hairstylist. “It’s difficult to work with someone who doesn’t understand the services or the industry” said Lisa, as the day to day needs of a salon are difficult to understand when one is unfamiliar with the industry. It would become more and more obvious that in order to create the professional environment they had dreamed of, Heidie and Lisa would have to start their own Salon.
Frustration would build as opportunities for their own space would appear, and then fall through. “I was so mad one day after an idea fell through” said Heidi, “and my husband Tim all of sudden says, wait a second, runs out the door, and leaves!” Half an hour later he came back, saying that he had found the spot they had been looking for. It was a room connected to Java Junction in Morden, and had enough space for four stations to be set up. A trip down to the shop and a chat with the owner had finally secured them their own space. But they never dreamt it would become a nationally recognized salon and would give them the opportunity to travel the world learning their craft and tools to successfully manage a business.
Heidie, “but luckily, the Credit Union believed in us enough to give us our start.” As exciting as it all was, most would not see it as a practical time to be starting a business. Lisa was pregnant with her first child and Heidie already had two young kids. But with the help and support of their husbands and families, the business took off.
Clients were excited and happy to move right along with them. Dianne and Eve were stylists that they had worked with at the previous salon who also made the move with them to their new home, Shear Bliss (they are still a part of the Shear Bliss family). The four of them set up the place thinking they would live out their careers in the back of Java Junction. “When we opened the doors, we were booked solid and the business exploded,” said Lisa. “All we ever wanted was a healthy and professional work environment” said Heidie, who wanted to give customers a memorable experience in their own town without having to drive to the city. After signing a fiveyear lease in June of 2002, it was apparent after six months that they were far too small and would need to search for a space all over again.
During the first years of business, many valuable lessons were learned
and held onto in preparation for the inevitable transition and expansion that would come. “We were able to notice what clients wanted and what was missing in this region, such as a spa experience, esthetics, manicures, pedicures, waxing, massage, and makeup. We also learned about hiring and finding a strong team that held the same goals for a salon focused on education and customer services” said Heidie “Us being behind the chair to this day keeps us relevant, in tune and in touch with what is going on.” Another need that was recognized was the area of retail. “Women would come in and invest in a hair colour and go home and not use professional products. We recognized the importance of professional products” said Heidie, who saw the need for using quality products at home along with education to keep their clients hair healthy and to maintain the vibrancy of the colour.
After a couple years, the planning for their new space became very real, but with many false starts along the way. “We would go up and down Thornhill Street in Morden, looking at places” said Heidie, as their search would eventually bring them to the old Beatrice Milk plant which was being shut down and turned into a strip mall. It was here that in April of 2007 they were able to move in and immediately triple in size. This allowed them to develop the spa they had been planning, equipped with manicure and pedicure stations, treatment rooms, and eight styling stations.
Not long after moving in, ESP Salon
Sales, one of the main product suppliers for Shear Bliss contacted Heidie & Lisa, saying that they were sending someone from Toronto to meet with them. “I really did not know what it was about” said Lisa, “they just said his name was Frank and that he wanted to meet with us.” It turns out that Frank was the Vice President of Schwarzkopf Canada, a leading hair colour company that supplied salons across the country. They had noticed Shear Bliss from their impressive sales numbers and had come to see for himself what made them so successful. He also wanted to offer them a favourable opportunity with the company. “He told us that we would be a great match for their PH program” said Lisa, who had no idea what this program was or what it would mean for Shear Bliss. Little did she know that they had started a relationship that would dramatically change the trajectory of their business.
The PH program is a small group of selected salon owners across Canada to help Schwarzkopf grow the brand, it created a bridge between the consumer and the company. Twice a year they would meet as a group with the other salon owners across the country. “It was very intimidating” said Lisa of their first meeting which was held in Greece “There were many wealthy owners from big cities who had travelled all over the world and here were two girls from small town Manitoba.”
“I will never forget this one lady who asked me where in Manitoba I was from” said Heidie, describing her first meet and greet. When the lady found out that Morden was not a city of eighty thousand like she first understood and was in fact a town of eight thousand, a look of surprise and confusion came over her which told Heidie everything. “She was shocked that we were there” said Heidie, as they were from the smallest community and the only salon from Manitoba.
While the trips are great, it is the relationships that they have built with Schwarzkopf and the other salon owners which have transformed Shear Bliss. It is here that they have access to a wealth of knowledge within the industry, have a place to network with experienced salon owners and can participate in advanced business training which has allowed them to operate at their absolute best. It has also given the staff at Shear Bliss many opportunities to grow in their technical skills with world renown educators and some travelling abroad.
“Through most of our journey we have been very naive about what have gotten into” said Heidie, “but what has worked for us has been the willingness to learn from others.” It was this humble and teachable spirit that helped them continue to grow, expanding and renovating their space in 2018 adding another 500sq feet to the front of the building. This allowed for a larger spa and a new layout in the salon. Now there was space to expand services. In summer of 2019 Cindy Fehr NP joined the Shear Bliss team. Cindy is a nurse practitioner who has found the entrepreneurial spirit and trained to offer services in medical esthetics. She started by offering Botox, fillers, micro needling, chemical peels, PRP and has expanded to laser treatment and an Emsella chair.
While the business had grown beyond their dreams, nothing could have prepared the team at Shear Bliss for the whirlwind that was Covid 19 which brought them to the edge of collapse, with two decades of hard work hanging in the balance. Some
salons shut down and others are on the brink of closing their doors; Shear Bliss has been able to weather the storm that hit salons very hard. “We had to step way outside our box and think a totally different way” said Lisa, as she explained their efforts to survive. With a total closure time of seven months, services such as providing colour at home packages were offered, the online store and website were re-vamped with incentives such as free delivery. “We wanted our clients to know that we cared about them by continuing to provide them with services” said Lisa of their creative efforts. With the challenges faced with Covid the long-standing support of husbands, families and clients gave Heidie and Lisa the strength to continue to persevere through. Covid has played a huge part in the story of Shear Bliss and will always be there to look back on and remember the challenges they were able to get through. “It cannot be underestimated what it took to survive Covid” said Lisa, as it took everything they had to keep the business alive; as it did for many businesses in the Pembina Valley.
While they are still recovering from the last two years, the outlook and future of Shear Bliss is bright. The culture that has been cultivated is one of family, with many long term staff who recognize hairstyling and working in a salon as a rewarding career. With the changing employment landscape, there is also more flexibility than ever that is offered to suit employees needs. From an hourly wage, to commission or rental agreements, many different options are available to work in the industry. Heidie, noted that changing to meet their employees’ needs has been a huge part of keeping a strong team.
Shear Bliss has also developed
a culture of being involved with community life and recognize their role in giving back. With their specific skill sets, they have been instrumental for South Central Cancer Resources, offering free head shaves, wig and scalp care along with a free manicure or pedicure for SCCR clients. They have also been active in gathering ponytails and raising money for Angel Hair for Kids, an organization that makes wigs for financially challenged kids.
Throughout the 20 years one core value Heidie and Lisa have stressed repeatedly is the value of relationships. Staff and clients aren’t just people, they are key to Shear Bliss’s success. Success in business is about learning to fail, recognizing opportunities, leading by example and being generous with your time and knowledge. “Businesses came because of people, people did not come because of businesses” noted Heidie of a book she read.
What started as the simple vision of two young women wanting to serve their clients better in a professional atmosphere, has turned into so much more than either Heidie or Lisa had ever imagined. Through their journey over the last twenty years, the team at Shear Bliss has been able to show others that if being a hairstylist is your passion, then it is worth pursuing. “I always tell our girls that this industry is what you make of it” said Heidie. “If you work hard, get your name out there, get clients that want to see you, the sky’s the limit in this industry.”
GET a Gr p
WINTER TIRES
Whether you are a snow-lover or not, winter is coming. As the chilly season approaches, we prepare ourselves. We pull out the winter clothes to see what fits, we clean up the yard and winterize our summer engines. We get the shovels out of the back of the shed and put the winter tires on our vehicles.
Making sure winter tires are on and in good shape is an important step in preparing for winter. Winter tires will give you considerably better traction when steering and braking in winter conditions below 7 degrees celcius.
Going into a tire dealer and asking their advice on the best winter tires for you and your vehicle is still the best way to find what’s right for you. They will take into consideration the type of your vehicle, your driving habits and destinations, as well as your budget.
Maybe you already belong to the group of 50% of Manitobans that don their winter tires when the snow comes. But, have you considered winter wheels? The chances of your rims becoming damaged is considerably higher in winter compared to the warm summer months. You may want to consider steel wheels with a higher profile winter tire. This will lessen the chance of damaging your rims in those winter and spring pot holes or hidden curbs. Furthermore, it makes the seasonal switch a breeze.
While it is not law to have winter tires on in Manitoba, Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) highly encourages all Manitobans to help reduce winter car accidents by installing winter tires. In order to help folks purchase these valuable safety measures, MPI offers financing. The Winter Tire Program (WTP) provides financing to eligible Manitobans on up to $2,000 per vehicle. Beyond just the purchase of the winter tires, the WTP includes financing for select services surrounding the initial purchase and installation. For more details, speak to your local tire sales representative.
Stop by today to discuss current rebates, MPI financing and the winter tires that are right for you.
