Stephanie Cleck had been a licensed hair stylist for more than 10 years when she and her husband got pregnant with their first child. In the months after giving birth to her daughter, Stephanie realized the difficulty in getting to the salon for a busy mom and the idea for Concihairge was born. Stephanie founded Concihairge on the belief that busy women shouldn’t have to go to the salon to have great hair, but should be able to get that salon-quality experience right in the convenience of their own homes. Stephanie started as a one-woman show delivering salon-quality hair services to clients in the Arlington/Alexandria area outside Washington, DC. As word of mouth spread about this new and innovative salon concept, demand for Stephanie’s services grew quickly. Today, Concihairge is proud to employ nine women who serve the busy moms, working women, and their families in the Philadelphia and Northern Virginia suburbs. Stephanie continues to lead Concihairge in aggressive expansion into new markets while keeping an eye on new trends in the hair industry and positioning Concihairge to become a household name across the USA. Stephanie has been a guest speaker in a variety of small business forums and regularly speaks about small business challenges for women-owned small businesses. Stephanie, her husband, and their 3 young children reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania PA, USA.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
- Alli Webb founder of Drybar
- Jessica DiLullo Herrin founder Stella & Dot Family Brands
When business started difficulties overcame:
“when we rebranded as Concihairge in Pennsylvania we discovered… states regulate the cosmetology industry. So while we had been operating in Virginia and we kind of had an easy roadmap down there we found that there were some roadblocks here in Pennsylvania. So navigating through that was a little bit more difficult than what we were expecting but we made it. And I think one of the biggest difficulties is actually self-doubt just wondering if this really was something that would be successful. And just getting past that self-doubt that I think a lot of entrepreneurs have.” (4 Lines minimum) …[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- The Nordstrom Way: The Inside Story of America’s Number 1 Customer Service Company Book by Robert Spector
- Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Book by Rachel Hollis
- Click this link to listen to the Rachel Hollis podcast on The Entrepreneur Way
Favourite Quote:
- “Comparison is the death of joy, and the only person you need to be better than is the one you were yesterday.” Rachel Hollis
- Click this link to listen to the Rachel Hollis podcast on The Entrepreneur Way
Recommended Online Resources:
Free classes and online networking groups
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“surround yourself with a supportive group… if anyone else struggles with self-doubt as an entrepreneur I would say that your number one has to be is a supportive group of cheerleaders” (4 Lines minimum – if less then need more quotes) …[Listen for More]
More About Stephanie Cleck:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Time never waits for your answers like do you want to continue or not. It continues so be clever, one moment you will wake up in 16, then 26, then 45, then 67 and your whole life it went like two hours film!” Deyth Banger
Other Quotes From the Chat with Stephanie Cleck:
- “research the regulations whether it be through your city or your state and getting those answers to your questions before you even start going”
- “look for free resources. When starting a business it is never cheap and there are so many great opportunities online through different workshops that really are helpful”
- “it really comes down to, we are in the service industry so it is important for is always to remember why our clients are having us there and how we can continue to make that experience even better for them”
- “the entrepreneurial road can be a very fascinating one”
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