A successful career behind the chair still left Terra Harvell facing a limitation: when she stopped working, the income stopped too.
That experience shaped a bigger goal for the founder and CEO of Harper Ellis Hair Co.. Helping stylists and salon owners build businesses with a future beyond their own appointment books.
On Volume Up by The Tease, Terra Harvell talks about the realities of founding a brand, the business education she wants stylists to receive, and why a full schedule is only one measure of success.
A Brand Built From a Costly Problem
Terra recalls having to replace roughly $30,000 worth of faulty extension hair for clients. Finding a more reliable product became a business of its own, but the transition was difficult.
She shares how early supplier problems threatened the company and how building the brand nearly cost her salon. It’s an honest look at the work behind the founder title.
Learning to Read the Business
That experience helped explain her emphasis on business education. Through the Extension School of Business, she teaches stylists to connect service goals with pricing, marketing, and the numbers behind their books.
“You don’t know if you’re winning if you don’t have a scoreboard, right?” Terra said.
She also argues that cosmetology students need a clearer understanding of what independence requires, including bookkeeping, taxes, and managing a business.
Building the Option to Step Away
With Strata Salon Systems, Terra is focused on helping owners create the structure and leadership needed for a salon to operate without them.
“It’s about having the option,” she said.
For her, preparing a business to function independently also creates room for family, health, and possible sales. The goal is a career whose success can continue even when the owner takes a step back.
Listen to the full conversation on Volume Up by The Tease wherever you pod. Follow @readthetease and @volumeupbythetease for more.
