With a comic store-owning dad, a realtor mom, a step-father with his own construction company and an 80-year old grandfather who still has his own optometry business, it was perhaps inevitable that Courtney Collins would always dream of having her own salon.
"When I became a stylist, 10 years ago, I didn’t want children but I did want a salon. Now I want both," says Courtney, who opened the doors of her beautiful salon, Prism, in Seal Beach, on August 1, 2018. "So I knew I needed to take the plunge with my own salon and when the ideal property came up, I knew it was time."
The ideal property is in a perfect location, not too far from the salon where she previously worked, on which she is still on excellent terms. It was already a booth-rental business, all complete with five incredible stylists already humming along. But Courtney, who is a KEVIN.MURPHY educator as well as an in-salon stylist, hit an obstacle.
"I had zero debt, a great credit history and five years showing consecutive growth in my renter business, but because my monthly income as a renter was inconsistent, I was rejected for the loan I needed to top up my savings," reveals Courtney. "I could show my earnings from working in the other salon and the regular fee I get from KEVIN.MURPHY, but my financial advisor simply hit a brick wall."
Courtney's persistence and entrepreneurial charm wouldn't take no for answer. She was approved on a loan with her boyfriend. Courtney’s next challenge was to remodel the salon to her vision, which has a decidedly greener focus. And she did it without closing the store; dodging any effect on the livelihood of the five fabulous renters she inherited with the business.
"I believe in leading by example, just like ECOHEADS does," says Courtney. "I use KEVIN.MURPHY, mixed in my Ping color mixer, which saves chemical waste, and every basin is fitted with ECOHEADS showerheads, saving water. I had installed ECOHEADS at my previous salon, which I gifted to the team when I left. But because they save so much water, and because they clean the water and pump up the pressure, I wasn’t going to go without at the new salon. My first purchase for the new salon was a new ECOHEADS showerhead for each of my basins."
The success of Prism rests a lot on its focus on sustainability and Courtney’s passion for education. Her team are newly energized and inspired. They can talk confidently now to their clients about what they are doing for the environment and they receive fantastic ongoing training from their resident in-demand KEVIN.MURPHY educator, guaranteeing their technical skills are as good as their track record on saving the planet.
