Suzette Audia
Expert Colorist & Stylist
Owner of Hair Design Group
In the heart of Plano, Texas, across from the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, resides a little slice of heaven, the Suzette Audia Hair Design Group. Hung on the walls are plaques and photos filled with inspiring sayings and quotes, supported by the salon's culture, which is welcoming, inspiring, and empowering. I met the founder Suzette Audia 16 years ago when I first moved to Dallas and needed a reasonably priced Hairdresser. At the time, Suzette had one small station in another salon. As a busy working mom with little support, time management was everything to me. Suzette explained that she cut children's hair as well as adults. Maybe it was the fact that we were both raised by authoritarian New Yorker families, combined with my need for connection and friendship, or perhaps it was Suzette's hair wizardry and fantastic talent. Still, we became friends, and she became a trusted role model and friend to my two children.
Suzette and Annelise, 2006
In 2006 at the age of 7, my daughter, Anneliese, had the idea of donating her hair to Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that creates wigs for children who lost their hair due to cancer. Suzette and Anneliese devised a plan. One spring morning Anneliese and two other girls were on the local morning show as Suzette lopped off their ponytails. It was one of the proudest moments of being a mom, orchestrated without any of my influence. It was all Anneliese and Suzette. They had a special bond.
Raising children is not for the faint of heart, and it does "take a village." Over the years, Suzette became a role model, a confidante, a safe place, and a trusted advisor to my children and me. She has seen us through my mother's death, puberty and uni-brows, lice, holy communions, prom dates, and homecomings.
To this day, my grown kids come home to get their hair cut at Suzette Audia Salon. Suzette epitomizes the B Words, Brave, Bad Ass, and Beautiful. I am so very proud to share Suzette's story.
TK: How did you start your own business?
SA: I started my own business in 1991 when I realized I was determined to succeed and pave my way. In my early 30's, I took a significant risk and branched out on my own. At the time, I had 14 years of experience working for Matrix as a Hair color educator. My job gave me the foundation to become a color expert, a distinguishing talent in hair design. Letting go of the security of a full-time gig was daunting, but I knew it was something I had to do. Before long, my business grew from a solo chair to a 20 chair salon attracting the industry's best talent.
TK: What challenges did you face as an entrepreneur?
SA: My biggest challenge is going it alone. In hindsight, I have always done it alone. Whatever I set my mind to, whenever I decide to step out of the box, I take that step alone. On the one hand, it's terrifying to be ultimately self–reliant. On the other hand, If I fail, I know the outcome is squarely on my shoulders. There is no one else to blame. Failure has never been part of the equation. Going it alone requires a healthy dose of faith.
Looking back on my life, I never relied on a man to show me the way. The men in my life, my father, brothers, and even my ex-husband, never provided support, security, or guidance. I used trial and error, and since I knew I never had anyone to catch me if I fell, I relied solely and entirely on myself. I never gave myself the luxury of thinking of failing. In my mind, it was simply not an option.
“I never gave myself the luxury of thinking of failing. In my mind, it was simply not an option. ”
TK: What was the catalyst to create your product line?
SA: The mortgage crisis in 2008 launched one of the most challenging economic climates of my lifetime. I watched from behind my chair as the Dallas economy slowly slipped away. My salon was still thriving, but I realized I had no Plan B if this situation, entirely outside of my control, continued. A mounting pressure to take action swelled inside me.
My plan B was to formulate my product line of shampoo, conditioner, and styling products. While working full time at the salon, I researched formulas and ingredients, testing products from all over the country in small while bottles with sticky labels, searching for the ingredients to form my brand. After months of research and persistence, the E-Hair System product line was born. It started as a grassroots effort selling only to clients in the salon. Over the next ten years, E-Hair System took on a life of its own, becoming a national brand.
My best-selling product solves a rarely addressed problem in the industry; women's hair loss. As women age and enter menopause, many suffer from hair loss. My Emu Oil hair system contains Omega fat from emu bird, This relatively unknown ingredient provides an all-natural solution to healing scars, wounds, earaches and makes hair grow. It's expensive and not commonly used in hair products—my E Hair system is one of a kind. All of the products are available on my website.
It brings me great comfort to know that my products can comfort women suffering from hair loss and give them back their confidence and self-esteem.
TK: Who is your role model?
SA: I never had a role model. The closest experience I have to a role model is the opposite. It was someone who I knew I never wanted to become. Growing up in a rough Italian family in Brooklyn, the odds were always against us. My mother had a girlfriend named Camela who seemed to have a perfect life. She was married, never worked, and had what society told women back then they should want; a male provider, a reliable, employed husband. At ten years old, I bought into that myth. Until one day, Camela showed up at our door crying her eyes out. There was a look of terror on her face. After 30 years of marriage, her husband announced he was leaving her. She was in a state of panic. I listened at the doorway as my mother and Camela discussed her few and far between options. Camela had no savings, no skills, and no way to pay her rent. After 30 years of "security," her best option was to apply to work as a grocery bagger at the A & P.
That overheard conversation led me to decide that I would never allow myself to be in that situation. I would be independent and never leave my security and finances up to a man. I married in my early 20's and my commitment to my independence, and financial security didn't sit well with my spouse. Ultimately the marriage failed because of it.
I share Camela's story with young women because I want to instill the importance of independence in the future generation. We must never sit back and wait for someone to save us, or for a dream to find us. We must show up every day and do the work ourselves.
TK: What words do you live by?
SA: In the absence of a role model, become your own role model.
Join Suzette and myself Thursday March 25th 6:00pm for an evening of unpacking our limiting beliefs and stepping into our most badass selves.
RSVP 972-489-3536
