Shellene Mason was a hairstylist for a dozen years before she decided to become an entrepreneur and open up a retail store on Calgary's trendy 17th Avenue. She missed being a hairstylist though, so in 2010 she decided to change things up and open Lavish Salon.
“I started it from the ground up. Owning the retail store, I learned a lot business-wise,” says Shellene. “I took what I learned from the previous business and tried not to make the same mistakes. I was really lucky to have a good foundation of people I knew in the hair industry and mentors from the salons I worked at before.”
Lavish Salon started small, but when the business next door closed down, Shellene was able to expand, adding more chairs and stylists as her salon continued to flourish.