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Thriving in the Shutdown: How One Salon Owner
Refused to Give Up
Despite the pandemic, Lisa Fuller has found new ways to show up and provide education, empowerment, and natural hair care products for her clients.
Since they met in 1984, Andre Fuller has always admired his wife Lisa’s tenacity. Living in L.A., with a prominent career and a busy schedule working on big-name music albums, Lisa decided to attend beauty school at night and chase down a new passion. Today, they’re the husband and wife duo behind Styles by Lisa, Charlotte, N.C.’s premiere natural hair studio. While hairstylists have been hard-hit by the pandemic’s restrictions across the U.S., Andre shares how Lisa has continued to show up for her clients and provide haircare education as she shifts and grows her beloved brand.
In 2004, Andre and Lisa moved across the country to begin a new adventure closer to family in North Carolina. With her new dream in-hand, Lisa opened a one-room salon suite. “Natural hair was not really that popular in 2004, and it definitely wasn’t popular in Charlotte,” Andre recalls. “Once she started getting clients in her chair, she saw how much damage was being done [with chemical treatments] and she didn’t want to be a part of that.
She was definitely going against the grain, but she had a strong passion and a belief that she did not want to harm people’s hair. She wanted to help people with their hair.” Lisa’s passion for embracing the beauty of natural hair, and empowering women to love the hair they’re born with, helped her carve out a much-needed niche within the community.
Today, Styles by Lisa has multiple locations and an expert team of stylists trained in natural hair care. They also have a loyal client base that only continues to grow, even in the midst of the pandemic.
“The past few years she’s been in the process of developing her own products,” Andre explains. “So the timing was really good. It finally got approved, finally got packaged. Right as COVID-19 kicked in, we were able to launch our product line.” Not only that, but Lisa was able to show up for clients digitally and walk them through their hair care over video calls. “She became the virtual stylist,” says Andre. “She started all these virtual consultations online and we tied it into the product, and she was able to help a lot of people.”
Once she started getting clients in her chair, she saw how much damage was being done [with chemical treatments] and she didn’t want to be a part of that.”– Andre Fuller
And not just people from Charlotte. As women across the U.S. were forced to cancel standing appointments with their own stylists, many realized they weren’t equipped to style and manage their natural hair. “Ladies would reserve these slots with her from all over the world, really,” Andre says. “She would spend time with them on her days off, talking to them about their hair, helping them with their children’s hair. She was trying to help in the best way she could.”
With over 86K followers on Instagram, it’s clear her expertise is needed. Lisa and Andre hope she can use her platform to continue providing the natural hair care education and products people are looking for. “That’s our mission going forward,” Andre says, “to try and take the brand global and to continue to bless others with our blessings.”
Lisa’s story is part of a powerful series highlighting the hope and resilience of small business owners across America. Whether your business is well-established or just starting out, U.S. Bank has all the banking tools and support you need to keep your business dreams alive and thriving.
