A new series by Carolyn Grisold that profiles female entrepreneurs in Toronto
Business Name: June Lindenfield Salon
Owner: June Lindenfield, 44
Established: 1989
Type of establishment: Hair Salon
Neighbourhood: Fashion District
Address: 432 Adelaide Street West (recently moved to St. Catharine’s, Ontario, by appointment only — see website for details)
Closest major intersection: Adelaide and Spadina
Email: june@junelindenfield.com
Website: www.junelindenfield.com
Twitter: N/A
Facebook: www.facebook.com/junelindenfieldfinehairdressing
Instagram: N/A
Phone: 289-362-3958
Hours of operation: Tuesday to Friday 8am to 7pm, Saturday 8am to 3pm
Where are you from, originally?
My hometown is London, Ontario. It was easy there; we didn’t lock the doors, people were simple, life was easy. I guess that explains why my bucket list included getting out of that one-dog town and opening a salon as a one-woman band in Toronto.
Why did you choose to set up shop at Adelaide and Spadina?
I opened on Adelaide because the rent was reasonable, as people are very mistaken to think that all businesses come with a big bank account. I also had a few clients from London that were diehards and it was more convenient than navigating anywhere else in the city.
What was your first impression of Toronto?
I didn’t realize that I had such competition. In London I was the big fish in a small pond, now I was swimming with piranhas, much bigger fish than I ever imagined. I have always had a big ego and my great expectations about moving to Toronto faded daily as I was eaten up and spat out. Other salons had better advertising, and clients had Yorkville to compare to.
Did you experience challenges in your neighbourhood?
I am a hairstylist, I am a salon owner and have successfully – but not without tears, fears, and smirks of disbelief – survived the job of running a business on a one-way street in the Big Smoke, starting without one client, and dealing with front step guests such as street dwellers smoking crack, and doing my best to stay on their good side to fend off the chance of being broken into.
Did those efforts ever fail?
Yes, they were in vain as I proceeded to be vandalized thoroughly three times, but I survived the sadness of having to pay for a new front door out of money that was borrowed from my line of credit, and hoped that a haircut or two would help pay the rent coming in eight days.
What was something you wish you knew when you first started out in Toronto?
How I was priced. If I was expensive, then some [clients] found that credible. But the demographics were mixed, so it was hit or miss most days. If I thought a deal would be a good idea to bring ‘em in, then they thought that I was desperate — and that wasn’t the message I wanted to convey. How do I get clientele to see the talent that I felt was priceless?
When did things start falling into place for your business?
It all started to seed itself four years later, when I had had enough of this wishy-washy business model of try…fail…try again…fail. After a while I decided to throw caution to the wind and take a risk: I offered blow-dry and colour packages for dirt cheap. And I didn’t even tune in to how cheap until I divided up how many services they took advantage off and how much I was working. It turned out I was working for nothing, but it kept the doors open. So the lesson in that was to make the deal lucrative and valuable to the mid-range client. But even that was difficult to decipher because my higher-income clients were eating this deal up, but the middle-of-the-road earners would hum and haw over it. Finally I said to myself, there is only so much I can do to share my gift, and decided to leave it to faith and word of mouth.
Did you ever consider moving back to London?
No — 20 years slipped by since I started my business in Toronto, all the while chasing the buck, working 14 hours a day to not head back to my hometown, with my tail betwixt my legs, crying to everyone that matters, “I can’t do it, I have failed!”
With all that work, do you have time for family?
I have a teenage son, and in the latter part of that fourth year of business, I met a great guy from St. Catharine’s. I commuted and lived above the salon for five years, and went home [with him] on the weekends. It worked; the situation was doable. But I found myself feeling lonely, isolated, and not feeling as inspired to push anymore. Thankfully by then I had developed a clientele that was hearty, and having an organically friendly nature, people came in as strangers but left as friends, most times!
You’ve recently taken your business out of Toronto. What prompted that move?
I started to feel this burning desire to sleep at home in my own bed, be near my sweet dog, my teenager and my beloved better half. Some nights I would call him and cry because I just wanted to come home, but I had this needling lease to fulfill, and I was stuck and really unhappy. So one day my sweetheart asked me if I wanted to close my salon and move home to pursue a new chapter, challenge myself again to build an even better business, this time on my own terms, and not feel so financially stressed. To actually love what I do without the pressure keeping me jailed, without the ability to expand.
How do you define “expand?”
Not as in get bigger, employees, space, etc., but to volunteer myself more, take the time to give back. He believed that my faith in the universe had given me so much knowledge and armour that perhaps I should see the writing on the wall and help others, mentor, and see myself in a mature light.
Did he help you see something you hadn’t realized you needed?
Yes, he was my support system, and that was something I hadn’t embraced in a long time. As an ego-driven, self-made woman that needs no one to make it happen, I finally evolved and decided that BALANCE is what I need.
Was moving to St. Catharine’s as difficult as your initial move to Toronto? What new challenges did you have to overcome?
How do I tell my clients? How do I cut the ties that bound me for 20 years and the bond that was tightened every single year as I grew closer to clients who inevitably became friends? We had shared so many of life’s ups and downs, both them and myself. I had experienced young clients getting married, becoming pregnant, having their babies, and making career changes. There were lay-offs and divorces. It was a rollercoaster of emotion on a daily basis because, as a personal stylist to my clients, we had no interruption to good conversation. I was theirs, they owned me during their window of appointment time, and they were mine. The only time I didn’t feel lonely and sad was when my doors opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m., because I knew that friends would being coming all day to chat, share and allow me to create a work of art on their hair, and that both of us would depart happy.
So, how did you finally tell them about your move?
I wrote and rewrote a letter to send to my clients for two months. I would go back to it and edit some words, some phrases were deleted, some added, and when the final cut seemed appropriate and complete, I added the names of my client list, and with reluctance and haste mixed together, I hit SEND! This is it, it’s done and there is no going back.
What was their response?
No sooner did I send it but a flurry of emails returned to me consisting of common wording like…”NO!” They said it was worse than breaking up with a lover. “You can’t leave, what am I going to do!”
What will you miss most?
I will miss what I built, and I will miss the beautiful hearts that imprinted mine.
How did you know it was the right decision?
It was time to move on, to move forward and to write another chapter. You can take the girl out of the country… and well you know the rest!
What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur just starting out?
This is life, my friend. Do your best to find your balance, to find what warms your heart, and don’t do anything in your life that you don’t love. Health… Family… Career… This is the order of importance.
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Carolyn Grisold is the managing editor of Women of Influence Magazine and a contributing writer to various print and online publications (Post City Magazines, Toronto.com, Gallery Magazine, Argyle Magazine). Follow Carolyn on Twitter @CityandCharm. To suggest a female entrepreneur, please email petty@inningsgate.com.
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