Thirty-five years ago, on April 19, Shelly Mack graduated college and started a new chapter of her life, that turned out to be really successful, not only for her, but for the Estevan community as well.聽
Her story of hairstyling and beauty specialist started in Moose Jaw, where she managed to graduate from a one-year program in a matter of eight months.聽
鈥淚 worked very hard to be done,鈥� said Mack. 鈥淚 worked hard and I actually had a job in Moose Jaw and I had one (in Estevan) to do on a chair-rental basis. And my husband was (in Estevan) at the time, so I came back and I had my career here ever since.鈥�
Now, 35 years later, when Mack is running two local businesses, Platinum Hair Design and Mack鈥檚 Reflections Hair Studio, it鈥檚 hard to imagine that at some point this talented professional and successful businesswoman was considering a totally different career choice.
鈥淚 actually wanted to be a nurse, and when I went into checking to go to be a nurse, I needed chemistry and I didn鈥檛 have chemistry, I had biology. I really enjoyed 小蓝视频 in cosmetology at the (Estevan) Comprehensive School, so I chose that route and would not change it for anything. I absolutely love it,鈥� said Mack.
The school in Moose Jaw awarded her with Most Likely to Succeed, an award that turned into a prophecy.
For five years Mack worked as a hairstylist renting a chair. And then a new opportunity turned up.
鈥淚 approached the guy that I was working for one day because I knew he was having some issues, I approached him on purchasing it,鈥� recalled Mack.
That happened 30 years ago. And even though she never worked for someone, becoming a business owner brought in more opportunities for creativity and growth. Currently, in one salon, they do total esthetics from hair to waxing, pedicures, manicures and facials. In the other one, they also have a tanning bed. Between the two shops they have every service available including piercing, but Mack constantly keeps searching for more ideas.
鈥淚鈥檓 always looking to expand 鈥� I鈥檓 always trying different things.鈥�
Throughout these years many small businesses rose and fell, but Mack has been able to navigate through Estevan鈥檚 booms and busts. She says hard work and long hours, dedication, readiness to go above and beyond, and love for the job helped her get where she is now.
鈥淟oving what you do, hard work and always educating is the key to success. Truth to that. I wake up every morning looking forward to seeing all my clients that day, if that isn't loving your job, then I don't know what is,鈥� said Mack.
Besides, she noted that communicating with other professionals, keeping up with a trend, bringing in new products and tools, upkeeping and renovating the salons and staying involved in the community are also important points to running a successful business in this industry.聽
Making clients feel good is Mack鈥檚 favourite part and her biggest achievement. And in return, happy clients often become like a family to her.
鈥淵ou become so close to your clients you go see their baby after it's born, you go to their dance recital, go see them play sports, do their hair for years then do their kids for grad, their wedding and they invite you to attend these events, you go to their funeral, it's a whole life circle that we spend our life with them, at least I definitely have,鈥� said Mack.
She has clients that come every two weeks and others who only need appointments once every half a year, but every single time they come in her chair it makes her happy.
While the official graduation happened for Mack three and a half decades ago, in reality, she鈥檚 never stopped learning.
鈥淓ducation doesn鈥檛 stop. I just went two years ago for colour masters in Toronto,鈥� said Mack.
All these years she has also been participating in different courses, classes and programs in different countries including Mexico, Dominican and others. She has also been on a lot of online courses brought by their distributors and high-end stylists from all around the world.
To stay on top of the recent trends and techniques, and keep 小蓝视频 the best Mack always tries to bring education to her staff as well. Throughout these years she鈥檚 hired and worked side by side with many people, and managing the staff and keeping her employees happy is a big and sometimes challenging part of her job.
To celebrate the milestone Mack had planned to run 35 days of giveaways and deals, which was postponed due to COVID-19.
Just recently the community voted Mack鈥檚 Reflections the Best of Estevan in waxing, manicure/pedicure and body piercing categories in the contest brought by the Estevan Mercury Publications in March.
