“BE THE person you’d want to see if you were looking through someone else’s eyes,” said Kelly Master, the local entrepreneurial inspiration who owns Hair Candy and Simply Be Youtiful. Hair Candy is celebrating their 20th year in business this year. Master might have started her entrepreneur journey because she had a passion for making people feel beautiful and confident, but she has also served as an inspiration to so many young ladies in our community along the way. When asked who inspires her, Master said, “My family, my employees, and my clients inspire and push me to keep going.”
“I loved going with my mom to get her hair done when I was little, and I did my own hair for high school events and stuff like that,” Master said. She saw other hard-working women making a living doing what they loved to do in cosmetology and decided to pursue that profession. Master finished her cosmetology credits in high school and, just nine months after graduating, took the leap and bought a business. “I felt like I was signing my life away” is how she jokingly described the feeling of being a teenage business owner.
As we continued our Sunday afternoon call, Master shared one of the biggest challenges she faced as she was getting started as a young female business owner. “Trying to earn respect while being so young was a challenge. It takes time to earn respect and trust from others, but you have to just keep pushing through. Consistency is key, and being able to repeat your work,” said Master. “Don’t let the thoughts and opinions of others stop you from chasing your journey. We all have a destination, and we just take many different paths to get there!” she added. If she could go back and give her 19-year-old self some advice, she would say, “just go for it. Find your support system and go for it.”
Master is passionate about helping others, which has aided in her successful career. Masters recalled the many things that she had seen her clients through. She said, “We share births, funerals, weddings, divorces, and kids going off to college. There’s a whole range of things we get to share with our clients.” Building those relationships is one of her favorite things about operating Hair Candy in Franklin County.
Master lends much of her success to her team. Currently, there are nine stylists and one esthetician employed with Master, and they are the ones that she credits with how things run the way that they do. She feels that all of the professionals who have come through her doors over the last 20 years have shaped her business into the place that it is today. She has curated a professional salon with a team that can provide clients with on-trend styles and builds lasting relationships. As the old saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” GN
