(Oct. 20, 2016) If Betsy Brittingham were asked in April if she thought she’d be running her own salon in Snow Hill by October, the answer would have been “no.”
While it was always her dream to have her own salon, at that point in April, she was just starting two new adventures: starting a job at the town’s Courtney Brooke Salon, and returning to work following the birth of her son, J.J.
After Courtney Brooke announced its closure effective Sept. 24, Brittingham’s timeline accelerated. She found a spot across the street from where Courtney Brooke was located and got to work.
It helped that this wasn’t her first foray into the world of haircuts and color. Brittingham was the former manager of the Great Clips franchise in Salisbury, but was also looking for something a little closer to home when she accepted the job at Courtney Brooke.
“I’m originally from Girdletree and I graduated from Pocomoke High School, and I wanted something a little closer to home than Salisbury,” she said. “I’m taking all the knowledge of the business side I got from Great Clips and putting it with the feeling of home that Courtney Brooke did so well, and I’m making my own thing.”
For example, like Great Clips, Mirror Salon will send reminders the day before an appointment is scheduled, and it will also keep track of how many times a customer has visited, and if they’ve not been in for a bit of freshening up in a while.
“Some of the business processes are a little more detailed than what I was expecting. A franchise operation like Great Clips gives you all the little details. Right now I’m focusing on decorating the shop to match Snow Hill,” Brittingham said.
On the other end of the spectrum, Mirror will also service walk-in customers, and while not offering bargain basement haircuts, her goal is to keep prices comfortable.
“We’re doing hair, we’re doing color and we’re doing men’s cuts too. I want to keep it affordable, but it’ll cost more than $10,” she said.
The soft opening of the shop was on Tuesday, with the grand opening coming in about two weeks at the next First Friday. Mirror Salon will be open for regular business from Tuesday until Saturday, but will be closed to haircut traffic during the grand opening.
“We’ll be dressing up and doing a meet and greet. I’m going to be talking with the chamber of commerce to see if we can work something out for that. I think we might be doing a giveaway, or have some kind of prize,” she said.
Besides Brittingham herself, she will have another full-time staff member, Emily LeMay, from Pocomoke City and another part-time employee, Lashette Dennis.
“I definitely didn’t think I’d be doing this now — not with a six month-old. I had planned to stay on at Courtney Brooke for a few years at least before working more directly towards my dream,” she said. “When Courtney decided to leave, I thought that I should be there to pick up the pieces. The town knows me, and the people know me.”