'Safety first': B&B Beauty Salon in California puts clients' welfare ahead of profits during pandemic
For Willie Mae McKinney, entrepreneurship is a family affair.
McKinney, 72, inherited the Sacramento, California-based B&B Beauty Salon in 1976 from her husband’s aunt. Today her daughter Catherine works side by side with her at the salon and teaches cosmetology.
But the salon has also taught McKinney that family includes those with whom you don’t share a bloodline. McKinney views her clients as her extended family, and that has factored into the way she runs her business, leading her to put clients’ welfare ahead of profits since the pandemic began.
McKinney says one of the most fulfilling aspects of being in business is helping her clientele feel better about themselves. She understands how a flattering hairstyle can be empowering. “The better you look, the better you feel,” she says.
Though she could charge more, she has long sought to keep her prices affordable so local residents could benefit from her services even if they didn’t have a lot of money. She would even go out of her way for her clients in other ways: picking up those who don’t have a ride and bringing them to the salon.
Her clients showed their appreciation by remaining loyal. Some moved but would still travel back to the salon for appointments. Nothing could keep her customers away – until the arrival of COVID-19.
Pandemic’s lingering impact
Like many beauty salons, barbershops and spas, B&B Beauty Salon had to shut down during the pandemic. That meant no steady money was coming in, though some of McKinney’s customers showed their appreciation – and support -- by occasionally paying for services that they could not receive to help her stay afloat.
When the salon reopened, McKinney set protocols to keep herself and her clients safe. She started taking off every other week in order to quarantine. She also began taking clients’ temperatures before they would sit in her chair and everyone who enters the salon must wear a mask.
She also limits who she sees during the pandemic. She only allows two customers in the salon at a time, and doesn’t take on new clients, only working with long-time customers, many of whom are older and more vulnerable to severe disease from COVID-19.
“Before COVID, I was seeing anywhere from six to eight clients in a day’s time,” she says. Now she might see three or four. “I have to think about safety first.”
Since she’s working with fewer clients, her business has suffered financially. Supplies like shampoos and conditioners have become more expensive. Before the pandemic, “I could take off work and go places and not feel the impact of it,” she says. But now “I have to watch my finances.”
Moving forward with hope
Despite it all, McKinney still believes better days are ahead. She’s enjoying reconnecting with her clients, catching up on the changes in their families and perusing pictures of new grandbabies that were born during the pandemic. “Being away from my clients was like being away from my family,” she says.
Her philosophy since the pandemic is that you just have to take life one day at a time and be thankful. “No matter what you go through, if you’re still here, you're still here for a reason,” she says.
McKinney says one of the reasons she is here is to do hair. One of her clients recently showed her a book that featured a 90-year-old hairdresser. “That's probably going to be me,” she laughs. “As long as I can do a good job, whether the money's there or not, I'll do it because I like what I do.”