Life and Work with Alicia Heydari

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Heydari.

Alicia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My parents owned a sandwich shop when we were younger. I worked there as a cashier, and loved it! As a family-owned business, I enjoyed the community aspect it attracted. Despite working crazy long hours, and spending all of our free summertime at the sandwich shop, I loved watching my parents work so hard, as it taught me so much. I enjoyed the interactions with customers the most, especially our regulars, and knew I wanted to own my own business one day.

Around the same time, my mom started taking me to the hair salon with her. I was so excited to watch the stylists cut and color hair. Mesmerized by their art, I had asked my parents for a barbie shampoo bowl and salon set. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to do hair!

After high school, I attended and graduated from the Aveda Institute in Denver. While in beauty school, I started to learn a lot about sustainability and, over time, became very passionate about it. I worked at an Aveda salon for eight years after school, until last year when I took the leap of a lifetime to open my own space, Salon Roya.

Has it been a smooth road?
Being a business owner is not always so glorious, but I love it even in the hardest of times. Instead of a road, it feels more like a roller coaster. This past year I have worked harder than ever before, been more exhausted than I knew was possible, faced all the fears, felt all the emotions, and enjoyed every bit of the ride.

Most struggles thus far have been due to the unknown. This is my first time owning a salon and business so everything starts as uncharted territory. The beauty in that, however, is tremendous! With each setback, I view it as an opportunity to learn, find what works and what doesn’t, prepare for the next time, and use all the knowledge to create a blossoming unique work environment.

I live by the quote, from Brooke Castillo, “Discomfort is the currency of your dreams.” I believe all good things in life take hard work, time, and discomfort.

My biggest piece of advice for young women beginning their journeys would be to start getting comfortable in uncomfortable situations. When challenging situations arise, intentionally choose an optimistic mindset.
Jennifer Joseph (Instagram: @naturalmagics) says, “Success and failure weigh the same. Both give us understanding. Success tells us what our proficiencies are, failure shows us what our weakness are.” If you live by the mindset that nothing is ever really a failure, but instead an opportunity to learn, I believe you become more resilient from these experiences.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Salon Roya – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Salon Roya is a collective dedicated to leaving a huge impact on your style and self-confidence, and a small footprint on the earth. We provide personalized, luxurious experiences using products sourced from quality, ethical, earth-worthy brands. We value our community and specialize in all things hair, lashes, microblading, microneedling, brows, and nails.

Sustainability is something I am very passionate about. I am constantly educating myself about “less waste” life hacks. A sustainable lifestyle can be difficult, especially within the beauty industry! When opening my salon, it was important to me that we support conscious brands like Davines and R+CO. We are proud to be a certified Green Circle Salon, which allows us to repurpose and recover up to 95% of the resources that were once considered waste; materials such as hair, leftover hair color, foils, color tubes, aerosol cans, paper and plastics.

We are most known for our high vibrational team! Each service provider at Salon Roya is unique and an essential part of our brand. We empower and support each other’s individuality while being passionate about our craft. I believe that authenticity is the vibe our guests feel most when they walk through our doors.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
Absolutely! Rachel Hollis, author of Girl Wash Your Face and host of RISE, influenced me the most and led me to many other similar resources. For anyone in small business, or desiring any sort of personal growth, the RISE podcast has been extremely inspiring.

Some of my favorite books are John Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership and 15 Invaluable Laws for Growth, Brendon Burchard’s High-Performance Habits, Sharon Rowe’s Tiny Business, and David Bach’s Smart Women Finish Rich.

I also love listening to Jennifer Joseph (@naturalmagics) on Instagram. Every Monday, she performs a two-hour live stream. I have learned so many valuable lessons that apply to all aspects of my life, as well as developed a passion for Tarot through her powerful teachings.

Pricing:

• Complimentary Consultations
• Custom Color and Cut Pricing (price quoted before service)
• $2 Eco charge

Contact Info:

• Address: 8580 Ralston Rd. Arvada, CO 80002
• Website: https://www.salonroya.com
• Phone: 3034240892
• Email: thesalonroya@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesalonroya/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesalonroya-161793254659601/

Image Credit:
Ben Neyers

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