Flagstaff Featured Business: Tee & Co. Salon
(as published in the February 6 edition of The Community Press)
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
Tee & Co. Salon
5002 50 Street, Killam
780-385-5545
Taryn Borth and her parents were driving through Killam’s main street one fateful night last year when a “for sale” sign caught their attention.
The sign was in the window of a corner retail property with a rich history that included past incarnations as a bank and a credit union.
Collectively, the budding entrepreneur and her parents agreed that the building had potential as a hair salon.
Looking back, however, Borth admits she harboured some major doubt about banking on this particular property as the site of her future hairstyling business. The building, afterall, still retained some of its original features, such as a bank vault in the back and a safety deposit box at the front.
“In my head, I was like: ‘That can’t be a hair salon – it’s a bank,’” she says.
But that all changed when she later entered the storied building.
“Immediately, we set up a time to come look at it and go through everything, and I walked through the doors and I just saw a vision,” Borth recalls. “I knew that it could be something that I wanted it to be.”
And on July 23, 2018, after renovations involving an untold amount of sweat equity, Borth’s vision manifested itself in the opening of Tee & Co. Salon.
The name, of course, came rather naturally for the young businesswoman.
“I’ve always had a mad love for the brand of jewelry Tiffany & Co.,” Borth explains. “My nickname my whole life has been Tee, and I thought that it just flowed together because there is always that potential of having a ‘Co’ with me some day.”
From the outset, she envisioned an open concept floor plan for her modern salon.
“I wanted it to be bright and welcoming, and a happy place for everyone to be, also while being able to enjoy the glamorous effects, still being crisp and simple.”
That ambiance meshes well with her heartfelt intentions for each client.
“My goal as a hairstylist is to have people leave my door happier than when they came in, or just the same,” she says, “but basically just to make them feel better about themselves, to know that this is a happy place, they’re welcome anytime, they can feel comfortable here, and of course, I mean have perfect hair.”
Borth attributes a successful first six months in business to her laser-focus on customer service, a skill set and philosophy she honed from an early age while helping out her grandparents just down the street.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I spent weekends and evenings with my grandma and grandpa at Town and Country Guardian Drugs and they really influenced me, especially with the customer service and teaching me how to interact with people from such a young age dealing with any age basically – little kids to our grandmas and grandpas – and they just really showed me that when you’re passionate about something and you really love what you do, you have no limits.”
Tee and Co. Salon offers mainstay services, such as haircuts for ladies, men, boys and girls, and a variety of colouring options, as well as facial waxing and eyebrow tinting, and a full range of different colours, lengths, and brands of hair extensions.
“With the hair extensions, I find that it’s a way for people to gain that confidence that they never had,” she explains. “If you have never had a full, thick, head of hair, you don’t know what it’s like to have that and it’s amazing what it can do to just up your confidence and put that smile on your face with a simple package of hair.”
In addition to these services, Borth retails several lines of hair care products, including her three personal faves: Moroccan oil (which just so happens to match the colour scheme she chose for her salon), Milkshake, and Verb.
“They range from a lower price range to a higher price range, and it’s dependent on the texture of your hair, how much hair you have, how much you’re wanting to spend, kind of just what your hair needs,” she notes. “I basically have one of everything for every kind of hair.”
Along with all of that, Borth works fervently to keep up with the latest colour and style trends.
“Most of my suppliers offer tons of continuing education, events throughout the year, all that kind of stuff, so I try my best to book time to be part of that and to keep up with the newest trends, also just to follow what my clients lead me to, so if they have ideas they want me to learn on, I have absolutely no problem educating myself further.”
As a business owner, Borth hopes to empower others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. One way she’d like to do that is by serving as a mentor. Borth herself is grateful for the “wonderful mentor” she had the good fortune of working under.
“I want to be able to give that to someone someday,” she enthuses. “You learn so much based on how you are mentored and what they have to show you and being as I was so lucky with my mentoring, I would love to be able to give that to another young hairstylist that has dreams just as big as mine.”
Borth’s advice for any would-be entrepreneurs is to simply go for it.
“If you dream it, you can do it. And the support you will receive from the community members, other business owners, it is honestly amazing and I couldn’t have expected it any better than it has been for me!”
For more information on Tee & Co. Salon, find Tee & Co. Salon on Facebook.
As published in the February 6 edition of The Community Press – on newsstands today. Never miss an issue, become a SUBSCRIBER today!
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press. For more information, contact Jenalee Blackhurst, Economic Development Coordinator, at 780-384-4152.
