Tonya Fairley, Hair Queen

I am used to interviewing successful people. I never get star-struck, however, this time I couldn’t help myself. Tonya Fairley was different. There were times I wanted to reach across the Zoom world just shake her hand.

Tonya Fairley is a coach, consultant and entrepreneur with 16 years experience as a corporate trainer. She owns two hair salons and has her own line of hair products called ‘Strandz Unlimited’.

She is a self-made woman who didn’t inherit her money. She is also a co-author of the book Pray, Pursue, Persist!

I had questions prepared but her story definitely took charge.

Asiya: You are a very successful businesswoman. How did this journey begin?

Tonya: I learned from an early age to be self-reliant. If I were able to reach my younger self and gave her a message of hope I would say, “Don’t give up!” When you are betrayed by those who should protect you, you lose your ability to trust. I was abused by my birth mother. Yes, I call her that because my foster mother is my mother. My birth mother abused me. Not only do I still carry the emotional scars, I lived with a busted eardrum. I was molested and she didn’t care, because that other person paid her bills.

I was removed from the home at the age of 12. When you become a foster child, you have to go to counseling. At that age, it didn’t help. I was just angry and didn’t want to be there. I went back to therapy when I was 23 and this is when I learned to let go of the anger and my emotional healing began. But what truly healed me from my abusive and alcoholic mother was a caring and loving [foster] mother.

I wiped away some unprofessional tears and attempted to switch the topic.

Asiya: You were a successful corporate trainer. What made you leave a successful career to pursue start all over as a hair stylist?

Tonya: Let me tell you, the decision was not easy. I quit a six-figure job to pursue my passion, but I have a loving and supportive husband.

As a child, hair was my trusted companion in dark times. I did my friends’ and neighbors’ hair – anyone who trusted me to do it, really. At age 16, my friend Mary Ellen wanted me to bleach her hair using a recipe she heard of – baking soda and Clorox bleach. We were young and didn’t know any better.

Her mother became resigned to the fact that we would keep playing with hair. She found an internship for me at a nearby hair salon. By the time I finished high school, I became experienced in braiding and cutting. I quit my corporate trainer job in 2013 and started as hairdresser.

Asiya: How did you make the leap from a hairdresser to owning your own salon?

“Whatever happens to you, it is only a chapter of your story! Write the next one!”

Tonya: That is quite the story. I started in a Chinese woman’s salon. She saw right away that I wouldn’t be boxed in or limited to only doing African American hair. She called me her “Firecracker”. She took me under her wings and showed me the business side of salon ownership. I was very distant at first. I didn’t understand why she wanted to help; I still had problems trusting people.

In 2017, I saw the ‘for sale’ sign on a salon in a fairly remote location. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I got it, but didn’t tell anyone at first. My Chinese mentor was on a trip to Thailand and I wanted her to be the first one to know.

I am now a mentor in the national Fatherless Daughters Network. I know firsthand the neglect and abuse they suffer. Mentoring is my way of giving back. I pass the message of hope to them: “Whatever happens to you, it is only a chapter of your story! Write the next one!”

I learned the hard way that holding on to the anger hurts us. Sometimes you just have to wear your big-girl pants and prove everyone wrong.

Asiya: That’s wonderful. Did you get angel investors in order to grow your business? And what kind of advice would you give young entrepreneurs?

Tonya: I had to finance my business every step of the way. In September 2020, I went to pitch my business to investors. It was a panel of two investors. Before I even started, the white male investor said, supposedly joking, “So are you here to jump on the Black Lives Matter bandwagon and get you some of that diversity money?” The woman investor looked mortified. I walked out. I told them, “Thank you very much, I financed all my business. I was giving you an opportunity to invest, but I see that isn’t the right fit for me.”

"No money is worth your dignity and self-respect."

My advice for young entrepreneurs is to keep their heads held high, no matter what they face, and that no money is worth your dignity and self-respect.

Asiya: I am sorry this happened to you.

Tonya: I don’t dwell on these things and that’s just one example. We’ll be here all day if I share with you more examples.

Asiya: Let’s move on. Tell me how COVID-19 affected your business?

Tonya: I had to temporarily close one of my salons because income dropped by 80 percent – even after being allowed to reopen. I pivoted. We made home hair color kits. I conducted virtual hair loss consultations. I also had local delivery and drop shipping.

Asiya: You probably heard about the woman who used Gorilla Glue on her hair. How did you feel when you heard about it?

“You are not defined by your hair. Wear your crown with pride.”

Tonya: As a trichologist who specializes in scalps, it hurt to hear these stories. I have experienced with some of my clients what I call ‘Pandemic Horror Stories’. One client used Downey – the fabric softener – because her scalp was developing an odor.

A lot of women suffer from lack of self-confidence because of their hair, and that should never be the case. Every hair can look professional using natural products and without causing long-term damage to their scalp. You are not defined by your hair. Wear your crown with pride.

Asiya: Speaking of natural products, would you share how you started your line of hair products?

Tonya: I started my passion product in 2017 and it took two years to complete it. I had to hire the chemists and get the ingredients. My clients were very excited and some volunteered to test the products. I started with the cleanser, shampoo and hair oil. What I was looking to create was the gel. It took 13 samples to get it right. It doesn’t flake and it doesn’t crunch.

I smiled. A gel that does not crunch or flake! I knew what I would be ordering later.

Asiya: Tonya, looking back at your journey, what advice would you give the younger generations?

Tonya: It is your story. Never give up on yourself.