A new beauty salon has opened in downtown Rochester, and the owner is offering discounts for those who help keep the community safe.
Freedom Beauty Salon, located at 7 Hanson St., opened in December. The salon offers discounted haircuts to veterans, those in active military duty, police officers, firefighters and first-responder EMTs, said owner Jenni Olson.
Olson, of Rochester, has previously been the area manager for the Great Clips hair salon in Rochester and Concord, and has also worked at Tresses in Rochester. In opening up her own business, she wanted to offer a place that offers not just haircuts, but full beauty service including hair coloring, waxing, a nail salon and hair styling.
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“I want customers to come in and be able to do it all in one facility,” said Olson.
After advice from a friend who works in real estate, she decided to open her own beauty salon.
“I decided it was time. It was now or never,” said Olson, 33.
Olson looked at several possible locations for her business, and the building at 7 Hanson St. seemed ideal.
“I fell in love with the building,” she said. “It’s an older building, I like primitive. This building has a lot of charm to me.”
The location is also desirable – the salon is located in downtown, but is tucked away from the main strip, she said.
Olson signed the three-year lease on the building in October. Although she may consider purchasing the building down the road, she will be taking her new business venture one step at a time.
Before opening, there were two months of renovations that included new flooring, repainting the walls, installing new plumbing and electrical work, and putting in the insulation in the basement.
So far, Olson has had business from many of her regular customers that she had gotten to know through her work at previous salons. Newer customers have been slower to get through the doors, and Olson hopes to see more veterans, active military members, and first-responders walk through her doors for discounted haircuts.
In a recent interview, Olson spoke about her decision to name her salon after the word “freedom.”
“‘Freedom’ came to me because I never worked at a salon where you could be who you are,” she said.
At Freedom Beauty Salon, Olson is striving to bring positive energy to her clients. She said she is an upbeat, happy person “and people feel that.”
As she spoke about her work in the beauty industry, Olson said, “It’s my passion. It’s my happy spot. I love making people feel better.”
“I want to run a salon the right way,” she said. “I want to have a positive experience, with morals that I know are true. I always want to be true to who I am and always be true to my employees.”
So far Olson has one employee, who is the lead stylist. But Olson will soon also have an apprentice and additional employees down the road, she said.
“It’s a great start. I’m more than lucky with what I have,” said Olson.
The salon also features a playroom for kids. Olson said she wants her clients to be comfortable bringing their children.
“When mothers get their haircuts the children have somewhere to go,” said Olson.
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