Beauty is in Ronna Green’s DNA. Her great-grandfather was a barber, while her great-aunt, aunt, and father were all cosmetologists.
“My great-aunt Myrtle was a cosmetology professor at the College of San Mateo, and I remember my grandmother taking me there when I was six,” recalls Ronna.
“I did not like getting my hair done at all. It was super thick, long, and unmanageable,” she laughs.
Ronna has come a long way since those days. For 32 years, she has owned the Rare Touch II Salon in Fremont, California, with her sister Regina and daughter Brandee. Knowing that beauty salons are much-loved gathering spots where people can connect, catch up, and share a laugh with friends, four generations of Ronna’s family have devoted their talents to making their clients feel pampered. Ronna believes it’s an honor and a privilege to provide a safe, friendly, family-oriented environment where everyone is welcome.
“I’d say 90 percent of our customers have gone from being clients to becoming friends, then family,” says Ronna, a mother of three and grandmother of four.
“We have people coming by long after they’ve left the area, and over the years, we've picked clients’ kids up from school when they couldn't leave work and brought them to the salon. We built a room for the kids—ours and theirs—with a window so we could watch them while they played or did homework.”
Learning from the Best
Ronna credits her professional success to the lessons she learned from her father, Tyree. He opened his first salon, The Rare Touch, 40 years ago in Campbell, California. A year after he opened the Fremont location, Ronna and her sister bought it from him. “We purchased the salon from my dad at market value, which meant we didn't have operating capital, so we relied on our American Express Card,” she recalls.
Tyree took his job seriously. “My father was very intense about our craft, and he was a perfectionist, so it was hard to work with him. However, to this day, we still follow everything he taught us about customer service: Treat your clients well so they continue coming back and make sure everybody in the community can afford your services,” says Ronna.
Celebrating beauty in all its forms
Ronna takes pride in bolstering her customers’ self-confidence by encouraging them to embrace their unique style. “I recently had a client who wanted to cut her hair for two years but was scared to make that leap, until finally I talked her into getting the short haircut she really wanted,” recalls Ronna.
“She looked in the mirror afterwards, and was in tears when she said, ‘This is me. Somehow, I had lost myself, and now, I'm back.’
Helping Clients Rise Up
In addition to building the business, Ronna and her family have made giving back to their community a top priority. They run a non-profit program, Hadassah, out of their salon to help young women prepare for the future.
“It started with a client who was a high school principal. We teach these students about the beauty business and how to take care of themselves. We teach them entrepreneurship, goal setting, and how to broaden their horizons. We want to help them find their purpose so they can be successful,” explains Ronna.
Cultivating the Tools for Growth and Success
Ronna and her family have overcome many hurdles— including recessions and the pandemic—and thanks to several American Express resources and software tools like Vagaro, they’ve been able to thrive in a competitive industry.
“One of the perks of our merchant relationship is that we accept American Express at the salon. I’ve had a client since we’ve been open who is in her late 70s. She uses an American Express card for her hair appointments, and we happily accept it through our Vagaro payment platform,” says Ronna.
Since Ronna is passionate about her own community, she appreciates that Amex is also committed to helping local businesses become successful. Through the Shop Small movement, which supports small businesses around the world by encouraging consumers to shop at their neighborhood spots, the company is helping communities thrive.
For Ronna, it’s all about cultivating customer relationships, and the determination to keep building her dream. “When you’re starting out, you need a solid business plan—in writing, not in your head—and then you need to follow that plan,” says Ronna. “Through all the trials and tribulations in our business, the single most important thing was sticking to our plan.”
Learn more about the growing Shop Small movement at www.shopsmall.com.