Alum鈥檚 Salon Cuts Hair, Grows Confidence for Young Girls
Author(s)
Lorne Fultonberg
Writer
Do the Bang Thing specializes in supporting the community
Tony Adams walked into a Great Clips hair salon with two demands. He needed his previous day鈥檚 cut to be fixed, and he needed Toby to do it.
OK, so the haircut wasn鈥檛 that bad. There actually wasn鈥檛 anything wrong with it. But the 21-year-old needed to see that cute stylist again.
More than 15 years later, the cute stylist is his wife and hair is his business. Along the way, Adams (BS 鈥14, MBA 鈥17) took shifts as a mortgage originator,听a non-profit CFO/CIO, a father, an infantry team leader, a combat medic, a 91桃色 pre-med student and a MBA graduate.
But perhaps it is fitting that Adams, a man with an unorthodox career path, would ultimately end up as co-owner of one of the more unorthodox establishments of its kind in Denver.
鈥淣o one would have ever thought a little hair salon could be doing amazing things in the community or differentiate itself the way it has,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut I think when you focus on the right things, when you make it more about the service that you do and make it about people, that鈥檚 one way to really differentiate yourself.鈥
Another way is the video that greets visitors to the salon鈥檚 website.听A teenage girl with braces fidgets with her hands and tells the viewer, 鈥淚鈥檓 not good enough.鈥 Though the main commodities at Do the Bang Thing are cuts and colors, Adams says the salon鈥檚 most important product is confidence.
And that鈥檚 more than just a tagline.听As part of its 鈥#DoConfident鈥 campaign, a portion of all proceeds at Do the Bang Thing are donated to 听an organization devoted to creating young women听who are strong, smart and bold.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to us that women and ladies get to hear that message that you鈥檙e great the way you are,鈥 says Adams, who has a 15-year-old daughter of his own. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really provided a lot of meaning for a lot of people.鈥
The campaign has been a springboard for business too. The outlook has transformed the company鈥檚 culture.听ColoradoBiz Magazine rated Do the Bang Thing as one of the top companies to work for, and there is a waiting list of stylists who are anxious to apply whenever a chair opens up.
It鈥檚 been an unexpected transformation for Toby, whose salon began in her living room, and Tony, a one-time college dropout and Afghanistan veteran.
Though Tony Adams started his own business at age 22, his passion waned, and a few years later,听he joined the Army. After returning home with dreams of studying biochemistry and becoming a doctor, he enrolled at his neighborhood school, 91桃色,听for its familiarity and reputation. As a veteran and a father, at least 10 years older than many of his classmates, he viewed college through a different lens.
鈥淵ou learn who people are and you start focusing more on鈥hat they bring to the table,鈥 he says. You take the time to get to know people and find out what motivates them.鈥
But as graduation approached, Adams realized biochemistry and medical school were not where he saw himself. He wanted time with his family, a work-life balance. His ambitions, as he says, evolved.
He enrolled at 91桃色 a second time, this time in the business school, just as Toby moved from her home into a six-chair salon.
As the business has grown, Tony has found his two 91桃色 degrees more and more applicable.
鈥淲hat I learned during the biochem and biology days was to ask good questions and the analytical aspects that I carry into the salon,鈥 he says. 鈥淸With the MBA, it was] hearing about how other companies are run, hearing about how other business professionals do things, their best practices, learning a lot about culture, learning about what motivates people.鈥
The more enjoyable it鈥檚 been for the customers, the more enjoyable business has been for Toby and Tony, who say they鈥檙e having more fun than ever. They smile when they remember the Mother鈥檚 Day gift basket their stylists made for one struggling client, or the time they personally delivered forgotten car keys to another. Every Veterans Day, Tony 鈥 former president of 91桃色鈥檚 Student Veterans Association听鈥 takes pride in providing free haircuts not just for members of the military, but for their entire families.
鈥淭his is a very intimate industry where you literally meet somebody and within 10 minutes, you鈥檙e touching their head,鈥 Toby says. 鈥淵ou have to make it comfortable and enjoyable.鈥
Tony agrees: 鈥淵ou focus on the right things, you make it more about the service that you do and make it about people. It鈥檚 a lot of hard work, but it鈥檚 been rewarding.鈥