The Northwest Wisconsin Business Development Corporation (NWBDC) and the Northwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission’s (NWRPC) Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan Fund helped Washburn Infinity, LLC find its style in Washburn, Wisconsin.
Leah Hyde has been a licensed cosmetologist after obtaining her degree from Gogebic Community College, and has always wanted to be in the salon business. Her opportunity presented itself later than planned; however, being armed with her manager’s license and an established client base, she sought an opportunity to doing what she loves and taking her own success into the direction she knows will work.
I started planning on opening my own salon well over five years ago,” Hyde said. Life events helped speed up the process, and a location was found on the southern end of Washburn on the East side of Highway 13 in a high visibility location.
“The story of this former art gallery-turned-into-a-hair-salon that is inspired by art and contemporary design, was just too good to pass up,” Hyde noted, “I’m glad I can be a part of its continued history.”
The end result of planning and a lot of effort to renovate the interior to reflect a modern, cutting edge full-service salon had ended up meeting all of Hyde’s expectations of what Washburn Infinity, LLC doing-business-as Infinity Salon will be. Hyde prides herself in offering high customer satisfaction, popular products, and an enjoyable salon environment.
Hyde knew Infinity Salon would become a full-service beauty service, including aesthetician practices (Hyde is the only licensed aesthetician who can provide waxing services from Superior to Ashland). Hyde has primarily focused on the areas others in the area haven’t, including waxing, nail and nail art, continuing education toward the new cutting styles and techniques and product education.
Her planning was not complete until a local bank and the financial options from NWBDC and NWRPC rounded out the loan package. “I had put a lot of my own money and resources into this project, so I was very excited when local funders and programs grant support with the loans needed to begin,” Hyde added.
To see if your business would qualify for a startup, transition or expansion loan product at NWRPC, contact loan fund manager Ken Pearson at (715) 635-2197.