On the Job: Reflecting Her Style

Michelle Smith has her own sense of style, knows what she likes and has never considered herself a “girlie girl.”

For years she’s had purple streaks in her hair, rocks a rainbow of colors in the ink on her arms and says she started “dressing like a boy” in about the eighth grade.

She’ll splurge on expensive and stylish jeans, purses and sunglasses, but will match $200 jeans with a $10 shirt.

And, she can’t imagine wearing anything but her beloved Vans with a wedding dress when she walks down the aisle.

So, when Smith partnered up with her parents and opened a Santee hair salon in January, it was going to reflect her personality.

The result is , a cross between a hair salon, a 1950s diner and an old-time garage, sprinkled with a dash of Tinseltown.

“I wanted it '50s-ish,” she says. “Retro, sort of. And I like that old Hollywood.”

Smith, 25, decorated the place herself, with help from her parents, Leon and Cheryl Smith, and an ex-boyfriend who designed and built many of the wooden fixtures.

Clients and visitors are greeted by a sign over the front desk that reads: “What happens in the Hair Garage Stays in the Hair Garage.” On the walls are vintage signs and art that incorporate cars, garages and women, along with glamour photos of Audrey Hepburn.

It is by no means your average hair salon, but is by every means a reflection of Smith and her eclectic tastes.

“I was able to design it exactly how I wanted it,” says Smith, who loves old cars and hopes to one day build a ‘50s-era hot rod. “I’ve always wanted it this way. Ideally, I’d want to have a huge warehouse and have it be like a garage or salon – one day that will happen…

“When I told my friends it was going to be like a garage, they all looked at me like, ‘What’s wrong with you!’ ”

Diving in ‘head first’

Smith says she’s wanted to be a hair stylist for as long as she can remember.

After graduating from in 2004, she went to beauty school and graduated in 13 months, getting her certification in November of 2005.

While she was going to beauty school she worked as a receptionist for Millicent and Company (now in La Mesa), then rented a booth at the shop for several years after getting her license.

Last year, she decided it was time to run her own place.

So she and her parents pooled their resources, leased space (which had previously housed a hair salon) in a small shopping center off Carlton Oaks Boulevard last October and then spent more than two months redesigning it.

They opened the shop in early January.

“It was scary,” she says. “But I dove in head first.”

So far, she hasn’t broken her neck.

In fact, things have gone surprisingly well. She has 10 booths in the shop, and nine are occupied (either by hairdressers on commission or those who rent space). Also in the shop are a nail specialist and an esthetician. Hot Rodz and Betties is open five days a week, and most days are busy, Smith says – a far cry from when she first opened.

Back then, she got a steady stream of clients who had followed her over from her business at Millicent and Company. But times were slow for the three other hairdressers in the shop.

“The first weeks were scary,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to go out of business.’ I had just three employees and all they could do was sit around every day and wait for clients.”

After about a month, things picked up as word of mouth spread and people started to notice the shop (located near the corner of Carlton Hills Boulevard and Mast, next to ).

Smith says she’s worked hard to get the word out, setting up .

Now, with the holidays approaching – always a busy time for salons – she believes there are good times ahead.

“Especially when days are really busy in here, sometimes I’ll look around and I just want to smile,” she says.

Family partnership

Michelle is at the shop five days a week – it’s closed on Sundays and Mondays – usually from 9 or 10 in the morning till after closing time, which is 7 p.m.

Then on Sundays, she and her mom will spend several hours cleaning the place from top to bottom.

“My mom is crazy about cleaning,” she says.

Though Michelle is the one who runs the shop on a daily basis, her parents are active partners – and not just because of their initial investment. Cheryl Smith pitches in with cleaning, laundry, taxes and anything else that’s needed; Leon played a lead role in getting the place operational.

It was Leon who brainstormed with Michelle to come up with the “Hair Garage” portion of the name, a title they figured would be “gender friendly” to attract male customers, too. Michelle says her sister and mother came up with the “Hot Rodz and Betties.” And no, there is no Betty. It just sounded right.

These days, her business takes up most of her time. When she goes home – she lives with her parents just blocks away – she has little inclination to go out to party with friends. She’s too exhausted.

But not too tired to keep thinking about her business, how far it’s come and what the future holds.

One day, she hopes her shop becomes “the big salon” in Santee, and a launching pad for even more.

 “Eventually I’d like to have more than one salon,” she says. “I’ve already talked about that, and my Mom just says, ‘Settle down.’ ”