May 16, 2017

Meet Nevsy Zee and Tania Gilbert of Custom Hair Lounge in Lincoln Park

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nevsy Zee and Tania Gilbert.

Custom Hair Lounge, the salon we know it to be today, was started as a small studio business by Nevsy Zee and Tania Gilbert. Two best friends who immigrated to the US in the summer of 2001.

Nevsy, Tania, tTell us how this story begins.
Nevsy: I remember meeting Tania and thinking ‘how in the world would we even communicate!?’
Tania: That’s right I remember that you barely spoke English, so yes I was wondering the same thing myself! (Laughing)

Tania Maneva was born and raised in Macedonia but was living in London while studying fashion design and Nevsy Zee was a model in Italy and own her own salon in her native Sofia, Bulgaria. When the two first met in Chicago they had no idea what the future had in store for them.

Tania: Nevsy and I had an instant connection. When we first worked together we were side by side every day, overcoming not only the obvious culture shock but also a lot of other obstacles both professionally and personally which I believe really brought us together as true allies.

Nevsy: I remember back then, and how we constantly pushed and pulled each other, but at the same time were always striving to move each other forward while making mistakes and learning how to fix them all at the same time. Learning the new rules of life and about high level hair styling in America was all consuming. Our initial understanding of just how conservative some clients could be, along with absorbing the rules of baseball and adapting to the Chicago lifestyle, was truly a trial by fire!

Tania and Nevsy started working together at a small salon on the North side (Fases), before Nevsy decided it was time to become the entrepreneur she knew she could be. She followed her dreams in opening her own business.

Tania: Nevsy always told me: ‘Believe in miracles!’. I used to laugh out loud, but when she left our salon I was in shock, I didn’t know that she was really serious! She said ‘I’m going to start my own salon in Lincoln Park, you can come if you want?’. I had just had my son so I needed a solid income and was unsure at first.

Nevsy: I wanted to continue living and working with my best friend and the sister I’ve never had, but knew she needed some time to trust in my vision, my dream. I knew then I had a lot of work to do if she was going to come and join me in my adventure. It was a very difficult time for me, I learnt how to install floors and paint, all the plumbing while all the while investing in a place that was not even mine! I started working with a one chair home business , seeing friends, asking for referrals and trying to grow the business. I called it Nevsy Zee Lounge at first.

Tania: I loved what she was doing but we were both were missing each other, so I wasn’t going to leave my best friend alone but at the same time I wanted to make sure both of our remaining clients would follow us. In our industry you are only as strong as your book. We needed to make sure of our customers loyalty as much as our own.

Nevsy: When Tania started working part time with me I told her: ‘Dusho (translates My Soul from old Serbian), please come and join me I don’t want to become rich and famous all alone!’ (*Laughing)

The salon was up and running for two years before the ladies incorporated it and created Custom Hair Lounge in 2009.

Tania: The rest is history, we went through adding more custom fittings, to construction, renovations, and many repairs, mistakes, and large payments all in that time. We are now the proud owners of the building, and our salon business . without outside investors all in part to our long hours behind the chair. Some days I feel like I want to go back and begin again, but because I did it all with my best friend I think I’d do it the very same way again.

Nevsy: We have our moments and we fight like little girls but at the end of the day we share the same dream about our retirement and future. We appreciate each other and have each other’s back no matter what. At the end of the day this what matters most, our love and respect for each other.

Today Custom Hair Lounge employs 16 people and is celebrating their 10th Birthday with an Annual party in which more than 400 VIP guests, old clients ,celebrities, and friends come to show their support and love to these two wonderful women and their incredible team.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Tania: The first mistake we made was to think that we could have a 3rd partner. She was going to run the Spa side of the business but we quickly discovered that if you are not very closely tied to some people you can be too forgiving and understanding. We made a huge investment and as many in the beauty business know the hard way, we should always stick to what we know best. The spa and salon business rarely work well together. It’s either one or the other.

Nevsy: I was always the creative one with the vision, but Tania compliments me with her business experience and excellent negotiations skills. We are the perfect marriage and later in real life, when our actual marriages failed, we knew we still had each other and nothing was going to stop us of reaching the future we had committed to build for one other. We ended-up closing the spa side of the business and expanding salon services. The worst part was when after our huge renovation and expansion, someone came to our landlord and made a cash offer to purchase our building.

Tania: Everything almost failed in front of our eyes. We had 7 days to match the offer and as you know there’s not a single bank that will give you a large loan in a short period of time. We had to take a personal loan to save the business. I still don’t know how we managed to make it all work, but we did.

Nevsy: We were both laughing and thinking ‘where are miracles when you need them?’ . Thankfully we surround ourselves with incredible network of people and clients who are always there for us. We had help from everyone and we were so pleased to save not only our business but the financial security of our team. There were no doubt many sleepless nights thinking, strategizing and making plans and sacrifices to make this all happen.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Custom Hair Lounge – what should we know?
Nevsy: Well Custom Hair Lounge is known mainly for our customized attention to each and every individual. We conduct a detailed consultation initially, and are very dedicated to constantly training our team to understand not only the lifestyle, regimen and creativity of each customer, but to truly listen to their true needs.

We analyze the hair and scalp condition of each guest. We are not afraid to push the boundaries of hair and style. The benefit of coming to us is that we do not have a color and cut department. Your stylist is also your colorist and cutter so a perfect match is created just for you with impeccable vision and detailed execution.

Tania: Nevsy teaches on many international platforms such as currently being an International American Crew All Star. I, myself, studied Fashion and Movie Make up so I feel we are both very well rounded in our chosen profession. I think we both have a deeper knowledge from both everyday styles to fashion runways and print work. So no matter what your style is we can deliver. Attending and working many fashion, TV and Video segments we have the experience but also a fashion forward vision.

Nevsy: Education is key. We never stop learning! Really, we take continuing education classes at our salon and with our team every month. We attend international shows, working hand in hand with the leaders from Australia to Japan, London, and Tokyo, so our vision and education is truly Global.

Tania: The products we select to work with we personally test first hand before bringing them over to the salon floor. We include our team in many of the decisions we make and the products we use. And yes we carry Green lines, we recycle everything from the hair, aluminum and plastic, to the left over color thanks to a great company Green Circle salon. We were one of the first salons to get on board with that green vision and start the recycling program while caring for our planet.

Nevsy: We have been on both sides as workers and now as owners and we deeply care for the relationships with our team. We want to be surrounded by talented, self-motivated individuals who want to grow, learn and leave a positive mark on this earth.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Honesty
Integrity
Loyalty
Happiness

Tania: To be sustainable and maintain what you have accomplished. Consistency and execution of our outstanding services is key, but always trying to exceed your client’s expectations is key. Giving more and always pushing the boundaries of our art. Working closely with people and knowing your competition and clients, the economy, being flexible and able to satisfy the needs of your team and clients in this ever changing industry. There are so many salons and businesses opening and closing just as rapidly because they don’t stay current, or focused.

Nevsy: Being hand in hand with social media and technology, online booking. The latest upgrades on all software and of course being balanced.

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