My Journey Through Sola Salons: Samantha Ploskonka

After living and working in Los Angeles for eight years and accomplishing all my goals as an artist, I decided to go after a lifelong dream - start my own business. I had been contemplating moving back to the Chicago area (where my family resides) so this would be a perfect time to open my own salon!

Sola was well known in Southern California, so I googled Sola Salons and chose Northwest Indiana as the area to start my new adventure. To my surprise there was a Sola in Crown Point Indiana! I called right away to start the process. The Sola team had the perfect studio for me but did have one concern, I had no clients! With studio rental it is strongly recommended that you have consistent clientele and that was something I didn’t have. I was moving across the country and leaving all of my clients in Los Angeles.

But I knew what I wanted, so I just simply stated “Yeah, I know! I am doing a bunch of online marketing so I am hoping for the best!” Once my decision was made I couldn't be swayed and the Sola team assisted me every step of the way. Since I was still in California, all of our paperwork was done via email. Even my tour of the studio was via facetime with a family member!

Leading up to my opening date I had been taking “pre booked appointments” to prepare my schedule. I use a scheduling app and have really found my clients love the ease of online booking. I also strive to perfect my social media presence with a Facebook business page, a Website and my biggest tool, Instagram. I have built a lot of my business on Instagram, shooting my work cleanly and consistently, so when I announced the move my local followers started booking!

I left California the first week of February and opened my studio on February 15th! My first day I was booked open to close! I couldn’t believe the support and feedback! From then on, continuing my standards and consistency while having that social media presence has really grown my business. Positive word of mouth seems to travel like wildfire in the community and I couldn’t be happier my first year open! This February I will celebrate my 1 year anniversary at Sola Salons and I am proud to say I am projected to reach just shy of $90K booked. This number blew me away and was way above my projected total for year one. But is the perfect example of how far dedication, standards and consistency can take you!

Sola Salons can be the perfect solution for someone who either has a clientele, an exceptional dedication and ambition or the qualities to manage your own business. There are many responsibilities in doing so, but the benefits are SO rewarding. Make sure you are not only an artist, but business savvy! Know your numbers, set your goals and create a consistent brand!

Visit Samantha Ploskonka at Sola Salon Studios, Crown Point IN.