Paula Eriya: Entrepreneur using vegan products

Paula Eriya migrated from Jamaica to Toronto as a young girl and spent her teenage years in New York City, where she was exposed to a wide canvas of fashion, culture, the arts, and beauty. Paula’s time in New York inspired her to make her own impact in the beauty industry, and she has since worked with fashion designers, musicians, and artists to encourage them through mentorship to cultivate their own style and expression in their respective fields.

A devoted mother of four, Paula has turned her time and talents toward giving back to her community. Her greatest passion is serving widows, single mothers, and young adults, and she has put together a team to assist single mothers to dress for success and confidently re-enter the workforce. As well, she has held events to showcase young entrepreneurs in fashion, music, and the arts. Paula and her family have had the life-changing opportunity to take part in the yearly Hope Worldwide of Canada events, which help raise funds to support many community organizations.

Paula is known for her impeccable taste, style, and progressive techniques, which impress her clients and foster a relationship of lasting trust.

Paula congrats on the success of the Beauty Lounge Salon and Spa. Walk me through your thought process about how you started the salon and spa?

Jerry, I have been in the business for over 28 years. I have this burning desire to help people look and feel their best. I had five salons before this one.  I wanted to merge my faith along with my services to my clients in the best way possible.  I decided to go back to school in 2012. Funny enough, I went to Tyndale for 4 years to get my undergrad in Religious Education. I found the structure of my study helped me in many ways to deal with my diverse clientele on a day-to-day basis.  Beauty Lounge Salon and Spa came about while I was in my final year in school. I wanted to get back in the business right away and the opportunity presented itself.

What were the initial challenges?

My initial challenge was start-up cash. I was in school for four years not working. Banks could not loan us any money as we had no collateral. God opened doors. I had a very kind investor and two friends who also invested as shareholders in the business. I got enough to purchase the business outright and a small amount for operations, we had to go through a few bad employees to find the right ones.

Did you take a course in business and hair styling or it is something you learned along the way?

I went to school to train in Salon business operations. I learned some practical skills along the way.  I have had a love for this business since I was 15 years old.

Talk to me about what it means for women to be empowered in the 21st century?

It is amazing to be among the empowered women in the 21st century. Today, women have a voice in politics, media, schools, and the corporate world altogether. We are entrepreneurs, leaders, lawyers, doctors and so much more. Women are making legislative laws and impacting society on a whole. I am grateful to live in a country that recognizes women for their contribution in the various sectors, and for the women’s movement that advocates for the needs of the sick, children, and the elderly. I think overall women’s role in the 21st century has advanced beyond what we hoped for and expected.

What are the hairstyles and trends for 2019?

For 2019, big hairstyles, big eyebrows, and loud colors are back like in the movie, Hairspray. Some people are into trends and fashion while others are into the more classic look. Multi-color, Balayage, and really whatever the customers like. Trend or no trend, people like what they like and I like to fit my client into the area and lifestyle they live in.

Why should my female audience come to your salon?

Your female clients should come to me because:

1. We are an environmentally friendly salon, we are Green Circled certified, which means that we recycle 90% of all waste in our salon.
2. We offer many services; our Salon and Spa are a one-stop-shop to meet all your beauty needs (from head to toe).
3. Our product is mostly Vegan, Organic, and Natural.
4. We offer 4 choices in our nail polishes, Vegan, Natural, Organic, and regular nail polish.
5. We offer skin tightening, skin resurfacing, Micro-Needling, in other words, nonevasive skin treatments.
6. Our hair colors are natural and ammonia-free, as well as some of our bleaches. Jerry, I can go on, but I would like for you to check it out for yourself.

My daughter is 17 and if I want to bring some of her friends for a hair, do is that possible?

Our environment is definitely teen-friendly. We have high school girls come in all the time with their friends, they love the atmosphere and the services because we are attentive to their every need.

What do you look for in staff when you hire?

Our staff must be driven, honest, peace-loving, and kind. They must have the drive and the desire to exceed the client’s expectations in any and all of our services. They must have excellent communication and customer service skills.

How are food, faith, family, and finance important to you?

Food is very important to me. My body is God’s temple.  I need to keep it clean and healthy. I try to eat what is best for my body.

My Faith is extremely important, in this fallen world. I believe faith is the only thing that is constant in my life.

My family is of great importance to me. They are a gift to me from God. A gift-worthy of respect and love and most of all gratitude. I live every day grateful for the blessing of my faith and my family.

Finance is crucial to our survival. This is of great importance to me, without it we cannot accomplish our goals, feed our family nor take care of ourselves. A balanced financial life is a bliss. I am working on becoming debt-free and financially secure as this is a necessity.