Hidden Gems: Meet Sophia Boyd of Meraki Studio of Beauty

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Boyd.

Hi Sophia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? 
During the market crash of 2009 is when I decided to go back to school to pursue a career in cosmetology. Here is the backstory. 

I was laid off from General Motors and started working as a dialysis technician while taking care of my 1-year-old son. While working in dialysis, I was told that there had been budget cuts, and I was being taken from full-time to part-time. The decrease in income made it difficult to make ends meet. Before graduating high school, I wanted to pursue a career in Cosmetology but was afraid that it wasn’t secure enough. The desire to be a cosmetologist never died. 

After being demoted to part-time, I took the opportunity to pursue a dream deferred. At 25 years old, I enrolled at Transitions School of Cosmetology Careers. Once I was in rolled, I finally felt like I was on track to do what I was meant to do in life. At that time, I decided that I wanted to become an instructor and eventually on my own salon. After graduating from the cosmetology program in 2010, I started working as a cosmetologist immediately. I did return in 2013 to obtain my teaching certificate. In 2017, I open the doors to my very own hair salon and called it “Meraki Studio of Beauty” in Grand Blanc, Michigan. I chose the name Meraki because it means to create with your heart and leave a piece of yourself in your work. I chose to refer to it as a Studio of Beauty because I knew I wanted my salon to provide more than just hair services eventually. Still learning the ropes and adding the role of salon owner to my résumé life, hit me with a curveball in 2020 with COVID-19. At this time, I was faced with the decision to move forward and whether the storm or close my doors. I decided to weather the storm. In 2020, I relocated from my first 1200 sq Ft That only offered hair services, to a 2400 square foot salon that allowed me the ability to expand. That was one of the best decisions I ever made. We made it through COVID-19, and now Meraki Studio of Beauty is a full-service salon offering hair services, nail services, aesthetics, and just recently launched one of the first Luxury Yoni steam spas in the area. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, the route has not been smooth along the way. Every milestone has a story of a difficulty that pushed me to that next level. In the beginning, it was job loss, and I even experienced the foreclosure of my home while pursuing my career as a hairstylist. It was COVID-19 that pushed me to pursue a bigger building and defied the odds when everyone was running away from the industry and secluding themselves and their clientele into private suites and quitting the industry altogether because they didn’t feel like it was worth the risk. It was risky to continue to work in an open salon. Setting amongst others the advantage was moving to a bigger event building, and people felt a little safer because we were able to spread out once quarantines were lifted, and we were able to operate again. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Meraki Studio of Beauty?
I currently still operate as a hairstylist while operating the business. As a hairstylist, I specialize in healthy hair, natural hair styling, cutting, and coloring. Overall, I’m proud to say that the salon in general stands out for providing excellent customer service and a welcoming environment. One of the things that I’m very proud of is learning how to think out of the box and maintain a viable and sustainable business in the face of difficulty. Outside of collaborating with community partners to meet the needs of the underserved Meraki has created model of successful collaboration between entrepreneurs and their individual brands well, working under the umbrella of Meraki. 

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
One thing that people may not know about me is that I find it difficult to be in the “spotlight.” What I enjoy the most about my career choice is genuine and organic connections. I love meeting people, and it’s so ideal to be behind the chair because I am able to have genuine one-on-one connections with my clients. Large crowds and events are not a comfort zone. I love to make people feel good about themselves, but I do have lots of anxiety when the camera is turned on me. The beauty industry can be very superficial because it is all about what you see, but for me, it’s much deeper than that.