Inspiring Conversations with Tonia Mosley of Natural Beauti Hair Salon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tonia Mosley.  

Hi Tonia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Tonia Mosley. I am the owner of Natural Beauti Hair Salon and Kriale Beauty my all natural hair care line. I started doing hair when I was in middle school. There was no internet, no YouTube, no social media, and no way to really learn how to do hair. It just had to be in you. I feel that me knowing how to do hair at such a young age was a gift from God. I started out doing cornrows and braids on me and my sisters’ hair and then friends in my neighborhood. I would also do my mom’s hair because she did not know anything about doing hair. Hair has always been my passion. I remember always saying to myself, “When I get older, I am going to go to school and open a hair salon.” As I got older, I was tired of doing hair; although I still did my hair and some friends and family, I decided I did not want that to be my career anymore. After getting pregnant my first year in college and having my son, I started working different jobs and eventually ended up in the medical field. I had my daughter when I was 23. About 2 years later, I decided that I was going to go to nursing school. I started, and I enjoyed it, but I knew that was not where I was supposed to be, so I stopped. Hair was really my passion. I thought about it every day. Everyone I see even to this day, I am always looking at their hair and analyzing it. It’s like a weird obsession. I started cosmetology school when I was 29. When I finished, I started working part-time in a natural hair salon. After working there 3 months, I quit my full-time job in the doctor’s office and went full time at the salon. I worked there for 3 years, built up my clientele, and went out on my own into a salon suite. I have been in business going on 6 years, and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Going into business, I knew nothing about running a business. I had to make so many adjustments along the way. The amount of taxes you have to pay as an entrepreneur was one of the biggest surprises. Having a financial advisor was a great investment. The biggest struggle for me was managing my time and my life. When I first started at the salon, I was working 10–12-hour days, 5, sometimes 6 days a week. Missing things with my kids, feeling like I needed to take all the clients I could, just trying to make sure my business was successful. For the last 3 years, I have stopped taking new clients, I decreased my clientele, I spend way more time with my kids, and I do not miss out on anything with them. I currently only work 12-15 days a month, and I have a lot more freedom. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
I have a natural hair salon where I focus on healthy natural hair care. I believe all women should love and wear their natural hair. My goal is to help all of my clients to fall in love with their own hair, which in turn helps them to love themselves even more. Your hair is a part of what makes you beautiful, and it’s an expression of who you are. 

I have an all-natural hair care line that I created called Kriale. I started making my products in 2010, I started using them on my clients in 2018, and I started selling them online 2022. 

I am known for not just doing my clients’ hair but I care for their hair. When you come to my salon, it’s an experience. You will get exactly what you need when you sit in my chair. I have been able to help so many women and not just with their hair. I help them with their businesses, their life, their mental health, their joy, their confidence, their self esteem, their faith, and so much more. I run on schedule, and I never cancel my clients last minute. If my clients have any internal issues, it will show through their hair, and I have been able to save so many of them from hair loss because I pay attention to them and I know their hair. If anything is different, I will know. Certain medications, supplements, and also stress can make your hair fall out. I cannot tell you how many of my clients this has happened to. In the last 2 months, I have had about 8 clients whose hair was falling out because of something they were taking or prescribed by a physician. Thankfully, I know their hair so well I was able to ask them had they done anything different since their last visit, they let me know what it was, and they stopped it, and the next visit their hair was fine. That’s what sets me apart. I am most proud that I am able to do what I love, and I am who I say I am. My brand speaks for itself. If you talk to any of my clients, they will all tell you the same things about me. 

I want people to know that I am now also working as a Business Strategist/Business Coach. I help other small business owners expand their mind and their business so they can create generational wealth for their family. I see that a lot of business owners get frustrated and close down after a few years or months even. A lot of times we as business owners go into business not really understanding business, not having a great business model, not knowing how to retain our employees, not having a way to build a consistent customer base, no exit strategy, no growth plan for us or our employees and not even a thought that we could use our businesses to create generational wealth for our families and I want to change that. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Covid was a blessing for me. Due to covid, my salon had to close for 3 months. I was able to be at home with my kids and really enjoy being a mom and being at home. Working full-time, it’s like you spend more time at work than you do at home, and I decided that’s not how I want to live my life. When I went back into the salon, I changed my whole work schedule to focus on spending more time with my kids and myself. I also learned that you have to have a business that can hold up in a world crisis and be able to bounce back when it’s time. So many businesses shut down during covid and were not able to bounce back, and they had to close down. It is so important to have a business that is recession-proof. 

Contact Info:

• Website: Naturalbeautisalon.com
• Instagram: Toniamosley_
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/tonia-mosley-9877aa198
• Other: Krialebeauty.com

Image Credits
Danielle Riley Wright