Mompreneurs: A Spotlight On Beauty Mark Owner Kimberly Hylton

Embrace The Boulders

Then, Hylton got unexpectedly pregnant. This would be what Hylton refers to as “a boulder.” Boulders are events in life that feel scary, overwhelming, unexpected and – at the time – bad. But they go onto be catalysts that push you forward to where you need to be. And that’s just what having a baby did. Once her baby arrived, Hylton had to stay home, so she started doing hair from her one-bedroom apartment. That’s when she realized how high her earning potential was when she didn’t have to give half of it away to a salon owner. That calling to open her own salon was getting stronger.

Just around that time, as luck would have it, Hylton’s mom found her a space to rent. It was the perfect size and in the perfect location – and the rent was affordable. Plus, her mom gave her $3,000 to renovate it, so all the signs were there: it was time to open her very own first salon. Beauty Mark opened its doors to customers not long after.

It was not all smooth sailing from there. Hylton didn’t know about the realities of owning a business – including the need for insurance, the cost of utilities, and…taxes. She hadn’t been charging customers a sales tax, so when the IRS came knocking for their cut, she got stuck with a huge bill.

Hylton says she has her youthful naivete at the time to thank for keeping her going. But, Redd also notes that making mistakes early on is not a reason to give up. In fact, they are bound to happen and new business owners need to embrace them as part of the process.