“I just knew I didn’t want to work for somebody else, have somebody else control my paycheck,” said Barbara Bollinger, 47, owner and operator of the Bothell-based Senior Salons.
Started in 1998, Senior Salons operates in 35 retirement communities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout the Seattle area serving some 1,500 seniors. The company has a staff of about 35, plus a management group of three.
For her efforts in creating the company, Bollinger now has been nominated by the Seattle-based Women Business Owners (WBO) as one of five finalists for the 28th annual Nellie Cashman Award.
According to the WBO, the award honors women business owners “who have enhanced the status of women entrepreneurs through their vision, perseverance and fearless, relentless leadership in business and the community.”
The companies involved must have gross revenues of more than $1 million. Winners will be announced during a banquet Oct. 14.
“This has absolutely been a joint effort,” said Bollinger, who insisted business partner Elisa Tobin, 42, deserves plenty of credit for the success of Senior Salons.
With a corporate background, Tobin handles the company’s books and database, while Bollinger takes care of staff, scheduling and the company’s salons.
“It’s wonderful to have someone you can trust to bounce things off of,” Bollinger said.
Bollinger said she owned her own salon for many years, but sold it and built an in-home business that allowed her to keep cutting hair, but also focus on raising her three children. She opened her first senior salon in Kenmore’s Spring Estates. She said she soon realized she could expand her operations and sought help from Tobin.
“I thought, what a great idea,” Tobin said of Bollinger’s notion for senior salons. “There’s such a need for it.”
“There’s all kinds of speciality care for hair,” Bollinger said. “Why not for seniors?”
For example, Bollinger said her salons — usually one leased and very well-decorated room in a senior facility — do a lot of shampoo and sets that mainstream beauty shops might not be able to do.
“It’s kind of a dying art,” Bollinger added.
Basically, in the case of a shampoo and set, senior women come in and have their hair done and then might not touch it except slightly for a week. And both Bollinger and Tobin noted many of their female customers keep their hair appointments religiously.
“They’d rather miss a medical appointment than miss having their hair done,” Bollinger said, adding her staff and stylists get to know their clients pretty well.
“We see them more than we see family sometimes,” Bollinger said.
Those clients often arrive to carefully decorated salons. Bollinger said she loves decorating her rooms, that, for example she has boxes and boxes of fall decor she can’t wait to break out in a few weeks.
Though she eventually realized she wanted to be her own boss, Bollinger said she didn’t exactly start out that way.
“I was 18 and sitting on my couch and had no plans for anything,” Bollinger admitted, adding her mother quickly informed her that status quo wasn’t going to last.
Not incidentally, Bollinger’s parents both were both local entrepreneurs, operating Bob’s Place, a long-time Kenmore restaurant.
Regarding the possibility of the Cashman award, in at least one way, the nomination already has paid off for Bollinger.
In connection with the award, she did a radio interview for KKNW-AM 1150, which also has programming at www.chatwithwomen.com. The talk must have went pretty well as Bollinger will soon have her own show, “Believing It with Barbara.” She plans on sharing her business skills, as well as life stories.
“It’s been a great experience,” Tobin said of her friend’s nomination for the Cashman award. “Just making it to the finals is great, it’s been a long process just to get this far.”
