Meet Niki Cicak | Owner of Day Lily Salon and Spa and Author of Thriving In Salon Ownership: What They Don’t Teach You About Owning A Salon

We had the good fortune of connecting with Niki Cicak and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Niki, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
You can’t be an entrepreneur unless you are a risk taker. In fact, I know you can’t. After-all, it’s even in the definition! Merriam Webster defines “Entrepreneur” as one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. There is no gain without taking risk. Now, you can take educated, calculated, researched risk; but still taking a risk all the same. There is of course some fear that can accompany those risks, but you will never reach your goals without taking the leap. Every day you open the doors to your business you’re taking a risk. But those risks pay off as soon as customer walk through the door.

I am extremely blessed to be surrounded by a myriad of extremely talented entrepreneurs and I can guarantee they would all the same the same thing. You never get that opportunity for growth and the chance to really stretch without putting yourself into the “uncomfortable unknown” as I call it. When we opened Day Lily Salon and Spa you want to talk about jumping right into the uncomfortable unknown! Talk about taking the ultimate risk! Anyone who has ever taken the plunge into business ownership knows that you can’t ever be sure of how it’s all going to go. You have no idea the trains that will hit you when you least expect it. But you still take the chance. Because without the first leap, a bird never flies.

The more important part of your question about risk is how you mitigate that risk. The answer to that is the hard work, blood, sweat and tears you put into that business. No one is going to hold your hand through the process; your sweat equity is what mitigates that risk. You can’t only be a risk taker to own a business, you must be innovative, driven, motivated and you must believe quitting is not an option. And most importantly, don’t let ANYONE tell you that you can’t. You must believe in yourself and your dream in order to push past any resistance you get from anyone anywhere. Don’t get me wrong, every entrepreneur at some point has been like, “Forget this. I’m out!” And that’s ok! We’re human and we have our moments. But you give yourself that moment to stop, take a breath, maybe get a massage, pull up those bootstraps and get back to work. No one ever said it would be easy. In fact, it’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do, but it does pay off.

I always say that I like being in that uncomfortable unknown because I know in that uncomfortable, risk-taking place, something great is about to happen on the other side. Be brave!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I love talking about what sets us apart! I believe it’s the atmosphere we provide for clients and the opportunities we provide our clients to be more active in our community.

Let’s start with our atmosphere! Not only do we provide exceptional services and products to our clients but it’s all in a fun atmosphere! We are an open concept salon and we laugh that we are more like an old school barbershop all the time! We are always laughing and joking and clients are interreacting with each other and the other technicians! It’s great! We have clients tell us all the time that when they come in, they feel like they are getting their hair done in their own living rooms with their girlfriends! What better compliment is there? Our clients love that they can be open, vulnerable and know that they are going to be safe, loved and encouraged. We believe whole heartedly in building up and empowering every client that enters our doors.

Now for how we get involved with our community! We believe in giving back to our community and we have a special connection to our local first responders. In 2016, we took over an annual event that raised money for El Paso County Search and Rescue. In 2018, we suffered a devastating fire and had it not been for our world class Colorado Springs Fire Department we would have lost everything. From that event we wanted to take our efforts up a notch in supporting or local first responders. We instituted our Heroes.Haircuts.Honor. Program where we provide free haircuts for our local first responders. We also helped raise money for tactical ballistic vests and a chaplain’s vehicle for the CSFD. All in all we have raised nearly $30,000 for local first responders through various efforts. But the best part, our clients are part of all of it! They attend events, they throw money in the boot and they get to better engage with our first responder community. It’s a win-win!

In addition, we have launched our Community and Cocktails Networking Event. Once a month we bring entrepreneurs together to network, share ideas and we bring in powerhouse speakers to help them grow both personally and professionally. We have even branched out chapters where people in other communities can implement our model. From that was born Community and Cocktails and Igniting Wellness Networking Events Systems.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well for us, it is very important to give “Shout Outs” to our friends and their businesses as well! I would probably start the week out with a private party at home and hire the world’s greatest personal chef company, Stoneking LTD (www.chefjeffgstoneking.com). Then one night we could sit out on the patio of Red Leg Brewing in Colorado Springs, share an ice-cold brew and look at the amazing view over the mountains. As a family we LOVE taking my niece and nephews up to the North Pole Santa’s Workshop up on Hwy 24. As for restaurants we love Edelweiss German Restaurant and Beasts and Brews then maybe catch some live music at the Whiskey Baron Dance Hall. I also own a Jeep so getting up on some trails would be a must along with some Axe Throwing at one of the local spots. Another couple of family friendly places we all enjoy are Overdrive Raceway and Lost Island then follow up with a trip to Rizutos Ice Cream Shop!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Mom and Dad are my inspiration. You’ve never met two harder working people. They taught us work ethic, they taught us to be strong and how to be brave. We lost my Dad in 2014 right after my Mom and I opened Day Lily Salon and Spa. It nearly killed us all. But my Mom was that example of what it means to never quit. She is my hero.

My siblings: Tony, Joey and Mary. There aren’t words to tell you what you all mean to me. Any crazy, hair-brained idea I have, they are my biggest cheerleaders. And to Mary, thank you for joining Mom and I in this crazy Day Lily journey we are on. Without you, we would not be anywhere near where we are now.

Corey, for being everything you were to me.

We have also been very blessed to have an incredible community of fellow entrepreneurs who have inspired us along our journey. Having the wisdom of those who have gone before us to share guidance, encouragement and friendship with us has been truly inspirational. We could never repay them all for their kindness.

We have an amazing network of other health and wellness professionals within Achieve Systems that we lean on daily. The coaching, partnerships, friendships and mentorships we have received through Achieve Systems has played a pivotal role in our expansion and and our goals for the future.

There are about a million and two books and podcasts that I have read/listened to throughout my entrepreneurial journey. NEVER STOP LEARNING! You will NEVER know it all so make sure you keep digging and growing. I couldn’t even tell you just one place that I feel like really changed my life, but I do believe fully it is the compilation of all the things I have done to grow and develop personally and professionally.

Website: http://DayLilySalonAndSpa.com

Instagram: @DayLilySalonAndSpa

Linkedin: NikiCicak

Twitter: @DayLilySalon

Facebook: @DayLilySalonAndSpa

Youtube: Day Lily Salon and Spa

Image Credits
Credit images to Wild Beauty Photo