Meet Tara Zupan | Salon owner, Hairstylist, Wife and Mom
We had the good fortune of connecting with Tara Zupan and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Tara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In a very simple answer, I needed a place to work close to home. My husband and I had recently moved to Colorado from Wisconsin with our two children. I have always had a strong conviction to want to work close to home after having children. I want to be close enough to them if there is any type of emergency. We moved to Roxborough Colorado and quickly learned that it was a bit of a hidden gem and very underdeveloped. Although this is one of our favorite things about it, there was not a Hair Salon in this area at all.
After my first day of scoping out potential Salons to call home, I was not loving the driving time and distance I was looking at for my standards.
On the way home I noticed a vacant spot in the only commercial space in our immediate area and made a phone call.
I got home and my husband asked how job hunting went. I told him I called on that empty spot in the strip mall. He replied “absolutely not”…… and here we are.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am most proud looking back at the constant growth and small steps that over time became large leaps.
In high school, I filled in as receptionist for my aunt that owned her own salon and beauty school. That gave me an insight on the industry itself. Honestly, I didn’t think it was for me. Unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, I chose to enter into her cosmetology program to have a great job to get me through college.
I moved 3 hrs, north in my early 20’s, to the City of Lacrosse, Wi. I immediately loved the area and made it my long term home. Rule #1 in this industry is “it takes so much time and hard work to build a solid clientele, you will never want to leave it.”
This is when I was introduced to Aveda. It changed my life. I resonated with their mission, and it started a long road of wanting to be educated on what is going on, in my body. That was a giant shift in my life of a healthier lifestyle and intrigued to learn more.
I found that I loved doing hair. I get to go to work every day and get to know and learn from interesting, amazing people, build major bonds with them, and make them feel beautiful. Not a bad gig at all.
After 7 years at one salon, I learned that my current situation was a very toxic environment for me. That is still one of the greatest things I have endured because those experiences are what gave me the tools to apply to how I want my salon to run today.
I decided to finally go out on my own and rent a booth and be self-employed. Scariest day ever. I was self-employed for 12 years. I think this part of my time was just working hard and enjoying all of my long-term clients. During this time, the profound part of this time is, I found the magic of women lifting up women. I found a powerful friend group personally and also found lifetime, strong friendships through the connection of other booth rental co-workers.
When we decided to move, I had to leave behind this long-time clientele. It seemed like no big deal at the time. Once we left, I realized so much how these people have impacted my life. I missed them like family. That definitely hit me a lot more to the core in reflection after the move.
In a quick summary, my most gratifying and excited part of the look back at my career is really personal growth through professional growth. It has all made me who I am today to share with my new clientele and particularly my staff.
I opened this salon with a large focus on my staff. I want my staff to go home every day feeling empowered from the comradery and support they feel from their work family. I want them to yearn for their work family when they have a bad day in their personal life. I want them to be treated as an employee the way I would want to be treated and appreciated. I want them to show up every day working towards the growth of something bigger than themselves and knowing they will grow themselves and in part, highly benefit from that. I want them to work to live and not live to work.
I am so proud of the salon culture.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I have a hard time with this one. I will admit that my weakest link in my balance of life since moving, has been my exploration of my new beautiful environment. We are coming up on 5 years of being here and a large amount of my and my husband’s time has been focused on making our business successful and the rest gets focused on our kids. Based on my limited experiences, my answer is: paddle boarding at Chatfield
hiking Waterton Canyon
horseback riding at Chatfield State Park
my favorite crystal shops- Golden Rock Shop and Lightening Horse Healing Ground
concert at Redrocks or anywhere really
5 Star Salt Caves
Loucilles for breakfast
Arrowhead Golf Course for lunch or Waterton Tavern
Los Dos Potrillos or La Loma for dinner
Jps Asian Bistro is a life saver in our area too
Bronco game (if they’re playing the packers)
We live in such a beautiful place with so much to offer that has become a priority to see it all!
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
All of my family and friends for their love, encouragement and support. The neighboring businesses that have always been welcoming and offered a sense of community from the start. A shout out to my staff, they make it all possible. Our amazing clientele that gave us a chance and offer so much loyalty. And finally, my husband John. His belief in me and his ability to push me to the highest level of myself is incomprehensible.
Website: https://www.salonlizzette.com/
Image Credits
Heather Phipps at Heather Phipps Photography for headshot Kristen Davis at Kristinas Design Studios for Logo
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