Dear Clients,

Twelve years ago today, I opened the doors to The Concept.

And today, on our 12th anniversary, I’m writing the email I always knew I would write someday. I just didn’t know it would be today.

When I created The Concept, it really was just that: a concept.

There was nothing quite like it, and I had this very clear idea of what I wished existed. A beautiful salon where luxury didn’t have to mean complicated or out of reach. Where you could get an incredible blowout for $25 or a keratin treatment for $149 and not wonder what was going to be added to your bill at the end. Where the products were good for you, the service was exceptional, and most importantly, you could trust the people taking care of you.

In the beginning, people would actually ask us, “Wait, that’s really the price?”

Eventually, you stopped asking. You trusted us. And of everything we’ve built over these twelve years, that trust may be the thing I’m proudest of.

For so much of The Concept’s life, I was here every single day. Opening the doors in the morning, closing them at night, and building this business piece by piece alongside my team.

And somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like just a salon.

We watched you get married and have babies. We got you ready for first dates, job interviews, graduations, birthdays, vacations, and some of the biggest days of your lives. We sat with you through heartbreak and loss and new beginnings. You watched us grow up, too.

Clients became friends. Team members became family. And this little “concept” I dreamed up became twelve years of my life that I will never, ever be able to separate from who I am.

Which is probably why this next part took me a while.

A couple of years ago, I started to feel something changing in me.

Nothing was wrong. The business was doing great. My team was doing great. So many of our new clients were still finding us simply because one of you told them they had to come here.

But I could feel that I was changing.

And I’ve learned enough about myself by now to know the difference between having a hard season and knowing, somewhere deep down, that it’s time to make room for something new.

So I gave myself time.

I didn’t make a decision on a hard day. I didn’t force an answer before I had one. I kept showing up, kept listening, kept building other things, and waited until I knew.

I knew the day would eventually come; I just didn’t know when. So quietly, and very intentionally, I stopped hiring. We stopped selling gift cards and series. I wanted to give myself the space to know for sure without creating more obligations.

A few months ago, I finally knew what I needed to do.

Was I completely ready to do it? I don’t know if you ever are when you’re walking away from something that is still successful. I could always find a reason to wait another month, another year, another milestone. But eventually, I had to stop asking myself if I was ready and trust that I knew what was right for the long term.

The Concept had become everything I once hoped it could be, but being a salon owner no longer felt aligned with the woman I am today, the woman this business helped forge over the past twelve years.

I think one of the most beautiful parts of building a successful business is getting to a place where you can make a decision like this not out of fear or scarcity, but out of a desire for growth.

You build people. You teach them everything you know. You watch them become leaders in their own right. And if you’ve done that well, eventually the business gives everyone something you couldn’t have given them in the beginning: freedom.

The freedom for them to take everything they’ve learned and build whatever comes next for themselves.

And the freedom for me to look at what we’ve built, look at the women this business has helped grow, and know that the pinnacle of success in this chapter has been reached.

My job here is done.

And I mean that in the most beautiful way possible. Not because there isn’t more we could do, but because I know I’ve done what I came here to do.

After many conversations with my team about what this transition would look like, yesterday we sat down together one more time, and I put the decision of when we should officially close in their hands.

October 3rd will be The Concept’s final day.

And before you wonder what that means for your favorite stylist, don’t worry. Everyone will be right here at The Concept through October 3rd while each of the girls takes the time to make the best decision for what comes next and gets settled into her new chapter. I, of course, will be right there with them every step of the way.

As those plans become official, I promise we’ll make sure you know exactly where everyone is going. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing updates through email and on our Instagram, along with each stylist’s contact information, so you can stay connected with the person you’ve trusted with your hair all these years. We’re going to do everything we can to make this transition feel as easy and seamless as possible for all of you.

And as emotional as it is to write all of this, I want you to know something that may or may not surprise you: I am genuinely happy.

I’m proud. I’m grateful beyond words. And I am so incredibly excited about what’s ahead, not only for me, but for every woman on this team as she begins her own next chapter.

And somehow, I get to tell you this on our 12th anniversary. I swear I couldn’t have planned that timing if I tried.

“I was talking to Kerri this morning, one of our long-time stylists who has also become a close friend over the years, and she said, ‘It’s all meant to happen this way.’”

And I swear, that is exactly how this feels.

Sometimes you get to look at something you built with your whole heart and say, look what we did.

And then you get to turn the page.

There’s something so beautifully full-circle about getting to celebrate everything The Concept has been on the exact day I get to tell you we’re ready for what comes next.

By the grace of God, my team’s hard work, your loyalty, and everything we have poured into this place over the years, we get to close The Concept the way I think most business owners would hope to close something they’ve built and loved for so long: with time, gratitude, and so much joy for what has been and what is still to come.

There is so much more I’d love to share with you about how I came to this decision, what these last couple of years have looked like behind the scenes, and what it feels like to know when something you love is complete.

If you’re interested in a more in-depth, behind-the-scenes conversation, I’m going to record an episode of my new podcast, Practically Ready, about all of it. There is no way I could fit twelve years, or everything that went into this decision, into one email. I’ll send you the link as soon as it’s live.

And over the next several weeks, keep an eye on your inbox and our Instagram. We’ll be sharing everything you need to know about our final weeks, where everyone is headed, and hopefully finding some really fun ways to celebrate twelve incredible years together.

And as for what’s next for me...

Twelve years ago, The Concept started because I looked at what had become accepted and thought, there has to be another way.

I’ve always said, you are the best investment you’ll ever make. And funny enough, twelve years later, that idea is at the center of what I’m building next.

I can’t tell you much more yet, except that it will be built right here, in the same space where we planted our roots twelve years ago.

I cannot wait to show you what’s next. But for now, I want to end where this whole letter really began: with gratitude.

Thank you for sitting in our chairs. For sending us your daughters, your mothers, your sisters, and your friends. For trusting us before there were hundreds of reviews telling you that you could. For growing with us. For cheering us on. And for giving a girl with an idea twelve years of memories she never could have imagined when she first turned that key.

What a beautiful chapter this has been.

And somehow, it feels like we’re just getting started.

With all my love and gratitude,
Nina