Meet Emily Moll: Owner & stylist at Cedar Hair Studio

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

Hi Emily, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I first started doing hair, I was working two jobs. I would work my shift at the salon from 9am-4pm, and I’d immediately head to my second job serving and bartending at the restaurant I’d been working at since I was 16. I’d finish that shift around 11pm and I’d wake up the next day and do it all over again. If I wasn’t at the salon, I was at the restaurant, and vise-versa. I did this for about a year and a half before I decided it was time to fully leap into my hair career. From the time I started working at age 16, I’ve become somewhat addicted to work- always picking up shifts, forming my friend groups around my coworkers, putting my all into work even if it meant missing college classes or family outings. I believe that’s what lead me to opening my own salon- my addiction to my career could be more meaningful in this role, and I could create something bigger than I’d ever done before. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit and I was forced to slow down that I realized I was living an unhealthy lifestyle, completely based around work. I felt as though I had lost myself, I couldn’t name a hobby, I felt like I was going insane in my home for the 10 weeks we were shut down. Since then, I’ve been working hard to maintain more of a work-life balance as I now see how important it is to my relationships and myself. None of this to say I’m not grateful for that part of myself. If I weren’t this way, I wouldn’t own my own business. There just NEEDS to be balance.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Cedar Hair Studio opened in fall of 2018. We were a six-chair salon with only two stylists, including me, to start. We quickly grew into a full 6-stylist salon and all of our stylists were building quickly. When we opened, I really put my effort into making sure we would be seen as a blonding-specialized salon. That goal has paid off, as we crank out above-average revenue in color services compared to others in our industry. We were bursting at the seams after just one year in business, so I decided to expand our space into the unit next-door, turning our salon into a 10-chair space. Our build-out started right before the government shut-down, which was certainly not planned, and definitely terrifying. When we were able to reopen, we did open with the expansion, which was nice to have so we could spread out more, but also a curse because our overhead doubled and our capacity was cut in half. We are still overcoming the challenges of being a semi-new business navigating this unforeseen time, but I am trying my best to look back and realize, ‘wow, we’ve made it, we’re doing it, and we’re going to survive.’ I truly believe it’s only up from here, and I plan on making big moves in the near future. I’ve learned not to let one bad day make you believe that it’s all over. Business ownership ebbs and flows; money ebbs and flows and what seems terrifying and unachievable one day will seem small and silly the next.

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 would definitely take them to Red Rocks because OF COURSE, I’d take them for a night or two to my favorite mountain town, Salida. We’d hike around Mt Princeton, tube in the Arkansas River, eat at Amica’s pizza, and shop/get coffee at Howl Mercantile. Back in Denver I’d take them to Denver Central Market for lunch, we’d order Yuan Wanton’s chili garlic wanton dumplings to make at home, and we’d get drinks at Arvada Tavern for Tiki Tuesday. We’d stroll downtown Golden, easily my favorite getaway in the metro area, we’d kayak at Gross Reservoir in the summer, or tube at Winter Park in the winter. We’d also visit Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, and walk around Manitou Springs while we’re there.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shout out my Mom and Dad for teaching me the work-ethic that has helped me be successful; my best friend/former boss Dani for mentoring me on this journey of business ownership and for being the biggest inspiration for me; my husband for being my never-ending support and always having my back, and calling me out when the balance is leaning and I need to slow down and focus on me.

Website: www.cedarhairdenver.com

Instagram: instagram.com/cedarhairdenver

Facebook: facebook.com/cedarhairdenver

Image Credits
Nicole Dina Photography