Delayed,Never Denied….Orchestrated By GOD - The Round Table Podcast

Let’s get into it! I’m Crystal Ramsey, founder of Go Glam Beauty Academy & Studio,

A licensed cosmetologist and beauty educator with over 10 years in the beauty industry. I specialize in developing talent, elevating skills, and creating real opportunities for stylists to grow and succeed. From leading in salon environments to building a space rooted in education, community, and purpose ;this journey has been anything but ordinary.

It wasn’t rushed, it wasn’t easy but every step was intentional. Every setback had a setup. Because what’s meant for me was never taken just Delayed, Never Denied… orchestrated by God. Let’s talk about it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Yo, what'd it do, y'all? You know what it is. It's the voice to the culture. And I'm here, I'm out in Jersey City, New Jersey today, man. Very different scenery, but it's the culture out here. It's the movement. And I'm sitting next to a very special young lady today. First and foremost, she just celebrated her birthday. Let's congratulate her on that. Congratulations on that. Thank you. You know what I mean? But it's been a crazy weekend, a grand opening. We had the Gold Glam Salon in Jersey City, New Jersey. Shout out to the owner, the CEO, the boss herself. Miss Crystal, welcome to the roundtable.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

How are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:51

I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

How you feeling?

SPEAKER_02 0:52

I'm feeling amazing.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

You had a blessed, prosperous weekend. Yes, blessed. What's up about the weekend? It was very heavy for you.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Oh, it was very heavy. The weekend, we had the grand opening. Um, my girls gave me a surprise birthday, paint and sip celebration. Okay. Uh, we had cake, we had uh the family in there. It was pretty good. And we had a lot of people that came out and support.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

That's what it's about. That's what it's about.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

They showed me love. Um, they brought some gifts, they gave me some opportunities, so that was that was a good day.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

You know what? And that's a blessing. It just, you know, it just so happened. I just happened to be, we set it up on the weekend of this. So it's a blessing to be a part of this great weekend and just to close it out on a good start. Close it out on a good thing. Absolutely. The grand open, we're gonna grand close it, you know what I mean, with this episode. So you listen, man, if you're in the Jersey City area, let the people know the address and location before we jump into it.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

492 Communiport Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey, 073054, the Go Glam Beauty Studio Academy coming soon.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Mmm, let's talk about this journey.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Let's talk about the seeds that were planted during this journey. Um, how long you been doing hair? Let's let's start with it.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

I've been doing hair for about 15 years. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

What made you get involved in that part of the game?

SPEAKER_02 2:06

So, what made me get in the beauty industry was um I was working for corporate America, I lost my job. At the time, an ex of mine said, you need to go back to school to do hair because you're making wigs and you're making wigs for celebrities. So just go back to school and get your license and credentials so you could be on set.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

So I wound up going to school, getting my license, and um, I loved it.

unknown 2:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

I wound up getting an opportunity to work in a corporate salon, JC Penney salon.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

That's dope. Congratulations for that.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Thank you. I won a competition. They gave me a job, they put me in a mentoring program, and the rest was history after that. So it was something that I had deep inside that I didn't even know I had deep inside.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

You just need a little extra push.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

A little extra push.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Sometimes certain situations, you know what I mean, make us pivot into doing what we need to really be.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Because basically that was God's calling.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

It was.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Let's talk about this 492 area though. This garden that you planted in. Yes. This building that we sit in. Give the people the culture that don't know the backdrop stories of really where we're sitting at.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

Where we sitting at. So the story is um I met a young man by the name of Wesley Montgomery. He owns West Keys next door, barber shop. And we were in Robert Fion's Beauty School, and I was in the teacher's program learning to become an educator, cosmetology educator. So he happened to be in my barber class, and his studio was getting his salon, his barbershop was getting shut down because he didn't have a license. Okay. So he came back to school to get a license, and I happened to be his educator. Oh, wow. And he said to me, Miss Crystal, are you willing to license my shop for me so that I can go and feed my family? Because right now I can't keep the doors open. And at the time I said, Absolutely, I'll do that for you. He's been in this building for 10 years, maybe more. At the time it was 10 years.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

Right.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

So I agreed to do it. We got his shop license. He gave me a chair in the barbershop, and the rest was history. The owner wound up reaching out to me when this Braden shop shut down.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Okay, so this Braden shop. This was a Braden shop.

SPEAKER_02 4:19

Yes. So this shut down, and he reached out to me and said, I believe that this space is for you. I had many people come to me and say they want to make it a smoke shop, they want to make it something else, but I want it to just be a beauty salon. And you're, I want to give it to you.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

And wasn't somebody here prior before that?

SPEAKER_02 4:38

She was here for 20 years. And she braided braiding.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Just braiding. 20 year rhyme.

SPEAKER_02 4:43

20 year rhyme. We still have her customers coming looking for her.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Now, I gotta I gotta add, I gotta say this, just and not to cut you off on it. But it to me, that's motivation. Motivation. Because you saw somebody do it for 20, your thing is okay, I can do it for 30 and expand it.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

So that right there, once again, we plant no seeds again.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

Planting the seeds, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

And fertilizing the garden because this wasn't your part of this. You would just plant it a couple doors down, correct?

SPEAKER_02 5:12

Next door.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Next door, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Right next door.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

So you kind of really just God had his hand on you the whole time.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

The whole time.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

That young man coming into your class that day, do you believe that was the true game changer for your career?

SPEAKER_02 5:25

Yes, it was.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

But I didn't know. So I didn't know at the time. So what I can tell you is the story is I was working in Ulta Beauty in Clark, New Jersey, and I met a young lady by the name of Tiffany, and she told she prophesized this over my life. She told me what God had for me, and that Ulta was not where I was supposed to be. That I had to just step out on faith and believe in myself.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Wow. So now we're gonna go back real quick because you said he needed to be licensed and the landlord knew you.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

Yes. For opening his shop back up.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Okay, okay. So that's how he just kind of that that pivot over here.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Now, once he kind of came, he came to you with that idea.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Where were you at mentally? What space you had?

SPEAKER_02 6:09

I said absolutely not. I I don't have the money to open no shop. I'm I'm trying to survive out here. It's it's rough. I got three kids. I'm just pivoting, I'm working at this job at Ulta, I'm the manager here. I don't have time, the actual time to open no studio. It requires a lot. Now, if we go back 10 years ago, I had a salon.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

That didn't that didn't last all three months because one of my business partners five grand from me at the beginning of the the studio, setting it up, and I lost faith. I didn't I didn't want to work with anybody anymore. I didn't want to get a partnership. I didn't want to open a salon, I didn't want to be in this community, I didn't want to do any of that. But I kept getting people telling me do it again. That was my question. How many people were a lot of people were encouraging me saying do it again.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Now at the time, how was your faith?

SPEAKER_02 7:02

My faith wasn't, it wasn't there. My faith didn't come into part until I met David. Okay. And we prayed together. We came in this space and we prayed together in this space, and he said, This space is yours. God told me to tell you that this space is yours.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Praise God for that.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

So now I had the landlord telling me, I had David telling me, and I had Tiffany telling me. That's three different people that God sent to tell me to open this space.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

And the crazy part about it, if y'all don't know who my man David is, my brother from the Men of Vision. Yes. We just shot an amazing episode. And this is basically a pivot from that. And I appreciate my brother for that and what he's doing in that program. And um, it's crazy. Y'all came in here together. Together. And prayed. And prayed.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

Not talk shit in the middle of trash. The place was uh abandoned for a year and a half.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Well, you know what? Jesus was in the hood.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

Jesus was in the hood, absolutely. He put you, you need to be in the hood in the trash. Yes, in the trash. Yeah. I was like, this is gonna take a lot of money to fix this place up.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Well, like we said off camera, God is the investor. God is the investor. We walk by faith and not by sight. Not by sight. You know what I'm saying? And here we are today. Grand opening weekend. Yes. Owner, academy's upstairs. Like, you gotta think about your journey. And I'm gonna tell you this before we go any further. I want to give you your flowers and say congratulations for staying true to yourself. And also keeping your heart and your mind open to receive what people had for you. Because sometimes you don't want to receive it.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

Well, you don't want to receive it.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Like you don't know what you're talking about. Right. You don't know what it takes. Right. And it's people telling you, yo, listen, nah, you got what it takes.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

You got what it takes. Absolutely. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 8:45

So that's a blessing.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

And this happened three months ago. January. We in April. Tiffany told me grand opening would be April.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Wow. Wow. And we here today on Sunday.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

On Sunday, the Lord's Day.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Right. We couldn't plan any better. We couldn't plan it any better. I mean, it's all about God's timing.

SPEAKER_02 9:05

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

It's amazing that people that sometimes you really don't really think are gonna really give you the wisdom and knowledge that you need, but just give you a little bit of insight. That's key.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

You know what I mean? You being a single mom, you really dealing with the reality, like, yo, I don't want to just start some shit just to be starting some shit. Yes, three daughters.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Three daughters at that time in college. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

You got a legacy looking at me.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Legacy looking at me.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

So we not just, you know what I mean? That had to be a little bit of a And leave my job. Listen, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

I left the job completely.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

So when I tell you I walked on faith with nothing.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

So what got us to where we at today? Because it's three months later. God got us to where we at today. Yeah, you gotta understand that.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Because listen, he sent me the he sent me the money in 60 days. I told the owner, give me 60 days to get this place where it needs to be, and I'll pay you your rent and your security deposit. Give me 60 days. He said, I don't know if I should trust you. Like, don't burn me. I'm like, God told me to ask you that. He's like, well, if God told you to ask you that, he go to Keys.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Let's have a moment of silence for that moment. Because we're sitting in here right now, and the legacy of Woe Glam Beauty is in the building with an academy that's coming upstairs. Yes. Now I I know everybody's gonna say you keep stressing the academy thing. I went through your page when I did my homework, my research on you, and I saw you dealing with the younger youth. Yes. How did that come about for you?

SPEAKER_02 10:45

So during COVID, the youth didn't have anything to do. They were bored, they were at home, they were on, you know, on their tablets. So I'm like, let me create something that's gonna get them motivated to get back into the real life situation. Let's do something creative to get this youth going. So I put it out there on my page, and a lot of parents was like, I'll send my students, I'll send my kids just to get them out the house. And I created a space in Journal Square, had a studio, rooftop, beautiful studio. It was in a residential building, they had office suites, and I would conduct the classes in their lounge. So everybody had their six feet apart. I had them in their masks, I had them suited up in PPE gear. COVID, but I had them working on mannequins and I gave them certificates. We had parties, it was it was nice. And it turned out I had I had 12 students starting at eight years old.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

That's amazing because your mom. So now you're also taking on the responsibility of being somebody else's stepmother for a couple hours. And that's faith during that time because COVID was definitely one of those moments where we didn't know what was going on.

SPEAKER_02 11:49

What was going on? No. No.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

You know what I'm saying? But once again, a leap of faith. I gotta ask this though, why such a younger age group instead of dealing with maybe in the mid-20s, early, you know what I mean? Why that age group?

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Because at that age, that's where they start knowing what they want to do. I have nieces that were like six, seven years old that said, Auntie, I want to do makeup. Can you buy me makeup? My four-year-old daughter asked me for makeup. She's in a mirror mimicking me doing her makeup, blow-drying her hair, playing with the mannequins at four years old. So they know what they want to do. So why not encourage them at a young age and plant the seed so when they get older, they know exactly what career field they're going into rather than pushing something on them that they may not enjoy. College isn't for everybody. The beauty industry can make you millions of dollars.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

And it's not going nowhere.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

It's not going nowhere. It's recession proof. Right, it's a fact. So why not encourage that? Why not give them a skill? Why not give them a trade? I say the same thing. If you see your young man in the house wanting to fix stuff or wanting to um, you know, just be handy, starting put them in a trade. Start looking for trades now. High school, now. If they want to play the violin, get them some music lessons. They want to play the piano, you know, encourage that at a young age so they can grow and do what they want.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

It's funny that you name those different things instead of the average rapper, yeah. Or, you know, just the average what we run to. Yeah, no. Sports, you know, those average, easy, like, yo, no, everybody's not like that.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

No, everybody's not gonna be like that. So start investing in your children.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

So let me ask you this, going, being that you said that, when did that when did that start for you to say, hey, what age was you at when you kind of was like, girl, huh? I kinda got a thing for this.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

30 years old. 30 years old.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Well, that's honest.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

I wanted to be a doctor when I was younger.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

So I didn't want to do hair until I was like, but I love I love making myself beautiful. So that was that was a part of the journey, but I didn't realize until 30 years old, and start until I started being like around celebrities, behind the scenes, and you know, working on set, doing photo shoots, that I realized, hey, this is something I love, like I want to do this. And I went to school for fashion merchandising. So I had a boutique. I was selling clothes at first. Okay. So then I started making wigs to go with the clothes.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Kind of makes sense. Kind of makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

Hand in hand.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

So once I started selling stuff to people that was on TV, they were wearing my clothes. I'm like, let me just do your hair. And that's how that worked.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

I think that's, I think, you know, for a minute, and this reminds me, just like just some hustler shit. Yo, honestly, I'm just gonna call it what it is.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

I literally was in Harlem going doing pop-up shops in Harlem, selling clothes.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

And providing wigs.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

And providing wigs.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Two for one deal. Two for one deal. That's special though. But that also takes, once again, and go back to this word. I'm gonna tell you again, this video, this episode, we might call this faith. Because basically that's faith again. Faith.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Believing in yourself.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

And pairing up the children.

SPEAKER_02 14:55

And pairing up the two.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Not eliminating, you know, not putting a ceiling on your brand. But 30, you know what I mean? Some people say at 30, your career is kind of cooked, then, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 15:04

I did a whole pivot. I I can't even tell you. I was working in corporate America. I was making 200,000 a year.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Got laid off from my job because somebody stole some money from our company, got collected unemployment, and just went straight into beauty school. Never thought about going back to corporate America. Why not? 200? It was it was always something. They didn't, they don't love us.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

And that's the reason why I asked you because a lot of people need to hear the truth sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

They don't love us. So the person who stole the money never went to jail, but I lost my job. Because they closed down the facility. But it's like they'll put their people in line to make the higher the money. We work our way up, and it's goodbye. You're disposable. So I wanted to create something from me that I wouldn't be disposable.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

And control your own destiny.

SPEAKER_02 15:57

And control my own destiny.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Makes sense. Especially being a mother.

SPEAKER_02 16:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 16:02

And I couldn't take that risk anymore because every job I would get, something happened. I gotta go find another one.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

You know, it's funny that, you know, when you look back on your journey now and you say that, it's kind of like it was meant to be. It was meant to be.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

But you don't know that. I didn't know that at that time.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

You're frustrated, you worried, you know, you your mother.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 16:23

We gotta provide, you know what I'm saying? It's crazy that you took the opportunity during the COVID and paid attention to the youth instead of paying attention to, okay, we're not really going outside too much.

SPEAKER_03 16:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

So these clothes and these wigs is gonna be on a standstill. But these kids need something.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Um, did you happen to see that or you just kind of just saw that on your own?

SPEAKER_02 16:45

So I was an educator. Okay. So I was a before COVID, I was in school teaching cosmetology. Okay, alright. So I had a lot of students that were like 17 years old that enrolled in the program, and they were telling me stories of how their parents didn't believe in this trade. The parents would say, Why are you going to beauty school? You need to go to college. That's not gonna make you no money. And they knew they knew they wanted to do hair, they knew they wanted to do facials and skincare and makeup at a very young age, but the parents kept on saying, go to college, go to college. Because you're not gonna make money. It's too saturated, it's too many people doing it.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Good point, though.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

It is, but there's a lot of brands of bread.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

That's a fact. That's a fact. Wonder.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Wonder.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 17:43

It's potato bread, it's raisin bread, it's regular cinnamon bread, all types of bread, and people still buy it. Right. You got your choice, your preference.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

But you know what is it? And you're right, but you know, as a parent, and put yourself in a parent's shoes though, because we parent. I'm a parent. I think at that age, when my daughter came to me, I'm like, ah, you just playing with, you just playing with your dogs, go play with your dolls.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

Um, I I wouldn't do that to my kids because my mom is being honest. Yeah, my mom did it to me, and I hated it. She put me in a box. My background is I went to the top school in New Jersey. Top high school in New Jersey. Okay. Graduated school. Everybody wanted me to go to college. I had my daughter at a young age, and I was like, I don't want to go to college. I want to go to fashion school. I want to dress the mannequins in Macy's window. My mother said, That's not a career. You need to go to college. What's wrong with you? I don't want to go to college. And she would not sign the paperwork for me to go to FIT fashion school. Wow. She told me, no, not signing it.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

How was that for you personally at the time?

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Personally, at the time, I was really sad because my best friend, she went to fashion school. We was going together. She left me and went. And I didn't go. So when I got became an adult, I enrolled myself into Berkeley College and fashion merchandising.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

So you never let that passion that dream.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

I went anyway.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

You know what? That's, you know, that takes right there. You always believed in yourself. You know what I mean? I think at, you know, some point in life, us as parents, we gotta do the same thing with our kids.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

But I think you know what, this generation, and I'm gonna say my generation, we more of a, we can understand that.

SPEAKER_02 19:26

We can understand the creation of the parents was our old school. Old school mindset. Trinidad, yeah, traditional. Bop, bop, bop, bop. Well, my mom said that, but my grandmother always wanted to open businesses. And her kids never wanted to help her. So my grandmother set the entrepreneurial spirit with me. Because she told me, you can do whatever you want to do. It's your life. If you believe in that dream, I believe in you. That was my grandmother.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Meanwhile, your mom only wanted to show you.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

My mom, no, my mom was like, I don't care what she says, I ain't doing it. I'm not signing the financial aid for it.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

But it's crazy how, you know, if you if you really look back on everything, it's kind of what made you the woman you are, literally sitting here today. Yeah. So that had to be your story.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

Yes, delayed, never denied. Ooh, I like that.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

Repeat that.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

Delay, never denied.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

Yo, I never really thought about life like that sometimes. You know what I mean? That's some real, real, that's a powerful message right there. You know what I mean? And I think you need to um always incorporate that to these kids. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 20:32

Because sometimes we get caught up in the you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 20:38

And we get discouraged, not so much by our parents.

SPEAKER_02 20:41

Parents, yeah. But life.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

And the community. And our peers. In our community around us.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

In our community around us, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Because at the end of the day, I'm quite sure it's plenty of black-owned salons and jerty school.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

And gonna be some more after you. Let me ask you this. What makes yours any different than any of the rest?

SPEAKER_02 21:00

Mine's is an education studio. Okay, you can come here, you can get mentorship, you can learn from me, you can learn from us. We have makeup, we have nails, we have photography, as you see, we have uh podcasts going on that put you on different platforms. We teach um everything. We teach communication skills, we teach business business skills. Um, we also do events. We do events for the men, we do events uh for the community. We do give backs, we participate in just about everything that goes on.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Right, and you should be. You know, the thing that I appreciate about you guys is that you don't flee right where you're from. You could have taken this business anywhere. You could have said, I'm getting out of Jersey City. Damn this place. I'm gonna go somewhere else, but you kept it right here at home. Well, are you from Jersey? Yes, I'm from born and raised from Jersey. So that's fire to see from the from the ground up. From the ground up. I mean, anything is possible, you know what I mean? And the fact that you could give that and show your kids that. They can see that you know what mommy is a trail blazon.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

You know what I mean? All started from all started from You know what I mean? Back then.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

Back then.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Um the Academy that you guys are working on, you know what I mean? Is there uh any room for young men?

SPEAKER_02 22:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:28

So the academy will be for guys and girls. Okay. Yes. Starting at the age of 17. Okay. So the academy that we're getting is incorporated with social services. So if the people are unemployed or they're receiving welfare benefits, they can enroll in our program and go to school with a stipend and get a grant for tuition. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Wow. So it's free. It's and it's the city supporting.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

The city supporting, yes. The state.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

The state, sorry, sorry. The state of New Jersey is a good thing. The state of New Jersey is supporting it. And that's major because at the end of the day, they're not just giving us everything either. You know what I mean? Once again, it's that faith.

SPEAKER_02 23:09

Yeah, faith is. You know what I mean? It's that God, it's that spirit.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

It's those seeds that's been planted out through the course of the years. I gotta ask you something though. When you decided to take the journey that you took, the obstacles, the highs, the lows, the mother, the kids, mentorship. It also takes away from you as a person.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

When do you find the time for yourself to just let me all because you your own. You got you got people depending on you. Yes, yes, you're gonna do that. You gotta keep going. We gotta keep reinventing the wheel. When do you, you know, how does that time for yourself? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 23:48

I just find the time to go to the spa. As long as I can get a spa day in, I'm okay. I'm okay. Spa day, I'm good.

SPEAKER_00 23:58

And the wheels just keep turning.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

And the wheels just keep turning every day. Gotta keep it going.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Now, the space that we in, how many times did you look at this place and cry because I'm in here getting a little emotional to know that this place was a piece of shit in the beginning and it's beautiful in there now. You know what I mean? It's it's hard work, it's dedication, it's the hand of God, it's prayers, it's togetherness, it's love, it's patience. That has to be every day you walk through that door, it has to be a moment when you try to say, Thank you, God. And you know the address you gave me to come here. I went upstairs. You went upstairs. You see how that works, though. You see how that works? I said, yo, I went upstairs first. I see all this open space. Uh-huh. So when you're telling me about the academy, I see the vision before I even stepped in here. Yes. And it just goes to show you how sometimes God just had me.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

I just had you moving.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

In the direction I was supposed to see that.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

Yes, you was.

SPEAKER_00 24:56

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 24:57

Because you're gonna come back again. And we're gonna do it when I'm gonna do it when the academy is open.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Exactly. So the coach needs to understand that you gotta believe in yourself. Yes, you do. And sometimes you gotta be able to listen to other people when they give you certain advice.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

Not saying that you listen to everything for everybody, but if you're in tune with yourself, you tell yourself, Lord, what's for me, let me know. Let me know. What's for me is for me. You know what I mean? But you can do this by yourself though. No, I didn't do it by myself. You know what I mean? You got another young lady that's in the building with us today. Let's talk about your relationship real quick. What she means to you.

SPEAKER_02 25:29

She means a lot to me. She came to me again by God. So how we connected is my 19-year-old's boyfriend is her brother. Okay. And he saw me stressing about how I'm gonna keep it open. I need people to work. What am I gonna do? I can't just be in here every day doing this by myself. I need some things, blah, blah, blah. So he said, let me call my sister. She's been looking for a space in Jersey City for quite some time. She owns a salon in Delaware, but she wants to come back to her community and do Here Up Here because she's a Jersey City native. So he put us on the phone. We got on the phone, we talked about the salon maybe once. Then we started talking about our struggles as moms and being in this beauty industry, and we connected right away. And she said, Well, I'll be up there next weekend. She came up here, she packed her car up with stuff she had from her salon in her garage. She bought dryers, she bought equipment, she bought, she bought everything in here to get us started. Another faith journey. And she said, Do you mind if I bring more stuff? I don't want to overstep my boundaries. I said, Bring it all. Bring it all. She even said, I got some money for you. Get what else, whatever else you need. And I was like, wow. I knew right then God sent her to me. And we've been rocking ever since.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

Yo. And I got the opportunity to give you to give you the exclusive with her.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

You know what I mean? And that's a blessing because it's each one teach one, but it's called love. And love comes in different forms and fashion. It ain't always intimacy, it's also sharing and caring. Yes. So with the love of God and the grace.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

The love of God and grace love.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Y'all about to sit down with their partner. Stay tuned. We'll be right back. Go glam. Go glam. Yo, I told you I had a special guest, very special guest. Jersey City native. And she's the stylent partner of the Go Glam. Listen, I'm gonna welcome her to the podcast, man. Sit down, love. Welcome to the Round Table, the stalent partner, the CFO, the Boss Lady herself. Welcome to the show, Queen.

SPEAKER_01 27:37

Hello, I'm Tamina. Um many people know me as Mimi. I'm a Jersey City native. Um after Hurricane Sandy, I transitioned to Delaware to start over with my three sons, very young at that time. I thought um the beauty industry was over for me at that time. Wow. Like um, just starting over, like being a single mom, just being um new to Delaware, not knowing nobody. So I started going to church, I started um working, of course, and everybody was like, who doing your hair? Who doing your hair? So then um that's how I came about, like getting my clients up from there. Opened up a salon in Philly, um, after going to her um Paul Mitchell to school Delaware. Okay. Um I completed my uh education there, my cosmetology, 1500 hours there. And uh opened up a salon in um Philly. And at the time I thought it was a good partnership with somebody. I met in here school, 11 years older than me, and just we didn't have the same business goals at all.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

Just different vision.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Different vision. Um so once I get up there, I'm in your playground, you know. She was a you know, Philly native. So uh I put me and my kids, like, I put my savings, you know, put my all into that. Right. Put my livelihood on the line.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

So I closed the business. Um, once the salon owner kept telling me, you know, this was going on, that, having to leave Delaware at 3-4 in the morning, for the alarms going off, you know, just different things. So I said, okay, I'm gonna stop, you know, for a while. Went out to Delaware, start working at a Delaware salon that's um black owned by a husband and wife. Um, that wasn't the best uh hostility.

SPEAKER_00 29:19

Yeah, how was that experience?

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Um, at first it was good because I feel like they had um that love for natural hair. And I started out doing hair as a young girl with my mom and my aunt doing here.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

So I'm like, okay, this, you know, the volume ain't gonna be good, but the coaching climate it didn't align with me, like, at all. Like when you're going into a business, um, you had the I had the opportunity to go left to their place or go right to the place me and my Pujabi girlfriend, Parm G at the time was, you know, getting together. I met her in here school at P in Paul Mitchell back in 2018. So um her and her husband um flipped the daycare. Um, we started doing business and it was called the you know, Glam Beauty Salon.

SPEAKER_03 30:01

Wow, okay.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

So just to be back and like a part of the Glam team as well, um that that was a big like, God, I see you. So um I closed, uh we closed, we uh sold the business to somebody else, me and a perm G. She moved up here um back to New York, you know, for family reasons. We still stay in touch. So I said, you know what, let me start my own thing. My plan was to never go back into somebody's salon. The pain, the hurt, like just frustration, the old ways. You gotta still stand behind that chair and be positive. As you know, we 30 minutes ago in a meeting, husband and wife was in that establishment being negative. So I'm just like, I can't do this no more.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

Let me ask you something about that, because you the first person I ever heard really speak about that publicly. You still have to be professional in this scene. You still have to give this tender love and care to your customer after coming out of a fucked up situation. Like, you know, like how does that have to be a mental challenge. I don't know. But to come out of a meeting with the owners and it's not where it needs to be, now you gotta go out here and you gotta do these clients and give them that same love and care.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 31:13

How do you battle with that though?

SPEAKER_01 31:15

I'm thankful for COVID, honestly, at that time. You know, because it uh being behind, you know, that mask or whatever, like I didn't have much to say, but uh by habit, when I'm into doing hair, I bite my tongue. So I'm like, you know, they was just like, oh, Tamina's always so quiet, like, you know, professional and stuff. And it just seemed like every day I would promise my kids, oh, we're gonna go out for ice cream, we're gonna do this after work. They had those seven, nine people on me. And you just like, hey, I can't keep doing this to my kids. So my last day was my last day. And I always said, um, even in Paul Mitchell, like, I made like 12, you know, business names. Pixie Philly was in um Philly, and then um Karma Creations is now in Delaware.

SPEAKER_03 31:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

So um a part of that, just I believe in good and bad karma.

SPEAKER_03 32:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

I just was like, um, I'm not gonna stop. Um being an educator, uh, finishing up my education in uh at Wilmington University, K through six, loving uh and being passionate about the youth, passionate about here. I believe that we um as woman, black woman, you know, all women, we embody that natural beauty. Like a lot of us, you know, don't have it from within. We wasn't accepted, whether in our families and so on and forth. So that's something I always think my mother as a, you know, young girl, like just cater to like giving women that that reason. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

And that's very important that you saw that because it stuck with you being a parent to your kids.

SPEAKER_03 32:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 32:43

You realize the importance, yeah, I'm making money, yeah. We probably need food on the table, whatever. But I don't, I want to take my kids out. You know what I mean? Every dollar, all money ain't good money sometimes, but it affects the loved ones in that time. And I admire that about you. So you decide to come back to Jersey.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Yes. So one day, um, it's funny, like the past two years when I old I saw that Rama's the old Braden trap here, right, was uh I got my hair done here about two and a half years ago. And when I seen that it was vacant, I was like, no, I'm not gonna call, I'm not gonna call, I'm not ready for that. Nobody in Jersey seemed like, you know, it'd be your own hometown sometime. They'll show you that love back, you know, Delaware. I'm like, we we doing good. Like I'm doing judges here, so on and forth. So when my brother um knew that I was looking for a place, and when he called me and was like, oh, you know, Crystal, Rihanna's mom, and I'm just like, wait a minute, okay, she in Jersey City, I promised my nieces in April. It's funny, Crystal was told, in April, you know, she was gonna be opening up. Right. So I said, okay, we got on the phone and we forgot we was on his phone, just you know, talking about the struggles and like I'm like, I'll be up there Saturday, you know. Come up here, and I just was came up here just to meet her with my nieces.

SPEAKER_03 33:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

And um just sort of vision because when I walked in even Philly, like, trash, like, you know, sort of vision, like, oh no, and she was like, oh, this is gonna be that. No, let's let's work, you know. Like, and I was just so happy and thankful to be back in uh Jersey City because I always wanted to come back to Jersey City.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

Come back home. But you bringing your kids, that's now you're changing a whole lifestyle once again for the family.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

Once again, that's another walk of faith.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 34:18

Because you really don't know what's gonna happen here.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Nobody but God.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

Nobody.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

So when our paths crossed, um, it was just a true blessing. Because once I came up here, you know how you meet somebody and you just like, wait, you're a beacon of light. Like, you know. Um, then when she was like, oh no, you can bring this up. I was like, I ain't want to overstep my boundaries. But I mean, sometimes people get caught up, you know.

SPEAKER_00 34:39

You don't you want to respect the space, but you want to be helpful.

SPEAKER_01 34:42

Definitely. So what, four or five trips, you know, back and forth to Delaware, no, no excuses. Like, oh, I got this, I got that. And just to see, even before the money, like just to see she was thankful, I don't care if it was just a dryer, like the, oh, to me, like, me, me and yes, bring it, bring it all. And when she said that, just that ride home, like I listened to gospel, just was praying. And after that, you know, just coming back and forth, um, this location north, like location south is in, you know, Newark, Delaware by University of Delaware. Right. So we're just gonna keep, you know, trusting God and, you know, building and bridging the gaps and definitely giving back to our community and the youth and the seniors in the community.

SPEAKER_00 35:25

Listen, anybody that's interested in seeing this, Shelly, let them know where they can find you at on social media, you know what I mean? So they can get in contact with you.

SPEAKER_01 35:33

Um, 492 Communiport Avenue, um, Jersey City, New Jersey, 07304 at the Go Glam Beauty Academy and studio. And I look forward to meeting, you know, each and every one of you.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

Yo, listen, you heard it first. The show spoken, but the boss lady behind it all, the blessing. You know, in life, people, you know, come and go. But some people just meant to be. And through the journey and through the and through the you know, struggle that God may put on our hands, it comes together and it works the way it needs to work. And I'm fortunate to be sitting next to this queen next to me because just her energy alone, I feel a presence around me, and it's a blessing to be around great individuals. So I need everybody to stop playing. Come down, come see my girls, get right, and get fresh. You know what I mean? Yo, you know what it is. It's go glam. It's the voice of the culture. Stay tuned. Yo, as we get, you know, the grand openings here. We done danced, we done played, you know, moving forward. I don't call I don't call them goals, I call them accomplishments. What's the accomplishments for 2026 for Glam?

SPEAKER_02 36:49

The accomplishments is uh keeping these doors open, getting the students in here working. Um, the next goal that we have is to work with the high school up the block. Uh, we're gonna do a co-op program with them in September where they can get hours and come work with us and get the training. And then um we're also going to be working on getting this academy open. That's the goal, right? So at least by I say the end of 2026, beginning of 2027, the school will be open to start enrolling.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

Listen, you know, I need everybody to sit back and understand that sometimes in life, don't get fucked over by the curveball. Don't let the curveball curve you away from your goals and dreams. I'm sitting next to two young ladies that had a vision in two different locations. And now we're in one location. And as we um navigate through 2026, it's so many great things that's gonna take place here.

SPEAKER_03 37:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

You know what I mean? Yes, I believe that. Um it's a warm environment, it's love, it's you can feel the essence of a true culture. An environment where the kids can come and get educated and learn, but also be around some great women outside of their home. And I admire that about both of you ladies, you know what I mean? Thank you. Um what made you decide to do, you know, get the men the facials? Because that was fun. Because there ain't too many brothers doing I mean, really salon, too many salons not really doing that.

SPEAKER_02 38:21

So, what got me doing that is that I used to teach barbers. And I taught barbers how to do facials. And they loved it. And you know, they used to say, Ms. Ramsey, can you show us how to do the facials? We need skincare as well. We want to incorporate this in our services, we can make more money this way. And a lot, I can tell you, I can name about five barbers who have salons and barbershops that are making a lot of money by just offering facials. So it's something that guys love, they want relaxation, and a lot of men they don't get catered to. So I decided to call this event cater to you. Fire. So I want to cater to them. They get their manicures, they get 30-minute massages and 30-minute facials. We have wings for them, we have the game on. You get a complimentary drink when you come in. You can bring your bottle of choice. We keep it to, you know, three drink minimum, you know, minimum. But it's a Sunday football, basketball, whatever's on. They could come here and it's a safe space for them to talk, relax, chill, and also vibe with each other because a lot of them have businesses, and now this is a networking place for them as well. Right. So not only are you being relaxed, you're networking with your peers.

SPEAKER_00 39:38

And you also learn a lot from each other in a safe environment. Because at the end of the day, us brothers, sometimes if we don't know brothers, I'm not going over each other.

SPEAKER_02 39:47

Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Now let's start to get knowing.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

Let's start to get knowing these cats because these cats can partner up with each other and make money.

SPEAKER_00 39:55

And the beautiful thing about it is, yeah, to make money, but you also build a relationship. So build a relationship. You know what I mean? Because at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02 40:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 40:02

Yeah, I got my brother behind the camera, but I would love to meet another brother out here that got a camera that I can work with. Absolutely. I can say, yo, Rob, listen, man, we're gonna let my man over here show you.

SPEAKER_02 40:11

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 40:12

I'm gonna be in Jersey City.

SPEAKER_02 40:13

I'm gonna be in Jersey City while you are your home team. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 40:16

And that's what we gotta start doing, men and women. Men and women get off that, yo, that's not my girl. I don't know who's gonna be there. Right. If you want to beat anything there, be there. That's it. That's it. You know what I mean? Because these events are important because it's teaching togetherness.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

Let's be clear. Let's be clear. Let's be clear. Our black culture and our black community, we have to continue to keep working together to get to this next level. Yes. Because all these other cultures are doing.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

We're working together. It's a thousand bodegas. Bodegas.

SPEAKER_00 40:48

And there's another one probably open up tomorrow. Right. You know what I mean? And they ain't stopping. So we shouldn't stop. We shouldn't stop. And I, you know, I want to salute, you know, the Gold Glam team for catering to the men.

SPEAKER_02 40:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 40:59

You know what I mean? And when I say cater, I mean in a respectful manner. Yes. You know what I mean? Ain't no nonsense. This is a place of, you know what I mean, love and respect. So, brothers, you want to do that, we ain't doing it here. No, right here, you're going to fellowship, you're going to grow, you're going to build, you're going to learn. And it's a place you can bring your daughters to to get their head done. Absolutely. So once again, it's that hustling.

SPEAKER_03 41:19

And education.

SPEAKER_00 41:20

And education. Because the academy is here. Yes. And I need the culture to understand that I will be here. When the academy opens up, we will be setting up there to talk to the youth and film them. If you allow us to. Absolutely. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 41:33

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

Before we get out of here, anything you want to tell the people, man?

SPEAKER_02 41:36

I just want to tell the people to believe in your community, support your community. This isn't about competition. This is about collaboration. If we set up our students for success, we continue with our legacy. And we just need to work together to build the community and build the legacy with this youth. With the youth in each other.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

I'm gonna give you three words. You just tell me what those words mean to you. Go glam, academy, studio.

SPEAKER_02 42:14

It means empowerment, legacy, and success.

SPEAKER_00 42:21

Okay. Okay. This one might be a little nasty. The hair industry.

SPEAKER_02 42:33

The hair industry is rough. It's crabs in the bucket mentality, but you gotta push through. Like I said before, there's a thousand slices, there are a thousand bit brands of bread. You can create your own brand, you can be your own boss, you can create your own life, your own legacy. The beauty industry will supply you with those tools, and you'll definitely become successful if you put your mind towards it and you work hard for it.

SPEAKER_00 43:07

And my last word is Crystal.

SPEAKER_02 43:13

Crystal is resilient, she's courageous, she's God fearing. That's right. And she's gonna be a millionaire.

SPEAKER_00 43:22

Talk your shit. Nah, we're not even gonna put an M on it. We're just gonna be. We're just gonna put, you're gonna be blessed. Blessed. In ways. In ways that money can't even buy. You know what I mean? Yo, listen.

SPEAKER_02 43:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

You heard it first. I'm the voice of the culture. Jersey City, New Jersey. Let them know where we at, baby girl.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

We're at the Gold Glam Studio and Beauty Academy coming soon. 492 Communiport Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey, 07304. You can reach us at 201 582 3409 to book an appointment or a class.

SPEAKER_00 43:56

Let them know your social.

SPEAKER_02 43:57

Social is here by Christ. That's my personal page and our business page is go underscore underscore glam beautyjc Listen, it's the boss.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

It's Jersey City. I'm the voice. I'm out of here. Remember, go glam.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

Go glam.