It was practically preordained that Gina Rivera would one day work in the salon business—her family had been involved in the trade across multiple generations, since 1929. In fact, Rivera was already helping out her parents in their salon when she was just seven years old, sweeping hair and doing an occasional shampoo.
“I grew up in the salon industry; it’s in my DNA,” Rivera says simply. “I remember going to hair shows with my parents. I would sit in the front row, and my feet didn’t even touch the ground. I loved the energy and excitement. So I always said I came out of the womb knowing I was going to do hair!”
What wasn’t predestined, however, was that Rivera would turn her inherited skillset into a multi-million-dollar salon studio business: Phenix Salon Suites. Her entrepreneurial path, she says, had less to do with her talent with scissors and more to do with her somewhat headstrong nature and larger-than-life personality. “It goes back to me just being stubborn,” she laughs. “I knew early on that I never, ever, ever wanted to work for anybody. I always wanted to be my own boss and have my own business.”
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