4 Hartford Business Journal • February 1, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com
w w w. H a r t f o r d B u s i n e s s . c o m
(860) 236-9998
E D I T O R I A L
Greg Bordonaro
Editor, ext. 139
gbordonaro@HartfordBusiness.com
Gregory Seay News Editor, ext. 144
gseay@HartfordBusiness.com
Matt Pilon News Editor, ext. 143
mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com
John Stearns Staff Writer, ext. 145
jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com
Keith Griffin Digital Producer/Reporter, ext. 127
kgriffin@HartfordBusiness.com
Stephanie Meagher Research Director
Heide Martin Research Assistant
B U S I N E S S
Joe Zwiebel President and Publisher, ext. 132
jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com
Donna Collins Associate Publisher, ext. 121
dcollins@HartfordBusiness.com
Jessica Baker Office Manager, ext. 122
jbaker@HartfordBusiness.com
Kristine Donahue Administrative Coordinator, Ext. 137
kdonahue@hartfordbusiness.com
Amy Orsini Events Manager, ext. 134
aorsini@HartfordBusiness.com
Christian J. Renstrom Advertising Director, ext. 126
crenstrom@HartfordBusiness.com
David Hartley Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 130
dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com
William C. Lambot Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 128
wlambot@HartfordBusiness.com
John Vuillemot Sr. Accounts Manager, ext. 133
jvuillemot@hartfordbusiness.com
Raki Zwiebel Credit and Collections Manager
Valerie Clark Accounting Assistant/Office Manager
Gail Lebert Chair, Executive Advisory Board
P R O D U C T I O N
Lynn Mika
Production Director/Marketing Coordinator, ext. 140
lmika@HartfordBusiness.com
Christopher Wallace Art Director, ext. 147
cwallace@HartfordBusiness.com
Peter Stanton CEO
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Joseph Zwiebel President & Group Publisher, ext. 132
jzwiebel@HartfordBusiness.com
Mary Rogers Chief Financial Officer/Interim HR
Director;
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Subscriptions:
Annual subscriptions are $84.95. To subscribe, visit
HartfordBusiness.com, email hartfordbusiness@
cambeywest.com, or call (845) 267-3008.
Advertising:
For advertising information, please call (860) 236-9998.
Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business
Journal, 15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hart ford CT 06103.
News Department:
If you have a news item: Call us at (860) 236-9998,
fax us at (860) 570-2493, or e-mail us at
news@HartfordBusiness.com
Hartford Business Journal accepts no responsibility
for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general
does not return them to the sender.
Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published
weekly, 52 x per year — including two special issues in
December — by New England Business Media LLC,
15 Lewis Street, Suite 200, Hartford CT 06103.
Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT.
Tel: (860) 236-9998 • Fax (860) 570-2493
Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to:
Hartford Business Journal
P.O. Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894
www.copyright.com
Austin
DEPTH IN ENERGY LAW
Murtha Cullina's comprehensive Energy Group has years of practical experience representing:
CONTACT:
Paul McCary
860.240.6037 | pmccary@murthalaw.com
P R A C T I C A L E X P E R I E N C E . S T R AT E G I C A P P RO A C H .
MURTHA CULLINA LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW MURTHALAW.COM BOSTON HARTFORD NEW HAVEN STAMFORD WHITE PLAINS WOBURN
Industrial Facilities
Merchant Generators
Municipal Renewable Facilities
Renewable Energy Developers
Retail Electricity Suppliers
Schools and Universities
of interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
After being laid off at Cigna, a year of cos-
metology school and getting her certification
followed. In 1994, Austin landed a job at D. Wil-
lis International Hair Salon in Hartford. Doro-
thy Willis (and later salon entrepreneur Vivian
Akuoko) taught Austin the business side of
the salon industry, which included the value of
customer service, producing a quality product,
marketing and how to balance the books.
By 2000, it was time for this spiritual woman
to take a faith walk.
Francine's Salon and Day Spa was opened in
an office park on Barnard Lane in Bloomfield. It
was not a traditional store-front salon; and some
potential investors balked at backing a hair salon
with no windows. So, she put up her own money.
"You have to believe in yourself because
not everybody is going to believe in what you
believe in," Austin said. "I always knew I was
going to do this. And I stepped out on faith.
We made it work. From a business standpoint,
they didn't believe in me because I'm not doing
what a typical stylist would do. And here I am
15 years later, and a lot of people who started
out in storefronts are no longer in business."
Austin preferred a non-store-front proper-
ty because there is more privacy and parking
for her clients.
"First of all, women don't want to have their
hair sticking up in the window and have people
walking by," she said. "And I didn't want people
walking by and selling me socks or videos. I
wanted a place where there was lots of parking.''
Of her 50 to 60 clients, most are "corporate
wives," professional women and retirees.
The salon business is a word-of-mouth indus-
try. Austin says she prides herself on promptness
and keeping her appointments on schedule.
"I get people in and out. I don't play," she
said. "You have to figure out the type of cli-
ents you want. If you're professional, you'll
get professionals."
Some clients have moved out of state, yet
still fly in for a session from such places as
Florida, Chicago, even a woman from England.
An accomplished cook, Austin attributes
her customers' loyalty to the ambiance and
environment of her salon — and the fact that
she can burn up a kitchen.
Her business, which employs four people, is
not so much about hair, feet, nails, facials and
massages. Austin sees it more as a sistah-hood
and support group — a place where customers
can sip a glass of wine and grab a plate of ribs.
There are "martini manicures" and an array
of wines at the ready. On Thursdays, clients
can expect some home-cooked food — pasta,
ribs, collard greens, quiche, apple pie and, dur-
ing the holidays, egg nog.
Her love of cooking and her vivacious per-
sonality recently landed Austin a spot on ABC's
popular daytime culinary talk show "The Chew."
An Austin client knew one of the show's pro-
ducers and told her about this loquacious salon
owner who makes food a staple of her business.
Austin's brown sugar bourbon barbecue ribs
won The Chew's best recipe honors. As a result,
Austin's phone and email have been inundated
with well-wishes from folks across the country.
The national exposure is also bringing
attention to her thriving salon.
The journey continues. n
Stan Simpson is the principal of Stan Simp-
son Enterprises LLC, a strategic communi-
cations consulting firm. He is also host of
"The Stan Simpson Show" which airs Satur-
day, 5:30 a.m., on Fox CT — and online at
www.fox61.com/stan. You can reach him at
stansimpsonenterprises.com
Austin's brown sugar bourbon barbecue ribs won national
acclaim from ABC's daytime culinary show "The Chew."
P
H
O
T
O
|
S
T
E
V
E
L
A
S
C
H
E
V
E
R
