JZ Styles—It’s a Family Affair | My Member Story

Some may look at Jessi Ngatikaura and say she is just a social media influencer. Others may say she is just a hair stylist.

In our opinion, she is not “just” anything. She is everything!

JZ Styles—a family foundation

Jessi—who co-owns JZ Styles with her father, Tim—says the most important thing for her is to provide her clients a high-end look with a family feel. “Everyone knows we are a family business,” she says. “They gravitate to our salon because of the way they are treated when they walk in the door.”

A huge part of that feeling is obviously the culture Jessi has created for her company. But it’s also the fact that most of her own family members work there too. Dad is co-owner, her two sisters help run day-to-day operations and her mom is a stylist, educator and helps to create that high-end look in the salon!

Some people may find it difficult to work with their family, but Jessi feels like they have a great working relationship. She has learned that keeping the people she trusts most around her—and putting them in positions that play to their strengths—is a huge plus when it comes to the success of their business.

“Once I had my family on board, I knew this whole thing was going to work,” gushes Jessi. “We all have so much passion for what we’re doing.”

In the beginning

When Jessi was in high school, she started posting on Instagram about hair, fashion and style. Her sharp eye and unique talent led her to train as a hair stylist after graduation—then she started working at a nearby salon.

As she learned new techniques and grew her clientele, she never forgot about her social media presence. Even at that young age, she knew it would be important. So, she kept posting—all the while watching her followers increase.

Jumping in with both feet

Pretty soon, Jessi knew she wanted more. She wanted to be a business owner and grow her brand from the ground up.

Jessi found an old 1,100-square-foot house that she thought would make a great salon. To the surprise of her parents, who had always supported her career choice and social media efforts, Jessi brought her dad, Tim, in as a silent partner. Her parents decided to use their home equity line of credit (HELOC) to fund the venture. Tim helped Jessi remodel the space and, at the ripe old age of 22, she opened the first JZ Styles salon in 2016.

On the fast track

JZ Styles had been open for barely nine months when Jessi realized she needed a bigger space. She quickly moved to a new location that was 2,400 square feet and, before she knew it, they had outgrown that space too.

Jessi is a big fan of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. One scene is very representative of where she was at that moment: Freddy Mercury tells his band that he wants to sell the van (the only thing they had of any value, other than their instruments) and use the money to record an album.

“I think we need to sell the van,” Jessi told her dad. Meaning she thought they needed to, again, get a larger building if they wanted to thrive.

The current JZ Styles location is 15,000 square feet and boasts a full-service salon, retail space, education space and a warehouse. It’s everything Jessi could have imagined!

So much more than a hair salon

In addition to continuing her social media empire on Instagram and YouTube, Jessi has also built a substantial following for her education platform. This arm of JZ Styles specializes in teaching techniques for their brand of hair extensions and other hair products. They have, to date, trained over 3,200 stylists. “It’s so cool to connect with so many people we wouldn’t have been able to meet otherwise,” she says. “We are truly grateful for it.”

Jessi is also passionate about helping other entrepreneurs. She gets a lot of questions about the business side of things through her social media platforms, so she decided to add business classes to her educational offerings for other stylists and business owners. Even though some of the people who attend may be her direct competitors, she doesn’t worry about it. “It’s never a competition in my eyes because I feel like there’s room to grow and we all have something to offer in the community,” says Jessi.

And she didn’t stop there. JZ Styles also has a sizeable line of hair extensions and styling tools. They have also just launched the first set of products in their own hair care line.

Finding the right co-owner

As for Tim, he certainly never thought he would end up in the beauty industry. He had been perfectly happy in his lucrative career as a software engineer for 27 years. While Jessi had initially asked him to come in as a silent partner, eventually, she asked him to be a full partner. She recognized how well they complimented each other—he was the yin to her yang.

Tim has always been on the practical side, and he was well-versed in finances. When we asked him what it was like to work with his daughter, he says, “We’re going to have good and bad days. She’s a spender and I’m a saver. For us, it’s about meeting in the middle. In the end, I’m just so proud of her!”

Tim and Jessi both say they have learned from the other. Working together has led Jessi to understand the need to research each business move thoroughly instead of jumping in too quickly to every idea. And, even though Tim’s inclination is more toward investing, he understands the need to spend money.

Partnering with Mountain America

Finding the right financial partner for such a fast-growing company was a no-brainer for the JZ Styles team. Tim has been a Mountain America Credit Union member for over 25 years.

“Our growth has been like a freight train,” says Tim. “It finally became manageable last year.”

Managing this kind of business requires having a lot of balls in the air at the same time. Tim says his Mountain America business advisor is an integral part of the team. “He makes my job easier. I can call him at any time with questions and I will have an answer within 24 hours.”

We asked Jessi what she loves most about working with Mountain America. She said the customer service was stellar and then she added, “And the personal touch. I was young when I first started—it’s not like I was an experienced business owner. Through all the people I have dealt with at the credit union, no one ever judged me or made me feel dumb if I didn’t know something. They are as invested in the success of my business as I am.”

The future of JZ Styles

What’s next for Jessi and JZ Styles? As a visionary, this year is about expanding her hair care line, continuing to build the hair school and education platform and being able to ship outside the U.S. and Canada. JZ Styles has a significant following in the UK, Australia and other countries and she would love to be able to ship her products there.

We are so happy to be on this journey with JZ Styles and can’t wait to see where you’ll go next!!