Today we’d like to introduce you to Mindy Harmon.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Like most photographers, I started my love of the camera back in high school with photojournalism and yearbook classes learning the basics of film photography. As the years went on, that love of photography remained a hobby that eventually grew into a business later. I am a wife almost 19 years to a busy traveling executive in the world of business software and I’m also a mom of 3 teenage boys. I love and thrive on the thrill of the business world but my family is what I live for every day. I hope watching my businesses grow over the years and my involvement in our community inspires my boys to also give back and invites that entrepreneurial spirit in my boys when they start their own careers!
I started my business in 2008 with a small studio ran out of my home in The Woodlands. As the business grew, I moved to a retail studio in the Grogans Park shopping center back in 2011 and have been in the same location since.
I began with traditional photography, but I have always had a love for the formal Old Master’s painters, especially Italian and Spanish painters, and as my business progressed, my love for oil painting also increased. We have since transitioned to being known for our formal and more traditional family portraits to families seeking our work because of our oil paintings created from our portrait work.
With each portrait session, we handle every single detail….from designing the portraits to coordinate with the homes decor to details including hair and makeup for our guests. As the years have gone by, our portrait guests loved our beauty services so much, they began requesting our services for outside events so, we decided in 2016 that the next adventure would be to expand with a full-service salon. That’s when Lavish Salon and Blow Dry Bar was born. Both businesses really work in a great partnership with each other’s clients and it’s a match made in heaven!
With both businesses, we have always based our business on one main core value…..and that is philanthropy. Giving Back to our community is a top priority for us and we weave this into every aspect of the businesses.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think as with most moms, we struggle to find our identity as we begin our families. You want to dedicate every moment to your children and be the perfect mom to them and you really begin to lose yourself in that process because every decision you make is for your children and your family. It took me a long time to realize that as moms we are there to guide our children and we can do that by example. As my career grew, I struggled with the guilt of dedicating time to my business instead of my family and I think mentally, that has been my biggest hurdle in business. Eventually, I came to realize what we do with our careers, in the end, is still for our children. They are watching every step. They are watching how we continue to educate ourselves and grow. They are watching how we motivate and inspire our teams. They are watching how we can still continue to love them unconditionally while still finding a balance with a career and family life at the same time. And most importantly, they are watching how a mom can still be a bad-ass businesswoman at the same time they are going to every sports game, theater performance and the many other events that seem to happen every other day!
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
From a young age, I always had the entrepreneurial spirit. I can remember dreaming up businesses well before I was old enough to run my own business. I couldn’t wait to turn 16 to go out and find my first job and after that, I have always had the drive to keep advancing in whatever position I was doing. I was lucky enough in the early days to have great mentors that really encouraged me to keep that entrepreneurial spirit alive and allowed me to try new things as I grew.
Contact Info:
- Address: 25166 Grogans Park Drive
The Woodlands, Texas 77380
In the Grogans Park Shopping Center, next to Third Gen Coffee and Amerigos Restaurant - Website: http://www.mindyharmon.com and http://www.lavishthewoodlands.com
- Phone: 281-296-2067
- Email: mindy@mindyharmon.com
- Instagram: @mindyharmonphoto and @lavishthewoodlands
Image Credit:
Mindy Harmon
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