A Partner in Business and in Life
At Janet St. Paul Studio for Hair and Beauty, Director of Operations Natasha McMillen helps bring her wife Janet St. Paul's vision to life, elevating every system from education to operations.
by Stacey Soble
Women of Substance: Lynelle Lynch
LYNELLE LYNCH’S FORAY into the professional beauty arena was by chance. In fact, after college, her passion for fashion led her to a 15-year career with Saks Fifth Avenue where she served as general manager for multiple stores across Southern California.
by Salon Today Staff
October 1, 20113 min to read
Lynelle Lynch
President and Owner, Bellus Academy, San Diego, California
Affiliations: AACS, CAPPS, ISPA, PBA, NCA, Intercoiffure, Day Spa Association, International Spa Association She currently serves on the boards of AACS, CAPPS and Career College Central
LYNELLE LYNCH’S FORAY into the professional beauty arena was by chance. In fact, after college, her passion for fashion led her to a 15-year career with Saks Fifth Avenue where she served as general manager for multiple stores across Southern California. After marrying her husband, who among his 26 businesses owned three beauty schools, Lynch found herself suddenly taking over Bellus Academy when the school’s manager of 30 years passed away. “That was six years ago and it has been a wonderful journey revolutionizing Beauty Education and now we are focused on raising the brand of the industry!” Recently, Lynch pioneered the Beauty Changes Lives program, an initiative designed to raise awareness of how careers in the hair, beauty and wellness industry transform lives.
Who was your mentor along the way? “My husband is one of my most trusted visionary mentors, an innovative entrepreneur who shares his drive and passion for business, the community and family, and most importantly, how to balance all three.”
How has being a woman made your career path harder or easier? “Most or the professions I have been in have been dominated by men, which I have found challenging, yet I always stayed true to my values of integrity, overachieving goals and being strategic with vision. The beauty industry is blessed with many dynamic and powerful women who have achieved tremendous success with then vision and passion to make this world more beautiful!”
What would you consider your biggest professional break? “Specifically, for the beauty school industry, my most significant break was to recruit the most amazing team of industry leaders to collaborate with and build the Bellus Academy brand recognized for revolutionizing beauty and wellness education.”
What’s the best business advice anyone ever gave you? “In real estate your best advice is location, location, location, and in our industry it’s people, people, people. Build a winning culture of inspired team members that unite around a common vision and give them the tools to make a difference. Focus your team to look at challenges as opportunities!”
What business achievement are you most proud of? Creating the Bellus Academy’s vision and culture with 17 advanced courses that prepare our graduates with the confidence to be successful and at the same time inspire our team to continue to evolve and elevate our academy! The charitable achievement I am extraordinarily proud of is the launch of Beauty Changes Lives—a lifetime dream to elevate and change the perceptions of the careers in beauty and wellness arid to gain the recognition that these careers are premiere careers.”
What do you hope to achieve in the next five years? “We will continue to evolve our brand to reach more students internationally. We hope to create an associate degree in beauty and wellness, and we are evolving our curriculum to provide students with an online experience in addition to the classroom. Five years from now, we want to be viewed as the academy that elevated the industry and provided the connection between the schools and the professionals united behind the Beauty Changes Lives initiative.”
“The beauty industry is blessed with many dynamic and powerful women who have achieved tremendous success with their vision and passion to make this world more beautiful!”
— Lynelle Lynch
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