Passions Beauty Studio has become a familiar name with many throughout the area. Since 2009, the vision of owner/operator Chelsey Harder has seen many upgrades, additions, and has received numerous accolades. Most recently, Passions Beauty Studio was nominated as one of five finalists for the provincial ABEX Award in the Young Entrepreneur category. For Harder, this prestigious honour validates the years of hard work and dedication that not only herself, but the staff of Passions Beauty Studio has given within the industry and community.
The ABEX Awards have been recognizing Saskatchewan business success since 1984 and were created as a method of honouring outstanding achievements in business excellence. As one of the most highly esteemed symbols of business excellence within the province, Harder feels privileged to be a part of this annual gala.
At the age of 20 years old, Harder embarked on a journey that would forever change her life and through hard work, perseverance, team building and community support, she has transformed her vision of what she would like to see in the beauty industry into a reality. Believing strongly in the motto, “if you choose a career that you are passionate about, you won’t have to work a day in your life,” Harder is the embodiment of hard work truly paying off. Realizing that she did not want to create a hair salon, but instead wanted to build a culture, family and something that the market had never experienced before, Harder has carefully chosen each member of the Passions Team, looking for individuals that had the same mindset. “At Passions we hire for personality and attitude. Skill is important, but we definitely need to ensure they understand what we are as a team and aspire to be for our clients. This allows us to take on staff that fits our culture and we will provide the training and education for them to thrive,” Harder explained.
Beginning as a 700 square foot leased space, Passions has now grown into a 3000 square foot high-end boutique salon and spa. Currently, Harder not only operates Passions Beauty Studio, but also a barbershop attached to the studio called The Barber Corner, which was established in 2017, as well as a hair product line, Prime Hair Brand, which she created in partnership with her sister and mother. Their product is currently being marketed and distributed to salons across the country. “The support from so many over the past nine years is truly heartwarming and I know that this would not have been possible without them all,” Harder said.
As a wife, mother and business owner, Harder manages to make time to be heavily involved within the local communities and also mentors others and takes time to continue learning from other professionals around the world.
Congratulations to Chelsey and the entire team at Passions Beauty Studio and The Barber Corner on their ABEX nomination!
