BUCYRUS — When people in Bucyrus and the surrounding area want to look their best, they now have a new option for their beauty needs.
The most noticeable thing about The Beauty Bar, located at 1501 E. Mansfield St., may be that the owner and operator of the salon isn’t even old enough to pop a bottle of champagne to toast her new business.
The Beauty Bar, which officially opened its doors this week, is owned by 19-year-old Madison Rinehart.
Rinehart is a graduate of Colonel Crawford High School and Pioneer Career and Technology Center’s cosmetology program.
“I learned everything from where to get supplies to how to do nails and how to get things started from school,” Rinehart said. “I had two really good teachers, Carey Ransom and Nicole Gregory. They really set us in the right direction.”
Rinehart has a team of Pioneer CTC graduates working on her staff.
Jayden Charlton, a Wynford High School and Pioneer CTC graduate, was a friend of Rinehart’s before the two were classmates at Pioneer.
“I knew she did great work, so I just contacted her and asked her if she would be interested in moving to a new salon,” Rinehart said. “She is really good with colors and cuts.”
Mya Johnson, a Northmor High School and Pioneer CTC graduate, also has teamed up with Rinehart and Charlton.
“I met Mya at (Pioneer) and we became really close since then and I knew she was really good, like Jayden, at colors and bleaching,” Rinehart said. “I knew we would work really well together.”
The Beauty Bar offers a multitude of services including cuts, colors, bleaching, waxing, pedicures and more.
Rinehart said she specializes in the nail technician work, while Charlton and Johnson focus more on hair care, but all three are accepting new clients in a variety of services.
Rinehart also credits her first boss, Janene Bushey of Nail Elegance Spa and More in Shelby, for also helping her get her start in the nail technician business. She then wanted to be closer to home and moved to The Styling Den with Linda Zeigler, where she built her local clienteles.
She then decided it was time for her to make the leap and go into business on her own.
“It was definitely blood, sweat and tears,” Rinehart said. “It was a lot of up ‘til 3 a.m. with my mom, dad, brother, boyfriend, grandma and grandpa, friends.”
The building previously was a salon but had not housed an active salon business for a few years, Rinehart said.
She said preparing to own her business early in her career began when she started saving money with the goal of some day buying her own salon.
She admitted her plans did not initially plan on already owning her own business, but when she was contacted about the building being available, she knew it was the right move.
“I saw the building a couple months ago, but didn’t know who owned it,” Rinehart said. “Then someone asked me, and I said, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll take a look at it’ and it ended up being the perfect thing for me to redo it how I wanted.
“I was thinking something a little later down the road, but this just happened and it’s working out great.”
Her advice to anyone thinking of starting his or her own business, even at a younger age, is to prepare.
“Always think ahead,” she said. “You have to start at the beginning and think about your future, when you’re accepting your first client, you have to think about how to keep having them come in, because that’s going to be your paycheck. Keep them happy to keep you happy.”
She said everyone should prepare for the opportunity for success before the opportunity for success arrives.
The salon does not have set hours, as appointments are made individually with the cosmetologists. More information may be found and appointments may be made by calling the salon at 419-617-1794 or by logging on to The Beauty Bar Facebook page.