When Kevin, originally from Miami, and Megan, who is from Long Island, met in New York City on a blind date, Kevin was immediately blown away by Megan’s red hair. The rest, as they say, is history.
Kevin and Megan had compatible skillsets – Kevin was an experienced, NY entrepreneur and Megan was a talented, up-and-coming hairdresser with a growing clientele.
Kevin encouraged Megan to start a salon and bring clients to a studio, so they co-founded TwoDo Salon, renting a basement space in the Upper West Side (fun fact: they negotiated their lease during their honeymoon!).
The name came from the fact that the business began with just two people doing hairdos. The “Original Two” hairdressers were Megan, a master colorist, and a hair cutter from Sweden. Kevin was in the background running the operations.
From 1994 to 2001, the business was doing well, and they also started a family. Kevin and Megan grew the business to 18 employees. Note to self: Growing very fast and running a business with your spouse can be very challenging. It isn’t easy to shift gears from business to home and family life. Issues related to work don’t just suddenly disappear at the dinner table.
Over 28 years, they have faced challenge after challenge. They went from $1.4M to $650K in revenues after the recession in 2008 and due to 5 employees who left and took their clients in 2012. This all happened while the couple was taking care of young children. They had to sell their apartment to keep the business afloat.
Launching a business at the dawn of so much change, it’s hard to stay current and remain excited about every new technology, especially when new methods and practices are constantly evolving. There’s always something new to learn. Through it all, however, they never gave up innovating, adjusting, and rising to meet their clients’ needs, which is why TwoDo Salon remains a coveted beauty destination on the UWS to this day. Currently, Kevin and Megan are facing their biggest challenge yet. After decades as partners in business and life, they decided to go their separate ways. Still, they’re navigating this major life change as gracefully as they can. Kevin is helping to hand the reins entirely over to Megan, while she is learning to run operations and be the talent, at the same time. Kevin is consulting for other businesses and exploring new endeavors. TwoDo is still part of the SLAP program of Silver Lining.
