Turning Passion into Purpose
With the uncertainty surrounding the outset of the pandemic, Melody Brown decided that liking her customer service job at the airlines wasn’t enough.
“I felt like I should do what I was called to do,” said Brown, of Portland. “Hair was always a passion of mine.”
In 2021, she opened L&M Hair Company, a hair salon that specializes in services for textured hair, including extensions, braids, dreads, wigs, weaves and more.
“I always focused on braids. That was what I first learned to do,” she said. “Extensions came in high school. That is really where my passion lies.”
Brown’s interest in hairstyling began as a child. Growing up, she was one of 8 kids, and learning how to do her hair was a necessity.
“My mom always used to do our hair in styles that I absolutely hated,” she recalled. “I kind of got teased about my hair. I wanted to do it myself so I could look and feel pretty.”
Brown and her staff of 20 stylists are collectively making their customers look their best. So much so, that by 2023 she opened a second location. L&M now operates salons in northeast and southeast Portland.
“L&M filled a huge gap that Portland was lacking. You could find multiple salons on any block that do straight hair,” Brown said. “But not many shops that do curly or textured hair. It blew up because now people had a place to go.”
In an effort to expand education for textured hair to a worldwide stage, Brown competed in SCORE’s 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition. SCORE is a national nonprofit organization that supports small businesses through free mentoring.
More than 2,200 small businesses applied to compete in five pitch events. Contestants were pared down to 60 contenders who presented their pitch live before panels of judges. Participants were matched with SCORE mentors to refine their pitches, strengthen their presentations, and hone their business plans. Brown was one of 45 finalists.
Leading up to the competition she teamed with SCORE mentor Lynda Martin-Lawley of the Los Angeles chapter.
“I did get some pointers from her,” Brown said. “She was super nice and super helpful.”
Brown’s future plans include launching a digital learning platform to teach hairstylists various techniques, specifically those for people of color. She also plans to create scholarships for students at her 2-year-old hair academy, which teaches cosmetologists how to properly wash textured hair, as well as instructions on how to braid, create locs and more.
“That’s the one thing that’s missing,” Brown said of education related to textured hair at traditional cosmetology schools.
The digital learning platform is in the works, Brown said.
Martin-Lawley championed Brown’s commitment to education and her “positive influence on her world.”
“She was really on a mission to educate and offer services to not only change, but also educate the hair world in how to style and have this as part of their comprehensive tools,” Martin-Lawley said of Brown.
To learn more about SCORE, request a mentor or volunteer to be one, visit score.org.