Photo by Howard Owens
NOTE: This is the first of seven stories The Batavian will publish today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) about this year's Chamber of Commerce award winners. The awards will be presented on Saturday evening at Batavia Downs. There are tickets still available to the event.
In just a handful of years, Kate Willson has established herself as a beauty entrepreneur to be reckoned with.
She has taken one business and added another a half mile down Main Street, creating hair, spa, and shopping experiences for her customers and employment for a dozen talented people in downtown Batavia.
Then again, Willson has been no stranger to the concept of putting in the effort for the rewards.
“Growing up in a blue-collar family, hard work was always modeled to me. From the moment I got my working papers, I was on a mission to work hard and earn my own money. I was always the friend that missed events or arrived late because I valued work,” she said. “To this day, I'm grateful that I was shown what it was like to work hard. From my mom to past employers, I saw women creating income and having fun doing it. I'm grateful to say my entrepreneurial spirit has always been second nature, and my businesses are a labor of love. I love getting to serve this community with amazing beauty services.”
And serve she has, with Meraki Beauty, and her more recent venture that opened in July 2024, The Beauty Lounge by Meraki. Both endeavors have earned her an impressive nod with the Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneurial Business of the Year Award. The chamber awards dinner is on Saturday at Batavia Downs.
According to her website, "Meraki" means “to put love, creativity and soul into everything you do.” That has been Willson’s objective with her hair salon and then the spa and boutique, which she wanted to complement the next-door neighbor of Charles Men’s Shop.
In addition to offering luxury spa services, the space has been opened up in front for a reception area and half of it is a boutique for clothing, with another portion dedicated to an assortment of pampering products such as candles, body whips and butters, delicate chains with charms and jewelry with essential oil sprays from local vendors, plus a jewelry station.
Her current philosophy is to “follow your heart and do what feels right,” she said.
“I follow that in life and in business; I believe we are all different, and we have to pivot when we feel called,” she said. “That is how all my businesses and my life have been created — following the little ideas and keeping my mind open.”
She had an open mind when first opening The Beauty Lounge, as she opted to accommodate many disgruntled customers left holding gift cards purchased from the former business that abruptly closed after the holidays. She offered a 50% value for the gift cards that were not purchased from her business. As one nomination form stated, “She is open, honest, she is loyal to her customers and will go out of her way to make you feel special and she has taught the other employees at her salon to be the same way.”
She chose the beauty industry because of her love for “building up other women.”
“Whether that’s my team or those that come to experience Meraki Beauty and The Beauty Lounge. Through my businesses in the beauty industry, I’m able to bring the community a place where women can go to feel welcome and leave feeling fully recharged and beautiful from the inside out,” she said. “That’s my favorite part of it; the amazing relationships that I have with my team and with our clients.”
Not that running your own business doesn’t have its challenges, she said. That have been many when it came to growing the first and second versions of Meraki. Launching the spa and boutique proved to be very demanding of her time, and Willson has been learning “the art of delegation” more each day, she said.
“It can be hard at first, and there have been so many skills I’ve had to learn that don’t come naturally to me. However, once you take the time as a leader to learn that each person on your team has unique strengths, knowing which tasks to pass on to others eventually becomes second nature,” she said. “Asking for help from people wiser than myself has been incredibly helpful in growing the businesses. My mom and many of my past employers have shaped me into who I am today. I am also incredibly blessed to have amazing women who sit in my chair each day, and I’m honored to draw so much wisdom from them.
“As a leader, my hope is that I'm able to help all of my employees create beautiful lives, a great work-life balance, and build a solid group of women who support each other,” she said. “Very recently, my family had a traumatic loss of a loved one, and it's never been more apparent to me how solid my team is, how much they care for each other and for me so well. This award was truly earned by every team member within our walls. They inspire me each day to keep putting in the work.”
Because it does take that hard work and doesn’t just happen by accident, she said, her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to “know what you’re getting into before you jump in.” Do the research, talk to others who achieved the goals you’re after, start small, grow your confidence and skills and pivot as opportunities present themselves.
From the way she talks about her staff and husband, Willson also seems to have a strong support system, and she credits them all for part of her success. As she has been embraced as a positive role model for young women in her salon and for being an astute businesswoman, Willson recognizes the strength of her “amazing” workmates and life partner — her husband, who is “always down for my next idea.”
“My husband and I love bringing these elevated experiences to our local area, so I definitely could see more in time, but right now, my joke to him is that the next business is his idea and his baby because this girl is busy,” she said.
