Allayah Manns didn’t expect to join the family business.
Her parents came to Appleton from Mississippi in the early 1990s to plant a church, Appleton Sanctuary Outreach, where her paternal grandmother was senior pastor until she passed away 10 years ago, and where her father is pastor now.
Her mom Carla went into business for herself 20 years ago, starting Shear Images by Carla inside Sola Salons.
“I worked for other people for years, but there’s nothing like working for yourself,” Carla said in a recent interview. “You can take a vacation when you want to. You can promote yourself if you want to. And there’s nothing like the satisfaction of helping someone or giving something to someone that makes them smile.”
Meanwhile Allayah went to UW-Whitewater and got an undergrad degree in business administration and management with an emphasis in public relations and communication, and then a master’s in higher education and leadership development, all while doing hair and makeup for friends.
“I tried corporate America,” working in both retail and property management, Allayah said. “That wasn’t fun for me. And I kept asking my mom little by little about different parts of the business. Getting more interested in being an entrepreneur. I just didn’t know what field. And then my friend was like, ‘why don’t you just go into hair like your mom?’ And I was like, that’s a great idea.”
The stars aligned when Allayah made the leap to change careers and join the business as a stylist, necessitating a larger space, and a space became available at 207 West College Avenue, right in downtown Appleton. Making the move in 2021 allowed the salon to take on more clients – but that’s not all.
“The biggest difference for us is the larger space because it allows us the opportunity to do more outreach in the community. It allows us to provide a space for other entrepreneurs to do showcases and things like that … we’ve been able to just do multiple different things in one location,” Carla said. “The other thing is because I am downtown, there’s better exposure to the people that are right downtown Appleton that are looking for a hairstylist. Lawrence University is right down the street, so the college students get a chance to come here.”
In addition to taking on her own set of clients, Allayah has used her undergrad degree to boost the salon’s marketing and publicity efforts, while using her master’s as a youth leader at the family’s church.
The space has also allowed Carla to provide a gallery space for the artistic works of her younger daughter Alexsis.
Now 25, Alexsis took up painting in middle school, and has made a career of it.
“I didn’t go to school for art. I just had really great teachers and Kimberly High School who really pushed me every day to be my best, so that really helped,” she says. “Then the rest was just Bob Ross videos and self taught YouTube videos.”
She loved it enough to put in a lot of time and effort into that self-teaching, and has turned it into a successful line of work.
“My passion became my job and my main source of income,” she says. “Especially during the summer farmers market. I made like $7,000 last summer. I’ve been doing very well, very blessed that I get to sell my paintings and I have paintings all over the US. It’s pretty crazy, actually.”
The move downtown coupled with Allyah joining the business also allowed Carla, in 2022, to do something she’d long thought about: launch her own line of hair care products.
“In the midst of growing as a business, you are always looking for the next opportunity,” she says. “I’m all about professional products. I really don’t care for the stuff that you can find on the shelf because it just has tons of water and alcohol and all the things that go against what our hair really desires.”
She found herself driving to Milwaukee to buy products appropriate for different hair types, frustrated that she couldn’t find the quality of product she needed in the Fox Valley.” I just wanted to be a phenomenal hairstylist here in the Valley and provide a service that was absolutely needed,” she says. “There were more people moving in our area that were of color, and they didn’t have anyone that knew how to take care of their hair. Finally, I was just frustrated and decided to create a product line.”
So she developed her own formula, free of parabens and sulfates.
“It is an all organic product line, all natural, plant-based and designed for all hair types,” she says. “So every strand of hair is taken care of.”
She’s working with three chemists to manufacture the various products, which she uses and sells at her salon. She and Allayah are also beginning to sell the products online as well.
While the Fox Valley has been rapidly diversifying, Allayah and Alexsis their family helped them navigate a much less diverse community over their lifetimes.
“Having a strong family that not only holds you accountable but also provides guidance was crucial,” Allayah says. “Even in times when we had questions about why people were treating us differently, our parents were knowledgeable enough to help us navigate those situations confidently.”
“I know I’m the only one in my class,” Alexsis recalls, but she was able to spin that positive: “I know I’m the only one with the coolest hair. So I know I’m going to stand out. I chose to be confident. People want to be my friend. I’m unique. You’re going to remember me because I’m the only one.”
