It's a fact Teresa Long knows all too well, and she preaches that diversity to her students at Grace Beauty College, 1715 N. Granville Avenue.
"Even the Caucasian students, I'm teaching them weaving and braiding," said Long, owner of East Central Indiana's first black-owned beauty college, established in May 2007.
"This is a multicultural school," she added. "Everyone is welcome."
The love for all people comes as no surprise from a woman who repeatedly acknowledges God for her many accomplishments -- hence, the name "Grace" Beauty College.
Long, who opened her first hair salon in 1994, gave it the name "God's Grace of Mercy."
"I just felt like it was nothing but the grace of God that enabled me to walk right into a business that was [already] operating," she said of her first salon, which she bought fully furnished for $2,000.
Long was 20 years old at the time, and wasn't quite prepared to jump into such a demanding entrepreneurial venture.
But her tenacious and ambitious attitude caused her to make a leap of faith, laying the foundation for something she ultimately wanted to achieve: starting her very own school.
Everything Long did to get to that point came with sacrifices.
In fact, a huge sacrifice from her husband, who was a Ball State University student at the time, guaranteed the $2,000 needed to purchase Long's first salon.
"He had gotten financial aid money, and that's how we came up with the [funds]," said Long, a mother of five boys.
It proved to be a good investment, as Long looks back nearly 14 years on her career.
It's been a journey with several life-lessons about running a small business -- some good, others bad.
Long recalls a business experience in which she lost $12,000 to someone she calls a scam artist.
Nevertheless, her strong will got her back on track to reaching the goals she'd set.
One of her more immediate goals is to bring her class size from 12 students to 20, and then cut off enrollment.
"I really want to concentrate on smaller class sizes, so I can implement everything, spend quality time with each student," she said.
Long prides herself on teaching students more than the basics, a notion she said a lot of beauty schools lack.
"If you're going to become successful in this business, you need to come out of beauty school with advanced techniques," Long said. "My motto is basics and beyond."
Grace Beauty College offers full- and part-time enrollment, and plans to implement aesthetics and electrolysis courses in the near future.
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