From a stylist chair to a jazz lounge, this entrepreneur is taking Johnstown by storm

Camillya Taylor’s love for beauty and fashion has created a salon, fashion design business, and now a jazz lounge. Photo: Provided.

At a young age, Camillya Taylor knew she wanted to be in the beauty and fashion industry. Her love for serving others as a hairstylist has had clients returning to her chair for the last 28 years and has helped her to blossom into other areas, including fashion design and even into opening a jazz lounge.

Clients leave Camille’s House of Styles Salon and Boutique feeling their most beautiful, inside and out: “My chair has become my ministry. If I see 10 people a day, 5 days a week that is 50 people a week sharing their hearts and their lives with me. I have an opportunity to be an ear to listen and shoulder to cry on while doing what I love. I am very mindful of my schedule, and I intentionally do not overbook. I want to make sure that the person in my chair is taken on time and has my undivided attention while they allow me to take care of them,” Taylor said.

“Camille is incredibly talented and reaches for the stars with every venture she takes on. She is working on a mobile boutique that will be like nothing you’ve ever seen,” Coach Fleegle said.

For the last 12 years, Taylor has also been a fashion designer, creating handbags, clothes, shoes and jewelry. “When I first started it was for me. I wanted clothing that I could feel beautiful and confident in. My aunt sewed my designs and people started noticing. I had a fashion show one year for my birthday. Malcom Anthony is a designer in Pittsburgh, and he gave me an opportunity that has gone wild from there,” she said.

Taylor’s fashion appeared in a recent Soul Pitt issue. Photo: Provided.

Taylor said she knew she had the talent, but she was lacking the business knowledge. Enter Startup Alleghenies Coach Blake Fleegle. “Working with Startup Alleghenies has been wonderful. They have helped with sales tax, the business plans, international trade for my fashion items. They make it so much easier to get on track to live out your dream helping you establish a sound business foundation,” Taylor said.

“Blake is wonderful. I dream big and go a million miles a minute. Blake helps me to see the details and puts things into perspective, making sure everything in the right place,” Taylor said.

“Camille is incredibly talented and reaches for the stars with every venture she takes on. She is working on a mobile boutique that will be like nothing you’ve ever seen,” Fleegle said.

Last fall Taylor bought a local restaurant and transformed it into a jazz lounge with a cozy atmosphere. The Lounge Cafe is just a few doors down from the boutique. “I figured I love food and I didn’t want to see the community lose a local establishment, so I jumped on the opportunity. I had no idea what I was doing or how hard the restaurant industry was. It’s been a trying year, but I am so into making this a one-of-a-kind experience,” she said.

A meal from The Lounge Cafe. Photo: Provided.

“The café offers live jazz music, good food and a unique atmosphere,” Taylor said. “I didn’t look to start what was already the latest trend here. I saw an opportunity that would benefit and add value to the community. I’ve done that with all my businesses.”

Whether you are starting one business or wearing many hats like Taylor, she offered this advice: “You can’t stop. You have to be in the mindset that quitting is not an option. Sometimes that means working another job while running your business, but I promise if you just keep pushing forward it will look exactly as you dreamt it would.”

Startup Alleghenies helps startup and emerging small businesses succeed by providing free coaching to entrepreneurs in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties. To access personal, one-on-one support from a coach in your county, including guidance, resources, tools and networking opportunities, sign up at startupalleghenies.com.