Christy Klein Pedersen, owner of Salon Diva in Valparaiso, has shown the Region time and again that perseverance and community will triumph overall.
Pedersen grew up in Portage. She graduated from Portage High School in 1985 after going to cosmetology school during her senior year. Pedersen’s strong family support system started out at Portage High School, where her dad coached while she attended school.
“My dad was the head football coach at Portage High School. So, that was a challenge because I could never date anybody on the football team,” Pedersen laughed.
Currently, she and her husband live in Morgan Township. They have three children and two dogs.
“We have three girls. My oldest is 31, and then I have a 19-year-old and an 11-year-old,” she said. “They keep me pretty busy.”
Both she and her husband are entrepreneurs. While she runs her salon, Salon Diva, her husband owns a construction business. When she is not working or caring for her children, Pedersen spends time being active.
“I like to bike ride,” she said. “I also like to take my two dogs on walks.”
A lot of Pedersen’s focus, though, is on her business. The past few years have been a challenge for Salon Diva. In June of 2017, the dry cleaners next door to the salon caught fire during the workday.
“It was on a Tuesday, and we had clients there with color on their hair. We had to get out,” explained Pedersen. “So, that resulted in total loss.”
The loss was devastating, but one community member really stepped up to the plate to help out Salon Diva.
“I get a little choked up thinking about it, but the owner of Attitudes Salon showed up at our place after the fire and offered for all of us to work in his building. So, we set up in two days,” Pedersen said. “I had a staff of close to 30 people, and we just made it work. He was our saving grace.”
Eventually, the building where Attitudes Salon was located was put up for sale, which Pedersen’s brother-in-law bought. Now, Pedersen rents out the building for Salon Diva.
“We ended up remodeling the whole building. My husband and I worked day and night trying to get it the way that we wanted it. We worked very hard to get there,” said Pedersen. “My team is awesome. They helped as much as they could.”
The bond that Pedersen had with her team has always been strong, but going through such a tragedy has only made it stronger.
“My team is like my kids,” she said. “I would do anything for them, and they feel the same way. We have a great team here. Some of these girls, I've been with them for well over 20 years. They're just like family to me.”
The Salon Diva family had already been through so much. Then the pandemic hit the business with another challenge.
“It was a huge struggle because I'm kind of a planner,” she explained. “Not knowing from week to week how things were going was a little hectic.”
When the salon was finally able to reopen in 2021, Pedersen and her employees spent all of Mother’s Day getting ready for clients.
“We had to do a lot of things: put policies in place, make sure we had all the cleaning products. That's how I spent my Mother's Day,” said Pedersen. “It was a lot of work, but we are getting back on track now.”
Getting back on track was crucial in light of all of these challenges. As Salon Diva continues to recover, Pedersen finds ways to balance work and family.
“Honestly, I had to step away from the chair. When we first opened in 2003, we were a 12-member team at the time,” Pedersen said. “Since then, we’ve added a spa, and our spa services have really grown. We offer eyelash extensions, facials, and microblading.”
“I feel like our spa has been taken off,” she said. “Tackling my own family, running the salon and standing behind the chair full-time was getting to be a little too much for me. So I stepped away from the chair. I also hired a front desk manager, an inventory manager, and a manager for the rest of my staff so that I can just step away a little bit to enjoy my family more.”
As every day poses new challenges and experiences as a mother and entrepreneur, Pedersen finds herself looking forward to doing what's best for her, her biological family, and her work family.
“Follow your dreams, work hard, and never give up.”
To see what services Salon Diva has to offer, find them on Instagram and Facebook.