Clear-Cut Vision

Liza Howard was getting ready to backpack through Italy when she found the perfect place.

For years, she'd dreamed of opening her own salon, and now she'd located the ideal spot. She even had a letter of intent for the rental location, but then the owners changed their minds. They decided they didn't want to lease to a first-time business owner such as Howard.

It was a setback, but Howard, then 25, didn't give up. She found another location and on Oct. 24, 2015, opened the doors of LG Howard & Co. The boutique Aveda salon, Howard hopes, is the beginning of something big in a hypercompetitive industry, where customers, and employees, have a lot of choices.