Air Force veteran continues to serve community with Blo Blow Dry Bar business
Terry Michaud has always viewed herself as someone who serves others.
As a nurse anesthetist in the Air Force and now the owner of Blo Blow Dry Bar in the Northgate neighborhood, she is always looking for ways to give back to the community.
Michaud served in the Air Force for 20 years. When it was time for a new journey in life, she looked into franchising a business as a way to continue serving in a new way. After taking a franchising class at the Air Force Academy and doing research on potential businesses to start, Blo was at the top of her list.
“I went to cosmetology school before I switched to nursing,” Michaud said. “I had always worn my hair up [in the Air Force] and never had to worry about keeping it down. And I was thinking, ‘gosh I have to do my hair and I don’t want to.’”
Blo Blow Dry Bar
12225 Voyager Parkway, No. 14, Colorado Springs (80921)
Website: blomedry.com/blo-colorado-springs
Facebook: facebook.com/BloBlowDryBarColoradoSprings
Michaud tried Blo’s services at a storefront in Denver and loved what it offered. Noticing a lack in similar blow dry services in Colorado Springs, she found a space in Northgate and officially opened in October 2020.
According to Michaud, the Blo franchise is the largest and original creator of the blow dry bar category. The business offers exactly what you’d expect from its name: blow dry hair styling.
“It’s wash, blow and go — no cuts, no color,” Michaud explained. “We do everything hair-related, like deep conditioning treatments, braids, weddings, and we also do makeup.”
Customers can choose one of seven signature styles for a classic blow out. There’s also an option to add on a head massage.
Blo also offers memberships to save money on regular blow outs. With the “Main Squeeze” membership, customers get two blow outs each month, $5 off each additional blow out each month, 10% off retail products, a free birthday blow out, and free monthly perks.
“The memberships travel with you wherever you go, because there are more than 130 Blo franchises in the country,” Michaud said.
Michaud said business has been booming since opening its doors, but opening amid a pandemic did not come without challenges. She had hoped to open earlier in the year, but shutdowns prevented her from starting a new business where people could safely come inside.
When she was finally able to open in October, Michaud wanted to let customers and staff know that they were safe while visiting Blo. To do so, she installed something many businesses don’t have: bacteria-killing UV lights.
“I heard about some specific lighting that was studied on H1N1 that said it was useful in pandemics, so I had the lighting installed,” she said. “It kills all bacteria, viruses, and mold spores in the air, and it’s safe to be under in a small space.”
Michaud is the only Blo franchise with the lights, the effects of which on the COVID-19 virus were studied and published recently as well. Michaud credits her background as a nurse anesthetist for being able to find the research and embrace the UV lights.
“Taking what I knew from my industry, it’s called evidence-based practice and you apply it to your practices,” she said. “Anesthetists say that you find that something works really well, and this is how you can do it.”
Eight months later, Blo has become a space for women to come, get their hair styled, and get to know Michaud and her team.
“It’s a great place for women to relax and escape the stress of the world,” Michaud said.
Giving other women a space to escape and find community is important to Michaud, and she’s using her ideals as a motivator to build Blo’s membership database and become the first Blo franchise to have more than 100 regular members in its first year of business.
Michaud gets to know every customer and is working with other small business owners to find more ways to give back.
“One of my members has an artisan cheese business, so we did a wine, cheese, and hors d’oeuvres event,” she said. “We also had an amazing masseuse. We try to do something once a month.”
In September and October, Michaud is planning a community event to raise awareness and fundraise for breast and gynecological cancers. Women can get colored or non-colored de-conditioning treatments. Every purchase of that treatment will be matched and donated to local charities.
As Michaud continues to find new ways to serve her community through Blo, she’s grateful the support and positivity surrounding her woman-owned business.
“It’s a great way to be involved in women’s services and still be involved in the community,” Michaud said.
ABOVE: Blo Colorado Springs is one of 130 locations in the country.
LEFT: Terry Michaud, owner of Blo Colorado Springs, is a former nurse anesthetist and Air Force veteran.
Blo Colorado Springs owner Terry Michaud installed bacteria and virus killing UV lights to create a safer environment for customers and staff.