Mackinze Tabor was just barely old enough to have an adult beverage when she started her business.
The 21-year-old had relocated to Lee’s Summit from the Lake of the Ozarks area, opening Laser, No Razor on Woods Chapel in April of 2017.
More than four years later, Tabor now has seven employees, an expanded business - M-Power Salon & Spa - and an arsenal of services she offers to both her loyal customers and new clients alike.
“I moved to Lee’s Summit without knowing anybody,” Mackinze recalls. “I started just by myself for the year just focused on laser hair removal and I slowly started to add other things. I was also working at a restaurant on nights and weekends to try and make it all work.”
Mackinze changed her business name in April of 2021 and boasts a service list that many salons would envy, including: eyelash extensions, body waxing, eyebrow waxing, spray tans, facials, dermaplaning, teeth whitening, chemical peels, micro-needling, eyelash tint and lifts, hair services, permanent makeup and prom and event makeup.
Coming to Kansas City worked well for Mackinze as a fan of the Chiefs and already a fan of many things KC.
“I wanted to get out of the small town feel, so I thought, let’s give Lee’s Summit a try. And it’s not too far away from home,” she said, adding that she has fallen in love with the community. “I don’t ever see myself leaving Lee’s Summit.”
Mackinze is a Cosmetology School graduate and, even as the owner, takes on clients full time. That’s the part she loves.
Social media, on the other hand, is the part she’s forced to love. Mackinze said her most challenging day-to-day function as a business owner is “trying to keep up with social media and the platforms. Everything is always changing. I have no choice but to love social media.”
But she has a pro tip:
“I’ve actually just started to dedicate every Monday morning for the first two hours that day to work on social media for the week,” she said.
M-Power Salon & Spa, 621 NE Woods Chapel Road, is located just a few doors down from its original location. Mackinze said there are more than 50 clients in the door each week for their range of services.
When she’s not at the shop, Mackinze volunteers at Summit Park Church and enjoys hitting some of her favorite spots in downtown Lee’s Summit, including Third Street Social.
Managing time is one of her many lessons she’s endured during business-ownership.
“I do work quite a bit, but I hired a full-time receptionist and she’s amazing. It’s the best money I’ve ever spent.”
And it allows her more time for her passion and, down the line she says, an even bigger venture: her own product line.
“I am in the process of creating my own product line,” she said. “It may be a good two years out, maybe sooner, before that happens.”
Learn more about M-Power Salon & Spa at mpowersalonandspa.com/about.
