Meet Lanna Dang: Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lanna Dang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lanna, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The idea for my business actually began years ago in my early twenties. When I was stopping at a different nail salon every two weeks to get my nails done, I recall myself thinking, there’s got to be something better than this. My experiences in these different salons were underwhelming and inconsistent. I just remember thinking wouldn’t it be cool if there was a salon you could go to that gave consistent results every time, treated their customers like family and you can tell everyone genuinely enjoys being there. My business started with just a seed of an idea to fill a major void in this industry. Before I had anything else or even a business plan I knew that I wanted to create a business where people love going to work everyday. Not only did I want to be surrounded by people who are passionate about what they do but I wanted those people to feel like going to work can actually fill their cup because of how much support they receive. This was and will always remain the main pillar of my business. When you help people feel seen, heard and supported, they show up as their best selves. When talented people show up as their best, customers are happy. It’s a win win all around. The road to achieving is far from easy. We have people from all walks of lives and backgrounds who all have different needs and speak different love languages. Implementing one recognition system may work well for some but not others. I’m still constantly learning on how to best support my people. One thing I am sure of is people always need to be challenged to grow while feeling deeply cared for. I’m not perfect and I make mistakes but as long as I have this foundational concept as my guiding compass, things work out.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In college I thought I wanted to be a doctor so I got my bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. Little did I know after working in the Emergency Room all through undergrad that being a doctor was far from what I actually wanted in life. Junior year I took a summer internship in direct sales. Specifically door to door sales. I happened to be pretty good at it so since I did not have another back up plan outside of going into medicine I decided to continue my career with the same direct sales company I interned for. This turned into the next 10 years of my career holding various sales positions. I was a top salesperson, a sales manager, a recruiter and a trainer. I had the opportunity to literally do the hard knocks as well as work for two Fortune 500 companies. Sales is all about managing yourself, your emotions and your mind. This is applicable anywhere in life. The mental and emotional strength it takes to have a door slammed in your face and then keep on going to the next door is one that will carry any entrepreneur through the toughest challenges. In sales the next feat after learning to manage yourself is learning how to help others do the same. I’m grateful for the leadership experience I had as a sales manager where at one point I was leading 50 salespeople. My sales career also opened the door for me to personal development which I quickly learned is for everyone, in any field. It really applies to life in general and it is for this reason I am so passionate about teaching what I’ve learned to my team. There’s really one thing we can ever control in life and that’s our attitude. Living as a model of this and teaching it to those around me is my main focus as a leader.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend were visiting Arizona I would show them one hell of a time. I absolutely love living here. We would start our venture exploring Scottsdale starting with fun day activities like shopping in Old Town and visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. We would plan some sort of physical activity daily like hiking Camelback or Pinnacle Peak and we’d likely pop into a yoga class. I love the spiritual community here so we could find a sound bath experience to be a part of. We would do brunch at the Henry and have dinners at my favorites spots Hillstone, True Food and Toca Madera. We would also venture out for a day downtown Phoenix because it’s such a different vibe down there. We’d pop into a cute coffee shop like Lola Coffee, grab tacos for lunch at Taco Chelo then have dinner at Hanny’s. If she’s into house music we could catch a show at Monarch or Bar Smith (given we’re out of COVID and they’re open). Of course no Arizona trip would be complete without a visit to Sedona so we’d do a day trip there on one of the last days. We could hike Cathedral Rock or Devil’s Bridge, popular however are must check offs. We can do a light spa day at my salon of course for mani, pedis and facials. Lastly, if she’s up for it we can do a bigger hike like Flat Iron. If we had time I’d love to take her to Uptown as well. The activities here are endless and our weather is spectacular most of the year. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As lonely as the entrepreneurial journey can feel at times it’s so important to pause and acknowledge all of the support, encouragement and love I’ve received from the people and groups in my life. My first acknowledgement goes to my parents. I grew up watching them do the very same thing I’m doing now. My parents came to America with nothing and built their own empire to give everything to my sisters and I. I owe my work ethic and perseverance to them. I still admire them today. Next I’m giving a huge shoutout to my team Jimmy, Christine, Jessi, Brea, Kenna, Shawnna, Tammi, Fancy, Ashlee and Kenzie. They are the backbone of our business and the reason why we are successful. I need to give a special thanks to Robin Trybalski my salon manager whom without, I could not run my business. Also a shoutout to my virtual assistant Jo who gave me more support than I knew I needed in 2020. I made it a goal of mine when I started Pampr’d Soul to not only build community but also to be a part of community. At the end of the day that’s what our lives and businesses are truly about. With this said I must acknowledge my business, spiritual and women’s communities that have been gracious enough to take me in the past couple of years. Namely BNI, eWomen’s Network and iStartFirst. Katie Kyleen has helped me reconnect to my spirituality which I now lean on everyday to help keep my business flowing. I also joined my first Mastermind this year by Lindsey Schwartz and Powerhouse Women. Everything I’ve learned from Lindsey as a mentor and the collective women in the mastermind was invaluable. I’m also deeply grateful for my dear friends Ashley Blok and Mendy Hoffman who also own their own brick and mortar businesses here in Arizona. All of our businesses are under three years old and I am so grateful to have them to share this challenging journey with. I also acknowledge my personal development journey and the organizations that have taught me what transformation is throughout the years. It is my involvement with Landmark, Tony Robbins, HeartCore Leadership and Michael Bernoff that makes me the person and leader I am today. Lastly, I have to thank my failures. As excruciating and uncomfortable as they can feel in the moment it is every failure I’ve ever faced that has brought me where I am today. Looking back I can always see why they happened. Life always serves us exactly what we need.

Website: https://pamprdsoul.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamprdsoul/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pamprdsoulsalon
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pampr-d-soul-salon-scottsdale
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC29OUwtlfu3wN4U__VUIa7w

Image Credits
Saguaro Creations