Amanda Deborski is the owner-operator and master stylist of Las Vegas-based REVOLUTION Salon, an artisan-boutique multi-service salon that opened its doors four days prior to shutting down due to the pandemic. Now thriving, the salon provides “an approachable and stimulating artistic environment, and an attentive and cared for experience.” Learn about Amanda Deborski…
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT, and Las Vegas, NV.
First job: Making plaster molds of teeth for an orthodontist.
Favorite ways to spend your free time in NV: Camping and ATVs with my husband and kids at Big Dune/Amargosa Valley; water toys at Lake Mead; winter and spring fun at Mt. Charleston; year-round hiking at Red Rock. Fortunately, my entire family are a bunch of adventurists! We love Nevada.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: Finding out that all of the salons in the city were required to be shut down because of COVID concerns – four days after opening REVOLUTION Salon! We thought we were buried for a moment, but we would not allow it to become that. Like the rose which needs to be set as a small and fragile seed, alone and deep in the dark ground, it must combust and emerge through the earth before it can progress and grow into a beautiful flower. This makes the rose strong and viable. Like us.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: The silence of our first week in business was deafening. We were caught completely off guard, like everyone else – but we were only four days old and not qualified for any of the assistance being offered by COVID relief packages. Figuring out how to navigate and pivot through several months of complete closure, immediately followed by a full year of unprecedented interruptions to the ramp-up we had planned for. My whole heart, as well as years of savings were seriously at risk, overnight. There was no real preparation for this. We learned, we laughed, we cried. And we made it. We used that time to get super-efficient, and further develop our business’s vision and personality. It was in the time during these interruptions that we realized how important it was for us to feature local artists. To envelop our environment with meaningful art that reminds us why we do what we do. To embrace self-care and self-expression, and to recognize how important small businesses are to the local community. Those moments of challenge and inspiration helped define us.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: Have patience; sometimes the big picture takes time to reveal itself. Throw yourself whole-heartedly into the journey! Build resilience, which means that you will know failure at many moments, and that’s OK – don’t give up on your vision. Continuing education is key. Acknowledge and honor each milestone you reach. Don’t be afraid to try things, or wait for perfection, especially in the beginning. Allow for progress over perfection until you have enough experience to begin approaching mastery in your craft. And, most importantly, find the joy and love in what you are doing. Be in such a way with people that they remember the experience.
Favorite quote: “Individual evolution; collective REVOLUTION”. –Vanessa Russo, professional poker player and attorney
Someone who inspires you and why: Jason Deborski. My husband, best friend, partner in REVOLUTION Salon and, more importantly, life. Jason is an entrepreneur, owner of several successful businesses in the audio visual industry, an amazing husband, an incredible father and a creative genius.
Something people would be surprised to know about you: I lived in Japan as a young person for one year and modeled there.
What makes someone fabulous: Being their true authentic beautiful self, whatever that is for them.