Ever wonder what it’s like to raise three young children, own and operate a business in Danville, and manage a second business — all at the same time?
Just ask Hillary and Jeff Gayler of rural Fithian and their three children, MaKenzie, 12, MaKayla, 10, and Gage, 7.
Jeff and Hillary have owned Escape hair and body spa for almost six years and Hillary is the full-time manager of the business. Jeff also has worked as general manager of Kelly Vault and Monument Co. in Danville for more than 15 years.
“It takes a lot of hard work and long hours on the job when you own your own business,” Hillary said, “but it definitely has some advantages. You can offer your customers the kind of quality services and products that you want. I can also set my own schedule to work around our children’s school and sports activities.”
“I think it’s more work to own and manage your own business than to work for someone else,” Jeff said. “But in our case it was a good move to open the spa when we did. We don’t have any regrets.”
Hillary got her license in cosmetology in 1994 and worked at a couple of different Danville hair salons before going on her own. “I got a taste of giving facials and other spa services and discovered that I really liked that part of the business,” she said.
“We decided we could fill a need in the Danville area by opening a spa that would offer all the services in one place,” she added, “so we started looking for a vacant building. When an 1,800-square-foot space became available in Towne Centre, we jumped at the opportunity. Jeff completely gutted and renovated the place.”
Getting started
“Plenty of people told us it was risky to open the spa in Danville,” Hillary said, “but even though we knew it was a gamble, we had confidence in our gut feelings.”
The day before the Gaylers planned to have their grand opening in April 2003, some of their essential equipment still had not arrived.
“Jeff drove all the way to Chicago and literally claimed our items off the dock,” Hillary said. “We were awake all that night assembling things before our opening the following morning.
“We were astounded at our immediate response. People were lined up out the door, and many wanted to buy gift cards for Mother’s Day. We didn’t have enough cards printed to meet the demand, so we had to hand write them for the customers.
“Our first year in business was great,” Hillary said, “and our best advertising was by word of mouth.”
They started out by offering full hair services, manicures, pedicures and massages. “We use and sell only Aveda products, which I truly believe in,” Hillary said.
The business grew so fast that the couple moved their spa to another location in Towne Centre within 14 months. The new area is twice the size of their original building.
The Gaylers are continually adding new services to keep their spa on the cutting edge — such as Mystic Tan (spray tanning), laser hair removal, permanent makeup, microdermabrasion, natural chemical peels and Foto Facials. Hillary attended special classes to become licensed in all the special services that Escape now offers.
Hillary still works many 12-hour days in her role as manager. Jeff does all the accounting and billing for the business, and is also the on-call maintenance man. Since they opened in 2003, the number of employees has grown from the original seven to 17.
Hillary said so far the sluggish economy hasn’t significantly hurt business at Escape.
“We were prepared for a downturn in business over the past few months, but I believe that people still feel it’s important to get the services that we offer,” she said. “Our services help people feel good about themselves.”
Both men and women of all ages come to Escape, Hillary said, adding, “We have little girls who come in with their mothers and grandmothers for manicures, just as we bring in women who are up in their 80s.”
Busy family
The Gaylers started dating when they were both at Covington (Ind.) High School. Jeff participated in many of the sports and Hillary was a cheerleader.
Busy parents usually have busy children, which is played out in the Gayler family. MaKenzie is in student council and volleyball, and is a cheerleader at Oakwood. MaKayla is in fifth grade, where she is also a cheerleader and plans to try out for the Scholastic Bowl competition. She also is a member of the Midwest Gymnastics team and competes statewide.
Gage plays Little League in the summer and is a member of the Peanuts football team. He also wants to play basketball.
Hillary coaches both of her daughters’ cheerleading teams, and Jeff is the coach for his son’s baseball and football teams. He also is board president of the Oakwood Youth Football Association.
The Gaylers’ physical activities don’t stop there. Hillary and Jeff run between 3 and 5 miles every day in preparation for a half marathon, which they plan to complete this April in Champaign. MaKayla will do the 5-K run and Gage will participate in the 1-K run.
Even though they usually forego sitting down to meals together during the weekdays, the Gaylers get their quality family time in other ways. They all try to attend each other’s sports events, and they take more than one family vacation every year. Their favorite destination is Disney World.
“When you own and manage your own business, you have to get away to really be on vacation,” Jeff said. “We have good people working for us, so we’re able to do that without worrying.”
“I admit we’ve had our hard times,” Hillary said. “But when you own your own business you can’t just quit and walk out the door. We take pride in providing services that we believe in, and that’s what keeps us going.”
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