meo ho, level headed salon, downtown vancouver, community minded, vancouver, bc, yvr, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

From Law Firm to Salon Chair: Meo Ho Builds Level Headed Salon & Wellness on Purpose

After spending fourteen years as a legal assistant, Meo Ho made the courageous decision to pursue her passion for hairdressing. What began as a career change quickly became a calling to help people feel confident, seen, and empowered through beauty and wellness.

As the founder of Level Headed Salon & Wellness, she created more than a salon. She built a purpose-driven space rooted in community impact. She intentionally chose Vancouver Block as the salon’s home because a portion of every tenant’s rent is donated by the building to the Lotte & John Foundation, supporting Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Her vision expanded after volunteering in Cambodia with Justice & Soul, where she witnessed women leaving the sex trade gain confidence and financial independence through hairstyling education. That experience transformed her understanding of what the industry could achieve.

Today, she is also the founder of Level Headed Empowers, a social enterprise dedicated to creating career pathways for individuals facing barriers to employment. Through hairstyling education, mentorship, and hands-on training, the organization bridges beauty, business, and social impact.

meo ho, level headed salon, downtown vancouver, community minded, vancouver, bc, yvr, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

Business Bio

Level Headed Salon & Wellness is a purpose-driven boutique salon in the heart of downtown Vancouver, where exceptional hair care meets wellness, education, and community impact. The salon specializes in personalized hair services with a strong emphasis on scalp health, hair integrity, and helping clients embrace their natural beauty and texture.

Beyond delivering high-quality salon experiences, Level Headed is committed to using business as a force for good, built on the belief that beauty has the power to restore confidence, create connection, and inspire positive change.

As the home of Level Headed Empowers, the salon also serves as a training and mentorship environment for individuals facing barriers to employment, creating accessible pathways into meaningful careers while helping shape a more inclusive beauty industry.

At its core, Level Headed Salon & Wellness exists to prove that a successful business can deliver exceptional service while creating lasting impact, one client, one opportunity, and one community at a time.

meo ho, level headed salon, downtown vancouver, community minded, vancouver, bc, yvr, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

In Her Words

“I have always had a lot of ideas because I am a natural problem solver and think quickly on my feet. Throughout my career as an employee, I often came up with solutions that were not always welcomed, only to see similar changes implemented later. It was never about needing credit. I simply enjoyed helping and solving problems.

I truly recognized my entrepreneurial spirit during my second salon job when I realized I wanted to do things differently. As a hairstylist, I believe our profession is transformative, both aesthetically and spiritually, and I wanted to show it was about so much more than just appearance.

My volunteer trip to Cambodia was the turning point. It inspired me to bring that business model to Canada and build something with purpose.

FROM LAW TO SHEARS

By my third year at my last law firm, I knew office life was no longer for me. A career counsellor had me complete an aptitude assessment, and at the top of the list were bartending and hairstyling.

I chose bartending as my first side hustle, offering private bartending services for events. My biggest client became the law firm where I worked. That experience taught me how to market myself, build client relationships, and run my own business.

By my fifth year, I enrolled in hairstyling school. Once I committed to that path, every opportunity reinforced that I was exactly where I was meant to be. My volunteer trip to Cambodia later gave that career a greater purpose and inspired the social enterprise I am building today.

BOTH SIDES OF MONEY

The first time I made real money was after only three years as a hairstylist, when I transitioned to chair rental. During my strongest months, I earned between ten thousand and fifteen thousand dollars, which gave me the confidence that I could build a successful business.

Today, I am experiencing the other side of entrepreneurship. I am dipping heavily into my savings to cover salon overhead. Chair rentals have become increasingly difficult as the economic downturn has led clients to postpone larger colour services. Rather than waiting for the market to improve, I am focused on growing my clientele, building my social enterprise, and pursuing funding opportunities. This experience has reinforced that entrepreneurship is not just about success. It is about navigating setbacks with determination.

PURPOSE OVER PROFIT

My entrepreneurial journey has evolved from wanting to own a salon to building a business with social impact. Volunteering in Cambodia showed me how vocational training could transform lives and inspired me to create a social enterprise that uses the beauty industry to open doors for people facing barriers to employment.

Each venture has naturally evolved into the next. Private bartending taught me to market myself and build confidence as a business owner. Hairstyling followed, then Level Headed Salon & Wellness, and after Cambodia, Level Headed Empowers. Rather than closing one venture to start another, each project has built upon the last, bringing me closer to my purpose.

SCALING WITH PATIENCE

I do not feel I have reached the next level yet, and I think it is important to be honest about that. I had planned to scale through chair rentals, but the current economy has made many stylists hesitant to leave commission salons.

That reality has tested my confidence, but it has not changed my vision. I have shifted focus to strengthening my brand, growing my clientele, building strategic partnerships, and pursuing funding for my social enterprise. Entrepreneurship is not always about scaling quickly. It is about adapting, staying resilient, and laying the foundation for sustainable growth when the timing is right.

THE COST OF DREAMING

Pursuing my dream required giving up the security of a stable career to start over in an entirely new industry at an older age. I also invested much of my savings into opening my salon and building my social enterprise. Financially and emotionally, it has been one of the biggest risks I have ever taken.

Over time, I have learned that sustainability is just as important as ambition. Setting boundaries, prioritizing my well-being, and leaning on my faith have helped me navigate uncertainty without losing sight of why I started.

meo ho, level headed salon, downtown vancouver, community minded, vancouver, bc, yvr, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

FINDING MY WHY

I do not think there has been a moment where I knew my business would succeed. What I did have was a moment when I knew I had found my purpose. Watching women rebuild their lives through vocational training in Cambodia changed the way I viewed my profession. I realized hairstyling could be more than a service. It could be a vehicle for confidence, independence, and opportunity.

One of my greatest inspirations has been my longtime client Janice and her husband Reggie. As self-described non-academics, they built and sold a successful asphalt company and have since dedicated much of their lives to philanthropy. Despite living with a progressive eye condition, Janice continues to live with optimism and generosity. They have shown me that true success is not measured by financial achievement alone, but by the lives you impact.

A BIGGER VISION

What started as a desire to help clients feel confident through hairstyling grew into a mission to create opportunities for others within the beauty industry. My long-term vision is to create Vancouver’s first hairstylist recruitment agency, where recruitment fees help fund education and career opportunities for individuals facing barriers to employment.

My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to dream boldly, but plan realistically. Crunch the numbers and understand your finances. Surround yourself with people who share your mindset and ambitions. When I first started, I thought success was measured by revenue. Today, I define success by impact.

meo ho, level headed salon, downtown vancouver, community minded, vancouver, bc, yvr, helen siwak, portfolioyvr

THE ASK

To bring this vision to life, I am seeking more than funding. I am looking for a strategic partner who believes in purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Whether through an angel investment, philanthropic partnership, business buy-in or buy-out, or introductions to grant specialists, I am seeking someone who shares this vision. Our annual operating budget is approximately seventy-six thousand to eighty-five thousand dollars, with an ideal commitment spanning the next three years. Funding will support rent and overhead, participant training, starter kits, stipends, marketing, administration, insurance, and trauma-informed counselling. This is not simply an investment in a program. It is an investment in people, opportunity, and a self-sustaining business model that creates lasting social impact in our communities.”

Author Profile

Helen Siwak, Collaborator: This story is created in collaboration between Helen Siwak and the featured subject. As the founder and publisher of Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, Helen works closely with entrepreneurs to share their paths of innovation, resilience, and growth. Each story in this series is co-developed through interviews and first-person insights, blending authentic voices with Helen’s editorial expertise to highlight the remarkable individuals shaping British Columbia’s business landscape.