The Fila Academy

Larry Fila

  Wachovia Small Business Capital

High Point, N.C.

Construction of 16,040 sq. ft. building

  25 jobs created

Prepare future salon professionals to succeed by providing the highest quality, well-rounded education in the beauty industry in a fun, positive learning atmosphere..

In 1974 Mary Ann Fila started a salon professionals school in Baltimore where her son, Larry, got his start shining shoes. Ten years later he joined as director and now Larry and his wife, Cindy, own The Fila Academy, which is thriving and set to open up its first school outside Maryland.

“Our philosophy is that when you hit a roadblock in the way of a worthwhile objective you can either look for an escape or a solution. We found our solution in the SBA 504 loan program.”

The 16,040-sqare-foot school in High Point will go up in 2008 with the aid of an SBA 504 loan in partnership with Wachovia Small Business Capital and Self-Help. The school will create approximately 25-30 staffing positions and has capacity for 250 students. It will offer hair-care and skin-care therapy programs.

The Filas chose High Point mostly because Cindy’s family is from Asheboro, but also because they perceived a community need.

“Talking to salespeople down there, they believed this was a great need,” Fila said. “They said we couldn’t get more professionals trained fast enough.”

The academy aims to train salon professionals to work in the top 20 percent of the industry. Furthermore, the Filas plan to prepare their students for entrepreneurship and will bring in speakers to talk about business strategies and growth opportunities.

“When you put people first, success will follow,” says Larry. “Life-long relationships is what we’re all about. We’re training professionals in a craft but it’s our culture of creativity and well-rounded lifestyle education that I think is most important. We are preparing our students for life-long career paths.”

The Fila Academy held a groundbreaking ceremony in Aug. 2007. High Point City Council members Lisa Stahlmann and Tom Dayvault were among the featured speakers. They thanked the Filas for choosing High Point and said that the entire business community was behind them. They expressed appreciation for the academy bringing job training and fostering economic continuity.

In addition to training, the Fila’s plan to involve the academy in community service, and are slated to partner with charitable institutions like Victory Junction Gang Camp and Locks for Love for events and drives.

“In this industry, a lot of people want to go out and have that entrepreneurial spirit. We want to help raise that bar and show people this is a very viable career choice.”