By Mead Gill - #SupportBlackBusiness

For Patt Butler Lathan, quitting is never an option.

As the owner of Legacy Hair and Beauty, a one-stop beauty supply store in Hillman City, she runs her business with unfiltered determination to inspire and serve her family and community. 

Since opening Legacy Hair and Beauty in the fall of 2022, Butler Lathan has sought to preserve Black dollars and empower small businesses through her passions for uplifting women and inciting newfound confidence with beauty and hair care. As the store perseveres through limited foot traffic, she turns to the community for support.

Encouraging Confidence and Beauty

A Seattle resident of 25 years, Butler Lathan sparked an interest in beauty, makeup, and clothing from her previous modeling career where she honed her confidence and unique aesthetic. Inspired to share her spark with likeminded women, she started Legacy Hair and Beauty, a culmination of her business skills and core values of compassion, generosity, and uniting the community.

With these principles at the forefront of the store, Butler Lathan aimed to help women of all ages not only look good but feel good. 

“I think it’s important that people look their best, because when people look their best, they do their best,” she said, witnessing firsthand the boost in mood from customers and her community at large.

A figure in the Hillman city community, Butler Lathan expressed pride in the part she plays in the everyday routines of local women seeking her knowledge on anything from hair and skin care to fashion and home decor.

“When people come in, my first thought is not to sell them something. My first thought is how can I serve them? What difference can I make in their lives?” she said. “What can I show them, what can I give them to live a better lifestyle perhaps, to feel confident?”

 A One-Stop Shop for Self-Care 

Legacy Hair and Beauty specializes in hair products and treatments including both human and synthetic extensions, curl mouse, and edge gel. Oriented toward self-care and beauty, the store supplies candles, incense, jewelry, authentic Nigerian fashion, and other beauty accessories for hair and beyond.

Driven by a Love for Family

Alongside her passion and talent for self-care and fashion, Butler Lathan is motivated by her four sons whom she is determined to leave a prospering business. One of her sons owns and operates Mo’Stylez Hair Salon, a barbershop around the corner from Legacy Hair and Beauty. The duo sends customers from one business to the other, upholding their shared prioritization of family.

As a mother, Butler Lathan made a point to instill the same determination she brings to Legacy Hair and Beauty to her children. 

“My mother, whose grandmother taught me, and I taught my four sons that if there's a problem, what's the solution? Don't focus on the problem, focus on the solution. In other words, what are you to do about it?” she said, proud to watch and support her son’s business ventures.

Hillman City: An Underrated Hub of Small Business

Just south of the hustle and bustle of Columbia City, Hillman City remains one of Seattle’s more obscure neighborhoods. While it may not be the epicenter of local happenings, Butler Lathan celebrated the area’s diversity of business, making a point to build meaningful relationships with owners throughout the neighborhood.

“It's a multicultural area and that's really to be celebrated and appreciated,” she said, referring to Hillman City’s prosperous and committed network of small businesses she engages with daily. “It just adds to life to interact with others. Why sit there by myself when I can interact with wonderful people who come and go on the street?”

The Power of Black Business

Butler Lathan stands proud as a Black female business owner, acknowledging that Black businesses in Seattle with target audiences of color face immense obstacles in their ability to financially thrive. Her community-oriented mindset is not only meant to help her own business, but to contribute to the success of her peers who share the same motivations. 

“Small businesses are the strength of the community. They are a force in the community,” she said with confidence, advocating for the preservation of Black dollars staying within the Black community. “[Small businesses] have an opportunity to kind of change things and help…different elements in the community to grow. Our voices are sought after by politicians and others because those voices are important.”

Overcoming Seattle Winters

After nearly three successful years of business, Legacy Hair and Beauty is fighting an uphill battle with cold weather, keeping costumers inside and online instead of engaging with local businesses in person. This lack of foot traffic makes it difficult for brick-and-mortar stores like Legacy Hair and Beauty to stay operational, Butler Lathan said. 

“It’s very concerning. The rent doesn’t stop, city light doesn’t stop, and I still have to order products because I do have customers and they depend on me,” she said about the decrease in customers. 

While her retail business is supported by an online store, Butler Lathan’s satisfaction comes from the connections she makes with customers face to face, a challenge when the customer base has significantly decreased and shifted online during the winter.  

For now, Butler Lathan is focusing her energy into expanding Legacy Hair and Beauty’s social media presence and online marketing tactics to keep the lights on. “Will I succeed in getting through the day with all the various challenges or will I give up and quit and fold? As a daughter of my mother, that's not possible. I'll never quit and fold,” she said.

A Collaborative Future

Looking ahead to the spike in foot traffic to come with warm weather, Butler Lathan is continuing her efforts in expanding Legacy Hair and Beauty. Her goal is to integrate beauty services including manicures and nail and lash treatments to the current location to grow her name and outreach in the city. 

Her ultimate dream is to combine Legacy Hair and Beauty with her son’s barbershop, Mo’Stylez Hair Salon in a shared location. 

“When we do that, not if, it's when we do that, that's just gonna be one exciting day. 
It'll be a huge celebration,” she said about the prospect of joining forces with her son.

With these goals on the horizon, Butler Lathan asks the community to explore the diverse economic network of Hillman City and to spread the word about her products, services, and ability to ignite confidence in women of all backgrounds. 

“When you support small businesses, you're supporting yourself, because we're in your community, because we're your neighbors, we're your friends,” she said.

Legacy Hair and Beauty

5719 Rainier Avenue S

Seattle, WA 98118

Phone: (253) 294-4376

Email: legacyhbs@gmail.com

Instagram: @legacyhbs

Facebook: Legacy Hair & Beauty Supply

This article is part of Converge Media’s Support Black Business Campaign. Please click here to learn more and support!