LeBron James' 'Cleveland Hustles' premieres Wednesday
CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - LeBron James' latest project, "Cleveland Hustles," premieres Wednesday night.
One of the local businesses taking part in the show is Styles of Success. From hair to nails and makeup, the salon does it all, and now they're adding one more item to the list -- reality television.
"It's been a journey to say the least," said Styles of Success CEO Chareen Fountain.
Fountain and her team appear on the season premiere of James' new show. The series follows local entrepreneurs who compete for an investment.
"It's just elating," said Styles of Success Manager Katrina Bishop. "Words can't express."
When producers called Fountain in January, she said she thought it was a joke.
"I thought I was being punked or pranked or something," she said. "Like, where's Ashton Kutcher?"
Fountain quickly learned the show was the real deal.
Workers at the salon stayed tight lipped about the details. What we do know is the pitch Fountain made to investors-- she asked for $100,000 for a 50 percent stake in her company.
"My new concept is a salon suite," she said. "The business model I'm currently doing, but we'd have private suites, so we'd lease fully equipped salon units."
Currently, Styles of Success is located on St. Clair Avenue. On the show, Cleveland entrepreneurs compete for a separate location in the Gordon Square Arts District, which is a neighborhood they hope to revitalize.
"Small businesses are why a city grows and people need to invest in small businesses, like [LeBron James] does," said Fountain. "Without him, none of this would be possible."
James is one of the executive producers of the show.
"This is a chance for other cities, other states, to be able to see that we are up at the rising and we were at the bottom of the totem pole, now we're rising up," said Bishop.
Even though they wouldn't say what happens on the show, workers at Styles of Success called the experience incredible.
"We made it through, and that's all I can say," said Bishop.
"Cleveland Hustles" premieres on CNBC Wednesday at 10 p.m.
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