A Workforce Development success story – Welcome to San Bernardino County

*Left to right: WDB Chairman William Sterling, Ray Blom, CEO of CityWay, Michael Salazar, and WDB Director Bradley Gates.*

Michael Salazar never let go of his dream to own a men’s grooming salon, through family crises, addiction, anger issues and incarceration.

“I didn’t know anything about success,” says Salazar, who at 33 is transforming his life through the help of the Workforce Development Board (WDB) and its partners at the CityWay Community Economic Development Corp. Since entering the program, Salazar has put in motion his plans for a barber salon and hair-grooming training school, while marketing a line of all-natural hair and skin products.

“Growing up, we didn’t have much. My mother and myself, we were living in a shelter. My father had left. As a child, I had to figure out things,” he says. He was wired with what he calls a poverty mindset, which in turn led to addiction, anger issues and trouble with the law. But he also discovered a passion for cosmetology from a local barber and began cutting hair in backyards and on the streets.

“Cutting hair for me was an escape,” he says.

Once connecting with CityWay, he put together a business plan for his own shop and is seeking licensing for a barber school. “They’ve offered mentorship and an overall blueprint for success.”

He hasn’t forgotten his troubles of the past.

“I was failing. I was self-sabotaging. I was so full of addiction I couldn’t see straight.”

But he is determined to make it right – by him and others. “God told me I have a talent, and so what am I going to do with that? I’ve learned that by staying positive and focused, a supernatural strength will intervene.”

Additional County Update News – July 18, 2024