Beyond Beauty: House 414 Salon & Spa

This Local Salon Empowers Clients, Staff, and the Community

by Jane Burbank

Photos by Brooke Mathis: Beautiful Evolutions Photography, courtesy photo

“The biggest thing that House 414 is known for is we’re not a competitive salon, and we all empower one another….”

While competitive industries tend to produce friction between businesses, some up-and-coming business owners seek to cut through the cutthroat and focus on customer-centric values: charity, inclusion, and respect. Enter Krista: she is a self-made hairstylist with a knack for leaving customers not only looking their best, but feeling their most hopeful.

Krista Lance is the dually proud and humble owner of House 414 Salon & Spa, a salon, spa, and boutique located in Crowley. According to its website, she is also a “Bellami master extension artist and master colorist specializing in balayage technique and lived-in looks.” The brick-and-mortar business has flourished in the past three-and-a-half-years, its staff growing from five to fifteen women in that time. Initially inspired by her grandmother to open a salon, Krista has now held her hairstylist license for twelve years. “I liked sitting up there watching [my grandmother] do people’s hair,” she recalls. “It was always something that I loved. It’s what I wanted to do.”

Since the beginning of her salon ownership, Lance notes that her perspective on local business owners has shifted. “It’s a lot harder than what you think it is,” she says. “I’ve learned so much. I mean, coming into this, I’ve just been a hairstylist, y’know? I had no previous experience in any kind of business at all. I’ve learned about marketing, book-keeping, and how to use a computer for business purposes… [but] I’ve never been somebody who runs the show!”

Despite the obstacles she has encountered while growing her unique salon, Lance’s strong Christian faith has helped buoy her and guide her through difficult times. She ties her success in previously-uncharted business territory to her trust in God: “That’s how I know it’s not me and it’s all God, because I don’t have a clue what I’m doing! He’s the one who runs it. I just kind of [ask], “Okay, God—what do I do next?” Her faith is a true testament to the endurance and patience of believing individuals—buyers and sellers alike—throughout the Burleson-Crowley area.

A fascinating aspect of Lance’s salon-spa-boutique hybrid lies in its name. The business owner informs that House 414’s namesake is none other than Esther 4:14, a verse from the Bible which Krista has always held dear. So dear, in fact, that a sign in front of the salon building bears the last part of the verse: “for such a time as this.” So immortalizes and defines the hair-savvy entrepreneur’s strong Christian beliefs, which have propelled her to success in the Burleson-Crowley area.

While her Christian background earns Krista’s business widespread appeal, her building’s physical location also aids in attracting fresh customers. Operating in any city near Fort Worth is bound to ensure an influx of customers and a richening tapestry of commercial growth. Lance expresses her excitement for operating her business in the Crowley area, recalling the relative sparseness of Main Street before she set up shop years ago. According to Krista, Crowley has made great efforts to “build up” Main Street, and such efforts have manifested in a blossoming community of entrepreneurial opportunity. Crowley has even introduced a quickly-beloved farmer’s market, which runs on Sundays! “Getting to watch Crowley grow that way… is really cool!” shares Krista. “I’ve really enjoyed being able to encourage [other businesses]. Becoming friends with local business owners, seeing how they’re growing.”

House 414 is known for its friendly environment, kind staff, and variety of rejuvenating services. Krista and her devoted staff are also involved in many charity events, including free donation haircuts for moms and dads. House 414 collaborates with Crazy8 Ministries during their charitable City on a Hill event, in which Krista and her staff give free haircuts and chair massages. Lance’s community-aiding efforts don’t end there, however. According to the successful stylist, “I have recently started C.L.N.K., which is Crowley Ladies’ Networking Knot. [It is] for women entrepreneurs. We meet up, share referrals, and sometimes we have topics. One of the most recent ones was conquering fear with speaking in front of other people.”

Krista continues by providing other perks of C.L.N.K. membership. “[C.L.N.K. also has] local business owners and women entrepreneurs come share about their business, and how they’ve gone from where they started and how they’ve gotten to where they are. It’s really a networking-plus-empowering group that meets twice a month. It’s slowly growing.”

Krista’s passion for helping fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals and excel in her industry can be traced to her aforementioned Christian background. She further elaborates on her reliance on God for help and serving individuals: “I always point people back to God… I didn’t take any business classes. I didn’t go to college for any of that. I just knew that I had a passion for doing hair, my friends loved doing hair, and we loved making people feel good about themselves… That’s really what House 414 has been built on.” She goes on to detail her business’s evolution from salon to salon, spa, and boutique, noting that starting from rock-bottom is doable, and that even if one feels desperate and lost, there is always a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Lance imparts,

“I want to inspire people who feel like they’re at the bottom. My life was really chaotic at one point. I could never see myself being where I am now. People will beat themselves up when they’re at a place of hopelessness, but what changed my life was giving it all over to Christ, and, wow, did it ever change.” She relays that, while life has hurled plenty of hardships her way, Krista’s brightened trajectory stems from a peaceful confidence in her identity as a servant of God. “I thought I was always gonna have to live that way because it was all that I knew,” Krista adds. “Since then, I’ve gotten to experience a world completely different from that. I try to [tell others] not to lose hope.” Her journey from the depths of struggle to the heights of career success attest to Lance’s unbreakable determination and unwavering faith in better things to come.

In addition to her uplifting message about maintaining faith, Krista extends her love to other businesses in the hairstyling industry. Despite the industry’s fiercely competitive nature, Krista’s sincere desire is to foster friendships and collaborations between House 414 and other salons. She also cares for the well-being of her staff members, new and familiar. These desires are clear as she pontificates: “The biggest thing that House 414 is known for is we’re not a competitive salon, and we all empower one another. Whenever a new stylist comes in, that’s the thing that they notice the most: they’re immediately accepted and they don’t feel like they have to fight to fit in there or anything. They just feel welcomed and supported. I’m [all about] empowering the stylist in their journey and growing their clientele. It’s super important, and every person who comes into House 414 knows that they’re created on purpose, “for such a time as this.” It’s just a very encouraging and uplifting environment.” Krista continues by stating that she does not see her business as having any true “competitors,” as she just wants to encourage and collaborate with them. She even hosts education courses at House 414 for any and all prospective hairstylists, no matter where they work. This is a truly commendable and rare outlook for most business owners to harbor, and Krista shines with it.

What the Community Has to Say:

To reward its approachable atmosphere and quality services, House 414 was voted “#1 favorite” by Local Life Magazine in both 2023 and 2024, a reward well-earned. “I guess those are milestones I never even anticipated,” says Krista.

Krista Lance’s message is that of believing. She acknowledges, in a very down-to-earth way, the pitfalls of life and how bleak the “rock-bottom” can seem. She has endured a fair share of personal trials that required an immense amount of faith to push through. Her reliance on God has helped her to fight through her struggles and, eventually, reach her goals, despite having not previously been a business-oriented person. Owing also to her kind, uplifting presence and knack for quality haircuts, this growing entrepreneur has carved herself a future full of lasting friendships and returning customers who can’t get enough of House 414’s sweet, joyful spirit. Krista’s novel approach to salon operation will hopefully pave the way for more community-centered, service-minded businesses to come.