Patrice “Sway” McKinney is a globally recognized salon building on her success as an Owner and Operator, Suite Mentor, Educator, Motivational Speaker, Author, and Real Estate Investor. She is best known as the #1 Salon Suite Mentor, having trained and educated over 80,000 entrepreneurs worldwide on how to launch, scale, and profit from salon suite businesses.
Sway is the founder of Encore Salon Suites, a pioneering salon suite brand that continues to operate five locations under the Encore name. As the first Black-owned salon suite brand to become a franchise, Encore set a new standard within the industry and helped position salon suites as a scalable real estateand business investment model.
Coming from a family of beauty professionals, Sway’s early exposure to the industry led her to become a licensed Master Barber/Stylist. After quickly rising to the top of Atlanta’s barbering scene, she strategically transitioned from behind the chair into ownership and real estate-backed business models—launching Encore Salon Suites in 2017.
Sway created the first online salon suite mentorship and education platform, a comprehensive step-by- step blueprint that has helped thousands of students successfully open salon suite businesses across the United States and internationally.
A respected leader in the hair and beauty industry, Sway continues to share her expertise through mentorship programs, courses, books, consulting, and speaking engagements. She has served as an educator at Bronner Bros. International Beauty Show, the world’s largest professional beauty trade show, and has spoken at conferences, expos, and educational institutions worldwide. Through her work, Sway empowers entrepreneurs to think beyond the chair, build scalable businesses, and create long- term wealth through ownership.