REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. — Most hair stylists are used to spending long days on their feet. Sarah Madsen also spends some of her time on wheels.
"I'm headed on up to Redwood [Falls] for my afternoon spot for Fridays," Madsen said as she drove a truck pulling her mobile hair salon.
Sarah launched her business, The Hair Traveler, in May 2018. She sets up shop in small town parking lots in southwest Minnesota, where Madsen says it can sometimes be difficult to find hair salons.
"There's a lot of rural areas that have nobody doing hair anymore. They can't get hair cuts or anything," she said, "The demographics of the area don't allow you to have enough customers."
The problem prompted the hair stylist of more than 20 years to become an entrepreneur.
"I actually saw some mobile hair salons on Pinterest, "I thought it would be a great idea."
So, Madsen bought a custom-made ice house and turned it into her mobile salon.
"Ice houses are the only mobile trailers you can take and be warm in the winter," she said.
Madsen says she usually sees 20 to 30 customers a day, many drop in when they see her salon in a parking lot.
"Ever since she started up, the whole town, we kind of line up [to get in]," said Cathy Morawitz, a customer who visited Madsen in the parking lot of gas station in Morton, "I don't want to have to drive 45 minutes to get my hair cut."
Right now, Madsen serves six towns in southwest Minnesota: Redwood Falls, Morton, Franklin, Vesta, Lucan, Balaton. She also drives to Austin, Minnesota.