As the owner of an eponymous makeup studio and a steady presence in the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, Bobbe Joy Dawson has drawn on her own professional experience to advocate for businesses across the city.
Now, as chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, Dawson is planning new ways to advocate for the city’s small businesses while ensuring the Golden Triangle continues to shine and appeals to a fresh clientele.
Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Dawson was always inspired by Beverly Hills. She has fond memories of shopping with her mom at Saks Fifth Avenue, though her journey into the city’s fabric was one of chance.
While working as a copywriter at cosmetics company Max Factor in the mid-1960s, Dawson was recruited by an old friend named John Peters to work as a receptionist at a hair salon he was opening in Encino.
Noticing that clients were impressed by her style, Dawson quickly became a makeup artist herself, and her business took off alongside the salon’s. After striking out on her own for a few years, she partnered up with Peters again to open two salons in the Valley and another in Beverly Hills that became a celebrity hangout.
“If you ever saw the movie ‘Shampoo,’ it was pretty much based on that,” Dawson said.
A chance encounter with a photographer who visited the salon led to a 20-year freelance journey doing makeup for commercials, movies, TV shows and print photo shoots before she returned to her beauty salon roots, opening up in a space on South Beverly Drive.
The old Chamber of Commerce happened to be right across the street, and though Dawson said she was “lassoed” into joining, she quickly became a community leader. She felt at the time that South Beverly was seen as “the poor stepchild” of the Beverly Hills business community, and she sought to give herself and her neighbors a stronger voice.
Dawson organized the South Beverly Drive Merchants Association, speaking with other business owners about their concerns and organizing events that shined a new light on South Beverly’s offerings.
Encouraged by the camaraderie of the chamber and excited by the challenge of promoting businesses in a town as famous as Beverly Hills, Dawson rose up the chamber’s ranks while becoming active in other community organizations including Team Beverly Hills and the Friends of Greystone.
Her roles on the chamber helped her grow as a businessperson as well, as she was able to glean lessons from bigger businesses that she applied to her own endeavor.
Despite her contributions to the Board of Directors after being a member for more than 10 years and serving on the Executive Committee for six, Dawson was surprised when the committee voted last month to appoint her Board Chair.
Though she felt a bit of reluctance about some of the financial responsibilities, she was encouraged by Chamber President and CEO Todd Johnson who told her, “That’s what we’re here for.”
As Dawson prepares to take the reins, she is looking to her past to guide her next steps.
The pandemic’s aftereffects and the popularity of online shopping are continued threats for small businesses, and Dawson wants to establish a South Beverly Drive committee to make sure their concerns are heard, she said.
“It’s not that I’m forgetting about the big business owners, it’s just that I feel that we need a voice,” Dawson said.
While Dawson is enthusiastic about the city’s broader business climate, she sees room for innovation, especially for nightlife in the Golden Triangle.
She recalled a time when people would have dinner before catching a show at the defunct Canon Theatre, which was owned by Joan Rivers, and thinks that similar offerings would inject a needed youthful energy into the city’s biggest attraction.
“That’s what we’re missing … at this point in Beverly Hills,” Dawson said.
