Empowering Stylists and Salon Owners for Success
So let’s just get a couple of things straight…
1. You certainly didn't get into the business to feel stressed and financially burdened
and another one…
2. There’s a misconception that salon owners are profiting at stylist’s expense.
In this months blog, we're here to break down the Stylist Vs Salon Owner debate and explain why working together is essential for everyone's success.
1. Salon Owners: Risk-Takers with a BIG Purpose
Firstly, let's address the notion that salon owners are using, abusing and profiting off their stylists. Let me get something straight, salon owners take a significant financial risk when they open a salon. They invest tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars to create a space that not only serves clients but also provides opportunities for stylists to flourish. Salon owners don't embark on this journey for a quick profit. It's a labor of love that often entails working tirelessly to keep their business afloat.
Profit ain’t a dirty word, and in fact - you wanna work for a salon that’s kicking goals. A profitable biz is essential for its job security and huge earning potential. It's not about profiting at the stylists' expense; it's about ensuring the salon can continue to provide a platform for stylists to thrive and for clients to enjoy exceptional services. And guess what, those salon bills add up fast! There’s no surprise that owners fight hard to make it beyond the first few years.
2. The Power of Profit Share
As an industry, we need to move away from the Stylist Vs Salon Owner mentality and focus on the power of collaboration. One way to achieve this is through profit sharing. Stylists should understand that reaching profit is crucial for the salon's success, their job security, and their own financial growth. I’m a huge lover of the employment model - I don’t think it’s on the way out, I think we’re about to come back stronger. Self-employment won’t suit everyone and it’s a lot of work to get to a point where you’re better off than you would be being employed by someone.
I do think however, that the changes our industry has experienced lately can make us better as biz owners. I think it’s time for open communication on both ends - how can salon owners give more back to their team? Whether that’s profit, time or flexibility.
3. Education is the Key
Stylists can't be expected to understand the intricacies of running a salon business without proper education around it. This is a prime opportunity for salon owners to provide their teams with insights into the business side of the industry. Knowledge will lead to success and empowerment as we’ll all be on the same page. Sharing your break even with your team so that they know when you’re operating in profit can be a game changer.
Your salon target should be your break even with your profit margin in mind - share it with them! Don’t forget to explain why it’s so important for a business to operate in profit. It can be as simple as explaining that when you’re in profit, you cover all of your bills and you’re in a position to share some it, that it means you’ve got extra $ to spend on education opportunities and team bonding experiences, maybe the extra profit can go towards your end of year Christmas party - make profit the goal and celebrate reaching it together!
How to Transform and Stand Out in the Industry
1. Crystal Clear Vision: Your salon should have a distinct brand and vision that both stylists and clients can rally behind. Dream big and show up like a master in your field, build something that people want to be a part of.
2. Operate Like a Big Company: Implement efficient systems and protocols that make your salon run like a well-oiled machine. We need to make EVERYTHING as clear as we possibly can. Where do you start? Build systems for every little thing you do in salon and document it.
3. Communicating Clear Expectations: Ensure your team knows what's expected of them, both in terms of performance and behaviours. You should have a well defined mission statement, perhaps a team culture statement or set of salon rules. Your team should know your code of conduct and you as the owner need to hold everyone to those standards at all times.
4. Leadership Development: Invest in building leaders within your team. Sometimes, a CEO makeover might be necessary. Invest in mentors, create leadership training opportunities, go to industry business events. Everyone is quick to invest in social media education but why not business education? It’s honestly so much more important imo. Do your homework and find a salon business mentor or training program that works for you and your goals. Yep, I’ve even got a business mentor!
5. Financial Literacy: Understand your salon's financials inside and out. This knowledge is essential for growth. We want salon owners looking at their numbers regularly. Not sure what to check out? Track your average client spend, your retention and rebooking rates, monitor your retail sales, how many new clients you see in a day etc. Make sure everyone is working at capacity until you hire again.
6. Creating a Future: Offer opportunities and growth paths for your team members. They should see a future in your salon. Why not build a chart of salon roles - create different stylist tiers within your business but also offer tasks or roles within leadership, marketing, management and beyond. Imagine having a roadmap for all of your team? If they know what’s possible with your salon brand they’re far more likely to stick around.
7. Policies and Rules: Establish clear policies, rules, and contracts to create a structured environment. You can’t just expect everyone to know what the salon policies and rules are. Have you recorded your social media, annual leave, conflict of interest and intellectual property policies?
8. Effective Training Plans: Develop transparent training plans to lead your emerging team towards success. They should know what they’re working on and when and how they can accelerate their apprenticeship and get on the floor sooner. Invest in their growth and lead them to brilliance.
9. Cost Management and Profit Maximisation: Learn how to reduce overhead costs while increasing profits. Are your wages coming in at around 30-40% of your annual revenue, is your stock and retail spend at 10%, your rent around 5% - if these overheads are inflated you either need to work out how you can get those costs down or increase your revenue. Do you need to have a price increase? Is everyone charging their worth and recommending retail, can you offer more add on services like treatments or, have your emerging team working on the floor sooner?
10. Focus on Quality, Not Quantity: Identify and fix the weak points in your business, rather than expanding haphazardly. Every stylist on your team should be making beyond 3x their wage before you bring on anyone else. If you’ve got emerging team, you may want them assisting your seniors to bring in beyond 4x as we need to cover apprentice wages too. What needs to change? Is it your prices, your retail sales, the number of clients you see in a week or, the amount of time you take to deliver a service? 15 minute gaps add up, and even a 10% price increase can bring in an extra 6 figures +
Ready to level up in 2023? Join the Standout Salon Academy
If you're looking for a comprehensive solution to transform your salon into a thriving business that empowers both stylists and salon owners, jump on the waitlist for Standout Salon Academy 2024. We provide you with the tools, systems, and policies you need for insane success both for owners and your team. And guess what? YOU CAN WIN a free spot in our academy…
Head over here and take the first step toward a brighter and exceptionally more wealthy future in the hair industry. It may just be the best decision you've ever made!
Remember, we're all in this together. It's time to put an end to the Stylist Vs Salon Owner debate and start winning as a team. 💪🎉