Salon Owners Collective

You opened your own Salon so that you could follow your own rules, right? To create a life for yourself that allowed you to have freedom and security within your business so that you could do all the things that you wanted to: Make it to your kids’ sports games, work the hours you want to, spend time with your family & friends, build a career that you are passionate about… But how can you have freedom as a Salon CEO if YOU are the only thing that is holding the Salon together? Like without you, the Salon falls apart.  And this isn’t what you want. You don’t want to feel like you have a ball and chain tied around your ankles! You wish that you had your Salon running without you being at the centre of it.  If this is you, then trust me when I say this…. systems and processes will set you free. So, in order to finally feel like you can confidently step away from your salon without worrying everything will go up in flames... then you need my 3 step secret to creating systems & processes in your busin

That awkward conversation…  You know the one, where the ONE team member, who hasn’t been hitting their sales targets, comes up to you and asks for a pay rise.  It can feel like a child throwing a tantrum in a candy store, you’ll give them the sweets just to keep them quiet because let’s face it, it’s easier and less “work” in the short term. But this actually becomes a vicious cycle that I don’t want you getting into. Instead, what you need is a system that recognizes success, celebrates and rewards those that are smashing their targets, and gives you confidence about when to give a payrise and when not to. This is a system that we, at Salon Owners Collective, call “Do I Get a Payrise” (DIGAPR), a step-by-step progression plan for all of your employees that is exclusive to the Salon Mastery Coaching Program… where your team can see a clear career roadmap, and the next steps they need to take in order to earn a pay rise(without bugging you about it when they don’t actually deserve it!).  I can’t wait to

You don’t often get a second chance to make a first impression, especially in the Salon Industry.  In today’s online-dominated world, 95% of people who visit your website are new clients.  Yes, that’s right! NEW clients. Potential new clients will stalk your Salon’s website and socials, forming an expectation of what they will get if they come to your Salon…will you live up to their expectations? So how do you turn all that online activity into actual paying clients that LOVE what they see online and offline, and come back again and again?  I want to introduce you to the CEO of MYA & former Salon Owner, Kati Whitledge.  Kati is an expert with social media & marketing Salons online. MYA is a Marketing and Client Recruitment Software for Beauty Industry Professionals that uses human behavior techniques to match clients with the perfect Salon for them.  In this episode, Kati & I discuss what to post on your social media feed and website that will attract clients to your brand, as well as strat

The path to Salon success is not a straight one.  Take it from me. Business is not a one-size fits all approach. Nobody gives you a handbook on how to grow your Salon overnight.  This means Salon Owners often end up winging it on their journey to success…throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks. But when it comes to having confidence that the things you spend time on will work…and not wasting time implementing things that don’t move the business forward… WINGING it can be a mistake. Who’s guilty?  I know I have been from time to time! But if you keep doing this, it could be detrimental to your success… Because you’ve reached a point where you’re desperately trying to grow, to increase sales, attract new team members, increase new client rates, and grow profit…  But you’ve flatlined… or worse… maybe even dipped down. You’re working longer hours than ever but not seeing any results. So instead, what you need is a proven plan to guide you in the right direction. To plan what your next move will

It’s time to ditch the old way of how you lead your Salon team to succeed. Ok, let me explain… Too often, I see Salon Owners who constantly feel like they have to chase their team members up. Ugh, it’s exhausting, right?! You try to flag your team members down during a busy day in the Salon, doing what I call ‘hallway management’, simply because there’s no other time to check in!  I get it…leading and managing a growing team is sometimes tough.  Constantly trying to keep up with them, juggling team drama, bad behavior, underperformance, or worst of all… resignations.  But what if I told you that the key to finally feeling in control and ahead of your team, is to shift your mindset… not chase them in the hallway. In this episode, I will share with you the proven strategies behind building a successful team of superstars (ones that actually want to work for you and LOVE what they do).  This is actually an inside sneak-peak into a recent Salon Mastery Coaching Call I had with a few owners on exactly this

There is a fine line between having great technical skills and being a great business owner. You start out as a stylist or therapist, you’re passionate about what you do, and you’re good at what you do. It’s enough to make you decide to open your own Salon.  But technical skill can only take you so far.  Because when you’re so good at serving clients, it often means clients only want you, which leaves you overbooked and overwhelmed. You can’t do it all by yourself - so you grow a team. But growth brings so many lessons as a Salon CEO…and there is only so much you can prepare yourself for. Business is a whole new game.  This is why I believe in the power of learning from someone who is 2 steps ahead of you, who has been there, done that.  I want to introduce you to Mary Harcourt. Mary has decades of experience in the industry and knows what it takes to run a thriving and growing business. Mary is a former hairstylist, turned lash guru, who is now running her own manufacturing company for lighting syst

Business Ownership can be lonely…and the reality is that your business can feel like it’s your entire life. Without it, who would you be?  You spend more hours in the day in your business than you see your partner, family, or friends. And whilst this is never the intention, you feel it’s just what has to happen to ensure everything gets done; putting out the team fires, the admin jobs, rebooking clients, marketing, cleaning, the list goes on! Who else is going to do it like you can?  Then you get home at the end of a busy day, you’re exhausted, the kids are wanting to spend time with you, you have to help them with their homework or take them to their swimming lesson… but you can’t switch off and stop thinking about the salon, and worse, you feel guilty for spending time away from your business.  I know this well, this was me for years on end. In this episode, I want to introduce one of my dear friends, Melinda. Melinda and I have worked together inside Salon Mastery for many years now and she has comple

Are you sometimes guilty of being a little desperate when it comes to your team? Ok…hear me out.  It’s not easy to find team members in today’s climate, right?  So you suddenly feel the need to put more focus on your existing team culture. Build a culture that is so strong no one wants to leave…  But a mistake I often see owners making every day is, instead of focusing on building a strong salon culture, they instead act out of panic and desperation when it comes to their team. You feel the pressure from your team as you don’t want them to leave, but this ends up with you saying yes to all the things…(even the things you don’t want to…such as a pay rise they haven’t yet earned).  You feel held hostage by your team, and give in to your team members' demands so that they never leave, but this isn’t always the answer to winning team culture, and can leave you, the owner, being the one who misses out… But this isn’t the leadership style that creates a culture where no one wants to leave! In fact, it create

You’ve made it.  This last year is just about to be done and dusted. You have tackled all the highs and lows that have been thrown your way - so it’s time to celebrate!  We rode the wave of trying to manage a growing team, and navigating a shift in lifestyle demands as well as increased challenges in attracting & hiring new team members! You were able to ditch the masks in the Salon and greet your clients and team as normal. Events and industry awards were able to be held, and so many Salon Owners were able to reconnect with each other again! How good did it feel to be able to have a hug again?!  As I share my top moments of 2022 in this episode, I would love to invite you to reflect on what your successes were in this last year.  Why? To make the most of this upcoming year and, to truly level up your business, you must decide to be and do something different than you've been in the last year.  If nothing changes, nothing changes… If you do everything the same as you did last year, everything will s

The biggest mistake you can make as a Salon Owner is to assume your team knows how to sell.  After all, they are trained to do hair or beauty, right? Not how to be a salesperson and actually they often don’t want to be a salesperson. So even when you have clients coming through the door, and you have a full team of stylists, you aren’t seeing the growth you had hoped for… and as the Salon Owner,  you end up with the most sales, consistently rebooking clients, and keeping the business afloat. But if all the pressure to make the most relies on you, the owner, what happens when you want to get free from clients for one moment to work ON their business?! You end up losing more than it’s worth and you’re stuck on the floor 60 hours a week, busier than ever.  This doesn’t have to be the case. You can move off the floor, work less hours with clients, and STILL see growth in your business!  I want to introduce you to my amazing Salon Mastery & Momentum Success Coach, Amy Osmer. Amy has years of experience wo

I often compare Salon ownership to an ongoing game of Tetris.  You’re always trying to move the pieces around: your team, your sales, and your clients, to make them fit perfectly together and win the game of mastering a successful business.  The challenge of this is that the pieces are always moving and are unpredictable (humans!!) and while the more experience you have in running a Salon, the more ‘in control’ things feel, there is still lots of uncertainty, you often wonder what will happen next…what move will you have to make….  It’s not often I get to introduce a guest on my podcast for the 5th time…but Stevie is an exception! I am so excited to have Stevie English back on my podcast to share his secret to building an incredible team culture, a growing clientele, and most importantly the secret to looking after YOU as the CEO so you feel in control of your business even when shit hits the fan!  Stevie with 15 years of industry knowledge, chats on how to keep your team happy and your business thriving

Want to know how 18 Salon Owners grew their income by $100k a year? I’ll give you one clue, it ends with ditching the hustle culture! Yes, I know it well.  As a Salon Owner, there’s an immense amount of pressure to ensure the business is profitable and is bringing money in through the door. You want to provide a completely personalized experience for every single client that visits your salon….. And this is more than just the hair service itself, right owners?! … it’s everything from the way your team presents themselves, to the atmosphere, the pricing, the post-service check-in, the booking experience, the retail products…ahhh the list goes on! You end up feeling like, in order to MAKE more, you keep having to DO more, and BE more…like you’re on a neverending hamster wheel. You’re grinding 24/7 to bring money in the door, but you’re not seeing the results… Do you know why? The reason is that…. “doing more” doesn’t actually make you any more successful, or profitable… instead, it can do the exact oppos

There is ONE word that so many Salon & Spa Owners dread. Do you know what it is? I know that when I owned my own Salon, I would cringe at the thought of this word…  CHRISTMAS! Newsflash: it doesn’t have to be this way! With Christmas RIGHT around the corner, it’s time to get on top of things NOW. This is the year to finally be able to actually enjoy the busy lead-up ‘til Christmas because you KNOW you’re on top of everything. And there’s nothing worse than the feeling of being snowed under.  Luckily, I'm here to help you. In this episode, I am going to share with you my 3 key strategies you need to survive the Christmas season in your Salon this year.  It’s time to get ahead now, so when Christmas Day rolls around, you aren’t feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, but instead, you can actually enjoy the festivities and time away from the Salon! If you want to get on top of things, then just keep listening!    Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode: Get ahead of the

Do you ever get the feeling that you haven’t quite yet reached your full potential as Salon CEO? Things are ticking along, your Salon is growing, your team is happy, and business is “as expected,” yet you have this fire inside of you to keep going, to keep dreaming big. Everyone has their own unique idea of what success looks like... for many owners, that could be purchasing another Salon, growing a large team, being able to take a holiday and your team thrive without you there… So while everything is going 'fine' in your day-to-day life, there's this gnawing feeling at the back of your mind that you could, would, should be achieving more.  But what stops you from achieving that? Is it because that 'big dream' feels unattainable or is it that you don’t know the steps to get you there? In this episode, I want to introduce Christina Flach - Celebrity Makeup Artist and CEO of Pretty Girl Makeup. Christina is the queen of discipline, a mother of five, and running two businesses, she has had to knuckle down o

Are you ready to hire a Salon apprentice? Or more importantly, is your business ready?  Like, your Salon is so busy that you feel like you can’t catch a break. At peak times, your Senior stylists or therapists are booked up weeks in advance, and as a result, you have to turn away clients as you simply can’t fit them in…and that’s money walking out the door!   Hiring another Senior stylist to take the pressure off the rest of your team would be ideal……  but it feels near impossible right now! You put an ad out to grow your team, and it’s nothing but crickets!  So then you consider hiring an apprentice and training them up instead, but I know what you’re thinking…”Larissa, training an apprentice is time-consuming! Where can I find the time and energy to train someone completely new especially when things are hectic?!”  Is it worth all the time and effort?  That’s why I want to share with you the secret to knowing when you’re ready to hire an apprentice, and if it’s worth your trouble… In this episode, fin

What does freedom mean to you? Is it being able to spend time away from your Salon, and with your family? Being able to come and go as you please without feeling guilty? To not have any financial stress about whether the Salon is making ends meet?  For me, freedom is a choice. It’s a choice to be able to create your dream life, to choose when you work, who you work with and what your family time is like. It can also be freedom of your mind, to be able to switch off from your business when you need to.  But the question remains: how do you create freedom when so much of the business relies on you?  In this episode, you’ll discover what freedom truly looks like for you, and I’ll share my secret to creating freedom as a Salon CEO…without feeling like everything will turn to sh*t without you there. Tune in to uncover my done-for-you freedom-generating salon systems that you can use straight away and my step-by-step guide to implementing these with your team... Ooh, by the way, this is actually an exclusive

The Hair & Beauty industry is forever evolving.  Between a new generation of stylists and lifestyle changes, social media taking over our lives & clients demanding more from a client experience, Salon Owners are left wondering what’s next. It can feel like you’re a soldier going into battle, putting out fire after fire with your team, Then when you get home from the salon, instead of switching off, you have to spend your limited spare time looking for new team members, creating short, entertaining videos to keep your brand relevant, and brainstorming ways to provide a seamless client experience,  It’s no wonder that Salon Owners end up burned out and overwhelmed! It’s a battlefield out there. How can you navigate your ever-changing team, clientele, and social media landscape?  If there is anyone who knows how to tackle and navigate this generation of stylists and clients, it’s Eric Taylor. With over 18 years in the industry, Eric is the Founder and CEO of Salon Republic, and sits on the industry

As a Salon Owner, it can be so easy to get sucked into what I call “shiny object syndrome”, especially when you first open your business…press pause on that team retreat for now!  You’re ready to hit the ground running, and do all the things you have always wanted to when stuck behind the chair working for someone else. You feel like a kid in a candy store, right?!! But in my perspective, this can be a big mistake.  Less is always more, especially when you’re first starting out in Salon Ownership. It’s important to build strong foundations in your salon business so that you don’t have to backtrack and backfill once you have grown.  One core ingredient of a successful business that you need to get clear on at the start, is your culture. The thing that makes the wheels go round. I know building a strong team culture can feel tricky for a lot of owners. Like, you worry that if your culture isn't strong enough... your team might not stay around, you might not be able to hire new team members and it will aff

Is this you? Your current team doesn’t want to work Saturdays or late nights, and they aren’t hitting their targets, yet come to you asking for a pay rise… OMG are they serious?! And when you try to hire someone new, it’s crickets! It seems like nobody wants to work these days…is this familiar? So to make up for it, you have to pull the weight for your team… you’re putting in all the hours, saying yes to all the clients…you have a large team, and yet, your Salon still isn’t growing… It always feels like 2 steps forward, 3 steps back. You’re going round and round an ongoing loop with your team and your business hitting a plateau, and you feel like this is never going to end.  You find yourself asking, what is all of this for? You’re the highest earner, the one who is left mopping the floors at the end of the day… But this isn’t what you imagined Salon Ownership being, right? No! This isn’t what Salon Ownership should look like… and believe me, I’ve been on that side of running a business, and it’s exha

Is your Salon Manager really helping the business move forward, or are they instead hindering the future success of the Salon? As the Salon Owner, you already have too many tabs open.  You’re thinking about a million different things and you have a to-do list that is never-ending. Your role is to lead your business and ensure that it continues to grow, which is why you need a right-hand man, or what we, in this industry, call a Salon Manager.  When hiring a salon manager, the goal is to find someone to manage the hustle of daily operations in the Salon, and help carry the weight of leading the team, so that you can step away from working IN the business, and instead work more ON the business.  But this isn’t always as picture-perfect as it seems…can you relate? Whilst you’d hoped that hiring a Salon Manager was going to be the answer to all your problems, it’s actually ended up being an even bigger headache… The jobs aren’t getting done, you’re doing more than ever, and you can’t actually trust them to