Episode 268
From Stylist to $13M CEO: Terra Harvell on Entrepreneurship, Hair Extensions, Systems & Salon Success | Terra Harvell, CEO of Harper Ellis Hair Co. & CEO of Strata Salon Systems
From stylist to $13M CEO, Terra Harvell shares how she built her empire through hair extensions, smart systems, and leadership—and why new talent and startup hairpreneurs need to think beyond the chair to create lasting success.
Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
🔅Build a strong foundation first — new stylists should learn the full spectrum of skills to become well-rounded before choosing a niche.
🔅Specialize to stand out — once you’ve mastered the basics, hone in on a niche (like extensions) to attract high-value clients and grow faster.
🔅Think like a CEO early — treat yourself as an entrepreneur from day one, not just a service provider.
🔅Master emotional intelligence — success comes not only from technical skills, but also from leadership, communication, and resilience
🔅Build scalable systems — create processes so your business thrives even when you’re not behind the chair.
🔅Invest in mentorship — seek out guidance to accelerate growth and avoid costly mistakes.
🔅Redefine success — focus on both profitability and fulfillment, aligning your career with your long-term vision.
👉Follow Terra Harvell on Instagram
👉Follow Harper Ellis Hair Co. on Instagram
The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.
CONNECT WITH US
📬 Subscribe to our free newsletter
The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com.
Transcript
Tara Harville is a 17 year industry veteran.
Speaker A:She's a stylist first and now runs a $13 million annual empire starting with extensions.
Speaker A:And now she helps stylists and owners become CEOs building businesses they can actually sell.
Speaker A:Today we're going to hear her story, how she got to where she is, advice for those of us looking to do the same, and so much more.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the Hairdresser Strong show.
Speaker A:My name is Robert Hughes and I am your host.
Speaker A:And today I'm with Tara Harville.
Speaker A:How you doing today, Tara?
Speaker B:I am doing wonderful.
Speaker B:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker B:I am so excited to chat about all the things.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, thank you.
Speaker A:I'm glad that, you know, when your assistant reached out and to connect, we were in, in the depths of our, our conference and that we produce and host and we had something scheduled.
Speaker A:So I appreciate you being flexible and letting us wait until that storm passed.
Speaker A:I really do.
Speaker B:Entrepreneurs, we have to be flexible, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Well, speaking of which, so 13 million dollar empire starting with extensions.
Speaker A:I feel like there's such a big story in there.
Speaker A:Why don't, why don't we, why don't we go to back towards the beginning?
Speaker A:Like, were you, were you a business person before you got into the industry?
Speaker A:How'd you get, like, did you just get into the industry as a, a young wide eyed beauty preneur or were you just excited to do hair?
Speaker A:What, How'd you like, tell us?
Speaker A:Let's start there.
Speaker B:Yeah, I love that.
Speaker B:I, you know, kind of laugh because it's like, you know, were you a business person before you ever came into the industry?
Speaker B:I came into this industry.
Speaker B:I was, you know, 18 years old right out of high school.
Speaker B:But I mentioned that time because I think that's such a profound part of my story.
Speaker B:And the reason why is because so many hairstylists start out exactly the way that I did.
Speaker B:You know, I was the bottom, you know, 20% of my high school class.
Speaker B:I went to public school.
Speaker B:So, you know, I remember walking across that stage getting my diploma and just thinking, you know, I wasn't, I wasn't.
Speaker B:I had a brother that was valedictorian, right.
Speaker B:So it was constant, this comparison.
Speaker B:And it was just, you know, I really thought I wasn't smart.
Speaker B:You know, I had to take the ACT to get into college and completely bombed that.
Speaker B:And so my first, I did go to college for one semester and that one semester was just full of remedial classes because, you know, if you bomb the act, they're like, well, you got to go here first before you can take the real classes.
Speaker B:And so I remember, you know, studying in that classroom in college, and.
Speaker B:And I always wanted to go to hair school.
Speaker B:That was like, something that I was always very passionate about, something that I was very interested in.
Speaker B:But, like, a lot of hairstylists and those of you that are listening, this you totally understand, because I came from a family of educators, and it was like, oh, you're taking the easy way out, right?
Speaker B:It's like, you're gonna go be a hairstylist.
Speaker B:That's just the, you know, that's just the easy way out.
Speaker B:And so I honestly kind of believe that it's not really that fluffy, you know, that I was just like, no, I'm gonna overcome and all of these things.
Speaker B:No, I had no idea what I was doing.
Speaker B:I, you know, went straight to cosmetology school and remember, you know, I was able to get some financial aid to afford, you know, the school basically, and got a small loan from my.
Speaker B:From my grandmother.
Speaker B:And so I got into cosmetology school.
Speaker B:And when I got into the cosmetology school, I went to a Paul Mitchell school.
Speaker B:And I remember just thinking, okay, I found my place.
Speaker B:This is where I thrive.
Speaker B:You know, I'm not a failing so student here.
Speaker B:I'm not the bottom 30%.
Speaker B:And it wasn't really anything other than I just love the craft, right?
Speaker B:But the thing was, you know, when I grew up, I was from a very middle class, you know, family.
Speaker B:My mom is a public school teacher.
Speaker B:If anybody was raised by school teachers, you know, that, you know, you're probably not living too, too high if you're, you know, living off the school teacher salary.
Speaker B:And so, you know, she was a single mom providing for me and my brother.
Speaker B:And I really knew that if I wanted to have a bit of a different future, I needed to take a different route.
Speaker B:And so from there, you know, I went and I actually sought out.
Speaker B:And this makes a lot of sense for my story now, so this will kind of come full circle.
Speaker B:I sought out somebody.
Speaker B:His name is Kelly Cardenas.
Speaker B:He was in the Paul Mitchell world.
Speaker B:And I wanted to go work for him only because I saw how people were winning inside of a salon.
Speaker B:And really, it was kind of just.
Speaker B:It wasn't that fluffy.
Speaker B:It was just, I saw they're making a ton of money, and so I was like, hey, I want to move across the country.
Speaker B:And I actually did.
Speaker B:I had $300 in my bank account.
Speaker B:I drove my little Mitsubishi Eclipse across the country to Las Vegas.
Speaker B:I'm from Arkansas, and literally got a job with him and found a roommate on Craigslist.
Speaker B:And I lived in Vegas for two years.
Speaker B:But those two years were very profound in my career because here's the thing.
Speaker B:It was very simple.
Speaker B:I was an assistant, and I assisted one hairstylist who had been in the industry for a very long time.
Speaker B:And she, you know, refused to do anything but color because that's what she was good at.
Speaker B:And I would walk her color clients to the front of the salon, and I would check them out for, you know, an average of maybe $300.
Speaker B:And that was a lot back then.
Speaker B:This was 17 years ago.
Speaker B:And then I assisted a stylist that I would walk her clients to the front, and all she did was hair extensions, and they were paying $3,000 a ticket.
Speaker B:And so even this remedial math girl, it wasn't very hard for me to put it together what I wanted to do inside of this industry.
Speaker B:And so from then on, I really became obsessed with hair extensions.
Speaker B:And again, this was 17 years ago when there was.
Speaker B:I mean, hair extensions were kind of taboo.
Speaker B:Like, it wasn't something women, you know, now they're everywhere, and women talk about it, and it's like a public thing that people wear them.
Speaker B:But back then, this wasn't the case.
Speaker B:And so, you know, now I think when I hear people, you know, say things like, oh, my clients will never pay for an expensive, you know, service like that, I'm like, you're crazy.
Speaker B:Because we started back when this wasn't even cool.
Speaker B:Now you have the advantage of, like, everybody wants hair extensions, you know, usually.
Speaker B:And so, you know, we got into.
Speaker B:I got into hair extensions, and I honestly just built my entire career.
Speaker B:After a couple of years, I moved back home.
Speaker B:I worked in a salon before I finally opened my own.
Speaker B:But I was obsessed.
Speaker B:And I was able to, you know, as a stylist behind the chair, working four days a week, I was able to do around $750,000 in revenue.
Speaker B:And that was because I had primarily all extension clientele.
Speaker B:And I did have an assistant, and, you know, with that stat.
Speaker B:But I want people to understand, listening to this, you know, I know.
Speaker B:I mean, that's almost a million dollars, you know, with one.
Speaker B:One book of business behind the chair.
Speaker B:And, you know, that was in a small town.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:The town that I'm in is not a big city.
Speaker B:It's Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Speaker B:Look it up.
Speaker B:Population 80,000 people.
Speaker B:When people travel here, they're like, I'm in the armpit of America.
Speaker B:And so.
Speaker B:But the thing is, like, it took me at my peak behind the chair.
Speaker B:It took me 72 extension clients in order to make that amount of revenue.
Speaker B:And so I wasn't seeking 80,000 people.
Speaker B:I wasn't trying to get the whole town in my chair.
Speaker B:I just needed a set, you know, 70 to 80 extension clients to make that amount of revenue.
Speaker B:And so that was when I had a salon.
Speaker B:I'd opened my salon, and I was just failing.
Speaker B:Like, a lot of salon owners.
Speaker B:You know, 80% of salons fell in the first 18 months.
Speaker B:And the reason why is because none of us know what we're doing.
Speaker B:We don't know how to run a business.
Speaker B:And I continued on, and I kept the doors of my salon open, even though I know one year I had, my husband walked in and threw down a profit and loss statement in front of me.
Speaker B:And he said, you made $8 last year.
Speaker B:I said, wow, that was a lot of work for $8.
Speaker B:And so about around that time that my salon was absolutely failing.
Speaker B:This was when the extension industry took a huge dip in quality.
Speaker B:And in one month, I replaced about $30,000 of bad extension hair in my salon.
Speaker B:And, you know, that's just how we roll.
Speaker B:We tried to service these people.
Speaker B:They invested in this extension hair, and the hair just went to crap.
Speaker B:It was tangly, and it was terrible.
Speaker B:And I honestly, from then on, I said, I'm gonna go figure this out.
Speaker B:And it took me from then another two years, full two years, to make connections.
Speaker B:I flew across the world to China, actually found someone that would sit down with me and say, hey, you guys are not hair stylists.
Speaker B:We are.
Speaker B:Let's figure out how to produce hair extensions so that they last.
Speaker B:And it's a quality product.
Speaker B:And so now we actually have a patent technology that we use to create our hair.
Speaker B:And now that's how Harper Ellis hair Company, which is my massive empire that I've built on just a dream.
Speaker B:And I started that business with $20,000 in my bank account.
Speaker B:And honestly, we grew really fast because of the quality of hair.
Speaker B:Now there's a lot of in between in that story and a lot of things that I've had to learn.
Speaker B:I still have my salon, but now my salon is.
Speaker B:We work out about 800 square feet.
Speaker B:It's a shoebox, but we're doing around $1.6 million.
Speaker B:And we have a 25% profitability because we're mostly an extension clientele.
Speaker B:And now we've developed, actually A new salon system.
Speaker B:It's called Strata Salon System, where we actually develop stylists.
Speaker B:And we don't just develop their skills, we actually develop their EQ and their leadership skills to mentor other stylists.
Speaker B:And that's what helps salon scale.
Speaker B:So now we are on a mission to partner with other salon owners with this system, and we're opening salons all over the country.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And so that is.
Speaker B:I know there's a lot of details there, but that's kind of how I've arrived here and.
Speaker B:And my specialty, you know, I still have the extension company, of course, and.
Speaker B:And it's thriving and growing really fast.
Speaker B:But our.
Speaker B:Our focus really is we teach stylists how to do exactly what I did behind the chair, make 750k working four days a week.
Speaker B:And we also now teach salon owners how to scale their business and be profitable.
Speaker B:And then eventually the hope is that they want to exit or even have the option to exit because their business is valuable.
Speaker B:And so that's what we do.
Speaker B:That's kind of the story.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Okay, now I got questions, so let's.
Speaker A:Let's go back.
Speaker A:And so you said you went to school, and you.
Speaker A:After you got out of school, what was the next step right away, like, because you talked about going over to Vegas.
Speaker A:How long from the time you graduated to the time you decided to make pull that trigger?
Speaker B:Yeah, I decided before I graduated.
Speaker B:You know, I started looking for opportunities.
Speaker B:And truthfully, it even that inspiring.
Speaker B:It was more of just.
Speaker B:I think I was just like every other stylist, and I was like, I want to get out of this town, and I never want to come back, and I want to do celebrity hair, and I want to, you know, work on movie sets.
Speaker B:And truly, that was the dream.
Speaker B:And so I started seeking out jobs and landed my position at the heart at the Kelly Cardena Salon.
Speaker B:Yeah, right out of school.
Speaker B:So right when I got that license, I transferred it to Nevada, packed my bags, and took off.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:Okay, so, and then how long did you assist there before you started taking your own clients?
Speaker B:Yeah, most of about a full year.
Speaker B:I was an assistant there, kind of worked my way through, you know, really started out as a salon assistant.
Speaker B:And then you work your way through basically the success of the stylist that worked there.
Speaker B:So it was really cool.
Speaker B:So one of my, you know, last stylist that I was hanging with, she did all extensions, and that's why she was so successful.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, so, so you.
Speaker A:You assisted for a year, and during that time, did you do, like, training on, like, kind of all things and.
Speaker A:Or did you, like, were you allowed to pick?
Speaker A:Like, you only wanted to learn about extensions?
Speaker A:Like, how was that training program and that one year?
Speaker B:Yeah, even back then, like, he, you know, with Kelly's salon, he wasn't focused on extensions either because it just wasn't a thing.
Speaker B:And so I remember point blank him telling me, you know, hey, if you want an extension clientele, you just have to go out and find one.
Speaker B:And so, no, I was really focused on, I learned anything from men's cuts.
Speaker B:You know, Kelly had a lot of celebrity men that he, you know, cut there in Vegas.
Speaker B:And I learned how to do men's cuts and I learned how to do everything because his view and my view still today is niching down school and everything.
Speaker B:But when you have no one on your books, you should take everything and be able to learn everything because that's how you grow and you, and you become a full, you know, hairstylist.
Speaker B:You can't just learn one thing and be able to grow.
Speaker A:So, yeah, so that's where I was going with this.
Speaker A:So I am happy because like we have, we do, as I told you before we started, we do have a lot of relationships with the schools and the students.
Speaker A:And that is one of the things it's like so many new talent talk about.
Speaker A:And even in, when they're already in school, they haven't even gotten out of school and they're already talking about their specialists and niche niching down.
Speaker A:And you know, I think, you know, at Hairdresser Strong, we think people should do whatever they want, but we just want to make sure that you're wide eyed, you know, you're open, you have your eyes open, you understand the realities, the probabilities of success and the probabilities of failure, the downsides and everything.
Speaker A:So just kind of like shed some light on it.
Speaker A:Like how long did you do anything beside like how long until you only did extensions or did you never really stop doing color and cutting?
Speaker A:I mean, if you put someone's extensions and I'm assuming are you coloring them and cutting them?
Speaker B:Yep, exactly.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So, like, what does it even mean to be a niche or extension specialist?
Speaker A:It sounds like you have to be able to cut and color hair also.
Speaker A:Can you talk a little bit about that for any of the students with new talent?
Speaker B:Thinking I love that and I think you're going to love what I have to say here because you know, and I know probably new people in the industry are probably like, oh, she's old school, and I probably am, I'm sure, but I was able to build a stat.
Speaker B:And that's what I always say.
Speaker B:I'm like, yeah, but look what I was able to get to.
Speaker B:And so, you know, the one thing, the best way that I know how to explain this, you know, inside of my own salon right now with the Strata Salon Systems, we.
Speaker B:We only hire assistants.
Speaker B:We don't hire stylists.
Speaker B:I don't care how long they've been in the industry unless they have a massive stat and they want to come in and be a part of the culture.
Speaker B:That's a little different.
Speaker B:But right now, in our salon assistance, they.
Speaker B:By the time they're out of the assistant program, they're doing on average to nine to $10,000 a month in revenue.
Speaker B:And that is like, I'm talking.
Speaker B:I have a. I have a girl.
Speaker B:Her name is Laney.
Speaker B:So incredibly proud of her.
Speaker B:She just graduated less than a year ago, and she's already doing around 10k a month in revenue.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:But the reason why, you know, now she's, you know, we started day one building that extension clientele.
Speaker B:But also, here's the thing.
Speaker B:When you're an assistant in my salon, you have to do 80 extension rows on a doll head a month.
Speaker B:That's, you know, 20 a week.
Speaker B:That's how much we make.
Speaker B:We have them practicing, and so we still don't.
Speaker B:Wouldn't call them a specialist.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But they're starting to build that clientele, and by the time they get out of the assistant program, they have anywhere from 20 to 25 extension clients on their books, which is more than the top, you know, 1% of.
Speaker B:I really probably would say the top 5% of extension artists.
Speaker B:But we're still not.
Speaker B:Hey, you're a specialist.
Speaker B:But here's why.
Speaker B:We had a perm walk into our salon a few weeks back, and guess who had openings on their books?
Speaker B:Laney, who, you know, does want to be an extension specialist.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And, you know, I know she looked at our salon management and she was like, I don't even know how to do a perm.
Speaker B:And I. I will never forget seeing her face because they said, well, I guess you better go figure it out, because you've got on your books and then you got an opening.
Speaker B:And so, you know, it's funny because afterwards I had, you know, kind of a vision talk with her, and I was like, do you understand why, you know, we did that?
Speaker B:She's like, yeah, I have to learn how to do everything.
Speaker B:Knowing those Technical skills of doing a permission is what makes you better stylist overall.
Speaker B:And so yeah, I mean you're not a specialist until you're fully booked in that thing and that many people trust you to do that service.
Speaker B:So that's, you know, if you're still searching for clients and you're, you know, desperate for them, you can call yourself a specialist.
Speaker A:So I have, I, this is not a personal opinion or anything, but there are, I hear a lot of like, how do I say this?
Speaker A:I would like to push, push against you and see what, how you respond if you don't mind a little, a little bit of a challenge here.
Speaker A:I like to like whenever there's like a, like a controversial point or an argument that's happening on social media, I like to get people who are deep in it to respond just because I'm so curious to know everybody's perspective.
Speaker A:You know, everyone's got different perspectives and not everybody has as much experience to talk to.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:All right, so here's what do you say when people say, and I feel like you might have already answered this question, but just to be explicit, what do you say to any, anybody who says that these high ticket extensions clients during, during, like an economic downturn will become price elastic and re.
Speaker A:Pull in their spending?
Speaker A:And, and like.
Speaker A:Well, first of all is tell us, can you talk on that at all?
Speaker A:And then second all does that, have you seen that in any of the people that you work with?
Speaker A:And if you have seen it, what has been the response or the strategy around dealing with uncertain times?
Speaker A:And I like this because we are in like what time is it?
Speaker A:It's, it's uncertain time.
Speaker A:Like it's for sure.
Speaker A:That seems to be the majority of people's feelings.
Speaker A:I mean we see it in the economy, we see it in the macro level.
Speaker A:So I think there's a lot of folks that talk to us at Hairdresser Strong about wanting to prepare for uncertain times.
Speaker A:So I feel like this is like a really relevant conversation.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think it's hit or miss if you're going to love my answer, but I feel like you may, you may like it, but I do want to answer it the way that I would in my own classroom.
Speaker B:You know, we, we educate, you know, stylists all over the, all over the world.
Speaker B:They come here to our headquarters.
Speaker B:And I actually answered this question yesterday in a classroom of 40 stylists.
Speaker B:And so the first thing that I want to say, I kind of want to start from the stylist perspective and then I'M going to talk about the actual data that's out there as far as, you know, high ticket services and stuff like that.
Speaker B:One thing that I always, when I talk about things like this, I never want to run off of emotion.
Speaker B:That's my main thing that I teach salon owners and I teach stylists.
Speaker B:Let's look at the numbers, guys.
Speaker B:Let's look at the, let's look at the metrics.
Speaker B:Let's not be emotional about the business because there's a lot of like, you know, there's no peace in that, right?
Speaker B:And so the one thing that I always say is, you know, I've never in my life met a wealthy person that worries about the economy.
Speaker B:And I've never met someone that is wealthy and that is winning, that constantly talks about the economy.
Speaker B:And so the one thing on a hairstylist, this is something that I want people to understand.
Speaker B:You know, I think we get this con, like we conceptualize when the economy goes bad, it's like the money disappears.
Speaker B:There's not like this robber that comes in and like takes the money.
Speaker B:And it's like the economy's bad because I took off the money.
Speaker B:People still have their money, right?
Speaker B:And so the next thing that we have to understand is when people spend their money, it's because.
Speaker B:And whether they're being more, you know, frugal or, or whatever the case is, when people have their money, they'll always spend it on what's the value of them to them, right?
Speaker B:If there's something to a value to them, they're going to spend their money on it.
Speaker B:And so when it becomes being a hairstylist or being a hairstylist, you can't just blend in, you know, great before and afters and great, you know, just photos of.
Speaker B:Because honestly, great hairstylists and great extension artists, if we're just going to go.
Speaker B:Extensions are a dime a dozen.
Speaker B:They're everywhere, right?
Speaker B:Thanks to how accessible education is now.
Speaker B:I mean, that kind of is everywhere.
Speaker B:And so you kind of have to ask yourself, like, how do I spend out, send out and become a value to these people to want to come spend money?
Speaker B:And so I think we have to get out of this headspace of like, oh, the economy is going bad because guys, they still have the money, it's still there.
Speaker B:And so I know a lot of women, I know me, I'm not going to give up these hair extensions.
Speaker B:I, if I check these out, you guys would be like, wow, she is, doesn't have any hair.
Speaker B:She does not look the Same.
Speaker B:And so this is a value to me.
Speaker B:And a lot of women that don't have the hair that they want feel the exact same way.
Speaker B: per Ellis is, we opened up in: Speaker B:All of that happened right after.
Speaker B:And you know, now, you know, the economy's kind of been, I wouldn't even say that it's probably been up if you want to look at the economy data.
Speaker B:But, you know, it's kind of been a little bit like this and now, you know, supposedly it's a little down.
Speaker B:I don't really know.
Speaker B:So looking at that, our business, and I know, other extension business, you know, when I, we entered this space about five years ago, it was about a, a billion dollar industry.
Speaker B: And in the end of: Speaker B:And so that doesn't tell me that people aren't.
Speaker B:And we as, as a company have over year over year grown minimally of 35%.
Speaker B:And so that doesn't tell me that anyone's pulling back on hair extensions.
Speaker B:And so now, you know, the solution to that.
Speaker B:I don't want to harp on that without giving a solution.
Speaker B:The solution to that is go be of value, go do 80 rows a month to become the specialist and then stand out on social media and your marketing to become a value to those people that want to spend that amount of money on their hair.
Speaker B:Because I promise those clients are a dime a dozen.
Speaker B:And the thing is, is, you know, 30% of women either already have hair extensions or they want them or need them.
Speaker B:And so, you know, go and do the math.
Speaker B:You know, I already, I just said 72 extension clients plus some color revenue got me to $750,000 in revenue behind the chair.
Speaker B:And so, you know, we have 80,000 people in this town.
Speaker B:I would assume we probably have, you know, minimally of 40,000 women.
Speaker B:I'm just making things up.
Speaker B:30% of that, you're telling me, could be my client.
Speaker B:I don't need that many people in my chair in order to make that amount of money.
Speaker B:So I think we have to just reverse engineer the target versus worrying about everyone's pocketbook.
Speaker B:But our industry has a really bad problem doing that.
Speaker A:So I, I, I hear you on everything you're saying, and I like the vibes, I like the, my, the head space.
Speaker A:However, at the same time I'm wondering, and this is something I think, because I'm not an extension specialist.
Speaker A:And so it sounds to me like that mentality works if you have a clientele that isn't price elastic during high unemployment times or high inflation times.
Speaker A:But we saw what happened after Covid, where everyone pulled in their spending significantly, and the high end hasn't.
Speaker A:The high end still is not.
Speaker A:Has not pulled in their spending.
Speaker A:I mean, I just saw a piece today or yesterday about consumer spending is still up, but it's the high.
Speaker A:It's in the upper income brackets.
Speaker A:So it sounds to me like, with all that data, it sounds to me like your clientele should be in the upper income bracket.
Speaker A:So, like, is there.
Speaker A:Is, is there a person who might.
Speaker A:Like, there's also, there's also people that have aspirations, like people who want to save up to, like, spend the money, who don't necessarily have the money.
Speaker A:And those people typically, I mean, historical, historically, they have pulled in spending.
Speaker A:And, and I, and I guess, like, you're an argument against that would be that spending in our industry doesn't get pulled back as much as spending in other spaces.
Speaker A:So anyway, I'm gonna just, I just want to drop that on you and see how you respond to that.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think, you know, you're.
Speaker B:You're totally right.
Speaker B:You know, something that we teach our, you know, salon owners as well as, you know, the stylists that we work with is like, you know, you go back to that, the market, you know, everyone wants to teach the dream client avatar.
Speaker B:You know, I've seen that segment.
Speaker B:You know, so many people are like, who's your dream avatar?
Speaker B:You know, go after that person.
Speaker B:It's like, yeah, I get that.
Speaker B:But like, also, people aren't going to walk in your door that are nothing like you.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:And, you know, I, and I want to say this out loud because I know people listening like, guys, I came.
Speaker B:I came from middle to lower class America.
Speaker B:I'm not this, like, bougie woman out here just like attracting the rich.
Speaker B:Because that, no, I've had to, like, really take a hard, long look in the mirror and go, okay, who do I want to become?
Speaker B:Because who do I want to attract?
Speaker B:Because you attract what you are.
Speaker B:It's the law of attraction.
Speaker B:And that will never change.
Speaker B:It's just the way the human mind works.
Speaker B:And so I think as hairstylists, when we're, you know, building, we have to think about those kind of things.
Speaker B:Like, go take a long look in the mirror.
Speaker B:Ask yourself, am I the person that someone who can afford me and afford my value, come sit in my chair.
Speaker B:And if the answer is no, maybe not.
Speaker B:You may Want to.
Speaker B:Don't change who you are.
Speaker B:That's not what I'm saying.
Speaker B:But you can make adjustments to become that person that those type of people want to come sit in your chair.
Speaker B:And so that's kind of my, you know, response on that as far as, like, the solution.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker B:So too, I've seen women spend their last dime on hair.
Speaker B:You know, we.
Speaker B:We do, you know, cherry financing and stuff in our salon.
Speaker B:You know, it's because we can see on the back end, they get approved for a certain amount and you're like, oh, gosh, you know, they probably don't if they're doing that.
Speaker B:I don't know if they, you know, as a wealth builder, I don't know that I would finance hair extensions.
Speaker B:But, hey, people do because it's of value to them.
Speaker B:And so I think you get a little bit of both.
Speaker B:But, yeah, the most, most of the clientele that's going to come in for a higher ticket service are the ones that have the money.
Speaker A:So, yes, I love that.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think that that's an important piece that, you know, we.
Speaker A:I was just at Beauty Gives Back.
Speaker A:I'm here.
Speaker A:We're in Chicago right now kind of doing a tourist stuff.
Speaker A:We're about to leave after this conversation and go see the Bean and all that, that, that deck.
Speaker A:So people, by the time people see this, they'll have already seen those pictures.
Speaker A:But we were at Beauty Goes Back, and Corey from hairdistry podcast, he was moderating a panel of entrepreneurs and he said, if you want to.
Speaker A:I forget exact words.
Speaker A:So Corey, forgive me if I don't put the exact words, but something along the lines of basically start in higher income zip codes.
Speaker A:Like if you, if you want to build a business, build a business in these areas.
Speaker A:But I mean, and you're not necessarily saying that, but it's kind of.
Speaker A:The one in the same is like, understand your con, your target audience and tackle them.
Speaker A:And I love the Law of Attraction piece that was.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I wanted to add really fast.
Speaker B:Yeah, Alex.
Speaker B:I don't know if there's any Alex Hermosi fans on here.
Speaker B:I love that guy.
Speaker B:I think he's a genius.
Speaker A:I've just been turned on to him and I got his book that.
Speaker A:That one of those books I'm gonna read.
Speaker B:Yeah, he.
Speaker B:I mean, just.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:But you know, his number one thing that he says is, if you want to become rich, solve the rich people's problem.
Speaker B:And I think that's true for.
Speaker B:I think that's true for any business.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so I love that because it's the truth.
Speaker B:Go.
Speaker B:Go find a solution for the type of audience that you need in order to make the amount of money that you want to make.
Speaker A:So, yeah, love it.
Speaker A:Okay, we're coming up on our time, so real.
Speaker A:I just have one question, and then I want you to tell us where people can find you, what the type of offerings that you have for people.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And then we'll wrap.
Speaker A:So first, the one question I wanted to make sure I asked you because it's been in my head the whole time we've been talking, but, like, the conversation has been so good that I didn't want to interrupt it.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:What makes a business sellable?
Speaker B:Yeah, so the one thing that makes a business sellable is no one wants to step in and buy a business that whenever they purchase it, there's no upside.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so I want to talk about salons specifically.
Speaker B:So if the owner walks out the door and your stylist leaves and possibly the clients leave, likely that business has no value.
Speaker B:Also, you know, we can go into the obvious things.
Speaker B:If you've, you know, gotten into, you know, the, the ebitda, the cash flow, all those things.
Speaker B:Of course, the profitability, all those things matter.
Speaker B:But at the same time, with salons, like, if your stylist will leave with you when you sell, that business becomes no value.
Speaker B:No value.
Speaker B:And so you have to figure out, you know, what Strata does.
Speaker B:And that's what we teach salon owners now.
Speaker B:Stylists that come into our salon and grow to be, you know, have high EQs and leadership skills, they become mentors, and then they are able to make 5% revenue share off of anyone that they're training and developing.
Speaker B:And so it keeps them loyal to the salon and it gives them an entire new stream of revenue.
Speaker B:I'm talking into the six figure new stream of revenue as the salon scales and gets bigger and bigger that they don't have to step behind the chair for.
Speaker B:And so, you know, that's scaling, right?
Speaker B:Scaling is not standing and trading time for money.
Speaker B:If you want to scale, you have to make your money make money.
Speaker B:And so that's how we're helping stylists do that in all of these Tron.
Speaker B:So, yeah.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:And so what on that, I guess I have one more question.
Speaker A:Like, one of the biggest things that we hear from around the country and definitely in our own backyard is this idea of getting having training in your salon.
Speaker A:Like, I think it's actually a international conversation because the UK is dealing with like the apprenticeship, like the demise of apprenticeships due to actual, the way their system is built, created and legislation.
Speaker A:I don't know all the details, but I know I've been seeing a lot of content where they're talking about like apprentices, seeing apprentices are our future and how we have to stop thinking of do we get an roi.
Speaker A:I just don't see how we can talk like that in America.
Speaker A:But that's just me, like, so.
Speaker A:But that is what people are worried about is like, can is it with the entrepreneurial bug, like, like the, the new talent, younger generation, like, they are so entrepreneurial.
Speaker A:I am so excited to work with them.
Speaker A:And however, salon owners are weary because, you know, historic.
Speaker A:I mean, the experiences they're having and the narratives online are painting the younger stylists and newer style new talent.
Speaker B:As.
Speaker A:Being just coming in to like, take some clients and then leave and then go independent.
Speaker A:What do you have to say about that?
Speaker B:I have a lot.
Speaker A:What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker B:I have a lot to say about that.
Speaker B:I'll try to make it short and sweet, but I think everyone's going to understand what I'm about to say in the world of just the salon industry.
Speaker B:I'm not talking stylist salons.
Speaker B:Like, we have to understand how broken our models are because there's only 24 hours in a day stylists, once they maximize their pricing, their demand, what is next for them?
Speaker B:And so as a salon owner, you have to understand how irresponsible you are to build a business that way.
Speaker B:And then we want to get like offended and be weary.
Speaker B:Just like you said, that your business model isn't set up to where people can scale past the 24 hours in the day that they have available.
Speaker B:And so of course they're going to be that way.
Speaker B:Of course the new generation is going to be entrepreneur because they don't have any other choice.
Speaker B:But the reality is the average salon is a profitability of like 8%.
Speaker B:And that also is very, very wild to me.
Speaker B:I'm like, I don't know that I would run a business that's only 8% profitable.
Speaker B:And so we have to understand that, like, it's a constant hamster wheel of failure because then those stylists go out and they open salons and they either open booth rental or commission salons where the same situation, everyone's cap, the owner's cap, the stylists are capped.
Speaker B:And it's a vicious cycle of failure and honestly, generational poverty.
Speaker B:I want to say that word.
Speaker B:And I hope, when I just said that, I hope everyone, I hope that stings everybody in the gut because that's exactly what we're creating in this industry.
Speaker B:And so if we don't create a way that stylists can come in and be mentored and be able to scale past what they can control, which is their time and, you know, possibly their pricing.
Speaker B:Everyone can control their pricing.
Speaker B:But you know, we like to think that we're maximized.
Speaker B:People aren't probably going to pay a million dollars for a haircut.
Speaker B:Maybe they will one day, I don't know.
Speaker B:But there is a cap to that.
Speaker B:So we have to think of a way that they can scale past just them and their hands and their energy behind the chair.
Speaker B:And if we don't, it is a generational, just poverty industry.
Speaker B:And that, that word makes me sick because I don't think that has to be the case.
Speaker B:And so we have to think outside the box when we, we have to reinvent the will.
Speaker B:This, this whole, the models inside this industry make me crazy because they're so broken.
Speaker A:So yeah, that's a. I like, I like that answer.
Speaker A:And just so all the Gen Z is out there, you know, I love you.
Speaker A:So I'm only making sure I address everything.
Speaker A:I'm not worried about you.
Speaker B:So, okay, I have the hardest burgers in my salon right now and they're like 21 years old.
Speaker B:I'm like, they're rock star.
Speaker A:I think that's it.
Speaker A:I think actually what I, what we've discovered along our track, our, our journey is that all the stereotypes of Gen Z are created by people who expect them to do what they want them to do.
Speaker A:And, and so it's like if you, once you get to know them, it's like, oh, actually they're super aware of the realities of today and it is, you know, by most accounts out by most data points, it's harder to be successful today in certain ways.
Speaker A:Of course we have tech and social media so they have that advantage.
Speaker A:But like it, they have a hill to climb and they have to leverage different tools and they have to think differently.
Speaker A:And I did an interview with the founder or, or one of the founders of Artist on Go dm and he said that our, our business model was created during the industri and the industrial age was customer product or service and they had people in between that were cogs in a wheel.
Speaker A:And our, our, our business model is designed the same exact way.
Speaker A:You know, you, we want to think that a stylist is as as expendable and replaceable as a factory worker or television worsen or anybody in an office.
Speaker A:I mean, if you really think about it, other than the super highest levels of the, in the SE suites and stuff, like a lot of those people can be replaced with another person with a similar skill set.
Speaker A:But in our industry and if you have a salon and you think that way, it's going to be really hard to retain people.
Speaker A:And so I, I think the business model conversation.
Speaker A:I love that you brought that up.
Speaker A:Okay, thank you so much.
Speaker A:So we're, tell us, you mentioned it in the, in the beginning about some of the stuff you do, but give us a, the give us another kind of pitch on, on what?
Speaker A:On the stuff that you are, you have to offer and where people can find you.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:I, I love that.
Speaker B:Any, you can go to my Instagram.
Speaker B:It's the Tara Harvl, it's T E R R A.
Speaker B:And you can go there, you can click the link in my bio.
Speaker B:It tells you how to access everything that we do.
Speaker B:But truly like if I don't, I don't really work with salon owners that aren't, aren't already diving into the world of extensions because your margins are so much so smaller.
Speaker B:And so what we do first is we offer people what we call the extension school of business where we teach you everything that we did to go make, you know, 750k behind the chair.
Speaker B:A lot of salon owners are doing that to teach their, their stylist in their salon how to do that.
Speaker B:We have so many salon owners, you know, becoming massive amounts of profit coming into their, their business because of the margin of the service.
Speaker B:And so yeah, that's how we work with people.
Speaker B:But you can go also to Harper Ellis Hair Co. That's the Instagram to Harper Ellis and you know, sign up there and, and just call and ask questions.
Speaker B:We're an open book.
Speaker B:We have a team that's concierge people calling in all day, every day.
Speaker B:They're like, what the, what in the world are you guys doing over there?
Speaker B:So that's how you can access us.
Speaker B:And of course harpershair.com is another one.
Speaker B:But I'd love to work with anybody that's listening.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:And all that will be in the description below.
Speaker A:So definitely check out.
Speaker A:Tara, this has been a pleasure talking with you and I hope to, I, I mean, I feel like there's so much more I would like to talk to you about now that we've established your story and we gotten to know you, I hope.
Speaker A:I look forward to talking to you again in the future.
Speaker B:For sure.
Speaker B:I'd love to have you on my podcast as well.
Speaker B:So, yeah, meet up and chat.
Speaker B:And I love that.
Speaker B:And thank you guys for having me.
Speaker B:I love this industry and love what it's about, and now we've got to change some things to grow.
Speaker B:So thank you guys for having me.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:All right, until next time, by.
