Episode 260
What Stylists Need to Know About Micro Salons & Suite Ownership | Kat Scott | Owner, The Rosewood Salon Co. | Business Coach, Destroy the Hairdresser
In this episode, Salon owner and business coach Kat Scott shares how she went from burned out in traditional salons to thriving as the owner of a micro salon—and what stylists need to consider before jumping into salon suites or opening a space of their own.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
🔅Not all independence is created equal — Kat breaks down the differences between salon suites and micro salons, explaining the mindset and preparation needed for each model.
🔅Don’t Skip the Strategy: Before going solo, plan your finances, schedule, and goals—freedom without structure can backfire.
🔅Build for More Than Today: While the flexibility of suite life can be appealing, Kat urges stylists to consider scalability, systems, and burnout risk.
🔅Culture Over Aesthetics: Whether you're joining a salon, building a team, or going independent, Kat explains why alignment is more important than aesthetics.
🔅Educate yourself early — Understanding taxes, pricing, and scheduling as a suite stylist or micro salon owner will set you apart before you even open your doors.
👉Follow Kat on Instagram
👉Follow The Rosewood Salon 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.
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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
Kat Scott is a nine year industry veteran, salon owner, business coach for salon professionals and hairstylist.
Speaker A:Today we're going to hear her story, how she got to where she is and her views on the evolution of salon suites and now micro salons.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the Hairs of so Strong show.
Speaker A:My name is Robert Hughes and I am your host and today I'm with Kat Scott.
Speaker A:How are you doing today, Kat?
Speaker B:I am doing amazing.
Speaker B:I'm so excited to be here with everyone today.
Speaker A:I'm excited to have you.
Speaker A:And we.
Speaker A:So you reached out to us on Instagram and turns out we're.
Speaker A:We're local.
Speaker A:Local hairdressers and like in.
Speaker A:We're the same, same area like you're in.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Where are you at again?
Speaker B:I used to be in Arlington, but now I just moved to Great Falls about three months ago.
Speaker A:Nice, nice.
Speaker A:So not far, not far from us in Georgetown and, and I mean literally like it's probably 15, 20 minutes away from me.
Speaker A:Yeah, we're definitely going to come and visit you on our next salon hop that we do a few like four to six months a year we go once a week to salons and visit and say what's up?
Speaker A:And you know, because we have our beauty business brunch coming up on July 27th so we try to get the word out, ask everybody what type of topics, what type of education they're looking for.
Speaker A:So we're left definitely going to come by and check you out on that visit.
Speaker B:So I think you're gonna have to because yeah, after the conversation today you're gonna be so curious.
Speaker A:I am already curious.
Speaker A:So we had a pre conversation to all of our audience members out there listening.
Speaker A:We had a previous conversation and the con.
Speaker A:Your.
Speaker A:The conversation we included like where your story but like it really kind of dove into this evolution of salons and I just thought it was a really topic.
Speaker A:So why don't we just dive right in.
Speaker A:Let's talk, let's hear your story.
Speaker A:How you got to where you are.
Speaker A:Did you go to school or did you do an apprenticeship?
Speaker A:Like what.
Speaker A:How did that happen and get your first salon job and all that stuff.
Speaker B:Okay, well, I actually have a fun one when it comes to how I got my license.
Speaker B:I actually went to two hair schools too.
Speaker B:I joined this industry straight out of high school and the first school I went to was a Paul Mitchell partner school which is like half Paul Mitchell and half privately owned.
Speaker B:And I did that full day school program and unfortunately it wasn't ran the best.
Speaker B:So I owed full Tuition when it was time for me to take my state board.
Speaker B:So I didn't have it at 19, so I had to take a year off and kind of do some soul searching and see if hair was really where I wanted to be.
Speaker B:And lo and behold, it's where I want it to be.
Speaker B:So a year and a half later, I re enrolled in the Paul Mitchell school in Tyson's Corner.
Speaker B:And I did the night school program, which was twice as long.
Speaker B: ot my license through that in: Speaker B:And then after that, I was just working at, you know, doing the traditional salon experience.
Speaker B:I worked at my first salon for about four years, and then I was fired for not being a good cultural fit for their environment.
Speaker B:And after four years, after four years.
Speaker A:It was like, discover a cultural fit problem at before four years.
Speaker B:Look her.
Speaker B:Their words.
Speaker B:I was doing way too much, okay?
Speaker B:Their culture was just like, come here, do the job, and then go home.
Speaker B:But I have always been a very ambitious person and I always was going above and beyond.
Speaker A:And, you know, they don't like ambition.
Speaker A:Ambition.
Speaker B:They don't like it, you know, because I was.
Speaker B:I was gonna be influencing everybody else to do too much.
Speaker B:And they couldn't have that because it was one of those environments where you couldn't charge as much as the salon owner.
Speaker B:It was like, really not cool.
Speaker B:So that four.
Speaker A:That's old school.
Speaker B:I mean, very old school.
Speaker B:I mean, that four year experience and being like, just dropped, like, instantly.
Speaker B:Like, I went on vacation, came back, and they were like, yeah, you don't work here anymore.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, okay, amazing.
Speaker B:And then I found another salon about four days later, and I was at that salon for about six months.
Speaker B:And then Covid hit.
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker B:So during COVID is really when I was thinking about, like, hey, you know, I told myself when I joined this team that I will never give another four years of my career to somebody that I don't believe in.
Speaker B:And that will just drop me any second.
Speaker B:So if it doesn't work at this space, I'm gonna have to give this a shot on my own.
Speaker B:And lo and behold, when we got back from COVID the salon environment I was in was just.
Speaker B:It was worse.
Speaker B:It was so bad.
Speaker B:I mean, it was like the person I worked for was like a textbook villain.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, no.
Speaker B:If you are this successful air quotes on multiple locations and everything, then.
Speaker B:And you're this awful, I know that I can do it by myself.
Speaker B: So in September: Speaker B:And that was when my whole world, like, kind of opened up.
Speaker B:Because I never went into this industry thinking that I would be a salon owner as soon as did as I was in my career at that point, I was about five years in to my career, and I thought that I was okay with being on a team.
Speaker B:Like leadership and managing wasn't something like in my goals at the moment.
Speaker B:But, you know, when life happens, you just got to keep rolling with it.
Speaker B:So I was in my salon suite for about.
Speaker B:I want to say I was at my first lawn suite for two years.
Speaker B:And then after two years, I upgraded from one chair to two chairs.
Speaker B:On that upgrade, I was already.
Speaker B:I had an assistant and I knew I wanted to expand and do more because very quickly in salon suites, you figure out everything all at one time.
Speaker B:I think owning a salon suite is the most gangster thing you can ever do.
Speaker B:Like, you have went from just doing hair to doing all the things.
Speaker B:Instantly, instantly you are all the hats in one.
Speaker B:So I just.
Speaker B:If anyone's listening to this about, like, and you're eager about salon suites, just know that it's a lot all at one time.
Speaker B:And it's a huge responsibility that you're taking on too.
Speaker B:And then on top of doing our job, normally you have to deal with the public and you have to deal with everything that comes at you.
Speaker B:There's no room in between.
Speaker B:You are all things.
Speaker A:I can ask you a question on that.
Speaker A:This.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:I'm so glad you brought this up.
Speaker A:So what.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:Just because we're here, get.
Speaker A:And you're gonna like, be.
Speaker A:And the people who are listening, there's definitely somebody listening or watching that's like, you know what?
Speaker A:I want to go into a suite and.
Speaker A:But these people could be at different levels in their career.
Speaker A:And so some people could be in school, some people could be 10 years into their career.
Speaker A:Could you say, like, do you have any advice for the.
Speaker A:Maybe pick like two or three different people at different levels for, like, how they should know, like, what they should do and what they should know before they just make that jump so that they can increase their chances of success.
Speaker B:I think that it's better to go into these suites proactively versus reactively.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And I'm coming this from being a business coach and just focusing on consciousness, jumping into it without a plan.
Speaker B:As far as like in game and what your goals are and longevity of your suite is not the way to do it.
Speaker B:You need to have at least one of those three things.
Speaker B:What is my goal here?
Speaker B:Am I going to stay solo forever or is this going to be a starting point?
Speaker B:Or am I going to lay down roots in this.
Speaker B:In this space right now and expand within it?
Speaker B:And that's something that's really new to salon suites.
Speaker B:And this is why we're talking about micro salons, because that evolves what a salon suite is.
Speaker B:I don't believe that it is wise to jump right into a salon suite when you're fresh to the industry.
Speaker B:I think there's a lot of experience that you need to have when you're in a team environment and learn that things that hair school doesn't prepare you for.
Speaker B:So if you're going to open.
Speaker B:I think everyone likes the idea of salon suites because you have so much freedom, right?
Speaker B:Yes, you have freedom.
Speaker B:And let's talk about the process of getting a salon suite.
Speaker B:There's no credit check, there's no client check, there's no anything.
Speaker B:They're like, hey, you can pay this.
Speaker B:And you're like, yeah.
Speaker B:You're like, okay, sign it up.
Speaker B:And then the rest is up to you.
Speaker B:Like the, the landlord's not going to check to make sure you have the right clientele to sustain this weekly rent.
Speaker B:And the rent is still going to be due each week.
Speaker B:So it's like you really need to go in it with some.
Speaker B:With some business savvy, honestly.
Speaker B:Inexperience, obviously behind the chair, because if you don't have the skills, clients won't come.
Speaker B:And also have to have marketing skills as well, too.
Speaker B:This all can be great in a salon team environment to learn while you have the safety and not the pressure.
Speaker A:So I love that.
Speaker A:Like the things you learn.
Speaker A:So I'm gonna ask two questions.
Speaker A:I know we're detouring here, so I'm very aware.
Speaker A:We're.
Speaker A:We're gonna come, but we're gonna come back.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:So I got.
Speaker A:What I got from you is there are two things to think about.
Speaker A:Are like, what is your.
Speaker A:Sorry.
Speaker A:Oh, the thing.
Speaker A:The things that you can.
Speaker A:What are two things that you learn in a salon or shop suite.
Speaker A:Team environment that are going to be.
Speaker A:I have two questions.
Speaker A:So this is the first question.
Speaker A:What are the.
Speaker A:What are two things that people learn in team environments?
Speaker A:Because some people might be in those environments and not really paying attention to those things, and then they might leave to go to a suite and then be like, oh, I should have paid more attention to this, or I should have been practicing this more.
Speaker A:Or I don't know.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's like a.
Speaker B:That's a little Bit of a dynamic one because it's like, I think being in a team environment, you just get to see how other artists in our industry up front work.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:It's not necessarily like, I'm going to learn, I'm going to do exactly everything that Rob does next to me in the chair.
Speaker B:But it's cool that Rob is mixing this and doing this technique like this and seeing different kind of clients and interacting and getting that experience.
Speaker B:If something goes great, if something doesn't go so great, and then just knowing that that's the kind of experience I'm talking about.
Speaker B:Because, let's be honest, technical training is different these days.
Speaker B:You can get that online instantly.
Speaker B:So it's like, it's more so like social interact.
Speaker B:It's like a social experiment, really.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:That's the experience you need to have because it's all, you know, this, you're a stylist.
Speaker B:It's all great when you're doing a great job, but the moment you have a human experience and something doesn't go the right way, it gets tense really fast.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I, I, my, I, I would, I would have answered something similar, like etiquette, basically.
Speaker A:I feel like it's what you're saying, like social situations, how to, how to handle tough, tough situations.
Speaker A:Okay, so what about what the other question is?
Speaker A:Do you have any sort of quantitative data piece or like a number or, or any number that someone could, you know, be like, hey, do you have X amount of revenue, X amount of clients?
Speaker A:Or something like that?
Speaker A:Is there, like, what is, you know, or, or X amount of money?
Speaker A:Like, like, is there like a formula?
Speaker A:It's like, you should have enough revenue to pay your, to like, you know, what are these numbers?
Speaker A:Like, I know it's situational by the stylist and the services they offer, but, like, can we ballpark here?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So I'm going to base it off of my experience.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Because when I moved to this, when I made this, the jump to the suite, I assumed that none of my clients were going to follow me.
Speaker B:That's what that was my mindset going in.
Speaker B:I was like, I am so scattered.
Speaker B:I just moved to locations in such a short span of time.
Speaker B:I have to assume that no one is going to follow me.
Speaker B:And then am I willing to start from scratch and do what I need to do?
Speaker B:I had saved up about 15K.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And tips.
Speaker B:And I knew that that was going to be my starting for my products, for my decor, for my everything.
Speaker B:I was like, okay, this is what I Need.
Speaker B:And that was enough for me to cover at least three months of rent comfortably.
Speaker A:Okay, that's.
Speaker A:I like that comfortably.
Speaker A:Hard number.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker A:Three months.
Speaker A:Did that help you with your bills at home as well?
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:It didn't.
Speaker B:It?
Speaker B:Okay, so I'm married, so I have dual income, right.
Speaker B:But it was enough for me, like, and I did have clients.
Speaker B:Clients were able to find me.
Speaker B:But like, I think it really depends on the drive of the person.
Speaker B:So are they willing to do what you need to do?
Speaker B:Because remember this, y', all, if you're going in salon suite, you're not taking walk ins.
Speaker B:That's not what those environments are for.
Speaker B:You are now appointment only.
Speaker B:So the grind is on.
Speaker B:You have to be on it with your own marketing and relying your own efforts.
Speaker B:Something that you kind of made me think about was the first six months of me opening my suite.
Speaker B:I didn't have any guidance.
Speaker B:Okay, no guidance.
Speaker B:My guidance was my peers in the industry and my suite mates within it.
Speaker B:I'm asking them, they're asking me, so what are you doing?
Speaker B:How are you treasure?
Speaker B:How are you?
Speaker B:How are you structuring your business?
Speaker B:What's your policy?
Speaker B:And it's really honestly the blind leading the blind.
Speaker B:And I think it's very natural for us to do this because we come from team environments and we love to support each other.
Speaker B:So we're just sharing information over without the consciousness of what each individual business goals are.
Speaker B:So I hated that experience.
Speaker B:And then most importantly, clients were taking me for a ride because I'm in this new business, I need to build my clients.
Speaker B:So I'm just taking anyone and anyone because I have bills, I have bills to pay.
Speaker B:And in suites now, it's like, it's not a monthly rent, it's a weekly rent pressure.
Speaker B:So you're looking at your book and you're like, oh, hell, do I have enough to cover this week's rent?
Speaker B:Do I have enough to cover my bills like after this?
Speaker B:So you get kind of stuck in this hairdresser mindset of like, I'm busy, I'm slow, I'm busy, the roller coaster.
Speaker B:But now you're a salon owner, you can't view it weekly, even though that's just that you have to look at it at a monthly quarterly basis.
Speaker B:Just because you're slow this week doesn't mean that you're not making money for the whole month.
Speaker B:It's like perspective that I feel like again, that's experience of being a salon owner.
Speaker B:We're really great hairstylists.
Speaker B:But when we go into business for ourselves, we're a hairstylist first when we need to be a business owner first.
Speaker B:And that's always hard.
Speaker B:Always.
Speaker A:So true.
Speaker A:So good.
Speaker A:So true.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:Okay, so this is so good.
Speaker A:All right, so back to.
Speaker A:Back on, back on track here.
Speaker A:So you're, you're in a, you go into a suite and we're, that's what we're talking about.
Speaker A:So why don't we go from there?
Speaker A:So you, you go into suite, you're building, you're, you're building it from there.
Speaker A:What did you have a goal of?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:You know, you said that people should have a goal.
Speaker A:What they're, why they're going into a suite.
Speaker A:Like, is this the forever thing?
Speaker A:Is this a transitional thing or, or is this like a stepping stone thing?
Speaker A:And so did you get that when you went in?
Speaker B:No, because I went into it just trying to break free of the environment I was in.
Speaker B:I was like, I just need my own piece.
Speaker B:I need to be in control of everything.
Speaker B:But then you start working in it.
Speaker B:Like I said, after that first six months, I was like, okay, so what are we doing here?
Speaker B:Okay, I think this is going to be a stepping stone for me to get my bigger space.
Speaker B:So I need to make as much money as I am solo so I can save and go into my bigger salon.
Speaker B:Because I need to have the bigger salon in order for me to grow my team.
Speaker B:And most importantly, it's really obvious if you're not in the suite, you're not making money.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:So vacation sick days, women still do.
Speaker B:So that was my, that was my thought back then, right?
Speaker B:Fast forward seven months in, I get a coach, get a business coach, okay?
Speaker B:And my world changes.
Speaker B:I had only ever viewed suites as something when you're on that last legs of your career and you just want to have your own piece and take your clients whenever you want or as a stepping stone to get you to that bigger space.
Speaker B:My coach at the time, and this is all through destroy the hairdresser who I'm a coach with.
Speaker B:So, hi.
Speaker B:My coach at the time really challenged me to think, like, think about maximizing the space that you're in right now.
Speaker B:I never viewed my salon suite as a full functioning salon.
Speaker B:I was like, this is a suite.
Speaker B:It's just me and my client and that's it.
Speaker B:No, no, no.
Speaker B:What do you mean?
Speaker B:I can build a team within it right now.
Speaker B:Is anyone going to want to work in my little 100 square foot room with just me in one chair?
Speaker B:Like, this is not possible.
Speaker B:I don't see how it's possible at all.
Speaker B:So that really, like, just kind of got my wheels turning.
Speaker B:I was like, well, if they're doing it, why can't I do it?
Speaker B:Let me give it a shot.
Speaker B:Let me see who, who, who wants to work at my salon?
Speaker B:Because honestly, if you think about it, Rob, what is the difference between a salon suite and a bigger salon?
Speaker B:Can you tell me?
Speaker A:I mean, the obvious, the people, the team, multiple people all doing hair at one time, right?
Speaker B:And you can still do that in a sleep micro.
Speaker B:In a salon suite, you're now a micro.
Speaker B:It's just a smaller space.
Speaker B:It's a more intimate environment.
Speaker B:Nothing changes other than the size of the space.
Speaker B:And I always call stylists.
Speaker B:I'm like, we're such size queens.
Speaker B:We want bigger and better and everything.
Speaker B:But it's just like, it doesn't.
Speaker B:You gotta think, you gotta rewrop that mindset.
Speaker B:Bigger does not mean more success.
Speaker A:So tell me about what this.
Speaker A:Talk to me about this pitch idea.
Speaker A:Like, say you're like, so what's like, how do you sell the space to, like, if.
Speaker A:Let's say I have a suite or one of the audience members has a suite and they're like, wait a minute, you're.
Speaker A:What I hear is you saying, I can reduce my overhead, potentially create revenue and start the process of if I want to, because I don't have to make that decision now to build a bigger team to go into a bigger space.
Speaker A:So that person.
Speaker A:Are you.
Speaker A:What are you saying to them?
Speaker B:Like, I'm making them an offer.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker A:Sorry.
Speaker B:I'm making them an offer.
Speaker B:That's what I'm doing.
Speaker A:So what are you saying?
Speaker A:Hey, I have a commission opportunity available.
Speaker A:Are they renting from you also?
Speaker B:Like, no, we are doing a full functioning commission salon.
Speaker B:This is not rent split or anything like that.
Speaker B:Because I know a lot of listeners that are in salon suites.
Speaker B:We all battle with the whole.
Speaker B:Like, when you have a lease, you have to pay extra for having another stylist in your chair, right?
Speaker B:In your suite.
Speaker B:But the thing is that these aren't.
Speaker B:This is not someone that's on the lease with you that's sharing the rent.
Speaker B:These are an employees.
Speaker B:They work for you in a W to a commission base.
Speaker B:So what I am telling stylists.
Speaker B:And if you're listening, I probably.
Speaker B:If you're in a DMV, I'm probably popped up in your DMs recruiting you, because that's what I do.
Speaker B:I give stylist offers.
Speaker B:I tell them about my environment, which is very nuanced.
Speaker B:We do time based pricing.
Speaker B:We have all.
Speaker B:I like to describe my environment as working in a commission salon with the benefits of like working like an independent, as if you're a rental stylist, but the safety of a W2.
Speaker B:That's what my pitch is too.
Speaker B:That means that you can still create your own schedule.
Speaker B:You can come and go as you please.
Speaker B:You can choose your own pricing raise any time that you want.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:You can enjoy the benefits of working on a team environment without the pressures of having to stay in the salon 24 7.
Speaker B:Being micromanaged.
Speaker B:No, I'm here to grow your career.
Speaker B:Career.
Speaker B:Your career, not a job.
Speaker B:And you are perfectly responsible adult.
Speaker B:And you don't need me to micromanage you and you don't need me to teach you how to do hair either.
Speaker B:So that way it's like in my two chair salon suite, when I moved to Arlington, I was able to have six people working within that space.
Speaker B:Six people.
Speaker B:And we did that through station sharing.
Speaker B:And station sharing is not what it sounds like.
Speaker B:Like split shifts, like come in the morning, you come in the afternoon.
Speaker B:No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker B:Our booking system allows.
Speaker B:It knows that we have two chairs available and we're open seven days a week.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:If there's a slot available, a client can book it online.
Speaker B:That's how it works.
Speaker B:So that means that you can.
Speaker B:Because remember, when you sign on your suites, they tell you you have access to this space 24 hours a day.
Speaker B:And we never take in on that.
Speaker B:But no, no, no.
Speaker B:With a micro salon, we're going to maximize that space for when we're not in there.
Speaker B:To always be generating income.
Speaker B:And that is scalable.
Speaker B:That is sustainable growth.
Speaker B:So like you were saying, Rob, it's not like you have to, like, if you want to, you can stay in your microswaron forever.
Speaker B:But this is how you do it.
Speaker B:This is how you want to do it if you want it.
Speaker B:Like myself, I was.
Speaker B:I was forced to go into a bigger space because I had literally maxed out where I was currently at.
Speaker B:I was like, okay, now we need to go into five chairs now.
Speaker B:We can do it now.
Speaker B:And nothing changed with our structure.
Speaker B:It was already there.
Speaker B:All we had to do was focus on build out.
Speaker B:That was a saving grace.
Speaker A:Did you.
Speaker A:You had two chairs in a 100 square foot salon suite.
Speaker B:It was tiny.
Speaker A:I would have to see that.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was tiny.
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:I mean, we were back to back.
Speaker B:Like we were like chair mirror, chair mirror.
Speaker B:And we would be working back to back to each other like that.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:And it was, it was bumping, it was bumping in there.
Speaker B:Like we would have.
Speaker B:Oh my gosh.
Speaker B:It was a sensory overload at times.
Speaker B:But that was like.
Speaker B:But that's what we wanted to see, to be honest.
Speaker B:Like I.
Speaker B:That's making the most for the buck, honestly.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Well, it also sets you up for prepping the customers for the experience as you transition into a bigger space that there's going to be a lot of people around, it's going to be busy versus the typical salon suite experiences.
Speaker A:One on one, maybe someone processing.
Speaker A:But like it seems to be not like that, you know, so which, which is not like a salon environment at all.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But it's still like.
Speaker B:I think the thing that's awesome about salon suites is that intimate one on one in time together.
Speaker B:And I think it allows.
Speaker B:I know some stylists out there still double book within their suites and stuff and I always, I will never double book.
Speaker B:I have not double booked since going independent because I'm not working that way at all.
Speaker B:I charge for my time, so that is exclusive to the client that's in front of me.
Speaker B:I'm not splitting it between anybody else.
Speaker B:But I think that you can still have that in a bigger salon setting.
Speaker B:Just that one on one experience and not have a sensory overload of a million people all at one time.
Speaker B:I think the days are gone of having like a 15 chair salon.
Speaker B:I think it's only going towards like intimate one on one.
Speaker B:But the thing is that our industry is so far behind that we don't know how to make profit from that because we're like cram as many people as we can in one time because we need to make that money.
Speaker B:We need to restructure some things because this is how it's going to.
Speaker A:So, so when you expanded from one suite and to get more chairs, what did you.
Speaker A:What was that move?
Speaker B:What do you mean?
Speaker A:Like did you tear down the wall and take over another suite?
Speaker A:Did you have to re.
Speaker A:Physically.
Speaker B:No, I had to relocate.
Speaker B:I moved from Herndon one chair to Arlington to two chairs.
Speaker B:So I had to physically relocate and I was in Arlington for about another two years and then I moved into Great Falls, which I have my five chair salon.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And that's not.
Speaker A:That's a.
Speaker A:That's a commercial lease.
Speaker A:That's not a lease from a suite.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So you know what's so funny too, Rob Is like I was.
Speaker B:This is.
Speaker B:I'm in my second suite now.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Remember that?
Speaker B:And Arlington rent is a hella expensive, like expensive.
Speaker B:It was nothing like Herndon.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I didn't realize that the amount of money that I was spending each week I could afford a bigger space.
Speaker B:I could have.
Speaker B:I'm in a thousand square foot space now and paying less than I was for my two chair suite in Arlington.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:Hold on.
Speaker A:Two chair suite?
Speaker A:Was that one suite with two chairs or was it like a double suite?
Speaker B:It was.
Speaker B:Well it's technically a double because you can put two chairs into it.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So that, that's not the norm because I think I was seeing what is the rent going for.
Speaker A:It was like 400 last time I checked.
Speaker A:Per week for a single.
Speaker B:600.
Speaker B:670 a week.
Speaker A:For a single.
Speaker B:For a double.
Speaker B:For a double.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:670.
Speaker A:And then monthly, what is that?
Speaker A:That's 25.
Speaker B: paying like I was paying like: Speaker A:Yeah, okay.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:For my sweet.
Speaker B:For my.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I mean that, that's just not.
Speaker B:You can definitely afford.
Speaker B:This is what I'm saying.
Speaker B:Remember I was saying earlier, when we see it as a weekly charge, we don't.
Speaker B:We forget what it looks like as a monthly.
Speaker B:And if you're, if you have a suite right now, look at that.
Speaker B:You can probably afford a bigger space.
Speaker B:And why wouldn't you do the bigger space?
Speaker B:Because nothing.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean especially if you got like two or three suite owners together that suite renters that, that they liked each other and they already worked in the similar building.
Speaker A:And it's not a bad idea.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:I mean, because you can, you can afford it.
Speaker B:It's just.
Speaker B:You've already done the scary things.
Speaker B:I think I just want salon suite owners to see themselves as salon owners.
Speaker B:You are a salon owner.
Speaker B:You're just micro.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:People would want to.
Speaker B:Will want to work for you.
Speaker B:If I can.
Speaker B:I think my suite mates, when I was hiring so many, I was doing interviews all the time.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:They're all like how many people work here?
Speaker B:It's like a clown car.
Speaker B:Like how many.
Speaker B:I've seen so many stylists come here.
Speaker B:I'm like, I'm building my team, I'm building my empire.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I hire and fire very quickly.
Speaker B:Very.
Speaker B:I know exactly what I'm expecting from people and I know the offer that I have.
Speaker B:And that's just, that's what makes me a successful salon owner.
Speaker B:Honestly.
Speaker B:Just knowing how to Build a team and how to reach those stylists, you know.
Speaker A:So how many.
Speaker A:So how long have you been in the salon now?
Speaker A:The five.
Speaker B:Three months.
Speaker B:Three months.
Speaker A:Three months.
Speaker B:We just got there in this end of November.
Speaker A:Well, congratulations.
Speaker A:That's exciting.
Speaker B:Thanks.
Speaker B:Thanks.
Speaker A:And what is.
Speaker A:And how big is your team currently?
Speaker B:We have five stylists on our team right now.
Speaker A:Including yourself or not including six.
Speaker B:Including myself.
Speaker A:Six including you, yeah.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:I mean, I've interviewed a lot of salon owners and multiple of them have said that the 6.
Speaker A:6 chair salon or 6 stylus salon is the most profitable.
Speaker A:I mean, I don't know what that's based on, but that's, you know, I'm assuming that's just.
Speaker A:It's easier to manage, you know?
Speaker B:And like, honestly, Honestly, like with my five chairs, my goal is 10 stylists.
Speaker B:I need double.
Speaker B:I'm maximizing this space as well too, because I can't.
Speaker B:This is why this.
Speaker B:This is a whole nother topic and I'm, I'm, I'm getting off of it.
Speaker B:But this is why I don't like booth rental salons.
Speaker B:Because it capture income to have a stylist claim a chair.
Speaker B:I need that chair to be making money 24 7.
Speaker B:24 7.
Speaker B:Because it's very natural in our industry to have gaps in our books.
Speaker B:That's okay.
Speaker B:But as a salon owner, that's money out of the door for me.
Speaker B:I need.
Speaker B:I need to see people in my chairs all the time.
Speaker B:So five chairs never stopped me because it never did.
Speaker B:When I had two or one chair, I always see the potential of more.
Speaker B:And that's what I coach to.
Speaker B:When I hear about these salon environments, I'm like, oh, you could have double on your team.
Speaker B:That's how you make money.
Speaker A:So, I mean, I love, I love this concept of like, you know, graduate school, go get experience, build a clientele.
Speaker A:You know, understand the industry.
Speaker A:Personally, I think that.
Speaker A:How long do you think would be an ideal amount of time that a person should invest in the experience and relationship building part before they go out and venture into the business part?
Speaker B:Honestly, it dep.
Speaker B:Okay, this is my advice.
Speaker B:Get a business coach.
Speaker B:Get a stylist, salon owner, niche down, business coach.
Speaker B:Because you will be able to get to your goals a lot faster.
Speaker B:A lot faster with guidance.
Speaker B:Because the only challenge here with all of this in this industry is us.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's you is what you tell yourself.
Speaker B:That's always the biggest challenge.
Speaker B:And I wouldn't say like, I. I say like as little as A year.
Speaker B:If you have guidance, if you have real good support to do it, why that's really up to the individual.
Speaker B:If they feel confident and they can.
Speaker B:If they can afford it and they believe in themselves and they have a mission and they have a goal, you can anything.
Speaker B:I mean, I would have never thought that I would have moved this fast.
Speaker A:Do you have a support staff at your salon?
Speaker B:We do not have a support staff.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker A:Does everyone do their own shampoos?
Speaker B:They do.
Speaker B:Remember, we charge for our time.
Speaker A:Are you.
Speaker A:So you're not training rising stylist, new talent?
Speaker B:No, I think that's a very traditional and old school way of building your team is to take on that burden as a salon owner, to retrain stylists that come fresh out of hair school.
Speaker B:I think that in my personal goals, I want to open a hair school one day and that's going to be the environment for that.
Speaker B:I do not take newbies that are new to the industry.
Speaker B:I get stylists that are already experienced and those stylists are already working for somebody else.
Speaker B:So I.
Speaker A:So would you take a student one year out of school?
Speaker B:I would not.
Speaker A:Okay, so then the, then the advice for how long should someone go and work in a team environment, get the experience.
Speaker A:I'm speaking specifically out of school.
Speaker A:What do you think is a good investment in developing yourself to be a career?
Speaker A:You know, be a career stylist where you have significant exposure and experience and customer service, etiquette, communication, team building, as well as time to hone your craft so that you're actually able to handle the everything on your own and take on business stuff as well.
Speaker B:I mean, still gonna.
Speaker B:I'm gonna stand by the year thing because these stylists are so talent.
Speaker B:They're not like us when we first started in the industry.
Speaker B:They can get at technical skills.
Speaker B:They can be mastered easily.
Speaker B:That's not the hard part.
Speaker B:Any.
Speaker B:Honestly, anyone can do hair.
Speaker B:It's not hard to do hair.
Speaker B:That's fine.
Speaker B:Like, you can do really good hair if you are.
Speaker B:If you're determined and you want to do a really good job.
Speaker B:My thing is get support no matter what stage you're at in your industry.
Speaker B:Have someone that is doing the things that you want to do so that you have guidance on how to get there a lot quicker.
Speaker B:Because the technical skills is not the problem.
Speaker B:The marketing is not the problem.
Speaker B:It's your business.
Speaker A:So you think one year.
Speaker A:I'm just trying to make sure because I'm not 100 clear.
Speaker A:You think one year at someone Graduates school, they could get the experience they need in one year before going out on their own.
Speaker A:That's what they have.
Speaker B:Guidance.
Speaker B:If they have guidance.
Speaker B:Yes, I do.
Speaker A:Okay, I'm definitely gonna disagree, but that's okay.
Speaker A:That's, that's okay.
Speaker A:Sharing ideas, I definitely think it takes a couple of years at least.
Speaker A:Now I, and I bring, I bring this up because there is like, you know, we, in this new modern age, we don't like to talk about the amount of time something takes.
Speaker A:We like to talk about what you have to accomplish to get to the end goal.
Speaker A:But the reality is that the majority of people take a certain amount of time to reach those end goals.
Speaker A:And so like, if we're talking about like, hey, trailblazers blazing a trail, that's one thing.
Speaker A:But like, hey, the majority out there, if you're thinking about investing in your career and growing it, like, you know, what is that pathway?
Speaker A:Like, you won't hire somebody one year out of school, but, but that's okay for them to go into business on their own.
Speaker A:So to me, that's, that, that's a concern.
Speaker A:So what type, what is the, what is the average, what is the type of person?
Speaker A:Like, what are you looking for in hiring somebody in terms of experience or impression?
Speaker A:Like, like how not only, like, maybe like, is there a resume?
Speaker A:Are there numbers?
Speaker A:Is there an attitude, vibe?
Speaker B:Like I would, I would hire someone one year out of school.
Speaker B:I wouldn't hire someone fresh out of school.
Speaker B:Like, okay, you just got your license.
Speaker B:I'm not hiring you when you're fresh out of school.
Speaker B:You need some kind of Solana.
Speaker B:And I know that because I've hired people fresh out of school and I've had that experience.
Speaker B:And it's not, it's too much burden for me to retrain them and teach them.
Speaker B:It's too much.
Speaker B:I can't handle it.
Speaker A:That is what every salon owner, that's what the majority of salon owners are telling me is that they cannot afford to hire people straight out of school because the deficits and soft skills are too, not there, too high and like it's too much of a deficit and they're not really like they're equipped to, to refine someone's soft skills for their culture and their customers experience.
Speaker A:But they're not there to like be like finishing school, you know, cotillion or like, you know, something like that.
Speaker B:So no.
Speaker A:So then we just discovered a problem in our industry that not school is the problem maybe.
Speaker B:But like we're trained, what we're trying.
Speaker A:Yeah, but like fixing, I think if, if, if, if it was, let's just say hypothetically hair school is the problem.
Speaker A:Making changes in hair school is a multiple year process.
Speaker A:You can't make changes overnight in one year, two years.
Speaker A:It's a three, five, six, seven year process because of all the regulations and the state board being an immovable force and departments of education and the NACUS board and all this stuff.
Speaker A:So taking on schools is, is like a long term goal.
Speaker A:But in the short term, if we're trying to help people, let's kind of.
Speaker A:That's what we have the show for, is to provide people with the information they need to like find success with a focus and primary focus on rising stylists and new talent.
Speaker A:So what I've discovered in this conversation is I have a question.
Speaker A:What are people supposed to, what are students supposed to do if a lot owners don't want to hire them?
Speaker B:I know what they should do.
Speaker B:They should work in corporate ran salon environments.
Speaker B:That'll give you a lot of experience.
Speaker B:Corporate ran.
Speaker B:I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about the great clips, the haircutteries.
Speaker A:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:Join those teams because those are walk in base and they are turn and burn.
Speaker B:That'll drive you straight into the industry.
Speaker B:And I think that salon owners need to get comfortable with stylists working at multiple locations at one time.
Speaker B:That is how.
Speaker B:That's the solution there.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:That is literally the solution.
Speaker B:I believe.
Speaker B:I love a good apprentice program and everything like that, but only if the salon is profitable and can sustain that.
Speaker B:Okay, that is a fun thing to do on that.
Speaker B:But that can't be.
Speaker B:Your goal is to have them go through this apprentice program and have them join your team.
Speaker B:That is, that's too much managing for you.
Speaker B:I feel as a salon owner you have only a handful of jobs really hire hairdressers and to market the salon.
Speaker B:Hire and to market the salon.
Speaker A:So marketing the salon, if you, you, you'll be marketing a brand, not just a place.
Speaker A:With these 12 hairdressers.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:It's like and buys a place.
Speaker A:You should come here and we hire good talent.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Is that right?
Speaker A:So how do you ensure that your brand promise is kept to the customer?
Speaker A:If you're hiring people from that have these experiences at all these different places, don't you have to have some sort of training there as well?
Speaker B:Finding the only training, the only training that they need to know is just the rules that I have in place on how we do things.
Speaker B:I'm not teaching Them how to do hair.
Speaker B:I wouldn't have recruited them if I didn't think they knew how to do hair.
Speaker B:I don't think my point.
Speaker A:Knowing how to do hair is what we're talking about at all.
Speaker A:I think we're talking about how do you actually be a successful stylist?
Speaker A:Assuming you have some skills, how do you become a successful stylist?
Speaker A:I think we both on the same page and agree that it's not the hard skills, because you can figure that out.
Speaker A:It's the soft skills.
Speaker B:The etiquette of what, like, you know, if I'm recruiting a stylist and I looked at their Instagram, clearly they have clients.
Speaker B:They know how to be a good, successful stylist.
Speaker B:Now I'm just.
Speaker B:As a salon owner, I'm giving them that space and environment and support to be great.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:I'm keeping the lights on.
Speaker B:I'm keeping it supplied for you to have everything else, anything else outside of that is up to the stylist to build their career.
Speaker A:And so what is the brand promise that you make to the customers for the.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That when you're marketing the salon, you're gonna have.
Speaker B:You're gonna leave with beautiful, healthy, transformed hair.
Speaker A:So no, no experiential brand promises.
Speaker A:Just.
Speaker A:What do you mean by transactional part?
Speaker A:You know, I'm talking about, like, customers are.
Speaker A:Aren't buying haircuts after a certain dollar price point.
Speaker A:They're buying an experience and an outcome.
Speaker A:They're not just buying an outcome.
Speaker A:So what I'm trying to hone in on is they're like the.
Speaker A:The challenges in your approach to a traditional person.
Speaker A:Listening to this, I can already hear the questions, and that's why I'm trying to like, anticipate.
Speaker B:No, I love this.
Speaker B:I think that hairdressers have over complicated.
Speaker B:What the.
Speaker B:What this experience thing has gotten really out of hand.
Speaker B:We got.
Speaker B:We're not bartenders.
Speaker B:We're not doing a song and dance with clients.
Speaker B:Like, they want to go to trusted professionals that give their honest opinion, which we are lacking in this industry.
Speaker B:We are a lot of yes people, when really the conversation is no.
Speaker B:And maybe let's pivot and do this instead.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker B:The client is not always right in our industry, and they can't be because we are the professionals.
Speaker B:That's the experience.
Speaker B:You're going to come into my salon.
Speaker B:You're going to have honest professionals that will get the job done.
Speaker B:And of course, the environment, the music, that, that.
Speaker B:That's going to.
Speaker B:You're going to be catered to that.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:We're running a business here too, but simplify it.
Speaker B:You don't have to do a song and dance and offer this package and do the hair.
Speaker B:And do the hair really well.
Speaker B:That's what clients want.
Speaker B:End of story.
Speaker A:All right, well, I think that is a place where we can wrap it up.
Speaker A:We have hit our time, so I want to be respectful and wrap this up.
Speaker A:So would you tell us what are your opinions or advice, if you have any, or maybe some last words that you'd like to share as you to sign off with?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Well, if you've been listening so far and you have so many questions on how to even hire within your suite or what expansion can even look like at your current salon, I think this is the perfect time for you to book a free discovery coaching call with me.
Speaker B:I'm a coach with Destroy the Hairdresser.
Speaker B:And everything that we talked about today is just to provoke your mindset to think beyond what you're physically seeing in front of you.
Speaker B:Because I've done it.
Speaker B:I'm coaching other.
Speaker B:Other stylists in our industry to do it.
Speaker B:And it's just all the nuance that the industry really needs.
Speaker B:Don't try to do this all by yourself and just crowdsource information from your friends and everything.
Speaker B:No, you have a goal in mind.
Speaker B:You just need a support system there to get you there a lot quicker and just nuance and perspective because our industry is changing and you can do whatever you want within it.
Speaker B:There's no wrong or right way to do business.
Speaker B:It's just you listen to voice inside of you first.
Speaker B:That's all.
Speaker B:You can follow me at Catscott Styles on Instagram and book a coaching call with me.
Speaker B:I love talking about this industry, and I hope to be back on this podcast again, picking your brains again.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for coming.
Speaker A:I. I'm.
Speaker A:I'm just, like, thinking about other side conversations that we could have.
Speaker A:I think we should.
Speaker A:I. I think we should do like a live and, you know, give the audience a chance to jump in, ask questions and stuff like that.
Speaker A:And so we'll.
Speaker A:I definitely see, see, look forward to having you on the show again.
Speaker A:Especially, you know, being a local business owner and beauty professional is very close to heart for us at Hairdresser Strong, so we definitely look forward to interacting with you more.
Speaker A:And I want to dig in more.
Speaker A:You've made me think about some things, and I'm definitely coming back for the.
Speaker A:To keep this conversation.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Well, until next time.
Speaker A:I'll see you later.
Speaker B:Bye.
