Salon Owners Collective

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What do you want your Salon to be known for?  Why should a client choose your Salon over the one down the road? These are the questions you need to ask yourself if you want to stand out from the rest and ensure clients choose YOU and always return… After all, we all BASICALLY offer the same thing, right?!  Thinking back to my early Salon days, I remember sometimes feeling like I had to do all the things and serve all the clients to ensure they had nothing short of the best experience.,After all, I had 7 salons within walking distance, so I felt like I needed to take what I could get…those clients were valuable, right! I would spend my days putting out fires, taking on extra clients, and doing the absolute most to ensure everyone in the room was happy.  But then I realised, this isn’t sustainable. It was exhausting, overwhelming, and funnily enough, didn’t bring more clients through the door… Janine Jarman aka the Queen of Perms, is the founder of Curl Cult, a product that has changed the technology an

Have you ever felt like: You’re working yourself to the bone: You’re busier than ever with clients, plus managing an ever-evolving team...  You’re hardly present with your family as work has taken over your brain space… but what makes it worse is you’re not growing.   But still, you end up saying YES all the time:  Like when a team member needs our help with something, we jump at the chance… because we don’t want to let them down Or when a regular client wants to book with you when you’re ‘meant’ to be working ON the business (not in it)... you give in because you feel bad…    Or maybe you’re guilty of having shiny object syndrome…. Are you nodding your head right now? I know I’ve been guilty of this too… But this is a HUGE mistake.    Because in reality, these are often the things that will halt forward momentum in our business.  As a result, you take 2 steps forward, 2 back. Your business is at a constant plateau, and you get super frustrated because you’re BUSY doing ALL the

Does self-doubt stop you from increasing your salon’s prices? You know deep down you need to put your prices up, but the thought of asking your clients to spend more just feels so daunting.    What if they push back? What if they leave and never come back because they can’t afford your services? How will you equip the team to handle these objections… when you feel nervous about it yourself? Honestly, if this is you, then know that you aren’t alone. I know this is a huge challenge for so many owners.    But in reality, this holds Salon Owners back from success…and reaching their full potential. Instead of feeling confident about your experience and your Salon’s prices, you instead have this overwhelming urge to compare yourself to other Salons, to discount your services, to apologise before anything has even gone wrong, all due to the fact that you’re worried that if you don’t, that client will go elsewhere.     This is why I want to introduce Ruby Lee, a wealth & expense business c

Have you ever felt like you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing?  You feel like you own a seemingly successful salon, with a great team and loyal clients... but you still experience waves of anxiety and loneliness that often roll through your mind. You begin to wonder: is this all too good to be true? If you have experienced this, then you are not alone!  Imposter Syndrome affects 70% of humans, including myself! I faced many Imposter Syndrome moments in my career towards owning a million-dollar business and Salon. Sometimes feeling unsure how to overcome this feeling of doubt in my ability to succeed. You may be feeling the same way…  In this episode, I want to introduce the expert in all things self-doubt, confidence, and Imposter Syndrome, Alison Shamir.  Alison has experienced the highs and lows of running a business and has been on a quest to help women all over the world acknowledge what Imposter Syndrome is and provide the secret to overcoming the fear and anxiety that is only natural when success come

I see you… You’re a Salon owner, but more importantly, a mother… trying to balance the juggle between spending too much time at work (away from your kids), and not having enough time to do all the things that you want to in your business.   Your Salon isn’t growing, because let’s face it, you barely have enough time in your day to touch your to-do list…, let alone work on moving the needle in your business. It feels like you’re stuck extinguishing little fires all day long! And when you do find the space to work on these things, you feel the “mum guilt” creep up…and planning the next big thing gets replaced with the football final for your child’s team.  It’s always either: “am I a good enough mother?” or “am I a good enough business owner?”, and you’re left wondering if you’ll ever be able to be successful in both. Can you run a successful business, have the perfect family, and be the best partner, and friend… Is it even possible to master the art of having it all? In this episode, I want to intr

When it comes to your salon’s team culture, pretty much every salon owner wishes for two things: You wish you had a salon culture that new team members were BEGGING to be part of--like, i’m talking knocking on your door! You wish you had a salon culute that existing team members NEVER wanted to leave. After all, who doesn’t want to work for the A team?   But I know that sometimes this can feel out of your control. Like, it can be hard to manage a team with so many different personalities, right? HOWEVER, what if I told you… it actually all comes back to you; the Salon Owner and what you stand for.  It’s YOUR job to align and drive your team’s culture, front foot it and ensure what you stand for is constantly embedded into the culture… So whether you are passionate about your team specialising in one service, or having flexible lifestyle hours, or you value constant education and upskilling for your team; it’s your job to own this vision for your Salon.  In this episode, I’m bringing in a friend of

The thought of your team leaving you for the Salon down the road is damn scary. Especially when you know it may be unlikely that you'll recruit someone new any time soon... I’m pretty sure it’s every Salon owner’s worst nightmare… everyone leaving you, and you’re the one left to pick up the pieces.   Honestly, even with a team of 30, I still worried about this at times So instead I focused on building a salon team culture that was so good, so irreplaceable, that my stylists would never want to leave.   Like, that’s the goal, right? But when I see Salon Owners trying to do this, I often notice they make one big mistake…   In this episode, we are going to unpack this mistake, and I’ll share with you my 3-step leadership strategy which will help you build a salon culture SO good that your team never wants to leave…  Don’t forget to grab a copy of my 3-step leadership strategy - I’ll put it in the show notes of this episode for you to grab and follow along with me while we hang out togeth

Sick of hearing your team say “same again jane?” with EVERY client? The client just gets the bare minimum, and your team doesn’t think to take things further… The client only gets what they booked in for, not really actually NEED or what they didnt know, they always wanted As a result: Your team aren’t meeting sales targets of 3.5 x their wages They’re not making ends meet... So neither are you.  And then they come to you, asking for a pay rise…….  OMG, don’t they get it?!   I know how frustrating this can be, and it’s a challenge so many salon owners face. But I believe owners actually make 1 mistake when it comes to leading their team to make sales.   I know you want to achieve this in your salon, so in this episode, I want to share with you the 4 things to focus on in your business right now. If you want to grow (and keep) a team of happy and productive stylists or therapists… then listen to the episode below!   Don’t forget to grab a copy of my $10k Stack ™ strategy bel

Are you making the right decision?  You’ve finally nailed the perfect recipe for a great team, loyal clients, and systems and processes that make your life as the Salon Owner easier, so now you’re thinking “what next?”.    The creative entrepreneur inside of you is left wanting more (hello shiny objects!) which for a lot of Salon Owners, including myself, can lead to us doing crazy things like opening a second Salon.  After all, surely it’s just taking what you have working already and multiplying it all by two, right?   Well, it’s actually not always that simple… I want to introduce you to the lovely Shelby Tarleton, owner of Pink Lady Lash in Austin Texas, and Host of “Lash Boss Radio”.    Shelby is a mother and a successful business owner, and has had experience opening a second salon of her own.  This episode is going to uncover all the myths around whether you should open a second location, plus reveal the 1 thing that nobody tells you about running two Salons at the same time…

Do you find yourself saying YES to things that you would rather be saying NO to?  I used to be guilty of this myself. That’s right, I’m a recovering YES-aholic! Like, it’s a fact… As salon owners and creative entrepreneurs (and women in particular), we try to do it all.   In fact, we overdo it more than we’d care to admit. Often without even realising, we spend so much of our energy trying to please everyone, saying yes to everything that comes our way, and constantly putting ourselves last to ensure our teams, our partners, and our family are happy.  But what does this leave us with?   Not the feeling of success and fulfillment that we’d hoped for, but actually the feeling of burnout and exhaustion. And what good can come from you feeling like this?  So it’s time we ditch this endless cycle we’ve managed to get ourselves stuck in,  and create a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle, so we can continue to reach success in our salons.    That’s why I want to introduce Sonya Stattman

Do you find it tricky to keep up with social media?  You know you have to do it, but you often don’t have the time, nor the energy to really put effort into it and prioritise it.    As a result, you can end up posting the bare minimum just to keep things ‘ticking along’. Hair transformation photo after hair transformation photo, before and afters of your team’s latest blonde transformation… you know the one!  After all, it’s just taking one more thing off your busy to-do list. And honestly, kudos to you for getting it done when you can.    But the problem with doing this all the time is that: You end up posting the same thing as everyone else. Every Salon does a full head of highlights, and every Salon has great before and afters. So what sets you apart?  And you might think it’s the great work you do, and that’s definitely part of it, but there’s more to social media than posting about how good your clients look!    Social Media in today’s climate is so overpopulated, so you need to f

The Hair & Beauty Industry has had an undeniably huge shake up! Salons that were once thriving and growing are having to adjust considerably to suit the new industry climate…  the ‘lifestyle effect’ is at large and nobody wants to work late nights or Saturdays.   Your team is more demanding than ever and you’re worried that if you don’t meet their demands, they’ll leave. But then if you do give in, you’ll end up back on the floor 50+ hours a week… and you’ll be left feeling resentful! Sure, they can have the lifestyle they want, but does yours have to suffer?! It’s a total double-edged sword!     This is why I want to introduce to you, my two friends, James Carlisle & Lynden James, owners of Vivo Hair & Skin Clinic.  If there is anyone who is making it work against all odds…and for the most part completely unscathed, it’s these two.    With over 90 salons nationwide, they have their finger on the pulse and are implementing the big-rock strategies Salon Owners need to tackle

It’s time to ditch the old way of working in the Salon… And no, I’m not talking about perms and chunky highlights…   I’m talking about ditching the grind of working LOOOONG tedious hours in the Salon.  I’m talking about saying goodbye to the 'hustle mindset’ that can creep up when running a business…   If you are constantly feeling unfulfilled even when you reach success, or like you constantly have to work harder and do more to be successful, then listen up… This is something I see all the time with Salon Owners (and have experienced myself!). As creative entrepreneurs, we are high achievers, always wanting something more in our business and our lives.    But unfortunately, this will get you a one way ticket to burnout. If you’re constantly looking for ‘what’s next’ without taking time out to stop, breathe, and turn around to see what you’ve accomplished, then you’re never going to feel satisfied or fulfilled.  So it’s time to say bye-bye to hustle culture and HELLO to working smarte