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The Aspiring Stylist Podcast is where to begin, grow and aspire to become the best stylist you can be. Whether you’re thinking about becoming a stylist, opening a salon, or developing your skill as an experienced stylist, the next step of your beauty career starts here. Each week we’ll discuss strategic ways to design, plan and execute on becoming a stylist that excels behind the chair and above the bottom line.
Morgan Franklin: Welcome to the
Aspiring Stylists Podcast with
Tracey Franklin. Where to begin,
grow and aspire to become the
best stylist you can be. Whether
you're thinking about becoming a
stylist opening a salon, or
developing your skills as an
experienced stylist the next
step of your beauty career
starts here. Each week we'll
discuss strategic ways to
design, plan and execute on
becoming a stylist that excels
behind the chair and above the
bottom line. Here's your host,
Tracey Franklin.
Tracey Franklin: Today I want to
talk about how the changing
stylists preferences and the
industry trends are shifting
more towards booth rental, we
can no longer deny it. Salon
suites and independent stylists
models are in high demand. I've
personally noticed this shift
myself, the desire for style
independence, it's always been
there, but it's definitely grown
and it continues to grow now at
a rapid rate. I hate to be the
person that brings up COVID. But
I've noticed the biggest shift
in this post COVID generation of
stylists COVID forced us to
figure things out for ourselves.
So many of us stylists were out
of the salon for 246 months, we
had to figure things out without
the guidance of leadership and
salon owners. And we did it as a
stylist. We did it and it's made
everyone more independent. I
want to talk about the main
differences between commission
based and booth rent salons.
Now, if you've never been a
salon owner, you don't
understand the numbers. I mean,
why would you as a commission
paid employee, the owner of the
salon is paying you anywhere
from 40 to 50% of the services
you perform. And for that
exchange, everything will be
taken care of for you. They're
going to put clients in your
chair, they're going to make
sure you have the products you
need, they're going to have
someone taking care of the
business end of all the
transactions. And if that salon
owner is good at what they do,
they're also going to offer you
continued education
opportunities and help you track
your numbers and set your goals,
they're going to be a huge
cheerleader for you and support
system. If you're an independent
stylist, you either rent a suite
of your own or you rent a chair
in a salon, you're gonna collect
100% of your earnings. And
you're also responsible for 100%
of your success. I think social
media changes everything. And
you see what you want to see
when you're looking. I think
social media has definitely
brought more light to both
models, not just focusing on
commission based salons or
independent models, you're
really seeing a lot of both now,
there are very few stylists out
there that aren't marketing
their self on social media. And
that's good, we need to be doing
that. With the rise of
independent stylist and the rise
of Instagram, where it was
mostly big salons in the past
and the feed you were seeing now
there are so many more
independent stylist and they're
showing up as well. I completely
understand the allure of being
your own boss. I mean, out of my
23 year career in the industry.
So far, I've been the boss for
21 and a half of that I get it.
But being the boss is hard.
Whether you're a team of one or
a team of 12, you have to be so
dedicated to the success of this
team. If you're highly
motivated, super fierce, you're
a go getter, you're a good
business person, then you're
probably going to be alright. If
you're confused, and you don't
know how the system works, or
you're just out there hoping it
all works out. I wish you luck.
So what are stylists even
looking for? What are they
looking for in their work
environment today that they
weren't looking for in the past?
It's simple freedom. They want
the freedom to work when they
want to work. They want the
freedom to wear what they want
to wear. They also want the
freedom to align their self with
the brands that they believe in.
I feel like in the past stylists
were kind of willing to exchange
this freedom to be part of
something bigger to have a
safety net a strong start. You
know, that's what commission
salons offer. But now more and
more stylists are taking this
leap into independence right out
of the gate. One day, they're a
student in beauty school and the
next day, they're a small
business owner, this can all
feel very overwhelming. In the
beginning, it's unlikely that
you have a clientele. You have
some friends and some family
members and there may be a few
clients that you recruited at
school but you do not have a
full book, okay? You just don't.
And whatever you have. If you
think it's enough, I promise you
you're going to need more. Well,
maybe you've been at this a
while When you've been
considering going independent, I
encourage you to take a good
look at your clientele. Find out
how did they end up in your
chair? Did the salon recruit
them? Or did you? That's
important to know, if the salon
has put most of the clients in
your chair, the chances that
they stay at that salon are
good. Do they absolutely love
the salon space or the brand of
products that the salon carries?
I can speak to this we've had
many stylists leave through the
years as they do. People that
are dedicated to the way we do
things and the Aveda brand
typically stay with the salon. I
think stylists are surprised by
that, I asked you to consider
all of these questions, because
they're big indicators of
whether or not a client will
follow you or stay at the salon,
you're going to need to know
approximately how many of these
clients would follow you if you
decided to leave. If you've
spent very little time
recruiting your own clients,
you're going to need to consider
ramping this up big time. It
won't be hard, it won't be hard
to go through your book and
analyze and see how many of
these clients you recruited for
yourself and how many the salon
put in your chair. There are a
lot of considerations that are
going to influence a stylist
decision to maybe move away from
a commission based salon. If
you're a money motivated
stylist, then you're probably
looking at that split and you're
thinking I can do better than
that. Maybe you can. But I do
think the numbers will surprise
you. If you're running your
chair, like a small business,
doing all the things, tracking
your numbers tracking your
expenses, then you're probably
going to find very slim margins,
you could potentially earn seven
to 12% more as an independent
stylist working the same exact
book. Does that number surprise
you? It did me? Now you're going
to need to ask yourself, if
seven to 12% more is worth all
the extra work that you're going
to have to put in to earn it. So
if you're thinking about going
independent, you're probably
wondering, what are these
initial costs, what's this going
to cost me? Well, it's going to
vary, and it's going to vary
depending on the space, you're
going to rent. If you're going
into a suite where your salon
chair, your station and your
shampoo bowl are included,
you're gonna save a lot of
money. Now, these items are
expensive. And if you're just
going to be renting a room,
you're going to be responsible
for this equipment, plus any
plumbing and electrical
expenses. But perhaps maybe
you're going into a fully
functioning salon and you're
just renting a chair there, then
all the above will be included
in this model as well. Either
way, you will still be
responsible for obtaining your
business license and an
insurance policy that supports
your new small business. You
will also be responsible for
stocking your color bar, your
back bar products and any retail
items you hope to sell. This
will be a surprisingly large
expense, you're going to need to
consider any specialty equipment
that the salon you currently
work in offers. So if you intend
on offering any of these
specialty services, you're going
to have to buy this equipment
for yourself. And this can range
anywhere from processing lamps
to hair extension equipment. If
you're working in a commission
based salon, you probably have
no idea what it costs for you to
perform your services there. So
this is going to be a really
hard comparison. But with
ongoing expenses. If your book
stays about the same at the
Commission salon that it does
independently, then your ongoing
expenses are going to be very
similar. An independent stylist
is going to have to effectively
manage their finances in order
to guarantee any kind of
profitability. Now this will
probably be easier for somebody
that takes the time to manage
their home finances. If you're
on top of your game with your
own personal budget, you know
exactly what your expenses are
every month and how much you're
going to have leftover then this
may not seem like you know a big
deal to you. If that's a no. If
you're living paycheck to
paycheck and you have absolutely
no idea what your monthly budget
should look like then you've got
a lot to learn before
considering an independent
model. So again, taxes let's
talk taxes. How does commission
versus independence really play
out? Well, when you work at a
commission based salon your
taxes are taken care of for you
during payroll. The owner of the
salon is withholding these taxes
from your check contributing
half of your Social Security and
making sure those get turned in
properly. As an independent
stylists. You're going to be
responsible for all of your
taxes and making sure they're
paid on time. My recommendation
is to find a good accountant
with a small business
experience. What are some of the
benefits and downfalls of these
two models? Well, the potential
financial benefits of
independence are that seven to
12% we talked about earlier. And
please remember that is under
the best circumstances and
you're going to have to put in
the work. operating
independently can also have its
downfalls. If you don't create a
sustainable budget and track
your expenses, you're also again
going to need to double down on
that self promotion. Without the
salon phone ringing and placing
clients in your chair. Every
client you recruit, every client
you're going to need is on you.
So without a big salon with a
solid reputation marketing on
your behalf, what is this going
to look like for you? Well, if
you're an established stylists
with a full book of loyal
clients willing to follow you
anywhere, then recruiting a
whole new band of clients isn't
going to be a huge concern for
you. But if you're a brand new
stylist with a wide open book, I
encourage you to rethink
independence. At this time,
you're going to need a salon
with a marketing strategy and a
solid reputation to help you
establish yourself. Depending on
the services that you offer,
you're going to need four to six
clients a day, and you're going
to be needing them sooner than
later so that you can provide
for yourself. Building up a
clientele this size isn't
something I recommend you take
on alone, there's going to be
challenges of managing all the
aspects of your role. Whether
you're a small business owner,
you're renting a booth, you're
working in a commission salon,
being a commissioned stylist for
the most part, well, you're able
to come in and work your magic
and then go home, your salon
owner is taking care of
everything from product orders
to the appointment confirmations
and all that marketing I
mentioned before. As an
independent stylist, you will be
responsible for all of it,
running to the supply house,
making sure the bills get paid,
creating content, making sure
your clients are confirmed,
booking all the appointments,
the list goes on and on. You're
gonna have to be really good at
managing your time in order to
make all of this work so that it
doesn't feel like a huge burden.
So I want to talk about that
team feel in an independent
setting. I feel like this is
actually pretty easy to create
if you're a good person. I know
a lot of stylists that rent
salon suites and have built
friendships and support systems
with their neighbors. And this
can be even easier in a salon
setting with booth rent, you
still get to be part of a team
while maintaining that more
independent structure. So if
we're talking continued
education, we all know this is
going to play a huge role in
your success. No matter what
business model you use. In a
commission salon, the owner will
likely facilitate the majority
of your continued education at
their expense. I've also been
willing in the past to
contribute to advanced
certifications that I feel like
are going to be a good fit for
my salon. As an independent
stylist you are still going to
need continued education maybe
even more than a commission
based stylist because you're
going to need to stand out, you
will have to create reasons for
people to want to sit in your
chair. Again, you're not going
to have the benefit of the salon
placing clients in your seat. I
feel like the points of
difference between a commission
salon and an independent salon
used to be a lot greater. There
used to be amenities commission
salons offered that weren't
often seen in independent
salons. Things like specialty
equipment, coffee bars, massage
chairs, these are just a few of
those amenities that big salons
offer that you're seeing more of
now. I think the biggest
components of a great client
experience can be offered
anywhere. Your clients deserve a
clean and beautiful space to
receive their services, quality
services and product
availability and an amazing
connection with a stylist who is
passionate about what they do.
This is a secret sauce guys, and
it can literally be created
anywhere. I've often wondered,
you know, do client expectations
change when you go to a booth
rent model? I really don't have
a lot of experience with this. I
feel like building a loyal
clientele is totally possible as
an independent stylist. I mean,
it absolutely is. You just have
to be willing to put in the
work. I've said it I know I'm
getting redundant at this point.
But you have to be willing to
put in the work. You have to
keep in mind all the things that
the salon owners do to build
rapport in the community. So
maybe you need to volunteer for
a cause that means something to
you or join a networking group
for Small Business Owners. You
certainly need to be maintaining
a strong presence on social
media. People need to know who
you are, where you are and what
you're About and you're not
going to have that big salon
reputation to fall under
anymore. Luxury services, I
think are something that can be
experienced anywhere. On a much
smaller scale, of course and an
independent model. Luxury is an
eye of the beholder. You know, I
want to talk about a time when I
went to a day spa and Knoxville,
I was completely blown away by
this place, they had these blue
marble walls, and it just looks
so high end. And so luxury, I
couldn't wait to spend the day
there, you know that that was my
perception of it, someone else
may come in and think it's very
average. Again, it's it really
is up to the person, I will say
a lot of luxury product lines
are exclusive to big salons
only. So getting a well known
luxury product lines probably
going to be kind of difficult
for an independent stylist. But
the products that you use are
only one component of the luxury
experience. So you can
definitely make this up to them
in other ways. So we know that
the beauty business is a highly
competitive market. And there's
going to be challenges with
client retention. And it's
difficult under the best
circumstances. I mean, people
are really moody, you know, I
have clients that have remained
loyal to me throughout my entire
career. I've had clients that
have left me for long periods of
time and come back and of
course, some that came once and
never came back. And at the end
of the day, you're going to have
clients who are extremely loyal
and won't stray. And you're also
going to have clients that are
all over the place and don't
mind bouncing around from
stylists to stylist. If you're
considering moving away from a
commission based salon, you need
to do your research, and you
need to do the math and you need
to be honest with yourself. Do I
have what it takes to be
successful independently? I
think the answer is yes. If
you're willing to do the work
and the numbers had up I think
the answer is yes. But it's not
a decision that needs to be made
in haste. Don't make this
decision based on one bad day or
one thing your boss said that
you didn't want to hear. So what
is the future for commission
based salon? Is there a future
in this industry for this model?
Maybe it's because I'm so deeply
ingrained in the commission
model because I've never
experienced anything else. Or
maybe it's because I know how
beneficial this business model
can be to people who need
guidance, leadership and
accountability. I still have
hope. But I can't ignore the
evidence. Our industry is
shifting as it so often does.
The best thing that we can do is
keep our hearts and our minds
open to the limitless
possibilities our industry
provides.
Morgan Franklin: Thank you for
joining us on this episode of
anytime soon. The Aspiring
Stylist Podcast with Tracey
Franklin. If you enjoyed
listening and you want to hear
more, make sure you subscribe on
Apple Podcast, Spotify or
wherever you find your podcasts.
The Aspiring Stylist Podcast
with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan
Franklin Production. Today's
episode was written and produced
by Morgan Franklin editing and
post-production by Mike
Franklin. Want to find out more
about Tracey and the Aspiring
Barber and Beauty Academy go to
aspirebarberandbeauty.com