4 Profitable Salons in 3 Years: How This Hairstylist Turned Entrepreneur Is Building an Empire
Apr 27, 2020
This conversation is with one of the boss ladies I respect the most and a local business trailblazer, Alicia Brown. Alicia is the co-owner of Honeycomb Salon and its sister sustainable salons & day spas in Corvallis, Oregon. Alicia is my former boss turned friend (we’ll share a bit more of that story in today’s episode), and in just 3 years of opening the doors to the first Honeycomb, now has 4 salons supporting 60 employees. In an industry where profitability evades most salon owners for years, Alicia has defied the odds by being profitable + debt free since the beginning. Today she shares why she chose to scale with employees rather than independent contractors, the importance of mentorship, and how she maintains a strong team culture alongside rapid growth.
Favorite Takeaways From This Episode
- Find mentors in your industry & get as much coaching as you can.
- Don’t be afraid to be the first person to go in a direction. If you have a dream to do something- do it!
- There’s no shortcut to success, but there IS shortcutting other people’s mistakes by surrounding yourself with more experienced individuals.
- Connections with other people who are working, or have worked at the same capacity that you are is huge.
- You need to find YOUR right fit, one employment structure is not better than the other.
- She chose the employee structure so that she could build a team.
- Begin immersing people in team culture as early as the interview process.
- Talk about the team dynamic. Share with potential employees & existing employees how important it is to you.
- Focus on team building in addition to normal work & training.
- Part of being a team leader is reminding people of the team culture no matter what happens - good and bad.
- What you permit you promote.
- When you support your team, then your team supports your clients.
- Don’t take any feedback as a personal attack. Because someone wasn’t happy with a service doesn’t mean you are a bad person.
- How she was able to turn a profit from the beginning.
- Your cup needs to be overflowing before you bring in another cup.
- Don’t do things without really thinking about them. Make sure you’re able to keep your doors open, and you’re making sound financial decisions.
- Wait for your audience to show you what you need.
- Always come back to your intention - do you have good intentions with this decision?
- Reinvesting in your business is the best thing we can do, but at some point you need to value yourself enough to pay yourself.
- Everything falls back on you as the CEO - the good and the bad. Praise yourself for the good.
- Celebrate your wins!
Connect With Alicia:
What Did You Think?
What was your favorite takeaway from this episode? Let me know in the comments!
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