Vanessa Yakobson, Blo Blow Dry Bar CEO & Partner

“If a franchisee invents a practice that is serving them really well, we want them to let us know so we can package it up and share it in the system.”

The beauty market is one of the hottest in franchising, and with more than 100 locations in the US and Canada, Blo Blow Dry Bar is one of the hottest beauty franchises. CEO and partner Vanessa Yakobson joins Ab & Vini to share her journey, her leadership lessons, and her insights on how ‘zees and ‘zors alike can achieve more.

Listen in as Vanessa explains:

• How her 12 years with a children’s cancer charity translated directly to effective leadership at Blo.
• How the customer membership model drove Blo’s pandemic comeback – and how it’s now helping new ‘zees launch strong.
• Her secret to arriving at the best decisions for everyone.
• Why “Be true to yourself” should be the motto of every wanna-zee.
• Her balancing act between continuously evolving her system and focusing on execution.
• How Blo is expanding into new beauty brands – and their ‘zees are saying “take us with you!”

Transcript

 Hi everyone, welcome and thanks for joining us for Stars of Franchising. Get ready for a roller coaster ride through the world of franchising as we bring you the best stories of inspiration and entrepreneurial grit and turning dreams into franchise realities. That's right Vinnie. From emerging to global brands, we'll chat with the genius minds behind the magic. All brought to you by the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute at Babson College. I'm Ab. And I'm Vinnie. Now buckle up for some serious inspiration.



 Welcome to today's episode. Our guest Vanessa Jakobson, thank you for joining us, Vanessa. We're so excited to have you join the Stars of Franchising today. Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me. Well great. What we usually start with and love to hear, Vanessa, for our audience is your why. Tell us a little bit about what caused you to do what you do and a little bit of your story and journey.



 My story and journey is a little bit meandering, so I'll try to keep it succinct. I started my career in marketing, took a pause to go to business school and do my MBA with a focus in marketing. Ended up accidentally in the nonprofit sector, following my passion for about 11 years doing fundraising for a children's cancer charity. And then knew that I wanted to get back into the world of business. In the meantime, many years before, my husband had spontaneously decided to start a children's hair salon chain in the Toronto market up here in Canada.



 And grew that to a combination of corporate and franchise locations, about 20 of them across the country. And then at some point along the way had discovered Blow Blow Dry Bar, which was founded in 2007 in Vancouver, Canada. And our company acquired that, moved it to Toronto, transformed it into a franchise, and then expanded into the US in 2010. So that was the parallel track. And I had reached a point with my work in the nonprofit world that I did want to return to the world of business. And it just made sense to me that I should come and run Blow Blow Dry Bar. Why? Well, because my work in the nonprofit sector had actually been very entrepreneurial. I was working for a government funded organization focusing on developing private sector fundraising. So we had to take this organization that the general public didn't know anything about and a cause that the general public didn't know anything about in terms of the specific things we were fundraising for. So it really became an exercise in building a brand, building an infrastructure, doing the marketing and PR, building the partnerships, et cetera. And when I left there, I realized that I loved building a business, even though it had been a very different kind of business. But Blow was not ready for me yet. It was too small at the time. So I took another detour and ended up doing marketing and capital introductions in the hedge fund space, which was interesting, but not a good fit for me in terms of really being able to make good use of that general management skill set I had developed. So finally, I elbowed my way into the company that I was a shareholder in, Blow Blow Dry Bar. I've been here now for almost eight years and I really love what I do here. Yeah. Well, Vanessa, this is an amazing story. Now you moving from a space where you were very entrepreneurial as you commented, and they're moving into franchising.



 There are a few people out there that would say, you know, entrepreneurship space, and then you go into franchising and they say, no, franchising is not entrepreneurial because you get the playbook and you don't just go in there and take it and run. So what would you, how would you respond to that, that people will think that entrepreneurship and franchising don't go together? Yes.



 Yeah. I mean, my immediate direct perspective obviously is different because it's the franchisor and the business for me, it is an entrepreneurial experience, but I see your point when it comes to the franchisees. And I think, yes, there's limits to one's entrepreneurial scope when you're in a franchise because you are bound by that playbook and the guidelines, but you're also on the other hand supported by that playbook and the guidelines. So for people who aspire to be entrepreneurs, but want to be able to do so with that additional support, it's lonely being a business owner and it's difficult to reinvent a wheel. This way with a franchise system, you've got the proven business model, you've got the support if the franchisor is doing the right thing, you've got the support of a skilled franchisor team that can teach you the playbook that can coach you on best practices. And then you've got the support of a wonderful network of franchisees who can coach and mentor and collaborate together.



 Music to our ears because we try to dispel some- I think I got the right answer, then he was turned down there. There's no right answer, but it's interesting because one of the things we're trying to do Vanessa and your helping is dispel some of the myths around franchising. So that leads me to my next question, which is given either in the prior business with the children's hair care or blow blow dry since you've joined and as you've seen it grow and your exposure to franchising and attraction back to it, what are some of the things that people misunderstand about franchising from your perspective?



 Well, there are probably a few things. I think one is that idea that, well, it's a franchise. So if I put the sign on the door and open my doors, business is magically going to roll in. Right.



 And just as in ownership of any other business in any other space, you've got to do the work. You've got to apply the elbow grease. You've got to live and breathe it. And you should be able to create systems and efficiencies and develop team members that freeze up your time, but there's no shortcut. This is not something you can do in your part time and pop in once a week to pick up some checks.



 So I think that there is a misconception that franchising is maybe an easy path to business ownership success.



 And then I guess maybe the flip side just to piggyback on the earlier part of the conversation.



 I think people come into a franchise thinking, well, I can do whatever I want because I am the business owner. So it is, again, about finding that balance between being able to exercise your entrepreneurial muscle and that's going to vary with the franchisor you join and the stage of life they're at. But it's that balance of being able to exercise your little bit of independence and freedom and creativity as an entrepreneur within the confines of the proven franchise business model. Wow, this is great. Vanessa, if you look back this last eight years you've been with the Blue Blood Eye,



 you've had a lot of success and I would guess also that there have been moments where you think I should have done that differently.



 If you call it maybe failure, maybe a mistake that you learned from, what would be for you the biggest one and why?



 For me, I would say anytime we have made a move that's made our franchisees unhappy,



 it's been an important moment to reflect on what we could have done differently, if anything. We've got to have the courage of our convictions and sometimes we have to take positions for the good of the broader system and the future of the system that might not be what any individual franchisee desires at a moment in time. We do have to trust our instinct and have the confidence and the decisions we're making.



 Because we function as a collaborative system and because we genuinely value the input of our franchisees, whenever we're in those difficult positions with our franchisees, we want to get it right. Again, we want to get it right for the good of the system, but we want to get it right for the sake of our relationships with our franchisees. When someone becomes a franchisee in our system, we take that responsibility very seriously. We feel very privileged to have been chosen. We know they have a lot at stake and we want to do right by our franchisees. When people have a lot at stake, they don't always behave their best.



 For us, it's always about when those moments have come up, how do we navigate? How do we ensure we're doing the right things with communication? What could we have done differently to have communicated better, to have explained our position better, to have collaborated better so that we made decisions that were as well informed as possible? I think those are the moments where when we don't get it right and it doesn't feel good, it's what we learn from.



 I would also say that COVID was a big pivotal moment for us, not because it was a mistake per se, obviously, but because our industry was so deeply affected, we did two things. One thing was that we really worked to be very nimble and responsive and figure out how we could support our franchisees in that moment and recognizing that things over time very quickly became very different market to market. Working out what we could do to support the needs of franchisees in different markets. It also became a really important moment to take stock and reflect on our strategy and ensure that the organizational structure was aligned with that strategy. We realized that we had been going along and doing very well, but that there was a real opportunity to refocus with the time we found we had on our hands all of a sudden and plot a better, clearer path forward.



 As difficult as that moment in time was, we're grateful that we had that opportunity and we're so excited about the strategic path that we're on now. We've got the best team we've ever had and the best org structure we've ever had in terms of being able to support that strategy, which is going to benefit all our franchisees as well as our company as a franchisor.



 That's great, Vanessa. I think your answer to some of those questions really points to great traits with franchisors who put themselves in the shoes of their franchisees or they want them to be successful, which leads me to my next question. If you can reflect for our audience, help us understand from your perspective, what do the best franchisees do well in your system and observed other places? Then what other things do the best franchisors do to be successful in that relationship that you described?



 The best franchisees follow the playbook.



 They don't think they're smarter than the franchisor. If you think you're smarter than the franchisor, please do it on your own. If you're here because you think we've got a proven system and proven best practices, follow it. The best franchisees follow that, but they also find those opportunities to improve upon it, to take things just a little bit further down a path. They do so in collaboration with the franchisor.



 We really strive to have a very open line of communication with our franchisees. If our franchisees are finding something is not working, we want them to feel comfortable to come to us and to work collaboratively to problem solve. If they've invented a practice that is serving them really well, we want them to let us know so that we can package that up, share it with the system as a best practice. I think that that very cooperative, collaborative relationship with the franchisor team really is a key ingredient to the success of a franchisee. And similarly, collaboration with other franchisees. This was also a COVID remnant. I'll give you an example.



 Most of our locations are in the United States, but our Canadian locations were having a different experience during COVID. So those franchisees came together and formed a peer group that persisted post-COVID. What's been fascinating to see is that that peer group that they formed, which facilitated such important collaboration and idea sharing and taking each other out for lunch to say, "Teach me how you did that." Our Canadian business has been a shining star in our system in the past couple of years. And I really do believe that the outpaced success that those Canadian franchisees have had has been in large part driven by this collaborative peer group that they formed.



 So yeah, follow the playbook, but find where you can do even better, collaborate with your franchise or collaborate with your franchisees. Well, so many great lessons, especially that collaboration within the franchisee community is so right and provides great value. So in addition to fostering that collaboration as a franchisee, or what other things can you do as a franchisee or to ensure success for your franchisees? Or what do the best ones do in addition to fostering that?



 So I think what that collaboration leads to is a really good understanding of what the needs of the franchisees are. And so I think the best franchisors pay attention. They figure out what's systemic versus what's unique to an individual franchisee. And then what we do at Blow Dry Bar is we identify how we can fill the gaps.



 What resources can we create? Manuals, training resources, staff training resources, educational opportunities throughout the year, including at our annual conference.



 For me, it's always about continual evolution and always about, again, packaging up and sharing those best practices as we hear it across the system.



 But then it's also about figuring out where you take a pause because you could keep going and you could just, you know, forevermore develop resources and tools. And I think it's about figuring out what do we really need. And where we're at right now as a company is we had this period of a couple of years of really busy resource creation, aligned with that refreshed strategic thinking and our deep understanding of what our franchisees needed to achieve the next level of success. And now we kind of feel like, yeah, there's a little bit more to do, but now it's about how do we really leverage those resources? How do we really ensure that our franchisees and their staff teams are taking advantage of the resources we have to offer? That is great. Vanessa, let's look at those that are not even in the franchised world, in franchising world, and they are thinking of getting in. What would be your top advice for those?



 So think really hard about what's important to you, not just in terms of the business model. You're going to be doing it for a long time. So as one of my franchisees early on said to me, those lawn care franchises were not going to cut it for me. This was a franchisee came from the fashion and marketing and brand building world. So something that was in a different space didn't resonate for her. So be true to yourself. Figure out, am I going to be excited to be involved with that every day? And then really think about what you're looking for. I think that the happiest franchisees feel that there's a really good cultural fit with the franchisor and with other franchisees. So understand what's important to you. What are your values that you want to see reflected in the organization and the system? How do you want to operate on a day-to-day basis so that when you're evaluating franchisors, make sure that you're holding up that mirror and saying, does this system, do these individuals reflect who I am and who I want to be working with? Interesting. Great advice, especially for those doing their due diligence. And as you stated, Vanessa, it's not only due diligence of the franchisor, but what are your fellow franchisees like? So that's great advice for anyone considering to take that leap, so to speak. So let's go back a little bit to the pandemic and how you all found a silver lining and some best practices. Can you talk about some of the innovation that was born out of the pandemic, either from franchisees or that helped you all shape this next phase in your strategic plan from the pandemic that's sticking?



 Yeah.



 I mean, there were things that were directly related to the pandemic, effects, impacts, so challenges with staffing, which every business experienced. Some of our franchisees were able to implement AI and texting solutions so that in the past where we would have said, it's really important that you have a front desk person every day of the week. Some of our franchisees were able to achieve success with texting and AI solutions that enabled them not to have to staff that position, which would have included also cross-training their hairstylists to be able to do the check-in and check-out. So that's an innovation that has probably persisted in our system.



 But I think it was really more about really identifying where the opportunities for growth were. And it was interesting because our annual meeting was in February 2020. So it was right before the pandemic happened that we stood up at our annual meeting and said, all right, blow franchisees. You know, we've got a membership program, but that's always taken a back seat to our packages because the acquired blow, they already had their packages by eight for the price of seven, et cetera. And that was doing really, really well for us. We kind of had caught on to the importance of membership and we'd seen the power of membership model and other beauty and wellness businesses. So we stood up at our annual meeting in February 2020 and said, all right, everyone, we've got to pivot. Right. We've got to focus on memberships. That's really going to be where it's at. And then we know what happened a short time later. But we took the opportunity to develop out our support resources, things that focused, for example, on how to sell memberships in bar and what marketing resources we could bring to the table for our corporate marketing channels. And so what we saw was all our businesses really focus on driving membership sales. And as bars reopened and built back up post the closures related to the pandemic, we saw the power of membership in our business. That was a really important, not necessarily an innovation, but a shift in focus. And we see how the membership model is really benefiting new franchisees who are doing well at it. So we have a new location that opened in Winter Garden in the Orlando market. They have over 100 members in their first month and a bit of progress. So yeah, so finding those opportunities has really helped our franchisees improve their sales. So sales are up significantly year over year and even now versus pre-pandemic. And it's things like that. And again, those training resources that we developed to help franchisees improve their results. Vanessa, if you look back again, these last eight years, is there something that franchising taught you?



 Is there something that franchising taught you that you said, okay, at some point, anyone in their life should consider learning as well?



 Wow, that's a good question. I think it was for me that, again, that finding that balance between the importance of continual innovation, you never want to rest on your laurels. We know what's happened to businesses that rested on their laurels and didn't innovate and competition blindsided them. So as a business owner, whether you're the franchisor or a franchisee operating your own local business, you always want to be considering how you can evolve within the parameters and guardrails of the brand and the system. So again, finding those opportunities to be a work in progress, but to also know when to say, all right, we're good for now. We're going to keep our eyes open. We're going to make sure we don't have those blinders on, but we're good for now. And now it's really going to be about focusing on execution. So that balance, which continues to be a moving target as the world around you changes. Thank you, Vanessa. If I may piggyback before I pass it on to Ab, now we know the pandemic kept everyone awake at night. Okay. It rarely. So outside the pandemic, is there something within the franchise world, within Bloblob Dry Bar that keeps you awake at night?



 Well, it is about that responsibility that we feel when people come into our system and pick us as the franchise that they want to partner with. We really take that responsibility very seriously. And I think what keeps me awake at night is wanting to make sure that we're giving our franchisees the tools that they need to be successful.



 And yeah, just making sure that we're delivering what we need to deliver. And if there's a barrier, if there's a franchisee that's not performing the way we know they should be, how do we identify what that barrier is? And most often it's an internal barrier that has to do with that individual. And I think the hardest thing as a franchisor is making sure you're awarding your franchise to people who you think are a good fit. So going back to what franchisees or prospective franchisees should be looking for, it's also about understanding what activity and characteristics and mindset do successful franchisees undertake or possess in this world. And is that me? If you're a blow blow to our bar franchisee, you're going to have to manage a sizable team of staff. And there's turnover in this industry as there is across the service and retail industry. Am I going to be good with that? Does that excite me? As a blow franchisee, you've got to be comfortable being out there knocking on doors in your community and setting up cross promotions and partnerships. Does that feel like something I'm excited about? So for us, it's about, you know, when we have brought someone into the system, we've done our best to make sure they're a fit. But if something's not working, how do we solve for that? And that's probably the stuff that keeps me up at night. Okay, thank you. Right. So no matter how hard you try to focus on selecting the right ones, you're going to have to work to help them improve and succeed, which is great as a franchisee. So tag team a little bit on that and build on the right fit, right, and customer expectations and employees. You know, in today's world, you know, social impact, diversity, equity, inclusion, sustainability are really, really important to a lot of customers, employees and brands. Can you talk a little bit, Vanessa, about Blow Blow Dry and how you guys address those issues and demands from all your constituents and what you're excited to share about in that arena?



 Yeah, it's been really important to us to make sure that everything we do reflects the diversity of the blow community. And when we talk about the blow community, we mean our franchisees, their staff and their guests. So we've got a very, a very broad net. And we want to make sure that everybody who engages with our brand in those three constituent groups feels welcomed, represented and gorgeous. So we've put a big focus and made a big promise when we wrote our first ever statement of mission and beliefs a number of years ago. And we really wanted to promise our big, broad, diverse blow community that we were going to be inclusive and representative. And so we've really challenged ourselves. We knew that, for example, the lookbook, the book that a customer will sit down with in our stores through and see what hairstyle they wanted. We knew we could do better at making sure that that reflected diversity. And so we pivoted from an illustrated approach to a photographic approach. We actually, as a beauty brand, do a couple of photo shoots a year to create content for our marketing communications material. And we strive really hard to ensure that the models we pick do help to represent the broad communities so that everyone feels like blow is the place that they want to be, whether they're an owner, a person working there or a guest. And we continue to challenge ourselves on that when we continue to listen for that feedback. It's also in terms of how we deliver our services. We have specially selected products and tools that we know can perform the desired services across all hair types, across all climates, across North America. And so, you know, nothing makes me happier than when I hear from customers who say, "Wow, the staff there really knew how to take care of me and my needs." And nothing upsets me more when I hear of somebody who maybe didn't have a good experience. Fortunately, that's few and far between. And fortunately, we've corrected for some of that along the way. So that's really important to us.



 In terms of the sustainability, we know we're in a business that uses energy, right? We have hair dryers and hot tools going and we use a lot of water relative to other businesses.



 So we've wanted to make sure that the brands we're partnering with have a focus on ensuring that they're doing their best with responsible packaging, with responsible manufacturing processes, that we're using products that are free from, I guess, the ingredients that customers want to avoid.



 So these are things that we do think about in our business and how we implement it. Great stuff. Yeah, Vanessa, let's talk about trends. So if you look at maybe social trends or technology, name it, is there any trend out there that you think would likely shape the future of franchising in general? In particular, your business model, Blow Dry Bar?



 Such an interesting question. There are a couple of trends that I think have shaped Blow in particular. I'll name one and then one that I think is probably more broadly applied.



 The one that I think has shaped our business in particular, and I should mention, I keep talking about Blow Dry Bar, but last year we acquired a company called Mink, Lanch & Brow, here in the Toronto market.



 It was a corporately owned six stores and we've transformed that into a franchise and we just launched our first ever location of that business model in the US. It's the identical model, but in the US for a second. Thank you. We're calling it Lashkind. So you can check out at wearelashkind.com. So we just launched our first of so far four locations that have been sold all to existing Blow franchisees. You guys are doing more? Awesome. Sign me up. I want to take it on that. So the trend that I think has benefited Blow and will benefit Lashkind and Mink as well is the wellness trend.



 People are looking for those services and experiences that make them feel great. And so as we run our business, we challenge our franchisees to really think about what that means because it's not only about the transaction of the blowout or makeup service or Lash or brow service that has the guests walking out feeling wonderful. It's also about how they feel when they're in our four walls. So I think that recognition that people really crave experiences that make them feel wonderful, that they are more likely to spend on experiences than on things.



 We know we've got people coming into our bars all the time for the experience. It could be about my kids are at school, just please make me feel good during the day while I have some free me time. It could be a busy professional woman who says I want the convenience of having someone else do my hair while I sit in the chair and catch up on work. It could be a social outing, you know, girls night out, let's go get a blowout or the bridal party, the mom and daughter time, etc. So I think that wellness trend is really driving our business. And then the trend that I think came out of the pandemic that I think will impact franchises in general is the recognition of the importance of local business owners. I think the challenge for franchisees and their franchiseurs is how do you help your community recognize that while this might be a big brand, this is a location that's individually owned and operated by someone in your neighborhood. Because I think coming out of the pandemic, people really developed an appreciation for local business owners and a genuine desire to support them and quite frankly to support female business owners in particular, for business owners from, as you put it at the beginning of the call, underrepresented groups. So I think that that's something that franchisees can lean into. And if you are in partnership with a franchisor that does encourage you to become part of the fabric of your local community while representing your bigger brand like you can as a blow, mink or lash kind franchisee. You know, how can you lean into that? Because I think consumers really value that.



 That's wonderful updates and perspective for kind of how you are viewing big trends which drive your decision making and love the focus on the wellness. But before I thank you, can you just give our audience an update? How many locations are you all at with blow, blow dry? And we'll have to share for save for next time the acquisition model for growing and turning brands into franchising. But how many locations are you at for blow, blow dry right now, Vanessa? So we are about to open now. I've lost track. We are about to open our 109th floor this weekend. So we've got 109 of those. We've got six mink locations. Our first lash kind location opened with another four to come and blow has about 50 locations still in its pipeline. Great. Well, all of these locations are they in Canada or Canada and US? Mostly in the US. So I'd say about 80% of our locations are in the US.



 Well, thank you so much, Vanessa. What a great opportunity for us in our audience to hear from a growth franchise or emerging concept. But more importantly, you represent, you know, here at BAPS, we talk a lot about entrepreneurial leadership and mindset and kudos to blow, blow dry for your transition in there. You're doing great things. We love your authentic leadership and vision and most importantly, you know, how you value the partnership with your entire team. So thank you so much. Love to have you visit here at BAPS in some point in the future and wish you all the best. Thank you so much. It was a pleasure to chat with you both today. I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you, Vanessa. Have a wonderful day.



 Thanks for joining us on this episode of Stars of Franchising. Stars of Franchising was produced at BAPS in college engineered by Travis Gray. Karen Sowell is our guest coordinator and music by Ralph Taylor. If you like Stars of Franchising, be sure to review us wherever you get your podcasts and swear the word and share these stories any way you can.