Salon Success Secrets

From Goals to Growth: Unlocking Your Team’s Potential This Year

• Lindsay Lowe & Jen Booth

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Ever wondered how you can unlock the potential within your salon team and set them on a path to financial freedom? This episode promises to equip you with the ultimate strategy for intentional growth through our concept of "growth sessions." These are not just any meetings; they're transformative monthly gatherings where salon owners and managers can collaborate with their team members to set personal and professional goals. By preparing with year-end reviews and goal-setting exercises, we ensure these sessions become a safe haven where team members feel encouraged to release guilt and embrace their true potential. Together, we'll explore how focusing on one key objective at a time can simplify the journey to personal and professional success, using the SMART goal framework to tackle challenges like improving guest retention without overwhelming your team.

We delve into the heart of building a financially savvy salon team, highlighting the importance of time management and financial planning. Discover how sticking to service standards impacts client satisfaction and profit margins, and learn how simple financial literacy can pave the way for generational wealth for stylists. Through powerful examples like compound interest, we illustrate how small, consistent investments can lead to a secure and prosperous future. With practical strategies and financial education, this episode is your guide to transforming not just your salon's operations, but the entire industry's financial landscape, empowering everyone involved. Join us on this journey of growth and let's inspire a world where financial security and success are within reach for every stylist.

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Speaker 1:

Well, thank you so much for tuning in today. Happy New Year. If you are listening to this podcast when it first aired, it is the beginning of 2025. And we just want to wish you, first of all, a very happy New Year. And also, you know, with any time there is something new inside of our lives. You know it just brings on such an amazing opportunity, and so today we want to talk about. You know how growth doesn't just happen by chance, it happens by intention, and you know, when we set up our new year growth sessions, um, to really set our team up for success, everybody wins on the other side.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love that. And if you're thinking, what is a growth session? So a growth session is going to be an opportunity for maybe in the new year, for you as a salon owner, to meet with each person on your team so that you can kind of look at hey, what are opportunities, like Lindsay was saying, and you know what, where are possibilities and what can we lock in to help you become the most beautiful version of yourself this year. So what we recommend is that you do growth sessions monthly with each team member and maybe it's not you doing, maybe it's leaders or managers doing them. At the beginning of the year, we like to dedicate just a little bit more time to really help paint the picture of what the new year can bring to really help paint the picture of what the new year can bring.

Speaker 1:

Yes, you know, from just prepping for the, for the sessions, to doing some year end reviews, some goal setting, all of that good stuff, we know, when you marry some amazing things together to kick off the year, you know it really can set everybody up to win big. And so, you know, we just want to invite you to stay tuned till the end, because we want to really unlock how you can take the first step toward financial freedom with your team and really paint the picture for what does that look like for them? So, first things first. Let's dive in. Let's talk about, you know, step number one, which is that pre-session prep. So what do you need to prepare in order to set yourself and your service providers up for success? So the first thing that you're going to want to do in order to get ready for these amazing growth sessions is to really gather up all of the materials that you'll need. So what we'd like to do is go through and really prepare. You know a year end review. You know that includes, like what are their sales, what you know, so that you can really dive into what story their number is telling you know things like their retail, their services, their client retention rates, and then, really, you know, send out to them beforehand we like to have them just come with one personal goal.

Speaker 1:

During that meeting.

Speaker 1:

We come up with a professional goal, so send out something, you know, a list of what you want them to come to that growth session with. And you know, keep in mind, the last thing that you want to do is overwhelm somebody when you're about to step into a growth session. And, and so what we know is the more tasks and the more chaos that you create in somebody's life, the less likely they are to actually win big. And and really, you know, there might be like 25 things that you want to accomplish this year, but when you write them all down, there's always one thing that stands out on that page. And you know, hey, if you unlocked that one thing, it would actually probably unlock several other things on that list, but it would really. What it would really do is unlock a bigger version of you so that you were able to accomplish things better, easier, faster. And so you know, really, just setting your team up to come with that goal and just have everything ready that they would need in order to succeed during that growth session.

Speaker 2:

Hmm, I love that, um, love some pre prep sessions, um, getting that ready. And then you know, when you're during the growth session, one thing that we'd like to do it to make sure, as well as like, um, we're going to do these growth sessions with velvet gloves and so, like, if you've ever had some velvet gloves or salt, they're luxurious. So you know, translating that into a growth session is like we want to do growth sessions with love, um, not by means of a hammer. So this is not the time to I'm sure no one on this call has ever done that, but this is not the time to beat someone over the head about what they didn't do. It's really to be able to create that space of what can be. And so once you've kind of done that pre-session prep and you've gotten a team member in on a growth session, we're going to really first talk about. This is going to be a new opportunity for you to release, being able to release some things, so that then we can rise to the occasion.

Speaker 2:

Because a lot of times, like Lindsay was saying, well, people will do like you know, four or five goals, they'll feel overwhelmed and at the end of the year, wonder why they never reached those goals. And what we don't understand is that a lot of times, people live in guilt. Guilt is actually the number one reason why most people don't get what they want out of life. And you're like, okay, what do you mean by that, Jen? And so, if you know the definition of guilt, it's a painful emotion, experience when one believes, when actions or thoughts have violated a moral or personal standard, and so guilt is also the thought that I've done something wrong and I should be punished for it. And so, like it's great to kind of share this with your team members is, like think of it like climbing a ladder, like you know if you're at the bottom of the ladder, but at the top of the ladder is the desires that you want for your life. When you live in guilt, you're not even able to take that first step, and so what you're going to be able to do is create that environment for them where they're going to be able to release some of that guilt, and then, you know, make a room for what they really want, to create for the new year.

Speaker 2:

We do this exercise. It's really easy. You can, you know, let them know that you know, help them understand what guilt is and what, how releasing guilt can set them up for success for the new year. And you can do this several ways by, you know, writing it on a piece of paper and burning it. You can have them write it on water dissolvable paper, and Lindsay and I have both done that and so just letting them know, like hey, we're going to do it a little different today, we're going to kind of release some things so that then we can rise, and also to let them know that it's a very safe space, like whatever they write down, only their eyes will view it. You will never see it, because you're going to burn it or dissolve it or whatever it may be. So it's just going to be a time for them to release anything that could be holding them back. And the most powerful part of that is they don't even usually realize what's holding them back is actually what's holding them back.

Speaker 1:

Yes, you know, I think it is such a powerful tool and, you know, I would just keep in mind, don't set up that you're going to be doing this before somebody comes in. This is just, you know, a little exercise that you can do before you begin, like Jen mentioned, all the key steps to setting it up. But really just creating that environment where they know, hey, this is a safe space, and, you know, encourage them to say, you know, it doesn't matter, like if you, you know, because sometimes people even do stuff inside of our spaces that they feel guilty about, um, that they need the opportunity to release, so that they can decide like, hey, that's not going to be who I am, they know it was wrong inside of them, um, but then just giving them the opportunity to release that it truly can, you know, raise them up so much higher on the scale of emotions to where they can actually create it. Because what we know is if somebody doesn't actually believe that they deserve something, they will never get it, and so guilt is is, like Jen mentioned, the number one reason that stops people from getting more of what they want in life. So, once they have released that and moved it aside, the next step, then, would be to go through a year in review with your service providers. You know, and so we like to, you know, go through our calculator that really, you know, dives into, like, how much was their take-home pay? How much did we add back with all of the amazing things that we offer inside the salon? And you know, keep in mind, like, as a team-based salon that is legally paying people, you're matching their taxes, you're paying for workman's comp and unemployment insurance. You're offering a front desk service.

Speaker 1:

You know, I think, in a world where there, you know, there's so many options, like, sometimes people don't see the full value of what it is when they work together on a team. And you know, what we know is that it's almost impossible for somebody to make more money. We know that they can't make more money working any less hours than they can inside of the companies that we work with and operate, mostly just because of you know, how many people are focused on growing people and transforming people's lives. And so, when you acknowledge what all it takes and how much money we're actually putting into people, you know, um, you might see somebody who's pay go from. I'm just pulling these numbers out, but I've seen similar ones on my team.

Speaker 1:

You know you might see somebody's pay go from 75,000 to 92,000 and and what that is hourly. Then, when they see hourly, you know you might see somebody's pay go from 75,000 to 92,000 and and what that is hourly. Then, when they see hourly, you know I've seen people's hourly pay, um, at $65. I've seen it. You know at $45, I've seen it at you know $77.

Speaker 1:

Um, and it's just really cool to see, because they're like wow. And then you know, just even asking them like hey, you know, where else could you earn $77 an hour? And you know, for them to be like I don't, I can't think of anywhere, you know, and and um, it really is just powerful. When you go through that year and review and uncover what it is that they accomplished and also celebrate their wins, like so, having them come up with some of their wins, you'll obviously be able to spot some of their wins when you go through that year in review. It really does help them start to see, okay, we released that guilt, now we see what all we did, and then it just really helps set up the stage for what's next.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love that. And once you, you know, celebrated the wins, you've looked at the year in review and then we can invite you to go through a little bit of a goal setting process. Now, one thing, like Lindsay was saying earlier, is just to kiss, keep everything simple, superstar. You know there's there's no need to have to be focused on so many things because, like, if you just pick one thing to focus on a day, it's like an apple a day keeps the doctor away. If you focus on that one thing, everything else around you will transform as well. And so, like you know, helping them with that personal goal, whatever they come with, kind of breaking it down and making it a smart goal. A smart goal is going to be specific, it's going to be more measurable, make sure it's achievable, reachable, and then a time limit. And so when we look at that, you know we're going to help them kind of dissect it and break it down just a little bit. And then you want to let them look at a professional goal.

Speaker 2:

And so I know I used to do this I'd be like, okay, let's increase your average ticket, let's increase your pre-book, let's increase your retail to service, and like, those are great, those need to happen, but it comes from a place of overwhelm, I think, for for a service provider and employee.

Speaker 2:

And so I think, you know, just focusing on the one thing, because, like for one thing, uh, big for um, um, a salon I've been working with is new guest retention. And so like helping her to understand, like if she took her new guest retention from 30% to 38%, the additional revenue it would create, and that new guest retention, like everything, tells a story, but that new guest retention tells you a lot about what's missing from the guest experience or the client experience. And so like just nailing in and focusing on one thing helps, I know, helps to simplify the process for somebody on your team. And so just picking like one personal, one professional, and then helping breaking them down and extracting those numbers of hey, if they did this, what their life would be like, how life would be different for them.

Speaker 1:

So good. You know, um, we just had somebody on one of our study halls last week that's inside of the PhD program that was talking about, like, how many light bulb moments their team had when they went through. We've got a calculator for people inside of that program that shows them. But you know, really, you could even just say, like, hey, like, do the math. It's really simple. You know if they're seeing, you know if you're giving them 10 new guests a month and they're only keeping three out of those 10, uh, what's your average ticket for? You know that one person, how much extra would that be per year? It's incredible, the growth that you can have when you focus on that. So I love that you said keep it simple, focus on the most important thing. You know, then, once you've you've dived in and you've you've set those goals, really, um, you know, identifying the training and development um that you want to see happen over the next year, I think is great, because, you know, a lot of times, you know, I think this can be a confusing area because especially, you know, I mean social media, like gives us so many ideas and sometimes they're great ideas and sometimes they're ideas that aren't always as helpful to us, you know. And so a team member might get on there and think, well, this is what I want to do, but you can break down. When you're able to then break down the why behind. Why do you want to do that? You know, and they're like, well, I'm bad at this. Okay, Well, I mean, that's great. Like I want you to, you know, have the confidence to feel like you know you're good at everything, but like you're also great at this, and so, like you spend a lot of your time on this thing. So what if we made that even better? If so, you know, instead of worrying about, you know, the one or two random scenarios that you get each year what if we eat? What if we took? You know you're already great at balayage, or you're already great at whatever. What if they? What if we made that even better? You know, because, like, that's where a lot of your money, in your income, is coming in right now.

Speaker 1:

So if we focus on making your strengths even stronger, um, you know, I think that it's just a really encouraging way to see things, and you know that what it reminds me of is like if, um, let's say, serena Williams, you know, was playing tennis and she was like you know, I'm really bad at like she's an athlete, she identifies as an athlete tennis. And she was like you know, I'm really bad at like she's an athlete, she identifies as an athlete, but she's like I'm really bad at basketball. Well, okay, sure, there's probably some things that she could take away from basketball that would honestly help her tennis game, but if she focused on you know her serves, or if she focused on you know whatever it is like inside of the game of tennis, like that would actually be more impactful. So same thing happens for people on our team. They're like you know they might be doing one or two extension guests and they're like I need to learn a whole new method on extensions.

Speaker 1:

Well, how about you practice getting really good at the method that you know right now and focus on really improving your guest experience with the guests that you have right now, because you know, I can guarantee you that this one method is probably not going to unlock. You know what it is. It's probably the repetitions that need to be put in. So really focusing on what actually matters during that training and development and helping uncover the why behind why they want to do it and then helping them paint that path to. Okay, what does it look like in order for me to get where I want to go?

Speaker 2:

Love that. Another opportunity to look at during a new year growth session is just timing and financial impact. You know we we, at the end of the day, we do sell time, and so surprise if you didn't know that. And so the most beautiful part about that too is, like you know, especially a lot of times we've noticed this in in in my company as well as, like, people will extend times, like we do have service standards. So like, let's just say, a haircut, um is 45 minutes, but people are extending it to 60 minutes, but the client is paying for that 45 minute time slot and that's how we do.

Speaker 2:

All of our pricing is based on the time that it takes to do a service. And so like, looking at the appointment book with a service provider and saying, okay, let's just see if you're living within service standards. And let's say Jen, for example. Like we're looking at a stylist her name is Jen and it's like, okay, well, I see that like our service standard for a two ounce highlight is 60 minutes, but I see she's a level three and she's taken 90 minutes and so that's 30 minutes. That's a gift, this is a huge gift. That's 30 minutes that we need to give her some new tools on how to speed that up, and it's it's about speeding that up in ways that you know clients don't want to be there all day and it gives you the opportunity to serve more people.

Speaker 2:

And because we do sell time, you want to make sure that you're living in those service standards. And so, like, I actually did this exercise and I can't remember exactly, I think it was 30 minutes on a certain highlight that somebody was doing and it equaled out to about $37,000 for the year, based upon the highlights that she was doing. And so, like, let's talk about your application, let's talk about getting that reputation in, let's talk about your consultation, let's talk about how we can make this process more efficient, because if you feel like you're slow, the guest or the client probably feels like you're slow too. So it's all about, you know, creating that great client experience and seeing the impact that, if we don't stay within those service times like, it really can financially impact us.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that. That is amazing when you really dial in on the impact that that timing has on their take-home pay. I know another thing that, jen, you and I are both super passionate about, and every one of our salon owners inside of salon business school and the PhD program is really creating millionaires inside of our industry, and I think during that New Year growth session is one of the most important times to dive into what does financial freedom look like for stylists and how can we help create them. So, whether you are in a position financially as a company to be able to offer a simple IRA or a retirement plan of any kind, or it's just a conversation that you can have with your team, because, you know, I remember way back in the day I sold Cutco knives one summer and that was the first time that anybody had ever talked to me about retirement and, um, you know I'll never forget that they talked about like starting at 25 versus 35, how you could have a million dollars more just because of compound interest. Um, and you know, compound interest is such a beautiful thing to be able to share with your team and really showing them okay, this is how you could create potentially generational wealth, even you know. So this is going beyond just making you a millionaire. This is like you could even set your kids up to be millionaires too.

Speaker 1:

Um, you know, and and we actually want to give you a big gift, if you are listening today, if you want to go ahead and text retirement to four, six, nine, two, eight, three, five, five, nine zero, we will send you over a retirement calculator that you can use with your team.

Speaker 1:

And what's really cool is it's like a plug and play calculator where you can put their current age, when they want to retire, if they have any current savings, and then what they want to invest monthly. It'll give you some prompts for lots of different things, but it even talks about what could be their expected yearly income at retirement or their expected monthly income at retirement. And just to be able to help have that conversation and paint that picture with somebody, just so you know too, if somebody starts at 20 and they save $100 a know, by the time they're 65, they'll have over a million dollars. But if they save $200 at 20 to 65, they'll have over $3 million. And so I don't know about you guys, but I know I see a lot of door dash coming in and out of the salon.

Speaker 1:

And so you know what that tells me is. There's the opportunity for them to invest $100 to $200 a month to really set themselves up for retirement, Because if they retired at 65 with over $3 million, their yearly income would be over $100,000. And so that's just incredible to talk to a 20-year-old about whose goal is to get to $100,000 as a service provider Like this is how we create millionaires.

Speaker 2:

This is how we change our industry and make a big impact in the world. I love what you said. This is how we create millionaires, this is how we change our industry, because, I promise you, not a lot of salon owners are having conversations like this. And I'm so passionate about this because, um, you know my, when my grandmother retired from doing hair, she worked very hard, but she never set up a retirement plan. Thank goodness, you know, I was able to purchase, purchase the, the business from her, and she owned some real estate where I rented from her. But you know, at the end of the day, to work 30 or 40 years and that's when people, most people, can't retire and I see that in our industry too is because you know they cannot replace that income that they're getting. And so I like having these conversations with your, your team, is going to put you top of mind for all people, cause they're going to tell their friends. They're going to tell their friends like, wow, did you know, if I continue to work at salon ABC, you know I could be have $3 million in retirement, and so I think it's just a beautiful conversation that's going to set you apart from other salons as well, and so, after you think about the retirement planning.

Speaker 2:

You know it's time to just kind of wrap it up and put a big bow on it. This is a beautiful time to you know. Have them write any notes, write anything down that they're, you know, want to be committed to kind of review, and I always like to say what are you most excited about? After everything we've used today, what are you most excited about? And then they can share. Another question you can ask is you know what really stood out to you today? Or you know just things like that, just to kind of put the period at the end of the sentence, to kind of close everything. And I always like to just say I'm proud of you, because sometimes you never realize, no one's ever heard someone else say to them I'm proud of you, high five them, hug them, whatever you want to do, whatever fits you, as just to celebrate them, because I think when you celebrate them they're going to go out and do even bigger things.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love that. That's a great way to put a period on the end of it. You know, and you know just in mind growth sessions aren't just about numbers. They're about building confidence, building clarity and a path to success for each person inside of your team. And so you know, if you want to get that that tool that we talked about earlier, text retirement to four, six, nine, two, eight, three, five, five, nine, zero and, you know, really get started on your financial wellness journey today with your team and helping to create more millionaires inside of our industry. And we can't wait to hear how successful your new year growth sessions are with your entire team. So, uh, thanks for tuning in. We look forward to seeing you again soon.