Salon Success Secrets

Toxic Salon Coaching Advise Exposed

• Lindsay Lowe & Jen Booth

Share episode

Send us a text

Toxic coaching advice is running rampant in the salon industry, leading to broken systems, confused teams, and forgotten clients - but there's a better way forward through measured strategies and genuine leadership.

• The 100% commission promotion disaster - why marketing is the owner's job and giving away services doesn't teach the right lessons
• AI-powered bots fail to replace human connection in team training - transformation requires the TALK method, not just task lists
• The 1099 contractor model myth - losing control over guest experience is a cost no salon can afford
• "Escaping" from behind the chair creates a negative mindset - evolve into leadership rather than pulling back
• Golden handcuffs create entitlement without responsibility - build cultures where people don't want to leave
• The Million Dollar Beauty Pro system transforms new hires into six-figure brand builders through measured strategies and genuine leadership

Text PRO to 469-283-5590 for the full breakdown of our system that builds your brand and your bank account.


Do you have a question for Salon Success Secrets Podcast?

Send a text or leave a voicemail at (469) 283-5590 or send us an email to hello@salonbusinessschool.com. We would love to hear from you.


Start growing in business and leadership with powerful tools, advice and resources in your inbox every week:

Learn more about Salon Business School Events:

Upcoming Events | Salon Business School


Learn more about Salon Business School Coaching:

https://keap.app/contact-us/4732115411329800


Learn more about Salon Business School for Salon & Spa Owners:

https://keap.app/contact-us/8468267787462617


Are you ready to go all in? Join Salon Business School:

Apply to Join Us! | Salon Business School


Listen to all the Salon Success Secrets podcasts anytime, anywhere here:

Podcast | Salon Success Secrets

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Salon Success Secrets, where we don't sugarcoat it, we solve it, and if you've ever followed a salon coach and thought, wait, did they just say what this episode is for you. So today we're pulling back the curtain on some of the wildest, most toxic coaching advice we've seen floating around the salon owner circles and social media. We're talking about promos that bleed money, bots that pretend to build culture, and models that masquerade as leadership, when really they just leave your team confused not just your team, but you as well and your guest forgotten.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I love that. You know, and before you think, am I missing something? Let me say this upfront it's not you. You're smart, you're ambitious, you care deeply. You've just been handed broken systems and broken ideas and thoughts. So let's talk about what actually works and why. Million Dollar Beauty Pro was built to fix all of this, you know. So stick with me to the end, because I'll show you how to get access to the full system we use to transform brand new team members into top performing pros. You know so.

Speaker 2:

So let's first start with a story that we heard last month. This was so wild, jen, you found it and sent it over to me and I mean we were both just like what, what it just made us stop in our tracks, because a well-known salon coach proudly shared that she ran a promotion where she gave her team 100% commission on any new client that they brought in, and her reasoning was because it shows them how hard it is to bring in new clients, you know. And it was so wild because someone asked in the comments, like how many clients did they bring in? And she said I believe it was five. Like literally, those were her words. I believe it was five. Five for a 100% giveaway. I mean, it just blew our minds what all we saw in the comments. Jen, do you remember some other comments that we saw?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think was it. One person said well, did it work or did the promo works? And I think they responded with well, I think.

Speaker 2:

So I was like yeah, it's so wild Because you know, here's the truth. If you don't know the ROI on a promo, it's not a strategy, you guys, it's a guessing game and in salon ownership that game costs real time. It costs real money and real momentum. You know, it also created so much confusion for her team because now they think that it doesn't cost money to run a business.

Speaker 2:

You know, because there's one thing that we believe, and that's marketing is the owner's job. You know, our job is to drive new business into the door. You know, and your team's job is to create an experience so magnetic and so on brand that people can't wait to come back. You know, and this is truly what we call the CTC model inside of um. You know, it's the CTC triangle that we go over inside of million dollar beauty pro, where, you know, you create the clients, you train your team team and you close that loop with all of the systems, because you know you don't want to be outsourcing marketing to untrained stylists. You know, and you don't want to guess if the strategy worked. You know, you want to measure, you want to improve and you want to lead.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so so interesting, right. I just had my mind going a thousand miles an hour thinking, how do what? What could you imagine running a promotion? And then someone asking did it work? Well, I think so, like, like, if you really think about a true business, a true business owner is going to know, hey, yes, it worked or no, it didn't work and this is what we're going to do next time. And so just very interesting perspective.

Speaker 1:

And so another one that we saw was the. That was a salon owner coaching company that had designed an AI bot. And so interesting, what we realized is like this AI bot almost forgot that we're all human. And so you know AI, hey, we love it, I use it daily, like we use it. But here's what where things kind of went sideways.

Speaker 1:

You know they're selling this AI powered bot that supposedly trains your team. You know everybody likes that sounds fancy, sign me up. Until you truly realize all it's doing is spitting out generic commands like, hey, number one, do a model day. Number two, track your services. And number three, check in weekly. It reads like like a task list, not a transformation. And one salon owner said you know, I asked it to build me a master's program for my team and that's what I got.

Speaker 1:

But you see, transformation doesn't come from passive learning. It comes from like anchoring, you know, emotionally anchoring reputation, mentorship and actually a brand story. You know, imagine this you have a team member come in, you just hand them the 60-page handbook and you say good luck. You know that's what this kind of this AI program is doing. It's giving direction without meaning and people have to understand the why behind why they're doing something, or you lose them. You know, inside Million Dollar Beauty Pro we talk about the talk method, the T-A-L-K method that trains pros through like live coaching, brand storytelling and real scenarios that truly stick, because the how matters less than the why. Let me say that again, because it's so good, the how matters less than the why, and if your team doesn't understand the why, they won't remember the what.

Speaker 2:

That's so good. How you do it. Your team always wants to know how. How you do it. Your team always wants to know how do you do it. You know and so, yes, I love that you married that they still need to know that why, but that they need to know how to do it. And you know, I think jenna reminds me, um, I just recorded a youtube video. Um, that was inspired by when you told me that you worked for kfc, because you know it's so good.

Speaker 2:

We all started we. You know, hey, your first job in the chat. I think it's so great to see where we. You know some of our first jobs, like where, what? The transformation that they created in our lives. You know, and I remember one of the things that you took away was like it's all about the process, it's not about the people, and you know that's why Chick-fil-A does over 17 billion B billion dollars more than KFC each year is because they know the people are more important than the process. And I think that's the biggest thing that that salon owner coach is missing, you know, in the bot and, hey, she's probably listening to this podcast right now, so maybe she'll make some adjustments, but don't worry if you're, you know, one of our, our, our people inside of salon business school, we've already got some amazing prompts that are just killer to help you really, truly transform your business.

Speaker 2:

But let's talk about another one that really stood out. You know, this person did some amazing marketing where they were being really tricky in their, in their words, you words. They said commission is dead, booth rent is dead and the future is based on this whole new model and the model you guys was all about 1099 contractors, and here's what they didn't tell you. If someone is a 1099, you know, and here's what they didn't tell you. If someone is a 1099, you, you have no control over anything. You not when they come in, not what they wear, not what shampoo they use.

Speaker 2:

You can't require them to attend team meetings or additional trainings. You know you can never coach them to your culture, you can't enforce standards, and that's because, legally, you have hired an independent business to work inside of your business. You know, also, you're dodging taxes and on paper that sounds like the stylist is getting a bigger cut when you're like I'm going to pay you, you know, 55% commission instead of 45. But this, but after they pay their self-employment taxes, it often bounces out or they end up losing more money. Especially in the model that she was talking about, they will definitely lose more money. Plus, as the owner, you totally lose control of the guest experience, and that's a cost no salon brand can afford to pay. You guys? Let me say that again If you lose control of the guest experience, that's a cost no salon brand can afford to pay.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'd be, like you know, I'm thinking like the Ritz Carlton Lindsay, really, kevin employees at the work at the Ritz Carlton all be 1099. Like you would not have those luxury touch points, that gold standard that they have if they all went and did their own thing. So it's just such an interesting perspective of why would we want to do that in the salon world when you're really true about your vision and what you're creating, like you need that synergy. You need that synergy together to really create something incredible. So just so interesting.

Speaker 1:

Another one that we saw was should you escape, yeah, from behind the chair or stay there forever? And so let me just say this you guys, like, if you're trying to escape something you built, you need a reset. Like, when I think of escaping, I think like escaping jail. I don't know why that comes to me, but like that word, like if you're trying to escape something you built, you probably need a reset. Like we don't escape. At the end of the day, we evolve.

Speaker 1:

You know, this coach went on to say, hey, build a team of seven to 10, seven to 10 people, then pull back. But here's the thing pulling back. That sounds kind of weird too to me. It's like when salon owners pull back without systems, the whole thing falls apart. You know, the culture fades, the clients notice and the brand erodes. And so we want to teach you like you want to pull forward into leadership, into training, into that legacy.

Speaker 1:

One of the owners recently one of our owners that was getting out behind the chair gifted a longtime client to another team member on their team and she was nervous, so nervous she's like I don't know I've been doing her hair for so long. But because she had built that trust, she had built that culture, had systems and a transfer process, the client just didn't just stay like, she continued to be a raving fan and even love the new service provider that the owner had paired her with. You know that's not escaping the chair, that's truly ascending into your next role and like, when you really look at it from that viewpoint, man, that gives you so much more power.

Speaker 2:

Oh, jen, I love that so much because there is you know, it's two totally different identities. And so when they said, pulling back, no, like you're. No, you're not going to be a hairstylist anymore. So nobody's going to be like did you eat? Did you wear your seatbelt? You're not going to have those clients that are addicted to you anymore, necessarily. But now you get to step in and the hat that you get to wear is that salon owner. So that's your new identity and you get to show up bigger and better than ever, and that's when your team truly starts to really grow and incredible things happen. So I love that you talked about that salon owner that you know. It is so fun to be able to walk through that stage with people so that they're crystal clear on like, hey, what are you know? How is this financially going to be smart for everybody? And then, how do we make this a win for our team or our clients, which is definitely the most important thing at the end of the day, you know, and that really draws us into this.

Speaker 2:

This fifth thing that really stood up for us stood out to us. You know, it's something that we've heard for years um, from a salon owner coaching company that likes to golden handcuff people to their business. You know, so, um, you know, it's just such a wild thing to think about. You know, because it's almost like they're giving their team anything. They want to keep them, you know, and if they want to act like owners, then make them owners. You know, let's golden handcuff them, but you know it sounds noble but it's very dangerous. You know, because ownership without responsibility creates entitlement, and when you give away your business without systems or leadership capacity, you lose control of your client experience. You know, and I used to think this too until Jen you just recently shared a video from Jesse Cole of the Savannah Bananas and he said we said no to investors because once others got involved, their priority becomes control and return and we work for one person only our fans. You guys, in our world, the fans are our clients, and when you build your business around keeping stylists instead of serving guests or clients, the business starts to hollow out from the inside.

Speaker 2:

Yes, there are smart ways to reward your team. You know, if you've gotten to the stage where, hey, people are capturing that vision and really truly delivering to your clients, which is the number one thing that you're focused on. You know you could reward them through leadership, equity or franchise opportunity, but golden handcuffs, as you know, no, they're handcuffs. You guys, at the end of the day it's you might as well go hang out with the people who are, you know, teaching you to escape. You know, like, hey, this is the we should have called this the jail episode. You know, if you want to go to salon owner jail, here's how you do it. Hey, golden handcuff people and just create a lot of chaos in your lives.

Speaker 1:

So that's exactly what I was. We just talked about escaping. Now we got golden handcuffs. What in the world is going on here? So maybe you're listening to this and you're you're laughing, like Lindsay and I. Maybe you're thinking, hey, I want to train my team but I don't have the time. You know I need to hand them the system, but you know, at the end of the day sometimes I'm still folding towels. And that's exactly why we built Million Dollar Beauty Pro. It's an on-demand and live training program. It's kind of like a plug-and-play system designed to transform new hires into six figure brand builders.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we don't just guess, we actually measure. We don't outsource leadership. We built it in and we don't golden handcuff our teams. You know our, our teams in general. We build cultures where they don't want to leave. And if you want to see how this works, if this really interests you, you're like man, what a gift it would be to get back some time and to have my team trained to become six figure beauty pros. Text the word pro P? R? O to four, six, nine, two, eight, three, five, five, nine, zero, and we'll send you the full breakdown because you don't have time to sort through bad advice. You need that blueprint that builds your brand in your bank account, and this is what million dollar beauty pro is and was designed to do.

Speaker 2:

I love it. You know, if this episode made you rethink what you've been taught, leave us a five-star review and share it with another salon owner who deserves better, because better is possible and it starts with truth and clarity on the vision that you are trying to create. So we'll see you next time on salon success secrets podcast.