We Called 5 Salons in January- Here’s What They’re Actually Experiencing

We gather candid answers from five salons on what January really feels like, the doubts that creep in, and the choices leaders make to stay grounded. The theme is steadiness over spectacle: give January a job, choose power over force, and let structure quiet the noise.

• one-word reads of January as good but tight
• neutral framing of sudden team changes
• naming unhelpful thoughts without feeding them
• reframing comparison using discernment
• choosing power over force in leadership
• assigning January a job with scalp diagnostics focus
• structure as relief, not pressure
• momentum comes from steadiness, not reaction

If this episode resonated, make sure you’re subscribed to Salon Success Secrets.

New episodes released weekly for salon owners ready to stop hustling and start leading.

www.SalonBusinessSchool.com

Transcript

Why January Feels Weird

SPEAKER_02 0:21

You guys, we had a feeling that January was messing with people's heads a little. Um, you know, so instead of guessing, you know, instead of teaching, uh, instead of telling anyone what to do, we sent out a simple text, um, asked a question. The response was actually overwhelming. So thank you all so much for participating. So, you know, the text was just asking um salon owners just to do a quick little um uh interview with us just so we could learn more about, hey, what's going on in the world? Um, so we called five salons, they're different sizes, different cities, different vibes. That was so exciting. And we asked them all one simple thing. What does January actually feel like right now? Because sometimes the most powerful thing you can hear is not advice. It's oh, it's not just me. Isn't that so good to hear that? Oh, it's not just me. Is that today we're just going to listen together um and really uncover some things?

One-Word January: Good But Tight

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Yes, this was so fun, you know. Jen, like you mentioned, it was so overwhelming and exciting to see how many people were excited to participate in this. Um, and you know, to hear the answer. So we did answer, we asked three simple questions, the exact same ones to all the answer, to all the salon owners. Uh, we're not gonna play them all, um, but we do have a few from each question that we're gonna play. It is just so fun to see. So let's dive in. Uh, the first question that we asked was if you had to describe January in your salon in one word or sentence, what would it be? And so here's a couple of the responses that we got.

SPEAKER_03 2:13

Good but tight. From the outside, things look good. We're busy, the team's solid, clients are coming in, but January always makes me feel how tight everything is. Good but tight.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

It kept going to play, you know. I wanted to say good but tight again, good but tight again. It was excited. It was awesome, and then here's the next one.

SPEAKER_06 2:47

January started normal for us, and then it wasn't. All of a sudden just gone. Thank you.

Team Changes Without Drama

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Yeah, I mean, it's so great to hear those. So one was good but tight. Um, another one, it sounds like gosh, there was like somebody who suddenly left the team. And you know, I think what kind of stands out to me there is I think we've all maybe been in both of those situations before. Um, especially like if you have a team member leave that is unexpected. Um, you know, I think I've had one leave in January in the past, too. And I think it's great that that slow owner can say it so neutrally. And, you know, I think the thing that stood out was that she didn't say that anything meant something was wrong. You know, it doesn't because I think it's easy in our minds to jump to so many conclusions about why people leave. Like, is it something? Um do I need to do more? Does this need to happen? Like you jump to all of these conclusions, no matter what they are. But sometimes it's just noticing it. Hey, I didn't see it coming, but here we are, you know, and it doesn't always have to be um an emotionally charged event when somebody leaves, which I think is a powerful place to lead from.

The Unhelpful Thoughts We Notice

SPEAKER_02 4:12

I love that you said that, Lindsay. You said um, what was that last sentence? You said it doesn't have to be, oh, so good. Do you remember exactly the words that you use? No, but I just you were just talking about it, like it really resonated with me because there are like we've all had it happen where somebody leaves and we're like, oh my gosh, I had this big year planned, and now like 40% of my revenue could have walked out the door. And so I think it is really powerful when you um think about like how she mentioned that it she's not gonna let it um ruin her year, just maybe a little pivoting, and actually the year probably actually will even come out better. Isn't that a beautiful part of it, too? Um, you know, life always gets to um um happen um for us, not to us. So I love that. Awesome. All right, so question number two is what's the thought you've noticed yourself having that you know isn't helpful but still shows up? So let's see here, you know, um we got this right here. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

I love my salon, I love my people, I'm proud of what we built, but sometimes I think if I stop pushing, does it all stop?

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Well that's good. Here's another response that we got.

SPEAKER_04 5:41

Should I be posting more? Should I change something? Is this my fault? I know January does this every year. I know it always evens out, but that still shows up.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

That's a another powerful one. And here's one more.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

Um, I probably say I should be further along right now. I should have more things done completed. I should be further along. I compare myself to a lot of people on social media where they look like they're all put together and they're thriving and they're you know, doing all these big huge wins. And I feel like I should be further along right now. That's not helpful.

Reframing Comparison And Discernment

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Awesome, man. That was so so good. You know, I think um um she mentioned the word compare. And I I hear that a lot with my team members too. Like they'll compare themselves to, you know, somebody else, or they're compare themselves to someone on social media. And if you really understand the word compare, like it actually is just really viewing someone else and looking at where you're similar and where you're different. And so, like, yeah, we're nobody's made the same. Congratulations. I don't know if you know that, but we're all we all have this beautiful gift to give to the world. And so, like, if you really understand that, hey, if I'm gonna compare myself to like Lindsay, if I'm gonna compare myself to Lindsay, I'm just gonna look at, hey, where we're similar and then where are we different? And you know what? If she's different in the area that I really love and want to be better at, it just gives me the opportunity to embrace that and maybe ask her, like, how can I do better here? And so I just think words have so much power. And so I just wanted to share that because that is something very often, especially in the day and age of social media where you you see salon owners that are like, oh, we opened a second location, but what they don't usually show is there's still zero profit. Not all, but some. And so, like, I think we just have to use discernment to really be aware of you know what we're viewing, first of all, and then what are the words that we're using? Do we really understand the words that we're using?

SPEAKER_00 7:51

You said that so beautifully, Jen. You know, and gosh, teaching your team how to use that discernment is such a powerful thing too, because um, you know, just hearing all the salon owner reflections about the month of January, and um, obviously there's a wide variety of it, but I think sometimes, like if you have the mindset that something um, you know, that January's slow and you go to social media, you're gonna naturally be drawn to other people who are saying January is slow, you know. But if you don't have that mindset, if you flip that on its head and you start looking for other people who are looking to create momentum in January, you'll find a whole new, um, I would say a very actually a limited supply of people who who see it that way, you know. But I think it's powerful and I think it's a great thing to be aware of to use that tool of discernment with what are you consuming during that downtime? So so good. Let's dive into question number three, which is what's one thing you're choosing not to change or panic about this year.

What We Refuse To Panic About

SPEAKER_06 9:02

That's a great question. My first thought was to tighten everything, you know, change policies, start having meetings, really clamp down, take more control. So I wouldn't let this happen again. But I'm not letting one person choice turn me into the owner I don't recognize.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Awesome. Thanks. I got so excited. I started playing the next one too. You can see Jen and I are great at like working this technology. It was, you know, we're just killing it out there today, you guys. I'm sure you could relate. Maybe um you've had this challenge before, but that was great.

SPEAKER_05 9:39

In past years, when I felt this way, I'd start questioning people who's committed, who's not. This year I'm not making big decisions from entire place. I'm focusing on getting myself steady again.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

Great, we've got one more.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Said this to the team quite a bit. Um, plant volume in our slower seasons. I've been doing this for almost 30 years and it still catches me off guard. I don't understand why. But um there's just natural ebbs and flows, and I tell the team that all the time. Um so I'm choosing not to panic this year in those ebbs and flows.

Power vs Force In Leadership

SPEAKER_00 10:23

So good. Yeah, you know, I think what stands out, there were so many things that stand out. I think, first of all, our language is really powerful. And so on that first little clip, I loved her awareness to that she used to clamp down, I think were the actual words that she used. And just to think about, you know, hey, anytime we are trying to make change, um, you know, I think it's really important to be intentional about how you want that change to land, because there's two different types of leadership. There's force leadership, and then there's leadership from a place of power. So power just means the ability to do something effortlessly. Um, I think I added a little bit to that, but the ability to do something with ease, you know, and so when you're in a place of power, you don't have to force somebody to do something. You're not gonna clamp down, you're not gonna um, you know, push somebody to sell retail or make somebody um, you know, do something else on your team. And so I love that she had that realization that she wasn't gonna clamp down and and she was gonna put that to rest in 2026.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

That was so, so good. Um, you know, I think about okay, what do all these, what's consistent here? And and it tells me a lot about uh salon owners, team-based salon owners, you know, that no one, no one as we connected with them said that, hey, we're failing. We got I'm thinking of second guessing myself, or I might close the doors. You know, everyone just mentioned mental noise, you guys. You know, several say they said they were like staying the course, but nobody talked about blowing things up. And you know, at the end of the day, that truly is leadership. It's not because it's flashy, it's not because it's loud, but because it's actually grounded.

Giving January A Job: Structure

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Yeah, you know, and truly, Jen, this is like why we believe January isn't for doing more, it's it's truly meant for deciding what not to react to. And honestly, this is where having structure really matters, you know, not to add pressure, but truly to remove it. So instead of waking up every day wondering what to fix next, you already know this is what this month is for, you know, and that's why we use the Salon Success Calendar. It gives January a job. I know we were talking earlier about one of the main reasons we had a scalp focus and the diagnosis step as a as a focus for January, is because it it can be a little bit of a quieter season. And so it's such a great time to get really intentional for your with your team about what truly creates transformation for a guest and how do we introduce that and how do we help them start to see themselves as beauty pros and not just somebody who's there to do hair or skin, you know, or whatever the service might be to really make people experience that transformation when they're with us.

Closing Reassurance And Momentum

SPEAKER_02 13:50

So true. And shout out to the people who got early access to that. I've seen you in your um scalp cameras on Instagram. So that has been so exciting to see. Um, so just want to say congratulations. So if January has felt you guys a little quieter than expected, like we truly hope this episode reminded you of something important that you're not behind, you're not doing it wrong, you're just in the part of the year that asks you to lead, not react. And we'll be right here with you as that momentum builds.