The Book That Changed How We See The Salon Industry

Grab your copy here: www.thinkandgetrichasasalonowner.com

We get honest about the hidden reason a salon can be fully booked and still feel unstable, exhausting, and underpaid. We share the identity shift that makes systems actually stick, so the business stops depending on your hands, your mood, or your constant presence.
• the warning signs of owning a job instead of a business 
• Lindsay’s early salon crisis and how fear can shrink growth 
• Jen’s $800K walkout and why it was a systems problem 
• the identity gap between service provider and salon owner 
• how busyness turns into a worth trap 
• why new strategies fail when the old identity stays in charge 
• the Be Do Have framework and the mindset that precedes results 
• the salon owner compass and building capacity in exposed roles 
• the “Tuesday” vision of a salon that runs without you 
• the Beauty Pro Manifesto and ending self-deprecation in the industry 

Think and get rich as a salon owner is available for pre-sale. So go get it right now while the episode is still playing. Share this episode.

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Transcript

Fully Booked Still Stuck

SPEAKER_01 0:03

I want to ask you something before we even start today. How many of you are fully booked right now or close to it and still feel like something isn't working? You know, how many of you have a team, people you've invested in, trained, believed in, and you're still the one who cannot take a full day off without everything feeling like it's going to fall apart, you know? Or how many of you have had a month recently that looked great on paper and you still looked at your bank account and thought, where did it go?

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Yes. You know, if any of that landed, stay with us today because what we're about to talk about is the reason why. And more importantly, it's the way out. You know, today we're doing something we've never done on this show before. We're talking about a book that we wrote. And you can grab it today, right now, while this episode is playing. The link is in the show notes and it's the first thing that you'll see. But we'll tell you all about that at the end. But I want you to know it's there because by the time this episode is over, you're going to want it.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

That's right. This book is called Thinking Get Rich as a Salon Owner. You know, it's available for pre-sale right now. Link in the show notes, like Lindsay said, the first link that you'll see. And we'll come back to that at the end. But I need you to hear me first. Um, this is not a book about pricing strategies or retail scripts, you know, or how to set up your booking software. This is a book about why those things are not working and what has to happen first before any of them actually will.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Yeah, we're talking about identity. We're talking about the shift that nobody in this industry has ever named out loud. And by the time we're done today, I think you're gonna hear yourself in a way that you never have before. So I want to start with a story, not a concept, not a framework, a story, because I think the best way to understand, you know, why we had to write this book is to go back to a version of each of us that we're now very honest about. You know, I'm gonna go first and then Jen is gonna tell you something that I think is gonna

Two Crisis Stories That Explain Why

SPEAKER_00 2:20

stop you cold. You know, I was only a few weeks into owning my salon, like weeks, and I needed to make a supply run. So I borrowed one of my team members' cars. You know, we got in, or I got in when I got in, I found business cards, like stacks of them. Her name was on the front, and another salon name was on the back. So I drove to the supply store. We drove back, and the whole drive, I just kept thinking, she's leaving, and she's probably not the only one. You know, I let her go that afternoon, and then her friends walked out too. Then her parents came through the door, and another one's boyfriend came in and threatened my life. And I'm not exaggerating. He came in, demanded a paycheck that wasn't ready yet, and threatened my life. You know, I was the youngest person on the team. I was standing there alone, and I held the line.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

You know, Lindsay, I didn't even know that part of your story until we were actually writing this book. And every time I hear it, uh it's like, man, I think about that's who we're talking to, the person who held the line along.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah, you know, and and honestly, not long after that, I found out that I was gonna be a mom. You know, I was unmarried, three people down, my business was barely standing, and I spent years after that afraid to really invest in anyone again. You know, I stayed small, I stayed guarded, I took every other paycheck when I was lucky and told myself that's just how this industry worked. You know, it wasn't. I just didn't have the systems yet, and I didn't even know what was missing, really.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

So good. So, okay, so I need to tell, I really need you to hear this one and tell you a story. You know, I'd given everything to my team, years, uh, years of my time, my trust, my belief in them. You know, I grinded for that salon, you know, 60 plus hours a week, if you can relate to that. Um, on my day off, you know, I still got to come in and clean because at the time I couldn't afford uh anyone uh to come in and clean. Um, you know, and you know, I love what I was building. You know, I believed in the people that I was building it with. And then a couple of years ago, within four months, we had eight service providers that walked out the door. Four months, eight service providers. And together when we did the math, they represented nearly eight hundred thousand dollars in annual services. So let me say that again so you can hear it, because some salons that might even wipe them out eight hundred thousand dollars in services.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Yeah, most salons don't survive that, Jen. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

You're right, most salons don't. And I don't want to pretend it didn't hurt. Like, you know, I had given those people, those teammates, everything. I felt like I'd given them everything. And, you know, sitting in that salon watching it unravel felt like a betrayal I hadn't seen coming. And but somewhere, you know, underneath the hurt, something else started to form. You know, there became clarity because when I got quiet enough to really look at what else had happened, really look, I realized something that changed everything for me. And that was when I realized that I truly didn't have a people problem, I had a systems problem. And, you know, the moment that I saw that, I truly couldn't unsee it. And so I put the right systems in place, you know, simple, clear, consistent, and the guests stayed because they didn't belong to those service providers or those stylists. You know, they belonged to the experience that I had built, and the experience didn't walk out the door. And I one thing, Lindsay, I remember too, is I think I shared with you we kept like 82%, not kept, we we did. We kept 82% of the revenue that those service providers represented.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

82%, Jen. That is truly incredible. It really is.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

Yeah, and then I remember and not to brag, but it was like four months later. I think we had our best, I think it was four or five months later, we had our best month ever.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Yeah, you know, Jin, that right there, that's the entire premise of this book. Not just the comeback, but the whole reason the comeback was even possible.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah, because truly, if you think about it, it was never about the people, it was always about the systems. And the systems come from identity. And, you know, truly that's what we're gonna unpack today.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Yeah, so let's go ahead and name the thing. Let's actually name it because I think there are salon owners listening right now who have been feeling this for years and have never had words for it. You know, when I opened my salon, everybody said I was gonna crush it. You know, I was talented, connected, and they were right. I was busy

The Service Provider Identity Trap

SPEAKER_00 7:16

and I was exhausted and I was underpaid, and I was probably resentful, and I couldn't figure out why, because everything looked like it was working.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

Yeah, you know, Lindsay, that's truly the part that kind of breaks my heart. Like when I hear this from salon owners, you know, the outside looks great, the Instagram looks great, the chair is full, and inside they're still drowning.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

You drowning because, you know, here's what's actually happening, and this is the core of what we unpack in this book, you know. And I had never made the shift. I was still operating as a service provider who happened to own a business. I was not operating as a salon business owner, and those two things are not the same identity.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

And you said I was still operating as a service provider who happened to own a business, not as a salon business owner. Man, those are such fundamentally different identities. Like, and the difference isn't about how good you are at your craft, it's about what you believe your role is.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

Right. And, you know, we're not just saying work on your business, not in it, which is great. Thank you, Michael Gerber. We love you. You know, we're saying something different. We're saying the reason you can't step back, the reason you can't hold your team accountable, the reason you know the business can't survive without you in it is not because you don't know the strategy. It's because your identity hasn't caught up yet.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah, here's what I know is true, Lindsay. I know you can relate to this. Like I kept hiring coaches, taking courses, every course available. Yep, signed up, implementing systems, and they worked for a minute, but then I'd slide right back to the same pro the same patterns and problems. Like, and what I didn't understand was that I was trying to install new behaviors on top of an old identity, and that old identity always wins, until you change who you believe you are, the strategies are just band-aids.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Can we say that again? Because we need people to really hear it. You know, the old identity always wins, you know, until you change who you believe you are, the strategies are just band-aids, like you said, Jen. You know, so here's what's actually happening in the brain of a service provider who cannot make the leap. You know, as a service provider, your value is tied into your hands, your presence to you physically doing the thing. You know, and when you make that the core of your identity, your brain starts doing something really sneaky. You know, it starts equating your worth with your productivity, with how many clients you see or guests you see, or with how busy you are.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Yeah, and that one that one hits on too because, like, truly, like I've been here before, like that busyness becomes a badge of honor. Like, look at me, busy. It's written on my shirt, right? We wear it, we post about it, you know, we're fully booked for three months plus, and again, that's great. But if you're fully booked and you cannot take a day off without the revenue disappearing, you don't, you do not let me repeat that, you do not own a business, you own a job.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

And that's a hard thing to hear, you know, but it's a really a necessary thing because until you see it, you can't change it.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Yeah. And let me get personal here for a second. You know, there was a season in my business where I was making what looked like good money on paper, you know, taking home almost nothing, full team, managing every schedule, doing my own guest, handling every complaint. And, you know, someone said to me, Jen, are you running a salon or are you running from yourself?

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Yeah, because like the constant motion, the busyness, it wasn't just about the business. It was about the fact that if I stopped moving, I'd have to sit with the question of whether I was actually cut out for this. And that question, like, it truly terrified me.

SPEAKER_00 11:33

Yeah, I understand because behind the chair, you know you're good. You know, you have evidence, years of evidence. But being in the owner's seat, you don't have that evidence yet. And your brain is terrified of failure. So it keeps pulling you back into what feels safe. And nobody told you this was happening, nobody named it or naming it. That's literally what this book does. It names it, normalizes it, and gives you a way out.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Okay, so let's talk practically. Someone listening is going, I get it. You know, I have an identity problem. Now, what do I do? What does the book actually give me?

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Great. So one of the core frameworks in the book is what we call be do have. And the reason it works is because it completely inverts the way most salon owners are thinking. Most people think if I could just have more clients, more revenue, a better team, you know, whatever that is, then I could do the things a real owner does. And then I'd finally be the confident salon owner that I want to be.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

You know, and I think that's how almost everyone runs. It's like have, do, be, and it never works because the have never comes when you're waiting for it to tell you who you are.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Yeah, because you know what actually works is inverting it. When you be first, you decide who you are, you step into the identity of the salon business owner before you have all of the proof, you know, before the revenue justifies it, before the team is perfect, before everything is in place. You know, this is Napoleon

Be Do Have And The Owner Compass

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Hill's whole premise. And obviously, we titled the book as a nod to think and grow rich because Hill's point is that your thoughts and beliefs precede your results. You know, the mental game is actually what comes first.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

When you think about it, when what we did is take that fundamental or that foundational truth and apply it specifically to this industry because salon owners have a very specific set of conditioning that is unique to us. You know, the I'm not a business person or numbers person, um, I'm an artist belief, right? The I feel guilty charging more belief. Anybody can relate to that, or the I can't ask my team to do things I wouldn't do myself, belief.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

So you just do it all yourself, all of it, you know, and the book doesn't shame any of it, it just shines a light on it and says, this is what's running you. And here's how to upgrade it. You know, we also walk through what we call the salon owner compass. It's a framework for understanding the four roles every successful salon owner has to be able to play. And most owners are only ever living inside of one of them.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yeah, and the and the compass doesn't say you have to be equally strong in all four forever. You know, it says that you need to know where you are at any given time and build capacity in the areas where you are most exposed.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Yeah, it's like self-awareness as a business strategy and the clarity it creates in your hiring, your team conversations, and truly how you spend your time, it changes everything. You know, and I want to stop for just a second and actually paint a picture because I think we spend so much time talking about what's hard that sometimes we forget to talk about what's possible. You know, I want you to picture a Tuesday, not a special Tuesday, just a regular Tuesday at your salon. And on this Tuesday, you're not behind the chair or table if you don't want to be. Your team is running everything on the salon floor, your systems are doing what systems are supposed to do, they're working without you. You look at your numbers and you understand them, you know, not just the big number at the top, all of it, you know, and it doesn't make your stomach drop. It gives you information, it tells you what to do next. You know, your team members aren't quietly applying at the booth rental down the street because they don't need to, because the opportunity that you've built inside of your salon is better than anything outside of it. And if someone does leave someone date someday, you know, you don't even panic because you've built something that doesn't depend on any one person,

A Tuesday That Runs Without You

SPEAKER_00 16:39

not even you.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

Oh, good news. I love what you said, Lindsay, because that Tuesday, that Tuesday exists, you know. I'm living it, you living it. And I would tell you that the path from where you are right now to that Tuesday is not as long as you think it is, right? Because it starts with one thing. It starts with that identity shift, and everything else is just execution. And execution is actually the easy part. Um, and can I say one more thing here, too? Is because I think about the version of me that was standing in the salon after a walkout, eight people gone, eight hundred thousand dollars walking out the door. You know, that version of me would not have believed that this Tuesday was possible. She would have thought, this is just what the industry is. It's just the salon industry. Like this is just how it goes. You know, but that Tuesday is what we that, but that Tuesday actually is when we had um what we had inside of a year. Um, and the only thing that changed was the way I saw the problem and the way I saw myself.

unknown 17:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

And, you know, that's the book. That's all of it right there. You know, and there's one more piece of the book I want to talk about before we go into how you can grab it. And it's the section that honestly gets me the most emotional when I'm when I read it back, you know, and it's what we call the beauty pro manifesto.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

This one. That's my favorite too. This one, yeah. I can feel it actually when Lindsay was just saying, I feel it in my chest because one of the most, you know, um, the greatest things in the industry is the self-deprecating culture that we've built. Oh, I'm just a hairdresser. I didn't go to college, I went to beauty school. And so many of us carry that. You know, we came in the industry already feeling like we chose something less than, and it shows up everywhere, you know, it and how we price and how we hold space in a conversation and how we lead our teams.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Yeah, and the manifesto is about drawing a line and saying, you know, I know what I bring, I know the value I create, I know what this profession means to the people I have the opportunity to serve. And I'm done apologizing for it.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Yeah, and you're not just a hairdresser, you're not just a nail tech, like you're not just an aesthetician, like you run a business that creates real transformation for real people. Like you are a leader, like you are an entrepreneur, and you deserve to see yourself

The Beauty Pro Manifesto

SPEAKER_01 19:08

that way.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Yeah, and you know, here's why I'm telling you this right now. We're telling you this right now. Because when you grab the book during the pre-sale, just short little window, uh, you also get a Beauty Pro t-shirt, a real physical shirt. You don't even have to run a 5K to get it. And it's not just a bonus, it's a declaration. You know, it's you saying out loud to yourself, to your team, to anyone who sees you in it. I know who I am, I know what I'm building, and I'm done shrinking.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Funny enough, Lindsay, someone is gonna see you in that shirt and ask about it. We just wore, I wore a shirt to a career fair, and everybody's like, where did you get that shirt? I want one. Um, and you know, and what you're going to say, what I said to them was like, I'm a beauty professional. Like, I'm building something that matters. I own a salon, and that moment, that's the manifesto in action because you've even before you've even truly finished the book.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Yeah, you know, and here's what we want you to do right now, before the episode finishes playing. Think and get rich as a salon owner is available for pre-sale right now. Today, the link is in the show notes and it's the first thing you'll see. The book ships in a few weeks, which means when you order today, you are locking in your copy and your founding price before the general public even knows this exists. And you have two options. You have a physical copy, aka the real book that will be in your hands in May, or a digital copy. And yes, you get that the moment it's released too. Either way, you are getting it at the founding price before the full launch, before the price goes up. You know, this is our way of saying thank you to the people who show up here every week. You get first access, you get the best price.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

Yeah, and here's the part that I really need you to hear is everyone who orders during the pre-sale window gets that free Beauty Pro t-shirt we talked about. It's a real physical t-shirt, it's really cool. Uh, and I want to be very clear this shirt is only available during the pre-sale. So when the book launches publicly in May, the shirts are gone. So there's no way to get one after that window closes. So if you want the shirt, and trust me, once you hear what it stands for, you're gonna want it. You have to order before we launch.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

Yeah, because that shirt is a declaration. It's the

Pre-Sale Details And Listener Actions

SPEAKER_00 21:27

beauty Beauty Pro Manifesto made physical. It's you saying out loud, I know who I am, I know what I'm building, and I'm done shrinking. And someone is gonna see you and ask about it, like we talked about, and you're gonna get to tell them exactly who you are.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

So you get the book shipping in May, you get the founding price, and you get the shirt that disappears the moment that we launch the book. The link is in the show notes. It's the first link that you will see. So go get it right now while the episode is still playing.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Yeah, and even if you are already inside salon. Business school, this book is for you, especially. You know, everything inside it amplifies everything you're already doing inside the work. You know, that's same framework, same philosophy. Get the book, bring it into your work inside of the program and let it deepen everything.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

And if you're not in salon business school yet, uh first, what are you waiting for? But seriously, you guys, like this book is the perfect introduction. You know, if you read it and you think, ah, I want to go deeper on this, that's exactly what the salon owner code is for. And we'll tell you more about that on the other side of your order.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Yeah, and share this episode. You know, I'm serious. If anything we said today landed with you, if you heard yourself in any of this, there's someone in your world who needs to hear it, a salon owner friend, you know, someone you see inside of groups somewhere who is clearly carrying something heavy. Send them this episode, send them the link. It matters more than you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Yeah, our DMs are open and we truly mean that. We are actually humans who actually talk to salon owners. Um, and if this episode steered something up, reach out, you know, ask your questions, start the conversation.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

Yeah, because you know, that's what this is all about. You know, salon owners waking up to who they actually are and what they're actually capable of. And we don't take lightly that you show up here every week and let us be a part of that.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Yeah, I would say we're, Lindsay, we were just we're genuinely honored by it every single time.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Yeah. So, you know, thank you for being here today. This episode was a big deal for us. Uh, this book is a big deal for us. Go get your copy. Pre-sale is open now. Shirt is included, link is in the show notes, and then go be the salon owner that you already are. You just haven't let yourself see it yet. All right, we'll see you next week.