With ten years’ experience, Brian McCallum gives his top ten tips on how to run a successful salon.
ROAR Hair & Beauty prides itself on its incredible customer service, tight knit team, and the gorgeous hair looks they create. With a decade of success under his belt, Creative Director and ROAR owner, Brian ‘Leo’ McCallum shares his top tips on how to run a successful salon business.
- Get an accountant: Seems like an obvious statement for any business owner, but hiring an accountant helps salons manage complex industry finances, stay compliant with tax laws and improve profitability.
- Nurture the team: Building a strong, cohesive team is vital for your business. Motivated stylists perform better, increasing the salon’s reputation and sales revenue.
- Pick the right people: Your team is the face, hands and heart of the business. A salon is a tight, shared environment and having one person who bring a negative, toxic or unmotivated vibe to the salon can have a massive impact and destroy team morale.
- Make sure you have a clear mission, vision and values for the team: These three pillars act as the foundation of your salon – a shared vision acts as a ‘North Star’, keeping everyone heading in the same direction. Team members feel more driven and take greater ownership when they understand the bigger purpose behind their work.
- Say yes to opportunities: Whether it’s behind the chair, in a team or in day-to-day operations, saying yes to opportunities is important for skill development, career growth and industry reputation.
- No big egos: At ROAR, it is important to leave your ego at the door! When an individual ego dominates it can create a toxic atmosphere where clients feel alienated and the team have difficulty working together. Instead, we prioritise working together, motivating each other and creating an atmosphere that has clients excited to return to.
- Remember: Being a good hairdresser doesn’t mean you’re a good business owner. Believing that a good hairdresser automatically means you’re a good business owner is one of the biggest things that leads to failure. Understanding that a salon is not just a place to do hair is crucial – it demands leadership, financial management and operations in place to run smoothly.
- Learn the numbers: When we don’t understand the numbers, we fall into the trap of working harder instead of smarter. Making strategic tweaks that yields bigger results can impact the salon massively.
- Educate, don’t sell: Shift the team’s mindset from ‘selling products’ to ‘prescribing haircare’. Encourage them to use their knowledge to help clients maintain their hair.
- Have fun!: Customers can easily sense positive energy, making them feel welcomed and relaxed. A fun environment benefits the team and the clients.