Salon Owner Interviews
Long conversations Rebekah Harrison recorded with salon owners and educators about how they built their salons and teams. Every interview has the video and a full transcript, credited to the person who said it. The guides further down pull their advice together by topic.
The interviews
Greg Chavez
Forty years in hair, three salons, and the four to six month associate program he runs at Salon Kreed.
Read the interview Allure Designs, Libertyville, IllinoisShelly Malizola
How she built a seven-figure salon with a small team, named it for the Yellow Pages, and turned it into an education center.
Read the interview LouisianaWendy McCown and Lensi White
Twenty-seven years running a commission salon, the move to a three-day week, and opening private studios for independent stylists.
Read the interview Elleven Salon, Huntsville, AlabamaBecky Dobbs
Associate levels, shareholders who started at the front desk, and what a partnership that did not fit taught her.
Read the interview Solana Beach, CaliforniaTravis Parker
The salon owner and founder of the Travis Parker Academy on teaching, delegating, and the patience a career takes.
Read the interview Educator, seven-time NAHA winnerVivienne Mackinder
On lifelong education, creativity, and why so many stylists today cannot cut short hair.
Read the interview New YorkScott Buchanan
From a 450 square foot, five-chair salon in Manhattan to five locations and 220 people, and why he leads people and manages systems.
Read the interviewGuides for salon owners
Salon Apprenticeships, State by State
Hours for 22 states from official sources, and how owners run associate programs.
Read the guide GuideSalon Culture: What Six Owners Do to Keep a Team
The schedules, training, levels and task lists six owners use to keep good stylists.
Read the guide GuideHow to Open a Hair Salon: What Six Owners Learned
Real startup numbers, partner lessons, and why to plan your exit before you open.
Read the guide GuideSalon Manager and Front Desk Duties
The daily list, booking rules, consultation forms and reviews that keep a salon running without the owner on the floor.
Read the guide GuideWhy Good Stylists Quit, and How to Keep Them
Boredom, burnout, the pull of going independent, and being managed instead of led, in the owners' own words.
Read the guide GuideHair Consultation Questions to Ask Every Client
Vivienne Mackinder’s consultation method, and a form you can copy.
Read the guide GuideHow to Build a Clientele as a Hairstylist
An experience worth repeating, work people can see, a specialty, and referrals.
Read the guide GuideHair Salon Name Ideas, and Six Checks Before You Pick
How Allure and Salon Kreed got their names, plus 84 ideas and the checks to run.
Read the guide