Salon Swagger

Brie Holt (00:01)
Hey there and welcome to Salon Swagger, make bank run the show, ditch the chair, the podcast where we dive into the ups downs and everything in between when it comes to running a commission salon or spa. I'm Brie and I am joined by a very special guest whom we will introduce shortly. And as always the amazing Chandra C. Hey Chandra.

Chandra (00:19)
Hello, hello.

Brie Holt (00:21)
Well, today we are going to spotlight what I call an unsung hero in the beauty industry, the salon consultants. These behind the scene pros, they do so much more than we freaking realize as salon and spa owners. They help salon stock their shelves, they strategize promotions, they do so much more. I mean, they solve challenges that we don't even know are on the horizon sometime. So joining us today is Krystelle, a seasoned pro with Salon Services Pro with

15 years of experience in the professional beauty industry, Krystelle, she's pretty much done it all from hair shows to the salon floor. It's pretty cool. After spending a decade with the largest professional beauty distributor, she brought her expertise to Salon Services Pro, a family owned distributor. Now she works as a salon consultant, helping businesses across Arizona connect with luxury products and strategies to really elevate their success. Krystelle, welcome to Salon Swagger.

Krystelle Marcotte (01:17)
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here with you guys.

Brie Holt (01:21)
Well, we are excited to pick your brain. I can tell you that for sure. So I kind of just want to start out by hearing about what first sparked your passion for the industry.

Krystelle Marcotte (01:24)
Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. It's a beautiful question. I would say for myself, I grew up in the beauty industry. So my grandma, my mom, my aunt, they all have been within the beauty industry. I had my first perm when I was seven years old. I wanted to be baby from dirty dancing. was definitely an inspiration of mine at a young age. I just remember, you know, my aunt was just starting beauty school and this happened. It wasn't the best perm. Don't get me wrong. Like it was her first perm.

But I remember the feeling afterwards. And I remember watching my mom, my aunt put so much effort and time into the beauty industry and how much they really cared about changing others' lives. And I myself, I actually was a tomboy at a young age. So the beauty industry was not something I was very familiar with. So I feel like that was a pivotal moment for me. And just being able to watch that journey throughout, I definitely saw how you had the ability to change lives. And it definitely was very inspirational for me.

Brie Holt (02:30)
Yeah, I love that. That's awesome. With such a rich background, you know, in the industry, what has been the most rewarding part of actually working in the beauty industry for you?

Krystelle Marcotte (02:41)
I would say the relationships, most definitely and the partnerships that I've been able to create and elevate. mean, Chandra is one of them for sure. She was one of my first clients that I had, you know, joining as a salon rep with Salon Services. And I think it's, you know, really understanding what's going on in the salon and behind the chair and being able to really understand those things and, you know, bring that forward to our distributor and to our brands as well. feel like

that's really where some of that voice comes from, right? We hear the chatter on social media and all of those different pieces, but to physically be able to sit down with a salon owner and understand their struggles on a day to day and being able to utilize that information to give to our distributor partners and our brands, I think is absolutely amazing. So definitely the relationship piece I would say is the most rewarding for me.

Brie Holt (03:34)
love that. I think for you, it's kind of different. I mean, I have worked with many reps throughout my decades in the industry, not going to say how old I am, but a long time. And you've kind of seen the industry from a lot of different angles, hair shows, the salon floor now consulting and doing these things. How have these experiences really shaped the way that you work with salons today?

Krystelle Marcotte (03:58)
That's a fabulous question. And it's something that I reflect upon, I think daily when I'm conversations with salon owners. I think for myself, I really wanted to be well-rounded. I know I will probably be in this industry for the rest of my life. So I've always wanted to make moves that would help shape me, right? Whether it's not about just necessarily climbing the ladder or going sideways or going up, going down, all aspects of it. I really want to understand the inside and out.

how I can bring the most value to our salon owners. So I feel like for myself, any opportunity that presented itself to me, whether I thought it was, you know, taking a step back or a step forward, I definitely wanted to make sure that I was going in the right direction just for my clients and to be able to learn everything that I would need to, to bring a value to them.

Brie Holt (04:46)
That's really awesome. I think for me, one of the things that kind of caught my attention with you was that you did move from, you know, a really big company to that smaller company. And I am all about small businesses. Like just, I love that. How has working with a family owned company really been a game changer for you?

Krystelle Marcotte (05:08)
So I would say most definitely understanding more of the behind the scenes, right? So when you work for a larger corporation, of course, there's many, many chiefs and a lot of Indians. So a lot of times you might not have as big of a scope to understand what's really going on behind the scenes. I feel like with a family owned distributor, you see a lot more of the things you wouldn't see with a larger distributor, such as brand expectations, brand support, rewards. You know, there's so many different aspects that go into that.

when you're with a bigger distributor, right? You're only getting bits and pieces, right? Because there's a bigger picture and then it kind of gets chopped down into smaller bits down the ladder. And then that's how you get the communication. I feel like with a smaller distributor, you really start to understand what the owner's vision is and the CEO of your distributor as well. Not to say, you know, from previous distributors that I worked for, that they didn't have, you know, a bigger vision. They do. Absolutely. But the vision is much different.

For myself, I always wanted to climb that corporate ladder. I wanted to go all the way to the top and I got to see the top and it wasn't as beautiful as what I thought it was going to be. And I started to notice that maybe I wasn't going in a direction that I wanted to for my clients and for what I truly was passionate about. So I had a lot of things shift in my life personally that kind of brought that to fruition as well too. And I was able to really look at my life from a bigger picture and be like, whoa, is this what I want?

Like, is at the basis of my passion? Like, what do I truly want to do? And then that's where, you know, I slowly started to take a step back from that ladder, as you will, and, you know, say my goodbyes and my two cents and then kind of look elsewhere. I will say it's nice to be able to sit down with an owner of a distributor and hear their story. So for those of you who aren't familiar with Salon Services, we...

are a distributor on the West Coast, so we don't cover the entire US, which is, in my personal opinion, nice, because we truly have just the sector of the West Coast, which in my personal opinion, the West is the best. It's nice because I can see what George, our owner, kind of went through in his story and the connections that he's made and the individuals that he's worked with as well too. And he truly has the mindset.

of the stylist in mind. And I think that's where I related to him the most of like, he wants to support small businesses, right? Not to say maybe the others don't, but at the same time, that is at the heart and the value of what he does. And that's majority of what our industry is. So for me, when I saw that value, I was like, you know, I need to meet my clients where they're at, and I need to see their struggles that they're going through, versus, you know, just these larger chain salons.

I want to know, I want to be in the thick of it with everybody and kind of understand that. So that's kind of my outlook on it.

Brie Holt (08:06)
that's really neat. And I think a lot of salon owners and stylists can probably relate to that as well. You know, they work in the big corporation stores or things like that. And then they move to the smaller commission salons and really get a different opportunity. They see it from a whole different level. And so I think everybody can relate to that in a way. I don't think that people realize just how much goes in to your role every single day.

So I think it's important for our listeners that maybe you kind of walk us through what a day in your role typically looks like.

Krystelle Marcotte (08:40)
So every day is different, just like every day with your clients is different behind the chair. So honestly, a lot of it has to do with like channel planning. So we do a lot of planning month by month based on where our brands are going to be and if they're going to be visiting and education and sales and KPIs, which are definitely important for us. So we kind of plan those pieces out. have an outlook that we look at for the entire month of what that is. And then I have my client list, of course.

What I just recently did this year is I actually moved to appointment only with most of my clients. And what that means is not the traditional style of a rep popping in and you're with a client behind the chair and they're like, hey, this hairspray is on sale. That's not really where we're at anymore, right? So I've really been able to understand and adapt to see what my clients like and where I bring value to them. And coming in to sell one hairspray is not a value to them, right?

to numerous different distributors now. have distributors almost on every corner now, you know, so especially in Arizona, I'm sure it may be different in other states, but here we're very saturated. So what I like to do is really understand where my clients would like to meet once a month. And basically I follow my monthly schedule that I have outlined for them. We'll review their sales that they had for the month. We'll review any sales that I have coming up for that month or the next month. We run by month.

specials versus every single month. And part of the reason why we do bimonthly is so that way it gives our salon owners the opportunity to really look at the sales that we're offering as a distributor and for them to integrate it within their services in the salon. So my job is to sit down with them and discuss, know, hey, this is what's coming. We do have stylers on sale. Maybe we want to run a styler promotion inside the salon as well too. So that way we can kind of help with those profits.

We'll also review rewards. So depending on what tier you're at with your spending, whether it's bi-monthly, quarterly, or yearly, we can discuss absolutely where you're at and where you're projecting to hit. Especially sometimes some brands might update rewards. And sometimes I have a little bit more of that insight of like, hey, if you actually spend five grand this month versus two grand, you'll make $700 more. So I really am diving deeper with them to have that better understanding.

along with planning out education. I love planning out education for the entire year or for months to come so that way we really are on track. I do find it very beneficial for most reps to take the beginning of the year as the biggest time to really connect with our salon owners because of the fact that we typically are slower in January and February and we really start to amp up later in the year, right?

Me having a conversation with a salon owner about planning out education in November just is not going to work, right? So it's really adjusting and planning out for the entire year. So my day goes based on appointments. Sometimes, you know, I also have to manage orders. So depending, I have some salon owners who love to do their orders alone. I have other owners who send me a list of their orders and I go through their inventory.

understand how much they should carry like min max, know, understanding, hey, you sell 12 of these a week and you're constantly ordering them. Let's bulk up a little bit more. I also have brand calls. So here at salon services, we do our monthly initiative calls. We also have our brand calls. So a lot of our brand managers and representatives will reach out to me and say, Hey, Christelle, we're coming out in February or March. Do you have any salon owners?

you know, that we could pop in and see. So, you know, I'm really managing their schedule as well when they're coming out and they're visiting. And there's much more, right? There's back borders, there's damages inside of a salon. I've had owners call me before, Krystelle, the salon is booked and busy and this whole box is blown up. What are we going to do? I throw in my cape and I make it to the salon, right? And I start cleaning those shampoo bottles. So it, every day is different. It just depends on what's, you know, kind of going on and what challenges.

know, salon owners might have. I have cases where a salon lost power and I was able to connect with another salon to get them to be able to shampoo out their clients because they lost power. you know, there's just so many different things that I do on a day to day. So it's hard to say exactly what it is every single day.

Brie Holt (13:09)
I think that's awesome. And I think one of the coolest things that I didn't even realize with all of my experience in the industry until I started coaching was really the integration that you can kind of have between someone like yourself and us coaches, right? There are so many things that you can do behind the scenes to support the success of salon owners the same way that we do. And it kind of gives me chills. It's really cool when you think about it that way. So

For those listeners out there, if you are not utilizing your reps in the way that you should, you really need to rethink what you're doing because they can support you. Now, Krystelle, in your experience, what makes for a truly strong and effective partnership between a salon and their sales consultant? Because I think that is really, really important. And I also think it's important that you find the right person for you.

A lot of people think they're just stuck with whoever comes along. And I don't mean that in a bad way, but that's not the truth. Like you can find the one that vibes with you for sure.

Krystelle Marcotte (14:15)
Absolutely. think it's more so kind of going back to what I was talking about as far as the relationship pieces, right? And I'm not saying like, you know, there are some reps who are out there who just want to sell you a hairspray, but there are a lot of reps who are out there who truly want to understand your business. And I think my advice is being more open minded, right? I think we have sometimes a different outlook on some of the sales reps who come in. They're like, she's just dropping something off. I don't want to talk to her. I don't want to do that. Right. And it's like, wait, but

what value is she trying to bring to me? What is he trying to discuss with me? And being a little bit more curious as an owner and anybody who's looking to elevate their business, they should know that sometimes you got to be a little uncomfortable and step outside your comfort zone and have that awkward conversation with somebody to see if it's truly going to be a great fit. So what I would say is have those conversations with your reps.

sit down, leverage and understand what they can bring a value to you. Cause all of us are different, right? And what makes us different is the background and maybe what we've been through and what our vision is moving forward. And if that aligns with you, I'm telling you right now, it's going to help you in your business moving forward. Um, cause I do, I have owners now to this day, like I had a girl who called me yesterday. She's like, Christelle, I made $10,000 more than I did last year, this year. She's like, but I feel like that's not enough. And I'm like, girl, what are you talking about? Like you,

You know, I'm there to hype her up. I'm like, listen, you made an extra $10,000. You only invested over $2,000 more in your services. So you truly did come up on top, right? So you're right as far as like the business coach piece too, as a rep, I have a lot of those conversations daily where I have a stylist say, I don't know if I can do this anymore. And I'm like, what can I do as your rep, as a friend, as a partner, you know, to make you feel differently, because I don't believe that, right?

So I truly do think it's just having those conversations and seeing if that person can bring something of value to you and if they truly are their authentic self to want to help you grow. Because we're all different.

Brie Holt (16:21)
Absolutely. mean, I can tell that just from speaking with you on here for sure. So something that Chandra and I notice all the time is that salons, they really struggle with inventory, with product selection, with budgeting, all of those things. So what are some of the most common mistakes that you've seen and how can salon owners kind of avoid or fix those?

Krystelle Marcotte (16:47)
That's a great question. So there's kind of two sides to that. I would say the biggest pain point that I see when it comes to inventory management is that I see a lot of salon owners. I like to use the analogy pots, right? I love to plant. I like to do like little tiny hobbies outside of work. I think of pots, right? So if you're pouring into multiple, your money into multiple different pots, multiple different brands, they're slowly all going to grow, right? Versus if you were to take one pot,

nourish that pot, water it daily, look at it, clip it, do everything you can to groom that beautiful plant, it's going to flourish, right? So when you think about using your money and pouring your money into separate different buckets, it's the same aspect. So the more you pour into one brand into one distributor, the more you're going to get back. The more you are picking into multiple different distributors, you're going to get a little bit back from each one and you're maybe not going to get as much of value.

So what I always like to say is I never really understood this in full transparency working in a bigger distributor. This picture, right? I always was like, my gosh, girl, try this hairspray from this brand. Try this brand. Try this brand. Like, this is amazing. Try this. I love this. And I had a million different products under my sink. My husband said it looked like he had seven sisters. He's like, what is going on? Now you look under there and I only have a few select, right? I represent multiple different brands.

But what I've come to learn is that truly when you pour into one brand and you find a brand that truly cares about who you are as a salon owner and an individual, they will pour back into you. And same with your distributor partners as well. If you are partnering with a distributor and you are doing most of your business with them and they're not giving you something back, you are with the wrong distributor, right? So it's really understanding how are they going to help you and you help them.

It's a partnership together, right? Some of those bigger distributors, maybe you're not big enough for them to give you anything back, right? So that's where we have more of the smaller distributors where you don't need to spend $100,000 with me a year in order to get support, right? You can spend $10,000 with me and you'll see me every month. You know what I mean? So, or $4,000. It doesn't matter what that number kind of looks like. We are able to adjust and adapt based on that business.

but that's how smaller distributors are able to make it, right? It's because a lot of those bigger guys, say, hey, you're not big enough for us. I'm sorry, but we're going to move on and focus on this commission salon that has 15 locations, right? I have commission owners who have two salons and they do absolutely amazing more than some of those bigger guys are doing now, right? Because they get that extra value and that extra attention. So going back to that question, it's just more so limiting what you have.

Brie Holt (19:26)
Yep

Krystelle Marcotte (19:35)
Right? When I walk into Target now, I am so overwhelmed because there's so much selection. I went in for a mascara and I left with no mascara because there was just too many options, right? Versus if you have two options of a hairspray, that right there is going to be a little bit of a different conversation that you're going to have. And then also making sure the brand that you're partnering with kind of aligns with who you are. So a really good example I use for a lot of saloners is like Ohana is a very great example.

They are a clean, they are sustainable salon. They are focused on the wellness and the wellbeing of their clients. And they partner only with brands that emulate that as well. Right? So they really tailor how their marketing looks inside the salon. And they tailor how their promotions are inside the salon based on that as well too. that right there kind of goes back full force. You know, when you invest in that brand, maybe you can get free education for the year because of all of that money that you spent for that entire year.

with that one brand, now they're gonna fly out educators four or five times that year to teach your entire team on how to do new trends, new styles, you know what I mean? So they're really giving back to you. And then the piece where budgeting, that is a hard one. And the reason why I say that is because I've been on both sides of the industry where I've been able to see.

maybe how brands or distributors run their promotions based on how hairstylists or salon owners like to spend, right? We all love a great deal, right? We all get so excited as soon as we see 20 % off, 15 % off when we rush to the store, we get so excited and we're like, my gosh, I have to get this right now or I'm going to lose out on tons of money. That's not necessarily true. You know, so a lot of times it has to do with marketing, right? I always like to use the example of

Brie Holt (21:07)
yeah.

Correct.

Krystelle Marcotte (21:26)
you know, sometimes you have companies that might spend 60 % of their money that they make as a company on marketing, right? So it's like, they really are focusing on how do we drive sales? How do we do that? How do get people inside the door? That's their job. And they do a wonderful job at that. But at the same time, you don't need to go to a distributor every single week if they have a different sale, right? So it's more so about understanding what price points are.

Working with your reps or your distributors to understand if there's different pricing in store, if there's different pricing within the warehouse. So really understanding what those margins might look like. Understanding what your monthly budget is, right? So like as a salon owner, you're like, hey, I can afford to spend $1,000 on color this month and maybe $600 in retail. I'm gonna, based on my services, I know that I'm busier in November, maybe I can raise that budget, right? So it's really being strategic and.

putting a limit on yourself just like you do with your bills at home, right? We take that very seriously. We know how much our mortgage is. We know how much roughly sometimes electricity it's budgeting and it's all about understanding what's coming in and what's coming out. And then also your retail sales, right? So a lot of times that can pay for itself. If you are managing your retail efficiently, that itself can pay on its own. And that's where a majority of your profits can come from. And that's where it comes from.

Right now I see the struggle with retail within the salons because of Amazon and other big box. I hear it all the time, Christal. don't know if I want to retail anymore because they grab their phone and they look it up online and they just want to buy it. I'm like, that's great. They're going to buy it. Do they know how to use it? It's like, no. And I'm like, well, that's the value that you're bringing into that product. It's not just...

I'm selling you this product just to sell it to you. I'm going to sell it to you. I'm going to show you how to use it. You're going to love your hair. And then you're going to ask me, what else can I add to my regimen because my hair looks so great, right? So we forget about those pieces and what truly is going on inside of a salon that brings a value. And there are brands still within the pro industry that aren't available on Amazon. We have multiple different brands. That's also a difference with working with smaller distributors.

I know George, for instance, for salon services, he takes that very seriously and making sure that the brands that we represent and the brands that we have truly do have the salon and the stylist in mind. So I will say, know, majority of my salons who are very heavy with retail sales and did amazing last year are because they focus and they pivoted on brands maybe that focused more so on them and that had more of the exclusivity towards them versus, you know, in Amazon. They just cut the conversation entirely.

you know, they're like, because it is I get it, I've seen it. I've been in a waiting room before and watched this brand new stylist come up and recommend the shampoo to this woman. And she's like, is this it? She shows her phone and it's on Amazon. She's like, Yeah, it is. And she's like, Well, it doesn't look like it's coming from the branch. Like I have no idea where you're buying that from, ma'am. Like, I don't know. She's like, Well, can you sell it to me at this price? And then she's like, Gosh, let me go ask my manager. And I'm sitting there and I'm like,

That has to be a difficult conversation, right? You just made this person feel beautiful. Everything was going great. You had great conversations, the whole nine, and then now you're having to go talk to your manager about pricing on a shampoo. if you have the ability to cut that out of like, hey, I represent a brand, it is not on Amazon. If you find it on Amazon, it's not coming directly from the brand. It's still an exclusive, right? So that just makes things so much different. And all clientele's different.

Brie Holt (24:41)
Yeah.

Krystelle Marcotte (25:07)
I have some girls who are like, my clients don't even look at Amazon. They know and they trust me. And I think that's great. So it just depends. But yeah, I would definitely say just investing in the brands that are there to invest you budgeting and being strategic is going to be the biggest key.

Brie Holt (25:24)
Yeah, I think that was all amazing, amazing advice. And a lot of it is what we coach people on every single day. Budgeting is really, really a, an area that most commission salon owners struggle in. And it's, really sad because in this industry, we've just made it a norm to be broke and to not make money and to not have profitability over 3%. And so it's good to know that it is possible and that it can happen.

I want to kind of shift gears a little bit to like industry trends and insights because you are on the front lines of the beauty industry. So what trends are you seeing right now that salon owners should maybe pay attention to a little bit?

Krystelle Marcotte (26:07)
So one of my favorite trends is the experience. So, and what I mean by that is I feel like the experiences are back in the salon. And I always go back to, you I hate to mention a specific brand, but Aveda does come to mind where they used to do the hand massage inside the chair. And I remember having a lot of friends when we were in school and they're like, I don't like doing the hand massage. Like it's not my favorite. Now I feel like people want that.

They want to have that elevated experience. They want to feel pampered. They want to feel cared about. They're coming in for a service because they are looking to feel beautiful or they are looking to have, you know, that type of moment for themselves to be able to relax. And a lot of times decompress, right? A lot of us share a lot of that. know a lot of things about our clients. So definitely, you know, being able to unload and have that type of conversation almost like therapy. That's what I like to call it. That's definitely what is passionate.

you know, for them, they want to have that. So where I see is really bringing in those different types of experiences, whether I have some salons right now that have more waterfalls, I'm seeing a lot more waterfalls back inside of the salon. I'm seeing, you know, different type of music where it's very calming, lower lighting, higher lighting at the chair, maybe at the shampoo bowl, they're doing lower lighting. Another really, really big trend I think is going to continue to take off is head spa.

probably one of the biggest ones that I'm seeing. And I think a lot of that contributes towards, know, when we were in the pandemic, a lot of us were at home and we were learning how to take care of ourselves because we just had to stare at ourselves on Zoom all the time. We're like in the mirror and we're like, my gosh, I want to do a new face routine. And so a lot of us kind of dabbled into that and skin started to really take off within our industry because of that. And then I think now we've kind of hit a point where everybody's caring about their skin and now they're taking it a step.

further, which is our scalp, right? And really understanding where that scalp health comes from, along with medications, know, sicknesses, different things like that cause hair thinning, allocation, all of those, you know, things do contribute towards it. So I feel like with head spa, you really have the ability to see something you've never seen before, which is your scalp, right? And you have the opportunity to kind of maybe say, I do have a weird itch that I've always had, you know, the back right of my head, like, what is that? And you kind of get to learn more.

about the products that you're utilizing on your scalp and how your scalp and your face truly do kind of intertwine, right? So, and there's a lot of things within the beauty industry, because I not only represent hair, but we also have skin at my distributor as well. So I've been able to really dive in and understand from an aesthetic perspective what ingredients we utilize within our skincare companies.

and how that actually translates to haircare as well. And there are a ton of similarities that I feel like we never really understood or knew that now we kind of have a little bit more visibility towards. Myself, I would say I love Head Spa because it is one of the things that actually brings estheticians and hairstylists together. And that is something very unique within our industry because typically, I'm sure if you're watching and you know,

A lot of Estes and hair set, they are separate. They've always been separate. It's like, oh, my esthetician has a room. That's her room. She's in her room. You know what I mean? She's not out on the floor. So it's so much different. And it's cool because I've been able to, I always like to use this as an example. had a client of mine, I adore her to death. She opened up a head spa out here in Phoenix, Arizona. And she's an esthetician. And she was like, Christa, how do I shampoo hair? And in Arizona, you don't.

Brie Holt (29:32)
Yeah.

Krystelle Marcotte (29:53)
have to maintain a license in order to shampoo or blow dry hair. You can't use chemicals whatsoever, but you don't have to have a hairstylist license. And she was like, can you show me how to blow out hair? And I was like, absolutely, I can do that. I can show you how to blow out hair. I can show you how to shampoo it. And so what I did is I actually grabbed a hairstylist who was passionate about learning skin and was able to bring them together so that way they could learn from each other.

learning how to do skin, learning how to do hair, because those all integrate within Head Spa. And I feel like that was one of my proudest moments because at first my client was like, I don't know if I want somebody else. maybe if she's doing Head Spa, maybe she's going to take my clients. And I'm like, gosh, no, we are community. We are one, you know, bringing them together. And now they have like the best relationship in the world to help each other with plumbing. You know what I mean? They kind of have a Head Spa community going in Arizona.

Brie Holt (30:20)
Okay.

Krystelle Marcotte (30:47)
And they're bringing in even more head spas that are starting to pop up in Arizona and kind of have this collective community together. And I think another beautiful piece with that is as hairstylists, we're so used to go, go, go. Like how many clients can I get in my chair today? How much money can I make? And estheticians like, it's going to be two hours for your service. We're going to take our time and it's going to be a beautiful experience. You ask a hairstylist to do that for two hours, they might laugh at you and say, no, no, no, no, no, I'll do her back to back.

right? No. So it's nice because the estheticians can kind of hone in, you know, as a hairstylist saying, Hey, take your time. These are the massage points, you know, and really learning from each other. So I would say that's by far one of my most favorite trends. And I think it's going to continue to take off. And I think a lot of salon owners are really going to start to look at different ways that they could integrate the service because I don't think it's ever going to stop.

Brie Holt (31:42)
Yeah, that's so cool. And I just think as an industry we have, we've all gotten so far apart and it's just competitive constantly instead of being a collective and supporting each other. it's one thing that Chandra and I hear all the time, you know, is, well, I'm going to build these girls and they're just going to leave. And I'm like, good, let them, let them go teach them everything and let them be the type of salon owner that you've been to them because we need that in this industry. And so I think that's just.

Awesome. It has been so valuable having you here today. I've learned a lot. Not going to lie. I've learned a lot. But before we let you go, what is one key piece of advice that you would share with salon or spa owners who are really looking to elevate their business this year?

Krystelle Marcotte (32:32)
Go back through your service menu. Look at it, evaluate it, you know, be collaborative with your team when it comes to the services you're providing within the salon, right? So a lot of times we as owners could be very passionate about maybe one thing that we're offering inside the salon, but we're so used to doing everything that we've always done before and that's just how we do it. I think really stepping outside of your comfort zone and being collaborative with your team, especially with your younger stylist.

I know it's a generation we're still trying to understand, but I think really leveraging that new talent and understanding what they're seeing within the industry is very imperative and go with it. Like I'll say Chandra gets on social media with her team and I love it so much. And I see more and more owners now, you know, starting to jump on.

social media trend and you're seeing more of them, which I think is even more beautiful because a lot of times they're behind the scenes, right? But it's really understanding who you are as an owner, what sets you aside differently from other owners, you know, within the market. There are plenty of people. You don't necessarily need to be in competition with each other, but definitely look at different ways to elevate your business and be different.

and hone that in and the talents you have within your salon. You never know, having simple conversations or one-on-one conversations with what their goals might be for the new year and how to help you grow your salon business, it's a game changer. And I definitely think, you know, stepping outside your comfort zone and being collaborative with your team is going to set you up for success.

Brie Holt (34:13)
Yeah, 100%, 100%. Where can our listeners connect with you or maybe learn more about Salon Services Pro and the resources that you guys offer?

Krystelle Marcotte (34:24)
Yeah, absolutely. So we have a salon services pro.com. That's our website. So you can find our website. We do have a lot of our partners that we do partner with. You guys being one of them, the business coaches that we do have, we're always looking to kind of elevate and kind of add some of those resources. We partner with software businesses as well and also green circle, all of those pieces. So we do have a lot of resources on our website. As far as connecting with me, you can follow me on social media.

S S pro underscore Christelle. My name is spelled very uniquely. So definitely it's K R Y S T E L L E. Um, but message me. And if you're not in Arizona and you're outside of it, that is totally okay. I can absolutely connect you with one of our amazing reps that we do have here at salon services pro. Um, I happen to have a lot of connections actually all over the U S thankfully. So

If you're definitely looking for a rep within your state, reach out to me and I will do anything and everything in my power to try to figure out how to get you connected. But yeah.

Brie Holt (35:29)
awesome. We need more people like you in this industry for sure. So I just want to thank you again for sharing all of your expertise with us today.

Krystelle Marcotte (35:38)
Thank you so much for having me. It was such a great time.

Brie Holt (35:41)
Of course. And to all of our listeners, remember you have the tools and you have the talent to take your salon to the next level. You just have to choose to do it. It's all about strategy, partnerships, and staying one step ahead. If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share, and subscribe. Make sure to follow us on all social media platforms. Chandra, how do they do that?

Chandra (36:02)
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @thebeautybizagency, or you could reach out to us by email at admin@thebeautybizagency.com.

Brie Holt (36:11)
and visit our website at www.thebeautybizagency.com for game changing resources, coaching options, and tools to grow your business. We are here to help you master your business, build systems, and create the freedom that you deserve. Now go out there, make bank, run the show, ditch that chair. Until next time, keep slaying those business goals with a whole lot of swagger.