Salon Swagger

Brie (00:01.164)
Hey there and welcome back to Salon Swagger, the podcast where we dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly of commissioned salon and spa ownership. I'm Brie and today our episode's gonna be just a little bit different. So instead of diving into the normal stuff that we always talk about, kind of the business stuff and how to do certain things, I'm gonna take you behind the scenes of my journey. How I went from being a solo stylist working tirelessly behind the chair to building a multi-million dollar salon business.

and eventually transitioning into coaching other salon and spa owners just like you through the Beauty Biz Agency. Guys, it has been a wild ride and I am excited to share the highs and lows and everything in between with you today. Now, I have received several messages lately about my story, people wondering how I did what I did or where I began and all of those things. So I know that I can't tell you the entire journey right now.

because we would be here forever. But I did break it down into like a Cliff Notes version for you. I think this is really important to do because I know so many of you are on the same path, trying to figure out how to grow, how to scale, and how to create a business that doesn't completely run you ragged. How many of you guys have ever felt just worn down, tore down, and ready to give up as a commission salon or spa owner? If you have not,

You, my friend, are extremely, extremely blessed. So by the end of this episode, I just want you to walk away with a few key takeaways that will hopefully help you navigate your own journey with just a little more confidence and a little more clarity. So let's get into it. Let's dive into it. And in order to do that, we have to just kind of rewind a little bit back to the very beginning. So I.

come from a line of business owners. Like everybody in my family has owned business after business after business, some of them successful, some of them not very much so, but business owners nonetheless. So when I decided that I wanted to go to cosmetology school, I got that eye roll, right? Like you are not going to go and play with hair every day because you're never going to be successful and you're never going to make money. So what did I do? I did it anyway.

Brie (02:25.984)
I'm sure a lot of you guys can relate to this as I am working with salon and spa owners all across the nation. I hear stories like this all the time. Well, I started out as a solo stylist in a really, really small town. Guys, when I say it was a small town, I mean a small town, like population less than a thousand people. The opportunities for growth were very, very limited for me there.

Now I did get lucky, I got blessed. I was able to build a client base very, very quickly and do some amazing things. But I quickly found myself hitting what I like to call that glass ceiling. The point where you are maxed out on clients, you're maxed out on hours, you're maxed out on energy and your income is just stuck. I was fully booked, I was doing everything I could.

but there just wasn't any more room to grow financially. Now that's a really tough pill to swallow. Since going through that myself, I have come to recognize that that is a natural thing for booth and suite renters. You get to a point to where you can't see any more clients. There is no more time in the day. You can't raise your prices anymore. And so you're only going to make what you're making. And then what happens?

The economy slows down or your expenses get higher, whatever it is, then you are still working the same and making less. And it's just one of those realities that we all have to face. You're kind of left with two options then stay where you are or build a team. Right? Well, I knew I had those two choices after I swallowed that tough pill of hitting that glass ceiling. I could stay where I was content with being successful.

on the surface, but really limited in my potential. Or I could figure out a way to break through that ceiling. Well, I chose the latter. That's why I'm here today. The decision to take that leap into salon ownership, it was not easy. It meant that I was going to have to step into uncharted territory. I was going to have to start investing a whole lot into business knowledge and I had to be willing to fail.

Brie (04:46.518)
before I could truly succeed. Now that obviously is one thing that I learned from coming from a long line of entrepreneurs. You are going to fail over and over and over again until you succeed. If you have not experienced that, then once again, you are extremely, extremely blessed. So what motivated me? Well, it was a vision I had for creating a space where not only I could succeed,

but where other stylists, other technicians, other service providers could grow and they could thrive just as well as I was. I wanted more than a busy schedule. I wanted a business that could create real opportunities for other people.

The path, it wasn't easy. I'm not even going to lie to you guys throughout this entire segment because it was not easy. There were financial risks, right? Every business owner has to take those. There were steep learning curves. Every business owner goes through that. And there were many, sleepless nights just trying to figure out how I was going to actually turn this vision that I have into a reality. I knew it could be done, but I wasn't really sure how.

So fast forward just a few years, finally had my salon, I finally had a team, but I'm gonna tell you going from solo stylist to leading a team, it was anything but smooth. It wasn't just about doing great hair anymore. And I was so used to that, right? I mean, I had the client experience, I was doing great hair when I was a solo, but it was so much more than that now. It was about stepping up as a leader.

It was about learning the ins and outs of business strategy. was about figuring out how to manage people effectively. And this is something that I say all the time and a lot of people don't get it because they're not in the beauty industry. They're not a salon or spa owner. Running a salon or spa is completely different than any other business out there. I will argue with other business owners until I'm blue in the face over this. It's just different. How do I know? Because we own different businesses. And I'm here to tell you.

Brie (06:59.604)
I can run the majority of those businesses the same. However, I could never, ever, ever run my salon the way that I run those other businesses. For those of you commission salon and spot owners out there, you completely get it. But for other business owners out there, they just, they don't understand it and they don't see it. Honestly, guys, I struggled a lot. I didn't have all the answers I needed and I didn't have the guidance that I needed either. So in those early days,

I tried working with a few coaching companies. I really did some of the big name coaching companies that have been around for a long time. Not gonna name names, just gonna say that. They gave me some very valuable insights, but I always felt like I was missing something. It was like they were dangling a carrot in front of me all the time, giving me just enough information to keep me engaged, but not quite enough information to tackle the biggest challenges that I was facing.

there were a lot of days where I would walk away from coaching calls and I would still feel lost. I didn't have the clarity or the strategy that I desperately needed. Now, one thing I did notice was I would feel good after the coaching calls, right? I would feel good. I would be hyped. I would be ready to go or after an event or whatever it was. But when it really came down to it, I wasn't being taught what I needed to be taught in order to

make the changes in my business and continue to know how to make those in the future. So eventually I got to a point where I realized that if I wanted to move forward, I was just going to have to figure it out on my own and document the process as I was doing it. So that's exactly what I did. Horrible. was, it was awful at times. I'm not going, like I said, I am going to be completely honest with you guys.

My business was in such a bad spot that there were nights that I would just lay awake worrying about whether I was going to have enough money to make payroll for the week or if I was going to be able to keep the lights on. I remember one time distinctly we were all working in the salon full of clients, right? And the electricity went out. My first thought was, my gosh, my account's in the negative and my bill did not get paid. Can any of you listening to this relate?

Brie (09:24.286)
that right there. Gut-wrenching, right? Well, come to find out that's not what it was. It was just one of those fluke things where electricity was gone throughout the entire block or whatever it was. But man, that was gut-wrenching. There were months, actually there were years, where I didn't pay myself a single dime. Even when I was performing services, I didn't pay myself anything. Every single penny went back into the business.

Unfortunately, there were no pennies left to even invest in the business with. And I was just burning out so freaking fast. I felt like I was literally doing every single thing that I could. I was working long hours. And when I say long hours, I am a hard worker. 80, 85 hours per week, at least. I was trying to keep my clients happy, trying to keep my employees happy, trying to pay the bills, trying to train my team. But

nothing was adding up, the numbers certainly weren't adding up. The turning point for me really, really came when I realized that if I didn't make serious changes, nothing was going to work out. I remember this day distinctly, like the birth of my children. We had a very busy Saturday in the salon and all of my employees had left for the day.

I was getting ready to close up and lock up and I was pulling a few reports and a few numbers just to look over things. And it wasn't good. It was not good at all. In fact, I knew what these serious changes weren't made. I was going to be out of business in the next 30 to 60 days. That is how close I was to losing it all. I remember just crying in my car for hours on end, wondering what I was going to do.

It was a reality check for sure, but it also sparked something inside of me. I knew at that very moment, like cried and cried for hours. And then I just knew in my gut and my soul that it was time for me to start thinking like a true business owner, no longer a stylist, but a true business owner. So I knew one of the first steps of doing that was getting real with my financials.

Brie (11:47.57)
I started cutting unnecessary expenses every single place that I could, like everywhere. Even if it was 50 cents here and a dollar 50 there, I was cutting stuff. I was looking for every single opportunity to maximize my profits. And I was focusing on how I could lead my team in a way that was positively going to affect or impact our bottom line.

It was a great shift, but it wasn't the biggest shift that I took. The biggest shift was really in my mindset. That's the best way to put it. I knew that I was thinking a little bit more like a business owner and less like a stylist, but there was still a lot of room to grow. My mindset had to shift from thinking like an employee at all, zero thinking like an employee to thinking like a true CEO.

Not a small business owner, not business owner and stylist, none of that, a true CEO. And in order to do that, there was one option. I had to get out of the service provision role. I had to put 100 % of my time, energy and focus on strategic planning and leading my business. There was no other option because as long as I was in that role, things were consistently slipping through the cracks.

I couldn't make my team the best that I wanted them to be. I couldn't make my client journey everything I wanted it to be. I couldn't stay on top of inventory and expenses and all of those things that were very, very important. Now it was not an overnight success. There were plenty of setbacks and days when I literally questioned everything. I questioned my worth. I questioned my decisions. I questioned myself. I questioned my business.

I wanted to throw in the towel at times. It was not pretty, but I kept going and little by little things began to change. I figured out how to create benchmarks that actually worked for everybody involved. I created structure with systems and operations that were working phenomenally. I learned how to build a commission structure that allowed my business to profit.

Brie (14:12.096)
my employees to grow, employees to promote, and for them to make more money than they ever thought was possible. Guys, we started hitting revenue goals that I once thought were absolutely untouchable. And I finally, finally, finally reached the point where I could pay myself and reinvest in the growth of my business. It was one of the best feelings that I've ever had, and it was an

absolute game changer. So after going through this roller coaster of building my business, I really found myself at a crossroads once again. I was still trying to figure out how to make my salon run more efficiently because that's something that is never going to stop as a salon or spa owner. It's something that you constantly have to do. But at the same time, I started feeling a pull towards something new.

I had hit record numbers. went from $350,000 a year with a really big team to a million dollars a year with a smaller team to 2.5 million with an even smaller team. So at that point, I began working part-time with a coaching company to help other beauty pros. I just wanted to be a part of something bigger.

first, it was kind of just a way to dip my toes, I guess you could say, into the coaching or the world of coaching and see if it was something that I wanted to pursue long-term. But what surprised me the most was how much I absolutely loved it. Through that role, I had the opportunity to connect with salon and spa owners from all over the world, many of whom were struggling with the same exact challenges that I had faced.

That's when the idea of coaching really took root in my soul. I knew that I had a story and I knew that I had a set of strategies that could help others avoid the same headaches, the same setbacks, the same challenges, the same obstacles that I went through. And I was excited and pumped and ready to start sharing those with them. So after a few years of working with that company,

Brie (16:37.056)
I realized a few things. First, they really, really focused on helping solopreneurs. And while that was valuable, because it is, I really wanted my focus to be on helping salon and spa owners who were ready to build teams and scale their businesses. One of the reasons was I knew that eventually every solo out there was going to hit that glass ceiling and there's only one other place to go. Stay where you are or start building that team.

Secondly, I wasn't able to do things my way with this coaching company. I was restricted by their systems and their methods, which I completely respect. But I felt like I wasn't able to give everything that I had to the clients that I was working with. See, I never wanted to be that coach that gave just enough information to keep people coming back. I had gone through that, been there, done that, and didn't want to be that way.

I wanted to truly, truly teach and show people how to build something sustainable, how to help them succeed and then watch them fly. I wanted to teach them that this is how you do this. And when the world starts changing, now you will know how to revise and adjust and create it on your own without needing me by your side for 15 years.

In my opinion, that's not the way that coaching is supposed to be. Nobody should have to stay in coaching for five, 10, eight years. That is just not realistic. Now, if you want to stay a part of a community, I completely support that. And I think that is one of the best decisions you'll ever make. But coaching is different. The other reason that I really wanted to focus on, or I didn't want to focus on solopreneurs, I guess I should say, was because I know

how amazing commissioned salons and spas can be when they are run correctly. There really is nothing like it. Like being in that salon surrounded by an incredible group of talented artists all working together, all supporting one another, the hustle and bustle, the busyness of the salon, the smells, the it is just awesome. Unfortunately, I feel like our industry has gotten away from the camaraderie

Brie (19:04.918)
that it was founded on and that breaks my heart. It breaks my heart. I desperately want to bring that sense of community and collaboration back and coaching commission salon and spa owners is one of the ways that I can do that. And that my friends is when the Beauty Biz Agency was born. The mission, well, it's to help commission salon and spa owners

create more freedom and profitability in their businesses. I realized that there are so many salon owners that are out there and they're just stuck feeling like they literally had to be everything to everyone in their studio. And that is not normal. That's exactly where I was before I made the shift. It's not normal. It's not okay. It is going to affect your life.

in a negative way. It's going to affect your relationships in a negative way. It affects your team and your business in a negative way.

So the programs that I created and that we offer at the Beauty Biz agency, they're designed to really meet salon and spa owners where they are, right where they're at and give them the tools that they need so that they can take control of their business and take control of their life.

You have to have individualized plans when you are dealing with different salon and spa owners, because not everyone is in the same space. So it's very important that you find or work with someone who is able to give you that individual attention every single week, whether it is creating something specifically for you and your studio or just helping you navigate through a challenging situation.

Brie (20:52.834)
copy and paste cookie cutter stuff just doesn't work anymore.

So I wanted to give them the tools that they needed to take control of their business, whether it was mastering their financials, whether it was creating an amazing guest journey and client experience, whether it was learning how to effectively lead their team. It's an area that salon and spa owners struggle in quite often. And I think it's because a lot of times we put ourselves in the same position as our employees, right? We don't have that hierarchy that we have to have in business. There's a way to go about it.

but it has to be there.

It was about helping them know how to create commission structures that are going to give their business profitability and allow their employees to soar, allow them to make more money working less. The Beauty Biz agency is all about making business easier and more fun. A question that I get asked quite frequently is,

How can it be more fun when I'm not behind the chair anymore, when I'm dealing with numbers all day, and I'm here to tell you it can be. When you start implementing and creating the things that need to be created in your business, when you start leading the way that you're supposed to lead, when your employees are making more money than they've ever made in their lives, like I said earlier, working less, when your business is hitting revenue goals and retail goals and y'all are just blowing through them,

Brie (22:23.338)
and having to increase those by 10, 25K per month. That is fun. That is fun. When you are able to give your employees and your team bonuses and incentives for things, when you're able to take them on trips, when you are able to do so many things, it becomes fun. You are going to find your passion in a whole new way. The success stories. For me, those have now become my why.

the success stories that my members of the Beauty Biz agency have are my why. I've seen clients go from struggling to keep their doors open, like possibly having to close them down within a few days, to hitting six figure months. I have seen owners who were terrified, terrified of letting go of control build amazing leadership teams that now allow that owner to take real time off.

to go on family vacations, to not have to be at their studio every single day, which is empowering their team members. That's what keeps me going, seeing other people win because of the guidance and the systems that we've been able to create and put in place together.

Looking back, there are a few key lessons that really stand out from my journey. Number one, resilience is everything. You are going to get knocked down a million times and things are not always going to go as planned, but it's how you get knocked down, how you get back up when you're knocked down that counts. Let me start that over really quickly. You're going to get knocked down a million times. Sorry, I'm so passionate about this guys. You're going to get knocked down a million times.

Things aren't always going to go as planned. In fact, they're probably not going to go as planned just as much as they do. But it's how you get back up that really counts. Number two, a growth mindset is a must. If you will start opening your horizons, if you will stay open to learning and evolving, you'll find a way through every single obstacle and challenge that you face.

Brie (24:41.258)
And number three, leadership is about empowering others. It's not about being a boss. It's not about yelling at people. It's not about being strict. It's not about any of those things. It is about empowering others. Your success as a business owner, it hinges on your ability to create an environment where your team can actually shine.

Something else I just want you all to think about is you have to be willing to invest in yourself and in your business. Even at my brokest point, my brokest point, when I first started my business, my salon, I was willing to do that. And because of that, even though I wasn't able to find what I was looking for, I was able to create it. And now in turn have helped.

thousands upon thousands of salon and spa owners. So you have to be willing to invest in yourself and in your business. I know, trust me, I know this can be so freaking hard to pay somebody to help you, especially when you are already feeling stretched so thin, but it can and will, if you will invest, if you will do your research and invest in the right people, be one of the most rewarding things you'll

ever do for your business. Working with the right mentor, with the right coach, it can help you reach your goals and build a sustainable business in record time. I would have given anything to have had someone to teach me how to create all of this stuff that I needed so that I could revise it as the economy changed, as the world changed, as business changed, as my team changed. I would have given anything for that.

Instead of taking me 10 years to go from $350,000 a year to a million dollars a year to $2.5 million a year, I could have been making leaps and bounds in months.

Brie (26:50.018)
Coaching and mentorship, it's not just an expense. It is an investment in your future, in your future for your family, in your future for your business, in your future in general. You're doing it for more than just yourself. For those of you that are listening to this right now who might be feeling stuck or overwhelmed, I see you, I feel you. Please just hear me when I say change is

possible. You can transform your business, but it starts with making that that first step with making that investment in yourself and being willing, being willing to shift your approach. That's a huge part of it. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Mentorship can be a game changer. I've already said that it is. Life changing in so many ways I have.

witnessed and been a part of the amazing life changes that have happened because of it some amazing life changes I couldn't even I could do a whole episode over the life changes that I've seen and It's what keeps me going

If you don't want to find mentorship or a coaching program, at least find yourself a community, a community of people that you can lean on that can help guide you. The only thing I will say is you have to make sure whoever is, guiding you, your community. They need to know what they're doing. It's really hard for someone to teach you and help you and guide you if they've never been successful.

in doing what they're trying to teach you to do. All right, guys, so that's a small look into my journey. I know it's not a lot of information, but it's a small look into my journey from solo stylist to million dollar salon owner to mentor. I really hope that you got some inspiration from my story. And more importantly, I hope you see that with the right mindset and with the right support, you can achieve incredible things, not only in your business,

Brie (29:08.246)
but in your life. That's a wrap on today's episode. That's what I've got for you guys. If you enjoyed it, please make sure that you subscribe and leave us a review. Also be sure to follow us on all social media platforms at the Beauty Biz Agency and head over to the Beauty Biz Agency's website to check us out just a little bit and grab some of our free resources. You can take these free resources, implement them immediately and you will see changes in your business.

to start leveling up your studio. Remember, you don't have to go at it alone. You don't have to do it alone. I want each and every one of you to learn from my mistakes, from my hardships, because there is a much easier way to do it. I can think of so many of our coaching members right now that have just had life-changing experiences. One of them I'll tell you about really, really quickly. So she came to us, she was bringing in

salon owner bringing in 80 % of the revenue herself had a team that was kind of worthless. I don't mean that ugly short story had to get rid of her entire team and rebuild. helped her rebuild her hiring process. We helped create systems and operations and a commission structure that was going to get top talent into her studio. She is now not working behind the chair hardly at all, maybe two days a week, if anything.

She went from negative profitability within 60 days hitting over 14 % profitability and she's thriving. Like when I see her, she is just glowing at all times. She is literally working her way to retirement. She is one of those salon owners that would have been behind the chair performing services until she was 85, if she wouldn't have had the courage to take the steps that she needed to take.

With that being said, guys, thank you so much for joining me today. Keep hustling, make some boss moves. Until next time, keep slaying your business goals with a whole lot of swagger.