The Station

Brie (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 salon or spa. I'm Brie and as always I am here with the amazing Chandra C hey girl.

Chandra (00:14)
Hello, hello.

Brie (00:16)
All right, today we are talking about something that is keeping so many salon owners stuck and probably in a really bad spot. And that is they can roll their eyes if they want to, but taking advice from the wrong people, whether this is in Facebook groups, Instagram comments, or even maybe from well-meaning friends and coworkers, there are so many salon and spa owners that are making these major business decisions, pricing, commission, hiring, benchmarks.

all of those things based on random opinions instead of real strategy. So I thought that we could maybe look at this from a different light before we dive into anything very, very quickly. You know what I mean? So let's just say, Chandra, you are diagnosed with a very serious illness. Would you let a bunch of random people on the internet decide how you should be treated?

Chandra (01:10)
No, absolutely not.

Brie (01:12)
No! Would you ask

a group of strangers, hey, what kind of medication should I take?

Chandra (01:19)
No, no way. That's creepy.

Brie (01:20)
No,

absolutely not. And you wouldn't just go with whatever sounded right. You wouldn't do that. Of course not. You would go to a real doctor, someone trained, experienced, and capable of saving your life. Why do we treat our businesses any differently? Guys, your salon is your livelihood. It's your financial future. And for so many of you, it is the way that you provide for your family.

Yet every single day, every day, salon owners are putting their businesses at risk by taking advice from people who may not even be running successful businesses and honestly, who have zero qualifications to give the advice or opinions that they're given. So today we are going to break it all down. We are going to talk about why crowdsourcing business advice is extremely dangerous, how it could be keeping you broke, how it could be the downfall of your salon or spa.

and how you can start thinking for yourself so that you can make informed decisions based on strategy, not opinions from just anybody out there. All right, so Chandra, I thought we would start with why so many salon and spa owners rely on social media and random peers, we're gonna be nice here, random peers for their business advice. So I came up with four reasons and I would like to see kind of what you think about those.

Number one is it's fast and easy. You post a question in a Facebook group, within minutes you get 20 plus responses. It feels like you're getting answers really, really quickly, but the reality is you're getting opinions, not really answers and not expert advice. Number two, it's free coaching, mentorship, education, that all costs money. So instead of investing a lot of people, a lot of salon and spa owners, they opt for that free route.

which ends up costing them in trial and error, wasted time, and possibly a ton of revenue. Number three, it feels validating. When people agree with your question or comment, it feels like confirmation that you're on the right track. And let's be real, that always makes you feel good, but that confirmation comes at a huge cost when the advice is completely wrong for your business. And number four, people assume more answers means better advice.

Just because a hundred people comment on your post, that doesn't mean that those people are qualified to be giving that advice in the first place. It doesn't mean it. The problem is major business decisions, should never be made based on what sounds good. They have to be based on facts, on data, on real strategy. Chandra, have you ever seen someone follow advice that they got in a Facebook group or from another stylist and absolutely just regret it?

Chandra (04:14)
yeah, for sure. I've even had people sometimes try to give me advice because they're like, I saw somebody ask this in a Facebook group and I think this would be a great idea. We should do it. And I'm like, there's a lot more to it than that. you know, so yeah, I don't think it's great.

Brie (04:29)
Yeah, 100. I'm not gonna

lie. I have taken this bad advice before in my business years ago and it completely screwed me over. It completely screwed me over. And so I don't think people realize how bad it can get out there. Do you think people actually realize that? Do you think they realize how much bad advice is floating around?

in the salon industry in general and more importantly on social media.

Chandra (05:00)
No, I think they think that it's good advice when they hear it. They get ideas and then somebody validates it like you said and they're like, yeah, this is what I'm gonna do. And most of the time, it's not really gonna be specific to what your situation is. And so you can't follow what all these other people are saying. And you get a lot of mixed advice. I think that's frustrating too. You'll see one person will give advice in one area and then somebody else will come in and say, that's bad, do this. And that's bad, do this. And then it gets really confusing.

Brie (05:30)
Yeah, it gets really confusing and then you just kind of go with your gut, whichever one sounds the best. And so it's just one of those clusters that just piles up over time and causes major issues. I want to talk about the two biggest dangers of making financial decisions, pricing, commission, hiring, benchmarks, those types of things based on this random advice from people who may not even be profitable or successful themselves. So number one is nobody.

Nobody knows your numbers except you. Let's just say someone tells you, well, we charge $100 for highlights and it works great. You should do the same. That sounds simple, right? But do they know your rent, your product costs, your payroll expenses, your demand? Because without knowing these things, any pricing advice, it's completely useless. When I say useless, I mean useless. It's the same with commission. Someone says,

50%, 60%, that works great for me. But are they actually profitable? Are they even paying their taxes correctly? Are they paying themselves? You have no idea. And here's where it gets worse. Some of the loudest voices in the industry are the ones that are struggling the most. I don't know about you, Chandra, but I've personally seen people, people that I know, I know their business, giving some really strong opinions in Facebook groups.

But I know for a fact that their business is in financial chaos. They aren't tracking their numbers. They're not profitable. They're not paying themselves consistently. And to be honest, their salon would completely collapse if they stepped away for a day, yet alone a week to take a vacation. What about you?

Chandra (07:16)
yeah, I see stuff like that all the time. And I just cringe, I'm like, why are you answering these people and giving them this advice? Like, it's so not okay, but they think it's great. People like to their opinions. People wanna jump in and they wanna give their opinion all the time, so.

Brie (07:34)
Well, and appearances can be so deceiving. And I think because we coach so many salon and spa owners, we know that, right? We look at something on the surface and we're like, my gosh, that's a beautiful salon. And you have all of this stuff that you're showing us. So surely you're doing something really, really well. And what do we usually find out Chandra?

Chandra (07:55)
Yup, it's usually the exact opposite. They're madly in debt and have no money and a terrible culture, usually.

Brie (08:03)
100%.

All right, number two is bad advice can spread like wildfire. So once bad advice gets repeated enough, people start treating it as fact, as truth. A few people say, hey, never charge more than X amount for a haircut. And suddenly salon and spa owners believe they have to price a certain way, even if it's unprofitable and hurting their business. Someone makes up a standard commission rate.

and now hundreds of salon and spa owners are paying their staff in a way that is hurting their bottom line. Once bad advice circulates, it's like it becomes this salon industry law, even when it is completely wrong. The bottom line is just because someone is loud or just because somebody has a lot to say, that does not mean that they are right or that you should be listening to them. Chandra, what would you say about that?

Chandra (09:01)
Yeah, 100%. Like I don't think you should, you could ask opinions. You could use those as like options to bounce things off of or see what you're thinking or just see what other people are doing. But I don't think it's a great idea ever to just follow that advice and go with it without knowing the ins and outs, without knowing exactly how it's going to affect your business. And that's what people do. They just jump on the train and are like, yeah, let's try this. And I think that's where they end up in a mess and they don't even know how they got there.

Brie (09:31)
For sure. It's kind of like the pricing thing that you and I talk about a lot, right? Like you need to know what your competitors are charging. However, just because they're charging that doesn't mean that you need to undercut them or overcut them per se, just to make your pricing up. And so many people just, they do that regardless of anything that's going on in their business, anything. So I think salon and spa owners, they just need to make a shift.

And the biggest shift that they need to make is to stop looking for quick answers. Stop and start making informed decisions based on your own unique business needs. So instead of asking, how much should I charge? Maybe in a Facebook post, start asking yourself things like this. What do my expenses look like? What is my true cost per hour? What kind of profit margin do I need in order to actually grow?

Instead of asking, what should I pay my team? Maybe ask yourself, how can I structure my team's pay in a way that is going to keep them motivated while keeping my business profitable? What are the labor laws in my state? People forget that all the time, especially when they're asking on Facebook, right? Every state has different laws. Isn't that correct, Chandra?

Chandra (10:52)
yeah, and I see those posts all the time.

Brie (10:55)
Yeah. And we know this because we coach so many people in different States. Even when Chandra and I are bouncing ideas off of each other and working together, it's different from Texas to Arizona. And there's a lot of things that we have to try to figure out. You also need to ask yourself, what can I actually afford to pay while still hitting my financial goals? When you stop chasing opinions and you start focusing on your own numbers and your own business strategy, everything will start to change.

in a very, very good way. Chandra, what is something that people really, really need to think about in order to start thinking for themselves as business owners?

Chandra (11:37)
Yeah, I mean, there's no quick answers. So I think you have to realize if you're asking something or you're seeing something on there, none of that advice is going to be a quick answer no matter what. So I think you really have to look at your own situation. You have to see exactly where you're at and you have to have a strategy. You can't just jump into anything without having some clear strategy, clear picture as to why you're going to make a change, why you're going to do something. And I think that's really kind of the...

the only thing you can do. Like you can't just, no quick answers. Don't jump in.

Brie (12:11)
Absolutely. And how can a salon owner start trusting their own instincts when it comes to these business decisions? I honestly think, and I don't care what anybody says, this is my opinion, but I think people ask on Facebook because a lot of times they're scared, they're fearful, right? And rather than facing the facts, they just stay in that scarcity mindset. So how can they start trusting their own instincts when it comes to business decisions?

Chandra (12:40)
Yeah, I I think that's hard. I think you're right. I do think people, they don't know the answers or they are not looking in the right places. So they are afraid to do things without getting on there and getting advice or all those opinions. So I think you really do have to stop listening to the noise. You have to start just staying in your own lane kind of, and just focusing on what you're doing and start trusting yourself. And if you don't know things, find the people that...

actually do know or have done it or you get an actual mentor not all the noise on social media and I think that will help you more than anything else.

Brie (13:19)
Absolutely. think that brings up a really good point. At this point, people may be thinking, okay, if I shouldn't be taking advice from social media, people in the industry, where should I be getting it? And in my opinion, this is where many salon owners, they start to roll their eyes, they start to hesitate, they start to do all of these things because they know that they need better guidance, but they don't want to invest in it. So instead, they keep

Googling, they keep asking chat GPT, they keep asking in free Facebook groups or listening to somebody else, right? It's some of these people have never run a profitable business. It's a really, really bad thing to do. Free advice, it is going to cost you more in the long run. You might think you're saving money by avoiding coaching or mentorship or business education, but what you're really doing is you are setting yourself up.

for a time, guys, we both did this. Chandra and I both did this. Years of trial and error, years of that lost revenue, years of constant stress, years of it. So look for those coaches, look for those mentors, look for those business educators that are designed for salon and spas only, financial experts who understand the beauty industry. They can help you with your cost per hour, your profitability, all of those things.

Chandra, in your opinion, what makes a business coach or mentor different from just asking another salon owner for advice?

Chandra (14:52)
Yeah, I mean, I think most of them, would say the majority of them have a track record for being successful and doing things in a different way that are actually going to work and make a difference for your business. And I think like what you said, finding somebody in the industry who has been through salon and spa, you know, any kind of business that way is going to be the best because there's tons of mentors out there too that just are general business, but they're not.

They don't really understand our industry and it is different. So I do think that that's the biggest thing to look for.

Brie (15:28)
How do you think someone can tell if they're getting business advice from the right source? Because let's be honest, you and I know, and we are never trying to talk bad about anyone, but both of us have been through a lot of coaching programs in the past. And unfortunately, they were full of a lot of that fluff that we talked about earlier, right? The make you feel good type stuff without actually seeing progress and seeing the things that you really need to see in business.

I don't care how you feel like that may sound rude, but I don't care if you are giddy and have butterflies when you walk into your business. That's important, but the financial aspect is so much more important. So how do they know if they are getting business advice from the right or wrong source?

Chandra (16:15)
I think I would definitely ask what their background is. What is their history? How did they get to where they are? Where did they start from? Did they start from buying already like a multi-million dollar location that was already running good? That's not going to help you, right? You need to make sure that they have a track record of really building a successful business kind of from the ground up and understanding the industry.

and knowing what it's like to run salons and spas and not just other businesses. And so I think that's what I would be asking. I would be wanting to know exactly what that track record looked like. And then, you know, who have they helped? How have those people been successful? Have they actually seen a big change in their business? you know, finding out that way as well, like getting those testimonials or reaching out to people that have gone through those programs and getting their, you know, feedback.

Brie (17:08)
I agree with that a million percent. Now I know that I have asked you this question in the past and we have talked about it, but why do you think so many salon and spa owners hesitate to invest in real business education even when they know that they need it more than anything else?

Chandra (17:28)
I think a lot of it's they're afraid to spend the money. They're afraid to spend the money and have it not work. Maybe some of them have spent money on stuff before and it didn't work. And so they're just really kind of gun shy as to actually signing up and doing it and putting in the work. And I think they're also afraid of change sometimes. I think some of the people we get even into our program in the beginning, you know, they're nervous to make those changes. They're afraid to make those changes. So I think even though some people know they need it, they're a little bit afraid to actually, you know,

start with something just because they don't know what's gonna happen, even though it will be fine.

Brie (18:05)
Right. What is one piece of real business advice that has made a massive impact on your success?

Chandra (18:14)
gosh, there's so many things. I would say one piece of advice probably really would have been just kind of, know, honestly, like getting me myself out of my own head and to the point where I actually knew I was an owner, even though I was not always thinking that way, but just getting out of my own head because that made me actually start doing the things I needed to do and.

stop working in the business and start actually working on the business. And I think that was probably the biggest piece of advice.

Brie (18:48)
agree with that just from from coaching you in the past I would agree with that and you know we all deal with that we all deal with that we think that working in the business is where all of our passion all of our joy where everything comes from and it is honestly the total opposite if people could just ever see that side I think that they would just think completely different in all honesty the bottom line is your business deserves better

The salon owners who win, aren't the ones making decisions based off of what sounds good or makes them feel good online. They're just not. They are the ones who take time to understand their own numbers, their own unique business, seek out mentorship from people who have proven processes and strategies, invest in real business strategy instead of chasing that free advice. Guys, if you want to stop spinning your wheels, if you want to stop working yourself into the ground,

If you want to start actually owning your business, you have to stop relying on opinions and start making informed strategic decisions in your business. Chandra, before we wrap up, what is one last piece of advice that you would like to give to salon and spa owners who are ready to stop relying on random opinions and start making smarter business decisions?

Chandra (20:12)
Yeah, I think I would definitely start looking for a mentor or a coach and start aligning myself with a company that I feel like is going to be someone who is going to help me move my business in the right direction and kind of get things on track. And it doesn't take that long. If you partner with the right people, if you actually put the steps in place that they are going to walk you through, you have to invest the money, sure, but you're going to get that money back.

100%. And so I think it's really just taking that leap, get off the social media train and start actually doing something for your business. Because social media is never helpful for most things. So I think there's lots of opinions about everything out there. So don't take business advice from that.

Brie (21:00)
Well, and one of the things that you gain when you find a mentor or a coach or whatever it is that you're looking for a lot of times is that community. And the beautiful thing about that community is you are all learning the proven strategies, the proven processes, things that are going to work together. So you find your tribe, right? The same way as a salon or a spa owner, you want to find your tribe with your team, with your clients, you do that inside of that coaching community.

And it's a really, really beautiful thing. So with that being said, guys, that's a wrap. If this episode made you think, if it hit home for you, take a moment, just take a moment and reflect on where you've been getting your business advice. Are you making decisions based on real strategy or are you relying on just the opinions from people who know nothing about you, nothing about your business, nothing about your numbers, nothing about your goals or nothing about what it takes to build.

a profitable salon or spa. Here's the truth. Your business is way too important to be left to chance. It really is. You deserve real guidance, real education, real mentorship that is going to move you forward. And honestly, that's exactly what mentorship and coaching does. Chandra, how does everybody connect with us on social media?

Chandra (22:18)
Yeah, reach out to us @thebeautybizagency on Instagram or Facebook. And you can reach out to us on TikTok at the Beauty Biz Mentors, or you can send us an email, admin@the beautybizagency.com.

Brie (22:31)
Absolutely. And if you are ready to start making smarter business decisions and finally take control of your salon success, head over to www.thebeautybiszagency.com for expert guidance, resources, and coaching options to help you scale, increase your profits, and build a business that supports you, not the other way around. Now go out there, make bank, run the show, and ditch that chair.

Until next time, keep slaying those business goals with a whole lot of swagger.