The Station

Brie (00:03)
Hey there, 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 today I want to get a little personal and share my experience with you. Why I made the decision to downsize my salon, what I learned from it and why it was one of the best business moves that I've ever made.

For years, I believed what probably most of us have been told in this industry, that success, it means scaling up, it means growing a big team, and it means running a large, high-volume salon or spa. And for a while, that's exactly what I did. I had over 15 technicians, a really busy atmosphere, and from the outside, it looked like I was winning, like I was actually crushing it. But behind the scenes,

It was a completely different story. At first, growing my team, it just felt like the natural next step. More stylist meant more services, more revenue, and a more prominent reputation. But what I didn't realize was how much more complexity, stress, and financial pressure was going to come with it. Managing a big team, it meant

dealing with constant issues. Now don't get me wrong, small teams have issues too, but big teams, it's constant issues. It is HR challenges. is turnover. It's clicks and drama forming. It's communication breakdowns. It felt like I was spending almost all of my time putting out fires rather than focusing on actual business growth and strategy. It also meant

that my payroll expenses were enormous. And here's what no one tells you when you start scaling. When you grow fast, you're usually adding stylist just to cover your cost, not actually to increase your profits. That is a horrible business move. It kind of becomes this never ending cycle of needing more revenue just to keep up with your own overhead. And financially,

That for me was the real eye-opener. I remember this specific moment when it all just kind of hit me. I was sitting in my office, I was crunching numbers after another stressful month, and I realized that despite bringing in more revenue than ever, like had my biggest month ever, I was taking home way less. And when I say taking home, my business was left with way less.

The more I grew, the more I owed to my team, to my landlord, to my product vendors. And on top of that, I was stretched so freaking thin, I barely had time to even think about how I was going to fix this issue.

When I started really analyzing all of the numbers, I am a researcher. I like to dive in deep. I like to look at statistics. I like to figure things out. When I started really analyzing the numbers, I realized something pretty shocking. Did you guys know most salons that have over 15 providers? This is, it just blows my mind still. They struggle to

ever hit 20 % profitability. Ever hit 20 % profitability. Most businesses wouldn't even want to survive for 20 % profitability. In fact, many owners running big teams, they are barely making more with their big team than they did when they had their smaller operations. And over 70 % of the time, they're making less. Why do we do this to ourselves? Think about it.

Payroll is the biggest expense in a salon or spa. And when you have 15, 20, 25, 30 technicians, the cost is going to be massive. Then you have to add in rent, have to add in back bar, retail inventory, marketing, and all of the other operational expenses. And suddenly the high revenue number that you think you are making, it doesn't really mean much. The thing is no one teaches you this before you grow.

They don't bring these issues up before you decide to expand or scale or grow. You just see bigger salons, you assume that they are making bank and you think that's what you should be working towards. But the reality, a salon with 20 stylists bringing in a million dollars a year might be left with the same or less profit than a salon with five stylists making half a million a year. The difference is

the smaller salon owner is keeping more of their money, working fewer hours and dealing with way fewer headaches, way fewer headaches. I started asking myself, why am I making this harder than it needs to be? Why are you doing this to yourself, Brie? Why? It makes no sense. Now going from a team of 15 plus to seven stylist, it was a very scary decision.

but it was a complete game changer. Not only for my business, but for my life. Here's what happened. My profitability increased significantly. I went from barely hitting 10 % profit margins to 30 % and beyond. 30 % and beyond. I wasn't just making more money. I was keeping more of it and I was able to pay myself more for running my business.

My salon culture improved so freaking much. With a smaller, more aligned team, my communication was better, my teamwork was stronger, and the overall atmosphere became so much more enjoyable. I did surveys when I had my big team and then when I had my small team. Clients loved the feel of the smaller team, of the smaller salon atmosphere.

There was nothing that they liked less. They did not like the big team. I'm just gonna be honest with you guys. The clients did not like it. My role completely changed. So instead of constantly managing drama and logistics, I was able to now focus on the bigger picture. Branding, strategy, long-term business growth. I was able to put 95 % of my time into that because those headaches.

They were gone. The drama, it was gone. The constant hiring, it was gone. I got my life back. I did not work 60-hour weeks anymore. I was not constantly worrying about filling the books just to make payroll. Downsizing gave me the freedom to actually enjoy the business that I built. Here's something else that I noticed when I had a large team. I...

Always felt like I was chasing new hires. Now don't get me wrong. You always need to be recruiting Always, but you don't have to be chasing new hires because of turnover people came and went Turnover was inevitable and it was exhausting with my big team with my smaller team I was able to focus on quality over quantity. I was able to hire the right Stylist have the right team. I was able to train them. Well, I

and I was able to create an environment where they actually wanted to stay long-term. And that, in itself, it saved me so much time and so much freaking money. One of the biggest lessons I learned when I downsized was how to be a better leader. With a smaller team, I was really able to pour into each and every one of my employees. I was able to help them grow,

I was able to create an environment where they could just thrive. Instead of just managing schedules and keeping up with hiring and training, I was actually able to lead and coach, help my team develop their skills, mentor them in business strategy, build real relationships with them. And that is something that I always wanted to do. I also learned how to be more strategic with my business.

So instead of feeling like I had to say yes to every opportunity or every potential hire, I became intentional about who I brought into my salon and why I was bringing them in. The difference was night and day. Now I'm not saying that you can't do this with a big team, but it is way harder, way harder. Guys, this is where you have to ask yourself, what do you actually want your business and your life to look like?

For me, success meant stepping out of daily operations completely. If you look at true CEOs, if you look at the successful CEOs of businesses, they are not involved in the day-to-day operations of their business. They're just not. And I wanted to emulate that. My salon runs without me needing to be there 24-7. In fact, I don't even have to make a presence if I don't want to.

I do handle payroll every single week. So my focus is on payroll strategy and making sure the business continues to grow in a way that aligns with my life goals. Now you can take someone who has a big salon, Chandra on the other hand, she has a larger team and a very different approach. She is still very present in her salon's daily operations. She's actively managing her team and

pretty much has to make decisions on the ground. For her that works. Maybe that's what she wants her life to look like. Now our lives, they do look completely different. And I think that's the key takeaway here. There's no one right way to do this. I had a vision for what I wanted. Chandra has a vision for her. I wanted to pour into my team and help them grow and not have to be there all the time. That's what made me happy.

I wanted to be able to give my team everything they could, give my business everything that I could and still have a ton of life left for my family. Some people don't work that way. That's not what they want. They want to be involved in that business every single day. Some people thrive in a large team environment. They love the energy, the constant movement and the challenge of managing a big operation. But there are others that are like me that prefer a streamlined high profit.

low stress model. The key, it's really deciding what you want, not what the industry tells you that success should look like. I just want each of you to really, really think about this. If your business isn't supporting the life that you want, if it's draining you instead of fueling you, something has to change. That is one thing that I will say. I have coached thousands of salon and spa owners.

Every single one that has a large team is still completely overwhelmed. They don't know how to balance their time between their business, their husbands, their wives, their kids, and anything else that goes on in their life. The ones with smaller teams that are more streamlined, that are just easier to run and manage, they don't have that issue. They don't have that issue at all.

So if you are stuck where it is just draining you instead of fueling you, something has got to change. Bigger isn't always better. More isn't always more. And growth just for the sake of growth isn't always the answer. Look, downsizing was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not just for my business, but for my life. My husband will tell you that. My kids will tell you that.

my grandkids will tell you that. One of the best decisions I ever made. It allowed me to reclaim my time, increase my profits, and build a business that truly serves me instead of the other way around. Once again, that's what I wanted my life to look like. So my challenge to you is this. Take a step back and ask yourself, am I building a business that supports the life I want?

Or am I just chasing growth because I think I have to? Because at the end of the day, success, it's not about how big your salon is. It's about how well it works for you. I have made as much money as some of the bigger salons out there. And I'd probably say, well, I know this for a fact. I have made more money than some of the bigger salons out there. No, I'm not saying that it's all about the money.

But I am saying this, I'm living the life that I want. I am not stressed out constantly. I'm not pulled in hundred different directions and my employees are making great money and I'm making money to be able to support my family. That to me means everything. That's a wrap on today's episode. Guys, if you liked it, make sure that you share, like, and subscribe. Please follow us on all social media platforms.

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