October 16, 2024 • 23 mins
What if supporting the passion and potential of new talent could turn your salon into a thriving place of creativity and happy clients? By working with beauty school students and building strong in-salon training programs, you can find and develop the next generation of skilled stylists. These strategies create a confident team and build the foundation for a successful salon culture.
We’ll look at practical, budget-friendly ways to boost new stylists' confidence, like peer learning and teaching professional courtesies. I’ll show you how regular check-ins and setting goals can help create a supportive space for personal and professional growth. Feedback from both stylists and clients can give you insights to better address each stylist’s needs and goals. By growing new talent, salon owners can ensure long-term success and create a community where stylists and clients thrive. Tune in to learn how to create a salon that not only survives but grows!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to All About Hair, the podcast for anyone who
loves the hair industry.
I'm your host, denise Kylitz, aformer stylist educator and
owner of four award-winningsalons with over 30 years of
experience.
Whether you're refining yourskills or expanding your hair
knowledge, you're in the rightplace.
Join me for expert tips,industry insights and practical
(00:25):
advice to help you thrive in theworld of hair.
This is All About Hair.
Hey there, welcome back totoday's podcast.
I'm Denise Kylitz, your host,and if you have not tuned in to
All About Hair with Denise toAll About Hair with Denise,
(00:49):
welcome.
Today.
I want to talk to you aboutsetting up new stylists for
success.
So this is for my salon ownerfriends out there, let me tell
you a little bit about myself.
I have been in the industry forover 30 years now and I've
owned four salons, and I have apassion for empowering stylists
to thrive in our industry, tobreak through the stigma of what
(01:11):
people think a hairstylist'scareer should look like.
You know what I'm talking about, right?
My last two salons.
They were nationally recognized, they were award winning.
They brought in over sixfigures in revenue.
I had a team of 42 players.
I couldn't have done thiswithout having some kind of
(01:36):
in-salon training program inplace.
Now, the reason why I'm talkingabout that is because that was
the game changer.
So that's what we're going totalk about today is how do you
set up an in-house trainingprogram?
Also, let me share this storytoo.
I heard on another podcast andit really, really got me
(01:57):
thinking, and I can't rememberwhose podcast it was.
I've heard this more than oncethat salon owners are really
going through hard times becausethey're having a hard time
hiring people.
Why is that?
Because seasoned stylists, orthe people that we used to hire.
Mostly they're either going togo to suites or booth rental Not
(02:21):
all of them, in fact.
Here in the last year I've seena difference in people going
back to commissioned orteam-based salons because they
miss the environment.
But that's not what thisconversation is about.
The conversation is about thatsalon owners are having a hard
time hiring.
That is like the number one notcomplaint but challenge.
(02:43):
If you don't want to go boothrental which a lot of people
don't and you're having a hardtime finding stylists, where do
you think you might have to go?
Look to hire new team members?
The beauty schools.
Yes, I know you might not likethat idea because you're
thinking Denise, beauty school,then I have to train them from
(03:07):
the get go.
Let me tell you when you hirefrom beauty schools and you go
in there and you go into theircareer days and you go in to
talk to them and see them andmaybe become a guest speaker and
talk about anything how to givea consultation it doesn't have
to be a technical thing, youdon't have to do a haircut or
(03:29):
something like that.
How to sell retail, how to readface shapes and body language I
don't know, I'm just throwingthose out there.
But if you go in and youvolunteer to be a speaker at
your local beauty school, whichthey love you to come in and do
that, you can actually see thediamonds, the students who
(03:52):
really, really want it, and youcan have your choice of the
cream of the crop.
So that's when you want to goand hand them your business card
, invite them into your salonwhile they're still in school,
really start a relationship withthem, because then they might
want to come work at your salon.
(04:12):
In fact they probably will,because they're scared to go out
and interview.
Again another conversation to behad when we started recruiting
from beauty schools and put themthrough our in-salon training
programs, or boot camp if youwill.
That teaches them everythingfrom foundational haircuts to
how to give a consultation, tohow to retail, to sales
(04:36):
techniques, to product knowledge.
Everything we taught themeverything.
We left nothing out.
They became successful.
That is what these studentswant.
And yes, I know as a salon owner, you're like.
I have so many things on myplate.
(04:57):
How in the world am I going tomake this happen?
I don't have time to set up atraining program.
I don't have time to trainanybody.
I get it, but let me help you.
Okay, just bear with me.
First let's let's talk aboutwhen you hire new stylists
straight out of beauty school.
(05:17):
You're investing in theirpotential and it's our job to
nurture that talent, andeffective in salon training
program will help them reachtheir potential.
It'll develop your new stylistand it's essential for your
salon growth.
I tell you I have to say this, Ihave to shout it from the
(05:41):
rooftops when we started ourin-salon training program, that
is what changed the game for us.
We had a waiting list forpeople to get in.
Most of them were all frombeauty schools.
That's okay.
I had other salon owners sayinghow are you doing this?
(06:01):
We started busting at the seamsbecause we had so many stylists
wanting to work for us and wehad so many clients wanting to
come in because we trained ourstylists to be consistent.
Do you see how this is like abig circle?
It is one of the most wonderfulthings that you can do Now.
(06:22):
If your goal is to be a verysuccessful salon, if your goal
is to get out from behind thechair yourself, if your goal is
to build confidence in your teamand build leaders for the
community, then you have to havean in-salon training program.
Creating this program.
It does not have to beoverwhelming.
(06:43):
It's all about keeping itsimple and strategic.
And what do I mean by that?
You need to set up astep-by-step guide to set up
your structured yet flexibletraining program.
Here's how we kind of did it.
We had our core skills, whichis those five basic haircuts.
(07:03):
Everybody had to to do them, soyou can already see there's
five weeks.
And then we also went intobasic color theory and color
application.
That includes highlights,balayage.
We also included how tocommunicate with each other and
with our clients.
That's your step one, andyou're also teaching them about
(07:26):
your culture, the history ofyour salon.
People ask they need to know youare setting them up for a good
foundation, and that take um,depending on how fast you go.
Now, if we did our trainingonce a week, you can set it up
where you're training them twicea week.
Heck, you can.
You can train them every singleday for the first month that
(07:47):
they're your employee.
It's however you want to do it.
I do know in today's worldpeople want things quickly, they
want to be behind the chair asfast as possible, but they also
lack the some of them lack theconfidence to do so.
That's why I'm saying haveflexibility in this.
I hired some students straightout of beauty school and, heck,
(08:09):
they were ready to go on thefloor in two weeks.
But then I've hired some thatit was six months or more.
So everybody's different.
If you think they're a good fitfor your team and your culture,
then they'll do okay.
So then you want to break theprogram into manageable phases,
like technical skills, clientinteraction, retail training,
(08:30):
things like that, and then youwant to set clear, realistic
goals for each phase, and thisis so important.
You have to track the progress,you have to.
We structured ours Like I saidwe had weekly trainings and we
did it on Tuesdays becauseTuesday mornings was our slowest
(08:51):
day in the salon.
Your POS system might be ableto show you what days are the
slowest for you.
If you wanted to choose a dayin your week.
We shut down the whole salonand just had training every
Tuesday morning.
You might do some other way.
You might not close your doors.
Maybe you're training them whythe salon is in operation.
(09:14):
It's up to you.
But what we did is we had anotebook and first we went over
their expectations and whattheir career is going to look
like and what they're going toexpect during the first week of
employment.
So we went through our culture,our vision statement, how we
treat clients, our consultations, how to give a tour of the
(09:37):
salon, etiquette okay, how toshake somebody's hand yeah, it
even gets to that.
That's the first week.
And then in our notebook theyhave a checkoff sheet.
So every time they do somethingwe check it off and then, when
it gets to the haircuts, we showthe haircut and you can either
(09:59):
do that in person, you can showa video, it's however you want
to do it.
We did it all in person andthen they did it on a mannequin
head and then they have toperform that how many times you
want them to?
Three, five, and it getschecked off every time they do
it.
Basically, that's how the wholething's set up.
So you show, they do, it getschecked off.
(10:21):
You show, they do, it getschecked off.
You know, a great trainingprogram is more than just
teaching the skills.
It's about buildingrelationships and instilling the
confidence in your new stylist.
So what we used to do is wewould pair a new stylist with an
experienced team member.
That way they had a mentor inthe salon and it wasn't all on
(10:42):
my shoulders because, frankly, Ihave things that I'd need
needed to manage, and so do you.
You have payroll, you haveinventory, you have all these
other you know balls in the air.
So Get a team member, somebodywho reflects your culture, who
is experienced, who you know isa good person to lead, somebody
(11:06):
else that has that.
Maybe you have trained in thepast and you pair your new
stylist with that.
The reason why you're doingthis is because when you pair
somebody with a mentor, thathelps boost their confidence,
that fosters teamwork and ithelps new stylists feel more
comfortable.
Faster.
They have somebody to go towith all those questions that
(11:27):
they might be too afraid to askthe boss the benefits of
fostering your salon culturelike this.
This is how you get thatcontinuous learning and then
it's celebrated.
I remember one time we had aplatform artist come into the
salon and she's very well knownand we went to lunch after and
(11:47):
she owns a salon and she lookedat me and she goes how do you do
it?
I was like how do I do what?
And she's like how do you getyour whole team to show up for
an education event on their dayoff?
And they're all excited.
You know they're all early andthey ask questions and they're
basically salivating at themouth to learn more.
(12:10):
I think it starts from the verybeginning.
I think it starts with whoyou're hiring, finding those
diamonds, giving them a solidfoundation, being excited
yourself about education andlearning more.
And then what happens is youstart seeing the leaders in your
(12:31):
team within your salon and itjust, it just is.
I didn't have an answer for her.
I was like, except for I guessit starts with our in-house
training program because that'swho we bring on to our team.
But that was a huge, hugecompliment from her.
We all face challenges whenbringing on new stylists.
(12:52):
But with the right approach,these hurdles can be
opportunities for growth.
I can already hear you saying,oh my goodness, how do I train
without disrupting the flow ofmy business?
I don't have time to train.
Well, like I said, you canchoose a day, you can choose a
(13:13):
time in the salon.
You can give your new employeea doll head to work on.
She can, she or he can watchvideos in the break room and
then perform that task, ifthat's how you have it set up.
There are so many different waysthat you can do this.
Confidence issues with newstylists seems to be a challenge
.
You have to come up withdifferent techniques to build
(13:36):
their confidence withoutoverwhelming them.
In today's world, it seems likethere's a lot of social shyness
, if you will, anxiety, lookingpeople in the eyeballs, shaking
hands, opening the door forpeople.
We just have to teach them thatthat's what we do when you're
in our space.
(13:56):
That's how we treat people, andguess what?
You are actually making them abetter human too.
You might have concerns, too,about budget.
You do not have to spend a lotof money as far as training.
There are so manycost-effective ways to offer
training.
You can do it peer-to-peer.
Maybe have another salon ownercome into your salon and you go
(14:16):
into their salon, or evenanother stylist in your space.
Teach something that they know.
Peer, maybe have another salonowner coming to your salon and
you go into their salon, or evenanother stylist in your space.
Teach something that they know.
I had a few stylists, who oneloved to do curly hair and she
just was all about it.
So she taught our curly hairclasses.
Had another stylist who lovedbalayage learned all about it.
She taught our balayage classes.
(14:38):
You see where I'm going withthis.
I had somebody who loved to doperms.
So guess what she did?
The perms.
And the more you put them, thepeers, the team members teaching
other team members can you seewhere that can go?
That that just gives confidence.
It builds even a stronger team.
(14:59):
It's a wonderful thing and itdoesn't cost you a dime.
A successful training programisn't just about the learning.
It's about seeing results.
You have to track the progressof all your new stylists Heck,
all your stylists.
We used to have monthlyone-on-ones and you're tracking
everything the retention, theretail sales, the pre-booking,
(15:22):
all that stuff.
But when they're first startingout, they're not going to have
all of that.
So you need to set performancemilestones, like what skills
have they mastered?
Have you gotten any clientfeedback that you can share,
good or bad, so you can coach toit how are their retail sales
and the recommendations?
And then you need to check inwith them regularly and then
(15:45):
adjust the training programbased on each individual.
If it's going too fast for them, you might want to slow it down
just a little bit.
But you just need to read theroom if you will, and then also
encourage feedback from both thestylists and the clients,
because you're not going to seethis new hire all the time.
(16:05):
You're not going to be there 24seven when she is, so you need
to get input from other people.
Now, how we did this is we had,especially the first week, we
would sit down at the end ofevery day.
How'd your day go?
It's a five minute chat, okay,I mean you don't have to take a
lot of time, but you do need tocheck in with them, because that
first week at being at yoursalon is imperative for setting
(16:29):
them up for success, because Iguarantee you they're
apprehensive, they're scared,they want to be good, they want
to do the right thing.
Maybe they're afraid to askquestions.
So you need to check in withthem and or check in with their
mentor.
You need to actually see what'sgoing on on a daily basis,
especially that first week.
That way you can nip it in thebud.
(16:51):
Maybe they're not up to par ondress code, maybe they are
sitting around in the salon andthat's not what you do, sitting
around in the salon and that'snot what you do.
Maybe they aren't seeing thatcoffee cups and stuff need to be
picked up when they're not busy, things like that.
But you need to just coach tothat.
After first two weeks then itwould be a weekly check-in and
(17:13):
again doesn't have to be a ton.
And then you set them up ontheir month to month one-on-one.
It does work.
It does work and if you takethe time to make it work, you
will be amazed at the successthat your salon will see.
Training isn't just about theshort term.
It's about setting thefoundation for long-term success
(17:34):
.
You heard me tell you that storyabout the guest speaker asking
me how I do it.
Tell you that story about theguest speaker asking me how I do
it.
Heck, I've had a lot of peopleask me how did you do it.
In fact, I asked myself thatsometimes when I look back and I
go how did I do that?
Well, it wasn't just me, it wasthe team.
(17:54):
I had a lot of help, but it wasalso a strong foundation in the
belief that every stylist cando better than what the stigma
has been placed on our career.
So my goal for every singlestylist was to build six figure
careers so that they can beproud of.
(18:16):
I wanted every one of myhairstylists to earn over
$100,000 take home.
That was my goal.
That was my goal.
Now, when I shared that goalwith them, does it excite them?
Yeah, but sometimes their goalsmight be something different.
Maybe their goals be able tobuy a car or buy a house.
Maybe their goal is to have aweek vacation.
(18:39):
I don't know.
You need to speak to theirgoals.
You can have a goal.
They'll work a lot harder fortheir goal.
So here's what I encourage youto do.
I encourage you to startthinking about this heavily,
because if you are struggling tofind new stylists to work in
your salon, I guarantee, Iguarantee, if you start an
(19:04):
in-salon training program andyou go into those local beauty
schools, you speak to them andyou find those diamonds that are
sitting in that school and youshare the opportunity to come
into your salon and you reallyput some energy into building
them and giving them a strongfoundation, I guarantee you will
(19:29):
have a successful salon.
I guarantee it.
If you're liking this and youneed a little bit more guidance,
if you will, I do have a freeresource that you can go
download.
It's a PDF, it's a downloadableguide called the In Salon
Training Toolkit, and it willhave some templates to at least
(19:49):
get you started.
I will definitely put the linkin this podcast, in the podcast
notes, but you can also head onover to my website.
I do have the link there aswell, and you could probably
find it on Instagram and my bio,things like that.
So don't worry, it's out there.
It's the In Salon TrainingToolkit.
I am working on a workshop thatgoes into how to put this
(20:13):
onboarding process into detailed, step-by-step instructions, and
it should be out here in thenext couple of weeks.
So if you would like that, tomake sure you get on my
newsletter, sign up and you'llbe one of the first to know when
it's up and ready to go.
So, and I mean it'll be outprobably by the end of October.
So look, please subscribe.
(20:36):
You can leave me a message ifyou felt like this resonated
with you or if you have somemore questions on how to get
started with this.
I would love to help you outwith that, and I want to make
sure you tune into our nextepisode next week, next
Wednesday, we're going to havesome more tips on growing your
successful salon business.
Thanks again for tuning in.
(20:57):
Remember, when you know better,you do better.
Go out and have a great day.
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair.
Here's what I'd love for you todo next Take a screenshot of
this episode and share it onyour Instagram stories.
Tag me at Denise Keilitz so Ican see you're listening.
Sharing helps more peoplediscover the podcast, so I can
see you're listening.
Sharing helps more peoplediscover the podcast and if
(21:20):
you're really enjoying the show,please leave a review on Apple
Podcasts.
It really helps others find us.
Thanks again, I'm Denise Kylitz, and remember, when you know
better, you do better.
See you next week.
Welcome to All About Hair, the podcast for anyone who
loves the hair industry.
I'm your host, denise Kylitz, aformer stylist educator and
owner of four award-winningsalons with over 30 years of
experience.
Whether you're refining yourskills or expanding your hair
knowledge, you're in the rightplace.
Join me for expert tips,industry insights and practical
(00:25):
advice to help you thrive in theworld of hair.
This is All About Hair.
Hey there, welcome back totoday's podcast.
I'm Denise Kylitz, your host,and if you have not tuned in to
All About Hair with Denise toAll About Hair with Denise,
(00:49):
welcome.
Today.
I want to talk to you aboutsetting up new stylists for
success.
So this is for my salon ownerfriends out there, let me tell
you a little bit about myself.
I have been in the industry forover 30 years now and I've
owned four salons, and I have apassion for empowering stylists
to thrive in our industry, tobreak through the stigma of what
(01:11):
people think a hairstylist'scareer should look like.
You know what I'm talking about, right?
My last two salons.
They were nationally recognized, they were award winning.
They brought in over sixfigures in revenue.
I had a team of 42 players.
I couldn't have done thiswithout having some kind of
(01:36):
in-salon training program inplace.
Now, the reason why I'm talkingabout that is because that was
the game changer.
So that's what we're going totalk about today is how do you
set up an in-house trainingprogram?
Also, let me share this storytoo.
I heard on another podcast andit really, really got me
(01:57):
thinking, and I can't rememberwhose podcast it was.
I've heard this more than oncethat salon owners are really
going through hard times becausethey're having a hard time
hiring people.
Why is that?
Because seasoned stylists, orthe people that we used to hire.
Mostly they're either going togo to suites or booth rental Not
(02:21):
all of them, in fact.
Here in the last year I've seena difference in people going
back to commissioned orteam-based salons because they
miss the environment.
But that's not what thisconversation is about.
The conversation is about thatsalon owners are having a hard
time hiring.
That is like the number one notcomplaint but challenge.
(02:43):
If you don't want to go boothrental which a lot of people
don't and you're having a hardtime finding stylists, where do
you think you might have to go?
Look to hire new team members?
The beauty schools.
Yes, I know you might not likethat idea because you're
thinking Denise, beauty school,then I have to train them from
(03:07):
the get go.
Let me tell you when you hirefrom beauty schools and you go
in there and you go into theircareer days and you go in to
talk to them and see them andmaybe become a guest speaker and
talk about anything how to givea consultation it doesn't have
to be a technical thing, youdon't have to do a haircut or
(03:29):
something like that.
How to sell retail, how to readface shapes and body language I
don't know, I'm just throwingthose out there.
But if you go in and youvolunteer to be a speaker at
your local beauty school, whichthey love you to come in and do
that, you can actually see thediamonds, the students who
(03:52):
really, really want it, and youcan have your choice of the
cream of the crop.
So that's when you want to goand hand them your business card
, invite them into your salonwhile they're still in school,
really start a relationship withthem, because then they might
want to come work at your salon.
(04:12):
In fact they probably will,because they're scared to go out
and interview.
Again another conversation to behad when we started recruiting
from beauty schools and put themthrough our in-salon training
programs, or boot camp if youwill.
That teaches them everythingfrom foundational haircuts to
how to give a consultation, tohow to retail, to sales
(04:36):
techniques, to product knowledge.
Everything we taught themeverything.
We left nothing out.
They became successful.
That is what these studentswant.
And yes, I know as a salon owner, you're like.
I have so many things on myplate.
(04:57):
How in the world am I going tomake this happen?
I don't have time to set up atraining program.
I don't have time to trainanybody.
I get it, but let me help you.
Okay, just bear with me.
First let's let's talk aboutwhen you hire new stylists
straight out of beauty school.
(05:17):
You're investing in theirpotential and it's our job to
nurture that talent, andeffective in salon training
program will help them reachtheir potential.
It'll develop your new stylistand it's essential for your
salon growth.
I tell you I have to say this, Ihave to shout it from the
(05:41):
rooftops when we started ourin-salon training program, that
is what changed the game for us.
We had a waiting list forpeople to get in.
Most of them were all frombeauty schools.
That's okay.
I had other salon owners sayinghow are you doing this?
(06:01):
We started busting at the seamsbecause we had so many stylists
wanting to work for us and wehad so many clients wanting to
come in because we trained ourstylists to be consistent.
Do you see how this is like abig circle?
It is one of the most wonderfulthings that you can do Now.
(06:22):
If your goal is to be a verysuccessful salon, if your goal
is to get out from behind thechair yourself, if your goal is
to build confidence in your teamand build leaders for the
community, then you have to havean in-salon training program.
Creating this program.
It does not have to beoverwhelming.
(06:43):
It's all about keeping itsimple and strategic.
And what do I mean by that?
You need to set up astep-by-step guide to set up
your structured yet flexibletraining program.
Here's how we kind of did it.
We had our core skills, whichis those five basic haircuts.
(07:03):
Everybody had to to do them, soyou can already see there's
five weeks.
And then we also went intobasic color theory and color
application.
That includes highlights,balayage.
We also included how tocommunicate with each other and
with our clients.
That's your step one, andyou're also teaching them about
(07:26):
your culture, the history ofyour salon.
People ask they need to know youare setting them up for a good
foundation, and that take um,depending on how fast you go.
Now, if we did our trainingonce a week, you can set it up
where you're training them twicea week.
Heck, you can.
You can train them every singleday for the first month that
(07:47):
they're your employee.
It's however you want to do it.
I do know in today's worldpeople want things quickly, they
want to be behind the chair asfast as possible, but they also
lack the some of them lack theconfidence to do so.
That's why I'm saying haveflexibility in this.
I hired some students straightout of beauty school and, heck,
(08:09):
they were ready to go on thefloor in two weeks.
But then I've hired some thatit was six months or more.
So everybody's different.
If you think they're a good fitfor your team and your culture,
then they'll do okay.
So then you want to break theprogram into manageable phases,
like technical skills, clientinteraction, retail training,
(08:30):
things like that, and then youwant to set clear, realistic
goals for each phase, and thisis so important.
You have to track the progress,you have to.
We structured ours Like I saidwe had weekly trainings and we
did it on Tuesdays becauseTuesday mornings was our slowest
(08:51):
day in the salon.
Your POS system might be ableto show you what days are the
slowest for you.
If you wanted to choose a dayin your week.
We shut down the whole salonand just had training every
Tuesday morning.
You might do some other way.
You might not close your doors.
Maybe you're training them whythe salon is in operation.
(09:14):
It's up to you.
But what we did is we had anotebook and first we went over
their expectations and whattheir career is going to look
like and what they're going toexpect during the first week of
employment.
So we went through our culture,our vision statement, how we
treat clients, our consultations, how to give a tour of the
(09:37):
salon, etiquette okay, how toshake somebody's hand yeah, it
even gets to that.
That's the first week.
And then in our notebook theyhave a checkoff sheet.
So every time they do somethingwe check it off and then, when
it gets to the haircuts, we showthe haircut and you can either
(09:59):
do that in person, you can showa video, it's however you want
to do it.
We did it all in person andthen they did it on a mannequin
head and then they have toperform that how many times you
want them to?
Three, five, and it getschecked off every time they do
it.
Basically, that's how the wholething's set up.
So you show, they do, it getschecked off.
(10:21):
You show, they do, it getschecked off.
You know, a great trainingprogram is more than just
teaching the skills.
It's about buildingrelationships and instilling the
confidence in your new stylist.
So what we used to do is wewould pair a new stylist with an
experienced team member.
That way they had a mentor inthe salon and it wasn't all on
(10:42):
my shoulders because, frankly, Ihave things that I'd need
needed to manage, and so do you.
You have payroll, you haveinventory, you have all these
other you know balls in the air.
So Get a team member, somebodywho reflects your culture, who
is experienced, who you know isa good person to lead, somebody
(11:06):
else that has that.
Maybe you have trained in thepast and you pair your new
stylist with that.
The reason why you're doingthis is because when you pair
somebody with a mentor, thathelps boost their confidence,
that fosters teamwork and ithelps new stylists feel more
comfortable.
Faster.
They have somebody to go towith all those questions that
(11:27):
they might be too afraid to askthe boss the benefits of
fostering your salon culturelike this.
This is how you get thatcontinuous learning and then
it's celebrated.
I remember one time we had aplatform artist come into the
salon and she's very well knownand we went to lunch after and
(11:47):
she owns a salon and she lookedat me and she goes how do you do
it?
I was like how do I do what?
And she's like how do you getyour whole team to show up for
an education event on their dayoff?
And they're all excited.
You know they're all early andthey ask questions and they're
basically salivating at themouth to learn more.
(12:10):
I think it starts from the verybeginning.
I think it starts with whoyou're hiring, finding those
diamonds, giving them a solidfoundation, being excited
yourself about education andlearning more.
And then what happens is youstart seeing the leaders in your
(12:31):
team within your salon and itjust, it just is.
I didn't have an answer for her.
I was like, except for I guessit starts with our in-house
training program because that'swho we bring on to our team.
But that was a huge, hugecompliment from her.
We all face challenges whenbringing on new stylists.
(12:52):
But with the right approach,these hurdles can be
opportunities for growth.
I can already hear you saying,oh my goodness, how do I train
without disrupting the flow ofmy business?
I don't have time to train.
Well, like I said, you canchoose a day, you can choose a
(13:13):
time in the salon.
You can give your new employeea doll head to work on.
She can, she or he can watchvideos in the break room and
then perform that task, ifthat's how you have it set up.
There are so many different waysthat you can do this.
Confidence issues with newstylists seems to be a challenge
.
You have to come up withdifferent techniques to build
(13:36):
their confidence withoutoverwhelming them.
In today's world, it seems likethere's a lot of social shyness
, if you will, anxiety, lookingpeople in the eyeballs, shaking
hands, opening the door forpeople.
We just have to teach them thatthat's what we do when you're
in our space.
(13:56):
That's how we treat people, andguess what?
You are actually making them abetter human too.
You might have concerns, too,about budget.
You do not have to spend a lotof money as far as training.
There are so manycost-effective ways to offer
training.
You can do it peer-to-peer.
Maybe have another salon ownercome into your salon and you go
(14:16):
into their salon, or evenanother stylist in your space.
Teach something that they know.
Peer, maybe have another salonowner coming to your salon and
you go into their salon, or evenanother stylist in your space.
Teach something that they know.
I had a few stylists, who oneloved to do curly hair and she
just was all about it.
So she taught our curly hairclasses.
Had another stylist who lovedbalayage learned all about it.
She taught our balayage classes.
(14:38):
You see where I'm going withthis.
I had somebody who loved to doperms.
So guess what she did?
The perms.
And the more you put them, thepeers, the team members teaching
other team members can you seewhere that can go?
That that just gives confidence.
It builds even a stronger team.
(14:59):
It's a wonderful thing and itdoesn't cost you a dime.
A successful training programisn't just about the learning.
It's about seeing results.
You have to track the progressof all your new stylists Heck,
all your stylists.
We used to have monthlyone-on-ones and you're tracking
everything the retention, theretail sales, the pre-booking,
(15:22):
all that stuff.
But when they're first startingout, they're not going to have
all of that.
So you need to set performancemilestones, like what skills
have they mastered?
Have you gotten any clientfeedback that you can share,
good or bad, so you can coach toit how are their retail sales
and the recommendations?
And then you need to check inwith them regularly and then
(15:45):
adjust the training programbased on each individual.
If it's going too fast for them, you might want to slow it down
just a little bit.
But you just need to read theroom if you will, and then also
encourage feedback from both thestylists and the clients,
because you're not going to seethis new hire all the time.
(16:05):
You're not going to be there 24seven when she is, so you need
to get input from other people.
Now, how we did this is we had,especially the first week, we
would sit down at the end ofevery day.
How'd your day go?
It's a five minute chat, okay,I mean you don't have to take a
lot of time, but you do need tocheck in with them, because that
first week at being at yoursalon is imperative for setting
(16:29):
them up for success, because Iguarantee you they're
apprehensive, they're scared,they want to be good, they want
to do the right thing.
Maybe they're afraid to askquestions.
So you need to check in withthem and or check in with their
mentor.
You need to actually see what'sgoing on on a daily basis,
especially that first week.
That way you can nip it in thebud.
(16:51):
Maybe they're not up to par ondress code, maybe they are
sitting around in the salon andthat's not what you do, sitting
around in the salon and that'snot what you do.
Maybe they aren't seeing thatcoffee cups and stuff need to be
picked up when they're not busy, things like that.
But you need to just coach tothat.
After first two weeks then itwould be a weekly check-in and
(17:13):
again doesn't have to be a ton.
And then you set them up ontheir month to month one-on-one.
It does work.
It does work and if you takethe time to make it work, you
will be amazed at the successthat your salon will see.
Training isn't just about theshort term.
It's about setting thefoundation for long-term success
(17:34):
.
You heard me tell you that storyabout the guest speaker asking
me how I do it.
Tell you that story about theguest speaker asking me how I do
it.
Heck, I've had a lot of peopleask me how did you do it.
In fact, I asked myself thatsometimes when I look back and I
go how did I do that?
Well, it wasn't just me, it wasthe team.
(17:54):
I had a lot of help, but it wasalso a strong foundation in the
belief that every stylist cando better than what the stigma
has been placed on our career.
So my goal for every singlestylist was to build six figure
careers so that they can beproud of.
(18:16):
I wanted every one of myhairstylists to earn over
$100,000 take home.
That was my goal.
That was my goal.
Now, when I shared that goalwith them, does it excite them?
Yeah, but sometimes their goalsmight be something different.
Maybe their goals be able tobuy a car or buy a house.
Maybe their goal is to have aweek vacation.
(18:39):
I don't know.
You need to speak to theirgoals.
You can have a goal.
They'll work a lot harder fortheir goal.
So here's what I encourage youto do.
I encourage you to startthinking about this heavily,
because if you are struggling tofind new stylists to work in
your salon, I guarantee, Iguarantee, if you start an
(19:04):
in-salon training program andyou go into those local beauty
schools, you speak to them andyou find those diamonds that are
sitting in that school and youshare the opportunity to come
into your salon and you reallyput some energy into building
them and giving them a strongfoundation, I guarantee you will
(19:29):
have a successful salon.
I guarantee it.
If you're liking this and youneed a little bit more guidance,
if you will, I do have a freeresource that you can go
download.
It's a PDF, it's a downloadableguide called the In Salon
Training Toolkit, and it willhave some templates to at least
(19:49):
get you started.
I will definitely put the linkin this podcast, in the podcast
notes, but you can also head onover to my website.
I do have the link there aswell, and you could probably
find it on Instagram and my bio,things like that.
So don't worry, it's out there.
It's the In Salon TrainingToolkit.
I am working on a workshop thatgoes into how to put this
(20:13):
onboarding process into detailed, step-by-step instructions, and
it should be out here in thenext couple of weeks.
So if you would like that, tomake sure you get on my
newsletter, sign up and you'llbe one of the first to know when
it's up and ready to go.
So, and I mean it'll be outprobably by the end of October.
So look, please subscribe.
(20:36):
You can leave me a message ifyou felt like this resonated
with you or if you have somemore questions on how to get
started with this.
I would love to help you outwith that, and I want to make
sure you tune into our nextepisode next week, next
Wednesday, we're going to havesome more tips on growing your
successful salon business.
Thanks again for tuning in.
(20:57):
Remember, when you know better,you do better.
Go out and have a great day.
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair.
Here's what I'd love for you todo next Take a screenshot of
this episode and share it onyour Instagram stories.
Tag me at Denise Keilitz so Ican see you're listening.
Sharing helps more peoplediscover the podcast, so I can
see you're listening.
Sharing helps more peoplediscover the podcast and if
(21:20):
you're really enjoying the show,please leave a review on Apple
Podcasts.
It really helps others find us.
Thanks again, I'm Denise Kylitz, and remember, when you know
better, you do better.
See you next week.
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