May 21, 2024 • 24 mins
On this episode, Kelly Swann joins the pod to share how she created a salon environment that's not just cutting-edge (Hello, Certified B Corporation!) but a nurturing ground for awesome company culture. Kelly's salon, Let Em Have It in Denver, CO has blended camaraderie with individual flair, earning them a spot among the prestigious Salon Today Top 200 for Culture in 2024.
Join the conversation to peel back the layers of Kelly's hiring strategy, which focuses on value alignment over pure skillset and the significance of a growth mindset in her Denver salon. Her commitment to fostering a "little slice of sunshine" has not only built an enjoyable work atmosphere but has also crafted a united team capable of weathering the pressures of the beauty business with grace.
Conversation highlights:
1:00 Defining "culture"
2:05 Aligning team on shared values
5:00 How to attract and hire talent with your core values
7:14 Balancing leadership and collaboration
10:19 Kelly's hiring process
15:58 Holding the team accountable to your culture
Watch the video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/ehgVK1ed8yo
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Beauty Business Strategies Podcast.
My name is Michael Yost and I'mjoined today by Kelly Swan,
owner of Let Em have it Salon.
How are you, kelly?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good, how are you, Michael?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
I'm good, I'm good.
So today we wanna talk aboutone of the favorite topics,
which is culture.
Again, the cool part about itis and we wanted to bring you a
part of this podcast is becauseyou're a Salon Today Top 200
winner this year.
Congratulations in the area ofculture.
So well done.
Is that your first Salon TodayTop 200 win?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yes, as a business owner myself, I've worked for
companies that have had it, butfirst as a big dog Awesome.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, congratulations .
So let's start with just theidea of culture.
I think so many people havedifferent concepts and different
definitions about what culturemeans and even when we're
listening, if I'm thinking tomyself, I'm listening in on a
podcast, I'm like, oh, anotherconversation on culture.
Well, that's important to me.
Let's define to you what'sculture mean to you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
For me, I would say the culture of a company is the
energy of the team.
Like what are the dynamicsinterpersonally, from team
member to team member, fromleadership to team?
Is there a sense of camaraderie?
Is there a sense of community?
Is there individualism?
Like what's the overall vibe?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
You bring up two words that really kind of
trigger with me right now.
What kind of I think theclimate we're in you bring in
this idea of camaraderie andindividuality, and so I think a
lot of times, especially fromstrategy standpoint, we talk a
lot about team, we've got to beteam and all of that.
And yeah, I think some peopletake that as we got to do
everything exactly the same waytogether.
(01:48):
Or you know, my culture has gotto be unified like that.
How do you create camaraderie,build team but also and build
that culture that you want butalso have that camaraderie
portion with the individualityportion?
How's that?
How's that mix for you?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
So for me, I would say that my company is a
values-based company and it'smaking sure that we're all
aligned with a similar set ofvalues.
So of course, we all havedifferent personalities and
quirks, like we are our ownpeople.
We don't have a set of clones,even though one of the girls on
my team does say like, oh, weshould just like clone ourselves
(02:27):
and then we'll just multiplyour team in that way.
We don't want that.
We like having like differentperspectives and input, but if
there's a shared set of valuesat the core of it, I think
that's where the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Right.
So how did you come up?
I mean, when you talked aboutvalues, how did that develop in
your business?
You know number one just forreference how long has your
business been open?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
My business has been open for since 2013.
Ok, so almost 11 years, andI've been the owner for almost
two years.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
OK, so you've been a part of this business, owned it
now for the past couple of years.
So, going back to the idea ofvalues, so let's say someone new
comes into your company, how doyou share the values with them?
And or, if your values evolvedover the course of the time that
(03:23):
you were there as a part of theteam and then even when you
took the lead as the owner ofthe business, how talk to me
about that shift?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
just in general, yeah , so when I was a member of the
team with the previous owner, um, she had a lot of values that
were totally in alignment withme.
Right, I joined that teambecause it was a values driven
company.
They were team based.
Also one of three certified Bcorporations in the whole world
(03:53):
out of salons, which is a hugedeal.
If you're not familiar with Bcorporation a salon, getting
that is very hard because ourindustry is not the most
sustainable or that's adifferent topic.
I'm not going to go there butthat's another podcast, but it'd
be a fun one but it would andcause I think it would elevate
(04:14):
our industry If more peoplelooked into it.
So there were already a numberof things like her mission of
sustainability and inclusivityand trying to make an impact on
the industry is what made mewant to join her team when I
took over.
Taking a look at the differentcore values while, yes, I do
agree with all of them, I thinkmost you know core values on
(04:37):
paper.
If you have a value sheet infront of you, you can pick, like
, several things that land withyou, right, I think, at our core
, most people want to be a goodperson.
You can pick several thingsthat land with you.
I think, at our core, mostpeople want to be a good person.
I took the time to really sitdown and think about what are my
values as a person and how do Iwant to run this company.
And while she was doing a lot ofthings incredible, it was time
(04:59):
for me to make it my own, andthat is something that I've
taken a lot of time over thelast few years to really sit
with and reflect.
So, you know, putting it on ourwebsite, sharing it with our
team.
That's something thatthroughout the interview process
.
Before we even get on the phonewith someone, we send a form,
(05:21):
so just a job application, andall the questions that we send
have nothing to do with skill.
It's very much about who youare as a person and trying to
find out like just based onthose answers is this someone I
want to continue a conversationwith, or can I already tell
we're probably not going to beon the same page.
You know, and every step of theinterview is around that, like
(05:45):
just just seeing, like are wegoing to have like general
things that are in alignment,like these super important core
values?
Because for me, I think that isthe driving factor of my
culture is when push comes toshove.
We've all agreed to be inalignment on a few pretty big
(06:05):
things.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Gotcha, and I think it's interesting that you bring
you know.
I think sometimes people eventalking about how you were just
sharing, like I said, how youcome up with your values.
I think what's interestingabout that is do we create
values as a group and do it alltogether, or is it like, no,
it's got to start with me?
Yes, you know, and I think thatis so crucial because I think
(06:28):
most business owners I thinkthis is a big disconnect really,
and when we struggle withtrying to get things done,
trying to get thingsaccomplished, I think the big
disconnect is that, while wemight establish values,
sometimes they're even got tomake sure they're ours.
And you know, I think that'sjust a huge mistake that we
(06:48):
often make is we set out somegood value, like you said, we
can look at a sheet and I can gocool, let's pick, you know, six
or seven things off that I likeand that fit and I or I want to
be.
But if it doesn't line up withyou, you know, as the leader in
the company or you as the base,you're going to have a hard time
sustaining that.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Over the course of time.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
A hundred percent and I think that's one of the
biggest lessons that I've gained, because when I first became
the owner coming from a formerteam member and I just had the
team dynamic as just a teamamong team members and stepping
(07:32):
into ownership, I wanted it toall be so collaborative.
I believe in team-based fromthe bottom of my heart and I'm
learning some lessons along theway of.
There are certain things as thebusiness owner that I have to
have the say on.
I do have to have theconnection to it and
unfortunately, like you're notgoing to have, every person who
(07:56):
joins your team isn't going tostay on your team.
So if you're trying to createyour values on a group of people
, you don't know if that groupof people is going to be with
you every step of the way.
Right, and that's a hardconversation to have, right.
I want everyone to you knowlet's go and let's all grow and
have this beautiful experiencetogether and we're just going to
(08:17):
keep growing together.
But that's not life.
No it's not real and that's notmy experience either.
Like the team I started withisn't the team I have.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And I love that you brought that up because I think
that's such a great point for usall to realize is that fact
that I think we do think it'sall going to be all like, oh,
you know, kumbaya, hands holdingaround a campfire, that that's
what team looks like and that'swhat it's always going to be.
What team looks like and that'swhat it's always going to be.
(08:47):
But yet, like you said, youknow, having this means as a
leader, I need to step up myselfand keep moving this forward.
It doesn't have to be.
This isn't.
Every decision is a decision bycommittee.
Even if team is one of yourcore culture values, it's got to
stay in the right perspective.
It's got to stay in the rightperspective.
I want to jump back because Ithink something that we so often
(09:10):
, at least that I feel like Ihear as a coach, as an educator
and things, and you mentioned itis so the hiring process is
just this never ending likeconversation.
You know we're always lookinghow do I hire better?
And things like that.
(09:30):
You know you kind of mentionedout there.
Like you know, let's start alittle bit with what do you
think attracts?
And I think you've already kindof covered that.
But you know just to maybe hitthat a little bit more again
what kind of attracts.
But I'm also interested to knowmore about then when you get
into your hiring process.
You gave us kind of a briefdrive by, but what are a few
(09:54):
more of the specific things thatlook like Cause?
I think that you know, I thinkthat can be helpful to people
that are listening or thingslike that is to go like all
right well wonder what Kellyreally does.
What does she do?
Like she said, she does acouple of interviews and it
looks like but what does thatlook like?
So like what's your likeinitially, but more so than even
when you get to that interviewprocess.
A little bit more depth on that, because I think that can be
(10:17):
helpful for the listener, Ithink, first of all, ever
evolving.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
I joke with my team I'm like this is all one big
experiment, right?
We're looking for somethingthat's going to be awesome, that
we're so proud of and in a lotof ways we are and it's always
evolving.
And where it stands right nowis we have an add-on, indeed,
for example, so someone reachesout through that, we send them a
(10:44):
link to our waiver.
Please fill this form out.
If the form, you know, sparks asense of curiosity, you know we
we were originally kind of likenope, not it.
But now it's like do I want toget to know this person further?
That's what we're looking forin our interviews like, do I
want to continue thisconversation with you or do I
feel like we've kind of come toa screeching halt?
(11:05):
So when we read those answersit's like okay, they're talking
about like kind of similarvalues and all of that and a
growth mindset.
That's huge for us.
Then we have a phone interviewand in the initial phone
interview our manager will talkto them and tell them all the
(11:27):
ways that we operate, differentfrom a lot of other salons, and
talk about our team-basedstructure, talk about our
expectations, talk about thebehaviors that we've agreed upon
and every step of the way inthe interview process, like it's
a combination of like gettingto know the applicants and then
(11:48):
also telling them about who weare, how we show up and what we
expect of each other, because Ideeply believe in having
mutually beneficialrelationships.
So if it's just like, oh, tellme all about you and tell me
this and how about that, it'slike well, no, you also need to
find out do you like thisenvironment?
(12:09):
You know what I mean.
Like we're in Denver, colorado.
We're super low key, like casualI wear this to work, like I'm
not in all black, like you know,and we have like a very like
chill and loving vibe in oursalon.
So someone who wants to blasttechno and party and go out,
(12:30):
you're probably not going toenjoy just our little low-key
vibe that we have.
You know what I mean.
Does that make sense?
Really, trying to have it belike I want you to get to know
us too.
You find out if you want to behere, right, I've always said,
an interview is exactly that.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
An interview is a two-way street.
Yeah, this is.
You know, this is one of thosethings that it's like, yes, I'm
finding out more about you, butthe interview should also be you
finding out about us.
You know, because do we fitwhat you're looking for?
And you know because do we fitwhat you're looking for?
And I think it's reallyimportant to acknowledge, and
even you probably, because Ithink a lot of times most people
(13:09):
that go in for interviews don'tgo in with that mindset.
So, even trying to create maybesome opportunities that you know
, giving them some guidance asto hey listen, prompting them
maybe even a little bit to belike so what do you want to know
about us that's important toyou?
Yeah, because if not, we'regoing to end up possibly like
you said, hey listen, if this isyour style and this is the kind
(13:31):
of music you like and this isthe kind of way you you like to
you know kind of your lifestyle.
You know we may or may not bethe right fit yeah, you might
not enjoy it right doesn't makeone right or wrong.
Just means that yeah, it's justnot this doesn't the culture
doesn't match.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Like, yeah, is it something that?
So, ultimately, the reasonculture is so important to me is
salon owners will get this.
Taking on the responsibility ofowning a business is so hard
yeah, I did not know how hard itwas before I decided to do it.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
No one does Cause if they did, no one would ever do
it.
No one would do it.
No, no one would do it.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
But now that I'm in it, I'm like I have a fierce
determination to win.
But ultimately I want it to bea place that I want to be and
that I enjoy and I really valuefun and having a lively and fun
environment, like just a lovingatmosphere where everyone's like
wants to be there.
Right, if anyone's just showingup and just like whatever, I
(14:34):
can't handle it.
I just can't handle it becauseI have so much stress on me on
any given day that I always sayI want this salon to be our
little slice of sunshine.
And day that I always say Iwant this salon to be our little
slice of sunshine, like when Iwalk in I want to feel sunshine,
I want our team to feelsunshine, I want our clients to
feel sunshine.
And at Strategies you guys talka lot about what we sell is time
(14:59):
and retail, and with our time,we're also selling vibes.
So it all starts from within,right, and that's a big part of
like understanding people.
While we're hiring, like hey,let's be so serious and like
let's get, like tell me ahundred percent, like don't tell
me what you think I want tohear.
And I say this to people I'mlike I don't care what you think
(15:20):
.
I want to hear, I want to knowthe truth, because, ultimately,
we want to build long lastingemployer employee relationships,
and that comes from you know.
This is how we are.
Does that inspire you, or isthat going to feel like an
obligation to you?
You know, yeah, yeah, so withthe vibes, it's like our clients
(15:46):
always tell us that they lovethe way that they feel in the
salon, and that's notquantifiable.
It's not something that'stangible, right, but I do think
it's something that starts fromwithin.
So I'm not.
So everything starts from me.
Am I taking care of myself?
Am I attending to my own mental, physical, emotional health
(16:08):
needs?
Am I consistently trying togrow?
Am I learning from my mistakes?
And then, am I holding my teamto the same standards that
they've agreed to?
So that's the other thing islike.
Throughout the hiring process,we talk about all of these
different things that we expect,and during the onboarding
process, we go through a list ofbehaviors that the team has all
(16:30):
agreed upon.
Essentially, it's the broadband, and we view that as our code
of conduct, and duringonboarding we go through line by
line.
Do you agree to show up on time?
Do you agree to have a positiveand supportive attitude.
Do you agree to try to seek tomentor others?
(16:51):
Do you agree to keep a growthmindset?
And, one by one, do you agreeto this?
And everyone says yes, ofcourse, of course, of course.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Of course, and we're all human, so sometimes we
violate those agreements.
And that's what also comes backto me.
Am I going to hold myself andthe rest of the team, who's
agreed to these behaviors, tothose standards?
And it's I don't know.
(17:22):
I've been thinking about this alot Like I think having a
strong and thriving team culturetakes a lot of courage.
Now, from different experiences, I've had.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Well, I was going to say you mentioned the word
courage because I was going tosay and what you're sharing is
that's got to lead to a lot ofwhat we'll classify as difficult
conversations.
But I want to frame that theright way, because a difficult
conversation doesn't have to.
You know, I think sometimes ourmind immediately goes to I've
(17:52):
got to bear down and I've got totell you something, and that
I've got to have thisconversation Difficult.
Really, I think the way youjust framed it up is hey, listen
, you know, I know you've gotthe right heart, I know you want
to do the right thing, we'recoming from the right mindset to
things like that.
It's simply difficult because Ihave to maybe have a
(18:14):
conversation that just isnaturally not easy for me to
have or has a lot of feeling oremotion or depth to it.
That's the difficult part, youknow, not so much that I gotta
difficult you know like on thehammer exactly it's not that.
(18:35):
So with that, you know, when youget into those moments of it's
like, hey, you know what, we'vekind of crossed the line or
we've kind of as, as you said,we're all human Like, do we
agree to these things?
Yes, but then sometimes weviolate those agreements, what
do you find is the best way thatyou like to approach those
conversations?
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Quickly.
First and foremost, don't letit fester.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And like just always with kindness and respect at the
forefront, right, um, but thoseconversations are so much
easier now that we've startedoperating as agreements, because
it used to be like, oh god,like so-and-so's, not doing what
they said they were gonna do.
And oh god, I'm the boss nowand I have to say it like, oh
(19:27):
God, everyone else is mad.
But like only telling me and,oh God, and it's scary, because
you never want to hurt anyone'sfeelings, right, right, I don't
want to hurt anyone's feelings,I want to have fun.
All the time, that's all I wantto do is just laugh and play.
And so when something happens,that is not fun and you have to
have a hard conversation, I'mlike, oh God, I don't want you
(19:48):
to be mad at me.
And now this, like I'm notlaughing about this because I'm
actually pretty pissed, like, oh, that was so much harder and
going through an onboarding andhaving every single person on
the team agree to differentbehaviors, it's so much easier.
(20:11):
We also say in that initialfeedback or job application how
do you best give and receivefeedback?
So it's just like we've allagreed that we would just like
to have a direct conversation.
And then it's just hey, can wechat?
Let's go through this.
This is what happened.
This is the behavior that it'sgoing against.
(20:32):
You agreed to show up in thisway, but this is what you've
done.
Let's talk about it.
And most people want to moveforward and want to try to make
things right, and we also have a90-day probation period with
employment, so that's somethingI'm kind of like leaning into is
(20:54):
like yes, I want this fun andloving atmosphere and we have a
business to run right.
Yes, we've become friends alongthe way and the reason we know
each other is because we worktogether and someone has to
adhere to the systems right, andactually we all do.
(21:14):
We're going to be here and soyou know when people are trying
to move forward.
It's's like yeah, absolutely, Iwill help you, I will try to
coach you.
But what we've decided is, inthe first 90 days, if there's
more than three violations ofthe agreements, we are going to
just chalk it up as potentiallythis isn't the right fit,
(21:35):
because if early on in thatrelationship there's already
violations happening, as peopleget more comfortable, that's
probably going to show up alittle bit more, which sucks.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Yep, it does.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Sucks.
But it's that idea of like, ifI make an exception for you, I
have to make it for everyone,and then is that even a value.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
we have and you know what, and that goes against for
you, that violates the agreementthat you agreed to.
Yeah, you know, I mean it's afull circle thing.
It's like, hey, listen, if Iwant you to be accountable and
dependable and, you know, followthe agreements that you're
mapping out, I'm sure a lot ofthose fall back right to you in
(22:23):
that same way.
Because you're mapping out, I'msure a lot of those fall back
right to you in that same way.
Because you're not doing that,you're violating the agreement.
And then you got to have a talkwith yourself about it and
that's not a good thing.
I tell you what I'm going tokind of wrap up here, because
this is the perfect place for us, because I think we've got so
much out of today.
Kelly, what you shared, justkind of recapping my brain, a
couple of key things that stoodout to me was the fact that you
(22:43):
know, first and foremost, we'vegot to establish ourselves with
the values piece it's just soessential and those values have
to be yours, have to live withyou, not just a created,
manufactured kind of a thing,not just a checklist.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Exactly this is inside who I am, how I operate.
Yep.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Those got to bleed throughout everything you do.
The second thing is I loved howyou address the fact that you
know I love it.
We sat down out of those values.
Then we start talking about theagreements that we make to
ourselves and to the company andhow that works and if, when
those things are violated andthey will be cause we are human,
that we address those quickly.
(23:21):
And then you said that rightout of the gate, quickly and
that is so important, but thenwith, like, the right attitude,
the right mind, the rightmindset, that kindness and
clarity and everything youtalked about so perfect.
You did a great job.
Thank you so much, kelly.
This is so good today, you knowtalking to you, so I appreciate
it and, for all of you outthere, thanks for joining us and
(23:42):
we look forward to seeing youagain on our next Beauty
Business Strategies podcast.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Thanks again for listening to the Beauty Business
Strategies podcast.
If you liked this episode, besure to hit follow To learn more
about how strategies can helpcreate more fun, profit and
growth potential for you, yourcompany and your team.
We invite you to schedule afree 60 minute strategy session
by clicking the direct link inthe description of this episode.
Welcome to the Beauty Business Strategies Podcast.
My name is Michael Yost and I'mjoined today by Kelly Swan,
owner of Let Em have it Salon.
How are you, kelly?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good, how are you, Michael?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
I'm good, I'm good.
So today we wanna talk aboutone of the favorite topics,
which is culture.
Again, the cool part about itis and we wanted to bring you a
part of this podcast is becauseyou're a Salon Today Top 200
winner this year.
Congratulations in the area ofculture.
So well done.
Is that your first Salon TodayTop 200 win?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yes, as a business owner myself, I've worked for
companies that have had it, butfirst as a big dog Awesome.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, congratulations .
So let's start with just theidea of culture.
I think so many people havedifferent concepts and different
definitions about what culturemeans and even when we're
listening, if I'm thinking tomyself, I'm listening in on a
podcast, I'm like, oh, anotherconversation on culture.
Well, that's important to me.
Let's define to you what'sculture mean to you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
For me, I would say the culture of a company is the
energy of the team.
Like what are the dynamicsinterpersonally, from team
member to team member, fromleadership to team?
Is there a sense of camaraderie?
Is there a sense of community?
Is there individualism?
Like what's the overall vibe?
Speaker 1 (01:28):
You bring up two words that really kind of
trigger with me right now.
What kind of I think theclimate we're in you bring in
this idea of camaraderie andindividuality, and so I think a
lot of times, especially fromstrategy standpoint, we talk a
lot about team, we've got to beteam and all of that.
And yeah, I think some peopletake that as we got to do
everything exactly the same waytogether.
(01:48):
Or you know, my culture has gotto be unified like that.
How do you create camaraderie,build team but also and build
that culture that you want butalso have that camaraderie
portion with the individualityportion?
How's that?
How's that mix for you?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
So for me, I would say that my company is a
values-based company and it'smaking sure that we're all
aligned with a similar set ofvalues.
So of course, we all havedifferent personalities and
quirks, like we are our ownpeople.
We don't have a set of clones,even though one of the girls on
my team does say like, oh, weshould just like clone ourselves
(02:27):
and then we'll just multiplyour team in that way.
We don't want that.
We like having like differentperspectives and input, but if
there's a shared set of valuesat the core of it, I think
that's where the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Right.
So how did you come up?
I mean, when you talked aboutvalues, how did that develop in
your business?
You know number one just forreference how long has your
business been open?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
My business has been open for since 2013.
Ok, so almost 11 years, andI've been the owner for almost
two years.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
OK, so you've been a part of this business, owned it
now for the past couple of years.
So, going back to the idea ofvalues, so let's say someone new
comes into your company, how doyou share the values with them?
And or, if your values evolvedover the course of the time that
(03:23):
you were there as a part of theteam and then even when you
took the lead as the owner ofthe business, how talk to me
about that shift?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
just in general, yeah , so when I was a member of the
team with the previous owner, um, she had a lot of values that
were totally in alignment withme.
Right, I joined that teambecause it was a values driven
company.
They were team based.
Also one of three certified Bcorporations in the whole world
(03:53):
out of salons, which is a hugedeal.
If you're not familiar with Bcorporation a salon, getting
that is very hard because ourindustry is not the most
sustainable or that's adifferent topic.
I'm not going to go there butthat's another podcast, but it'd
be a fun one but it would andcause I think it would elevate
(04:14):
our industry If more peoplelooked into it.
So there were already a numberof things like her mission of
sustainability and inclusivityand trying to make an impact on
the industry is what made mewant to join her team when I
took over.
Taking a look at the differentcore values while, yes, I do
agree with all of them, I thinkmost you know core values on
(04:37):
paper.
If you have a value sheet infront of you, you can pick, like
, several things that land withyou, right, I think, at our core
, most people want to be a goodperson.
You can pick several thingsthat land with you.
I think, at our core, mostpeople want to be a good person.
I took the time to really sitdown and think about what are my
values as a person and how do Iwant to run this company.
And while she was doing a lot ofthings incredible, it was time
(04:59):
for me to make it my own, andthat is something that I've
taken a lot of time over thelast few years to really sit
with and reflect.
So, you know, putting it on ourwebsite, sharing it with our
team.
That's something thatthroughout the interview process
.
Before we even get on the phonewith someone, we send a form,
(05:21):
so just a job application, andall the questions that we send
have nothing to do with skill.
It's very much about who youare as a person and trying to
find out like just based onthose answers is this someone I
want to continue a conversationwith, or can I already tell
we're probably not going to beon the same page.
You know, and every step of theinterview is around that, like
(05:45):
just just seeing, like are wegoing to have like general
things that are in alignment,like these super important core
values?
Because for me, I think that isthe driving factor of my
culture is when push comes toshove.
We've all agreed to be inalignment on a few pretty big
(06:05):
things.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Gotcha, and I think it's interesting that you bring
you know.
I think sometimes people eventalking about how you were just
sharing, like I said, how youcome up with your values.
I think what's interestingabout that is do we create
values as a group and do it alltogether, or is it like, no,
it's got to start with me?
Yes, you know, and I think thatis so crucial because I think
(06:28):
most business owners I thinkthis is a big disconnect really,
and when we struggle withtrying to get things done,
trying to get thingsaccomplished, I think the big
disconnect is that, while wemight establish values,
sometimes they're even got tomake sure they're ours.
And you know, I think that'sjust a huge mistake that we
(06:48):
often make is we set out somegood value, like you said, we
can look at a sheet and I can gocool, let's pick, you know, six
or seven things off that I likeand that fit and I or I want to
be.
But if it doesn't line up withyou, you know, as the leader in
the company or you as the base,you're going to have a hard time
sustaining that.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Over the course of time.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
A hundred percent and I think that's one of the
biggest lessons that I've gained, because when I first became
the owner coming from a formerteam member and I just had the
team dynamic as just a teamamong team members and stepping
(07:32):
into ownership, I wanted it toall be so collaborative.
I believe in team-based fromthe bottom of my heart and I'm
learning some lessons along theway of.
There are certain things as thebusiness owner that I have to
have the say on.
I do have to have theconnection to it and
unfortunately, like you're notgoing to have, every person who
(07:56):
joins your team isn't going tostay on your team.
So if you're trying to createyour values on a group of people
, you don't know if that groupof people is going to be with
you every step of the way.
Right, and that's a hardconversation to have, right.
I want everyone to you knowlet's go and let's all grow and
have this beautiful experiencetogether and we're just going to
(08:17):
keep growing together.
But that's not life.
No it's not real and that's notmy experience either.
Like the team I started withisn't the team I have.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
And I love that you brought that up because I think
that's such a great point for usall to realize is that fact
that I think we do think it'sall going to be all like, oh,
you know, kumbaya, hands holdingaround a campfire, that that's
what team looks like and that'swhat it's always going to be.
What team looks like and that'swhat it's always going to be.
(08:47):
But yet, like you said, youknow, having this means as a
leader, I need to step up myselfand keep moving this forward.
It doesn't have to be.
This isn't.
Every decision is a decision bycommittee.
Even if team is one of yourcore culture values, it's got to
stay in the right perspective.
It's got to stay in the rightperspective.
I want to jump back because Ithink something that we so often
(09:10):
, at least that I feel like Ihear as a coach, as an educator
and things, and you mentioned itis so the hiring process is
just this never ending likeconversation.
You know we're always lookinghow do I hire better?
And things like that.
(09:30):
You know you kind of mentionedout there.
Like you know, let's start alittle bit with what do you
think attracts?
And I think you've already kindof covered that.
But you know just to maybe hitthat a little bit more again
what kind of attracts.
But I'm also interested to knowmore about then when you get
into your hiring process.
You gave us kind of a briefdrive by, but what are a few
(09:54):
more of the specific things thatlook like Cause?
I think that you know, I thinkthat can be helpful to people
that are listening or thingslike that is to go like all
right well wonder what Kellyreally does.
What does she do?
Like she said, she does acouple of interviews and it
looks like but what does thatlook like?
So like what's your likeinitially, but more so than even
when you get to that interviewprocess.
A little bit more depth on that, because I think that can be
(10:17):
helpful for the listener, Ithink, first of all, ever
evolving.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
I joke with my team I'm like this is all one big
experiment, right?
We're looking for somethingthat's going to be awesome, that
we're so proud of and in a lotof ways we are and it's always
evolving.
And where it stands right nowis we have an add-on, indeed,
for example, so someone reachesout through that, we send them a
(10:44):
link to our waiver.
Please fill this form out.
If the form, you know, sparks asense of curiosity, you know we
we were originally kind of likenope, not it.
But now it's like do I want toget to know this person further?
That's what we're looking forin our interviews like, do I
want to continue thisconversation with you or do I
feel like we've kind of come toa screeching halt?
(11:05):
So when we read those answersit's like okay, they're talking
about like kind of similarvalues and all of that and a
growth mindset.
That's huge for us.
Then we have a phone interviewand in the initial phone
interview our manager will talkto them and tell them all the
(11:27):
ways that we operate, differentfrom a lot of other salons, and
talk about our team-basedstructure, talk about our
expectations, talk about thebehaviors that we've agreed upon
and every step of the way inthe interview process, like it's
a combination of like gettingto know the applicants and then
(11:48):
also telling them about who weare, how we show up and what we
expect of each other, because Ideeply believe in having
mutually beneficialrelationships.
So if it's just like, oh, tellme all about you and tell me
this and how about that, it'slike well, no, you also need to
find out do you like thisenvironment?
(12:09):
You know what I mean.
Like we're in Denver, colorado.
We're super low key, like casualI wear this to work, like I'm
not in all black, like you know,and we have like a very like
chill and loving vibe in oursalon.
So someone who wants to blasttechno and party and go out,
(12:30):
you're probably not going toenjoy just our little low-key
vibe that we have.
You know what I mean.
Does that make sense?
Really, trying to have it belike I want you to get to know
us too.
You find out if you want to behere, right, I've always said,
an interview is exactly that.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
An interview is a two-way street.
Yeah, this is.
You know, this is one of thosethings that it's like, yes, I'm
finding out more about you, butthe interview should also be you
finding out about us.
You know, because do we fitwhat you're looking for?
And you know because do we fitwhat you're looking for?
And I think it's reallyimportant to acknowledge, and
even you probably, because Ithink a lot of times most people
(13:09):
that go in for interviews don'tgo in with that mindset.
So, even trying to create maybesome opportunities that you know
, giving them some guidance asto hey listen, prompting them
maybe even a little bit to belike so what do you want to know
about us that's important toyou?
Yeah, because if not, we'regoing to end up possibly like
you said, hey listen, if this isyour style and this is the kind
(13:31):
of music you like and this isthe kind of way you you like to
you know kind of your lifestyle.
You know we may or may not bethe right fit yeah, you might
not enjoy it right doesn't makeone right or wrong.
Just means that yeah, it's justnot this doesn't the culture
doesn't match.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Like, yeah, is it something that?
So, ultimately, the reasonculture is so important to me is
salon owners will get this.
Taking on the responsibility ofowning a business is so hard
yeah, I did not know how hard itwas before I decided to do it.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
No one does Cause if they did, no one would ever do
it.
No one would do it.
No, no one would do it.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
But now that I'm in it, I'm like I have a fierce
determination to win.
But ultimately I want it to bea place that I want to be and
that I enjoy and I really valuefun and having a lively and fun
environment, like just a lovingatmosphere where everyone's like
wants to be there.
Right, if anyone's just showingup and just like whatever, I
(14:34):
can't handle it.
I just can't handle it becauseI have so much stress on me on
any given day that I always sayI want this salon to be our
little slice of sunshine.
And day that I always say Iwant this salon to be our little
slice of sunshine, like when Iwalk in I want to feel sunshine,
I want our team to feelsunshine, I want our clients to
feel sunshine.
And at Strategies you guys talka lot about what we sell is time
(14:59):
and retail, and with our time,we're also selling vibes.
So it all starts from within,right, and that's a big part of
like understanding people.
While we're hiring, like hey,let's be so serious and like
let's get, like tell me ahundred percent, like don't tell
me what you think I want tohear.
And I say this to people I'mlike I don't care what you think
(15:20):
.
I want to hear, I want to knowthe truth, because, ultimately,
we want to build long lastingemployer employee relationships,
and that comes from you know.
This is how we are.
Does that inspire you, or isthat going to feel like an
obligation to you?
You know, yeah, yeah, so withthe vibes, it's like our clients
(15:46):
always tell us that they lovethe way that they feel in the
salon, and that's notquantifiable.
It's not something that'stangible, right, but I do think
it's something that starts fromwithin.
So I'm not.
So everything starts from me.
Am I taking care of myself?
Am I attending to my own mental, physical, emotional health
(16:08):
needs?
Am I consistently trying togrow?
Am I learning from my mistakes?
And then, am I holding my teamto the same standards that
they've agreed to?
So that's the other thing islike.
Throughout the hiring process,we talk about all of these
different things that we expect,and during the onboarding
process, we go through a list ofbehaviors that the team has all
(16:30):
agreed upon.
Essentially, it's the broadband, and we view that as our code
of conduct, and duringonboarding we go through line by
line.
Do you agree to show up on time?
Do you agree to have a positiveand supportive attitude.
Do you agree to try to seek tomentor others?
(16:51):
Do you agree to keep a growthmindset?
And, one by one, do you agreeto this?
And everyone says yes, ofcourse, of course, of course.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Right.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Of course, and we're all human, so sometimes we
violate those agreements.
And that's what also comes backto me.
Am I going to hold myself andthe rest of the team, who's
agreed to these behaviors, tothose standards?
And it's I don't know.
(17:22):
I've been thinking about this alot Like I think having a
strong and thriving team culturetakes a lot of courage.
Now, from different experiences, I've had.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Well, I was going to say you mentioned the word
courage because I was going tosay and what you're sharing is
that's got to lead to a lot ofwhat we'll classify as difficult
conversations.
But I want to frame that theright way, because a difficult
conversation doesn't have to.
You know, I think sometimes ourmind immediately goes to I've
(17:52):
got to bear down and I've got totell you something, and that
I've got to have thisconversation Difficult.
Really, I think the way youjust framed it up is hey, listen
, you know, I know you've gotthe right heart, I know you want
to do the right thing, we'recoming from the right mindset to
things like that.
It's simply difficult because Ihave to maybe have a
(18:14):
conversation that just isnaturally not easy for me to
have or has a lot of feeling oremotion or depth to it.
That's the difficult part, youknow, not so much that I gotta
difficult you know like on thehammer exactly it's not that.
(18:35):
So with that, you know, when youget into those moments of it's
like, hey, you know what, we'vekind of crossed the line or
we've kind of as, as you said,we're all human Like, do we
agree to these things?
Yes, but then sometimes weviolate those agreements, what
do you find is the best way thatyou like to approach those
conversations?
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Quickly.
First and foremost, don't letit fester.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And like just always with kindness and respect at the
forefront, right, um, but thoseconversations are so much
easier now that we've startedoperating as agreements, because
it used to be like, oh god,like so-and-so's, not doing what
they said they were gonna do.
And oh god, I'm the boss nowand I have to say it like, oh
(19:27):
God, everyone else is mad.
But like only telling me and,oh God, and it's scary, because
you never want to hurt anyone'sfeelings, right, right, I don't
want to hurt anyone's feelings,I want to have fun.
All the time, that's all I wantto do is just laugh and play.
And so when something happens,that is not fun and you have to
have a hard conversation, I'mlike, oh God, I don't want you
(19:48):
to be mad at me.
And now this, like I'm notlaughing about this because I'm
actually pretty pissed, like, oh, that was so much harder and
going through an onboarding andhaving every single person on
the team agree to differentbehaviors, it's so much easier.
(20:11):
We also say in that initialfeedback or job application how
do you best give and receivefeedback?
So it's just like we've allagreed that we would just like
to have a direct conversation.
And then it's just hey, can wechat?
Let's go through this.
This is what happened.
This is the behavior that it'sgoing against.
(20:32):
You agreed to show up in thisway, but this is what you've
done.
Let's talk about it.
And most people want to moveforward and want to try to make
things right, and we also have a90-day probation period with
employment, so that's somethingI'm kind of like leaning into is
(20:54):
like yes, I want this fun andloving atmosphere and we have a
business to run right.
Yes, we've become friends alongthe way and the reason we know
each other is because we worktogether and someone has to
adhere to the systems right, andactually we all do.
(21:14):
We're going to be here and soyou know when people are trying
to move forward.
It's's like yeah, absolutely, Iwill help you, I will try to
coach you.
But what we've decided is, inthe first 90 days, if there's
more than three violations ofthe agreements, we are going to
just chalk it up as potentiallythis isn't the right fit,
(21:35):
because if early on in thatrelationship there's already
violations happening, as peopleget more comfortable, that's
probably going to show up alittle bit more, which sucks.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Yep, it does.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Sucks.
But it's that idea of like, ifI make an exception for you, I
have to make it for everyone,and then is that even a value.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
we have and you know what, and that goes against for
you, that violates the agreementthat you agreed to.
Yeah, you know, I mean it's afull circle thing.
It's like, hey, listen, if Iwant you to be accountable and
dependable and, you know, followthe agreements that you're
mapping out, I'm sure a lot ofthose fall back right to you in
(22:23):
that same way.
Because you're mapping out, I'msure a lot of those fall back
right to you in that same way.
Because you're not doing that,you're violating the agreement.
And then you got to have a talkwith yourself about it and
that's not a good thing.
I tell you what I'm going tokind of wrap up here, because
this is the perfect place for us, because I think we've got so
much out of today.
Kelly, what you shared, justkind of recapping my brain, a
couple of key things that stoodout to me was the fact that you
(22:43):
know, first and foremost, we'vegot to establish ourselves with
the values piece it's just soessential and those values have
to be yours, have to live withyou, not just a created,
manufactured kind of a thing,not just a checklist.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
Exactly this is inside who I am, how I operate.
Yep.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Those got to bleed throughout everything you do.
The second thing is I loved howyou address the fact that you
know I love it.
We sat down out of those values.
Then we start talking about theagreements that we make to
ourselves and to the company andhow that works and if, when
those things are violated andthey will be cause we are human,
that we address those quickly.
(23:21):
And then you said that rightout of the gate, quickly and
that is so important, but thenwith, like, the right attitude,
the right mind, the rightmindset, that kindness and
clarity and everything youtalked about so perfect.
You did a great job.
Thank you so much, kelly.
This is so good today, you knowtalking to you, so I appreciate
it and, for all of you outthere, thanks for joining us and
(23:42):
we look forward to seeing youagain on our next Beauty
Business Strategies podcast.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
Thanks again for listening to the Beauty Business
Strategies podcast.
If you liked this episode, besure to hit follow To learn more
about how strategies can helpcreate more fun, profit and
growth potential for you, yourcompany and your team.
We invite you to schedule afree 60 minute strategy session
by clicking the direct link inthe description of this episode.
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