January Is Quiet on Purpose (And Why Smart Salons Don’t Panic)

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January feels quiet for many salons, but that silence is a gift. We reframe the month as the time to set culture, make decisions, and install systems so effort compounds all year.

• Redefining January as design time not panic 
• How overcorrection creates burnout and inconsistency 
• Reading the numbers: pre-book, retention, retail-to-service, average ticket 
• Coaching vs blaming hiring for growth 
• Deciding what gets energy and what stops 
• Using simple systems, scripts and weekly scorecards 
• Turning income goals into daily behaviors 
• Why clarity and structure remove caps on growth 
• The salon success calendar as a monthly focus framework

Take a look at the Salon Success Success Calendar at salonsuccesscalendar.com and just decide if it's right for you

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
If you're listening to this right now, chances are
you're looked at January, took asneak peek, and it feels quieter
than you expected.
You know, maybe you know thephones are not gonna ring as
much.
Maybe your books aren't packedthe way they were in November or
December.

(00:41):
Maybe there's a low-level hum inthe background of your mind that
says, hmm, should I be worriedabout this?
And before we go any further, wewant to say this clearly.
If January feels quiet, thatdoes not mean something is
wrong.
In fact, this might be the firstsign that something is actually

(01:05):
right.
I know I was like, say, what?
Because truly, January was nevermeant to be loud.
It was meant, it was never meantto be frantic.
You guys, you know, it was just,it was never meant to feel like
survival mode.
You know, January is quite onpurpose.
And the salons that understandthis are the salons that don't

(01:28):
panic, you know, they don'tovercorrect, and they don't
sabotage their entire year bytrying to force momentum that
isn't meant to exist yet.

SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
Yes, because most salon owners enter January with
this unspoken pressure.
You know, like if I don't hitthe ground running, I'm already
behind.
So what do they do?
You know, they add more promopromos, they add more hours,
they post more, they chaseharder, they start questioning

(02:04):
everything.
And the belief underneath all ofit is what I'm doing must not be
working.
So I just need to work harder orI just need to try one more
thing.
But here's the truth that mostpeople never say out loud.
What you're doing probably isn'tbroken, it's just capped.

(02:29):
And when something is capped,pushing harder doesn't remove
the ceiling, it just exhaustsyou faster.

SPEAKER_01 (02:39):
Lindsay, I love what you just said.
You said most what most salonowners believe.
And I loved everything that youjust said, and it it triggered
something in me too, because Ithink sometimes, too, as salon
owners, we start believingthings that our teams are saying
that are not true.
Um, you know, I'll never forgetthe story of one time um someone
kept saying, Well, the company,referring to the company, my

(03:02):
company, they just keep hiringall these people.
No wonder I'm not growing.
I don't know if that's ever beensaid to you.
Yep, it's the company's fault.
They just keep hiring, keephiring and hiring and hiring.
And, you know, really like whenyou think about it as a salon
owner, if you're if you ifyou're not certain in what
you're creating in that moment,you could take on that belief
too.

(03:23):
And so I remember when that wasbeing said, I was like, wow,
okay, well, let me take a lookat this person's numbers.
Um, retail to service, okay, 8%.
And that tells me a lot.
Um, pre-book, mm, 2%.
Okay, that tells me a lot.
And retention, 10%.
Okay, that tells me a lot.
And we gifted them 25 new guestslast month alone.

(03:46):
And so, you know, I just I sharethat story to say, man, we have
to really be certain in whatwe're taking on and what we're
believing to.

SPEAKER_00 (03:56):
Jen, that is so powerful.
And I think I can relate tothat.
I'm sure you can relate to thattoo, as you know, you're
listening.
Somebody's probably popping intoyour mind because the truth is
January is not the time tosprint.
You know, January is the time toset the thermostat.
Because what you tolerate inJanuary becomes culture, and

(04:18):
what you teach in Januarybecomes identity.
So when you what you build inJanuary, it compounds quietly
all year long.
You know, this is the monthwhere most, well, I would say
where smart salon owners dosomething radically different.

(04:39):
They don't ask, how do I getbusier?
They ask, how do I get clearer?
Clear on priorities, clear onexpectations, you know, clear on
how their salon actually runs.
You know, when, and I'm nottalking about like December,
it's like everything's great,but that's adrenaline is masking

(05:01):
your cracks then.
It's not in January.
So here's something we'velearned after decades in this
industry.
Chaos hides in busy seasons, butJanuary exposes truth.

SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
So good because really, if you think about it,
think about the last few years.
You know, during the holidays,you probably felt needed
everywhere, right?
People were book, you know,people were booking, booked,
booking out, your team was likemoving fast, their revenue was
rolling in, and then every yearJanuary hits, and suddenly that

(05:38):
noise drops.
You know, that silence can feelso uncomfortable.
And if you've been running onmomentum instead of intention,
right?
And you know, what if Januaryisn't asking you to do more?
What if January is asking you toactually decide, you know, to
decide what kind of leader youare, to decide what kind of

(06:01):
salon you're building, to decidewhat kind of year this will
actually be, you know, not in ahype-filled way, but in a
grounded, grown-up, likesustainable way.
And when you think about theword decide, we know side means
cut.
So when you decide something,you cut off all other options.
You become certain in thatdecision.

(06:23):
They say the difference betweena decision and a choice is a
choice.
You can choose something, butthen you can change that choice.
When you decide something, youcut off all other opportunities
and options.

SPEAKER_00 (06:34):
So good, Jen.
Um, you know, let's gentlydismantle a belief that keeps
salon owners stuck year afteryear.
And, you know, I know I've saidthis one a hundred times.
I'm sure, you know, you canprobably relate, and all
everyone listening, you know, ifI just work harder, everything

(06:56):
will fall into place.
You know, but what we've learnedis hard work is not the problem.
You're not lazy, your team isnot unmotivated.
The real issue is this effortwithout structure doesn't
compound.
You know, hard work withoutdirection, it actually creates

(07:19):
burnout.
And hard work withoutpriorities, it creates
resentment.
And hard work without systemscreates inconsistency.
You know, January is the monththat quietly asks, what are you
working towards?
I actually just had aconversation today with um one

(07:41):
of the beauty pros on my teamwho is thinking she's gonna fall
$500 short of earning asix-figure take-home pay this
year.
And, you know, she's only beenwith our company for a few
years.
She's very young.
She took a two-week vacationthis year, um, went to Europe,

(08:03):
did all kinds of incrediblethings.
And, you know, I think what shesaid was, hey, I'm really
excited for our yearly growthsession to get crystal clear on
how I can hit that this nextyear.
You know, so January is thatmoment where you get to lead and
lean into your leadership andreally look for those
opportunities to create a systemto where you're you know it's

(08:26):
gonna happen.
Because if if it wouldn't havebeen uh, hey, at the end of
November, I was like, you're soclose to hitting six figures.
Did you realize that?
And you know, then it was likepanic mode.
If it would have been set upthroughout the year to just
happen, you know, that's youknow, where you prevent burnout
from happening.
That's where you preventresentment from happening.

(08:50):
And um, you know, it really isjust so important to get
intentional about what you areworking toward.

SPEAKER_01 (08:59):
Wow, what a great story.
Um, because truly, like that isthe moment where your the
identity shift begins.
You know, you're not someone whojust owns a salon, like you're
not just reacting toappointments and payroll and
staffing and all the otherthings you have to do.
Like you truly are a leader whosets the rhythm of the year.

(09:22):
And leaders don't panic whenthings slow down.
You know, they use quiet seasonsto install that clarity.
They decide, hey, this is what'sgonna matter this year.
You know, they decide whatdoesn't get energy anymore.
I'll say that one again becausemost salon owners need to hear
this.

(09:42):
They decide what doesn't gettheir energy anymore.
And they also decide what getstaught, what gets repeated and
reinforced.
Because when February and Marcharrive, and they will, we
promise, the salons with clarityaccelerate effortlessly while
everyone else starts toscramble.

SPEAKER_00 (10:02):
Yeah.
You know, Jen, this is exactlywhy we created the salon success
calendar, not as another thingto add to your plate, but as a
framework to remove chaos.
You know, it answers thequestion, what should I be
focused on this month?
So I'm not guessing.
You know, it gives you one cleartheme per month: built-in
priorities, leadership prompts,team focus, revenue alignment.

(10:25):
So instead of waking up inJanuary wondering, what do I
fix?
You know, you're calmly buildingthe foundation that everything
else stands on.
You know, so if January sets thethermostat, this calendar helps
you set it intentionally.

SPEAKER_01 (10:45):
So if January feels quieter than you expected, good.
That's exciting.
That means you've been givenspace, you know, space to decide
instead of react, you know,space to lead instead of hustle,
uh, space to build somethingthat doesn't rely on adrenaline.
Like you don't need to burneverything down.

(11:05):
Whew, isn't that a good sign?
Like you don't need to panic.
Uh, you don't need to try onemore random thing.
You just need clarity.
And this month, this quiet,powerful month that's
approaching is exactly wherethat clarity begins.

SPEAKER_00 (11:23):
Yeah.
So if you want support settingthe rhythm for the year, you can
take a look at the Salon SuccessSuccess Calendar at
salonsuccesscalendar.com andjust decide if it's right for
you.
And either way, stay with usthis month because January isn't
the problem, it is theinvitation.