The pro salon industry talks a LOT about the "6 figure hairdresser" but rarely with clarity about what it takes to get there. In today's episode, I share my lessons learned from Antony Whitaker's Grow My Salon Business podcast (Episode 267). Antony interviews guest Maxwell Snow, a color specialist at Atlanta's Van Michael Salon who is among the top-earning hairdressers working behind the chair in the USA. I share my notes from this inspired conversation digging into the practices and beliefs that have led to Maxwell's tremendous success (one that does NOT include a social media following). Be sure to listen to Antony's conversation with Maxwell on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube (search for Grown My Salon Business podcast).

*Note: this episode was published originally as #96

Tatum Neill's Elevate Hair is turning 10 this year - and true to its name, the popular event has helped to ELEVATE the careers of more than a few up-and-coming Artists. The artist, technical, business & social media educator, corporate executive & DJ is also a member of the industry's iconic Neill family. Following his recent surprise 'appearance' on the leading tech podcast in America(Pivot), I just had to have Tatum on for a chat (inspiring me to add some interesting future guests back into my rotation!).

Taking a break from the usual to talk about a topic few of us know enough about - Civics. Per my office buddy Chat GPT, "Civics is all about understanding how government works, how people participate, and how decisions (laws and more) get made". Knowing the basics is valuable in understanding the state of the beauty industry's regulatory landscape... as well as everyday life. Note: this is not a political episode. I stayed way clear of that. Hope you enjoy. :-)

In this episode, I tackle several topics including the Pre-Booking/Re-Booking "controversy", an update on rising inflation and tariffs and how to consider relative to your business, the continuing trend of falling retail sales in salons, and our perceptions around shifting consumer behaviors. On the AI front, I used ChatGPT to get feedback around that last point and share it verbatim to help show the power of these platforms.

Over the last 10 years, Suites have arguably been the #1 disruptor of the professional salon industry. The tremendous growth in suites has led to hiring and retention problems for traditional salons, revenue challenges for brands, business model challenges for distributors, and educational challenges for schools.

Listen in for my take on what the real 'trouble' with Suites is, my projections for continued growth - and, with a little help from AI-, the pros and cons of going into the Suite life. 

*Note: this episode was published originally as #90

The fast pace of innovations in Artificial intelligence is like nothing we've ever seen - including the release last week of the exponentially powerful Deep Research functions that Open AI, Perpleixity, and Google's Gemini have all just launched. This week I give my take on the power of this innovation to go deep into 'the weeds' of our industry to provide meaningful insights into the true inner workings of the pro beauty industry.

Although there is much uncertainty around the plan to put tariffs on Mexico, Canada, China and the E.U., the ongoing threat makes this a topic perhaps worthy of some conversation. Big picture, tariff's almost always add inflationary pressures (for starters). Given our industry's struggles with pricing and price increases-and the large amount of products, tools and furnishings being imported, some context may be helpful to some. Listen in for my take on the possible impact of tariffs - and how to think of about them should they end up happening.

My quick tour around the various digital and social platform categories and tools with my added take on how to consider each in building your career and/or business. My most important 'aha' relative to this topic: social media is not only 'old' but it is also very much overhyped in terms of results across the industry. As a long-time 'evangelist' for these platforms relative, I'm here to say that we should all take a big step back to consider our effort vs ROI around all things social media and our careers.

My first recording of the new year is about looking forward - and sharing my thoughts on where technology could be taking our industry. I also check in with Chat GPT to get an AI 'perspective' on where robotics (and related technologies) could take salons and professionals over the next 20 years. Importantly, our larger world of consumers does not have a great history of considering the needs of the workforce that serves it (across industries) as a reason NOT to change the role of said workforce. Think about it...

This episode is re-shared for a 5-part Anthology of 2024's most-listened to episodes -all focused on "Bad Coaching" and the misinformation and real damage it can cause. Schedule of Anthology releases: 12/25: #76 12/30: #78, 1/1: #87, 1/6: #98, and 1/8: #80.

Today's episode description: Apologies for remaining in the bad coaching lane but they are at it again - this time recommending salons spend $2500 on building a custome app that will, according to the duo, be more valuable than your business when you decide to one day sell.  Add to that a new website that seems suspiciously connected to all of the 'destruction' and I'm back down the proverbial rabbit hole of concern. The last time i hope to talk about these folks for a while.