If you are a listener to this podcast, it’s very likely that you went to cosmetology school. It’s also likely that those classes never added up to a degree. Right now, that is changing. L’Oreal has teamed up with Arizona’s Mesa Community College and Arizona State University to create The Lead Institute, a program where cosmetology school graduates can apply credits from beauty school towards an associates or bachelors degree.  

In this episode, host Blake Reed Evans and Sherilynn Smart talk about going back to school, not an easy endeavor for any busy professional. But, even with a full schedule, doing hair and working in education, Sherilynn is finding time to get a degree in less than one year.  From planning your schedule to getting a full scholarship, Sherilynn tells us how she did it, and how anyone who has been to cosmetology school can make this move for themselves.

This episode was originally published in January 2022. 

Reach out to Sherilynn Smart [email protected]

Follow her on Instagram @Sherilynn_Redken

The Lead website is: www.leadinstitute.degree.  

On Facebook it’s: Lead Rolfs Global Institute.  

And on Instagram it’s @leadrolfsglobalinstitute.

SUMM IT UP is produced by Andrea Muraskin, with editorial support from Tim Fisk. This episode was edited by Amy Walters.

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

As stylists, we want to be there for our clients, while also setting professional boundaries around our time. Online booking saves time and takes some of the emotion out of setting up hair appointments. But today's guest says combining tech with a human touch makes for the best customer experience, and makes business sense too. 

Guest Missy Megginson is Director of Sales and Business Development at Schedulicity, a booking, payment and marketing software for salons and spas. She's a former salon owner and has been behind the chair for 20 years, most recently out of her own suite north of West Palm Beach, Florida. 

IG: @schedulicity

Learn more: schedulicity.com/essentials

This episode was originally published in March 2024.

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

For Bil Neal, being a salon sales consultant isn't about pushing product. It's about building relationships and growing small businesses. Bil Neal is a salon business partner (SBC) with SalonCentric, a division of L'Oréal USA, working with Summit salons and other salon companies in southern Ohio.  Want to try out a new product without commiting? Call Bil. Want education for your stylists? Bil can set you up with an expert. Planning out your promotions for the year? Bil's your guy. And he's one of 400 SBCs working for SalonCentric across the United States who offer these services -- which often go underutilized in the industry.

Listen for a lively discussion with Bil and host Blake about all that, plus how to earn commissions on products beyond in-salon sales! 

Follow Bil on Instagram @bil.neal.

This episode was originally published in January 2024

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

Trish Vereze is a powerhouse. A specialist in color correction, she regularly travels between Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Honolulu to do hair. And just five years into her career in the industry, Trish recently bought her first condo.

 In this episode, Trish and Blake discuss:

• How she got started as a travel stylist
• Her work ethic
• Why she's only had one re-do
• Her tricks of the trade when it comes to color correction

Whether you're interested in traveling for work or not, you're sure to learn something from Trish. 

Find Trish Vereze on Instagram and TikTok @hairbytrishv.

Curious about in traveling internationally for stylist education? Check our our episode with the Hair Nerds!

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

The front desk team is essential to the success of any salon company. And yet customer service and retention are pain points for many salon companies. "No one should feel like they're 'just' a front desk person," says Summit salon coach and front desk trainer Rose Coitrone. And if trained, respected and incentivized appropriately, the front desk can be a sales powerhouse. 

 In this conversation, Rose and Blake get into:

• Why a front desk staff person should be able to "play a stylist" 
• Creating a bond between the front desk and stylists, and the front desk and guests
• Sales scripts that come across as authentic offerings 
• Research-based incentives that boost retention including yearly pay raises and time off 
• Expanding jobs of front desk staff with roles like social media and hospitality

Learn more about Rose and book a 30 minute discovery call. 

Follow her on IG @rosecoitrone.

Email her at [email protected]. 

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

Have you ever felt like that next level jump is never going to happen, or you'll lose your clientele if you start charging everyone full price -- even though the stylist in the chair next to you has achieved these goals? You might be stuck in what business pros call a fixed mindset. Summit VP Heather Bagby is back to help you recognize a fixed mindset, and transition to a mindset of growth. Heather wrote a masters thesis on mindsets -- and her advice is valuable whether you're looking to grow your own income, or coach someone else. 

Heather Bagby is Vice President of Business Development at Summit Salon Business Center. She's a co-owner of Shear Art Salon in Tampa -- the same salon company where host Blake Reed Evans is a co-owner and stylist. 

Follow Heather Bagby on Instagram @heatherbagby.

Check out our previous episodes with Heather Bagby on customer service and Summit's Happiness Project. 

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

Hayley Jepson (@the.resilient.hairdresser on Instagram)  has an  amazing story. A top-earning colorist, she left the hair industry over a decade ago due to burnout, thinking she'd never come back. Hayley became a  school counselor and a psychotherapist. Eventually, the knowledge she gained in that process brought her back to her first love -- hairdressing -- but this time with the tools to lead a healthy, happy life behind the chair. With her company The Resilient Hairdresser, Hayley provides online education and workshops for salons and stylists. She also developed a mental health training currently being rolled out by L'Oreal around the world. Hayley shares key insights in this interview on self-care and communication for stylists working both inside salons and independently, and salon owners managing employees. 

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry.

SUMM IT UP is produced by Andrea Muraskin. This episode was originally released in July 2023.

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

Stephanie Russell-Jacobs is a former hairstylist turned psychological safety facilitator and coach. This is Stephanie's  third time on SUMM IT UP, and this episode we're focusing on leadership. Stephanie says just about anyone can be a leader, whether they know it or not, and that leadership is more about intention than power. In this insightful conversation, Stephanie and Blake discuss:

• The many forms leadership can take in a salon company
• Applying Mel Robbins' "Let Them" theory to the salon workplace
• Why leaders should aim for consistency, not perfection
• Strategies for managing conflict between salon company shareholders

And more. 

Learn more about Stephanie and her coaching services at wavesociety.ca.

Follow her on Instagram @psychologicallysafesteph.

Check out her previous SUMM IT UP interviews on psychological safety  and preventing burnout. 

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

LaShawnda Hall's salon journey began in an unconventional way. As a retail manager in a chain clothing store, she befriended a customer -- a hair stylist from across the mall. She became a regular guest of that stylist, Summit's own Jen Culverhouse. Years later, when Jen opened her own salon company, Jen invited LaShawnda to manage a boutique. 

Fast forward to today, and LaShawnda has become the owner of that salon - Urban Eve in Pearland, Texas. A go-getter and multi-tasker extraordinaire,  LaShawnda is an inspiration to anyone dreaming about owning a salon. 
 

Looking to level up your boutique, or add one to your salon company? Listen to our previous episode, Boutique experience with LaShawnda Hall. We also have a very fun episode with LaShawnda's former employer and founder of Urban Eve Salon, Jen Culverhouse, where you can get to know your enneagram type .

Find LaShawnda on Instagram @lashawndahall_ssbc

Learn more about LaShawnda and schedule a 30 minute discovery call for front desk or boutique coaching services. 

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry. 

Jamie DiGrazia (she/they) is the owner of Logan Parlor Hair Salon and Barber Shop in Chicago, and a Level 6 cosmetologist and barber.  DiGrazia is the founder of Hair Has No Gender, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization  dedicated to promoting inclusive, gender-free, and gender-affirming practices within the hair world. 

In this heartfelt episode, DiGrazia and host Blake Reed Evans discuss:

• Gender-neutral pricing -- It's the right thing to do and makes business sense too.
• Gender-inclusive consultations
• How to transition your salon to a gender-neutral pricing structure (it's easier than you might think)
• How to be an ally to young trans, non-binary or gender-nonconforming guests in your salon

Take Hair Has No Gender's inclusivity pledge and get your salon company listed on their Affirming Service Finder directory. 

Learn about their professional team trainings. 

Instagram:  @jamiedigrazia / @hair_has_no_gender

Follow Summit Salon Business Center on Instagram @SummitSalon, and on TikTok at SummitSalon. 

SUMM IT UP  is now on YouTube! Watch extended cuts of our interviews at www.youtube.com/@summitunlocked

Find host Blake Reed Evans on Instagram @BlakeReedEvans and on TikTok at blakereedevans. His DM's are always open! You can email Blake at [email protected]. 

Visit us at SummitSalon.com  to connect with others in the industry.