A Growth Path That Retains Team Members And Makes Money Faster

So I just onboarded a bunch of mastermind people, and a couple of them are salon owners. And a big, big, big discussion that we've been figuring out is what does the growth path look like for the employees in the salon? How do they get paid more? When do they increase the prices?

And then what KPIs actually are going to inform that decision? Because it is so important that as a human being who is looking for employment, who is going to be embarking on a career, and spending, investing a lot of time, sacrifice, energy, labor into your business, that they feel like there is a future for them there, that they feel like all of this is for something at the, at the end of the day. And these conversations that I've been having recently have been very much bringing that to top of mind, and there's a lot of different things to consider, I think, when it comes to laying out what that growth path is. And Jodi was saying this recently too before we started recording that, like, even for your clients, like, thinking about, like, what is the path forward with our journey together as you as a customer and me doing your hair, right?

Like, what are we trying to achieve? What is the overall goal? And always having something to look forward to I think is very important. I mean, as human beings, like, first off, we want safety and security, right?

We always wanna have hope for the future. Those are, like, just primal human needs that we have. But then also, we want to be excited about what is going on, right? Uh, when it comes to getting your hair done especially, like, it's one of the s- rare reprieves that we have from the day-to-day chores.

It's one of the rare things that a lot of people are just doing for themselves. And to make that into a consistently exciting experience for people and to give them always something to look forward to every time they come to see you versus this being just a chore that they're checking off of their list I think is very powerful. So just wanted to share that for those of you who don't have a team. I think that just thinking about the growth path for your people and always considering that in the client experience is very powerful, so thank you for that idea, Jodi.

But yeah, I'm excited to share with you guys some of the conversations that I've been having and what I've been taking away from them, and a lot of the different things that we should cons- consider when it comes to laying out this growth path. So Jodi Brown, where do you think we should start? So I love this topic 'cause I think this is something that I see so much conversation about online is, like, you know, retaining stylists for salon owners. It's a huge conversation.

And I think where we, where we can start this is just by talking about, like, what does a growth plan look like from a salon owner perspective? 'Cause, like, where ... Like, what does that mean on, like, a high level? So I think it really comes down to, like, how is somebody going to make more money or have more ownership or responsibility over the roles that they play in the salon and in the business, right?

And there's a lot of different ways that you can go about that, and there's even, like, more alternative, not really spoken about too m- much ways as well too that we can get there. And it's really gonna depend on, like, the model that you have, where you're at now, where you're planning to go, right? Like, maybe you can offer this person, uh, uh, uh, some stock, right, or some ownership or profit share, um, because you're going to be franchising in the future and maybe you want them to open up the second franchise or the second location or whatever it may be. Like, that is, like, thinking really big, but that is possible, you know?

Like, if that is the goal, right, and you can set out clear KPIs and, like, you, you know where you wanna go, like, you can make that a part of somebody's plan. Right. But then at the end of the day, I think this just comes down to, like, where w- where can somebody strive to be? Where can somebody expect to go?

And I think that it's really important that we at least have a clear understanding of what that looks like from the beginning when somebody joins and works with you, especially when you want to keep them around. So but normally, in a traditional sense, this goes back to how much money are you gonna make? Right. Right.

You know? How much money are you gonna make? How much of the split is gonna come from the salon and the revenue that you're actually getting from your client? So what does the commission split look like?

Or maybe you do an hourly model, so, like, how much money are you gonna make per hour? And also, are you gonna be able to maybe even work less and make X amount of money as well too? So that's also a part of the conversation. I could keep yapping, but I wanna make sure that we stay on topic.

Yeah, no. I think that really ... Like, it's, like, what are the p- like, what is the destination? Or not even the destination, but, like, what does the journey look like along the way?

And I love that you said about, like, flexibility, 'cause I've seen salon owners where it's like, you know how, like, it, it ... When I got into the industry, it was a lot about, like, levels, right? Right. Like, stylist levels, things like that.

Um, and so I know that's, like, you know, has various different, uh, reputations now. But basically, one of the first salons, my favorite salon I worked at before I moved, it was like once you were X level of stylist, like, y- that was a four-day work week, right? Everyone else was on five, and then there was, like, a three-day work week, and there's- Right ... all these different opportunities that give you something to work towards.

And so I think that's really just the, I, I think that's kind of, like, the big picture is, like, where can someone get? Um, I know I've left salons because of a lack of growth plan- Right ... on two different occasions, um, because it felt stagnant. And so let's talk about kind of what those KPIs can look like.

Yeah. 'Cause I know one of the things we wanted to discuss is, like, making sure they're not arbitrary when it comes to, like, giving your people a growth plan. Yeah. Um, I have a lot of high performers who are employees who reach out to me who are like, "My salon owner, my salon owner doesn't know what to do with me.

Like, they don't have any more coaching for me. They don't have any more growth path for me. It's just, like, it just feels like this dead end." And- For a lot of these guys, it's very difficult for me to not say, "Go off on your own," because that's definitely not always the answer or the grass is not always greener.

I mean, you sharing the, the percentage of revenue with the salon owner is you paying your rent, right? Right. Yeah. Like, from a different...

Not actually, right? But you can think about it like that. Like, you're paying the rent, you're paying for a receptionist, you're paying for your payroll to be done for you, you're paying for all the utilities in the salon. Like, that is where your revenue share is going, right?

Your commission split is going. And then you don't have to think about all these extra responsibilities and things, and so it's, like, really great for you to just be an employee and be able to make a shit ton of money. But I have these people who really feel like there's nothing left for them, and they're making a crazy amount of money as an employee in, in a really small amount of time, but they are just so frustrated that there's not a continuous growth path and there's no challenge for them. And I honestly don't know if...

A- again, it really depends on, like, what is the salon owner's goals and plans. Like, is there even a way for somebody to exceed beyond that? And I quite honestly think that, like, if you are a salon owner that doesn't have a way that feels good to you as the business owner to be able to give this person actually, like, a big next level that feels good for them, possibly maybe they've outgrown your business. And I know that that's, like, really shitty, especially because they're a high performer, right?

But if you genuinely don't have any plans of maybe allowing yourself to open up a s- another location and this person wants that type of responsibility or something like that, right? Or if you don't have the flexibility in your profit margin to give this person a larger bonus based upon extra KPIs or whatever it may be, maybe this person has started to outgrow your, your shit, you know? And I think that that's okay. Like, I think it's okay for you as a salon owner to not always have to have a maximum unlimited plan for when this stuff happens, because it's okay for people to outgrow the business.

And you'll have a bunch of people, hopefully, below that person who will just grow into that and continue on with that cycle, right? But I do think, of course, that a lot of salon owners out there are gonna want to create that space for people. I just don't think that we always have to have a lot of pressure on ourselves to make it. So maybe I'm getting afar- far ahead in, in my conversat- in our conversation here.

But this is what comes to mind for me when it comes to these specific people that I'm thinking about- Mm-hmm ... who are coming to me and feeling like they're not being challenged. So let me ask you then from your perspective as, like, a business consultant, w- how does a salon owner manage kind of what motivates the stylist, right? 'Cause at the end of the day, like, a growth plan is like what is going to motivate that person?

I think there's... We covered a bunch of those different things. How do you balance what's gonna motivate your stylist and w- the big picture goals for yourself and for your business? Yeah, dude, and i- the unfortunate part is that, like, the, the big vision and plan probably changes very often.

Like, one year- For sure ... you're thinking, "Oh, I wanna have an empire." The next year you're thinking, "I do not want an empire," right? Like- Right ...

it's like it, it, it changes very fluidly, and I think, like, honest communication with the team of, like, where you're at, where you're thinking, where you're going, I think is so important. Like, keeping people on the same page with you, like, keeping your team in the loop I think is so important. I think that hiring, I think... You know, my conversation about this is always gonna go back to the very beginning.

Like, really making sure, like, this person that you're hiring is going to be the person that is gonna wanna go along the same journey and ride as you are or you're naturally probably going to, right? Maybe this person is, like, not really having a strong direction in their life, and they're just fresh out of beauty school or something like that, and you are just starting out with figuring out what the vision is. That's a great person to hire, because if they're great with core values and things like that, then they can be fluid, you know? And you can be fluid with them, and we can figure it out together, and you can all have this beautiful journey of just figuring it out.

Like, I think that my contradiction here is that, like, not everything has to be figured out, okay? What I do think is, is that from the beginning, if you want to hire good talent, they need to be able to see a future. We're in a generation in which things feel extremely hopeless, like wildly hopeless. This industry has not a great reputation when it comes to commission splits and how much the stylist is getting paid versus how much the salon is profiting, at least from an uneducated per- general perspective.

Like, a lot of employees, the majority of the industry doesn't really understand the profit side of things or the finance- financial side of things. And then simultaneously, a lot of salon owners don't even understand that stuff, and a lot of them have created, unfortunately, not really great business practices. And so when we have these people coming out of beauty school or whatever it may be just considering a new s- s- place to work, you need to show them why it's worth putting in the effort and labor and investment and risk of working with you and giving you money, like generating money for you. You know, this is not...

You know, uh, some, for some models it is with, like, the hourly rate or whatever it may be. But a lot of the times, this is not just like a, a, administrative job where the revenue doesn't change based upon your actions, right? This is like you are generally, like, creating the revenue for the business overall, and that's a big commitment for somebody, you know? And I don't think that, whether they realize it or not, and you need to make sure that there is some sort of vision of the future for that person and clear expectations of what they can g- of, of what they can expect when they hit certain marks.

Because nothing will build resentment more of when you aren't getting the raise that you deserve, right? Right. Like, or that you feel like that you deserve. And if you, if you're, if this is all, like, willy-nilly, right?

If it's like, "Okay, well, we're deciding to give you a price increase," or, "We're deciding to give you a, a commission raise," and it's just like whenever you feel like it- Then oftentimes that is going to create a lot of resentment for the person because they feel like they're doing a great job, or they're just pissed off that they're not getting any more money when they feel like they deserve it for whatever reason. And then that's gonna make somebody wanna go off on their own or find a different solution, right? And so just having a... You need to give somebody very clear understanding of, in order for you to make X amount of money or be able to get paid X more, these are the specific things that you need to get done.

They need to be tracked and looked at at a consistent basis, and you're responsible for coaching and providing the person with the things that they need to be able to hit those marks. 100%. And I think, like, it's interesting 'cause it's almost, you know, the average stylist now is a lot more aware of their options. They're a lot more aware of what's possible for them.

They're seeing what it can look like. I don't think that every stylist wants to be their own boss. I think that they just don't want to be boxed in and experience, like, the level of control and income limitation, all of those things that they might s- uh, subconsciously associate with being a commissioned stylist. And so, like, if you can show them that that's not the case in your salon, I think there's probably a lot of stylists who would not go independent if they had a really great opportunity within a commission salon.

Right. And if they felt equipped with the things that they needed to... Equipped with the skills that they needed to be able to hit the markers, and if the markers make sense to them and are fair, right? I think when it comes to the KPIs that we traditionally have seen salons use as indicators of whether somebody goes to the next level or the next tier, oftentimes are one that I believe, as a business consultant, are actually pretty irrelevant or actually holds the salon owner, a lot of the time, back from more revenue.

Like, I have a friend who is working a traditional corporate job, and she loves the job, but she, uh, she... And she's doing everything they're challenging her with, everything that they're telling her that she needs to show to be able to get to her, her promotion. But they're only holding her back because maybe they don't have space for her to move up into that, that position, or because it's a m- it- it's a, it's a less quantifiable, um, uh, marker. So, like, you know, how would you rate your communication skills, right?

It's like everybody's perception of communication skills is completely different, you know? And so what I'm really big on is making sure that there is actual tangible, quantifiable proof of performance of each of these KPIs, that each of your employees have a clear understanding of exactly what they need to do to hit this number, and that you actually are able to measure it on a consistent basis. You're checking in with them on a consistent basis on it, and you're not holding them back just because you don't have space to hold them back. You should be building a foundation in which you are, can fulfill your promises.

Do I believe that these things could change, and you're absolutely allowed to change them? 100%. And I think that if you have the right people within your space and you're, you're doing the, you're making decisions in your business for the right reasons, then you can, you can make changes for how people hit these KPIs and what the KPI actually looks like. If the goalpost has to move, sure, but there needs to at least always be a clear, measurable standard that people can expect that, if I do this, this, this, and this on a consistent basis three times or whatever it may be, then I will get my next raise, or I will get my next price increase.

And I think when we talk about how this has traditionally been done, a lot of the, what have, what has created resentment is not giving somebody a raise because of a KPI that felt unfair. Yes. I think from a psychological perspective, being held back by something that you don't think is relevant or that you're not on board with, um, would definitely kill motivation for a lot of stylists. Totally.

And again, this is up to you to equip them with what they need to be able to hit it. But it's like, at the end of the day, for example, there's a salon that I know of where this person is very oftentimes booked with a ton of men's cuts. Like, they're ve- And this is, like, a traditional salon model, traditionally m- majoritively, uh, uh, patronized by women, right? So then it's like this person has this unique situation where she does a lot of men's cuts.

The men's cuts are unproportionally priced per hour. So this person is 100% booked, right? Majoritively getting these men's cuts. Right.

And because this person is not hitting this revenue KPI, they're held back from their next raise. Mind you, they're getting 100% booked. They're getting new client requests. And because of a decision that you made, that this person has zero control over, they can't get the raise.

Yeah. I don't think that that's fair, right? It's like if, if you are the one who's in control, and there's not really much that the person can do, then it's just holding somebody back from making... I mean, this person should be 100% raising their men's cuts prices.

I mean, r- I mean, we could talk about this should just be genderless in the fucking first place. But, like, they should be evenly priced per hour as well too, right? But then again, it, but then it's like you're holding yourself back from making more money on this very profitable service 'cause there's no costs, c- there's barely any ex- expense besides time, right? You could be raising this person's men's, men's cut prices, and you could be making a lot more money, and this person could feel a little bit less resentful.

But because your model of compensation and raises and price increases is too standardized and it's too blanketed, and it's not really set up for realistic situations, it's not personalized enough, you are holding yourself back and that person from being able to get the raise that they're looking for. Right. So essentially what you're saying is making sure that the KPIs you're measuring are ones in which the stylist has the element of control, not the way that it's set up. Like, essentially you wanna equip them to win.

Right. Especially when it comes to, like, if, like, how much they're earning per hour or how much revenue that they're making. You set the prices. Right.

You set the prices, so it's not fair to hold somebody accountable to, okay, if you make this much amount of money, then you get X raise, right? Right. Unless you can equip them with the everything that they need to be able to get there. So let's say that adding an assistant into the mix or something like that, right, is how this person could maybe get to that revenue level, and that is an intrinsic systematized part of how the salon works, right?

Then maybe I'm a little bit more okay with that, right? But here's what I also have really loved with these conversations is ta- is splitting up the, the, the... It's, it's the separation of how somebody gets a commission raise or a, a hourly pay raise versus the price increase. Right.

So we're setting different standards for if somebody gets a price increase versus if somebody gets a commission raise, because a lot of the times those things are coupled together. It's like, okay, you get this commi- you get, you go up to this next level. That means that your prices go up to this and your commission goes up to this, right? But I think that the way that those things should be measured and what is deserved, what is fair to be given for both of those different things should be or are oftentimes mixed together when they shouldn't be.

They're very separate. For example, a price increase, the example of this person doing these men's cuts, right? It's like this person could very much afford a price increase, and they could be making more money, and you could be making more money based upon the supply and demand, right? So you're actively losing money because this person isn't selling enough shampoo.

Right. Like, that is crazy, right? But the reason why we have commission splits in the first place and why may, they may be regulated by a retail sale number or an average retail per client is because of the profitability of the salon. It's because of protecting profit margins, right?

And so if, let's say that retail is a way that you are able to profit as a salon. Therefore, if this person is doing well with their retail, then you can justify paying this person a little bit more of a commission split because you know that you're making more profit on the back end from the retail. So it protects you as a salon owner and makes it so you feel more comfortable with giving this person more of a share. And that's completely separate from if this person is, is, is earning a price increase or not because then that person has two ways to grow.

Okay, you wanna get paid more? Then you need to, you pay more of your, of, of what you are actually bringing in gross. Then we need to make sure that this is a mutually beneficial and profitable endeavor. But regardless, you can always make more money if you want to.

You just have to earn your price increase, right? So it creates a more personalized, uh, a path for people, and it also doesn't hold you back as a salon owner from making more money. You can immediately make more money by increasing this person's prices individually because of their own performance of supply and demand. Great.

So let's talk about what are... 'Cause I think we've kind of like brushed on some of these, like the booked percentage and retail sales and all of those. What do you think are the most important KPIs that matter most when it comes to building out a growth plan? Utilization rate, so how booked up they are.

How many n- how many direct referrals are they getting, okay? So a lot of salons either, a lot of salons are kind of the ones, in a traditional model, the ones that are feeding the stylist with clients, right? That is oftentimes the case when it comes to an employee model, right? So for a salon that wants, again, this is may- maybe where it's like the commission kind of comes into play, okay?

Where it's like we look at the price increase differently for what we hold them accountable to with the KPIs to earn a price increase versus what, where they earn a commission split because it's like, okay, if you, if your own efforts are bringing me new clients to the business, okay, then that means that you have a little bit of a stake in the success of the business, and so therefore you earn a little bit more of a share of this profit. Right. Do you know what I'm saying? Yes.

Right? 100%. Versus if I, especially when a salon is filling up these, these people's books because of their own dollars spent, such as with Google Ads or whatever it may be, however they're spending money on marketing. It's like I'm paying to get you a client in your chair, right?

So why do you deserve a higher commiss- a, a higher percentage of commission? Like, you haven't done any of your own effort. But you're booked and busy, and you're retaining clients. Great.

We can increase your prices. So then that brings me to another number that we can take into consideration, which is your retention. Unfortunately, retention is so hard to calculate. It is aggressively hard to calculate, especially when you don't have a specialized salon.

But you can set baselines. There's ways to work around it and kind of calculate one or another. You can do things kind of manually. But retention is very important, again, especially if you're the one who are feeding these people clients.

We have, I have a salon owner who joined us recently who, uh, we found out, you know, they're doing really well on a year-to-year basis. They've had these stylists in the salon for a very long time, each of them, all of them, and they all do great work. But they don't retain the clients. And it's like, after years, these stylists should be 100% booked with barely any price increases, with giving a great service, right?

Like, why are they not 100% booked if they're getting X amount of new client requests a month, and they've been working there for that long? It's a retention issue, right? Right. So then therefore they're never gonna be able to earn a raise.

And so retention is so important for the stability of the salon, and of course also, again, justifying the marketing dollars that you may s- be spending to then get a client into their chair. So retention is a big one. New client retention more specifically, okay? Not existing, uh, client retention.

I do think that average retail per client I think is something that should be looked at. I think that when we think about from a retention perspective and what retail can do for you, I think that it is, it is a good idea to have retail in there in one way or another. Do I think that it needs to be absolutely insane? No.

Do I think there needs to be, like, at least a little bit of a minimum standard for it? Yes. But again, does that go into the commission side of things or the price increase side of things? And I think it should go into more the commission side of things.

And, and one thing that I've talked about, especially because retention is so hard to measure, is, like, a client satisfaction quantifiable number. And however you collect this is, it's ag- again, another kind of difficult thing to kind of really get into place and actually make measurable, but if you can, it's really awesome because then you can get an average satisfactory situation, uh, rating from each of your stylists, and then you can hold them accountable to that or have that as a part of your raise, and that'll just give you another indicator that, like, when you raise this person's prices, are they gonna retain the client that they have now? Right. And again, this is where it's like maybe direct referrals is a good idea because if you do lose clients on the price increase, then are you gonna be able to replace those clients that you may lose from that person and then replace them with new ones, right?

So really it comes down to supply and demand, retail, and retention. That's really what it comes down to. And I think that, u- unless I'm forgetting anything, 'cause this is very off the top of my head, um, I think that other than that, those are the main really big daddy things that we should be focused on. And then of course, like, let's say that there is a action that you'd like people to take in your salon.

So for example, like, we are really right now working with a lot of our people about systematizing the consultation salon-wide to make a consistent brand experience. So we create, like, measurable ways to track if each stylist is asking the same consultation questions that every single person is supposed to be asking on a consistent basis. So let's say that somebody... Y'all, this is juicy, bitch.

Like, y'all are getting, like, the 100%. Like, you'd have to pay me for this information, so take notes. Like, we're setting it up so they need to, the stylist has to fill out a short form, like three questions, and they need to write down what they're an- what the client's answer was to these three questions. And so then at the e- at their reviews, they'll be able to track with the digital form how many of them on a consistent basis always ask these questions, right?

And so that becomes measurable, and that makes sure that that person is actually hold, being held to and fulfilling the standard that is set for them. And so that way we know that that's still consistently happening and all of that good stuff, right? So those are the numbers. Love that.

I love that. So do you think, are there any KPIs that you see people measuring that just don't matter? I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is the service revenue. I know, I, I...

Again, it's like from a commission perspective, I kind of understand the service revenue situation for protecting profit margin and things like that, and like what you can afford, what you can't, but I, I, I... that's where my brain goes to. Um, pre-booking percentage I guess is, uh, also another thing. It's like, where it's like, yes, this could be important and it could be helpful, but what if this person has a 100% utilization rate and their pre-booking is trash?

Then it, pre-booking doesn't even matter at the end of the day. Like, there's kind of like a waterfall of which KPIs feed into other KPIs, right? So, like, it's like how do we increase retention? There's multiple KPIs that can increase your retention, which is another KPI.

So it's almost like an umbrella KPI, and then there's all these little KPIs that then feed that big one. So it's like the pre-booking, the retail, the whatever else, the average frequency of visit. Like, that can all increase retention, right? But it's like if there's a million ways to get to retention, then why are we tracking pre-booking percentage?

It's not really fair. Let's say that this person is a curly cut specialist, and they, and, and they come back on a very, you know, low basis, but they're 100% booked. They have great retention. Why are we holding this person back from a raise or a price increase just because they're not pre-booking because pre-booking doesn't make sense to them, for them?

Yeah. That makes sense. Do you know what I mean? Yeah.

So it's like- Oh, go ahead. Go ahead. I was gonna say, so it comes back to the not holding people back based on, like, arbitrary metrics that don't actually matter in the long run. Period.

It's like we need to... You know, actually I was gonna talk to you about this as maybe a podcast episode. Of the practice of taking a step back as a leader and truly, like, looking at things from a more of a bird's-eye view, I think oftentimes when, when we're in the weeds, we just kind of think or know, quote unquote, that, like, X number is important. So then we just have it on the sheet because we just think that's what we're supposed to do.

Like, we just assume that's what we're supposed to do. But we should be questioning ourselves and our traditions, and we should be understanding if this is still relevant to us, if this is actually accomplishing the goal, or if we could throw this to the side and then stop ourselves from holding ourselves back from a bunch of growth that's possible for ourselves, you know? I think step, the p- the practice of, like, cutting out the bullshit and really getting down to the wire of what is actually important in your entire business in many different ways, it creates such faster growth, and it removes so much complication. So that's my take.

Moral of the story is your employee should know, in order for them to accomplish whatever they would like to accomplish in their career path with you, they should know how to get there, and you are responsible for equipping them with the actual logistics, tracking, measurables of what that looks like, and then the skills and the coaching that they need to be able to accomplish those things. So for example, one of our Mastermind members is bringing me in for a class to teach these guys how to market themselves and get their own clientele because we're gonna be holding them accountable to that for a commission raise, right? So it's like if they don't know how to market themselves, they just, they're all coming out of beauty school, right? If they don't know how to actually get themselves out there because they're so used to the salon feeding their book, then how can we expect them to hit those numbers?

It's not fair. Right. So I'm gonna be coming in. I'm gonna be sharing with them how to do that, right?

So the salon owner is doing something about it, so that way there's no excuse. Right. Right? So equip the people with what they need.

Give them a reasonable path and a clear path moving forward so somebody knows how to actually get there. And then you will create a culture where people are excited to grow, where people know exactly what they need, and clarity equals retention of stylists and clients, very much so. Peace out, Girl Scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2026 Hunter Donia LLC.