Photo courtesy of YuMaNuMa through creative commons
One of the most important factors you have to consider in planning a new salon is your standards and strategy for hiring stylists. The temptation for a lot of new salon owners is to find artists who are highly skilled with decent experience and clientele. But as Michael Levine points out in his “Developing your Culture” series on American Salon, that interferes with your salon's brand and image. It's scary to look to young stylists fresh out of beauty school (or still attending), but having that raw, unshaped material is a great opportunity for salon owners with the wisdom and ambition to harness it.
It Keeps your Salon's Image Uniform
When you want things to be done cleanly and consistently, you need stylists who are willing to learn how to handle customers your way. Michael Levine established specific rules in his salons to match his vision for a salon should run. For example, no one is allowed to say “no problem.” They cut the explanation out of the the video, but it probably has something to do with misleading consumers into thinking what the stylists are doing for them is ever easy. A stylist with a few years of experience elsewhere is going to have a hard time conforming to that kind of strict etiquette.
Passion is More Important than Talent
You want your employees to care about the craft and the business. The world is full of insanely talented hair stylists, but being a good hairdresser requires a lot more than natural talent. Even for a prodigy, learning color mixology, face-framing, and layered cuts on top of how to adapt to unique hair types takes hours of daily practice and experimentation and a willingness to listen when someone gives you advice. And that's not even addressing the learning curve in interpersonal relationships with clients. Levine said you should “make the priority having people who love what you do and want to be a part of your team.” The best way to find someone with that kind of passion and dedication is to look for the stylist who's still trying to make a name for himself.
Personalized Education
When you get a stylist with a full appointment book, odds are she has her own way of doing things, and won't be so willing to listen to feedback from someone they just started working for. But when you get someone just out of beauty school equipped with a basic knowledge of styling, you have the chance to create an artist who knows how to learn no matter how good she gets. Dino Ballin of POMP Salon in Stockton provides weekly education for his stylists, because he wants to create a community of learning in his business. He has a team of artists who are perpetually in a state of mind of learning something new and know better than to shy away from areas in which they aren't completely comfortable.
It Strengthens Your Salon Brand
Stylists tend to move around to different salons over time for various reasons. You can't expect people to stick around forever. The good news is that every stylist who leaves your salon carries the reputation of your business. At least, that's good news if you're doing your job right. When a stylist starts and trains with you for five years, makes a name for himself, then has to move out of town and find work at another salon, he'll end up telling people where he started, and you'll start gaining a reputation as a salon that knows how to make a good stylist. That benefit carries to both clients and hiring new stylists, because if you build your name well enough you won't have to try hard to find the passionate artists. They'll come to you.