Nine Reasons Salons Are Still Growing Their Business in 2024

June 6, 2024Nina KovnerGROW

Executing the fundamentals, consistently, is what grows a salon business and brand long term

No, not all salons or hairdressers are slow, regardless of what your particular TikTok algorithm may tell you. If you listen to the PEOPLE PASSION PURPOSE podcast, you’ve heard me talk about this the last few years because I saw it coming.

If you are in A School, or have taken Creating Your Awesome Brand, a complete course for beauty professionals, you’ve heard this too.

Some salons and hairdressers’ business has slowed down, however, some salons are thriving, having record months even, including most of our client’s salon businesses.

While there is a ton of context, nuance, and variables as to why some salons are slow and others aren’t, below are a few reasons most of our clients who own salons are doing awesome.

Nine Reasons Salons Are Still Growing Their Business in 2024

1. They didn’t overcorrect or overreact to economic pressures because they understand their salon brand and how the decisions they make impact their salon business long-term

2. They have a clear understanding of lifetime salon client value and make their decisions with that in mind

3. They understand the difference between healthy boundaries and walls

4. Their salon prices are aligned with their brand promise and market position

5. Their Client Agreements are clear, kind, and aligned with their salon brand

6. They remain simple and easy to do business with

7. They’re passionate about salon client experience and consistency

8. They invest time and energy into post-experience follow-up and communications with their salon clients which I wrote about here

9. They are wise, compassionate, empathetic, awesome leaders and salon owners who care deeply for their clients, teams or tenants

Is everything perfect? No. Because perfection is a myth.

Are they doing everything in their power to create salon spaces that make their clients, teams, and tenants feel like they really matter? Yes.

The tools and strategies inside Creating Your Awesome Brand, a complete course for beauty professionals help you have clarity around your salon brand, build a strong foundation to make more aligned decisions, save a ton of time, money, and energy, and feel more confidence, courage, and joy. Click here to learn more.

Much love, in service to you-

Nina

Salon Owner Insights: Stacey Rackham of Mint Hair Crafting Salon and Melt Head Spa

June 5, 2024Nina KovnerPodcast

In this episode, Nina welcomes back Stacey Rackham, leader and owner of Mint Hair Crafting Salon in Ferndale, Michigan. They dive right into Stacey’s new concept, Melt, which focuses on scalp care and head spa experiences inspired by Japanese wellness techniques. Stacey discusses her journey of creating the Melt head spa experience, the challenges faced, and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from salon guests and her team. We talk about how Mint Hair Crafting builds new guest relationships through staying active in local Facebook groups and events like her recent puppy yoga fundraiser, and how she continues to enhance the Mint Hair Crafting experience. We also discuss Stacey’s dedication to nurturing her salon guests and team, and yes, we also talk about our shared love for Taylor Swift. Lol. You can find Mint Hair Crafting on the socials here, on the web here, and find Stacey here. Thank you Stacey for being our guest. We love you!

Episode Highlights
The Inspiration Behind the Melt head spa experience
The Challenges and Successes of Launching Melt head spa
Building New Salon Guest Relationships Through Local Community Engagement 
Navigating Social Media for Salon Business Growth
Salon Business Operations and Guest Experience
Taylor Swift, duh! 

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Your experience matters. We would be so grateful if you shared your experience with our podcast by leaving a review wherever you enjoy your podcasts so others can discover it. It matters to us, and so do you. Thank you- Nina

The Year of Perspective for The Salon Industry: Adapting to New Salon Realities

May 29, 2024Nina KovnerPodcast

In this episode, Nina revisits the January 2024 episode on perspective for the salon industry and reflects on significant global and consumer trends impacting the salon industry from 2023 to 2024, emphasizing the importance of providing care, building trust, and creating value for salon clients. We dive into topics ranging from customer psychology and economic factors to specific salon industry trends such as the skinification of hair. Nina highlights the need for businesses to adapt to consumer behaviors, improve salon client experiences, and stay focused on the fundamentals of growing your salon business, focusing on lifetime client value and the importance of clear communication and consistent experiences, online and off, and strategies to retain clients, manage prices, and realign business practices, concluding with advice on focusing on fundamental values and avoiding the distraction of online discourse. You can find Passion Squared on the socials here and here, and Creating Your Awesome Brand, a complete course for beauty professionals here. Thank you so much for listening!

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Your experience matters. We would be so grateful if you shared your experience with our podcast by leaving a review wherever you enjoy your podcasts so others can discover it. It matters to us, and so do you. Thank you- Nina

Trademarks and Your Salon Brand Name

May 24, 2024Nina KovnerGROW

It’s all in a name

From Module 2 of Creating Your Awesome Brand, A Complete Course for Beauty Professionals

Your salon brand name helps communicate your salon brand story and helps connect you to the clients, teams, and tenants you wish to serve. And part of naming your salon brand is knowing if it is available to use and hasn’t been trademarked by another salon.

A trademark is part of your salon brand’s intellectual property, which holds immense value and is worthy of protection.

Trademarks protect the investment you made in creating your salon brand name, including your signage, website address, social and digital page names, printed materials, etc. 

Last week I had three conversations with salon owners on trademarks, and it has been a highly misunderstood part of brand development in the salon industry, so I want to bring attention to trademarks and your salon brand name. This is what we share with our clients in One On Ones, in A School and also in Creating Your Awesome Brand, a complete course for beauty professionals.

In one conversation, the salon was told by ‘experts’ that they did not need to trademark their salon brand name. It took me less than one minute doing a search on the USPTO website (the US patent and trademark database) to learn someone already has the name trademarked in Class 44, the trademark class for salons. UGH.

While I am not a trademark attorney and am not, and will never give you legal advice, I have three decades of trademark experience, being responsible for some of the most valuable trademarks in the professional salon product space, including receiving a gazillion cease and desist letters from conglomerates with way more attorneys on staff than I had, along with helping our clients the last twelve years at Passion Squared.

Things To Consider When Creating Your Salon Brand Name

  1. Is the name aligned with your salon brand story?
  2. Is the name already trademarked in the Class you want to use it for? (Hair salons are Class 44)
  3. Is the name available as a web address and site?
  4. Is the name available to use as your brand email address?
  5. Is the name available on social pages?
  6. Is the name available on digital pages?

Trademark Investment

  • USPTO Directly $250 + (I don’t usually recommend this as it can be overwhelming for some)
  • Legal Zoom $649 +
  • Attorney $2000 + est It takes anywhere from six months to one year to secure a registered trademark, depending on the USPTO and the complexity of the mark.

Cost of Creating A New Salon Brand Name If Your Current Name Is Trademarked by Another Salon

  • New website address
  • New email addresses
  • New social page names
  • New digital page names
  • New signage
  • New printed materials
  • TIME ENERGY MONEY ++++++++

This is just one of many tools and strategies inside the Creating Your Awesome Brand, a complete course for beauty professionals. Because when you have clarity around your salon brand, you have a strong foundation to make more aligned decisions, save a ton of time, money, and energy, and feel more confidence, courage, and joy. Click here to learn more.

Much love, in service to you-

Nina

Five Questions To Help Create Your Salon Brand Promise

May 23, 2024Nina KovnerGROW

Trust is built on promises kept

From Module 1 of Creating Your Awesome Brand, A Complete Course for Beauty Professionals

What is a brand promise?
• How you solve the problems of the clients you serve
• The experience you deliver
• The expectations you set
• How you want your clients to feel

Different Audiences, Different Promises

When crafting your salon brand story, you likely have more than one audience unless you are a solo independent.

• Employment-based salons
Clients and team members

• Lease based salons
Clients and tenants

Example Brand promise for clients
Your clients may value relaxing experiences because previous salons they’ve been at feel chaotic.

Brand promise for teams
Your team may value working in an environment that is grounded and relaxing because their previous salon was toxic and chaotic.

Same. But different.

Five Questions To Help Create Your Salon Brand Promise
1. What does your salon brand experience look and feel like?
2. How does your salon brand solve the problems of your people?
3. What is the expectation you are setting for the experience of your salon brand?
4. How do you want your people to feel?
5. What do you want your people to say about your salon experience?

Having clarity of your salon brand story, which includes your salon brand promise, helps you simplify your decision-making process, make more aligned decisions for your salon business, set clear expectations, and connect with the people you wish to serve, whether it be salon clients, salon teams or salon tenants.

With that clarity, you will save a ton of time you waste not making decisions, or making ones that are not aligned with your visions and goals, have more confidence, and courage, and feel so much more joy. 



This is just one of many tools and strategies inside the Creating Your Awesome Brand, a complete course for beauty professionals. Because when you have clarity around your salon brand, you have a strong foundation to make more aligned decisions, save a ton of time, money, and energy, and feel more confidence, courage, and joy. Click here to learn more.

Much love, in service to you-

Nina