If you’re thinking about purchasing your salon from your salon owner, you’ve got a million questions, right? What does that look like? How should you make the transition from stylist to salon owner? How can you navigate the change so it’s seamless for all involved?
If you’re ready to manage the salon, do the hiring and terminations, and everything in between, you’re in the right spot because we’re breaking down the answers to your biggest questions today to help you make a plan, navigate any potential issues, and come through this emotional journey on the other side with as much grace as possible.
Get a valuation
When you’re in the position of considering buying a salon, it’s important to bring in an impartial third party, aka valuators. Valuators – not evaluators – determine the value of businesses by profession. They look at your assets and liabilities and decide the worth of the business and what is sellable.
Here’s one big thing you can’t put a price tag on: clients. You can’t purchase somebody’s clientele. You can’t put a value on that book of business in that way.
Think about it: if a stylist gives you her contact list and starts referring clients to you, do you really think all of her clients will like you? They couldn’t possibly.
There are certain things the valuator will take into account and decide if they should be worked into the cost of the business, or you shouldn’t have to pay for them. And if you feel like the owner wanted more than was the appropriate value, even after the valuation happened, take a really hard look at the business. There’s a lot of perceived value in a salon sale that isn’t legitimate.
Be honest with the former owner
If you’re a stylist considering leaving your salon to buy your own, approach your owner and ask that if they ever sell, they give you the first right of refusal.
Some owners are looking for a way out because they just want to do hair again, so don’t be afraid to have that conversation before you jump ship.
If you like the ship you’re in, but you want to see things done differently or you feel like your owner’s tired and ready for you to step up, have the conversation.
You don’t have to be aggressive about it; just say if they ever decide they don’t want to be an owner anymore, you would like to be a part of that conversation.
Do a short-term lease if the former owner wants to stay on
Once you’ve had the conversation, decided to do it, and agreed upon a price, it’s probably best if the existing owner leaves.
Rarely does it work out where the former owner stays on board as a renter. Usually, it’s hard for the preexisting owner to take off the owner hat because what do they do?
“Well, it’s not the way I would have done it.”
If you want a piece of my advice…”
“Ah, when that happened to me…”
They mean well, but this is your baby now, and you want to do it your way. And having the former owner constantly trying to offer advice can be a difficult dynamic.
If the owner wants to stay on, try a six-month lease. See how it works for both of you, and go from there. Be honest in your conversation with them: “I respect you, and I’d like you to be in the building, but I have some nerves about it. Let’s just make sure this is good for both of us because I’m going to change some things. And I want this to be comfortable for both of us. So what do you say? Let’s do a short term lease.”
Be brave enough to have that conversation. And if that sounds too awkward, you know what’s really too awkward? When you don’t do that, and now the former owner is a rotten apple with a long-term lease. Have the conversation upfront before it gets sour.
Check your relationships
If all goes well and you step up as the owner and leader of the stylists that were once your coworkers and friends, to be real, it’s awkward for everyone.
You’re nervous. Your coworkers are nervous. They’re worried you’ll become a different person or make weird changes. There will likely be a little bit of a revolution. They will probably start to distance themselves from you a little bit.
Generally speaking, none of the relationships stay the same. Instead, it creates a little bit of tension and shifts the relationship. Some people will choose size, some distance, some will remain neutral. Others will want to be right there by your side in your ear.
Decide if you should withdraw from friendships. You may have to pull back from in-salon friendships because, to be an effective leader, you can’t have somebody who feels like they are your BFF in your pocket. It’s not that the love died, it’s that the personal friendship did because you decided to become a leader.
This is the hard thing: if you’re going to become a salon owner, realize you’re not a Girl Scout troop leader. You are a business owner. You can be well-respected as a true leader. The love can be there, but the friendships won’t be the same, and you have to put the business first above personal relationships. There has to be a divide in the relationships for the business to thrive and boundaries to be healthy.
Know you are right where you are supposed to be and that your leadership and your ideas are what the salon needs. And even if people walk, that’s okay because you’re going to build something amazing from here on out.
Don’t change things for one year
Let’s say you’ve worked through all that. You step into the owner’s chair. It will be exciting in the beginning and then the nerves will set in. You’re going to want to change everything from the culture to social media.
But don’t make any changes for one year.
That’s hard because you’re the owner and you have a list of 10 things you want to change right now. It’s too much. You will scare everybody away.
As soon as you start rocking the boat, people will jump ship, and they’re crazy not to because they don’t know what you’re doing. You’re a brand new owner who’s changing staff, and we don’t understand what’s going on. You will overwhelm yourself and have a difficult time catching your footing again.
Instead, spend 365 days doing three things:
Building trust
Make no bones about it: being a leader is hard, and your team will wait to see if you rise to the occasion or flounder. They need to learn to trust you not as their co-stylist, but somebody who will lead them to success.
So take the time, connect, plan to go out to lunch with your stylists to get their take on how you can support them. Show your team you are there for them. That’s what a leader would do.
Educate yourself
It will take you a minimum of one year to get your bearings and educate yourself. Part of educating yourself can be podcasts, books, and trainings. But if you go the podcast and books route, you better study like you’re trying to get your MBA in salon ownership.
Read and highlight the book, listen to the podcast six times, and then create an action plan about it. Find other leaders you aspire to be. Meet with them for coffee, schedule a phone call, connect with those who have come before you.
Get clear on your vision
So here’s what happens: you get the salon and can’t wait to buy new throw pillows, get a new booking system, and do culture.
That’s a bandaid.
If you suggest something that’s a sidebar, you’re trying to put bandaid solutions on problems instead of building a plan.
Educate yourself and get clear on where you want the salon to be in five years. Then start taking baby steps to create that foundation through the conversations you have and the connections you make.
Expect difficult conversations
We always want to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, right? Expect a changeover, push back, and difficult conversations. Often it feels warm and fuzzy for a little bit, and then you’ll feel the energetic shift that happens where you become the leader.
Your team might even joke about it a little. That’s okay. They can have their fun as long as they understand you are the leader. To help, get the book Radical Candor.
Radical Candor shows you exactly how to have those difficult conversations. For example, if one of your former coworkers/now booth rental stylists has a messy station, don’t blow it off. Tell her she can’t leave her station like that and ask what you both can do to make it possible for her to clean her station?
If you are brave enough to have the conversation, everything will get resolved.
Think about it: how frustrating is it when the leader knows there’s funk in the air and people aren’t happy, but isn’t brave enough to have the conversation? Do you want to work for that leader? Nobody does.
You should always be able to have real conversations with everybody in your building.
Plan to work hard
As you take over the salon, plan to work hard for three years to make it a place where people want to work. You’re in this for the long haul. It’s going to take three years to be profitable and see the results you’re looking for.
Yes, it’s a long time, but if you can’t put in three years of work to have everything you dreamed of, forget it.
When you look at your entire lifespan and what that time could create for you. So be patient. Do it right. Don’t cut corners.