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The Employee-Based Salon & Spa Owner's Manifesto

Employee-Based Salon Spa Owner Manifesto

As the owner of an employee-based salon/spa company … you control your own destiny.

At Strategies, we believe in and support your dream to own and grow an employee-based salon/spa.

We believe that a team of skilled professionals working in a structured, team-based culture can provide the best career and income growth opportunities … opportunities that booth rental and suites promise but cannot deliver.

We believe that a team-based salon/spa can consistently deliver that complete customer service experience that many talk about but rarely deliver.

But owning an employee-based salon/spa isn't all blue skies and popcorn clouds.

  • There will be good times and bad.

  • Employees will come and go.

  • The economy can work for you and against you.

  • You will love your company and you will fall out of love with your company.

  • You will make brilliant decisions and you will make dumb decisions.


In order to help you truly control your own destiny, here is Strategies' Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto:

  1. Change first: When owners don’t like what’s happening in their salon/spa, it usually translates into “everyone else needs to change.” Upon deeper analysis, the source of the problem almost always leads back to the salon/spa owner. The challenge then becomes getting owners to change their thinking and behavior. Even when owners acknowledge their contribution to the problem, getting them to accept and embrace change is an arm wrestling game.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must not only embrace change, you must live it and model it every day.



  2. You are not your company: Your salon/spa is your dream - your creation. You invest money, blood, sweat and tears into your company. But, the reality is … it’s your company. Your company is not Don’t get stuck in your own company by becoming “your company.” By stuck I’m referring to being consumed 24/7 with work. It’s the micro-management where your leadership tentacles are plugged into every facet of the company. It’s the inability to let go of the controls and truly lead. Simply put, without the founder, the company is lost. You are not your company.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must let go of the controls and truly lead.



  3. Avoid leading by emotions: You cannot lead without making tough and unpopular decisions. You cannot please everyone. You cannot compromise the integrity and security of the company to avoid damaging personal relationships. You cannot accept mediocrity while fighting to take your company to the next level. You chose to be an entrepreneur. You chose to be a leader. Do it with integrity, respect, compassion and purpose. Making the right decisions for your company is hard when you allow your emotions to rule your thinking and behavior.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must avoid allowing their emotions to override the best and right business decisions.



  4. Do what others will not: You want to be the best? You want to blow away your competition? You want fiercely loyal customers? Then you must do what others will not. It’s one thing to set high standards of performance, it’s another to achieve and consistently maintain and refine high standards. Getting to the next level means climbing a steeper grade. Too many stop when the going gets tough. That’s accepting “average.” Being an entrepreneur means pushing the innovation envelope in all that you do.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must push forward when you think you can’t. When you quit, you never know the taste of victory.



  5. Culture reflects leadership: How you show up and lead shapes your salon/spa’s culture. How you inspire and empower others shapes your culture. How you trust shapes your culture. How fair, genuine, compassionate, disciplined and committed to your company, your employees … and your vision … its what shapes your culture. Culture building is the work of leadership. If you don’t like your company’s culture … reread number one.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must relentlessly nurture and protect your salon/spa’s culture at all cost.



  6. Stop whining: Starting and leading an employee-based salon/spa is seriously tough work. You will encounter major roadblocks. You will have to work harder than ever before. You will feel violated when trust is compromised by those you trust most. You will have to forfeit your paycheck to protect the paychecks of others. But you control your destiny. Do something right now to change your situation and banish the things you don't like about your company. Stop whining and take action. Whining is a waste of time.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must accept that the more time you spend on whining … the less time you spend on finding solutions.



  7. Never get too full of yourself: You don't know it all. You don't have an endless bank account of "good luck" that ensures every risk will be a winner. People will not continue to follow you when it becomes all about you and not about the dream they signed on for. So when you feel that head of yours starting to swell, stick a pin in it. And when those around you are trying to tell you to replant yourself on solid ground, listen. If you don't, you will be contaminating your own culture.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must never allow your ego to overshadow your ability to lead.



  8. It's OK to question yourself: There is nothing weak or wrong when you question your abilities as a leader. Leadership is one tough job full of hard decisions, raise-your-blood-pressure conversations and trying to stretch one dollar into two. At times the stress can seem unbearable. You cannot be master of all things. You will drive yourself nuts trying to be the perfect leader. When you question your abilities, you're simply doing a self-evaluation. And all evaluations should conclude with next steps. Do you need coaching to help you deal with a situation? Do you need to hire someone with specific expertise to complement where you are weak? You control your own destiny. You can innovate new possibilities. You can be human. It's OK.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must never allow overconfidence to cloud your judgment or your weaknesses to diminish your strengths.



  9. Leadership isn't going it alone: The best entrepreneurial leaders surround themselves with talent. More importantly, they allow the right people with the right talent to join them behind their curtain - because you cannot do it all and you cannot do it alone. Your inner circle makes you stronger and wiser. Your inner circle will be honest with you and tell you the truth when you need to hear it most. That is if you can put your shields down and listen. Going it alone is like trying to be the Wizard of Oz, who's really just a little guy hiding behind the curtain pretending to be big and powerful.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must allow your leadership team to share the load … because that's how you grow future leaders.



  10. Numbers reflect leadership, culture and accountability: Your critical numbers and your financial reports are a numeric readout of your company’s performance under your leadership. If you’re a spender, your numbers will show it. If you’re disciplined about budgets and managing cash flow, your numbers will show it. Numbers tell a story. Numbers reveal your company's vital signs. Numbers tell the truth.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must be numbers literate and the numbers are a reflection of leadership's thinking and behavior.



  11. It’s always about the dream: Your dream of creating and building an employee-based salon/spa must be kept glowing bright. It’s why you became an entrepreneur. It’s why you risked everything. It’s why employees were captivated enough to follow you, some for many years. It’s why customers buy from you. There will be those times when the going gets tough and the obstacles appear insurmountable. It’s in these times when you need to keep your dream glowing bright. Dreams can become dusty, tarnished and dented. It’s your dream that keeps you, and the company, pressing forward. It’s always about the dream and how you share it with others.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must protect, cherish, polish and share your dream … because your dream gives your business life and purpose.



  12. Don't squander it: You have the power to change and influence the lives and the world around you in the most positive way. You create opportunities and careers for others that buy into your dream and chose to join your quest. It is your entrepreneurial duty to push the envelope of possibilities. It is your leadership duty to inspire and bring out the best in others, so they can realize their full potential in concert with you.

    • To live the Employee-Based Salon/Spa Owner Manifesto, you must always remember that when you get complacent, you squander a world of opportunity.




Here's my challenge to you: Never compromise your dream. Be the no-compromise leader your dream demands. Just go for it. What's the worst than can happen? What's the best that can happen? Go for it. No Compromise.

What's the best course of action to build a world-class employee-based salon, spa or medspa? The two best places to start are Strategies' four-day Incubator Seminar, or one-on-one coaching in Strategies Membership Program.

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