Are You Ready For A Salon Suite?

Hi & Welcome!

My name is Jae B & I am a stylist with 11 years behind the chair.

I started in a big chain salon, moved to an upscale salon, jumped around to a few salon suites, then and micro-salon, & now I am a commission salon owner.
Owning your own suite or even booth renting is an amazing step in your career BUT its also a huge commitment.

Below I will list some things that I wish I would’ve known before I opened my own suite, which may be some things that will help guide you to your decision of deciding to open your own business.

1. Time
   When I was a commission stylist, I was able to go home and be home and not have to work. I might do some instagram posts or maybe post in a Facebook group, but ultimately my time off was not spent working. As soon as I opened my own suite, my work instantly tripled. Not only was I working behind the chair but I was working from home, on vacation, at the grocery store, etc. I felt every opportunity was a chance to market myself and my business, even though I truly loved it, it was really exhausting. Owning a suite had much more to do with knowing how to run a business than it did with knowing how to do hair. My personal relationships surfaced & I did not realize that my work life balance would be completely thrown off.
   

2. Money
   As a commission stylist I got a paycheck, that was it & I did'n’t have to think about it. When I moved to the “Suite Life” I got paid after every client! Instantly! Cash in hand or dollars in my bank account. I felt like I was make quadruple what I was making. If I needed something I just went out and bought it. But after a while I started to notice I didn’t have as much money as I thought I did. Products were getting more and more expensive, and techniques and education costed hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I kept as much product in stock as I could in such a small space but it was so expensive and seemed like I always needed more. My clients were used to being able to switch things up at the last minute but with my limited inventory I was always afraid a client would end up wanting something drastically different than what we talked about and I wouldn’t be able to accommodate them. Suite rent was weekly and expensive. After all of my expenses I was still making more than I was making as a commission stylist but I was definitely working a lot harder than I was before. But if you know me: I’m determined. I was not gonna let a little hard work discourage me from achieving my dreams
   

3. Clients
   So I’m gonna start this one off my saying I am a ✨Gemini✨ true and true. I have good days and bad days, shoot sometimes I have good minutes and bad minutes. I definitely feel I have a couple of different personalities that show up behind the chair. Because of this I was worried I didn’t always show up as my most likable self behind the chair. What if I left and went to a suite & nobody followed me? What if I had to start from scratch. Renting a booth or having a suite is extremely difficult to do unless you have been able to save up to take care of yourself until you build up your clientele again. Luckily my clients did follow me and through self promotion I built an even bigger clientele. You have to ask yourself if the clients you’re servicing are loyal to you or the salon, are they there because like to be social and see everybody and here what’s new with the team, or do they really click and vibe with you as a person and stylist. Clients don’t truly belong to anybody and can choose to see whoever they like so you have to make sure they have reason to stick with you. Are there services that some of your clients get in the salon that you would not be able to provide in the suite, if so will they still come to you if you
   can’t provide those services?
   

4. Taxes
   This one really hurt 💢, I had ABSOLUTELY how much of my taxes my employer was paying, all I knew is how much came out of my check, which I felt like was a lot! But they had been paying half of the taxes themselves! Now being self employed I had to pay ALL of those taxes by myself. So looking at all the money I was bringing in I had to be careful not to over spend and budget every little thing I could. At this point after taxes I was bringing home the same percentage home from all the services I was doing as the commission I was making at the commission salon while doing a lot more work. I was building my dream space and I was loving it, I just didn’t realize how hard it would be to do. It was definitely worth it for me not to have to listen to rules (besides the suite rules) and be able to design my career path exactly how I wanted.

5. Branding
   Branding is important because it’s how you want your clients to see you. Before when you were working for somebody else it’s mostly about the salons branding, but once you’re out on your own you have to figure out who you are and who you want to be. You have to figure out your target client and brand yourself to attract that client. Even down to the tiniest things, like colors, fonts, shapes, logos, style, etc.
   

6. Education
   Some salons are big on educating their stylists and it is a huge investment. It’s extremely important to stay up to date on the latest trends and techniques in your field in the hair world but also now that you are a business owner you have to stay up to date with business practices to keep your business growing and growing safely.
   

7. Advertising
   Social Media is a full time job when running a business these days and especially a beauty business. You always have to show up online and prove that you can do what you say you can do, and even if you’re good at being a stylist you still have to find ways to get people to your page and your booking website! Google, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms offer paid advertising which can be helpful to get you seen but can be costly without help. I recommend hiring an advertising specialist to help you get your moneys worth.
   

8. Isolation
   One of the biggest changes about going from a traditional salon to a suite is that you may be a lot more isolated. Depending on the set up of the suites you may not see other stylists much at all. Some stylists thrive off the social aspect of salon life, & if that’s you then saying in a traditional commission salon or going booth rent may be best for you, or tour a couple different suite locations and make sure that it has the vibes and openness that you need to satisfy your social cravings.

I hope I was able to shed some light on what owning a suite is like in the beauty industry. I loved my suite and if I had to do it all over with the knowledge I have now I would 100% do it again. With the right preparation you can be so successful in a salon suite and some of the most successful stylists I know are currently in salon suites or have owned commission salons and now making the change to have a salon suite themselves. This post is to help you make an informed decision and I wish you the best in your journey!

- xoxoJae B