This question was asked by a student in their final semester of cosmetology school: I want to secure a job with a successful salon. If you were me what steps would you take to secure a position at a tier 1 salon?
Wow! How many of my fellow salon owners have re-played this scene in your head? I remember gliding through my last few classes, and constantly thinking... Do I want to start my career in an established salon with consistent clientele? Do I want to start in a salon with trickle traffic so that I can build my own loyal clientele? How soon should I start my search? If you're like me, you were probably a ball of nerves and had dreams as big as Texas.
The reality is now that we have accomplished measurable success as salon owner, we have an obligation to guide new stylists on how to develop a solid reputation, a successful business, and add value to our profession. There is a difference between tier one salons compared to other salons. For any novice who wants to get the most out of their learning curve, I recommend starting their career at a top-end, high profile salon. I know, I know...but they don't have any "real" experience or "know" anything, right?!? Well perhaps, but that's where salesmanship, professionalism, and sheer ambition must be apparently displayed to convince the future employer, to take another look and consider investing in this unrefined talent. Here is my modest attempt to guide an aspiring style artist in the direction of a long, profitable, tier 1 career.
Step One. Any student who is serious about their passion to become a professional stylist should start their search for a place to launch their career early. By early, I suggest no less than three months from license date. And they should certainly list the tier 1's in the area at the very top of their list. Let's face it, if you going to face hesitancy or get a no, it should be from a top salon, one that would matter. All too often do stylist think they can start from the bottom and build their clientele and salary up. While this might have been true 20 years ago, today's clientele is very sophisticated and word-of-mouth travels at light speed. The last thing a new stylist can afford is to be bridled with the reputations of being a low-grade stylist. It's extremely difficult to elevate your established client base from this position, or to shake this reputation in the market.
More on your search strategy; inquiring stylists should interview salons. Now this is where ambition and salesmanship must be engaged. Think like a client from behind the chair. What kind of environment would a client willingly pay $250 for a 2-hour service? What kind of music? How loud is it? What aromas are wafting through the air? How does the receptionist look and sound? How do they make your feel upon greeting you? Was it difficult to make an appointment over the phone?
All this and you haven't even made it to the chair to get your hair done yet. That's right, you need to ask for the newest stylist and allow them to perform at least two standard services on your hair. I know what you're thinking, but trust me this will tell you a lot about whether this is a good teaching environment for a novice.
Alicia Sebastian is a Hair Salon Owner in San Antonio TX and Writer for TrueSalonSupport.com For more info on Hair Salon Management [http://truesalonsupport.com/SalonSupport] visit TrueSalonSupport.com/SalonSupport [http://truesalonsupport.com/SalonSupport]
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