E23-B2B Hair Salon Owner Interview – Sandy Chong

E46: B2C Interview w/- Kelly Kent, Owner of Cranium Hair

This Clinic Growth Sprints guest interview is with a very astute salon owner, Kelly Kent, the founder and owner of Cranium Hair ­­ – a multi award winning salon in Manly, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Kelly confesses that while she never focused on dollars, she has always focused on the important KPIs and performance markers which allowed her to grow and improve her client servicing skills.

Kelly openly discusses the different phases she’s moved through, since opening her own salon in 1997. Cranium has been profitable from day one and that was due to her early understandings of the percentages required to run a profitable business. As Kelly states, she was never strong at maths, however once the money started coming out of her back pocket, it really made her change her approach.

She also shares how she went from a highly profitable salon to a period where she lost focus – resulting in money being wasted and her percentages drifting. She also talks with Neil about how she expanded into beauty and then realised it didn’t work – so she quickly withdrew. An amazing learning experience.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How ego can get in the way of success
• How making timely decisions is the way to stay profitable
• The frequency that Kelly reviews her Profit & Loss
• How Kelly looks at and responds to trends and areas of change
• That money is the result of you doing our job well

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This Clinic Growth Sprints guest interview is with an internationally recognised and awarded Hairdresser, Businessman and Owner of e-Salon, Emiliano Vitale. During the conversation, they re-visit the early days of Emiliano’s his first salon at the age of 22, in Double Bay, Sydney. He clearly remembers the days there wasn’t any money left for him and openly shares his learnings from that difficult time.

Emiliano’s enjoyed a hugely successful career and is widely admired and respected for his deep belief in having high ethics, morals and purpose in his work – all of which he inherited from his father, Samuel. His key piece of advice to his younger self is “to focus on what you’re good at” and during the chat with Neil, he also reflects on a saying he’s very fond of, which is “do more than what you’re paid for.”

In this episode you’ll learn

• How deep personal beliefs can influence who you are and impact your success
• How to manage your ego in the world of business
• The importance of recognising what you’re good at
• The benefits of understanding your business’s percentages
• How to reserve and build profit within your business.

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This Clinic Growth Sprints guest interview is with John Cook, owner of the extraordinarily successful Stylz Hairdesigners chain of salons, and it’s a short masterclass in running your business. It’s also an insight into the once-in a lifetime business opportunities that are available, if you know where to look.

Neil and John cover the importance of running your business with a clear understanding of what it costs to operate your business and knowing what’s lefts over. John also stresses the necessity of running your business at a profit (that is, if you want to stay in business).

John has multiple salons across Westfield Shopping Centres, and he openly shares his approach to managing the ever-increasing rents of large centres. His knowledge, wisdom and advice are priceless.

The conversation concludes with John highlighting a unique once in a lifetime opportunity – where you can start a salon with close to zero entry costs.

In this episode you’ll learn

• Insider tips from a hair salon industry expert
• The importance of knowing how much is left after the running costs are paid
• Keeping your eye on profit and understand your costs
• Hidden opportunities that are out there

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Our Clinic Growth Sprints series of episodes takes a new direction, with Neil inviting accomplished industry personalities to the microphone, and asking them a simple question: “If you were starting out as a Salon Owner today, what business and financial advice would you give your younger self?”

In the first of these new interviews, we’re delighted to have Dennis Langford, Managing Director of Tony & Guy Australia, as our guest, and to share some of his time and wisdom.

Dennis and Neil initially share their memories of the industry and revisit the start of Tony & Guy in Australia. Then, Dennis openly shares some of his learnings along the journey and how he got through both the good and bad times. Of particular interest is understanding how he came to grips with the financial side of the Tony & Guy business.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The value of having a good team around you
• Understanding the importance of managing the costs of your business
• That stress reduces your creativity
• How to start your business planning from by starting with profit first
• The 4 steps of the pathway of least resistance

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A thought-provoking episode where Neil’s guest, Marcus Kroek, talks about creating business profits. Marcus is an accomplished business owner and business coach at Amazing Tradies, who shares his experiences and learnings about understanding the differences between turnover and profit.

Neil and Marcus discuss some of the limiting behaviours around creating profit, and how stress reduces both your creativity and general business energy. They also discuss an alternative approach ­– of setting up systems around your areas of stress, to help inspire the return of your creativity and energy. And how this can then help produce the quality services that you’re known for.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How family beliefs can affect your financial management skills
• Simple examples of systems that will reduce your financial stress.
• How to stay in your zone of genius, to produce high quality treatments and services

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An interesting episode where Neil’s guest, Sarah Garner, discusses how to make a clear profit in a small industry-based bushiness. Sarah is the founder of a branding agency, Digital Bloom, where she needed to upskill in the way she handled the cash flow of her business.

The Profit FirstⓇ cash management system assisted Sarah to establish several bank accounts, that allowed her to manage the cashflow and the allocation of her funds to different areas. This simplistic system helps Sarah fund growth and establish a team in her business. Today, she runs her business with five foundation accounts.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Establishing a cashflow system that can help you grow
• How being able to pay your team and tax obligations, reduces the stress
• Having a cash management system allows you to have clarity around your business finances

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This episode takes us on a journey of building a global Skincare brand, Cor Silver.

Jennifer McKinley with Neil discusses some of the difficulties in growing an international skin care brand.

Jennifer’s journey started with a MBA degree from Yale university, thinking that would set her in good stead off she set to grow a skin care brand. In doing so she chased top-line sales growth and managed to secure many prestigious stockists around the world.

Only to discover that at the end of the month after paying her team and other costs there wasn’t the profit she had hoped for.

At a point of shear frustration Jennifer discovered the Profit First system which allowed her to restructure her finances. This opportunity also forced her to review the brands profitability and as a result she withdrew the brand from Russa and Japan.

Today with refined distribution plan Jennifer has a profitable business that allows her a lifestyle. This sis a truly inspirational story that all business owners need to hear.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• That top line growth is not always profitable.
• Turnover is vanity and profit is sanity.
• Making the tuff business decision can lead to a more enjoyable business lifestyle

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Again, we’re joined by Richard Barram from the Barram Property Group – our resident expert on lease negotiations. This episode covers the key points to cover when renegotiating your lease, to ensure that it positively contributes to your business stability. We also explore the avenues available to reduce some of the costs associated with your lease.

It’s fair to say that Richard’s work starts from the premise that the leasing market has changed. And that means that perhaps you also need to change the way you think about your lease. He covers important ideas like: if your lease is coming up for renewal, are you better off having your lease viewed as a sitting tenant, or is there an advantage in renegotiating as if you were a new tenant? Richard shares a view that may end up delivering substantial savings to you and your business, so don’t miss his suggestions.

Two of the key messages throughout all Richard’s interviews are the steps you can take to increase your value to your landlord, and that everything is negotiable.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to get your landlord to understand with your needs
• How your lease renegotiation can produce savings
• Clear action steps you can take to look for savings in your lease agreement

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Neil’s guest is Craig Minter, a CPA Accountant with 20+ years’ experience working with businesses across the world who turn over AU$50,000 – $200,000,000. Craig is also a Certified Profit First Professional and ‘Fix This Next’ Advisor. His firm, Mints CD Consulting, is one of a select few Australia-wide, that’s trained in both of Mike Michalowicz’s methodologies – Profit First and Fix This Next.

This episode will really get your thinking. Craig has a strong focus on cashflow – the number one issue facing most small businesses – and using the Profit FirstⓇ methodology to project that cashflow into the future, so you have peace of mind about what’s lies ahead. His approach is simple yet effective, to start your path toward profit transformation. As he moves through the steps, Craig expands on how human behaviours can get in the way of transformation… which is a little deep, but though provoking.

The conversation then moves to ways you can feel safe with your financial situation and in doing so, your mind moves on to tackle other challenges. Craig explains how he’s observed his clients experience amazing growth, once they’ve sorted their financial concerns.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Simple steps to transform your clinic profit and cashflow
• The importance of having a simple cashflow system
• Some Profit FirstⓇ fundamentals to help you manage your cashflow and profit

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This episode unpacks some initial steps you can take to help manage your business cash flow. Some people say that cash-flow is uninspiring but Profit First® takes an approach that removes the high-emotion aspects of managing your business cash flow and replaces them with behavioural rewards that keep you interested.

Neil’s again joined by his guest, Laura Elkaslassy – a certified Profit First™ Professional. Laura’s passion for business profitability is frequently felt throughout the episode, as she offers advice on a different structure for your bank accounts. By following Laura’s advice, you’ll remove the emotional roller-coaster ride around managing the ups and downs of your cash flow.

Neil concludes with a simple starting point to help reduce your stress and move to having greater clarity around the financial side of your business.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• A different approach to managing your business bank account
• Some of the Profit First® structures and how they can benefit you
• How to shift your financial flow away from emotional management, to a more structured approach

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.