High-Performance Stylist had an idea that could revolutionise the hair industry. The idea is that hair salons can close on Saturdays. An idea that could boost staff retention, productivity, and job satisfaction to new, unexplored heights. And you know the craziest thing… They tried it. And you know what happened… It worked!

Say No To Saturdays

We Don’t Do Saturdays, and with the support of High Performance Stylist, you don’t have to either. After a few years of massive social and economic change, (thanks COVID-19) creating a balance between ‘work’ and ‘personal life has never been so important. Everyone deserves to have the option to be highly successful in their career, without having to jeopardise the time they spend at home or with family.

Little Luxuries

Co-founder David Barnett says, “By giving your team the luxury of a full weekend off every week, plus the option of flexible hours during the week, it makes it clear to every salon professional that when you work in our salon, your family life, mental health and career are all equally important to us, and that one doesn’t have to suffer in order to feed the other.”

Industry Changes

We’re seeing an industry-wide rise in stylists going freelance, setting up shop at home and opting for single chair rentals in order to maintain a level of work/life balance. Unfortunately, it’s not solving the problem, but causing different problems such as pay cuts, long hours, extra time covering admin and accounting, in the process. Whilst the industry is continuing to tell stylists they’re better off in a team-based salon, they haven’t changed anything regarding salon operations… until now.

Is it possible financially?

Now you’ve wrapped your mind around the concept, it’s time to answer that all-important
question: Is it possible financially? Nicole, the brains behind the numbers, says, “YES! This campaign is not just about a schedule change. It’s a mission; a core belief that your teams come first. My research shows that for most salons, Saturdays are NOT their biggest revenue day. In fact for salons open 5 days a week it is often the 3rd, or 4th best day, out of 5. Stats also show that Saturdays often have reduced operating hours, the lowest retail spend per client, first-day team members want to ask to have off, #1 call in sick rate, and in general, if it is going to go wrong – it usually does on Saturday. Once the numbers are crunched and projections mapped out, it is not a stretch at all to maintain Saturday revenue during other days of the week.”

How to put into practice?

Before we get too carried away planning how we’re going to spend our leisurely Saturdays, how, with the help of High Performance Stylist, would a salon owner put this into practice? Option 1: Tell your team, change your timeline, then hope for the best (we don’t recommend this one). Option 2: Understand your numbers and make a plan. You must be clear as to WHY you want to do this.

The Plan

Working alongside David & Nicole you can get to grips with what it means to be profitable and how to create projections to track how the change impacts your business, both good and bad, as well as taking the opportunity to relaunch your beliefs as a business. Once they’ve secured the foundations, making sure the menu is correct, the spending plan is on point, and the payment structure allows the team to be paid as much as possible whilst still having lots of profit leftover, you can make the change with confidence and market to your clients exactly why you made the change, and how it benefits them. VIOLA!

Look After Your Team

The key to making you ‘We Don’t Do Saturdays’ campaign a success is putting the emphasis on looking after your team; finding them and retaining them. Nicole says, “Our focus is on being a High-Performance Stylist AND having a high-performance life, because we can have both!”

New Opportunity

David & Nicole see this as a breath of fresh air for the hair industry, as well as an incredible opportunity for salons to attract and retain new team members and guests. David says, “I see this as being the rebirth of the team-based salon. Teams being motivated, excited and happy to be working in the salon. Teams feeling supported and understood. Hairdressers and beauty professionals finally feel like the true professionals they are, just like doctors, accountants, dentists and every other professional service person that doesn’t feel they need to work Saturdays.”

Be Happy

Nicole says, “A guest can only be as happy as the stylist serving them. I think guests are going to experience a much higher standard of care from the salons who adopt this new opportunity. My message to stylists, who’ve left salons and our future professionals, is that we can create an incredible career and place to work, whilst also living an ideal lifestyle. This is the stuff that makes me jump out of bed in the morning!.”

To join the High-Performance Stylist group community check out www.joinhps.com.