Small Town Salon with Corporate Style Benefits
Quick Stats:
Pre-Summit
- Total Annual Sales: $104,803.19
- Average Retail/Month: $479.51
- Average Services/Month: $8,245.09
One year after Summit Launch
- Total Annual Sales: + 26 percent
- Average Retail/Month: + 124 percent
- Average Services/Month: + 86 percent
Profile by Sara Altizer
Hairitage House by Kymber & Co. in Pensacola, Florida began much like many salon companies begin, with just a few stylists working hard to try to make a go of it. Kymber Palmer was an incredibly talented stylist who did an excellent job of teaching her stylists technical skills and how to deliver great customer service, but she did not know how to teach them about business. After implementing the Summit Salon Systems of Summit Salon Business Center, Kymber was fully equipped to explode her salon company’s revenue. By pairing her technical ability with SSBC salon business strategies, performance-based compensation, budget guidelines, and a consultant to support her every step of the way, Kymber discovered great success.
Owner: Kymber Palmer
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
“After I became a new salon owner, my challenges were nonstop. I felt completely overwhelmed 100 percent of the time. I had high hopes that we would be a successful company, but I was just that… ‘hopeful.’” Kymber explains. “I was very good at teaching my techs how to be great stylists, but I felt incapable and inconsistent when it came to teaching them how to grow their business, because the only way I knew how to grow on my own was through my art and personality! I knew that my stylists liked me, but I am not sure that they were confident in my ability to help them grow their careers long term.”
Hairitage House had three main downfalls that were stunting the salon’s growth: creating fair and consistent practices, generating income, and fostering a sense of leadership.
In April 2015, only six months after opening Hairitage House, Kymber was encouraged by her product rep to attend The Summit in Tampa, Florida. While she was there, Kymber was amazed to discover that Summit Salon Business Center not only wanted to change the fate of the professional beauty industry as a whole, but also wanted to help her and see her succeed so that she would be able to one day pay it forward.
“I left Tampa feeling more encouraged and inspired to move forward than I had ever felt up to that point,” Kymber says. “There is nothing more encouraging than being in a room full of people from around the country who want to see you succeed. Everyone there had such a selfless heart for all. I was blown away; it was just an amazing atmosphere.”
CREATING FAIR AND CONSISTENT PRACTICES
Establishing fair and consistent practices in an industry that is ever changing and emotionally charged is a challenge, especially when the stylists are busy building their very own businesses behind the chair. It is the success or failure of their businesses that impacts the salon company as a whole.
Summit Salon Business Center has mastered the art of motivating stylists and unleashing personal potential through a very detailed and structured career path. This career path, which is part of the Level System, takes the guesswork out of growing a business behind the chair. It also takes the emotion out of mentoring and holding staff members accountable for performance.
GENERATING INCOME
Once the Summit Salon Systems were fully implemented, the stylists at Hairitage House were all in. “When you can wrap your mind around the Summit program, there is no denying that it’s a good thing for all parties involved,” Kymber explains. “Every single person is on FIRE now to grow their personal business, which in turn is growing Hairitage House as a whole. We have vision and we have goals. We are more excited because we see growth every single month. Excitement is contagious, and we ALL love celebrating goals met and accomplishments achieved. It is great!”
Bethany Steelman has been a Stylist/Team Member at Hairitage House for eleven months. She is a level 1, working diligently towards her next promotion. “I am a very goal-oriented person and I am also a visual learner, so having a system in place that helps me set goals and allows me to watch my numbers increase every month has been a great motivation for me to work harder.”
The guests have also noticed the difference. While they had always enjoyed their visit, they now feel like they are a part of something bigger. “They receive the advantages of a small-town salon mixed with corporate-style benefits,” Kymber explains. “I think guests have a clear understanding of what to expect from check-in to check-out; everything feels more streamlined in the best way possible.”
Summit Salon Systems have also helped to generate income by providing access to a wealth of ideas on retail promotions, referral incentives, community outreach initiatives, and constant salon business education. The tools and resources available to a Summit Salon owner empower them to supercharge their profits.
LEADERSHIP
Kymber now shares a mutual respect with each of her employees. With the help of the Summit Salon Systems, she now has a vision. Her entire company knows this vision and knows exactly what is expected of them every day. “As a Summit salon owner, I am 100 percent more confident than I was this time last year,” Kymber explains. “I have a very clear vision and a solid plan on how to get to where I want to be. I guess less, and hold my head higher, not because I have to, but because I can! I feel more like a boss and an owner and less like a coworker.”
Owner Kymber Palmer with her Summit Salon Consultant Mike Brandon
Kymber attributes a lot of her growth as a leader to her Summit Salon Consultant, Mike Brandon. “I consider myself a strong and capable individual, but if it weren’t for him, I know that I would have given up already,” she explains. “I have a very strong support system in my personal life; my family believes in me and my friends are a constant source of encouragement, but there is nothing like having someone by your side who knows exactly what you are going through from a business perspective. The money that I pay Summit to have Mike coach me through every step of the way is the last thing that I think about. The time and energy he invests in Hairitage House is truly priceless.”
“One time I remember specifically, I had had such a rough fourteen-hour day at work (just one of those days), and when I left the salon, I still had to go grocery shopping,” Kymber says. “I remember sitting in the Walmart parking lot, completely exhausted, and ready to give up. I was telling myself, ‘This just isn’t worth it. Why are you doing this to yourself? You could just go back to being ‘only a hairdresser’ and things would be so much easier. This will never get better, why are you working so darn hard?’ I finished crying and pulled myself together to call Mike and tell him that I was not cut out for this. It was 9:00 at night, and Mike stayed on the phone with me for at least an hour. I vented, cried some more, laughed a little, and before it was over we were talking about tomorrow’s goals and what needed to happen in order for me to achieve them. I haven’t looked back since.”
With Mike by her side, Kymber has stayed committed to her vision and has continued to dream big.
ARE YOU READY?
If you are considering taking your salon company to that next level, Kymber has some advice for you: “Stop hesitating! Summit Salon Business Center will be the best decision you’ve ever made for your business’s future. Do your research—the proof is in the numbers. Statistically, Summit Salons are far more successful than other salons.”
Pre-Summit
- Total Annual Sales: $104,803.19
- Average Retail/Month: $479.51
- Average Services/Month: $8,245.09
One year after Summit Launch
- Total Annual Sales: + 26 percent
- Average Retail/Month: + 124 percent
- Average Services/Month: + 86 percent
Favorite business campaign/contest?
Pre-Book Monthly Drawing. Guests who prebook their next appointment with their technician while they are in the salon put their names in a beautiful glass jar. On the first day of each month, we draw a name and give away featured products and/or services to the winner. The guests love it.
Favorite SSBC products: “We love our Summit Stylist Planner. It really helps us remember to fill the gaps throughout the week and work to strategically upsell services and retail to our guests.”