3 Pieces of Advice for Salon Owners

Ouidad Salon by Chadwick and Igor is reinventing the salon visit, pioneering client and staff education, and spreading love for curly-haired people everywhere—it’s no wonder they won the Mindbody BOLD Award for Greatest Business Growth.

Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Ouidad Salon by Chadwick and Igor specializes in cutting, styling and empowering their customers with curly hair. While a specialized business model, salon co-owner Chadwick Pendley believes that the salon industry is changing to embrace unique, boutique salons like theirs.

“We wanted to open a salon that catered to people that had naturally curly hair,” Chadwick said. “We wanted to create a safe haven where people with naturally curly hair could come and avoid the anxiety that can come with curls.” To accomplish this goal, Chadwick and co-owner Igor Araujo focus on redefining the customer experience at their salon.

Here are three pieces of advice from Chadwick and Igor that you can use in your business to change your clients’ experiences.

1. Offer free education to your clients.

"Doing hair now is fundamentally different. It’s based on education. The heartbeat of our salon is called 'The Learning Lounge.' It’s where our guests can continue to learn and become empowered. We host a class that's free called the “Curl Talk Class.” The premise of this class is to begin to learn and understand naturally curly hair. Why you have it, what happens with it. If you know those things, then you could address issues and can no longer be held hostage by a retail associate who's trying to sell your products you don't need."

2. Encourage weekly visits by offering monthly packages.

"We have a couple of different packages we call 'Curl Clubs.' We're going to work towards getting our clients back into the salon more often as opposed to seeing them every 10 weeks. I want to see them every other week so they're getting deeply conditioned." (Have Mindbody salon software? You can set this up easily!)

3. Be creative when exploring new product offerings.

"We have someone brought in who will do a car wash and have it detailed as you enjoy our services. One of the ways Mindbody has been amazing for us is because now clients can book through the app to have their car washed while they're having their curls cared for. Our clients going crazy over this."