We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mikki Auld. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mikki below.

Alright, Mikki thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

While owning a salon can be extremely profitable, it takes a lot of strategy to get there. The overheads in running a hair salon business are huge – from rent, insurances, to product costs, staff wages, salon software, client amenities and ongoing education, the list really is endless. I think many underestimate how quickly things add up behind the scenes when running a business and many in my industry go into salon ownership before having a clear understanding of what it is they’re signing up for. I’ve been in business for nearly a decade now and have learned most lessons the hard way – sometimes it’s the best way to learn, especially if you’re an entrepreneur who prefers to walk to the beat of their own drum but it also means falling the hardest. My best advice for anyone starting out in business, whether you’re a service based business or other – start small. It’s okay to want the best of everything but it takes time to build your dream life and brand. Consider your upfront costs when starting out and consider how long it’s going to take you to break even. You aren’t truly making a profit until you’ve done that. Sustaining profitability is another conversation entirely, and it’s a greater one that in my opinion is overlooked as businesses grow. It’s important to understand that as you grow, your expenses will likely follow – never get sloppy, just because you’ve experienced a certain level of success does not mean you’ll stay there without effort.

Mikki , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in South-West QLD, quite literally the outback – throughout my schooling years I really didn’t know what it was that I wanted to do for a career but while I was still trying to work it all out I took a receptionist role at a local hair salon. I really loved it – which came as a surprise but I stuck with it. Fast forward a few years and I had completed my four year apprenticeship and moved to the city. From there, I worked with some of the biggest names in the Australian industry before working and living abroad in London. In 2017 I decided to return to Aus and start my own business. At first it was just me, renting a chair at a cute boutique salon but I grew rapidly – soon, I had to hire an assistant and from there we just kept getting busier. I opened my salon ‘Paloma Roan’ in 2018 and it didn’t take long for my team to explode and for our client list to grow. As someone who likes to constantly shake things up and evolve, I secured an O-1 visa and moved to the US (Los Angeles) earlier this year – while keeping my salon back in Australia. It was a ballsy move but just because I’ve not seen it done by many, doesn’t mean it can’t be. My goal is to grow my own personal brand in the states, while continuing to expand my salon back in Australia. While it’s no easy feat, I’m loving the challenge

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

If you’re interested in becoming a business owner or entrepreneur than you have to enjoy solving problems. Whether big or small, there will be something that needs solving on a daily basis. This is why the best people in business, treat it like a game – because it is. I’ve experienced every business growing pain that any other entrepreneur has – business doesn’t get easier, you just get better at it and that’s what’s so rewarding about it. From starting with only a few hundred dollars to my name and turning that into 7 figures, I’ve absolutely made some mistakes and learned some things the hard way. Business is going to be a reflection of you and at times that can be really hard to stomach. I think Covid was a time that many of us would like to forget – at the time I had a team of 10 and had to lay everyone off as I didn’t know what was ahead. It was an extremely challenging time, especially because I had experienced so much growth and success in such a small period of time just before it. It was a period that certainly tested me, and back then I really had no clue of what I was doing. I genuinely feel like my personality has shifted because of my business. I’ve had to learn about budgets, accounts, team management, leadership, stock management, risk assessment, marketing, client communications and so, so much more – the list is endless. Nothing can truly prepare you for business ownership and it’s really not for everyone. Like I said, see it as a game and try to remove the emotion from it, it’s a puzzle to figure out and so long as you’re growing and learning from every challenge, you’re ahead.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

About four years into salon ownership I hired a team member with the intention of making them a manager. Moving to the US was a goal I’ve had for nearly half a decade and so every time I recruited, it was with the intention of growing a strong team that could run my business without my physical presence. At least that was the initial plan. Long story short, I went through 4 different ‘potential managers’ over that four years – it’s extremely difficult to find that perfect person who can be you while you’re not around and it takes a hell of a lot of work to build them into what you need them to be. Each candidate had great potential but you cannot predict the changes that others will have in their lives. Whether that’s deciding to move cities or go in a different direction career wise, it’s so incredibly hard to find/and expect someone to dedicate themselves to a role for the long term. It might be a controversial opinion but after trialling so many different options I’ve learned that the ones who will dedicate themselves/apply themselves/and commit long-term are the ones who have a little skin in the game. Meaning, they have to buy in. Finding a way that my business would run without me and while I lived in a completely different country has been by far the biggest challenge for me and I have to pivot so many times and start again to get to where I am now. But make sure that if you are considering a partnership, you test drive that model first – my current business partner worked for my for almost five years before I made them a co-director and partner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mikkiauld.com
• Instagram: @mikkiauld_hair
• Facebook: @mikkiauld_hair

Image Credits

Lucia Townsend Sim https://www.instagram.com/studiolucia__/?hl=en
@studiolucia__