We were lucky to catch up with Amber Baranzini recently and have shared our conversation below.
Amber, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?
When I first opened Salon Aurora in June of 2023, it was just my assistant and I. When I had my first round of interviewing, I hired someone fairly quickly. In the beginning, you find yourself putting aside some of your requirements because you’re so excited to have people want to work in the salon. Then you find that those people don’t always work out long-term. Since then, I have learned to take the hiring process a little bit slower and have developed what my non-negotiable’s are and what I need from new hires / booth renters. Now I have a team of five including myself in my 8 chair salon. Every stylist gets along with each other which is vital to sustaining a good salon culture when hiring. It only takes one person to disrupt the culture that most have taken years to build. One thing I like to have potential new hires and/or booth renters do is to come in one day and do a client’s hair. That allows me to see how they interact within the salon and around our other stylists. It also is good for them to feel things out before committing. Doing this will save both sides a lot of time and helps to make sure everyone feels confident in the decision to move forward. The only thing I would do differently from the jump is taking things slow, nothing great was built over night. It’s okay to not have a fully staffed salon especially the first few years! Make sure whoever you bring in fits within your ‘salon culture’ and adds to your team!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I come from a family of hairstylists. I started my career doing makeup after suffering a spinal cord injury from a car accident. I didn’t know if I would be able to stand up and do hair behind the chair for the rest of my career. But one day I decided I wanted to see if I could do it and that’s when my journey behind the chair started in April of 2017. I started as an assistant where I grew my skills and confidence behind the char and eventually started building my own clientele. I worked for the same person who I assisted for the next 5 years. I had my own assistants throughout those years. Teaching and helping other stylists learn how to do what I was doing is a passion of mine. Before deciding to do hair I originally wanted to become a teacher so it is the best of both worlds! I was booked 3 months out because I was grinding hard. This is what sets me apart from others is my determination and dedication to get better and provide quality services to my clients. I would come in early and stay late. I would practice on doll heads on slow days. I used social media as the main source in building my clientele. I posted every day. A lot of people decide to do hair because they think it’s ’easy’ and realize quickly that whatever you want out of it, they have to put in twice as much work to get there so they end up quitting. Eventually it was time to spread my wings. I decided to move salons to a booth rental situation. I rented 2 chairs with my assistant. I was double booked the 4 days I worked behind the chair. The only next step that made sense for me was to open up my own salon. The opportunity to do so came a lot quicker than I expected. Now, here we are a year and a half into owning my 8 chair salon in downtown San Diego. I also teach classes and work for hair color companies teaching my color techniques. It’s all such a dream come true! When I think back to that 18 year old girl lying in the hospital bed after the traumatic car accident unable to move her legs or get up on her own, it makes me tear up. I made it. I am living the dream I once thought was impossible.
How did you build your audience on social media?
When I first started assisting I had my personal IG page that had 1200 followers. My boss told me I needed to create a business IG for all things hair and I did not want to do that. Starting from scratch at ZERO followers? No thank you. But, I did it because it needed to be done and I currently have over 40,000 followerrs. I’ve gained followers who essentially turn into clients because of my consistency and providing value in my posts. Posting things that have value means you are teaching your potential clients something. That is wayyyy more important than coming up with some new cool ‘cowboy copper’ color name as a caption for your post. When you share what techniques and formulas you used people are more likely to follow you because they’ve learned something and want to learn more. 90% of new clients that sit in my chair say they found me and booked because of my Instagram. It’s a vital way to build clientele these days. People want to see your portfolio and they’re no longer taking their friends’ word for it. By not posting and finding joy in it you are shooting yourself in the foot. So many stylists think of it as a chore so they end up not doing it or getting burnt out over it. Find ways to make it fun. Find your THING, and do it well!
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
The biggest thing that has helped me with managing my team is creating a ‘Culture Agreement’ that clearly states how everyone should treat themselves, their work space, and others around them. By having this every stylist is held to the same standard and it keeps everything in check. Having monthly meetings, of course with some donuts or a delicious treat, helps too!
Contact Info:
- Website: Salonaurorasandiego.com
- Instagram: @_salonaurora_
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/gBgl2wGgHU
