We were lucky to catch up with Jaye Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jaye, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
To quote Tom Clancy, “An overnight success is ten years in the making.” This is the most honest statement. People see your success and think it came quick and easy. Especially in this time where instant gratification is sought after. I have been a Salon owner for 10 years. There was nothing quick and easy about it. I changed careers at 50 years old. I purchased a failing Salon and through faith, perseverance and determination, we are now a six figure salon. The interesting thing about my story is, I am a licensed Esthetician. I am not a hair stylist. Why would I open a hair salon when I know nothing about hair? Quite simply, I knew if I opened a business just doing skin care I would not go as far as I envisioned. I managed a couple of salons in my 20’s and I was in real estate for 18 years, so I have management experience.
When I bought the business there was a fresh out of cosmetology school, 19 year old stylist who was working there. Her name is Haley Adkins. This is where my gut instincts kicked in. I just knew that she was as determined as I was to be successful in this business. As soon as I took over the salon I made aesthetic changes to the salon, made it more welcoming and hired more stylists. Stylists come and go in this business but I made the mistake of not trusting myself. I thought since I was not a hair stylist, these people I hired would know more than me and be an asset. I quickly found out that hiring the wrong people will surely hurt your business. Having some of my stylists doing mediocre work caused my business to slow down. We were failing and considered closing. My landlord at the time loved us and didn’t want us to fail, so he gave us 2 months free rent to get back on our feet. We stayed at this location for 4 years. The location wasn’t the best so I knew we would have to move if we were going to make it.
That’s when I got tougher and decided that I will not let my business fail. We moved to a better location and a nicer space. I let go of stylists that were not up to my expectations and hired stylists with more experience and talent. We stayed at this location for 6 years and business grew so much, we had to move again. We moved to an even better location twice the size of our last place. I now have 4 stylists who are the hardest working young women I know. They worked very hard to become Master Colorists and continue to educate themselves. We had an assistant who moved out of state but she still handles our social media marketing, which is invaluable these days, and because of her amazing talent, we have a steady flow of new clients wanting to get their hair done by our amazing stylists.
So, how did I get here? Prayer, faith, listening to my gut and offering our clients the best of us. It’s the “little” things you do for your clients that add up to “big”, amazing things. I am proud to say that we are so busy with new and existing clients of many years. Did I make mistakes along the way? Absolutely. I have learned to trust myself. When you get a great staff, pass on your knowledge so they can become successful also.
Make sure to invest back into your business and look at the big picture. Have goals and do your best to reach them. Find what makes your business unique and expand on it. Do not take advise, even well meaning advice, from people who know nothing about business. Look for advise from people who are more successful than you. Keep moving forward. We try new things all time and keep things fresh, new and exciting.
Yes, Haley Adkins is still with me, 10 years later. Haley stayed with me through all the ups and downs. She helped me grow this business and I included her in all decisions because I trusted her and I wanted her to learn how to be a strong business woman.
She will inherit the business when I’m gone. I trust that she will carry on my legacy and continue to pass on everything she has learned to more deserving young stylists.
I am so proud of Haley Adkins, Niik DuPlayee, Tara Rivera, Dee Samoel, Erika Castillo and myself. We have worked so incredibly hard and we will continue to grow and take care of our amazing clients because without them, we would not be where we are.
Any advice for managing a team?
I tell my stylists “Good Job” every single day!! I encourage them to try new things, to believe in themselves.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
We foster loyalty with clients by being genuinely interested in their lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.glamorouskitty.com
- Instagram: @glamkittyhairstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlamorousKittySalon