We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jemma Winters a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jemma , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

I ran my hair salon out of fear for many years . Fear of failure . Fear of not enough staff . Fear of funds . I operated my business solely out of fear .

I would hire anyone just to have artists . I would buy any product just to please my artists . I would discount clients just to keep them in my chair . I would work behind the chair full time to show my staff what I wanted out of them .

When covid hit in 2020 we shut our doors march 18th for 2 months . I sat at home trying to blame covid to shut my doors permanently. I tried calling lawyers to claim “bankruptcy “ even though I wasn’t . But I was close mind you . And they said it was a terrible idea . And no .

For 6 weeks I plotted how to get out . Nothing came to fruition .

So I flipped the script . I remodelled my whole business plan. My salon operations . And came back with only a few select stylists . And let the others move on . I reinvented our services to package pricing /assured pricing . As well as assured income for my team . And ditched our scale recording system .

And holy Hana it’s been remarkable change !

In this time my salon has blossomed and grown by 30% consecutively each year . We were under half million totals before covid and now hitting a million in service and sales !

And guess what I work 2 days a week behind the chair because I want to ! Not because I have too .

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My whole school career I wanted to be a dentist . When I graduated high school I was so excited to go to university and study . When it came time to apply for student loans I was ineligible and my parents couldn’t afford to send me . So my mom came up with the grand idea to get my hair licence. And once I was licensed I could pay my way through university doing hair .

Now if I look at 18 yr old me . I had very low self esteem . I was bullied tremendously. I was so shy I couldn’t even make eye contact with people or even as much as talk to them . In no way was I a people person .

My mom got me hired at the local hair salon and immediately I fell in love with hair . I had a natural ability to style and cut hair and it came to me easily , it brought me out of my shell and I got into my niche clientele right away . 40+ women’.

I seemed to have a way with them , my confidence soared when I was in their presence . I think because I wanted to be them , So confident and they knew who they were and what they wanted out of life . It unleashed my alter ego . And she was fun cool and confident behind that chair .

I became an expert in Bobs , pixies and platinums . I crafted my art by watching the stylists I was surrounded by . I took in every piece of knowledge I could be exposed to .

This is where my career took off . In small town Drumheller Alberta .

5 years into my career I chose to make the big move to the big city . Calgary Alberta . Over 4 years I built a strong following and a lot of my Drumheller clients followed me . They supported me and my business . It came to the point that I had to hire my own personal assistant . And that’s where jemini hair artistry was born . A play on words Jem and I .

Over the course of the next 6 years . I really honed in on what jemini hair artistry was as a company . I realized in 2020 . I had to believe in myself . And trust myself . As well as listen to myself.

Jemini hair artistry is a beauty collective enterprise. We have talented artists under our roof that all have their niches and craft their art in the areas they are passionate about. We carry beauty professional lines that only professionals can purchase and their culture matches ours .

We offer beverages and snacks during your visit . We have welcoming trays and tours of the salon when it’s your first visit . We have a culture that’s unbeatable and incomparable to other salons . We have a strong team ethic. Code of honour is so important at our salon . Our team is happy and that’s the thing that comes first .

My team has assured income which means they know what they are paid on every service package .

Our clients have assured pricing which means they know what they pay before we begin. And no hidden fees .

It doesn’t matter if your hair is thick or thin. Straight or curly . Our curated packages assure every clients needs are met . And the artist isn’t limited
To what products they can use .

Our brand is so unique and forward thinking . We are so confident in our culture and what we have to offer . Our salon is soaring to new heights .

Any advice for managing a team?

As someone who is in it . Your team comes first . Happy team happy hair guests .

We set up a meeting two years ago to build a code of honour together as a team . This keeps us on the same page as one another and also it lets us approach each other when someone isn’t holding their code of honour up . And we can approach each other in a post I’ve manner .

We have built a leadership team amongst the team to have pillars in the salon . So the team feels they can talk to someone to bring up their concern or questions . Without having to feel like they can only come to management.

Then debriefs are a huge thing at jemini hair artistry . It keeps problems from blowing out if proportion. As well as letting the team talk to one another in a purposeful way . What are your wins. Want can we change . Whats working . What isn’t working .

Communication and transparency are so important .

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

We love to keep our social media super personable . Clients and followers get to the know the real us . Just true transparency .

We also reward exclusive pricing to clients that visit us regularly .

We keep consistently on every visit as well as adding new services and decor to keep the space fresh new and exciting

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jeminihairartistry.com
• Instagram: Jeminihairartistry
• Facebook: Jemini hair artistry

Image Credits
Image : Cassie Molyneux