Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julia Galbate . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Julia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

When I opened my first hair salon at 21 years old I knew I could create a different experience as an owner than what we were all taught was normal in the hair industry. I have always been someone that wanted to make a difference even if I knew I might fail. The hardest part about doing something different than the industry standard is you have no one to base your business model off of, it is all trial and error and everything falls on you.

In the hair industry, it is standard that if you work as an employee in a commission salon you lose most of your freedom. But they tell you it’s normal because you have to start at the bottom and work your way up to earn that freedom. The salons I worked in controlled my schedule, the prices I charged, the clients and services I had to perform and very little work life balance including little time off.

Since covid there was a huge shift in our industry for employees to go to booth rental, meaning they become an independent contractor. Employee based salons were tanking fast and I was about to open the doors for my brand new business, Locks and Loaded Salon. I focused on ideas I could offer employees that were better than what they experienced in other salons. I knew stylists were going booth rent because they wanted freedom and control over their career. So I thought, why not give them the best of both worlds. The freedom that comes with being your own boss but the security of being an employee. When I shared this idea with others, everyone around me told me it would never work. That I couldn’t be profitable if I allowed them to work whatever hours they wanted and take as many days off of work as they desired.. Despite everyone telling me my business model would fail, I knew I had to try just in case it would succeed. I told myself that worst case scenario I could go back and start all over.

I am now 4 years into owning Locks and Loaded Salon, where I have had an entirely full staff with little turn over. I have provided a space where employees not only enjoy coming into work but have the freedom to allow for work life balance. What I didn’t foresee was to building a team that turned into a family.My team sees me as a friend first and then a boss because we built a relationship where I allow them the freedom to grow but I’m always there to catch them when they fall. In most businesses it is frowned upon to be a friend to your employees but for me it was one of the most crucial pieces to create a healthy work environment. They know that I will ride or die for each and every one of them.

Since experiencing success in my salon I decided to start coaching other salon owners to run their business with the same model I implemented 4 years ago. I am able to help other salons create the same culture in their business to not only help owners but allow more hair stylists in states all around the U.S. to experience the freedom my staff has. My goal is to change the industry standard and show others that you can still be successful when you give your employees more freedom and control.

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?

I started as a hairstylist in 2016 when I was 18 years old where I ended up finding a deep passion for making others feel beautiful and being the reason they smiled that day. In 2019 I decided to venture off and open my first salon Locks and Loaded. I was always someone who wanted to make their own rules and try something new when it came to running a business. Small business owners can relate to the feeling of being terrified and excited to go off on their own. I decided to risk it all by starting on my own and my salon kept getting bigger and bigger. In 2020 I expanded my salon to a new location and did the renovation and interior designing by myself. In 2021 I needed more room to grow so I knocked down a big wall and expanded to the building next to me. I have 12 amazing employees who create the best hair and strive together as a team. In 2022 I had the opportunity to take over another salon and decided to go with a new business model. I opened Sittin’ Pretty Salons that has 5 individual suites with booth renters ranging from hair stylists to estheticians. Since opening my 2 salons I realized my passion lied with helping other salon owners grow their culture and reach 7 figures. In 2023 I launched my business coaching business that has also grown extensively. I never would’ve expected the instant gratification of being able to help another salon owner scale the way I did just by focusing on growing their team and being a leader.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

When I started my business coaching business I had to shift my marketing strategy from my target clientele being hair clients to salon owners. My biggest struggle was trying to figure out what kind of content I should post. I didn’t want to post what everyone else was, I wanted to be different. I chose to take an authentic approach that may be a bit controversial. I post my opinion on certain topics of salon owning that has worked for me. The side of it I didn’t think about was the backlash. I recently posted about why salons should never have a non compete contract. In my opinion it is unethical and is seen as a scare tactic. I ended up having negative comments of salon owners saying they don’t want to spend the time training an employee for them to leave early or take the clients with you. We do not have the right to own any clients and they should be able to leave at their own free will. Despite the backlash this post ended up going viral and got me over 100 new messages for coaching. Being able to find those like minded salon owners made the hate more than worth it. On average companies pay anywhere from $5-$100 per follower on instagram. This post averaged $1.25 per follower. I broke the industry standard of marketing by just being myself and posting a topic some people may have not agreed with. But I was actually trying to narrow down my followers to people with similar views as me, knowing they are my ideal client to help. Being vulnerable has been a key part of my business and has helped me get to where I am today.

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

I am positive every business owner has hit that moment of self doubt and thinking maybe this isn’t meant for me. It honestly took me time to realize it was normal. I’ve had many moments of wanting to give up over the past 4 years. Deep down I knew I was never one to give up, otherwise I wouldn’t have had the success I have had to this day. I recently had a very tough moment of self doubt when a long term employee/friend had decided to take on a new business venture. People say this side of the business gets easier but I don’t believe that. I think when you put your heart into your business it never gets easier to not take things personal. Even though I couldn’t help but think of all the ways I did wrong I knew I had to be strong for my existing staff. The first thing I did was call a salon group meeting. Most people would find all the reasons to blame that person but I found this as a chance to self reflect. I asked my entire staff how I could be a better leader and what I can do to improve my management skills. This vulnerability with my team gave them chance to share their personal struggles while also giving me the chance to listen to their frustrations. As hard as it was to hear, I took their feedback and knew they didn’t just want promises… they wanted action. I immediately implemented the ideas they had for me and within 24 hours the salon culture became stronger than it ever had been before. There are times as a business owner you have to put your feelings aside and take on feedback, even when it is hard to hear.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.locksandloadedsalon.com
• Instagram: juliastyles_co

Image Credits
@bayleeshaephoto @nathandaine_ @Tyler.paigephotography