We were lucky to catch up with Melissa Millan Colon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Melissa Millan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

Hire Slow and Fire Fast

From day 1 I have had 1 employee…now I have 20. It didn’t happen all at once, Some don’t even make it through the “audition phase”. Yes–I said audition ; I am looking for artist and it seems to be a better process to get to know someone. Not just to see how good they can do a shampoo; but how do they carry themselves amongst the rest of the salon. Is this the right place for them or is this just not the right vibe for them…? When I first opened Salon Millan, I was lucky enough to go to this panel of successful salon owners. I learned so much! The one gentlemen who at that point owned his salon for 25 years, he said “hire slow. fire fast.” The lightbulb went off.

So I came up with a hiring process that allows enough time for something to go wrong, But also to see how they handle it. That first employee I started with, is my best friend and fellow stylist. we kind of grew up as a together. We share the same passion for the industry and have a certain level of quality in our work. The next week was my second employee, This stylist is now a Master Stylist, she kind of became the guinea pig of my assistant to stylist program. She was working at a low level salon as a stylist but was missing some of that mentorship in her previous salon, so she became our first assistant. This was the oppurtinity to take an already talented stylist those skills to take her skills to the next level. Those finishing details that raise her to the next level of quality. There are plenty of salons she could have gone to but saw the mission. Become the best you can while gaining certifications and education to come into her own. After that the process continued, everyone of the stylist at my salon was my assistant at one point or another. Just to see…would they be a good fit? And how do they carry themselves as an artist. I have been in this industry for 25 years, I know that a good salon isn’t just great hair. It’s an atmosphere, not only a relaxing place for clients to be but a place for the artistry to thrive.

After that previous assistants of mine from various previous salons saw what I was building and was brought to the next level as stylist because of previous mentorship. It’s all just a quality check. All the same certifications are quickly checked off their list, especially the online ones. And away we grow, I don’t know the best way but it seems to be working. I know it’s all trial and error. And everyone is not gonna fit….and that’s okay. The point is to figure that out quick enough to not bust up the vibe and the success of the salon. If the assistant or stylist is not about the same quality, passion and overall happiness. it’s just as important for them to move on as it is for the camaraderie of the salon overall. The tribe must vibe to create

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Melissa Millan Colon. I am the proud owner of Salon Millan. I have been doing hair for 21 years and owner a salon for 6. I am the mother of 2 boys, and I went to grade school with my husband….hahah people always love that for some reason.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started saving my tips years ago and reinvested that money into opening my first shop/

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Building a reputation with our clientele is built off of trust. Trust that the services we provide are of high quality. The stylist are highly educated, they take several classes a year to ensure they keep up with the latest trends.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salonmillan.com
• Instagram: @salonmillan
• Facebook: @salomillan

Image Credits
@thevideoartist