The team from Centre Salon & Day Spa, Tiffany Plaza in Denver, Colorado, owned by James Pacifico.
The team from Centre Salon & Day Spa, Tiffany Plaza in Denver, Colorado, owned by James Pacifico.

These honored salon and spa owners understand the value of working on their businesses versus just in them. By predicting and planning for profit and keeping a vigiliant watch over expenses, they’re building sustainable businesses that stand strong without their income as service providers.

CENTRE SALON & SPA, TIFFANY PLAZA
Denver, Colorado
centresalon.com
James F. Pacifico
SQUARE FEET: 2,100
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 18
2014 PROFITABILITY: 13.6%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $35
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
 “We work with a company called World Class Financial Services. They provide our financials on a monthly basis with feedback about the financials as well as specific areas for us to focus on that help maintain our expense benchmarks as well as our overall profits.”

HABITUDE SALONS AND SPA
Seattle, Washington
habitude.com
Inez Gray
SQUARE FEET: 8,000; 1,500; 1,500   
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 85
2014 PROFITABILITY: 2.2%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda, Bumble and Bumble
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Loc Box, Demandforce, Smile Box  
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“We forecast profitability mainly by utilizing our very intricate cash flow spreadsheet that has daily, weekly and monthly cash budget and actuals prediction as well as a filtering system to show when deposits and payments will clear the account.”


MANE ATTRACTION SALON
Phoenix, Arizona
maneattractionsalon.com
Kendall Ong and Beate Assmuth-Ong
SQUARE FEET: 2,400     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 29
2014 PROFITABILITY: 6%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $80
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Bumble and Bumble
COLOR: Wella, Kenra
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Constant Contact, Demandforce
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, NCA, PBA
“We began working on our succession plan five years ago. A large part of it was to reduce the revenue we (the owners) produce behind the chair by transitioning our clients to other stylists. In 2009, our portion of the revenue was 22 percent. In 2014, it was 14 percent.”

METRO FOR MEN
Irvine, California
metroformen.com
Krista Martin
SQUARE FEET: 1,900     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 12
2014 PROFITABILITY: 15%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $42
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: M By Metro For Men Nioxin Aveda
COLOR: Goldwell Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce, Google
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“Every year, I put together a cash flow plan. I look at it weekly and revise the amount of cash spent on expenditures, if necessary, to ensure I hit my target monthly profit margin.”


N STYLE SALON
Saugus, California
nstylesalon.com
Clay & Tiffany Friedman
SQUARE FEET: 2,000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 18
2014 PROFITABILITY: 5%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: L’Oreal
COLOR: L’Oreal, Redken, Matrix
TECH SUPPORT: STX
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA, L’Oreal Black Elite Salon
“We have found profitability is directly related to consistency in terms of the programs we use combined with excellent customer service. Through retail sales alone, we find we are able to far exceed what we need to make to cover our monthly expenses.”

NUOVO SALON GROUP
Sarasota, Florida
nuovosalongroup.com
Terry McKee and James Amato
SQUARE FEET: 3,300; 2,000; 3,000; 2,700
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 78
2014 PROFITABILITY: 6.3%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, PBA, 2 to 10 Network
“We currently work with Nick Secord from Salon Performance Group using a system we have co-created to track and drive profitability. Systems play a big part in the year’s financial planning with weekly Wednesday morning ‘cash flow calls’ with our bookkeeping department.”

OMAGI SALON & SPA
Louisville, Kentucky
omagisalonspa.com
Marian Maruca Sang
SQUARE FEET: 2,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 34
2014 PROFITABILITY: 16%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce  
ASSOCIATIONS: NCA, PBA
“Each October, our management team analyzes and reviews all aspects of the business to project and budget for the following fiscal year. We analyze sales and expense data, retention rates, retail per service ticket and client counts. Based on these numbers combined with our desired future growth rate, we plan for profitability.”


REDBLOOM SALON
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
redbloom.ca
Troy Winget and Jodi Ohama
SQUARE FEET: 1,500; 2,300; 1,800   
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 58
2014 PROFITABILITY: 14%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $67
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Milano, Constant Contact
 “To forecast my sales and expenses, I begin by using a calendar and marking off anything I know that will be happening, like maternity leaves, renovations or closures, big educational events, equipment replacements, increases in rent, utilities, etc. I look at what’s trending in our business, what’s happening in the economy and any big changes we may be making.”


RITUALS SALON-SPA
Midlothian, Virginia
ritualssalon.net
Pete and Sheri Polignone
SQUARE FEET: 5,500     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 40
2014 PROFITABILITY: 10%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $55
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Eufora, Kevin Murphy, Unite
COLOR: Schwarzkoph Professional
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce  
ASSOCIATIONS:   The Day Spa Association, PBA  
“We analyze each department and each levels of service and retail sales patterns. We strive for a gross profit of 50 percent, fixed cost at 35 percent and profitability at 15 percent. In 2014, we projected a 10-percent profit and we were spot on.”

SOLARIS
Evansville, Indiana
solarisaveda.com
Amy Carter
SQUARE FEET: 2,400     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 20
2014 PROFITABILITY: 10%
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $35
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Demandforce, Constant Contact   
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA
“I’ve created a projection sheet that shows what we did in each segment of service and product sales last year and calculates what those numbers would need to be to reflect 10 percent profit growth for the coming year.”

Additional Honorees
Blo, Raleigh, NC
Maude Salon & Boutique
Salon Soca, Chicago, IL
Lucky Hair Company Salon & Spa, Canton, MI
Cutting Loose Salon, University Park, FL

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