Taking a risk in business can result in a harsh lesson or a business-building success story. From a trendy new service category to a tweak in business practices, these salons shared the new factors that have propelled growth in their beauty-based businesses.

BOMBSHELL SALON & SPA
Holland, MI
Rachel Harned
SQUARE FEET: 5000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 29
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kevin.Murphy, Keune, Moroccanoil
COLOR: Redken  
SKINCARE: Dermalogica, Farmhouse Fresh, Dermaplane Pro
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest,  Mya, SalonScale, Honeybook
ASSOCIATIONS: Michigan Association of Beauty Professionals
“We completely revamped our bridal department by hiring an amazingly dedicated and experienced bridal coordinator, introducing new systems like Honeybee and Trello, and expanding our services and space. By building strong relationships with local vendors and elevating the experience, we grew our bridal revenue by more than $108,000 in one year.”

D’AMETRIS AVEDA
Broomfield, CO
Ame and Dennis Metcalfe
SQUARE FEET: 1374     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 5
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $81
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: D’Ametris Solutions, Aveda 
COLOR: Aveda  
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz,  Linktree  
ASSOCIATIONS: PBA, ABCH
“We started manufacturing wealth ourselves and created our own private-label hair care line, and now a hairbrush. We learned to break the habit of buying on autopilot. Today, we own our commercial salon property, with an attached rental property,  which is also building wealth.”

DECOLA SALON
Exton, PA
Lou DeCola
SQUARE FEET: 4000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 43
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $59
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: R&Co, Milbon, Lakme
COLOR: Duomo, R&Color, F-18
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Vish, Mya 
ASSOCIATIONS: HPSA
“Our DeCola Salon 100% Satisfaction Guarantee framework captures every client’s voice after each visit, converts dissatisfied responses into a structured recovery path and feeds clean data into coaching and leadership decision. Eight months after building that framework, the concept is being developed into a software solution for the beauty industry.”

ELAN HAIR STUDIO
Spring Lake NJ
kellie Johnson
SQUARE FEET: 1000, 1100    
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 35
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $103
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, Davines
COLOR: Goldwell, Redken 
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Vish, Phorest Tips 
ASSOCIATIONS: ICA, PBA    
“After 12 years of steady growth I made one of the most defining decisions of my career—to reinvent and downsize. I purchased a smaller 1,000-square-foot space a few miles away and designed a salon that reflected who we had become—a brand defined by quiet luxury, connection, and authenticity. Despite cutting our space by two-thirds, we reached just under $3 million with only six chairs our first year.”

GADABOUT SALONSPAS AND VERVE SALONS
Tucson AZ
Frank and Jana Westerbeke
SQUARE FEET: 3121, 3300, 6000, 5400, 7000, 1940
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 225
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $65
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kerastase, R+Co, ColorWow
COLOR: Wella, Aveda, Pulp Riot
SKINCARE: Skin Authority, Comfort Zone, Sculpture
NAIL CARE: OPI, Utica
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz,  SureTint, Tippy 
ASSOCIATIONS:    ICA, ISBN, ISPA,  PBA    
“In late July, we decided to implement a ‘Locals Only Club’ points program by leveraging the AI Gemini to research top performing loyalty programs, troubleshoot, brainstorm, and create an execution strategy. We signed up 4,500, almost 42% of our guests in the first five weeks and we started seeing our retail sales grow.”

HAIR & CO BKLYN
Brooklyn, NY
Allyson King and Shannon King
SQUARE FEET: 900, 1300    
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 25
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $85
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, Maria Nila 
COLOR: Goldwell  
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Vish, Truelark, Mya, Green Circle
“This year we grew our flagship salon more than $100,000 by rebuilding our consultation from the ground up. We matched our promotions to our coaching, so if we were working on treatment conversations in the consultation, we ran treatment promos. Once we had momentum, we moved to a buy-two-get-one-free offer. We stopped coaching everyone the same way and coached each generation the way they learn best.”

INTERLOCKS SALON & MEDSPA
Newburyport, MA
Ginny Eramo & Jordan Becker
SQUARE FEET: 7400     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 49
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: 84
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, R+Co, R+Co Bleu
COLOR: Goldwell, R+Color 
SKINCARE: Is Clinical, Hydrinity Skin Care, Zo Skin Health
TECH SUPPORT: Meevo, Rxphoto 
ASSOCIATIONS:  PBA, AmSpa   
“By shifting our mindset from ‘brand user’ to ‘brand collaborator,’ we strengthened our position as an educational hub and creative authority. We not only elevated sales and education, but redefined how we partner with our brands, our team, and our community. This approach provides that true innovation happens when you lead with authenticity, collaboration, and the courage to ask for more.”

INTRIGUE SALON
Marietta GA
Jeff South
SQUARE FEET: 3500     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 40
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE:$ 88
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Oribe, Goldwell, Kerasilk
COLOR: Goldwell  
TECH SUPPORT: Meevo, Truelark, Textel, Goldwell Digital Dispenser
ASSOCIATIONS: ICA      
“At a Data Driven event one of the speakers shared some benchmarks on online booking, and we learned we were well below the average. We determined which services could be booked online with ease and revised service titles to include descriptions. We developed a campaign that began with education and a mindset shift for both our team and clients. As more clients booked online, our front desk became more client-centric with the clients in the salon.”

JONATHAN KANE SALON & SPA
Homewoo,d IL
Larry Kane
SQUARE FEET: 3100     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 27
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $57
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKINCARE: Aveda, Lucrece 
NAIL CARE: OPI
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Vish, Phorest Tips, Green Circle 
ASSOCIATIONS:  CC,  ICA, PBA, Green Circle
“We have a profound interest, drive, and desire in showing our team that they have the power, the tools, and the ability to make a difference in every person's day, they can create a career in the business, and spend the day loving what they do! This takes daily coaching, face-to-face interaction, and structure to support those efforts.”

KENNETH'S SALONS AND SPAS
Columbus OH
100% Employee-Owned  Tony Anders - representative
SQUARE FEET: 17700, 9700, 8300, 5500, 5000, 3200
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 327
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: 68
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: private label, Redken, Mizani
COLOR: Redken, Pulp Riot 
SKINCARE: Derma MD, Hydropeptide, Circadia
NAIL CARE: Foot Logix, Morgan Taylor, Gelish
TECH SUPPORT: Proprietary 
“The classic retreat spa experience is being replaced by a younger demographic seeking faster, maintenance-driven services. They also want a social space where they can enjoy services together. We developed a hybrid Spa Bar concept. Even through we don’t have a full year of data, the early results are significant. Compared to the same period the previous year, spa customer counts are up 10%, monthly facials up 100%, upsells up 20% and nail services are showing double digit growth.”

LUSCIOUS & CO
Shelton CT
Liz & Jess Arrindell
SQUARE FEET: 1700, 3200    
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 23
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE:$ 82
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: J Beverly Hills. Kevin.Murphy, Great Lengths
COLOR: Kevin.Murphy, Eleven Australia 
TECH SUPPORT: Zenoti, Mya, Tippy, Glammatic
“Our business boosting breakthrough arrived with the ‘potential sheet,’ a simple but powerful tool that identifies each stylist’s elevation plan. It is broken into three sections: a visual of their financial potential, their expert-led service ranking, and a checklist of redeemed behaviors. This worksheet allows our leaders to coach with clarity, and we see a better emotional response, calmness under pressure, and an intentional balance of effort. “

PARIS PARKER SALONS AND SPAS
Hammond, LA
Neill Corporation
SQUARE FEET: 2300, 900, 3300, 1000, 6800, 9000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 202
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE:$ 77
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda  
COLOR: Aveda  
SKINCARE: Aveda  
NAIL CARE: Spa Rituals  
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Vish  
ASSOCIATIONS:     ISBN, PBA, 2 to 10 Network
“The recruitment strategy we put into place two years ago is paying off. Every chair is productive and we went from hiring 15-20 stylists per year to hiring 50 last year. We have found it’s important to be a true partner to the schools we’re recruiting in, learning their curriculum, developing relationships with educators and understanding their culture. Our goal is to have two hairdresser per chair, making us more productive.”

REVIVE DAY SPA
Aberdeen, SD
Fallon Helm, Trinity Martin, Tara Mortland
SQUARE FEET: 3600     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 13
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: 58
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Surface, L’Anza, Pureology
COLOR: L’Anza, Redken
SKINCARE: Lexli  
NAIL CARE: Artistic Nail Design, LCN 
TECH SUPPORT: Meevo, SalonClouds Plus, Vish  
“We now recruit new apprentices with a nano focus, capturing the right leads from the right places at the right time. From 2024 to date, we have had a 100% graduation rate by prioritizing the right people and filtering out dozens of applicants who were not the right match for our business. As a result, we have an amazing team full of long-term teammates.”

THE LANGMORE SALON
Mullica Hill NJ
Heather Coles
SQUARE FEET: 1000     
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 13
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: 58
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Kevin.Murph,y Eufora, Keratherapy
COLOR: Eufora, Kevin.Murphy 
TECH SUPPORT: Phorest, Vish 
“We have been focused on creating a revenue-driving front desk team. We created scripts that help guests rebook, add on services related to their hair needs, and close retail sales. Our rebooking increased from 59% to 51%, our average service ticket increased from $84 to $110, and our average retail ticket increased by $3. We set up a front desk tracker and created ways to give managers and the front desk team rewards based on hitting their goals, as well as raises.”