Success Grown from Within
Owner Shelby Bills says her general manager, Sydney Osborne, reminds her of the power of leading with heart. Find out how Osborne became a great leader in our lastest installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Data Stories: Robert Cromeans Uses Data to Monitor the Health of his Team
With a few hundred employees across three states, Robert Cromeans has gotten so good at reading individual staff member's performance data, he says he can predict how well they are doing in their personal lives, as well as at work.
June 15, 2017
3 min to read
As fellow hairdressers, most owners are used to checking the technical work of new stylists, but not necessarily their business work, says Robert Cromeans, owner of A Robert Cromeans Salon with eight locations in San Diego, Las Vegas and Oklahoma.
“It’s taken years for me to have that kind of transparency with my business,” he says. “Because I speak hairdresser, I can get stylists to see the value in following their numbers—after all we mix hair color using numbers, we book client appointments using numbers, measuring performance using numbers is no different.” Reviewing the statistics on his business, he calculated that after five visits one in five clients doesn’t return. You can’t measure client retention off the first visit—you have to go deeper.
With a few hundred employees across three states, Cromeans says ZeeZor has been a critical tool in helping his team measure and track their performance, and a vital tool in helping him get to know his team and reward them when they . “I get to know them through their data.”
While Cromeans says sometimes it’s about celebrating the team’s successes, that other times you’ll see real changes just because you and your team are paying attention to the numbers. One of his stylists Tiffany May recently grew her services sales from $100,000 to $150,000 in a short amount of time. “That’s just because I gave her the tool,” he says. “It is super beneficial to have a data-driven company.”
Cromeans says another team member saw a big jump in add-on sales after adding some fun dialogue to every consultation. “To each client she’d say, “Are we just going to trim it today, or are we going to treat it?”
It’s also given him new insight into his business. “I want our salons to retain clients the way I retain ice cream, but the statistics showed us after five visits, one in five clients don’t return,” says Cromeans. “It’s like dating. On the first data, you do everything right – take your date to a nice restaurant, hold open the doors, etc. By the fifth date, you forget your wallet and ask if they can pick up the tab,” he says. “We so the same with clients—we stop making cut and color recommendations, stop telling them about products and offering special treatments—we start to take them for granted. We have to get back to that first kiss with every guest at every appointment.”
For Cromeans, data paints a picture and he’s even looking at the art work when he interviews cosmetology school graduates. “I ask them questions to see if they’re already paying attention to numbers, such as what is their attendance rate and how much is their average ticket. “If they tell me their ticket is $41 or higher, then they’re already better than the industry average and I know they’re watching their numbers.”
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Salon Management
How Salon Leaders Can Process the Pain and Lead Forward When a Team Members Leaves Unethically
In her latest blog, Kati Whitledge identifies the five stages salon owners go through when a team member leaves the salon unethically, offering advice for each stage.
How AI Is Closing Revenue Gaps for Salons and Spas
The beauty and wellness businesses pulling ahead aren’t just working harder—they’re using AI to capture demand, personalize pricing, and convert more of every guest interaction into revenue. Here’s what the benchmark data reveals about the growing gap between AI adopters and everyone else.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Premium Talent Magnet: The Modern Salon Playbook for Attracting Six-Figure Stylists
Stop chasing recruitment ghosts on generic job boards and start curating an elite team. Discover the framework that top-tier salons use to bypass phone tag, automate visual portfolio vetting, and attract high-earning, culture-first beauty professionals directly through real-time messaging. Turn your recruitment process into an exclusive brand invitation that keeps your highest-ticket chairs permanently filled.
Sponsored by Beautista
Five Revenue Leaks Hiding in Your Salon
Your calendar looks full, but is all of that demand actually converting to revenue? From phantom rebookings to underpriced peak hours, the 2026 Benchmark Report exposes five revenue leaks that most beauty and wellness businesses don’t even know they have.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Heartbeat of Zandi K's Success
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
by Stacey Soble
Rethinking Retail in the Era of E-Commerce
In a world dominated by e-commerce, salon owners push back with proven strategies to increase retail sales while motivating team members to educate their clientele and delighting clients with retail-themed events and clever merchandising displays.
by Stacey Soble
The Harper Ellis Hair Co. Certification Program Teaches Stylists a Smarter, Safer Way to Install Extensions
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
by Staff
The Micro-Salon Blueprint: How Kat Scott Quadrupled Income by Maximizing Her Suite
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
by Staff
Competing for Revenue: Veteran Business Owner Shares a Framework for Growth
The former CFO of Perdue Farms and owner of Hardy Seafood, Terry Owens delivers a wealth of wisdom and strategies for entrepreneurs in his new book, "Business is Simple."
by Staff
Built to Sell: How One Owner Turned Zero Salon Experience into a Multimillion-Dollar Exit
After scaling her single-location salon business, SALON TODAY 200 Honoree Amy Pal recently sold her six-location Whip Salon for seven figures. Using the six Ps for maximizing a business's value, she's ready to help her peers do the same.
Shedding Light on Solar Tax Credits for Your Beauty Business
Buried inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are federal solar tax credit changes that deserve your attention now. Two of the credits that matter most to commercial property owners, the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit, are still available, but only if you move fast. A third, the Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Deduction, has a hard termination date that is closer than most people realize.
The Salon Ghost Report: Stop Wasting Hours Chasing Unqualified Applicants
Up to 40% of hair stylists ghost the salon interview stage, leaving owners trapped playing endless phone tag with uncommitted applicants. This data-driven report breaks down why traditional job boards create recruitment friction and reveals the modern messaging strategies high-growth salons use to get pre-qualified talent to actually show up. Learn how to transition from cold calling to high-conversion conversations that protect your time and fill your chairs.
Sponsored by Beautista
When the Client ISN'T Right!
Spit fests, hostile threats, and even an overachieving matchmaker--SALON TODAY readers share their craziest client tales and how their team handled these tough situations with professionalism and grace.
by Stacey Soble
2026 Beauty & Wellness Summer Marketing Calendar
Keeping your appointment book full when clients are in vacation mode takes more than a good Instagram post. It takes a plan. The 2026 Summer Marketing Calendar from Meevo gives salon, spa & med spa owners a month-by-month roadmap with sharp themes, key opportunity dates, and campaign ideas specifically designed for the beauty & wellness industry. Here’s to your summer season working as hard as you do!
Sponsored by Millennium Systems International
AI in Beauty: What It Means for Your Team, Your Clients, and Your Business
AI is transforming the beauty and wellness industry, and the future is about empowering people, not replacing them. Discover how Phorest AI helps salons, spas, and med spas across North America respond faster, personalize every visit, and keep human connection at the heart of the client experience.
Sponsored by Phorest
The Captain of Business Stability and Growth
Owner Michaella Blissett-Williams credits her General Manager Gloria Hortua with [salon] 718's year-over-year, double-digit growth and says she's been able to scale the company to eight locations because she can rely on Hortua to manage daily operations.
by Stacey Soble