MENU
SEARCHService providers make a salon successful, but flooding a business with as many people as possible is not an option, especially post-Covid. So how can a salon maximizing space ensuring it generates income without squashing in the people? Donna Rodrigue, owner of Casa Verde in Albuquerque, has done it by jettisoning a laundry room.
An inside look at Casa Verde in Albuquerque, NM.
Fresh from nearly five years working for the Body Shop, one of the earliest proponents of clean beauty, Donna Rodrigue, joined her parents’ Albuquerque salon, Casa Verde, full of ideas of how to future-proof the legacy she would one day inherit. An early advocate of sustainability, she was also aware of how fragile a beauty business could be.
“I had become increasingly convinced that the chemicals in the salon were harmful,” she adds. “But adopting a green agenda can be an intimidating prospect. There is that fear of higher prices so our ethos is that while you can’t do everything, you can do something.”
Over the 20 years that she’s managed the family business she has swung it more eco-friendly by swapping to a more environmentally conscious manufacturer and acing out on recycling and waste management. More recently, she turned her attention to sustainable, disposable towel manufacturer Scrummi Towels. Her motivation was two-fold. First, she recognized they represented a further step towards carbon reduction and water conservation. But it also meant she could reorganize the 2,500 square-foot salon layout, dumping one of two laundry rooms and opening an additional waxing room.
“Lately, our waxing services have been generating a strong income, and so I was looking for ways to expand it, but we didn’t have any under-utilized areas,” says Donna. “At the same time, I’d got curious about disposable towels and had begun looking more closely at them as an option for the salon.”
She recognized it made financial sense but she was uncomfortable about the churn of disposables that could be produced by the 16-strong team and whether they really were a sustainable alternative. After testing a few, she took the leap and set up a subscription to Scrummi, which is a sustainable B Corp company. This allowed her to shut one of Casa Verde’s two laundry rooms, leaving the smaller room set up to wash and dry gowns and other items, while converting the other to her office. Her previous office was then converted into the new waxing area.
“I would not have been comfortable doing it if Scrummi were not eco, but they are actually better for us and the planet,” she explains. “We’ve been able to reduce laundry to just one room and cut back on house-keeping hours, water and energy costs, and detergent. Plus we no longer have people standing watching towels dry in a machine. It is so liberating and it works out cheaper than laundering cotton towels.”
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.
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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
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.
Shine Time: Aluram’s High Shine Line Delivers Moisture and Shine with Clean Ingredients
Sponsored by Aluram
Elyse Rogers is an uplifting presence at The Headroom who makes the team feel heard even in stressful situations. Owner Danielle Cherewyk sings her praises in this installment of Meet the Manager.
Despite a slight and predictable decline in client traffic for Q1, resilient pricing power is driving year-over-year revenue growth in salons. The KIM Report's Alain Audet reviews the data and what it's telling us about the state of professional beauty.
Same-store revenue grew just 2% for the second straight year—and new guest visits declined across every segment of the industry. The 2026 Benchmark Report reveals where growth is actually happening, which verticals are pulling ahead, and what the data says about where your business stands right now.
Sponsored by Zenoti
Hair restoration is entering a new era driven by regenerative science. This paper explores how Exosome technology is transforming treatment outcomes by targeting hair loss at a cellular level. Discover why EXOGROW is leading this shift.
Sponsored by Dermapenworld
A salon brand is much more than a logo. In this thought-provoking blog, Leon Alexander, Ph.D., walks you through the difference. SALON TODAY suggests sharing this article with your team and leading a discussion at your next huddle, asking the team to define your business's brand.
