Bella Style Salon's Ride or Die
At Bella Style Salon in Slidell, Louisiana, Director of Operations Angela Meyer tackles inventory, team management, and guest relations. Read all about her in our latest Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Lemonade Marketing
Like most salon owners, Bryan Nunes was feeling stressed about the investment he had made in his first business venture when he was preparing to open the doors at Blo in Raleigh, North Carolina, ten years ago. Each day, he was hit with a new ...
September 11, 2015
3 min to read
Like most salon owners, Bryan Nunes was feeling stressed about the investment he had made in his first business venture when he was preparing to open the doors at Blo in Raleigh, North Carolina, ten years ago. Each day, he was hit with a new bill to cover or another unforeseen delay in construction which kept the salon from generating revenue. As Blo was a self-funded project, that stress accumulated quickly.
Nunes says Redken, the manufacturer Blo chose to align with, did much to ease the pain, and one of the things they offered was free capes and smocks with the Redken logo on it.
“I remember at the time, it wasn’t really fashionable to have the salon’s logo on the attire,” Nunes says. “Although their offer was generous, we declined because we knew our plan was to build loyalty to the brand we were committed to creating in our local community.”
Then, one day, the new capes and smocks with the salon’s logo were delivered, and Nunes says his sense of pride was overwhelming. The staff proudly draped the chairs with the capes, hung the smocks in the bathroom and folded the color capes on each color tray.
“As I proudly draped my first guest with this glorious representation of years of hard work, I couldn’t wait for it to settle on her body so she could see we weren’t some fly-by-night operation,” Nunes says. “I adjusted the cape so the logo sat perfectly on her chest, and I gestured in a discreet way. In hindsight I probably looked like Vanna White as she unveils the first six letters in the final round of Wheel of Fortune.”
The guest glanced at her image in the mirror, and said, “Well, this certainly isn’t the way to win over your first guest, Mr. Nunes. I already know that I’m old,—I don’t need you to point it out to me.”
For the first time, Nunes studied the cape in the mirror and read it the way his guest saw it. In reverse, his stylized blo logo read old! “Well, this was the first of many colossal mistake I’ve made as a salon owner, and one I immediately needed to remedy,” Nunes says.
His mistake was painful at the time, but like many successful marketers, Nunes has been searching for a way to use it ever since. When it came time to celebrating his 10th anniversary this year, he cleverly had a logo designed with the logo in reverse so it read, ‘Ten years old,’ in person, then ‘Ten years blo’ in the mirror. (Click here to see the winning STAMP idea.)
Like medicine, maybe the number one tenet in marketing should be, “First, do no harm.” But our STAMP (Salon Today’s Annual Marketing Program) judges love how Nunes turned the lemon life threw at him into lemonade this year.
Have you ever experienced a marketing bomb? If so, what lesson did it teach you, and how did you resolve it? We’d love for you to share it by emailing me at ssoble@vancepublishing.com.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Salon Management
The Constant
Starting at Impressions front desk in 2006 when he was 19 years old, General Manager Paul Petrowsky is a seasoned professional who owner Sarah Taylor says is responsible for much of her own success.
by Stacey Soble
The Most Wonderful Time in Salons and Spas
Planning is in full swing for the most anticipated events and promotions for the 2026 holidays. As owners share their favorite ways to celebrate, they prove that a carefully planned event can also build culture, increase client loyalty, boost sales, and set a business up for a successful 2027.
by Stacey Soble
Leading with Empathy, Humility and a Mastery of Systems
When things run amok at Mane Attraction Salon, Owners Chris and Jenny Knudsen say General Manager Sami Hernandez is their go-to resource and ultimate sounding board. Meet Sami in this installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Pagoda Brings AI-Powered Operations to Skinovatio Medical Spa Locations
Pagoda, a new AI-native operating system for scheduling, payments, patient records, marketing, and client communications, launches at Skinovatio Medical Spa in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
by Staff
How Women are Rewriting the Rules of Grey Hair
At a panel discussion hosted by L’Oréal Professionnel in Paris in early July, French Philosopher Sophie Galabru explored the cultural shift where women are increasingly choosing natural, personalized color results over traditional grey coverage. In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Galabru and L’Oréal Professionnel Colorist Pierrick Beringer discuss this shift and how salons and colorists respond.
by Stacey Soble
Warm Leadership and Analytical Precision
At Salon Blonde, Director of Operations treats the staff as the salon's most important guests, while her wonderful 'nerdy' side, loves data, systems, and numbers. Find out how she makes Salon Blonde tick.
by Stacey Soble
Trotting the Globe, Forging Connections, Fostering Artistic Creativity
In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Salon Owner Salvatore Minardi reflects on his past 18 months as Intercoiffure America Canada's World Talent Exchange Ambassador and how his experiences will help encourage cultural and artistic exchange and support greater engagement between ICA and the global organization Intercoiffure Mondial.
by Stacey Soble
Client Retention Guidebook
Everything you need to know about client retention as a salon owner.
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
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