Episode Details

I consciously go out of my way to interview a diverse range of people for the podcast. But, the one thing I know that they all have in common is that they are building successful, profitable businesses, regardless of where in the world they are.

My goal is to interview a range of people at all stages of their careers in various areas of the salon industry to bring you a mixture of inspiration, entertainment, and practical ideas and advice to help you grow your salon.

Today’s guest on the podcast is Maria Unali, a salon owner from Sydney Australia who opened Salon Kiin 4 years ago.

In today’s podcast we will discuss:

• The challenge of juggling multiple roles in life from being a wife, mother, stylist, and business owner with all of the demands that come with it.
• How to attract, nurture, and build a salon team.
• And how to set guidelines around salon social media.

In This Episode:

[01:35] Welcome to the show, Maria!

[01:59] Maria shares her background, why she became a stylist and salon owner.

[04:20] Her salon has been open for four years and now has fifteen stylists.

[05:17] What are the advantages of having a salon on the outskirts of Sydney?

[07:01] Maria speaks about taking over her dad’s salon when he retired.

[09:35] Antony chats about the upside of being in the suburbs with keeping staff and clients.

[11:13] Can you tell us a little bit about your sustainable program? How do you pay for the program?

[14:51] Maria speaks about creating and cultivating her team culture and the acronym she built it on.

[17:20] Maria explains the one on ones she does consistently every month and the yearly retreat she treats her team too.

[19:15] A good team culture isn’t built overnight, and it evolves as people leave, and new people come in.

[22:00] Antony speaks about bringing in young people as trainees and the expectations they have.

[24:11] What are some practical everyday things you do to motivate your team?

[26:58] Maria shares her staff retention and how she keeps them motivated to stay.

[28:49] Maria discusses what young twenty-something employees want from an employer today.

[31:48] Maria shares a time when she almost lost her salon and how she turned it around.

[33:55] They discuss how doing shows can be seductive, but there is very little money to be made.

[35:16] At what profit margin are you currently running your salon? What hurdles have you had to overcome?

[37:29] Maria describes the color table in her salon and shares how it works with clients.

[40:01] How did you come up with the name Salon Kiin?

[40:23] Maria explains how she reacts when someone from her team leaves.

[42:35] They chat about some good leadership books that Maria likes.

[44:11] Maria speaks about fashion weeks and their importance to salons and stylists.

[46:34] What social media platforms do you use and how do you use it to market your business?

[48:00] Maria shares that her stylists all have personal social media accounts, but they have guidelines they have to use.

[50:56] What other technology do you use today to run your business?

[52:36] Maria speaks about the manager that helps her run parts of the company so that she has time away.

[54:34] Maria shares how she balances being a wife, mom, stylist, and business owner.

[56:17] How do you reinvent yourself creatively? How do you stay relevant?

[58:25] What advice do you have for someone who is going through what you have for the last four years?

[1:00:47] If you have enjoyed this podcast please take a screenshot and share it on your Instagram stories and tag us.

[1:01:19] Thank you, Maria, for being on the show today!

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