Why Are You Still Putting Out Fires Instead of Running Your Salon?
I talked to a salon owner named Tamara last month. She owns a place in Indiana. Six chairs. Been open five years.
"I can't remember the last time I worked on growing my business," she told me. "Every day is just putting out fires. Someone's late. We're out of something. A client's upset. The schedule's a mess. I'm just reacting all day."
She was exhausted. Working 70 hours a week. Making less money than her top stylist.
"I thought this would get easier," she said. "But I feel like I'm drowning more now than when I first opened."
She wasn't drowning because she wasn't working hard. She was drowning because she was stuck in operator mode. Not leader mode.
Let me show you what that actually looks like.
What Happens When You Don't Have Structured Meetings?
Tamara's team meetings were chaos. She'd call them randomly when problems came up.
"We'd sit there for an hour," she said. "People would complain. I'd try to solve things. Nothing ever changed."
Or she'd skip meetings for weeks. "I was too busy," she said. "Meetings felt like a waste of time."
Meanwhile, her team had no clarity. Nobody knew what the priorities were. Drama would build up. Then explode.
I know another owner named Yvonne in Texas. She had the opposite problem.
"I'd talk at my team for 45 minutes," she told me. "Give them updates. Tell them what to do. They'd sit there like zombies."
Her meetings were one-way. She'd leave thinking things were clear. Her team would leave confused.
A guy named Carlos in Nevada just didn't do meetings at all.
"I'd pull people aside individually," he said. "Deal with issues as they came up."
Problem was, his team never knew what each other was doing. No alignment. Everyone operating independently.
"It felt like I was running six separate businesses instead of one salon," he said.
What Changes When You Actually Have a Meeting Structure?
Tamara started doing weekly meetings. Same time every week. One hour. Non-negotiable agenda.
First 10 minutes: review last week's numbers. Revenue. Average ticket. Rebooking rate. Client retention.
"I used to avoid looking at numbers," she said. "Now we review them every week."
Next 15 minutes: team performance. Who hit their goals? Who needs help? Not about calling people out. About supporting them.
"We celebrate wins," Tamara said. "And identify roadblocks. It changed the whole culture."
Next 10 minutes: client experience. What did reviews say? How's retention? Are we creating the experience we want?
Next 15 minutes: bigger projects. What are we working on to grow? Marketing campaign? New service? Retail push?
Final 10 minutes: solve one major problem together.
"We pick the biggest issue of the week," she said. "Everyone contributes to solving it."
Yvonne's meetings transformed when she stopped talking at people and started involving them.
"I ask questions now," she said. "What went well last week? Where did you struggle? What do you need from me?"
Her team started actually participating. Bringing up issues before they became crises.
Carlos started weekly meetings and was shocked by the difference.
"My team started working together," he said. "They knew what everyone else was doing. They'd help each other. It felt like an actual team."
His stress level dropped immediately. "I wasn't the only one solving problems anymore," he said.
Are You Managing by Feelings or by Numbers?
Tamara used to manage by feelings. "I felt busy," she said. "I felt like we were doing well."
End of the month, bank account was empty. "I couldn't figure out why," she said.
She wasn't tracking anything. No idea what her average ticket was. What her rebooking rate was. What her retention looked like.
"I was flying blind," she admitted.
Yvonne had the opposite problem. She tracked everything obsessively. "I had spreadsheets for everything," she said.
But she never looked at them. "I'd track it all and then ignore it," she said. "What's the point?"
Carlos didn't track anything. "I just looked at the bank account at the end of the month," he said. "If there was money, things were good. If not, they weren't."
No way to know why things were good or bad.
Tamara started tracking four key numbers weekly:
Rebooking rate: How many clients book their next appointment before leaving? Hers was 32%. "I had no idea it was that low," she said.
Average ticket: How much does the average client spend per visit? Hers was $127. Lower than she thought.
Retail sales: For every $10 in services, how much retail? She was at 4%. "Terrible," she said.
Client retention: Of new clients from three months ago, how many came back? 54%. "We were losing almost half," she said.
"Seeing the real numbers was terrifying," Tamara said. "But at least I knew what to fix."
She focused on rebooking first. Trained her team. Made it a goal. Tracked it weekly.
Rebooking rate went from 32% to 71% in four months.
"That alone added $18,000 monthly to the salon," she said. "Just by tracking one number and focusing on it."
Yvonne started actually using the data she tracked.
"I'd review it in the weekly meeting," she said. "We'd see what was working. What wasn't. Make decisions based on numbers, not guesses."
Her average ticket went up 22% in six months just by being more intentional about service recommendations.
Carlos started simple. Just tracked revenue and average ticket weekly.
"Even that basic tracking helped," he said. "I could see trends. See when things were sliding."
He caught a slow period early and ran a promotion. "Before, I wouldn't have noticed until it was too late," he said.
How Do You Actually Solve Problems Instead of Just Complaining About Them?
Tamara's old approach to problems was complaining.
"My team would bring up issues," she said. "We'd all agree it was a problem. Then nothing would change."
Same problems month after month. Drama with certain clients. Stylists showing up late. Front desk not following procedures.
"We'd talk about it. Everyone would nod. Then the next week, same problem," she said.
Yvonne's approach was dictating solutions.
"Someone would bring up a problem," she said. "I'd immediately tell them how to fix it."
Her team would nod. Then not do it. "Because it was my solution, not theirs," she realized.
Carlos just avoided problems until they exploded.
"I'd hope things would work themselves out," he said. "They never did."
Tamara started using a simple three-step approach in her weekly meetings:
First: What's the real problem? Not the symptom. The actual root cause.
"A stylist was always late," she said. "I used to think the problem was she was lazy. Turns out she had a childcare issue."
Second: What are possible solutions? The team brainstorms together.
"When the team comes up with solutions, they actually implement them," Tamara said. "Because they have ownership."
Third: What's the specific action? Who's doing it? By when?
"We don't leave the meeting with vague ideas," she said. "We leave with a plan and a deadline."
That late stylist? Solution was adjusting her start time by 30 minutes. Problem solved.
Yvonne started asking her team for solutions instead of giving them.
"When they'd bring up a problem, I'd say 'What do you think we should do?'" she said.
Her team started solving things themselves. "I wasn't the only problem-solver anymore," she said.
Carlos started actually addressing problems in meetings instead of avoiding them.
"We'd pick one issue per week," he said. "Diagnose it. Come up with a solution together. Follow up the next week."
His recurring problems started disappearing. "Because we were actually solving them instead of just talking about them," he said.
Are You Working on Your Business or Just in It?
Tamara's typical week before we talked:
70 hours total. 60 hours behind the chair or handling operations. 10 hours on admin. Zero hours on strategy.
"I never worked on growing the business," she said. "I was too busy keeping it running."
She couldn't remember the last time she reviewed her marketing. Updated her pricing. Planned for growth.
"I was just surviving day to day," she said.
Yvonne had a similar problem. 65 hours weekly. Almost all operational.
"I'd think about strategy at night," she said. "Lying in bed. But I'd never actually work on it."
No protected time. No focus. Just constant interruptions.
Carlos was behind the chair 50 hours weekly. "I couldn't step back," he said. "We needed the revenue from my services."
But that meant he couldn't train his team. Couldn't build systems. Couldn't market.
"I was trapped," he said.
Tamara started blocking four hours weekly for CEO work. Tuesday mornings. Non-negotiable.
"I'd turn off my phone," she said. "Work on marketing. Review finances. Plan initiatives."
First month felt weird. "I felt guilty not being behind the chair," she said.
But those four hours weekly changed everything. She built a referral program. Revamped her pricing. Created a retail training system.
"Those four hours generated more money than 20 hours behind the chair," she said.
After six months, she hired another stylist to replace her services. Stepped out of the chair completely.
"Now I work 40 hours weekly," she said. "Half on operations. Half on strategy."
Revenue went up 35%. "Because I was finally working on growth instead of just maintenance," she said.
Yvonne started smaller. Two hours weekly for strategy.
"Wednesday mornings," she said. "No appointments. No interruptions."
She'd use that time for planning. Analyzing. Improving systems.
"Game changer," she said. "I finally had space to think."
Carlos couldn't afford to step out of the chair yet. But he started delegating operations.
"I trained my front desk to handle scheduling," he said. "Trained my senior stylist to handle inventory."
That freed up 10 hours weekly. He used it for strategic work.
"I'm still behind the chair," he said. "But I'm not doing all the admin anymore."
His goal is to hire another stylist next year. Step out completely. "Finally run the business instead of just working in it," he said.
What If Your Team Doesn't Want Structure?
Tamara's team resisted at first. "They said they didn't need meetings," she said. "They said tracking numbers was corporate BS."
One stylist quit. "She said she didn't want to be micromanaged," Tamara said.
"Good riddance," Tamara said now. "She was my biggest drama source."
The rest adapted. "Once they saw the meetings actually solved problems and gave them clarity, they started appreciating them," she said.
Yvonne's team loved the change. "They'd been craving structure," she said. "They were tired of the chaos too."
Carlos's team was skeptical but willing. "I explained why we were doing it," he said. "Showed them how it would benefit them."
Buy-in came when they saw results. "When we started hitting goals and making more money, they got it," he said.
Where Do You Start?
Tamara told me starting felt overwhelming. "I'm already drowning," she said. "How do I add more to my plate?"
I told her she's drowning because she doesn't have these systems. Not despite needing them.
She started with weekly meetings. "Just blocked one hour every Monday," she said. "Made it non-negotiable."
First meetings were rough. "We didn't know what we were doing," she said. "But we got better every week."
After a month, the meetings felt natural. "My team started expecting them," she said. "Looking forward to them."
Then she added number tracking. Started with just two numbers: revenue and rebooking rate.
"Even that basic tracking helped," she said.
Gradually added more. Average ticket. Retail. Retention.
Four months in, she had a complete strategic management system running.
Yvonne started with protected strategy time. "Two hours weekly," she said. "That was my first change."
Used that time to build the other systems. Meeting structure. Number tracking. Problem-solving framework.
"Having space to think made everything else possible," she said.
Carlos started with number tracking. "That was most concrete for me," she said. "I could start immediately."
Numbers revealed his biggest opportunities. He focused there first. Added meetings. Added strategy time.
"Took me six months to get everything in place," he said. "But completely worth it."
All three of them are running completely different businesses now than a year ago.
Tamara: 70 hours → 40 hours weekly, revenue up 35%, out of the chair, actually leading.
Yvonne: constant chaos → structured systems, team aligned, stress down 60%.
Carlos: trapped behind chair → delegating operations, 10 hours weekly for strategy, planning to step out next year.
They all felt like they were drowning in chaos. Now they're leading real businesses.
If you're tired of putting out fires every day, if you want to actually work on growth instead of just survival, if you're ready to run your business like a leader instead of just an operator, then it's time to build the systems that let you lead instead of just react.
