Ben Jay's guest appearances

Ben Jay

Grow My Salon Business Podcast

ESPN Honolulu

Winn Claybaugh

Adam Hill

Alicia Soulier

Steve Schirripa

Mike Baker

Mark Adams

Justin Webster

Brian Baldinger

Andrew Dale

Kevin Wong

Marina Zenovich

Tom Chapman

Antony Whitaker

Gordon Miller

Paula Peralta

OwlTail

The former University of Hawai'i Athletics Director and new Chief Financial Officer for the Big West Conference discusses the financial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the conference and college sports.

Ben Jay | July 14, 2020

I have the pleasure of working with many salon owners all over the world. As a result, I am very fortunate to have inspiring and insightful conversations about the changes that are happening in the salon industry.   But, perhaps, more importantly, I get an insight into how forward-thinking salon owners are evolving their business approach to accommodate the never-ending changes to succeed in the salon business today.   Today’s guest on the podcast is Ben Jay co-owner of ‘The Hair Loft’ salons, a successful family business in Chicago that started in 1980 and continues to evolve with the times.   In today’s podcast, amongst many other things, we will discuss:    What are some of the changes that are impacting the traditional salon business model? The never-ending impact of new technologies. The increase in specialty salons. How the big product brand is evolving and what that means for the salon business.    In This Episode: [01:31] Welcome to the show, Ben! [01:56] Ben shares his background and how he ended up in the salon business. [02:57] How many salons do you have now? How many employees do you have? [04:04] Ben speaks about some of the challenges he faces in his salon today. [06:05] Ben shares his business model and his insight on the new models he sees today. [08:52] Ben believes that the employee-based model dominates in Chicago, but the salon suites model is popping up everywhere. [11:07] With the technology, lifestyle, and business model, it’s almost like the perfect storm for the increase of salon suites. [13:08] How do you keep stylists in your salon and prevent them from leaving to work for themselves? [15:00] Ben gives examples of how he makes his stylists feel like they are getting a more significant share of the commission than they are by adding value. [17:43] Giving his employees by giving them continuing education, scheduling help, and other things to support them daily. [18:35] What do you do at The Hair Loft that bonds people to your brand and keeps them with you long term? [20:07] How do you factor flexibility in schedules into your business model? [23:43] Ben believes that you have to scale hairdressers’ pay so that they can make a good living and break the belief that they can make more on their own. [26:34] Have you ever leased a suite and then wished you had stayed with your salon? [27:47] Ben speaks about the advantages of having a team behind you. [28:55] Ben chats about two new stylists he just brought in and their individuality. [31:56] Ben gives examples of different types of specialty salons. [33:21] Is your salon a full-service salon? Do you have a blow-dry menu? [35:11] Ben describes the color room in his salon and who works there. [38:55] Ben shares about professional product brands and their attempts to cut out the distributors. [44:24] What do you do as a salon owner to protect the retail side of your business? [47:00] Ben speaks about the salons online retail store that allows their clients to purchase products and have them delivered or shipped. [49:08] Antony recommends that everyone go to www.thehairloftltd.com and look at their website. [50:04] Ben shares about the unique products they have in their retail store that are made by local Chicago residents. [54:56] Ben speaks about getting their alcohol and liquor license so they can sell wine and beer in their salons. [56:15] How do you promote beverages? Do you have a menu? [57:25] Ben shares about the app they have in their salon. [58:50] Do you have any final words or thoughts for the listeners? [59:46] If you are listening to this podcast and have enjoyed it, please take a screenshot on your phone and share it on your Instagram stories. [1:00:06] Ben, thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast!   Links and Resources  Grow My Salon Business    Find Ben  Benjamin Jay @bnjmnjy Instagram The Hair Loft @thehairloftltd Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

I have the pleasure of working with many salon owners all over the world. As a result, I am very fortunate to have inspiring and insightful conversations about the changes that are happening in the salon industry. But, perhaps, more importantly, I get an insight into how forward-thinking salon owners are evolving their business approach to accommodate the never-ending changes to succeed in the salon business today. Today’s guest on the podcast is Ben Jay co-owner of ‘The Hair Loft’ salons, a successful family business in Chicago that started in 1980 and continues to evolve with the times. In today’s podcast, amongst many other things, we will discuss: <ul> <li>What are some of the changes that are impacting the traditional salon business model?</li> <li>The never-ending impact of new technologies.</li> <li>The increase in specialty salons.</li> <li>How the big product brand is evolving and what that means for the salon business.</li> </ul> In This Episode: [01:31] Welcome to the show, Ben! [01:56] Ben shares his background and how he ended up in the salon business. [02:57] How many salons do you have now? How many employees do you have? [04:04] Ben speaks about some of the challenges he faces in his salon today. [06:05] Ben shares his business model and his insight on the new models he sees today. [08:52] Ben believes that the employee-based model dominates in Chicago, but the salon suites model is popping up everywhere. [11:07] With the technology, lifestyle, and business model, it’s almost like the perfect storm for the increase of salon suites. [13:08] How do you keep stylists in your salon and prevent them from leaving to work for themselves? [15:00] Ben gives examples of how he makes his stylists feel like they are getting a more significant share of the commission than they are by adding value. [17:43] Giving his employees by giving them continuing education, scheduling help, and other things to support them daily. [18:35] What do you do at The Hair Loft that bonds people to your brand and keeps them with you long term? [20:07] How do you factor flexibility in schedules into your business model? [23:43] Ben believes that you have to scale hairdressers’ pay so that they can make a good living and break the belief that they can make more on their own. [26:34] Have you ever leased a suite and then wished you had stayed with your salon? [27:47] Ben speaks about the advantages of having a team behind you. [28:55] Ben chats about two new stylists he just brought in and their individuality. [31:56] Ben gives examples of different types of specialty salons. [33:21] Is your salon a full-service salon? Do you have a blow-dry menu? [35:11] Ben describes the color room in his salon and who works there. [38:55] Ben shares about professional product brands and their attempts to cut out the distributors. [44:24] What do you do as a salon owner to protect the retail side of your business? [47:00] Ben speaks about the salons online retail store that allows their clients to purchase products and have them delivered or shipped. [49:08] Antony recommends that everyone go to <a href="http://www.thehairloftltd.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thehairloftltd.com</a> and look at their website. [50:04] Ben shares about the unique products they have in their retail store that are made by local Chicago residents. [54:56] Ben speaks about getting their alcohol and liquor license so they can sell wine and beer in their salons. [56:15] How do you promote beverages? Do you have a menu? [57:25] Ben shares about the app they have in their salon. [58:50] Do you have any final words or thoughts for the listeners? [59:46] If you are listening to this podcast and have enjoyed it, please take a screenshot on your phone and share it on your Instagram stories. [1:00:06] Ben, thank you so much for being a guest on the podcast! Links and Resources <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Grow+My+Salon+Business+podcast&amp;rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS766US766&amp;oq=Grow&amp;aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l2j69i60l2j69i61j69i60.3335j1j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Grow My Salon Business</a> Find Ben <a href="https://www.thehairloftltd.com/benjaminjay" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Benjamin Jay</a> @bnjmnjy <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bnjmnjy/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> <a href="https://www.thehairloftltd.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Hair Loft</a> @thehairloftltd <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thehairloftltd/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thehairloftltd/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/thehairloftltd?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>

030 Ben Jay