One Salon’s “Out with the Old, In with the New” Experience

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It was time…

After nine months of waiting, wondering, and worrying will it be all right, we had to force the next step, and it was a welcome relief.  After nine months, you would think there would be a bundle of joy or a reason to celebrate.

No, it was not a new addition to the family, but the release of a burden that many salon businesses have been carrying.  Yes, COVID 19, the supposed blame for nine months of our 2020 and now extending into 2021.

We know the impact and fear it represented, but after nine months, 249 days since the reopening, 28 stylists, eight front desk, 15,000+ clients, and zero in-salon transmissions. We had to cleanse our thoughts, release our frustrations, and start anew.

Our Q1 Salon Meeting started with the truths, the impact COVID has had on all of us, and then the release, as each of our staff wrote down something they wanted to let go of from 2020, and we placed it in a small metal trash can, to set aflame.    I’m uncertain what they all wrote, but I will bet many of us scribed for COVID to go away, for politics to subside, for division and anger, feelings of isolation and loneliness to be a thing of the past. As our staff was writing, I could sense the inner battle they had to create their own story about their lives in 2020.  

The real-life and everyday struggles of being in a service industry and connecting with clients One on One for extended periods multiple times a day can be exhausting.  Listening to the same narrative client after client was difficult, but we knew the salon was one of the few places they came from other than the grocery store. Our team understood this was our client’s social connection, relaxation, and look good, feel better time. We honored it and felt grateful they were coming back and complementing our mask-wearing team, our communications approach, and our stringent safety measures.

But it wasn’t enough to say out with the old; we needed to create a new space, place, and vision for what we wanted next, and that second mini can during our meeting was to write their desires for the new year, their hopes, and dreams.  This can is to be stored as a time capsule for our future meeting Q1-2022.

As the meeting closed out, you could hear the chatter of inspiration, aliveness, and release in the air. Everyone commits to 2021 to rebuild the salon and create new and exciting experiences for our team, clients, and community.

Jeff South is the Intrigue Salon and Club Intrigue owner in Marietta, GA, for 30 years. Bonnie Bonadeo is the Marketing Director for Intrigue and Branding Coach for Salons. Both are celebrating 40 years in the beauty industry this year.  

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