How Buying a Salon Changed My Approach to Solving Customer Pain Points

Any company that wants to thrive needs to have a strong grasp of their industry's pain points. After all, if a business owner does not realize what their customers deal with, they will probably not truly understand how to solve their problems.

So, when I had the chance to purchase a salon to understand what hair-and-beauty business owners face in their daily operations, I took the opportunity. The resulting shifts have meant healthy growth for my company. The process of actually experiencing what these salon and spa professionals go through or need can be a smart way for any small to medium-sized business owner to chart their company's path forward.

First, Observe and Connect

When I first launched the software I created to help salons and spas manage their business, it was my sister-in-law — a hairdresser — who gave me a lot of perspective on the software functionality she would like to see as someone who rented her booth in the salon. But I also wanted to get the perspective of an actual salon business owner. So, I went to the salon next door and asked to meet them.

It coincidentally turned out that he was a fellow golfer. We ended up playing golf once a week — a round of golf takes four hours, so we were able to talk a lot. As my company was in its beginning stages, I wore many hats, including the role of 24-hour support. I would talk to customers on the phone all the time, so since our inception, I have always had a good understanding of our businesses' needs.

On top of these conversations, though, I paid close attention to the small details, including how professionals in the beauty industry performed their day-to-day tasks. For example, I noticed how it was easier for my sister-in-law to single-click inside the software instead of double-clicking. As a result, when we designed our software, we made sure the left mouse button handled all the customer's actions. And I observed my wife's actions in the role of a salon customer, too. Could she book an appointment easily? What frustrated her? She was a good source of input as we developed the software.

Leaders who want to understand customer pain points often fall short because they try to figure out the ends, without properly considering the means. By connecting with and observing others in the hair and beauty industry before I bought my own salon, I set a foundation that prepared me to make my software better over time.

The Benefits of Hands-On Ownership

Even though I initially gained valuable insights from these relationships, I always had the intention of owning a salon in the back of my mind. I wanted to live the ownership experience to truly understand the challenges facing salon owners and observe which processes worked and which needed improvement. I eventually got my chance: When Covid-19 hit, one of my customers told me she was going to sell her salons and move out of California. My team and I did not want to see the salons close, so we bought them from her.

It was not long before we started seeing some of the biggest issues for salons that we had not seen as non-owners. In just the first week, the former salon owner came to me with a bundle of checks and cash. I had not realized that we had to go to the bank every week to deposit booth rent, and I knew right away we could, and would, automate the process. We solved the problem by adding features so that Vagaro could automatically collect rent from the stylists. This personal experience allowed innovation to flow since no other software at the time could automate rent and fees. Now, managers no longer have to ask or remind people to pay if they are late on the rent.

A related issue was commission. In most salons, booth renters make commission if they sell salon products. The salon owner calculates the commission by hand and gives them a check or deposit. Previously, this was a mostly manual and often time-consuming process. But we added functionality where, if stylists sell products, their commission is automatically deducted from the rent in one transaction. We also improved our salon software to prevent friend-and-family or employee discounts from being given to individuals who did not qualify, which helps salon owners monitor the front desk and prevents the store from losing money.

Boots on the Ground Makes All the Difference

Salon owners and managers have a difficult job. They have to stay positive and bring structure to the business, such as explaining why changes and profits are important, emphasizing checks and balances, and helping people understand how crucial it is to be able to account for all products. It can take some time for new owners in small to medium-sized businesses to get used to this corporate style of management.

We also need to recognize that not everything can be completely automated or done with software, but these can be complementary. By getting involved with the day-to-day running of a business, new owners can show that tasks like inventory management are not just concepts, but human actions that can be measured, analyzed, and optimized. With data, they can then make informed decisions about how to improve processes.

Individuals who want to start a company can go far by simply having honest conversations with others in the industry and watching how both business owners and consumers behave. While this approach can give someone a solid basic footing in their chosen industry, there is no substitute for having boots on the ground.

Experience is always the best teacher. Gaining firsthand experience can offer deeper insights into how to solve customer pain points. When a leader makes the industry's problems their problems, they have a strong incentive to succeed. The results are logical, profitable solutions that benefit the customer and the business.