Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Elite Salon Suites is a luxury salon suite rental company based in Plymouth, Minnesota. We provide fully equipped, private salon suites that allow independent stylists, estheticians, and other professionals to run their own businesses without the limitations of traditional salons or chair rentals. This gives tenants the ability to control their schedules, pricing, branding, and client experience.
Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
My background is in healthcare marketing but I have always been support-focused, making sure teams within organizations have the tools they need to be successful. Working with with small business owners and entrepreneurs has helped me better understand the need for strong positioning, digital visibility, and local market strategy from the ground up to not only attract customers—but attract the right customers.
What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
The idea from the business owners came from seeing a shift in the beauty industry and how these professionals want independence but don’t necessarily want the challenges that come with opening a full salon.
Elite Salon Suites offers an upscale solution that allows professionals to step into ownership with significantly overhead and allows them more customization.
What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
- Own your Position & Brand – Know exactly who your clients are and why someone should choose you. People buy into the person providing the services just as much as the services they provide!
- Build Relationships – Countless times I have reached out to people from past positions or relationships for advice or assistance. There’s always someone smarter than you, so learn from them!
- Know Your Numbers – Being independent and having a customized space might seem amazing, but make sure your current client base will financially meet your needs (and have a good marketing plan to become more visible and gain new clientele!)
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
- Adaptability
- Communication
- Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
- You can figure out just about anything with Google or AI… But sometimes you have to just choose left or right and hope for the best, then making sure to reflect on your mistakes or successes.
How many hours do you work a day on average?
Typically, 8-10 hours a day. I try to make sure that I balance work and personal life, however working with small-businesses doesn’t fit into a schedule and it’s important to me that I help those I work with.
To what do you most attribute your success?
Consistency and Transparency.
Consistently showing up and being interested and curious in the work I do.
Being transparent about the work we do and how we do it.
That combination builds a really good trusting relationship over time—our salon manager and other staff work really closely with all the tenants and are really helpful.
How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Over time, word of mouth has become really strong for us. We have a unique 3 floor layout that allows people to really customize their space. These suite rental spaces have become popular over the past 5 years and a lot of them have popped up but they have the disadvantage of being more of a cookie-cutter environment. We also work with a digital marketing agency, run various paid ads through different social media channels and send email blasts to a large list of MN beauty professionals. A combination or different forms of marketing helps with brand visibility and builds trust with potential clients
Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Elite Salon Suites is a privately owned company that is located in a fully-renovated office building.
What used to hold hundreds of offices and individual spaces for different business has been perfected to host hundreds of renters providing services from tattoo artistry and massage therapy to estheticians and barbers.
What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Stay close to your customers and clients. Markets change, trends evolve, and your competition does new things— remember to listen, adapt, and deliver value. Sometimes even if you provide the exact same services as a competitor, you can stand apart by going the extra mile. We live in an age where everything should be customer-service based so think ‘what else can I do to help this person?’
Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
We see Elite Salon Suites expanding strategically throughout in the Twin Cities metro area.
Beyond physical growth, we want to be known and recognized as a premiere rental location for independent beauty professionals.
Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Sounds wild, but I still love the Jack Links sasquatch commercials from the late 2000s… From a marketing perspective, I always try to think of ‘what’s going to make the viewer remember us’, ‘why would they go with my brand’. I tend to lean into humor and those commercials always made me laugh and they still stick in my head today.
How important have good employees been to your success?
Good people are everything! No matter the position, having a team that understands the vision of the brand and executes consistently is critical.
How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
At least long enough to test it and see what needs to be implemented differently. Most ideas or projects don’t fail because they’re bad, but improper execution or inattention to certain details.
What motivates you?
Building things from the ground up. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of small businesses in different industries and have really enjoyed watching them go from an idea to a full functioning entity.
What are your ideals?
Support and customer service focused. People buy into the person just as much as their business or model
How do you generate new ideas?
Paying attention to what competitors do and don’t do. Always thinking of how businesses can differentiate themselves from others.
How do you define success?
Brand reputation and continued growth
How do you build a successful customer base?
Consistency. Do what you say you’re going to do and follow through with your word.
What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Seeing the Elite Salon Suites building space go from an empty parking lot to consistently full. Not only is the space filled with beauty professionals, but their chairs are also full with clients.
What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Open and Supportive. We’re all here to help and support others so we should be helping and supportive to our own colleagues.
