Westlake Word

The salon industry has introduced a new and efficient way to work. Professionals in the beauty industry are now recently opening their own businesses in salon suites. Salon suites are simply fully prepared rooms in which beauty professionals can own and manage their own businesses and clients. The main difference between a suite and a traditional salon is the ownership. 

 

Individuals are converting from working in a salon to owning their own business in a salon suite. With salon suites now in the industry, they are rapidly increasing due to various beneficial reasons. 

 

The rise of salon suites became popular because of all of the advantages that are included. Stylists are finding their path to success and gaining control and independence over their business. 

 

Salon suites are suited to those who want to control their own business, while keeping it affordable and in a small, no employee space. Those who decide to venture into opening a salon suite are at the point in their career where they are equipped enough to have their own workplace and self-management system. 

 

Salon suites are the biggest trend in the salon business today. Individual stylists have more opportunities than ever before; many don’t want to pursue working as a stylist in the traditional salon. 

 

Traditional salons include working for the owner of a salon with many other stylists. They work on commission or on a commission-only basis, meaning they receive no salary or hourly pay. Rather than hiring employees, suites offer stylists the opportunity to own their own business by renting a fully-equipped space that’s ready for business. Owners/operators can make their own hours, choose their own retail lines and build a business how they desire. 

 

Cathy Cangialosi, an owner of MY SALON Suite, transitioned from working in a traditional salon to working as her own boss in a suite. She says, “It is much more private, which is what I wanted; I worked in salons for over 20 years surrounded by people, and I wanted to be in a workplace where I can be alone with my clients.” 

 

In other words, Cangialosi always wanted to manage her own business and now she enjoys it much better. 

 

Salon suites have become more popular in the past year and “it is expected that this year, the salon in the beauty industry will grow by 16%. The majority of this growth will be a result of beauty professionals who use salon suites to run an independent beauty business,” according to Peter Stein, CEO for Salon Suite Partners, an organization meant to encourage small business owners.   

 

Cangialosi believes owning her own suite was the smarter way to go. Specifically, “it was the right choice for me because I wanted to get away from working in the big salons without having to own one myself and hire employees and then manage them. A suite is smart and perfect for me because I am my own boss and get to control everything that goes on, without having to worry about managing other people.” 

 

Her niece, Olivia D’Andrea, assists her in the suite and states, “I know that she loves it, she has been in a suite for about 4 years now and she is much happier than she ever was.” 

 

In the time D’Andrea spends working with her aunt, she realized that “she values many things, as she [her aunt] said before, things like; meeting her client’s needs easier, having everything in places that she is used to and able to move around, making her own schedules and work days, etc.”

 

Working in a suite results in many benefits; some benefits are independence, control, organizing, and the quiet atmosphere. Cangialosi gained independence from being her own boss and doing things the way that work for her: “I do not have someone telling me how to work or when to work; I control everything in my own way.”

 

Cangialosi can operate her business the way she wants and “I can organize my schedule a little differently now that I control my own little atmosphere. I can time myself better because I know when I want to get to work and leave.” 

 

Previously, she wasn’t able to make such decisions for herself; but now managing her own suite, she can make choices that benefit her, even in relation to the social setting. 

 

The social aspect differs since the beautician is no longer working with other stylists. In fact, “the social aspect differs majorly because even though there are other stylists in their own suites, there is no common room where people hang out or chat, everyone is really just there to work in their own space. I get a lot more privacy to talk with my clients, however, which is nice,” Cangialosi says. 

 

 

A major advantage that Cangialosii speaks upon is gaining clients and becoming personally closer with them all. For instance, she says, “I have gained many clients after transferring to a suite due to the area being more convenient or just regular referrals by my other clients. However, I have gotten more new clients being referred in the last year than ever before after COVID because many people felt safer coming to get their hair done in a small space rather than a big salon.” 

 

D’Andrea has been assisting for over a year now and got the chance to experience what it is like working in a private suite; she gained responsibilities and independence. She states, “I would definitely consider owning my own suite if I were to become a hairdresser. I think I would start out at a big salon when I was younger just to get a feel for it, but once I was ready to be on my own I would totally make the switch just like my aunt did. 

 

Financial benefits come from owning your own suite too. The money that is made is the money one now owns; no longer does a stylist make a paycheck from a salon ower/a salon business.  A salon suite owner also doesn't have to split his/her income with the salon owner on every haircut or service; instead, he/she  pays a monthly rent for his/her  own separate suite. 

 

Stein says, “The hair and beauty facilities were run solely as “commission salons” for decades, where owners received a portion of fees paid to stylists. About 30 years ago, the booth rental model began to gain traction, where stylists paid a flat fee to occupy a chair in a salon. The first salon suite concept debuted not long after the first booth rental model came into being.” 

 

According to the owner of Professional Consultants & Services, Cyrus Bulsara, “the state of our salon industry is now in a slow-growth mode and is positively trending up. With the economy trending upwards and issues impacting the salon industry abating, we should see good growth. High performance, innovative new products, better larger salon suites, and new management at top manufacturers are key.”

 

With so much opportunity and support, stylists have moved their careers in a direction they could once only dream of. It’s evident that going solo and managing an independent business was the right move for them, especially Cangialosi.  

 

 

 

  

 

Works Cited 

Stein, Peter. "Best Ideas from Salon Suite Consulting Experts." Salon Suite

     Partners, CEO Salon Suite Partners, 17 Mar. 2020, salonsuite.co/.

     Accessed 25 Mar. 2021.