Visiting the salon is a fairly universal experience. Both men and women show up at the door when it’s time for a haircut, explain what they want to the stylish, and wait until the cut is complete. Then, you pay what it costs, go on your merry way, and return whenever your style is looking a little dull.
It’s simply what you expect from a salon—a haircut. But, what if you could expect more?
It’s hard to differentiate yourself in the salon business, but RedBloom Salon has managed to do just that by providing exceptional value and creating a brand that clients adore.
Focused on the entire experience
The main focus of a trip to the salon is your time spent in the stylist’s chair. It’s a vital part of the experience, but RedBloom Salon believes there should be a lot more to it than that. Instead, they create an experience from start to finish.
“We’re really focused, not only on great hair, but a great experience,” says Jodi Ohama, Co-Owner and Operations Manager of RedBloom Salon.
“It’s about the experience that people have when they come in with us. It really is about the guest. We focus a lot on listening and consultations because a hair stylist may have great ideas of what would look good on someone, but it really has to fit what someone feels comfortable with, and it has to be a true expression of who they are.”
It all starts with the consultation, which is one area where other salons are often lacking. Instead of simply sitting down in the chair, telling the stylist what you want, and getting it, the stylists at RedBloom Salon are there to make sure you get the perfect style.
“We call it the RedBloom Consultation. We guarantee that during the consultation, you’re going to plan out all your desires, but what sets us apart is that we give a price quote. We also tell the guest what their scalp and their hair type is.”
Jodi continues by saying, “We let them know how long maintenance going to be. So, if I came in and I sat in the stylist’s chair and said, ‘Hey, I wanna have short hair,’ and that stylist said, ‘Yeah, great,’ but I wasn’t prepared to come back every three weeks to have it redone or touched up, it’s going to look bad after four weeks.”
That doesn’t work at RedBloom Salon. It’s all about making sure you never have a bad hair day, and that all starts with a thorough consultation.
After the consultation, it only gets better. You can expect to receive a gorgeous haircut, but it comes with some additional complementary services. RedBloom Salon provides Aveda Sensory Experiences which include hand and scalp massages, hot towel treatments, and makeup touch-ups.
Their attention to the customer experience and creating exceptional value for their clients really is at the core of everything they do. This concept is solidified by Jodi’s answer to one question we ask all of our Impact businesses: Who are the key players in your company?
Jodi answers by saying, “Our guests are key players. We solicit and ask for advice. We truly ask with an open mind and open heart what can we do differently, or how can we be better for our guests.”
The employee experience
There’s no question that RedBloom Salon offers exceptional value to their clients, but don’t think that the employees sit on the sidelines coming in second place. In order to create an exceptional experience, the employees need to have an exceptional work experience too.
The management team at RedBloom Salon focuses on heart-centred leadership. “We wanted to create a place where people could come and they could have a great career, make great money, have a great life, and love what they do.”
That’s not always an easy thing to do, as Jodi illustrates, “It is not an easy career. Hairstylists are on their feet all day. They work evenings and weekends. People who choose this career really have to love it. They have to really be committed to it.”
That can sometimes be difficult in a traditional salon atmosphere where you simply stand behind a chair all day as clients revolve in and out of the door. RedBloom Salon makes the experience different for their employees by helping them create a Key Plan.
What’s a Key Plan?
“It’s like a vision board. Each person in our company creates their vision of prosperity, and we check in with those daily,” says Jodi. “Anytime, I can ask myself, ‘Are my actions in line with what I’m wanting to create?’ and as coaches, we can say, ‘Are your actions in line with what you’re trying to create, or what you said you wanted to create?’
You don’t have to worry about making mistakes at RedBloom Salon either. “It’s about creating a space where you can rebound from your mistakes quickly.”
To Jodi and the rest of the team, that means, “creating a space where people can find their own way.”
A culture of community
RedBloom Salon is quite unique, not only in their industry, but in the business world as well. That’s because they have a higher purpose, but they don’t exactly brag about it.
“We do a ton of community things. We really are about empowering and helping others. We do that because we wanna do it. It’s not about marketing. We do a lot of things behind the scenes that we don’t tell people.”
It’s not about the recognition. Instead, it’s about creating the kind of culture that others actually want to be a part of. That means, instead of treating other salons like the competition, they treat them like a member of their extended family.
“We’re strengthening our education program where we’re allowing other salons or other stylists from Calgary to attend classes. I think that if we raise the bar in the industry, it’s good for everybody.”
Four salons and counting
With an exceptional value and a higher purpose, it should come as no surprise that RedBloom Salon is extremely successful. They currently have four salons in Calgary and they have been named a Top 200 Salon in North America by Modern Salon and Salon Today magazine.
What does the future hold for RedBloom Salon? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain. When, it’s, “People over profits 100 percent,” Jodi and the rest of the team will continue to be industry leaders well into the distant future.
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