347 There Is No Perfect Salon Pay System (And That's the Problem)

[upbeat music] So let me start by asking you a question. What is the best way to pay your salon team? Because if you're a salon owner, then the chances are that you've asked yourself that question, or you've spent years perhaps quietly worrying about whether or not you're getting it wrong. I'm Anthony Whitaker, and this is the Grow My Salon Business podcast. And if you're a salon owner, I honestly think how you pay your salon team is one of the biggest areas of confusion in the entire salon industry, no matter where you live. Because salon owners are constantly comparing themselves to everybody else. This salon pays fifty percent. That salon pays hourly. This salon pays commission. This salon does annual bonuses. And before long, you start wondering if your whole pay structure is outdated or unfair or uncompetitive, or maybe even the reason that your profit has just disappeared. But here's the reality, there is no perfect salon pay system that's gonna work for everyone. There isn't one best way. And one of the biggest mistakes that salon owners make is believing that there's some magical formula that every successful salon uses. There isn't, because the best pay system for one salon can be completely wrong for another. Now, before we go any further, just let me be really clear about something. In this episode, I'm talking specifically about employed income-producing staff. So stylists, colorists, barbers, extension specialists. I'm talking about the pay system for the people who generate revenue inside the business. I'm not talking about apprentices, and I'm not talking about assistants, and I'm not talking about renters or self-employed contractors. That's a different conversation entirely. Now, over the years, I've taught this subject to salon owners all over the world, and one of the exercises I often do during live seminars is this. I ask everybody in the room to take out a blank sheet of paper and write down exactly how they pay their team. Now, I very consciously say, "I don't want you to put your name on it. I don't want there to be any explanation. I just want you to write down, 'This is how we pay our team,' and write it down as a system that's clear enough that somebody else could understand it just by reading what you've written, that a stylist could read it and understand it." Okay? And every single time, the same thing happens. If there's 30 salon owners in the room, I end up with 30 different pay systems. If there's 50 salon owners, I get 50 different versions. Now, obviously, there are similarities, but it's surprisingly rare to find two salons doing exactly the same thing. But that's not the most interesting part. The most interesting part is this, a lot of systems are so complicated that nobody else in the room can understand them. Seriously. You look at them and you think, "Now, what exactly does this mean? I don't understand it, and I'm a salon owner." There are percentages on top of percentages. There's thresholds and bonuses and exceptions and product commissions and sliding scales. Honestly, some of these pay structures look like they were designed to not be understood. And here's my opinion. If your team can't clearly