359 Two Salons, One Family, 25 Staff with Billy Ryan and Elle Foreman

[upbeat music] Hey, it's Anthony Whittaker here, and welcome to this week's episode of the Grow My Salon Business podcast. This is a weekly podcast that focuses on what it takes to build a successful salon business in 2026 and beyond. So whether you're a regular listener or a new listener, either way it's great to have you join us here today. The salon industry is full of all sorts of businesses that come in all shapes and sizes, and no matter where you are in the world, there is no one size fits all formula that guarantees success. But amongst the many business models, there are many family businesses in the salon industry, and some great success stories at our family-run salons. But like everything, there are always pros and cons. So today, I'm talking to Billy Ryan and his sister Ellie Foreman, who own the successful Tribe Salons in the UK. Now, in today's podcast, amongst other things, we will discuss what the pros and cons are of working in a family business, how their business has evolved over the years, and the importance of entering industry awards, and lots more. So without further ado, welcome to the show Billy Ryan and his sister Ellie Foreman from the Tribe Salons in the UK.

Hi, Anthony. Thanks for having us. Really excited to be here.

Good. Yes, I'm really excited about, uh, talking to you, you both. I don't think we've ever had, like, a brother and sister as salon owners, uh, on the podcast together. And I think that in itself is an, an interesting subject to address. Um, and I'm sure there's all sorts of good stories hidden away there. But anyway, before we get into that, um, just tell me about the business. Like, how long have you had it? How many salons are there? How many staff? You know, what's the business model? Are they employed or self-employed? Just give everyone a little bit of context about the Tribe Salons.

Okay. So Tribe Salons has been around since 2015. Um, it's evolved from a, a salon that my mum actually opened in 2002. Um, but, uh, when she was kind of winding down, I come in and took over, rebranded the salon, and took it in a different direction. And it was around that time Ellie had started, uh, working in the business and helping run the salons. Um, in 2017, we took over another salon in a different location. Um, and then we did the same thing. We kept it running for a little while as it was, and then we rebranded it. It become a Tribe and, um, yeah, that was around 2019 it become Tribe. And then, yeah, we've had two salons ever since. We have about 25 team members who are all employed and, yeah, we have a salon that's based in Clapham in London and another one just outside of London in Chislehurst in Kent.

Right, okay. I didn't realize that you bought your second salon, uh, as an existing salon, because I did that as well-

Mm-hmm

... uh, with one of my salons, and that's an interesting podcast in itself. So [laughs] we won't, we won't go there at the moment. Uh, but yeah, that, that's a, that's one way to expand and once again, it's one of those things that has, you know, pros and cons for, isn't it? Okay. So well, what would you say as a family business because, you know, families, I mean, I work with my, my