1851

As the CEO of a billion-dollar franchise brand, Rhoda Olsen&rsquo;s key to success isn&rsquo;t what you&rsquo;d expect it to be. In fact, it&rsquo;s quite simple&mdash;just be yourself.

It&rsquo;s a philosophy that&rsquo;s worked. Since Olsen joined the <a href="http://www.greatclips.com/about-us/own-a-great-clips-franchise?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=great-clips-ceo-rhoda-olsen-shares-tips-on-running-a-hit-franchise-7945" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Clips</a> executive team in 1987, she&rsquo;s steadily climbed the ranks. In 1998, she became president and by 2011, she was leading the charge as the brand&rsquo;s CEO. During that time, <a href="http://greatclips.1851franchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=great-clips-ceo-rhoda-olsen-shares-tips-on-running-a-hit-franchise-7945" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Clips</a> went through some remarkable changes, too&mdash;and it&rsquo;s no coincidence. Under her watch, the haircare brand grew from 1,000 salons in 1998 to more than 4,000 in 2016.

Nearly 29 years later, Olsen&rsquo;s genuine passion for the brand still inspires just about everything she does. Ask her any question about Great Clips, and she can quickly rattle off the answer. She can tell you how much the average salon in Cincinnati makes in a week. She can also tell you the names of any of the thousands of Great Clips franchisees (and the names and ages of their kids, too). She travels 200 days a year visiting locations throughout the country. She&rsquo;s even made pancakes at homes of her franchisees. And Olsen wouldn&rsquo;t have it any other way.

With the recent celebration of its 4,000th salon, one thing is clear&mdash;Olsen and her talented team know what it takes to run a thriving franchise. Recently, Olsen, along with Ray Barton, Great Clips&rsquo; former CEO and current Chairman (and Olsen&rsquo;s older brother), shared their top four most important keys to success with MSNBC.

People are the heart and soul of the company

From the day the brand opened its first salon in 1982, to the opening of its 4,000th store, Great Clips has always put people first. They treat corporate employees, salon owners and the salon owners&rsquo; stylists like family.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard for me to imagine a company that doesn&rsquo;t understand that their people are the heart and soul of their operations,&rdquo; Olsen told MSNBC. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t care about them, then nothing else makes sense. I hate the phrase, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s just business&mdash;it&rsquo;s not personal.&rsquo; It is personal. The way that you care about and the way that you value people drives every aspect of your business. Yes, business today has gotten complex, but it&rsquo;s not complex to let people know that you care.&rdquo;

Barton agrees&mdash;taking care of your employees is paramount to success.

&ldquo;When we train a salon owner&rsquo;s stylists, we let them know how important their role is. They&rsquo;re the ones who connect with our customers and interact with them on a daily basis. If the salon owner doesn&rsquo;t ensure their employees are motivated, happy and well trained, how can we give the customers what they want?&rdquo; Barton added.

Invest in technology to support human interaction&mdash;not replace it

Great Clips differentiates itself from competitors with technology like Online Check-In and Clip Notes, a global customer database that ensures customers get the same quality haircut at all Great Clips locations. No matter which Great Clips salon a customer visits, &nbsp;stylists at all Great Clips locations can retrieve information on the customer&rsquo;s previous haircut helping them give customers the exact haircut they want.

But even with this technology in place, the team at Great Clips firmly believes that nothing can ever replace the value of sincere human interaction.

&ldquo;Technology can be a reminder. It can be a reinforcement. It can give you information to make your job a little easier. But it won&rsquo;t ever replace the interactions customers have with the stylists,&rdquo; Olsen said. &ldquo;Technology doesn&rsquo;t have a personality or a smile.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Be authentic 

&ldquo;When I got into this business world, I quickly realized how powerful it was to simply be me. We are who we are, and we&rsquo;ve never lost sight of that,&rdquo; Olsen said.

Admit your mistakes 

&ldquo;I watch companies who have these big data breach announcements, and you get seven paragraphs into the press release before you hear the CEO say they&rsquo;re sorry,&rdquo; Olsen said &ldquo;Say you&rsquo;re sorry. That&rsquo;s the most powerful thing you can do when you make a mistake.&rdquo;

Barton agrees that it&rsquo;s easier for companies to be defensive, but it&rsquo;s important to calm down and admit that things went wrong.

&ldquo;It happens. There&rsquo;s nobody in business who hasn&rsquo;t made a mistake.&rdquo;

Great Clips CEO Rhoda Olsen Shares Tips on Running a Hit Franchise

1851 Franchise

Running a successful company starts with treating corporate employees, salon owners and the salon owners’ stylists like family.

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

great-clips-ceo-rhoda-olsen-shares-tips-on-running-a-hit-franchise

Comfort Keepers

Comfort Keepers - Midyear Press Release 2025 - 1851 Franchise

Comfort Keepers® Hits Mid-Year Stride With Strong Franchise Growth and Rising Demand for In-Home Care

comfort-keepers-franchise-midyear-momentum-2025

petbar

petbar - Garrett Dewan - Why I'm Investing - 1851 Franchise

Why Garrett Dewan Is Choosing To Reinvest in petbar

petbar-franchise-austin-garrett-dewan-multi-unit

Paris Baguette

NJBIZ: Paris Baguette Ramps Up Expansion With New Franchises, Facility and 2030 Growth Target

njbiz-paris-baguette-ramps-up-expansion-with-new-franchises-facility-and-2030-growth-target

Busy Bee Jumpers

Top 10 Reasons To Buy a Busy Bee Jumpers Franchise in 2025

top-10-reasons-to-buy-a-busy-bee-jumpers-franchise-in-2025

Home Halo

home-halo-former-athletes-frachisees-image

Why Former College Athletes Can Make Winning Home Halo Franchise Owners

former-college-athletes-home-halo-franchise

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner Steps Down - Breaking News - 1851 Franchise

Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner Steps Down Amid Challenges, Leaving Franchisees Facing Uncertainty

wendys-ceo-transition-kirk-tanner-franchisee-uncertainty

"Come in, We're OPEN" sign against abstract background

Small Business Optimism Dips, Raising Concerns for Franchise Owners

small-business-optimism-dips-raising-concerns-for-franchise-owners

Photo of Roof Scientist truck and trailer

Roof Scientist Expands Into Northern Indianapolis as Entrepreneur Dale Speckman Launches New Business in Fishers

roof-scientist-expands-into-northern-indianapolis

Image of Donald Trump pointing with red stripes in the background

August 1 Tariff Deadline Is Said to Have ‘No Extensions’: What This Could Mean for Franchises

august-1-tariff-deadline-franchise-impact

What June’s Jobs Report Means for the Franchise Industry

what-junes-jobs-report-means-for-the-franchise-industry

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How To Create a Strong Incentive

how-to-build-strong-incentives-to-attract-prospective-franchisees

Amanda Evans - Stellar Service Brands - Franchise Marketing Leaders 2025 - 1851 Franchise

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Amanda Evans — Senior Vice President of Marketing, Stellar Service Brands

stellar-service-brands-marketing-leader-amanda-evans

Photo of a large group of people standing in a circle, placing hands together in center

Franchise Opportunities for Minorities: Expanding the Franchise Network

franchise-opportunities-for-minorities

Coffee & Analytics graphic with photo of Nick Powills

Franchise Growth Is Messy. Lead Gen Is Uncomfortable. Let’s Fix It.

franchise-lead-generation-insights

From Prescriptions to Pastries: Kari Khandelwal Creates a Comforting Community Bakery 

From Prescriptions to Pastries: Kari Khandelwal Creates a Comforting Community Bakery in Overland Park, Kansas

paris-baguette-franchise-overland-park-khandelwal

Kansas Couple Revitalizes Local Childcare With Children’s Lighthouse

From Corporate Careers to Community Roots: Kansas Couple Revitalizes Local Childcare With Children’s Lighthouse

kansas-couple-opens-childrens-lighthouse-gardner-olathe

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores - Agg - 1851 Franchise

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores

hooters-franchise-model-company-owned-closures

Hely and Hiral Patel Bring Their Longtime Dream to Life With The Brass Tap

brass-tap-franchise-pasadena-maryland-hely-hiral-patel

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Ricki Oberoi and Layne's Chicken Fingers logo

Great Clips CEO Rhoda Olsen Shares Tips on Running a Hit Franchise

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS