5 Lessons Great Clips Franchisees Learned From Owning and Operating Salons in 2020

When pandemic lockdowns forced Great Clips franchisee Jim Petrowich to temporarily close the bulk of his 30 salons across Indiana, Iowa and Illinois, the seasoned franchisee found himself overwhelmed and directionless for the first time in his nearly 30-year career as a Great Clips franchise owner.

“You can imagine how you’d feel if you suddenly faced the need to lay off 300 people,” he said. “Thankfully, we were able to bring them all back after the mandatory shutdown. It felt like we were  going back to square one and being forced to start our business all over again. At first, we didn’t even know the questions to ask or what to do.”

But Petrowich eventually did figure it out, along with other longtime multi-unit Great Clips franchisees, with the support of their franchisor. Here are the five most important lessons they learned:

Take Advantage of Support from Your Franchisor

When the unexpected happens, that is when you will really find out what kind of partner your franchisor is. “Great Clips, Inc. set up communication for the entire system immediately and they took an approach that we implemented in our own organizations – being decisive, calm and positive,” said Petrowich. “They helped us to stay connected, which in turn helped franchisees who were the early re-openers share their best practices with the rest of the system. Executives communicated with franchisees almost daily via video calls, and they created an online resource center for franchisees to access tools and materials on critical topics like how to order PPE and education on PPP loan programs. It really covered anything that could be helpful as a small business owner during that time. They were even able to pivot training programs to an online format to keep our staff engaged while the salons were closed. It was truly outstanding.

“As a small business owner, I have never been so grateful to be part of a franchise system,” he said. “I knew that Great Clips, Inc. had my back and was doing everything in their power to get my doors open, and they communicated that to us nearly every day.”

Communicate Regularly with Fellow Franchisees

Petrowich and other local franchisees set up a weekly hour-long phone call every Thursday to share information and swap ideas.

“Coming up with local solutions and knowing you’re not alone really made a big difference,” he said. “For example, we worked through the PPP loan paperwork together, which was extremely helpful. Everyone seemed to have an area of expertise and resourcefulness they could share — someone found masks, another found hand sanitizer — so we were really able to support each other for a whole year by sharing information.”

Engage Regularly with Staff

For Great Clips franchisee John Kellet, whose 12 salons in Ontario, Canada have faced three lockdowns and are still under capacity restrictions, setting up a Monday morning conference call with his management team was critical.

“I wanted them to know the company was okay and that we were going to survive,” Kellet said. “I also wanted them to be able to discuss health and safety concerns they had regarding reopening. I think because of those weekly calls, by-and-large everyone felt very comfortable when we were able to return to the salons.”

According to Kellet, the weekly calls also gave his team the opportunity to come up with innovative strategies, like opening a half hour early and staying open a half hour later when the salons reopened. “With customers holding off on haircuts for many months, there was a lot of pent-up demand,” Kellet said. “By staying open an additional hour, we were able to accommodate a lot more customers, which was reflected in our bottom line.”

Lead with Positivity

Salt Lake City-based Great Clips franchisee Carolin Cady said keeping a positive attitude was the key to keeping her staff’s morale up.

“As a leader, it’s important to alleviate fear by example,” she said. “While wearing masks all day wasn’t ideal, by positioning it as a way to get back to normal business operations, they can understand. No one likes change, but it’s important to demonstrate your own ability to adapt while also offering emotional support.”

Embrace Technology

Denver-based Great Clips franchisee Win Cady, who owns 17 Great Clips salons with his Salt Lake City-based sister Carolin, set up a staff group text that not only improved internal communications during a rapidly changing climate, it also helped stylists find other stylists to cover their shifts during times when the salons were open but schools were closed.

“We would slot people in and pay them a bonus and even cover their mileage,” Win said. “It helped them out, and it helped us out too.”

Even after 40 years in the hair cutting business, Great Clips, Inc. as the franchisor the is not only fully supportive of its franchisees, it’s also open to their ideas, needs and lessons learned during COVID, said Great Clips, Inc. director of franchise development Beth Nilssen. “We value the feedback of our large network of franchisees,” Nilssen said. “The pandemic brought many challenges, but we’re proud of our franchisee’s ability to adapt, innovate and help each other out during unprecedented times.  And we’re here to help them as they move forward.”

The total investment to open a Great Clips salon ranges from $146,750 to $302,400. For more information, visit https://www.greatclipsfranchise.com/.