Renewing a franchise agreement comes with a different perspective than signing one for the first time. After years in business, owners have seen how the model holds up through economic changes, staffing challenges and shifts in customer expectations. For longtime Pigtails & Crewcuts franchisees Jessica Gingerich, Kim Carmack, and Brian Yonehara, that experience has led them to continue with the brand.
Gingerich is approaching 20 years with Pigtails & Crewcuts. She originally entered franchising while raising four young children and looking for a way to supplement her family's income without giving up the flexibility she needed at home. Since then, she has added a second salon, opened another coffee business and watched her children grow up alongside her career.
"I've grown a lot through my children growing up within the business and me personally learning a lot," Gingerich said. "We've made it through COVID. We've made it through financial and economic issues. It's just learning how to survive during the ups and downs. I've had another baby. I opened another store. I've actually opened another business. All of those things have made me grow more as a business owner and a franchisee."
For Carmack, who owns the Little Rock, Arkansas, salon while continuing to work as a public school teacher, longevity has been closely tied to the stability she has built in her location. Two employees have been with the salon for years, including her manager, and Carmack credits that consistency with helping her run a steady business.
"I don't have the highest numbers, but I have very steady numbers. We have a very steady store. It holds its own. I'm able to manage it," Carmack said. "I've been very lucky that I have had some consistent employees, and I try to treat them really well and maintain them. I don't have a lot of rotating employees."
Carmack's experience has also shown her how much the business can change over time. Her salon operated primarily on a walk-in model until COVID-19 forced a shift toward appointments. What initially drew resistance from her and her employees eventually became a change she believes made the customer experience much easier to manage.
Yonehara, whose Hawaii salon opened in 2006, points to the people around the business as one of the main reasons he has continued. He and his wife, Grace, still work full time outside the salon, and the business has remained part of their family's financial picture while serving generations of young customers.
"We have an awesome staff. That's what makes me keep running the salon, staying in business," Yonehara said. "They really help service the community as well, the customers. Just to see the joy in the parents' faces and everything, that's what keeps making me want to continue."
His years as an owner have also taught him how different operating in Hawaii can be from operating on the mainland. Startup costs were significantly higher, he said, which pushed the business toward grassroots marketing early on, including outreach to local schools and prize donations.
For Gingerich, the decision to continue with Pigtails & Crewcuts ultimately comes back to what the business has meant over the course of her life.
"This started out that we just needed some extra money to do things with the kids," Gingerich said. "When I got a divorce, of course, it supported me and my children. Financially, it's been great for me. It also allowed me to be with my children. My kids still say I was always a stay-at-home mom, even though I worked a lot."
After close to 20 years, each owner's experience looks different. What they share is a long enough history with the brand to know what ownership actually requires — and enough reason to keep going.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/pigtails-and-crewcuts.
Pigtails & Crewcuts
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After nearly two decades with Pigtails & Crewcuts, franchisees Jessica Gingerich, Kim Carmack and Brian Yonehara reflect on what has kept them invested in the kids' salon brand.
Renewing a franchise agreement comes with a different perspective than signing one for the first time. After years in business, owners have seen how the model holds up through economic changes, staffing challenges and shifts in customer expectations. For longtime Pigtails & Crewcuts franchisees Jessica Gingerich, Kim Carmack, and Brian Yonehara, that experience has led them to continue with the brand.
Gingerich is approaching 20 years with Pigtails & Crewcuts. She originally entered franchising while raising four young children and looking for a way to supplement her family's income without giving up the flexibility she needed at home. Since then, she has added a second salon, opened another coffee business and watched her children grow up alongside her career.
"I've grown a lot through my children growing up within the business and me personally learning a lot," Gingerich said. "We've made it through COVID. We've made it through financial and economic issues. It's just learning how to survive during the ups and downs. I've had another baby. I opened another store. I've actually opened another business. All of those things have made me grow more as a business owner and a franchisee."
For Carmack, who owns the Little Rock, Arkansas, salon while continuing to work as a public school teacher, longevity has been closely tied to the stability she has built in her location. Two employees have been with the salon for years, including her manager, and Carmack credits that consistency with helping her run a steady business.
"I don't have the highest numbers, but I have very steady numbers. We have a very steady store. It holds its own. I'm able to manage it," Carmack said. "I've been very lucky that I have had some consistent employees, and I try to treat them really well and maintain them. I don't have a lot of rotating employees."
Carmack's experience has also shown her how much the business can change over time. Her salon operated primarily on a walk-in model until COVID-19 forced a shift toward appointments. What initially drew resistance from her and her employees eventually became a change she believes made the customer experience much easier to manage.
Yonehara, whose Hawaii salon opened in 2006, points to the people around the business as one of the main reasons he has continued. He and his wife, Grace, still work full time outside the salon, and the business has remained part of their family's financial picture while serving generations of young customers.
"We have an awesome staff. That's what makes me keep running the salon, staying in business," Yonehara said. "They really help service the community as well, the customers. Just to see the joy in the parents' faces and everything, that's what keeps making me want to continue."
His years as an owner have also taught him how different operating in Hawaii can be from operating on the mainland. Startup costs were significantly higher, he said, which pushed the business toward grassroots marketing early on, including outreach to local schools and prize donations.
For Gingerich, the decision to continue with Pigtails & Crewcuts ultimately comes back to what the business has meant over the course of her life.
"This started out that we just needed some extra money to do things with the kids," Gingerich said. "When I got a divorce, of course, it supported me and my children. Financially, it's been great for me. It also allowed me to be with my children. My kids still say I was always a stay-at-home mom, even though I worked a lot."
After close to 20 years, each owner's experience looks different. What they share is a long enough history with the brand to know what ownership actually requires — and enough reason to keep going.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/pigtails-and-crewcuts.
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