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Women Leaders in Franchising: Rhoda Olsen of Great Clips
Great Clips CEO Rhoda Olsen is leading one of the country’s most popular hair salon brands by staying close with franchisees and continually building relationships
As the CEO of a billion dollar empire, Rhoda Olsen’s key to success isn’t what you’d expect it to be. In fact, it’s quite simple—just be a good person.
It’s a philosophy that’s worked. Since Olsen joined the Great Clips* executive team in 1987, she’s steadily climbed the ranks. In 1998, she became president and chief operations officer, and by 2011, she was leading the charge as the brand’s CEO. During that time, Great Clips went through some remarkable changes, too—and it’s no coincidence. Under her watch, the brand grew from 1,000 salons in 1998 to more than 3,800 in 2015.
Nearly 29 years later, Olsen’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’s even made pancakes at the homes of her franchisees. And Olsen wouldn’t have it any other way.
As Great Clips is on the cusp of hitting its 47th straight quarter of consecutive sales growth, we had the chance to catch up with Olsen to hear more about why she got into franchising, her secrets to great leadership and her advice for other women looking to become entrepreneurs.
How did you get your start in franchising?
Great Clips was my first time in franchising, and I don’t think I’d be where I am today if it wasn’t for my brother. Back in the early ‘90s, two former employees—Steve Lemmon and David Rubenzer—at a salon chain called The Barbers started noticing that more men were leaving their shop to instead go to low-cost salons. The two were interested in starting a franchise business model, so they decided to bring on a third partner, Ray Barton—my brother. The three of them decided to launch Great Clips in 1982. A few years later, while I was working in human resources at Land O’Lakes, my brother said they needed someone to handle their employee training program. From that moment on, I’ve been a part of Great Clips.
Who was your mentor in business?
My brother, Ray, of course, and the other two founders of Great Clips, Steve and David. They had such a clear and strong vision of franchising. They showed me the value of the model. And they taught me how to utilize the strength of franchising to help others succeed.
How would you describe your leadership style?
I think my style has really evolved over the years. I’ve learned to become a lot more collaborative and a lot more inquisitive. Early on, I was a lot more direct. In franchising, collaborating, strong communication and really connecting with people are incredibly important. But when you strip all of that down, my one consistent core personal value is kindness. Take the time to really care about people and build relationships. It’s simple, but it really can go a long way—it helps you build trust, and it’s easier to get on board with what you’re saying if they believe in you.
What advice would you give to other women that are considering a career path in franchising?
Franchising can be a challenging environment—you have to be prepared for a lot of pushback from franchisees, employees or even your own colleagues. But when you’re faced with these kinds of trials, there’s absolutely one thing women should never do: be defensive. Defense never wins—the moment you push back, you lose ground. I feel like all too often, women will get defensive because someone wants to make a change. But just because someone wants to do something different, that doesn’t mean you were ever doing it wrong. Learn to listen and learn to be collaborative. It’s so important to learn how to not take things personally—there will always be people out there who will disagree with you.
What would you like to achieve in the next 5 years?
I want to continue being as engaged as possible as Great Clips moves forward in developing its leadership of the organization. We’ve built an incredible foundation and a truly unique culture, and I want to see that same strength in the next 30 to 40 years.
*This brand is a paid partner of 1851 Franchise. For more information on paid partnerships please click here.
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