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Ah, Valentine’s Day… A holiday filled with sweet treats, beautiful flowers, and opportunities to show your loved ones how much you care. But Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples. Your business’s success depends on successful relationships with your clients, right? Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to strengthen those oh so important relationships…and of course boost your sales. So if things are looking slow for February, don’t wait any longer to take advantage of a few pink hearts and feelings of amore to increase traffic to your studio! Your clients will fall in love with your salon with these easy and fun Valentine’s Day marketing ideas.  Read More

We are proud to introduce you to the 2017 Faces of Sola! Each of these Sola professionals stands out as an exceptional member of their local Sola community, and have made a positive impact on the national Sola community as well. They truly exemplify the Sola spirit and always aim to inspire.  Read More

It’s 2017, and let’s face it – people are no longer making decisions without looking things up online first. At Sola, we have an incredibly powerful (and free!) way to get new eyes on your business every day. It’s by setting up your Sola website. Whether you have a robust Sola website set up or not, when you Google yourself, your Sola website likely comes up pretty high in the search results. This because search engines typically assume that the more popular a website is, the more valuable the information it contains must be.  Read More

You’ve been hustling since mid-November to make sure your clients look and feel fabulous from Thanksgiving into the New Year. During the holiday craze, though, it’s easy for beauty professionals to neglect their own needs. Taking care of yourself is crucial! It’s no surprise that with increased momentum at the salon, overflow-only parking at the mall, second cousins and long lost friends coming to town, and the need to prepare a feast for the whole family, stress levels increase during the holidays — and women are particularly susceptible to the pressure. It’s time to unwind, and we’ve rounded up a few fail-proof tips for finding your holiday Zen.  Read More

The holidays are in full swing at Ryan Stillman’s salon – The Proper Dandylion at Sola Southpark – where cider and spiced cookies are just the beginning. Ryan woos his guests with stunning holiday displays and raffles, and he likes to “keep it classy,” he says, with seasonal décor and music, too. “I have a very personal approach to client care year-round,” Ryan adds, noting, “I make espresso drinks for each individual client and keep a cooler stocked with Kombucha and coconut water.”  Read More

The holiday season’s practically here, and as a small business owner, it's your chance to capitalize on the merriment. The cash register’s cha-ching sounds jolly good, true, but don’t lose sight of what really matters: your clients, of course. ‘Tis the season for pampering your customers, and for spreading cheer that will keep them coming back to your chair well into the New Year. Read on to learn how amped up marketing efforts can provide your guests with the experience they're craving this holiday season while simultaneously boosting year-end revenue, too.  Read More

Thriving salons grow because the owners have a system for generating a steady flow of new customers and cultivating repeat clients. Surprisingly, steady customer flow is often achieved not by chasing new customers but by attracting them. There is an important difference. If you’re like most hairstylists, you would rather have a continuous flow of new customers looking for you so can concentrate on doing what you love…making people look and feel amazing.  Read More

Los Angeles-based brow and makeup artist Shaila Paredes – owner of Brows by Shaila at Sola Brentwood – started having her brows waxed when she was in middle school. Three years ago, Shaila realized she was ready to strike out on her own, and she looked at several concepts similar to Sola. “But I didn’t really like any of them,” she admits. When a friend told Shaila about a place that was opening in Brentwood, the brow artist was eager to see it — only, the studio hadn’t been built yet!  Read More

When it comes to planning a wedding, selecting a venue, picking the right attire and choosing a wedding party can be tricky business. But choosing the right hairstyle to match your ideal wedding look can be even harder! No matter the setting, no matter the dress, there is one thing every bride wants to be: absolutely beautiful.  Read More

You’ve decided to go Sola–to open your own salon studio–and that calls for a big congratulations! Ownership means you get to create the salon of your dreams; without a boss, manager or staff to keep track of, every little detail is up to you now. To put it simply, you’re in complete control of establishing your salon’s culture and identity. How will you take advantage of this newfound freedom?  Read More

If there’s one constant in the world of social media, it’s change. The social media landscape is constantly evolving with new apps gaining popularity and old standbys launching fresh evolutions. It’s almost impossible to be equally active on every platform, though. You have to pick and choose your battles. The key to winning at social media as a small business owner is to go where your clients are. So, how do you find out where your clients are? You ask them!  Read More

Stylist Rick Klepach – owner of Klepach Studio at Sola Salons Galleria Oaks in San Antonio – has been doing hair for five years. And, he’s been his own boss that whole time. “It seems scary to go out and build a business,” Rick says. Plenty of people told him he couldn’t hack it; they said he needed to work in somebody else’s salon first. But one very influential individual – Rick’s partner of nine years – told Rick he would succeed. Rick knows firsthand, now, that stylists can make it as solo salon owners. “It’ll work,” he says “You can do it if you’re disciplined and willing to put in the effort.”  Read More

Above all else, a standout marketing campaign tells a story. And, visuals – simple graphics, memes and videos – are extremely effective devices for employing storytelling. That’s why we recommending using awesome images in your ongoing social media marketing. Ready to create eye-catching content for your followers? We’ve got good news: There’s an app for that! Here are our top picks for apps that’ll have you blasting out compelling visuals in no time.  Read More

When you open an independent salon, aside from being an artist, you’re suddenly a receptionist, bookkeeper, marketing director — the list goes on. The good news is, and salon software can wear many of those hats for you – your in-studio superpower! You can run your business from anyplace with a Wi-Fi connection — which might explain why so many stylists are now running their business from a mobile device. Salon software makes it easy!  Read More

Pashion Salon co-owner Mysly Jean-Julien lives and breathes hair! And, it’s been like that since she was a kid. Mysly and her younger sister -- Pashion Salon co-owner Cynthia Gervais -- “grew up on the islands,” Mysly begins. A cousin did hair, and Mysly says, “Every weekend, it was just hair all day.” Mysly explored a few different career paths -- makeup, nails, nursing -- but was destined for the hair industry. “I always found myself going back to hair; I couldn’t get away from it,” she reiterates. Cynthia, on the other hand, never even tried to escape her fate! “My older sister Mysly’s passion inspired me,” she says.  Read More

Even top-of-the-line salons deal with the headache – and financial strain – of cancelled appointments. In fact, you’d probably be surprised by how often it happens. That’s why many salons and spas lay out cancellation policies for their clients. Here’s a look at how those policies work, and how you can benefit from instilling this added precaution at your studio.  Read More

After coaching hundreds of hairstylists, the most common roadblock that keeps most salon studio owners from marketing themselves and their services is FEAR: fear of rejection; fear of failure; fear of losing money; fear of ridicule or fear of looking silly or foolish. We tend to think the worst about potentially scary situations to keep us from experiencing the bad feelings that COULD come from not getting the results we want. While these fears are understandable, they don’t have to stop your success. Here are a few ways to overcome your fear of marketing.  Read More

To her clients, industry veteran Michelle Jacobs is known as The Hairgenie. “My husband came up with that,” Michelle says, explaining, “He says I perform magic on hair.” Michelle’s story – her journey to Sola – is atypical, to say the least. That’s because she opened a studio through Sola Salons after she’d run a successful brick-and-mortar salon for over two decades!  Read More

“I specialize in a lot of things — almost to the point of not being able to say I specialize,” says thirty-year industry veteran Shanna Moll. Shanna began her career doing cuts and color, and moved into extensions twenty years ago. “I’m triple certified in extensions and in color, and I’m a big believer in education and certification,” Shanna says.  Read More

You’ve built a solid business at Sola Salons. Now what? If you’re looking to grow your brand and you live in a city with multiple Sola locations, then you might consider investing in a second suite. Here’s a look at how stylist and entrepreneur Evelia Rios increased her clientele and overall revenue via multi-unit ownership.  Read More

Every one of us wants to succeed in our careers. Some people want to make an endless amount of money while others like the fame it brings them. Thirty years in the beauty business has taught me many lessons, and some of them were not so fun to learn. While others have made me into the hairstylist/owner I am today, I ask you to ask yourselves this question before you go any further reading this article: Do you have what it takes to be great at your job?  Read More

Congratulations! You're a salon suite owner. So, how do you take full advantage of the opportunity you have and create the income and freedom you really want in your salon business?  Read More

We asked the Sola community to share their number one studio jam, and they delivered so much more than just one song! These days, so many people are tuning into music streaming services, like Pandora, that invite you to discover new music and enjoy old favorites. Pandora has one mission, to only play music you’ll love! So let us invite you to fall in love with a new artist, genre or song with these 25 Pandora Stations to Tune Into:  Read More

“I knew Sola was right for me because all of the amenities,” adds Sade. Finally she could decorate to her liking, name the salon what she pleased and choose whether to hire an employee or fly solo. Sade opened the Sade Milinda Studio last June, and that transition was straightforward. “Because I had formal training and had already had a chance to implement what I’d learned while renting a chair, moving to Sola wasn’t scary at all,” Sade says.  Read More

Marketing is an ever-changing industry, and businesses always are trying to keep up with the latest trends. For small business owners, like salon owners, this can be especially difficult. They often are faced with handling everyday tasks while trying to find the time and the budget to create a practical and cost-effective marketing plan. Fortunately, business owners can utilize some of the technology they already use.  Read More