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“Boutique” has become a popular buzzword in the salon industry. But most of the time, it describes how a salon looks, not how it operates.

In this episode, we break down what boutique actually means and why changing your aesthetic isn’t enough to create a boutique experience. We talk about intentional client matching, curated services, smaller teams, stronger leadership, and why boutique salons aren’t built to serve everyone.

We also share lessons from rebuilding our own salon after the flood, how focusing on what you can control changes everything, and why protecting your culture, your team, and your client experience matters more than chasing buzzwords.

A boutique salon isn’t defined by plants, crystals, or décor.
It’s defined by clarity, standards, and intentional leadership.

Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Boutique is an operating philosophy, not an aesthetic.
• You don’t have to serve everyone to build a successful salon.
• Intentional client matching creates better outcomes.
• Smaller, curated teams create stronger alignment.
• Leadership clarity creates stability for staff.
• Systems should be designed intentionally, not copied.
• Protecting experience builds long-term loyalty.
• Buzzwords don’t build businesses — structure does.
• Focus on what you can control and ignore the rest.
• Culture and intentionality define real boutique salons.

TIME STAMPS

00:00 — Opening + episode overview
01:00 — Jen’s opening take: learning to release control
04:00 — Focus on what you can control
05:30 — The Bean Soup lesson explained
08:30 — Business update: rebuild timeline and return date
12:00 — The problem with salon buzzwords
13:00 — What boutique usually means vs what it should mean
15:30 — Boutique client experience and intentional matching
17:30 — Curated services and product selection
19:30 — Boutique teams vs large staff structures
22:00 — Culture, hiring, and alignment
24:00 — Leadership clarity and communication
26:30 — Systems built intentionally for your environment
28:30 — Protecting client experience over filling chairs
30:30 — Why not every client should be yours
32:00 — Closing thoughts

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Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked a lot about leadership, culture, and what really holds a salon together when things get difficult. But in this episode, we want to step back and explain something we realized while rebuilding our salon.

Culture is not your branding.
It’s not your vibe.
And it’s not what you write on the wall.

Culture is how your business behaves.

In this episode, we introduce a simple five-mode leadership framework that explains how culture is created in real life, through operations, systems, leadership, strategy, and crisis. We walk through what each mode actually looks like inside a salon, how your team experiences your culture in each one, and why most salon owners only recognize two modes: daily operations and emergencies.

We also share what it looked like to relocate our entire team from our building to another salon, and why that experience revealed more about our culture than any mission statement ever could.

If you’ve ever struggled to clearly define your salon’s culture, this framework will help you understand what’s really shaping it and how to lead it intentionally.

Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others.

KEY TAKEAWAY

• Culture is how your business behaves, not how you describe it.
• Clients experience culture primarily through daily operations.
• Strong systems reduce guessing and build confidence for your team.
• Leadership creates psychological safety and accountability.
• Strategy creates stability, credibility, and alignment.
• Crisis reveals culture faster than any other situation.
• Most owners only operate in operations and crisis mode.
• Leaders must learn to shift between different modes intentionally.
• Written systems prevent frustration and miscommunication.
• Knowing what “mode” you are in changes how you lead.

TIME STAMPS

00:00 – Quick rebuild update + why this episode exists
01:30 – Jen’s opening take: reacting with clients and protecting experience
04:00 – Todd’s opening take: perspective and responsibility
06:30 – Culture is not branding or “vibe”
08:30 – Removing your team from your space reveals real culture
10:30 – What other salons and clients noticed about your team
12:30 – What clients actually say defines your culture
15:00 – Why culture shows most clearly when things go wrong
17:30 – Introducing the Five-Mode framework
18:30 – Mode 1: Operations
21:30 – Mode 2: Systems
24:45 – Mode 3: Leadership
27:45 – Mode 4: Strategy
31:30 – Mode 5: Crisis
35:00 – How the flood activated every mode
38:00 – Identifying what mode you’re actually in
41:00 – Using the framework to stop reacting and start leading
43:30 – Closing thoughts + next steps

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This week, we weren’t planning on recording an episode about leadership.

We were dealing with a flooded salon, a burst pipe, a snowstorm, a displaced team, and the reality that our entire space would be shut down for weeks. And in the middle of it all, we were reminded of something we talk about often: leadership isn’t tested when things are easy. It’s tested when everything goes wrong.

In this episode, we walk you through exactly what happened when our salon flooded, how we handled the first few hours, how we communicated with our team and our clients, and how our systems, relationships, and culture allowed us to keep serving people even when our building was unusable.

We also discuss stress, decision-making under pressure, dividing roles as leaders, why honesty and calm matter more than perfect answers, and how strong culture isn’t something you say; it shows up when your business is under real strain.

Your business should serve you, so that you can serve others.
And when a crisis hits, your leadership becomes the structure your people lean on.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership isn’t proven when things are calm; it’s proven in crisis.
• There is no “business side” and “creative side.” Leadership, culture, and systems touch everything.
• The first job in any crisis is safety and clarity, not blame.
• Dividing leadership roles enables problems to be solved more quickly.
• Strong systems make your business portable.
• Calm, honest communication builds trust even when answers aren’t available yet.
• Over-promising creates future damage.
• Relationships with vendors and partners matter long before you need them.
• Culture shows up when your team is uncomfortable, scared, and stretched.
• Your people don’t need certainty — they need steady leadership.

Time Stamps

00:00 — Welcome + why this episode exists
01:00 — Todd’s opening take: the “business side” myth
02:30 — Jen’s opening take: being given more than you think you can handle
04:00 — Problems never disappear — they just change
05:00 — The flood: arriving to a flooded salon
07:00 — Immediate priorities: safety, power, water, and source
09:00 — Leadership under stress + divide and conquer
11:00 — Waiting on shutoffs, frustration, and responsibility
14:00 — Why owners can’t freeze in crisis
16:00 — Reality sets in: this isn’t a quick fix
17:30 — Finding temporary chairs and a space to work
19:30 — How we told the team (and why we stayed vague early)
21:30 — Showing up for staff during uncertainty
23:00 — Systems moving with us into another salon
25:00 — Relationships with vendors, plumbers, and contractors
27:00 — Crisis creates clarity
29:00 — Stress, denial, and sitting in the moment
31:00 — Being honest with your team without over-promising
33:00 — Why confidence matters more than perfect answers
35:00 — Clients: how we communicated and why it worked
37:00 — Not reaching out too early and avoiding confusion
39:00 — What surprised us about our team
41:00 — Trust, culture, and emotional leadership
43:00 — Final though

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