SUMM IT UP

To be a salon owner requires ambition, commitment and hustle. But you're also human. So how do you balance responsibility with self care when difficult things happen -- and also in the every day?  When Sarah Hooper got diagnosed with late-stage cervical cancer it came as a shock, followed by a million questions and endless medical appointments. And on top of that, she had to come up with a plan fo...

Does summer have you wishing for more vacation time or a bigger travel budget? What if you could travel and do hair at the same time? Trish Vereze is an independent stylists specializing in color correction who splits her time between Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Honolulu. It was a rough road at the beginning, but now Trish stays booked and busy. Just five years into becoming a hairstylist, she boug...

Guest Ronan Perceval began his journey in the beaty industry as a receptionist at a busy salon in Dublin, Ireland. While he loved the salon culture and people, he found that constant "admin-y conversations" -- like explaining the parking situation or cancellation policy -- were sapping taking time away from more meaningful client interactions. Now founder & CEO of Phorest Salon Software , Ronan de...

Success story time! Host Blake Reed Evans sits down with Heather Meredith and Maegan Moore of Ahead of Hair Salon in Midlothian, Virginia  to unpack how a legacy Summit salon achieved 16.76% growth in 2025 — 23 years into ownership.  It wasn't easy: In their time working together, owner Heather and director of operations Maegan navigated a major walk-out, which led them to evaluate and build more...

In an industry with high turnover and lots of workers fresh out of school, on-the-job education is par for the course. But even for experienced owners and managers, the skills needed to handle personal and performance issues that come up in the salon are often not fully developed. That's why were so lucky to have a conversation with today's guest, Araceli Castañeda. Araceli is a leadership trainer...

Did you know that salons in the United States and Canada generate about half a million pounds of waste every day?  Beauty shouldn't come at the planet's expense. Guest Shane Price founded Green Circle Salons in 2009, a company that parters with salon companies to recover up to 95% of salon waste. That includes hair clippings, foils, tubes, excess color and more. The program is supported through a...

What is a day in the life of a content creator like? How do you balance your responsibilities as a creator with your work as a stylist behind the chair? And what does it take to amass a significant following on social media in the hair salon industry?  Our guest this episode is Alejandro Lopez , an incredibly talented stylist based in Orlando, Florida, with over 870K followers on Tiktok and 670K o...

SALON TODAY recently announced their 2026 SALON TODAY 200 honorees , one of the industry's most coveted awards. Does your salon company have spectacular customer service? Enviable growth numbers? An amazing culture? A kick-ass education program? Here's how you can get featured next year.  Stacey Soble is Editor in Chief of SALON TODAY, the only salon industry media outlet solely focused on busines...

Salon professionals have a unique ability to create a safe space for our clients, lend a friendly ear and build years-long relationships. For someone in a domestic violence situation, the salon may be the one of few or even the only place they can go without their abuser. So how do we identify the signs of domestic violence, and offer the right kind of support for clients and team members who may...

“He’s been with us for 13 years. He’s the new guy.” When host Blake Reed Evans heard those words on a visit to Three-13 Salon in Marietta, Georgia, he knew we had to talk about this business’ staying power on the show.  Our guest Lester Crowell is a managing partner at Three-13, a departmentalized salon and spa company that’s been running for 52 years. What’s their secret? The formula combines lot...

For salon professionals transitioning to management and ownership, leading a salon company can be a steep learning curve. Don't be a passenger on your own business journey. Join Blake Reed Evans and Kevin Robinson, CFO of Summit Salon Business Center, for an essential conversation about financial literacy for salon owners. Learn how to shift from reactive to proactive financial management, identif...

It all began with Viola, who's salon did so well that she made more money than the doctor who delivered her son -- in the Great Depression, no less. That son went to hair school and joined the family business too. Fast forward to today, and a small family business has become large and legendary: Viola's great grandchildren own and operate a four-location salon company and a Summit Salon Academy. ...

An entrepreneur, military spouse, mom and life-long high achiever, Laura Watkins thought mental illness was for the weak -- until it happened to her. Laura is the owner of Pure Salon Spa in Louisville, KY, and the author of Something Feels Off: Thriving in Life & Business Beyond a Mental Health Crisis. After coming out of the other end of her own crisis, Laura is working to end the stigma around m...

How do you go from seven employees to seven figures 11 years? Heather Piselli, Aliscia Martinelli and Monica Rivera did it together. They're co-owners of Privé Salon Co ., with three comission salon locations and a suite rental facility in the Phildelphia metro area. The also co-host the GoHam podcast, featuring unfiltered conversations on business, leadership, and the beauty industry. On this epi...

At Summit, we believe salon professionals should be able to retire on their own terms. In this last episode in our Financials 101 series with CPA Chris Wittich from Boyum Associates, Chris explains why you should be saving for retirement now, even if you're working your very first job. Chris and Blake discuss retirment investment accounts for individuals like IRAs, Roth IRAs, and 401Ks. Also, did...

Sometimes in the salon business we get so "busy being busy" in November in December that our relationships with clients suffer, and that can  lead to a January and February that are slower than they have to be. Summit salon Coach Chad Faass is back to help you navigate the next few months.  For salon owners, Chad talks about the importance of showing up for your team consistently, without doing te...

Summit Unplugged is SSBC's signature salon leadership retreat in beautiful Cancun, Mexico, and it's back for a second time in January 2026. We're joined by Derek Reynolds , Summit's Associate Director of Training and an organizer of Summit Unplugged.  Derek and Blake get into the disctinctions between self-soothing and self-care and the importance of true self-care for leaders. Also: the gap betwe...

As a small business, your salon company has options when it comes to paying taxes. But are you chosing the right one? Whether you're in a parternship, an S corp or a C corp, the best entity for your business might not be the same as the salon across town, or even the same as it was a few years ago when you had four chairs instead of eight. For the second in our Financials 101 series, Boyum Associa...

Whether you expect to sell your salon in 6 months or in 20 years, the time to start preparing is now, says Chris Wittich, a CPA who works with Summit and specializes in salons.  Early planning leads to better outcomes, smoother transitions, and higher valuations. And unfotunately, many salon owners miss the mark then it comes to the true value of their salons.  In this episode you'll learn exactly...

 Stylists are increasingly seeing renting their own suite or booth as an appealing alternative to working in a commission salon.  Guest Anne Chesbro is co-owner of a commission salon company, Platinum Salon, as well as a suite rental business in Rochester, NY. She and her husband Joe Chesbro founded Platinum Salon Suites to meet the needs of stylists who wanted to strike out on their own. Unlike m...

This episode we're amped to talk about taxes. That's because new U.S. laws benefit both salon owners and stylists. Blake brings in Chris Wittitch, a CPA and partner at Boyum Acounting, to break it all down. They chat about the exciting new FICA tax tip credit now available to the beauty industry and what salon owners need to know to take full advantage of it. They also touch on the new tax-free ti...

Is your salon company maximizing its potential? As a salon owner in the thick of things it can be challenging to step back and take a holisitc look at the business, including growth areas. In this episode, Summit Business Intelligence Developer Chris Mahoney introduces Salon IQ , a comprehensive business assessment tool. Chris built this assesment based on decades of Summit Salon Business Center's...

When guest Doug Smith and his wife, stylist Tara Summersett Smith opened The Studio + Co. in Florence SC in 2011, Doug was a corporate guy who was completely new to the salon world. Now he's a certified Summit Salon Coach who helps other salon owners figure out financials, marketing and management. In this episode, Doug and Blake discuss the joys and complexities of running a salon company when yo...

A member of the beauty industry since 2011, Colissa Nole recently left the salon company where she worked as a stylist and struck out on her own -- first in a booth rental space, and most recently as part of the Soul Collective. in Columbia, Missouri. While it's an adjustment becoming your own boss, Colissa says the change has allowed her to offer the best service of her career, and "fall in love...

Something we love about working in the salon industry is that our careers are customizable. Want to work just one day a week? Specialize in blonding? Just do cuts?  Split your time between two locations? Have back-to-back clients or work some down time into your schedule? All of these things are possible. Coming out of cosmetology school, Kacie Mundell knew she wanted the opportunity to grow and l...