Salon Spotlight: Grow Salon + Wine Bar

Grow Salon + Wine Bar in Georgetown, Texas is a 3,200-square-foot salon with 15 employees

Meet Grow Salon + Wine Bar! After 15 years in the business, Founder Emily Hankemeir thought the salon industry was in need of a shakeup - so she created a space unique not only for obvious reasons (hello restaurant-quality wine bar with a gorgeous outdoor patio!), but because of its revolutionary ideas about how stylists should be managed, mentored and empowered to succeed.
 

Marlo Beauty: Tell us a little bit about Grow Salon + Wine Bar. How did you get started?
Grow Salon: Grow Salon + Wine Bar is my third salon, and my most ambitious project to date! After owning and selling a small commission, and then suite salon, I missed the busy atmosphere and the fulfillment that comes from mentoring and educating stylists. Mentoring our team is my passion, and helping them grow their career is my greatest professional accomplishment. We are a modern haircolor salon that offers cuts, color, balayage, vivids, updos, extensions and, of course, wine! We also carry our own private-label haircare, all made in the U.S. by a female chemist, and all 90% naturally derived.  
 

Marlo Beauty: How did you come up with the concept for Grow? How is Grow different from other salons?
Grow Salon: We base our levels on service sales - not retail sales. We never push our stylists to sell anyone anything they don’t need, and we don’t penalize them for retail sales numbers. Our Level 3 and up stylists are empowered to set their prices and schedules. We believe there should never be a cap on your earning potential, and the sky is your only limit. We take goals seriously, and if our stylists are dreaming it, we want to help them achieve it! We understand everyone has a different definition of success, and we’re here to help. We offer the flexibility of a booth rental salon with the benefits of a commission based, team-minded salon. We’re not toxic or micromanagers, and our stylists are never trapped by non-compete agreements.

Because Georgetown is very much a “wine town,” with many wineries near us, we also sell restaurant-quality wines. You can take your wine to-go, relax in our gorgeous lobby or out on our outdoor patio. The wine subsidizes the salon sales, allowing us to offer our employees more flexibility and a better living.
 

Marlo Beauty: How did you hear about Marlo Beauty Supply?
Grow Salon: I found Marlo Beauty Supply when looking to stock Grow with bowls, brushes and miscellaneous supplies. Large salons require a lot of supplies, and every little bit saved helps.

Marlo Beauty: What are your favorite products to shop at Marlo Beauty? Why do you love them?
Grow Salon: I love the bowls, brushes and color bottles, but the foils and gloves are a great deal, too. Marlo Beauty Supply has some of the best prices, fastest shipping and best customer service in the industry.

Marlo Beauty: Tell us about your salon membership program. Any advice to other salon owners thinking about starting their own?
Grow Salon: We offer several membership options, from blowouts, to root touch-ups, to wine clubs. Membership services are available with Level 1 stylists, and this helps them meet new clients and build their books. It also creates residual income for the salon and builds brand loyalty. For salons that want to create memberships, my best advice is to know your numbers. You have to balance creating value for your guests while you create profit for your company. You can get locked into a program that will hurt you if you aren’t careful about the numbers.
 

Marlo Beauty: What’s your favorite part about being in the beauty industry?
Grow Salon: This can be the greatest career in the world! We have the ability to dramatically change someone’s perception of themselves, improving their self-esteem and their lives, all in a few hours. And then they pay us for that! It’s truly the best feeling in the world.

Marlo Beauty: We see you work with the non-profit Hope Alliance. Tell us about this partnership.
Grow Salon: We are incredibly proud to support Hope Alliance, a local women’s shelter assisting those whose lives have been affected by family and sexual violence by providing safety, services and developing partnerships that lead to hope, healing and prevention. We collect very gently-used or new personal care products and offer guests 20% off a replacement product. For example, if you donate a shampoo and conditioner, you'll get 20% off a new replacement shampoo and conditioner.

Marlo Beauty: What is a quote or life mantra you live by?
Grow Salon: Our golden rule is “People Over Profit.” We truly believe that by putting our stylists and their clients first, profit follows. We see our stylists as humans with lives, dreams, families and goals, not as numbers. It’s a radical idea that we don’t think should be so radical, and so far, it’s working really well for us.