Build Your Salon With Phil Jackson

Did someone just hand in their notice? Or maybe you're stuck with staff who just aren't good enough, but you're too scared to let them go. Good news: good staff exist. You're just fishing in the wrong pond.In this episode, Phil Jackson breaks down the five-step recruitment process that actually works in 2026. This is Build Your Salon's #1 most-watched topic—updated for portfolio working, flexibility expectations, and where good people actually are.What You'll Learn:The five points where your recruitment process breaks downWhy "nobody wants to work" means you're looking in wrong placesWhere good staff actually are (not Indeed or Facebook)How to make your offer compelling in 2026Proper interview process that prevents expensive mistakesWhy onboarding determines 90% of recruitment successThe Five Steps:Step 1: Know What You're Looking ForWritten job description before you need itRequired vs. desired skills, culture fit criteria, deal-breakersDesperation hiring = expensive

t's Friday the 13th. The unluckiest thing you can do today? Ignore your numbers. You might tell yourself a few fibs about how your business is doing—your numbers won't. Let's dive in.In this episode, Phil Jackson walks you through four critical numbers that tell you everything about your salon's health. These aren't weekly metrics—these are quarterly deep-dive numbers that show you exactly what needs fixing and where to focus your strategy for the next three months.What You'll Learn:The four numbers that expose your salon's true healthWhat healthy benchmarks look like for each measureWhy "money in the bank" doesn't mean profitableHow to spot pricing vs. capacity vs. retention problemsWhen being "busy" just means busy being poorThe Four Numbers That Matter:Number 1: Net Profit MarginFormula: (Net Profit ÷ Revenue) × 100Healthy: 10-15% minimum (target 15-20%)Below 10%: You're in troubleWhat it reveals: Pricing too low, costs too high, or bothNumber 2: Reve

February is when you notice the gaps in your diary. Those clients who couldn't get enough of you in December aren't rebooking. You don't have one big retention problem—you have three specific leaks in three specific places. Let's plug them before March.In this episode, Phil Jackson identifies the three critical points in your client journey where you're losing people and gives you one practical fix for each that you can implement this week.What You'll Learn:The three specific points in the client journey where you're losing customersWhy "better customer service" is too vague to fix retention problemsHow pre-booking appointments can jump retention rates dramaticallyThe power of one personal touch per visit (and how to systematize it)Why 48-hour follow-up messages work (and how to template them)The Three Retention Leaks:Leak #1: Before They BookProblem: Great experience, intended to rebook, just... didn'tFix: Book next appointment before they leave (every single client)

It's February. Maybe you've just had the worst January you can remember, and you were Googling "how to sell my salon business" at 1am. Before you call a business broker, answer these five questions.In this episode, Phil Jackson walks you through the critical questions every salon owner needs to answer before deciding whether to sell or fix their business. Selling might be the right answer—or you might be running from fixable problems.What You'll Learn:Five questions to determine if you should sell or fix your salonThe brutal reality of salon business valuations (and why most owners overestimate)What happens to your income when you sell (and why £30k isn't as much as you think)What you're actually selling (hint: it's probably worth less than you believe)Why "I've tried everything" usually means you haven'tHow fixing your business first maximizes sale price even if you do decide to sellPhil's Perspective:"If you're at your lowest ebb, you've g

48% of salon owners say staff management and motivation is the hardest part of running their business. For many, February is when this hits hardest. Right after the January buzz comes the February funk.In this episode, Phil Jackson cuts through the cheerleading nonsense to give you five practical motivation strategies that actually work, cost almost nothing, and don't require you to become a rah-rah motivational speaker.What You'll Learn:Why throwing money at motivation problems doesn't workThe five things that actually motivate salon teams (and it's not commission)How a £500 training session beats a £500 pay rise every timeWhy your team members might leave over an £8 mopThe difference between standards and micromanagementHow to make your team feel valued without breaking the bankThe Five Motivation Drivers:Feeling Valued (Not Just Paid) - Recognition and specific acknowledgmentGrowth and Learning Opportunities - Internal skill-sharing and consistent trainingAutonomy and Control - Standards vs

If everyone in your salon charges the same price - junior who's just qualified, senior who's been with you 10 years - you're leaving money on the table.WHAT TIERED PRICING ISDifferent team members charge different prices based on experience, expertise, and client demand.Hair salons do this well. Beauty salons? Not nearly enough.THE FIVE REASONS IT WORKSREASON 1: HELPS JUNIORS BUILD CLIENTELEWithout tiered pricing, reception has subconscious bias - senior costs more in wages, needs to stay busy. Junior never gets chance to build regulars.With tiered pricing, price-sensitive clients gravitate to junior. Levels the playing field.REASON 2: IT'S FAIR TO SENIOR TEAMSomeone with 2 years charges same as someone with 10 years? That's not fair.Tiered pricing shows there's a career path - not just a job.If you don't take care of your team's future, they'll take care of it themselves. Usually means leaving or going self-employed.REASON 3: COST-BASED PRICING MAKES SENSESenior team costs

Most salon owners leave thousands of pounds on the table every year because they hate selling retail.You feel pushy. You don't want to be that aggressive salesperson. You're afraid of rejection.So products gather dust and you miss massive profit opportunities.Here's the truth: NOT recommending products is doing your clients a disservice.THE MINDSET SHIFTStop thinking of retail as "selling products." Start thinking of it as completing your professional service.You're a professional. Your client isn't. You know which products protect their work, maintain treatments, and extend results.If you don't tell them, you're being SELFISH about your fear of rejection instead of thinking about what's best for the client.PRESCRIBE home care. Don't "sell" products.WHAT DOESN'T WORK❌ Product displays (people don't browse)❌ Vague mentions ("We have some great products...")❌ Waiting until checkout (they're mentally done)❌ Selling features instead of

Most salon team targets don't work. Either they don't exist, they're random numbers that sound good, or - here's the killer - everyone hits their individual targets and the salon STILL misses its numbers.That's because individual targets don't add up to the salon target.THE FOUR MEASURES (Track these, nothing else)Stop tracking 17 things. Your salon software has too many reports and it's confusing. Track these four for every team member:MEASURE 1: SERVICE REVENUEHow much money each team member puts in the till from services.Work BACKWARDS from your salon target:- Salon needs £50k/month- 4 team members- £50k ÷ 4 = £12.5k per personIf everyone hits £12.5k, salon hits £50k.MEASURE 2: RETAIL (Units, not revenue)How many products did they sell?Why units? Selling 15 shampoos is harder than selling one set of expensive straighteners. We're measuring the HABIT of retailing.MEASURE 3: UTILIZATIONPercentage of column full with paying customers.Target: 80-90% (85% is sweet spot)- 100% = n

Referrals are the best source of new salon clients - but most salon owners get it completely wrong. They put up a poster saying "Refer a friend, get 10% off!" and wonder why nothing happens.Here's the problem: referral programs fail because you run out of steam.You can't maintain referral-focused energy year-round while also running your salon, doing your marketing, managing your team, and actually doing hair.So referral programs die by March. The poster fades. Nobody notices it anymore.The solution: Split your referral strategy into TWO parts.PART 1: ALWAYS-ON FOUNDATION (Background referral generation all year)- Shareable transformations (before/after photos sent automatically to clients)- Branded Instagram templates (make it easy to tag you)- New client welcome system (acknowledge who referred them)- Thank you texts (when someone refers, thank them immediately)Set it up once. Runs forever. Generates referrals passively.PART 2: FOCUSED REFERRAL CAMPAIGN (One month, high energy, then STOP)P

If you're working harder than ever and not making profit, there's a good chance your prices are too low.But raising prices feels terrifying. What if clients leave? What if nobody books?Here are the 3 signs you're definitely undercharging - and exactly what to do about it.WHY YOU'RE STUCK AT LOW PRICES:Fear #1: Clients will leave(Spoiler: The ones who leave over £5 weren't your clients anyway)Fear #2: Columns will be empty(Reality: When you charge properly, you need FEWER clients to make the same money)Fear #3: You don't feel "worth it"(That's imposter syndrome talking. You're worth more than you're charging.)THE 3 SIGNS YOU'RE UNDERCHARGING:Sign #1: Fully booked but not making money- Columns rammed, working 50-60 hours, barely scraping by- You're discounting your time - making £10-15/hour after costs- The market is telling you that you can charge moreSign #2: You're attracting price-sensitive clients- They ask "How much?" before "What ca

Finding good people for your salon feels impossible. Zero applications, ghosted interviews, or people who show up for one day and disappear. Recruitment in 2026 is brutal - but some salons are still finding brilliant people.Why it's harder now:Post-COVID shift: People want flexibility, development, culture (not just a job)Gen Z researches you on Instagram before applyingCompetition is fierce: Everyone's desperateIf your strategy is "post an ad and hope", you're screwed.In this episode:The 3 mistakes killing your recruitmentAlways-on recruiting (build your pipeline BEFORE you need people)How to make your salon visible to potential employeesWriting job ads that actually attract good peopleWhat flexibility actually means in 2026Your January action planStop desperate scrambling. Build your employer brand and pipeline.Work with me:Salon Spark: https://salon-spark.com£75/month, try for £11:1 Coaching: https://buildyoursalon.comWatch/Subscribe:YouTube: Watch on YouTubeApple Podcasts: Listen on AppleWebsite: buildyou

Most salon team meetings are a waste of time. They're either non-existent or just you moaning at your team for 45 minutes while everyone stares at their phones.Neither builds a better salon. Here's how to get them right.The three camps:No meetings at all (no cohesion, everyone in silos)Occasional roasting sessions (owner's frustrated, nobody wants to come back)Rambling chaos (starts late, runs 90 minutes, nothing gets decided)In this episode:Why I got this horrifically wrong for yearsThe 45-minute structure that worksMonthly minimum (when to increase frequency)What to include: Product training, promotions, winsWhat to exclude: Negativity, roasting, ventingThe agenda trick that prevents sabotageYour January action planTeam meetings build culture and keep everyone aligned. Get them right.Work with me:Salon Spark: https://salon-spark.com£75/month, try for £11:1 Coaching: https://buildyoursalon.comSubscribe:YouTube: Watch on YouTubeApple Podcasts: Listen on AppleWebsite: buildyoursalonpodcast.com

I've been coaching salon business owners for almost a decade. Want to know the problem that keeps coming back? Owners working their asses off and barely paying themselves.If you put yourself on your team's wage structure and couldn't afford to pay yourself, you're not building a business - you've built an expensive hobby that happens to have staff.In this episode:The 3 reasons salon owners don't pay themselves (guilt, fear, confusion)Worker vs Owner: Why you need TWO types of incomeWages for the work + Dividends for the riskReal 2026 numbers: Small salon (£36-54k), Medium (£54-80k), Large (£80-160k+)How to set it up in January and stop subsidizing your businessYou deserve to get paid what you're worth. Let's fix this in 2026.Resources:Get Paid Properly: https://getpaidproperly.comComplete profit & pricing systemWork with me:Salon Spark: https://salon-spark.com£75/month, try for £11:1 Coaching: https://buildyoursalon.comSubscribe:YouTube: Watch on YouTubeApple Podcasts: Listen on AppleWebsite: buildyoursal

You don't need 100 members to make salon memberships profitable. You might not even need 50.After helping 100+ salons launch membership programs, I can tell you exactly how many members YOU need - and it's probably fewer than you think.In this episode:How to calculate your membership target based on YOUR actual numbersWhy most salons need 30-60 members (not hundreds)Small salon vs. large salon targets - what's realisticThe reverse engineering strategy: start with your overhead gapWhy "more members" isn't always betterStop guessing. Start with the real numbers that will transform your cash flow.Resources:Salon Memberships Made Easy: https://queenofmemberships.comThe complete system for launching profitable membershipsWork with me:Salon Spark (weekly accountability + community): https://salon-spark.com£75/month, cancel anytime, try it for £11:1 Coaching: https://buildyoursalon.comSubscribe:YouTube: Watch on YouTubeWebsite: buildyoursalonpodcast.com

Most salon memberships die in month 3.Not because the concept is flawed. Because of 3 specific mistakes that are completely avoidable.After helping 100+ salons implement memberships, I've seen this pattern play out over and over.In this episode:Why month 3 is the danger zoneThe 3 retention killers (and how to avoid them)The simple system that keeps members past the honeymoon phaseReal numbers from salons who got it rightWork with me:Salon Spark (weekly accountability + community): https://salon-spark.comTry it for one month for just £11:1 Coaching: https://buildyoursalon.comFree guide - 10 brutal truths - YOUR SALON MEMBERSHIP ISDEAD BEFORE IT LAUNCHES: https://www.buildyoursalon.com/memberships-for-salons-page

Forget the fluff and glitter — this Boxing Day episode is all about turning vision-board fantasies into a plan you can actually stick to. Phil Jackson walks salon owners through his tried-and-true goal-setting process for 2026, showing how to connect your long-term dreams with realistic, value-driven actions. From five-year mapping to quarterly focus and smarter revenue targets, this episode will help you anchor your goals in what truly matters — your values, your team, and your lifestyle. And since it’s Boxing Day, I’m celebrating with some brilliant offers to help you start the year strong — including my Crystal Clear Goal Setting programme and Salon Spark accountability group.

Most business owners jump straight into goal setting in January, only to abandon their plans by February. This episode reveals the crucial, albeit un-glamorous, prep work that will ensure your 2026 salon goals actually stick!In this episode, we cover: Reviewing 2025: A cold, hard look at what made you money, brought joy, felt easy, and what simply didn't work. Your Magic Number: Pinpointing your desired profit for 2026 to inform your turnover targets and lifestyle goals. Feed Your Brain: Stretching your mind with inspiring reads or audiobooks to broaden your perspective and ambition. Values Research: Using a value-setting exercise to ensure your goals align with what truly matters to you, creating a filter for success and happiness.This half-day prep isn't about setting goals yet, but about laying solid foundations so your goals are realistic, ambitious, and aligned with your core values. Block out 2.5-4 hours between Christmas and New Year – your future self will thank you for the clarity!Recommend

Want help holding yourself accountable and getting clarity for the year ahead? Join Salon Spark and grab your first month for just £1 – my personal support to help you actually get sh*t done. That December chaos? It’s not just about full columns and frantic clients. In this episode, Phil Jackson uncovers the deeper reason salon owners feel frazzled over the holidays—how your personal values and boundaries get thrown off balance, and what to do about it. Expect a little tough love, a few laughs, and a practical mindset reset to help you glide into the new year calmer, clearer, and more in tune with what really matters.

Join Phil Jackson as he shares expert insights on maximizing salon revenue this December. Discover strategic actions to fill up your appointment book, effectively use gift vouchers, and smart ways to bring forward promotions. Enhance your client experience and keep the cash flow steady even during quieter times. Let's make December more profitable despite the challenges!

What if growing your salon isn’t actually helping your bottom line? In this episode, Phil pulls back the curtain on why more team members, more turnover, and more chaos don’t always equal more profit. Discover how to calculate the real profitability of your team, why small can be smarter, and how to build a lifestyle-first business that truly serves you.