Co-owners Lenora and Rickey Leathers knew the way they wanted the business to run, even though the rest of the industry was headed in a different direction. From there, Savvy Salon KC built and implemented a model that works. In today’s tip we encourage you to watch a user browse your website. And if that statement terrifies you, it’s past time to make it happen.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Small Business Miracles podcast.
I’m Jeff Randolph.
This small business podcast is brought to you by EAG Advertising and Marketing.
We’re going to talk about marketing and we’re also here to celebrate entrepreneurs.
We have marketing news and advice the business owners can use to keep moving forward.
This week we’re talking with Ricky and Lenore Leathers, the co-owners of all of the savvy
salon locations.
But first, we’ve got another small business marketing tip to talk about.
For today’s marketing tip, when is the last time you observed a real person interacting
with your website or digital service?
Unfortunately, for most business owners, the answer is never.
Historically, customer research is reserved for the biggest companies out there.
You know, the ones with giant technical research teams tinkering with interface and interactions
to get every ounce of juice from the digital squeeze.
But hey, it doesn’t have to be that way.
With the right research partner, you can get actionable intel directly from your best customers
to tell you what needs to happen on your website.
The return on investment for the business insights that can be produced by simply having
a skilled researcher interview and test an experience with to real customers and
observe their actual use patterns in a real environment is special.
When that skilled researcher knows what they’re doing and knows how to report actionable insights,
well, that exercise produces immediate business value for the organization.
You may hear a real customer say, but why make it so difficult for me to find this?
Because that content was deep into the description at the end of the page.
Or oh, I didn’t know you guys did that service.
Because the menu nav of that service was buried where they wouldn’t look for it.
You’re pretty close to that website, but you probably haven’t experienced insights like
this.
So when’s the last time you watched real users on your website and drilled your way into
their brains?
Well, let’s talk.
Let’s make that happen.
And that’s your marketing tip for today.
All right, I’m joined by two people here in the featured section of our show.
It’s Ricky and Lenore Leathers, co-owners of Savvy Salon.
Hey, welcome to the show.
Thank you.
Thank you for having us.
Oh, we’re happy to have you here.
This is thanks for getting up and doing this early on a Wednesday morning.
Such a pleasure.
Thank you.
So let’s dive right in.
Savvy Salon, tell us about the business.
What is it for people who just don’t know yet?
So Savvy Salon, we are a membership based salon here in Kansas City.
We are an employee owned salon here in Kansas City and we focus on healthy textured hair.
Healthy textured hair.
Got it.
Okay.
Taking clients on a healthy hair journey to create an amazing experience.
I think we ought to dive into all of like, even though that didn’t sound like a ton,
there’s a lot going on because we’ve got membership based business.
We’ve got employee owned or employee based business.
Let’s talk about membership first.
What does that mean?
And you also mentioned you’re on a healthy hair journey.
We’re walking down a path here.
So membership kind of goes hand in hand with that.
What’s going on?
Yeah.
So we, man, it’s, I just think about, I was in there the other day and just looking at
all of our members.
And so there was a client in there and she’s been with us since we first opened, we’ll
start at the membership program, which has been probably about three or four years now.
And so I was just looking at her hair.
So when she first started coming to us, she had some breakage.
She had some things going on with her hair and she signed up for the membership.
And of course, you know, we took her through this journey.
We provided her with just kind of, I would say a customized, a customized, what should
I call it?
A customized plan.
Plan.
Yes.
A customized plan to get her hair in the best shape possible.
And so that was just her coming in, you know, weekly and doing these treatments on her hair.
And then the more that we start to do these treatments on her hair, we could see that
the products that we were using on her hair were working.
So then we kind of dumbed back a little bit and she started coming in like every two weeks.
And so now she’s been with us, you know, coming in regularly every two weeks and her hair
has just truly been flourishing.
So what we offer our clients for our first time clients, we get a lot of clients just
from all aspects of life.
And so one thing that I noticed as being a mom of four boys is that sometimes we don’t
have time to take care of ourselves.
And so the least thing that we can do is get our hair done.
And so women, you know, we’re busy, you know, we’re wearing several hats and even if it’s
someone who may not have children, she’s still doing a lot of things.
And so, you know, we have women that come in, you know, for the first time and we do
consultations with them and we’re like, hey, you know, where would you like to see your
hair?
Where it is now?
Where would you like to see it in the next six months year, whatever.
And so we offer them a membership and they can either come in once a month or they can
come in two times a month and we make sure that we give their hair whatever it is that
they need hydration, you know, if they need if they’re lacking moisture, if their ends
are frayed or, you know, dry and brittle, we’re making sure that we’re treating those things.
And so really, really just giving them an opportunity to take care of themselves mentally
and also, you know, outward appearance as well because the inner appearance, you know,
no one sees the inside of what you’re struggling with.
Sure.
You know, no one knows that, you know, I looked at a client, you know, just yesterday that
she was literally about to have a meltdown.
That was her first time in there and she had some hair stuff going on.
And so just that membership piece of it just lets them know that, hey, we see you, we value
you and we’re excited to start and build this relationship with you.
What I take from that is that people wear a lot of hats and those hats cause damage
to your hair.
Absolutely.
No, that’s probably not.
Maybe that’s not.
No, no, no, no.
That’s actually a good spin on that.
Wow.
The hats that you’re wearing.
We just got real deep into this.
I assume the damage to your hair comes from a lot of different things, including the environment
and other chemicals you may be putting on it and how you’re treating it.
Stress.
It’s really stress.
That speaks to the hats that you’re wearing and just not taking the time to take care
of it.
People think about the vanity, the outward aspect of going to a salon or barbershop or
whatever, but there’s also the self-care piece of it.
So we talk about healthy heads.
And so, I mean, that’s your entire head.
That’s your mental, that’s your hair.
So that’s how we like to treat people when they walk in there.
That’s great.
I love it when I joke my way into an accidental metaphor that works.
That’s lovely.
That’s friendly.
That’s great.
And the cool thing about the membership program is you pay this monthly fee, right?
But say, for instance, you can’t come in that month.
Well, you can gift it to your friend for lesser value.
And so that’s your friend, you know, you’re giving your friend a little gift.
A little something.
Just a little something.
A little treatment for themselves.
And I always tell the girls, we never know when Michelle was going to walk in the door,
Oprah’s going to walk in the door.
So we treat everybody, you know, with a value, respect, and just let everyone know when they
walk in the door, we see you.
Man, that’s…
Well, and you know, the business model itself, you saw a need because you care about people’s
hair, right?
You care about the way that looks.
You care about how healthy that is.
And you say the best model is not the model that people have had before.
So let’s continue that thought and get into the employee-based salon ownership kind of
thing.
Tell me that difference in the model.
Yeah.
So, Jeff, I think you’re going down the right path on that.
We worked it backwards.
You know, we care about people.
You know, it’s more than just the outward appearance.
This is a place where they come.
And we get the opportunity to really treat them in a way that they may not be getting
outside of our business.
And so when we first started Savvy Salon about years ago, almost years ago, we celebrated
the th anniversary a little while ago, we started as booth rental.
Like, we were like, hey, we got a spot.
Let’s lease it.
Let’s do it.
Let’s do it the way everybody else has been doing.
But we had a very specific vision for what we wanted to happen.
And so we started to just run the business model that everybody else has been doing in
that journey.
We saw, man, we’re missing the mark for people.
Right.
You know, I tend to ask the question why, you know, like this is an issue.
Why is that?
Right.
And just kind of dig into that.
That took us down a lot of rabbit holes and a lot of like Pandora’s boxes and worm, you
know, was it the can of worms?
And it’s like, oh, we need to switch that.
And two, you know, we didn’t have control over the business.
So we had independent contractors, but if their clients came in and the stylist wasn’t
there, well, then they’re looking at me because I’m the owner of this building.
And so, you know, I was like, oh, this isn’t good because if she writes a review, she’s
talking about the establishment and I don’t have control over that.
So I just it just didn’t sit well.
So something that’s not as common in the hair salon space just made a lot of sense to us.
We were like, why would we run it that way?
We need to figure out a way to have more control over the experience for the people that we’re
serving.
So in doing that, it kind of transformed and morphed into really who we need to be serving
is our employees, our stylist, because if we serve them and they understand what our
vision and they feel it from us, then it’s going to flow downhill.
Right.
And that’s what she kind of spoke to earlier.
Now when we walk in the salon, she, you know, she doesn’t she’s a cosmetologist of years
plus, but she doesn’t do hair in the salon anymore, very rarely, because she’s more focused
on developing and pouring into the team.
And so once we kind of discovered that, like, oh, wow, it’s we point to our team in a service
based business, they’re going to take care of the clients in ways that we could never
even.
Right.
Right.
Right.
And so that’s that’s the beauty of it.
It’s just it’s cool to watch that may make it a little easier to have a sick day or a
vacation.
Oh, man.
Or just I want to go to work day.
I mean, just a mental health day.
Just don’t encourage that.
Yes, but a mental health day for sure.
Just to take a day off.
Yeah, exactly.
Well, and, you know, before we before we started recording, you mentioned that you walked in
and saw, you know, some just the the difference in employees and kind of the culture, the
way that culture works and that you were in tears, kind of seeing that journey.
I assume those are happy tears.
This is a happy moment.
Now it is.
A few years ago it wasn’t.
Talk about that.
You want the happy tears?
Tell me, tell me the like the journey, the journey to get there and really what it’s
like now.
Man, you know, so I just think about so there was a time where I was behind the chair and
I was working six, seven days a week, Sunday to Sunday, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Didn’t even think about it.
You know, and so I started hiring assistants and I started hiring a team, you know, and
so it was brutal, you know, because not everyone shares that same vision as you.
And you know, I will say this that in cosmetology schools, you know, they talk about be the
boss, run your own thing, you know, you can do it.
And I’m like, yeah, I think about, you know, the chiefs and how my homes is who he is,
but with his team, you know, everyone cannot be the homes, you know.
And so I think about the beauty business.
Everyone should not be owning the business.
You know, I think about bigger companies and I think about how there has to be someone
to take the lead, but then he needs other people to be up under him to say, hey, I’m
gonna tell you to do this, you do that.
And then they all went together.
And so that’s how it is ran.
And so, you know, look at the past experience of the team that I hired.
Well, it was brutal.
You know, there was days where I’m like, I don’t even want to go in there.
I was so stressed out and it was just, you know, people can be mean, you know, and people
can be, you know, they really could care less about you.
And I was feeling that way.
It was, it was a really, really dark time.
I had to lean on a mentor of mine who does not live here in Kansas City.
And I’m like, hey, I think I want to give this up.
I cannot do this.
And so she said, hey, are you the Kobe Bryant on the team?
Like, are you the owner of this space?
Well, then you need to go back in there and own your space.
If you need to fire, then you fire.
And I was just, she was like, it’s not worth your piece.
And I was like, really?
And so things were happening.
You know, people were stealing from us and people were, you know, bad naming me, you
know, using my name when I was not the president.
And that’s not the environment that I wanted to create.
And it was rough.
And when she told me that, I said, you know what, you’re right.
Let me let go of these bad apples because the ones that I see are good.
They’re starting to spill over into them and that is not their character.
You know, and so now that we have eliminated a lot of people that were not for the vision,
the business, you know, things are so much better.
You know, we had a conversation, I had a conversation with my team and I’m like, man, you know,
what are you guys excited about right now?
And they’re like, where we came from?
You know, they were in those moments where, you know, I never vocally told them what happened.
You know, they never knew how I was feeling on the inside.
And so, but they were kind of feeling it too, you know.
And so now they’re like, man, we have a team that is thriving.
We’re helping each other out.
You know, if a team member is running behind, they don’t mind calling that client and say,
hey, she’s running behind, but I can take you, you know.
And so looking at it now, what was bringing me to tears is just being in that environment
and watching them helping each other out.
Clients was coming, they were going and, you know, appointments were started on time.
The clients were leaving on at a certain time.
You know, members was in there, the conversation was good and the blow dryers were going.
The girls were watching out for me, Ms. Lenora, you know, did you need anything?
And it was just, I was just, I didn’t want to leave.
You know, I had another meeting, but I was like, man, this is unreal.
Let me take a moment and enjoy the fruit of the labor for a minute and say, hey, I like
it when a plan comes together.
Yeah, it’s unreal.
That’s out, you know, that’s outstanding.
That is a lesson that business owners, you know, will learn and then remember forever
that, you know, the more you keep a bad person, the more they tend to get rid of all the good
people.
Yeah, so true.
And that will, that sticks with you for a little bit after that happens.
So man, the model, everything looks good.
The way you’ve approached that business problem, but that clearly wasn’t enough for you guys.
You decided we need more, we need more on our plates, products, because you developed
a line of products as well.
And this, I take it goes right hand in hand with the treatment and the membership.
So tell me about the products.
%.
So we have an all natural vegan product line.
And I mean, there’s a suite of seven, seven different products and it’s all within our
moisture line.
And so the shampoos, conditioners, hairsprays, leave in the conditioners, so really a full
suite and all of these products we use in house.
So it’s back bar stuff that we use, our team knows how it works.
They love it.
And so it’s just a really a natural transgress.
So if we’re focusing on natural hair and it’s healthy hair journey, we encourage our members
and our clients to take this product home with them.
And they do.
And that’s a part of why they see a lot of the progression that they see with their hair.
And so for us, it was just, I think it was natural.
There’s a ton of different options out there for products.
But we knew that we wanted something that did exactly what we’re preaching.
Healthy hair encourages that.
But then also it really makes that customer sticky and ties them to our brand a little
tighter.
They take that home and they put it in their shower.
They put it on their, you know, so they’re seeing that.
And so it really does create clients who stick around longer and it just builds deeper ties
with the business.
Yeah, there’s a list out there of consumer products that, and it’s different for men
and women, where you are willing to try new brands and ones where you are not willing
to try new brands.
Because if I found something I like, that is my product and that is what I’m going to
use forever.
And I think about when we first started the product, I remember, you know, Ricky, like,
hey, you know, we should start selling products.
And I’m like, because I was in a corporate salon and they had a billion products and
they were like, sell the products, sell the products.
She was very hesitant.
Yeah.
And I was like, eh, because I don’t want these products to just sit on the shelf.
We’ve spent all this money on products and it’s just sitting.
And so, man, it was just, it’s so amazing to see that, you know, number one, you have
to build trust with that product.
That’s what it is, you know, and I’m one, like, I only like to try, I like to try different
foods, but not products.
Like I say, there’s a list of things you’re willing to try and things you don’t want to
give up.
And it’s not that I won’t try new products because I have, I’ve tried a plethora.
But I was just going to say, you know, I just think about now, like, okay, well, these products
that we have on shelves, we actually have them at the back bar.
So we’re telling clients like, hey, this is what I’m using on your hair.
And then when, when we’re, when they’re finished with their hair, it’s like, hey, this is what
you need to take home.
And so clients are like, man, I had that in the shower.
My husband is using it now.
My sons are using it now.
And I had a, there was a client, our hairspray, it smells amazing.
And she said her husband was using it as pillow spray.
Oh, well, sure.
Why wouldn’t I like, of course, why wouldn’t you do that?
I thought that was so funny.
But she said that, you know, well, it’s, it’s no, no alcohol in the product and it’s, you
can, it’s pliable.
So it’s all natural.
You can reuse it and reuse it.
And so she told me, I guess she was spraying it and he was using it as pillow spray.
So I was like, okay, whatever works for you all.
You have, it’s not just distribution in the salons.
It’s distribution in the stores as well.
Right?
You’re at Hy-Vee.
Yeah.
We have a local Hy-Vee store here in Kansas City.
I think it’s in, also in Manhattan as well.
And we just sealed a deal with KU Medical Center.
And so our products will be used to the patients that have to spend the night in the hospital
for different surgeries.
And so that product is just going to be more like a kit.
So it’s everything you need.
So if you’re spending the night in the hospital, you have textured hair or you want a more
professional product, there’s shampoo, conditioner, there’s a leave-in treatment, there’ll be
a comb, a brush, a pick, a bonnet.
I mean, it’s going to be like a whole savvy kit.
It’s super cool.
So the way your brand just kind of spiders out from here is amazing.
That’s spectacular.
Yeah.
Let’s get to know you guys a little better though, because we’ll jump into the lightning
round if you’re all right with that.
Are you guys ready for this?
Absolutely.
All right.
There are no rules to the lightning round.
Anything goes.
You can fight.
You can do whatever you need to do.
And to start this lightning round question out, I’m going to talk about you guys as both
co-owners because open question there about what it’s like to work as a couple.
We’ve covered this a few times with entrepreneurs, but it’s not unusual in the small business
world, but it brings some unique things there.
How has that impacted you guys?
How do you navigate that water where there’s like, no, no, we’re at home now and we’re
not going to talk about this anymore.
How does that work for you guys?
You know what?
So I think what I love the most about the two of us, we’re both Libras.
Ricky is introvert, I’m more extrovert.
And I feel like we just balance each other out.
I prayed for this man right here.
No joke, I did.
And so we just really balance each other out.
And so I feel like we found our lane.
He does his thing and he does it well and he knows what I do and I do well at it.
And so he doesn’t touch what I do and I don’t touch what he does.
Strong division of labor there.
Strong lanes that you stay in.
And I think for me, what really helps us out because we’re both so busy, Ricky’s back in
school now.
We have four boys, we have one in college.
And so having those Friday night date nights and that, I look forward to it.
I just-
Well, we don’t talk about business.
Sometimes it creeps in.
Yeah, maybe a little, but not.
And that’s cool, but not the tough conversations.
Like, we’re not talking about that.
Shut it off.
So we have to have that time.
I think that’s a good point.
We have different strengths and we really try to set that ego aside.
There’s things that I’ll start and she’ll say, no, that should be different.
I’m like, okay, well, I’ll pass it on.
I’m taking it to here and now, okay, you do what you want with it and vice versa.
And I know she’s the cosmetologist.
I know nothing about, I mean, I know a ton now since I’ve been around it, but I still
will tell you, I know nothing about hair.
You still maintain that position.
I maintain that I’m not the subject matter, but I really like to focus on the big picture,
the business model, that sort of stuff, the marketing side of it.
And yeah, it works.
It just works.
And I think as a married couple, anybody who’s thinking about going into business with their
spouse or are in business with their spouse, it does introduce sort of a deeper level of
the relationship because a business is really, it’s a repeatable thing that you build to
make the world better in a way.
And so if you can do that together with the person that you’ve picked to do the rest of
your life with, then it’s just a different dimension of the relationship.
It’s like, yeah, we’ve got kids, they’re going to leave us one day.
Yeah, we got house, we got all the things and we have this and all these employees and
so when you take a step back and you look at it, it’s like, man, we’re building something
together.
So, and that’s the cool part about it.
Oh man, it’s just, it’s heartwarming really.
Question for Ricky, you bring a unique perspective to the mix because you’re a senior business
services consultant at the Missouri Small Business Development Center.
How has that impacted the business and kind of your view from co-owner standpoint?
Oh man.
So that role is very interesting.
I love it.
It’s one of the roles that I’ve loved the most.
I’ve been an entrepreneur a long time and so I’ve been able to step into this and help
other entrepreneurs with all of their stuff, right?
And so it adds a unique perspective because I get to hear so many of the issues and challenges
and ways of looking at business and I get to kind of look at our business through those
lenses.
There’s a ton of resources I’m privy to.
You know, if it’s accounting or marketing or this or that, I’m constantly sitting in rooms
and figuring out, okay, how can we use this to help our businesses?
But then how can I use this to help my business?
That’s right.
Yeah.
It’s a very first person perspective.
Exactly.
And so, you know, it’s been beautiful.
There’s a lot of things where I look and I say, oh, I need to change that immediately
as I’m talking to a client.
Like, oh, I need to do that.
Right.
And so it really is that unique perspective.
And, you know, before I wasn’t at the SBDC, before I was at the SBDC, you know, I was
full time in the business.
And so we were just kind of going back and forth.
I’ve always had kind of this high level view and just love for small business and entrepreneurship.
But now that I’ve kind of taken a bit of a step away from the day to day within the salon,
it gives me a different perspective, right?
So she’s my wife, business partner, but then from when I put my SBDC consultant hat on,
she’s my main client.
Right.
And so I got to just say best client.
I think you could say best client.
That’s what I said.
I think we need to go back and edit that out.
That’s what I said.
Best client.
Yeah, for sure.
So it’s been a very unique journey.
Perfect.
Lenore, I’ve got one for you.
You retired from behind the chair to run the business and so you’re working on the business
instead of doing as much working in the business.
But you are also a pioneer in techniques and you’re an educator on those techniques.
You presented a technique at the largest national show for hair.
Are there parts of working in the business that you miss?
Because I think as an entrepreneur, we tend to love the thing we do and then we start
to run the thing and you get away a little bit from the thing you really love doing.
I know, what’s so funny.
So yes, I did retire from behind the chair and I had so many clients like, wait a minute,
what?
Wait, what?
What do you mean you’re not doing my hair anymore?
And I’m like, I have the team to do it for you.
And so training them, you know, training them weekly, you know, and then having those hard
conversations like, hey, that didn’t look good.
Let’s talk about this.
Let’s sit down and what where do we miss the mark?
But then also to I’m able to jump in if needed.
So of course, doing training, I love to do live models.
I don’t really like doing mannequin work.
So that way I can get my hands back in there and show them how this really works.
And so, you know, I just think about there was a team member, she got sick.
And so one of her clients is one who I truly adore.
And so I’m like, you know what, instead of moving everyone, don’t move this one.
I’ll come in, I’ll do her and don’t tell her, you know, and then also it’ll turn into training,
you know, mode.
So I get a chance to jump in and out when I need to or when I want to.
But then after I’m finished, I’m like, okay, enough of that, because my body hurts, my
hands hurt, my legs, my feet, you know, I’m like, okay, that was that was good.
I remember why I don’t do this.
Yeah, I think that’s the beauty of it.
She gets to do she gets to choose what she wants to do the thing that she loves, right,
versus being literally tied to it like a ball and chain.
So she gets to if she wants to do a wedding, then she says, oh, yeah, I’ll do I’ll do your
wedding, and you know, and then she can get her fix.
Yeah, you know, doing that, and then she can say, all right, I’m done with that.
So it’s cool.
It’s really cool mix.
That is if that sounds like a good mix.
All right, let’s do an all play here.
From this point out, even.
Let’s imagine you’re traveling back in time to visit yourself when you were first starting
the business.
What what advice would you give to first year in the business you?
It’s not a run screaming, don’t do this.
You know what, as I think about it, I don’t, I would change any.
I would definitely tell her at that age when I started and year old lines in my home.
I would tell her how proud I am of her.
I don’t think I would change anything because I believe that everything happens for you
the way it’s supposed to happen.
There’s no right or wrong way to run a business.
You’re going to start something, you’re going to stop something, you’re going to reforgetrate
the thing, you know.
And so I just feel like with business, you know, it’s everyone has their own journey.
And I believe that the journey is sometimes hard, but then at the same time, too, it’s
rewarding.
And so definitely I would, you know, not don’t, you know, definitely say don’t get stuck in
those moments when it’s hard because, you know, it’s going to pass, you know, just like
the seasons change, the time will change.
But I don’t think I would necessarily change anything about, you know, back in the past.
I mean, I don’t know.
Watching, I mean, watching you go back in time to tell yourself that you’re proud.
I mean, that’s, man, let’s just have the Hallmark movie right here.
I think that’s a great way to go.
Anything you’d say?
Yeah, you know, I’d tell myself to be patient and, you know, enjoy the journey.
And then I’d also tell myself to go ahead and fail.
Like, go ahead and fail quicker.
You know, fail fast.
Like, jump in and do it because that’s where the real wisdom comes from.
So, you know, so, you know, I’ve always yearned for wisdom.
I’m now learning it comes from failure.
You know, it comes from jumping in there and bumping your head, getting it wrong and really
experiencing, you know, it from a from an intimate version of the word know, like you
can know something on a surface level, you can know something intimately.
It’s a weird word.
I love it because it’s got people we use it interchangeably.
I know my wife.
Like, I know you, right?
So, but I know her different than I know you.
Right.
And so I think that wisdom.
So I would I would tell myself, you know, fail because that’s that’s where the wisdom
is right behind that failure.
So yeah, from success, we don’t learn as much.
We do from failure.
We learn quite a bit.
We get the big head from success.
We think, oh, yeah, I got this.
You know, you don’t watch film, you know, you know, the good the great team.
But they’re not watching, you know, football.
I’m thinking about football.
You use my homes, right?
They’re not watching their winning film the same way they’re watching the games they lost.
Right.
They’re just like, we won, whatever.
So, yeah, good advice.
All right.
Let’s let’s get into a look.
You mentioned Friday night date stuff.
And in Kansas City, there are a lot of options.
Where would you say is the best Friday night date spot?
That’s so hard.
I know, right?
I know.
It’s hard because we try our hard.
OK, OK.
I’m going to.
But we try our hardest to go to different a different spot, a new spot every Friday.
Good strategy.
Yeah, because there’s so many amazing things happening here in Kansas City and new restaurants.
I would say I enjoyed the last place we went to, which was the campground.
Oh, OK.
Yeah.
Campground was good.
The experience, the menu was just I think they had like four things on the menu, which
is good for me because if the menu is too extensive, then I’m like, yeah, give yourself
a cheesecake factory.
Right.
You’re just like, oh, yeah, we are going today for a birthday, mom’s birthday.
But I liked it because it was, you know, the ambiance, the lighting, just the experience,
you know, the customer service.
Now I’m big on customer service.
And that’s you know, the girls know even at the sign, I’m huge on that.
And so just the experience was it was good.
And the food was good.
You’re judging.
All right.
Good shout out.
Yeah.
You had a different answer.
I did.
I think mine is going to humbly blow hers out of the water.
OK.
My favorite date night place in Kansas City is Lonnie’s Reno Club.
Oh, yeah.
I look at her now.
She’s saying now she’s saying, oh, yeah, that’s right.
So Lonnie’s is amazing.
Lonnie McFadden has a place in the is it the Ambassador Hotel on Grand?
And it’s like a speakeasy.
You go in the basement and he and the meal is included in the price.
It’s like bucks or something, maybe a little bit more well worth it because you
get the whole show.
You get the food.
They got this beef Wellington they make.
And and Lonnie McFadden is probably one of the best performers that he’s been doing it
for years.
He tap dances.
He plays the horn.
He plays the they got a full jazz band.
He’s something years old.
He jumps and does all this stuff.
And it’s like crazy.
So we’ve been there several times.
And it’s always like I love this dude.
She remembers dinner and a show.
Yeah.
Dinner and a show.
That’s that’s it.
I always recommend people go there.
Outstanding.
You have a lot of different sources of joy in your life.
How do you celebrate a big win?
And that could be, hey, we’re we’re in these new stores.
We just signed this deal or or a child did something amazing at a sporting event, you
know, whatever that is.
How do you how do you celebrate a big win?
So for me, I’ll be honest.
This is where I struggle.
I do not celebrate, but I have Ricky to tell me, like, hey, you know, look back and look
at where you are now.
And I’m like, oh, yeah, yeah, that’s right.
Darn it.
I’m like, right.
Somebody to give you some perspective.
Yeah.
So I am trying to do more of that, I will say.
And I think it’s just because, you know, I have all and that’s why I was telling myself
that I say congratulations or I’m proud of you at such a young age, because I have all
when I was I’ve always been in the beauty business.
And so from and on, I literally everything was mapped out for me just in the space that
I had.
And I look at where I am now.
And yes, it was a lot of bumps and bruises, whatever.
But I just kept going.
You know, like I did not stop, even though there were times where I wanted to stop.
But I just kept going, kept pushing through and everything.
And so oh, shoot, I just lost my train of thought.
What was the question?
I celebrate a big way.
Oh, yeah.
OK.
So now I, you know, I think about when I meet with my team weekly, that is what we do.
We celebrate what has gone well, you know, this past week, this past month.
And so I think that has given me a chance to say, OK, girl, you know, sit down and take
some time and celebrate and look at where you came from or celebrate the win, the small
wins or whatever that you’ve had.
And so I think that’s what what what helps me to put it into perspective, because if
I didn’t have that meeting with my teams weekly, I probably would just keep on going.
And that’s just being honest.
Yeah.
As Ricky comes up with his answer for this one, I’ll take a second or so to just like
double down on that.
I think for a lot of a lot of entrepreneurs, you’ve got that long view and you’ve got
a goal in mind and you’re shooting for it.
And we don’t probably stop enough to celebrate those big wins for the business.
And here at here at EAG, every Friday in our staff meeting, we have a staff meeting every
Friday and we give like virtual stickers to people as like, hey, thanks for doing whatever
or thanks for jumping in on this or you did an amazing job at that.
And we talk about the big wins of that week.
And it’s just an opportunity to stop and celebrate and reflect.
And I think I think from a culture standpoint, you need that great, great culture needs to
be able to go, you know, it was a grind this week, but, you know, we did that.
Somebody appreciates this.
Yeah, I went through.
Right.
So, yeah.
So good, good, good stuff.
We’re we’re ready for it.
You can bring it home for me.
No, I’m much like her.
I’m really even keel.
Right.
I don’t get too high or too low, which is a good thing when in the bad times, I’m kind
of like, it’s going to be all right.
But in the high times, I’m kind of like, all right, you know, so so.
But I think what has helped is just to consist, I think a cadence, a cadence of something
to look forward to.
So like if it’s our day nights and we on Fridays are like, we’re going to find a nice place
and we’re going to do that, then that’s my time to just kind of sit back and be like,
all right, treating ourselves just because because we do work hard.
Right.
And it’s and we have a lot of things going on.
And so whether it’s good or bad, we’re just going to celebrate whatever moment.
And that’s we have those conversations and that was really cool.
And we this will happen.
And so we try to create a cadence of doing that, because if not, you I mean, I’ll just
be like, OK, good.
OK, bad.
All right.
We just you know, I’m just rolling.
It’s never, you know, it never stops.
You know, as I know, this is not about not supposed to be about me in any way.
But I’m thinking about date night location.
I was in just kind of thinking about my own answer to everything we just talked about.
What you got?
I would I’d be my current favorite is barbacoa KC on Trust.
Oh, my gosh.
It’s not it’s not just high end Mexican good.
It’s Kansas City barbecue good.
It’s just amazing.
And I I’m thinking about the same time was celebrating a win.
The way I would celebrate a win is I go ahead and top shelf that margarita.
And I think just like you guys, I find an excuse every week to just go, you know, I
survived or we really crushed this this week or something.
And I just continue to do it.
So you guys, we could hang out.
We’re rolling.
I don’t know how this is working.
It’s crazy.
Let me let me wrap that up.
I’ll take you out of the lightning round.
Great job.
You guys had no no fear whatsoever with this lightning round.
Tell people where they can find you if they want to know more about Savi Salon, if they
want to know more about the model, just talk to you guys in general.
Where do people go?
What do they do?
Yeah.
So you can find us at Savi Salon KC dot com as well as on Instagram at Savi Salon KC
and Facebook at Savi Salon KC.
I’m on Instagram as well and on Facebook social media platform at at Lenora Leathers, L.E.N.
O.R.A. L.E.A. T.H.E.R.S.
And our products, you know, I don’t I don’t want to leave that out.
You can shop your products at shop Savi Salon KC dot com.
Perfect.
Yeah.
Send them straight to you.
But then you can find me at Ricky Leathers on all platforms.
That’s R.I.C.K.
EY on Instagram, on Facebook.
I think on Facebook there’s a few of us out there.
So you got to maybe find figure it out.
Figure it out also on LinkedIn.
Find me.
I’m on there as well.
But but yeah.
So and then what else was that?
I don’t know.
I think I was going to say you’re going to pitch one more thing.
I mean, this is your opportunity.
Oh yeah.
And then, you know, if there are, you know, we’ve gotten a whole lot of feedback and interest
in like, hey, how do you guys run your business model that way?
Right.
And I want to play downplay that we’ve gotten so many people all over the country.
Yeah.
Even I had someone reach out in Africa to ask about our business model and wanting to
know how to run it the way they were running it.
So now you can go.
That’s clearly something that we’re excited about, right?
Because we’re proud of it.
And we do feel like it is a better way of doing business in this space.
Freedom for the owner, the team culture and for the clients.
Right.
And so we’re excited.
We’re working on something right now where we’re building out an educational platform,
a consulting platform that will be built specifically to help those independent stylists or salon
owners who are currently running a booth rental model and help them to make that transition
into an employee based model for those who are interested.
So that’s something that we’re currently working on now.
Connect with us on any of those platforms that we just mentioned.
And we’d love to get you more information about when that comes out.
That’s what’s next for Sasquatch.
That’s what’s next.
All right.
We’re so excited.
Ricky and Lenore Leathers, co-owners of Savvy Salon, thanks for being with us today.
Thank you for having us.
Thank you.
And that is our show.
Thanks to our guests, Ricky and Lenore Leathers.
And thank you for listening to the Small Business Miracles podcast.
Remember to subscribe, leave us a five star rating and review.
Drop us a line on the website at eagadv.com if you have any thoughts.
Until then, we’ll be out here helping entrepreneurs with another Small Business Miracle.