It's About Time. Or is it?

Frequently we’re asked: “How much time does it take to run a salon?” It depends. (You probably didn’t want to hear that, but it does.) Why? Because it depends on the skills and makeup of the franchise owner. Let’s face it, some people like to be hands on—they enjoy it—others in our system prefer to delegate as much as they can. That’s why we firmly hedge. We encourage prospective franchisees to speak with Great Clips owners—they have the answers. Case in point, at our last Great Clips convention I was sandwiched between two franchisees at lunch (please forgive me; I relish a play on words.)

The franchisee on my right owned one salon for a number of years. She impressed upon me that her salon required a minimum of 40 hours per week of her time . She felt she needed (as a very hands-on owner) to be in the salon often and for long durations of time—and no, she didn’t cut hair!

The franchisee on my left owned eight salons and maintained his corporate job up until he opened his fifth salon. He proceeded to tell me how he (the delegator) made time to meet with his managers weekly, run his reports, talk with vendors, etc., all from his home office.

As you can imagine, there was a lively conversation between the two of them with me in the middle. The key, I believe, for any prospective franchisee investigating any franchise system is to assess your skills and makeup and then speak with like-minded owners. If you’re like the franchisee who feels the need to keep an eye on the details, you may be content with one unit (nothing wrong with that). If you’re like the franchisee who owns multiple salons, our business model works especially well for you. But, how much time it takes to run one salon or several salons is up to you. Whatever makes you happy gives you the best opportunity for success, no matter how you define it.