HOW TO BUILD A MILLION-DOLLAR SALON SUITE BUSINESS

22:24Who would you rather have in your salon suite? So who makes the best clients? Is it barbers? Is it hair salon people? Is it eyebrow people?

22:33Sway The Pro:I'd say primarily it's cosmetologists, but really it's more so the person that's just established, honestly. So even if it's a barber, if it's an esthetician, lash tech, makeup artist, whoever is established, whoever looks established online, because for the most part, all I can do is look online, look at their social media, check their booking site, make sure they're legit. So that's a good tenet. Somebody who's established, you don't have to worry about if they're going to pay rent because you can see that they have clientele, they're going to make money. And also somebody that has good energy.

22:59Sway The Pro:I'm big on energy. I don't care how popular you are. If I feel like your energy is off, I don't want you in the space. And people who are professional understand customer service because there's a lot of beauty pros that just don't have that business acumen. They don't understand basic business fundamentals. And so that causes some issues sometimes. So I try to just look at those things when choosing who to lease to. How do we get from location one to location two? Was it by demand or did you just see that, hey, we've made this here. Let's try to do this in another location and see if we can replicate it.

23:32Yeah. So actually, I wasn't even looking for a second location, but a gentleman had called me and said, hey, I know you do salon suites. We have this hair store that's kind of built out like salon suites. You want to take a look at it. And it was perfect. So my first two locations were pretty much my first location was a doctor's office. So I always say look for a doctor or a dental office. Typically, they already have good sized rooms, already have plumbing and electrical. You know, they do everything a one. And so that's basically what we look for. the second location, we had to build out like maybe three suites.

24:01So it wasn't planned. It was an opportunity that came to me, but it was perfect timing because I had learned a lot throughout that first location. So we were able to, you know, do the second location. It was a lot easier. In regards to the other locations and franchising. And so this is why I always say exposure is so important and you have the, you know, proximity and you have the right people around you because I wasn't thinking about franchising. I think it may have crossed my mind, but I was thinking that it just had more requirements than I needed. I was just thinking maybe it's too big and that's why you never want to limit yourself.

24:28But I had this gentleman and he was like, Sway, why don't you franchise? And I was like, man, I don't think I can franchise. And he was like, how do you even know? You haven't even called and asked and inquired about it. And so when I did, they were like, yeah, you can franchise. It's just, you know, you got to pay. And that's it. So, you know, we was more to it. You got to create the FDD and the 100 page document and all of that. But anyways, we did that. My first deal ended up being a three unit deal. So what we did was Our motto was we would sell a turnkey ready salon suite to a franchise. So then we franchise it.

24:57We still get the franchise fee. We still get the royalties. But within that three unit deal, they had to build two more units. In order to get a turnkey location, you have to agree to open two more locations. And so that's how we kind of started out with that three unit deal. Give them three and then they got to build two?

25:11Sway The Pro:Give them one, they got to build two. Give them one, they got to build two. Yeah. And so that's what we did. I actually sold that first location with 16 suites for around like half a million dollars. Still was able to get royalties from it. And then again, they had to build two more locations, which they did. So for somebody, we'll talk about the franchise model for sure. But for somebody that's, okay, they realize that they want to have a salon suite. What's the first thing that they have to do? Obviously, you know, you got to find a location. For sure. Build it out. Do you recommend that they try to get people that's going to work in there before?

25:44Like, what's the steps?

25:46Sway The Pro:Yeah, the steps first, of course, you got to, you know, make sure you have the funny before you even look for a location. So that's a big thing. A lot of people out here just dream and looking for locations. And I'm like, landlord is not even going to entertain you because you don't have the money to pull the trigger. But it's going to be finding the location, which can be difficult sometimes because you want to make sure you have ample parking. You want to make sure it makes sense because in this business model, there is a cap. I know we don't really like investments where there's a cap, but once our suites are full, they're full.

26:08Sway The Pro:So you want to make sure it makes sense at 100 percent capacity. I teach my students to run the numbers at 90 percent, 80 percent. What does it look like if you have five suites empty and you want to know those numbers before you sign a lease? And that's just so important because people are so excited to sign the lease just to say they own a business. And I always say it's a lot of broke business owners out there and it's a right and a wrong way to do everything. So I'm really big on making sure they do it so that it's actually profitable. But anyways, we're going to find a location. Then we're going to hire an architect that's going to come in and make sure we maximize the space, get as many suites as possible.

26:37Sway The Pro:Then we're going to be the contractor in who's going to build out the plan that the architect created. During that time, we go through permitting. I'm sure you're all familiar with the permitting process. It could be 30 days to three years. Tell us about it. So, you know, we're having patience during that time frame. Building up the salon suite. And then we like to pre-lease just like an apartment complex. So when we're about 85 % done with the build-out, we like to pre-lease, get them in early. And then, of course, you have to do your final inspection, get your CO, then you officially open. So those are pretty much just in a summary.

27:09What type of buildings do you look for? Because it's like each suite, you got to have like air conditioning or is it central air conditioning for the whole thing?

27:14Sway The Pro:Nope, you do have to have. Unless it's like a building that's grandfathered in and it's old. But for the most part, yes, you need a sprinkler. You need HVAC and everything. In each one. In each suite. So if that's not there, you got to put that in each one. You do have to put that in each one. That's like why the dentist's office or the doctor's office makes a lot of sense. Exactly. Now, sometimes the rooms can be too big, but a lot of times they are the perfect size for a suite. And a lot of them have sinks. A lot of them have sinks, plumbing and electrical. So what type of real estate are you looking for?

27:43Sway The Pro:Yes. primarily that's what I'm looking for first is a dental or a doctor's office. You know, maybe sometimes office suites, but a lot of times they don't have the plumbing and the electrical. But it's all good because one thing I also teach is TI, tenant improvement. That's when the landlord gives you money towards the build-out. I mean, I've had students get$200 ,000,$170 ,000. I mean, the landlord is paying for their full build-out. So that's one thing. You know, we go in there. Talk about that. Yep. So TI and people are like, why would the landlord, you know, people would be under my comments like, she's capped.

28:11Sway The Pro:The landlord wouldn't pay it. I'm like, y 'all just you don't know what you don't know. That landlord absolutely will. And the reason they do that is because they want you to be a long term tenant. They also see it as an investment. They know that you're about to pay them for the next seven, 10 years. So they don't get that money back on the back end. But you want to go in there. I like to say, take a GC in there before you even sign the agreement because they can spot out things that we can't spot out. You know what I'm saying? And so we go in there, we see what's right, what's wrong. And we use that to leverage our negotiating when it comes to the TI.

28:37So we're always shooting for 100 percent in TI. Of course, that's if you're leasing. You know, if you're buying, you're not getting any TI. But sometimes we get 50 percent towards the build out, 40 percent. But we try to get something in TI from the landlord, which goes towards the build out. And you don't have to pay that back. How's the retention with the people that you're leasing? I know sometimes people can start out in a room and maybe we need a bigger suite. And then the clientele becomes so big that, hey, maybe I got to go somewhere else. How does that work for you? Yeah, I don't think that's really the problem because most people who work in a salon suite work off appointments only.

29:11So they're usually only servicing one client at a time unless somebody's trying to run a whole salon or something like that. But the retention, I think, is 100 percent up to the owner. You know, even though we teach for it to be semi-passive, I think it's important that your presence is still felt. So even though I'm not there every week and every month, I still send out email automations, you know, happy holidays. And I just stay in the loop, ask them, is there anything we could do better? So I think that's important. Also goes back to just, you know, who you lease to. You know, like I said, all money isn't good money.

29:39So you want to make sure that these people are established. Because if not, they're going to be looking to leave soon. So I think it's just about, you know, if there's an issue, you, you know, communicating that and taking care of a plumbing or electrical issue, those things really help with retention. And so I did. I was really big on that. And so I was able, like I said, my first location, 85 percent of people are still there from day one. But but it can. I mean, just like real estate, you know, you got sweet squatters, too. That's what we call them. That's a real thing. somebody who will not pay but stays there and they treat it just like an apartment complex if you go that actually happened to me one time i had to call the police this lady wouldn't leave and he was like there's nothing we could do and it was the worst feeling walking through my salon suite looking at this person do hair and not pay me and it was nothing i could do but wait for a court date so that lesson what i learned with that i met an attorney he said well you know like we works in these office spaces they use a license agreement he said with the license agreement you don't got to deal with squatters you can get them right out of there because you're not leasing the space to them so once we made that change which is major there's a lot of salon suite owners to this day that don't even know that um so now we don't deal with sweet scotters we got something it makes me think of like the systems that you didn't have in location one correct that you implemented in location two and yes like is that are there a bunch of those that there is in each location we learned something and we just got better yeah what are some of those things that's a good one yeah for sure like even when we go back so when i take my students i like to take them to the first location and the last location because the first location is hard for me to even walk through i'm like dang why do i got regular doorknobs like only i got keys like you know i'm saying so stuff like that you know keyless entry um just having true systems in place the email automations like i said just making my presence be felt um trying to think what else payment structure the late fee structure just learning that and i think that was pretty much that off the top of my head what i can think of as far as you know i'm sure there's other lessons and just how to deal with people again how to uh filter out the bad tenants and good tenants so lots of little lessons like that that we just continuously kept learning and so i brought my sister on board i want to say a couple years ago so she worked for samsung she was uh like in charge of approving like all the new devices and stuff so she was real big on systems so she came in implemented a lot of systems that really really helped us get going for sure are there property managers at each location or is it is it you and just like the family's going around making sure that you're seeing Yep.

31:59So at first it was me, which was another big lesson that I learned because I gave everybody my phone number. And that was the worst decision ever, because when there's a leak, all 20 people call me and I'm like, I just need to hear it from one person. So what I like to do is appoint one person from each location as like the liaison. So they're like the salon manager. And that's the only person that has my number. So if there's any issues that go on, they understand to let the salon manager know she's the one that contacts me. I'll contact the team. And that's when I was more involved. Now I'm not that involved at all.

32:27and then to compensate her I just discount her like two like fifty dollars a week so about two hundred dollars a month and they appreciate that and so there's some weeks we talk there's some weeks we don't talk but just having that liaison is extremely helpful the rest of the tenants can only contact me by email and that's a big lesson that I learned because that would drive you crazy I remember just feeling overly super overwhelmed with everybody having my number it was a point of time where I hated my ringtone it just gave me instant anxiety like now what you know what I'm lessons. But, you know, I don't regret any of them.

33:01They were lessons. So how much does it cost for the average build-out?

33:04Sway The Pro:So it really depends on the scope of work. If you find a dental office, your build-out course isn't going to cost as much as a building that's empty. But again, that's when we're going to negotiate more TI because we've got to put in more work. But I like to say the sweet spot to start is like 80 to 100 K. And then once you find your location and then you get your quote, you'll know if it's more or less. And I always tell people, they say, well, what if I don't have enough money. I later determined I need more money for the build out. But we have a funding team in place. So our program, we do everything from credit repair to funding to help you find a location.

33:34Sway The Pro:We bring in realtors. We bring in a trademark attorneys, therapists. How's funding? How does that work? Funding. So we have an amazing funding team. We have a credit team and a funding team that works together. We encourage people to use OPM, other people's money. And so when they get into our mastermind, we actually go and use our resources to help them get the funding, which is very helpful because a lot of people don't know. They just go to their bank and they just think that's the only place they can get funding. So that's a big help. But the thing is, if you get the funding, you find a location and then you later determine, OK, I need an extra 60K.

34:04Sway The Pro:Well, then we'll go and do a second round of funding while we're waiting for those permits. We don't really got much to do anyway. So while we're waiting for those permits, we can put our first payment down. We can pay the architect to design it. Then we're going to get a second round of funding. So we support them in every single way when they tap in. And like I said, just throw one in there. We even have a therapist come in because I always tell my students, you know, I want y 'all to become successful. I want you guys to be salon suite owners. But at the end of the day, the ultimate success in life, in my opinion, is peace and happiness.

34:31So it's a lot of miserable business owners. So I like to just have that balance in my teachings with just making sure you have the right mindset to maneuver through this peacefully and still have your sanity. Because you're dealing with a lot of people that are their own boss, too. So you know how that goes. We talk a lot about ownership. And one of the most important assets you can own is your digital real estate. Too many entrepreneurs rely on social media platforms they don't control. Your website should be the center of your business. Framer helps you build a professional website without all the friction.

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37:04Extra. Initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. You told us the type of locations you look for. Doctors offices, dental offices. What about from a geographical location? Right. Like, are there certain things that, you know, need to be in place, whether it be like eateries or, you know, office buildings? People like to go to get these things done on their lunch break. Like, are those things going into your decision making when you're talking about location? Yeah, but not like necessarily a deal breaker for not. Of course, we want to go where there's high traffic, just like any business.

37:39We want to go where it's high traffic. The biggest thing is having ample parking, you know, unless you're in a city like New York where just parking is just a struggle anyway. But we do make sure we have ample parking. But for the most part, because salon suites, you know, like I said, they're already established. They bring their own clientele. We don't necessarily have to be on a main corner like a traditional salon or barbershop where they're trying to get walk-ins. You know, we're not really focused on walk-ins, so we don't have to. But it's always a bonus if you can be next to a Starbucks or a shopping center or something like that.

38:08So we do aim for that. But we have locations that aren't necessarily in high demand areas. But for the most part, though, people always ask me, you know, what's a good location? It's all about doing your research, really. You know, the numbers are going to tell you if it's a good location. So doing your research on your area, because every market area is different. A suite in Atlanta is not going to cost the same as a suite in New York. So understanding what the average suite goes for in your area. And then when you have a location, we have an equation where we can kind of run the numbers and project the income before we even sign the lease.

38:38OK, the average suite in New York is 275. We have 3000 square feet. We get about 16 suites in there. We run the number on that at 100 percent capacity, 80 percent capacity. And so that's the main thing is just making sure the numbers make sense. the way I coach, I make sure it's in my past. Because there are some salon suite owners that work it like it's a full-time job. It blows my mind. So I'm big on just making sure that they don't have to be there every day. So it doesn't have to be around a quarter from your house. It could be 30 miles out and you can still manage it pretty good. I'm thinking you already got the one-stop shop.

39:12They're going to get their hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails all done in the same place. All done. The only thing missing is food. Yeah, that's a good one. We'll join right next door. No, literally. It is helpful. Now, the thing with salons, you know, the salon industry, you got a lot of food people who pull up on you. So, you know, they come sell you detergent, socks, food, all kind of stuff. So that's helpful. Even the beauty supply that nowadays they have like the mobile supplies. They walk in. They're the bands. Yeah. You walk in the band, it's like a full supply store. But, yeah, it is always nice to be next to food for sure.

39:42Everybody got to eat. So what do you think the mistakes? A lot of beauty salon or beauty professionals make money, but they don't really ever generate like real wealth. So what's the what's the mistakes that?

39:52Sway The Pro:Yeah, man, I think it's like I said, those basic business fundamentals. First of all, they don't even really have a clear understanding as to how much they make. And I'm like, how can you set a goal when you don't even know where you're actually at? You know, I think reporting is really important when it comes to money, because, like I said, you got those vendors that come in, you spending all kind of money. You don't know where the money is going in and out. A lot of people are taking cash out, cash sale. It should be one form of payment so that you have clear reporting so that you really understand your numbers so that you can set a goal.

40:20Sway The Pro:You know what I mean? But I think also customer service is the biggest thing right now. These stylists are off the chain with their attitudes. And it's like they think we need them when in reality they need the clients. But that's big. Like their attitude is terrible. It's some very talented people out there that just don't understand the basic business fundamentals. Like be on time. Like you think because you're the stylist, you can be 45 minutes late. But if the client is late, you want to enforce a late fee. But you can be 45 minutes late and you don't even give them a discount or anything like that.

40:48So I think that their their attitude about it is is wrong. And I think that's why a lot of people aren't growing because they look at it like, well, it's OK, I'll get a new client. And my thing is to grow. You want to retain those clients so that you can create that demand. And then where you're overly packed and booked out, that's when you can increase your price. That's when you can scale. You know what I'm saying? But they don't care about that when you leave. They just feel like, hey, as long as somebody is in my chair. So that's that's really big in the hair and beauty industry. The customer service is rough out there.

41:15I ain't gonna lie. Yeah, I've watched my wife have some bad experiences. I know exactly what you're talking about. It's bad. I've heard this common theme that I don't do that anymore or it's not me that does that anymore. And this is, you know, the idea of your business and business function without you is when you have a real business. For sure. Because you have systems. When did you get to that point? Man, I want to say maybe about four years ago. Yeah, about four years ago when I realized, OK, I can't. And then I started scaling. So I franchised, we had two corporate locations, three franchise locations.

41:47And then I wanted to do other things like get into real estate and stuff like that. So I want to say about four years ago, but it took me a little longer than it should have. I definitely should have got out of my own way and replaced myself a lot sooner. But that's, like you said, very important in order to continue to grow. And that's something I'm still working on a little bit now, which is, you know, hey, Sway, you shouldn't be doing it. Like delegate, delegate, delegate. So, yeah, very important. So the franchise model, right? How much is it to buy your franchise? And what's the advantage of buying a franchise, like somebody buying into your franchise as opposed to just starting their own philanthropy?

42:21Sway The Pro:Yep, because you get that support, right? So we're already established brand. We're already trademarked. They get the rights to use all of our marketing, our name and everything like that. Plus they get the support. So we typically meet with our franchisees like every month just to make sure that they have everything that they need. They contribute to the marketing fund. So the advantage is that it's already an established brand. You don't have to really figure everything out on your own. You have some guidance as opposed to you going and doing it by yourself. Of course, you can still tap in with me and I'll teach you how to start your own brand.

42:50Sway The Pro:But you're starting a new brand. So, you know, some people just don't want to reinvent the wheel. They just, you know, they say, hey, if it's already an established brand, let me just buy into your brand. And so our franchise fee is thirty five thousand and then it's five percent of royalties off your gross income. So that's pretty much how it goes. Are people that are leasing from you, obviously they can look to you as the example of what success could look like. Do you is there the education process as they come into the suites and starting to see the evolution of what you're doing? And are they trying to model what you're doing or most people just focus on, hey, this is my client.

43:27Let me just focus here and missing the business of what you're actually building. Yeah, I think something some people get in. Some people do miss it because there are some people like I mean, I've had actually students. One of my students was she actually leased the suite and she was super, super shy. She's one of the people that we got 200 ,000 in TI. So some people see it. They see the bigger picture. They're like, Sway, eventually I want to get from behind the chair because I always say this industry is amazing. But you can get stuck in this industry. When people say I've been cutting for 40 years, I'm like, that's not a flex.

43:54You need to figure something out. You know what I'm saying? Because you can't only, it's so much wear and tear on your body. So some students get in and there's some students that, or should I say tenants, tenants that don't get it. And I mean, it just is what it is. But to the ones that get it, anytime they ask me, I'm not one of those people where I'm going to take it personal. If you go start your own brand, I'm going to actually help you. Right. Especially if you're a good tenant. So. Because it feels like some people will see it as a path to, I guess, quote unquote freedom. You are entrepreneurs.

44:21Yes. But it could be a path to financial freedom if structured the right way. If structured the right way. I like that you said that having one form of payment system, right? Zelle, them having all that. And then the other part of this is we're getting the money. But are we understanding of taxes? Exactly. All the things, right? Are you seeing that as you started in 2000, are you seeing that more of the tenants are becoming more financially literate about that? Or like from your perspective? A little bit. I would like to see more. I still think it's too many people that's tapped out of that and don't understand the importance of that.

44:56But I do think more people are trying to take a little bit serious because they understand that's the only way to get from behind the chair to in front of the chair is what I like to call it. So, yeah, it's a slight increase, but it would not it would be nice if more people really just understood the importance of that. So from a real estate standpoint, if you're if you're renting, right, how long do you think it'll take before you get your money back? Because you got to pay for the upfront. That's a great question. To build out all of that stuff.

45:20Sway The Pro:So, yeah. And like I said, it depends on so many different factors. You know, if you get TI, then you kind of getting your money right back. But I like to say you see a return on your investment a little quicker in this industry. I would say on average, you know, a year to two years. Yep. Just, again, depending on how much you actually put into the build out. So like with me, I was able to see my return within that first year. But I had 12 months free rent. I didn't get any TI at that first location. And that's another thing. If they don't give you TI, because sometimes you can run into that. The landlord is like, look, I don't give out money.

45:46Sway The Pro:So that's when you want to negotiate more free rent. So in that case, I said, OK, well, you can't give me TI towards the build out. I will give me a year of free rent. And he actually did that. And that was actually pretty dope because our build out took, I think maybe like four months. So the rest of the year we were able to not have to pay any rent. Is the focus now on more franchises or creating more locations for yourself? Yeah. So I actually sold the Encore brand about three years ago and I still work with them and help them franchise, which I love that because it was kind of a conflict of interest with me pushing the franchise and then trying to promote my students because my franchisees were like, well, why are you pushing their brand?

46:21And so I love that because this is really and it was always my plan. So I always had an exit plan to exit. Before you started. Correct. Now, it was 10 locations, even though we only made it to five. But that was always my plan was was to pivot. So now I get to just focus more on my students and my mentees. So for me, I'm not opening any more locations. I don't think so. I don't see myself doing it, especially with me just diversifying my portfolio. Now, now I'm really into real estate on the restaurant in Midtown called Ancheese. so not for me but still here to always help my students grow and expand so what made you so

46:54Sway The Pro:um like i said it was always my my plan um and i just kind of reached a point um i want to say like the pinnacle but i started to just feel very overwhelmed and i was like okay i'm kind of just ready to get into something else because i'm one of the people who actually worked in this industry so i didn't just start with salon suites i worked in the industry and i just felt like it was perfect timing um to kind of get out when things were going good you know and so it worked out perfectly though all right so we got athletics entertainment yeah hair and beauty yes and now we got hospitality yes and well yeah we develop real estate okay you just hospitality you want to talk about a business that's stressful now see i'm still new to it you know we i got in i want to say maybe like three months ago so and it was established brand already so they're they they did pretty good they're just looking for they just needed that growth partner somebody who understood how to really scale how to franchise how to have systems in place and stuff like that so i'm still getting my feet wet um it's a small establishment so nothing too crazy um so yeah i'm still learning we gotta come but i know that it's listen i'm in atlanta so i see them flip uh restaurants every year they change the name and they're closing so i understand it's a challenging industry but i think my partner is pretty knowledgeable and like i said we're we're starting out small so i'm still learning what did diversification look like you said it's real estate but what type of real estate like how did you come to that point where okay yes I sold obviously you've done it in a sort of a way right like you're the landlord correct so what what has fueled the passion now yeah so again just understanding that I needed to diversify so there was a few years ago I lost a lot of money and I felt like if I would have diversified maybe it wouldn't have been such a hard hit and so now I'm just trying to find other investments silent investments, you know, safe hedge funds and stuff like that.

48:46And with real estate, my sister is a realtor. And so when I was actually going to look for my own personal home, she would always say, you know, why don't you build? Why don't you build? And at first I was just like, no, I don't feel like going through all of that. And so she always wanted to be a developer. And so we got into it together, hired a mentor, and we're still going through that process. We've built two so far. We have two that are still being built. So I actually really, really like that. So I'm going to start putting a lot of focus into that. But our whole business model is, for the most part, is we're going to build them up and then we're able to sell them before we really, before we even finish, they go into contract.

49:20You didn't even know you're talking to two developers right now. No, I did know that. I didn't know. I'm seeing what y 'all doing. So going back to Salon Street for a minute, from a worker standpoint, if somebody does nails or they cut hair or eyebrows, whatever, Or what would you say to them if they're deciding whether they should do it in a traditional suite, a salon, if they should do a salon suite or if they should just work out of their house or their living room?

49:54Sway The Pro:Yeah, I've never encouraged people to work out of their house because I think it's just it's unprofessional. You know, if you want that high level clientele that's going to come and pay you a high price and tip you, you don't really want them coming to your house. But I think like I mentioned earlier if you don't have clientele go into a traditional salon or barbershop You can also learn from your peers. You can build your clientele up once you're established you have consistent clientele Your books are pretty much 75 full then I will consider a salon suite So I want to be very clear with that Because a lot of people just jump into it because it's the popular thing and then they're like, oh shoot I can't keep up with this rent and I don't really have too much help now I will say though.

50:28I also I do even though i'm not obligated to give them help I still try to bring in wealth advisors, marketing agencies to come and speak to the tenants. And they appreciate that just to show that I do care about their business. I do want them to be successful.

50:41Sway The Pro:But for the most part, like I said, it's going to be just if you're established, if you know how to really be on your own and run your business, then you can go into a salon. What's the most profitable one? Like, obviously, haircuts is probably the lowest on Atlanta. They charge a lot of money. But man, what? Because then also the women here, braiders, they make money, but it takes a long time. It does. So from a time standpoint, out of nails, eyebrows, barber, braiders, traditional women's hair, which one is the most profitable? I would say a cosmetologist, a hairstylist, I think. A woman's hair stylist.

51:16Sway The Pro:And I mean, in Atlanta, there's a lot of males that do women hair, too. So and they killing it. But I would say I think hairstylists because, yes, it does take longer, but they're charging sometimes five, six, seven hundred dollars, depending on how how good they are. And typically the style lasts a long time. So I would think a stylist, but barbers can make pretty good money. I made pretty good money when I was behind the chair. I was one of those that, you know, I consider myself a groomer. I think there's a difference. And I had high pricing, but I gave them a true VIP service because I think you have to justify the price.

51:45In Atlanta, a lot of people just jacking up these prices just because everybody else is doing it. And it's like you can't have a high price and think somebody's going to come and pay and you're not even on time or you're you're not even cleaning your equipment and stuff like that. So you got to justify the price. Shampoo service, hot towel. Oh my goodness. Exactly. The hair, right? Because there's even different, there's the wigs. Correct. Extensions. Yep. We talk a lot about ownership and one of the most important assets you can own is your digital real estate. Too many entrepreneurs rely on social media platforms they don't control.

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54:55Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage Proud partner of iHeart Podcast Network For the audience, explain the price points for like the different tiers of women's hair

55:07Sway The Pro:Yeah, so to be honest with you, I don't know that I know the up-to-date price you know, to be honest with you But yeah, you tell me, you're paying for it It's filthy Couple hundred for sure Easily, we changed hairstyles so I have a wife and a daughter She had a hairstyle last year and she was the person charged her 200 okay she wanted to redo it this year and they're charging a 600 same hairstyle oh she went up 400 i'm just trying to figure out like what's going on so like i mean it becomes tricky right braids obviously a lot of times black women summertime if they're going away yeah vacations beaches pools usually they're going with braids so right that's i mean as a dad i'm like damn i got the kids for the next 12 hours you know what i mean so that cause you know, whether it's sew-ins, ladies' front, there's just so much that goes into it, which is why I think that that would probably be the profession or that's going to have the largest fees.

56:04When he said Atlanta and Tay is the best, that guy does wigs, right?

56:09Sway The Pro:Yes. He specializes in wigs. I think he lives in New York now. Yeah. So that's a whole specialty within itself, like just wigs. Correct. And all about how you lay it and make it not look like a wig. That's the key. You know, some people, if they don't get that makeup, right? Okay, if they don't get the makeup, you're like, hold on now, they look like a wig. They don't got that middle part. So, yeah, it has to transition real nicely. So, that's the difference right there. If you know how to put that lace front on, it looks like your natural hair. That blend. That blend. You know what I mean? Then you can charge those prices, but a lot of people aren't so good at that.

56:40This is, I mean, I'm seeing a lot of people going to the space, whether it's nail techs. We just came from a school where a young girl created her own nail tech business. Oh, really? She was 15 years old. Oh, nice. which is incredible but it speaks to me of competitiveness competition how or what are you seeing that separates people to to grab more attention because there's a lot of people it's a lot of estheticians like hair nail tech that's why i'm so excited to be at invest fest because i'm like you know this is a really big industry you got i mean millions of people that's in this industry.

57:18But I think that I would say I would say if you can just simply be on time, I think that sets you apart right there. Really?

57:27Sway The Pro:I'm just being honest. In Atlanta, as a barber? As a barber too. You don't even have to be the greatest. If you have good customer service, that sets you apart right there. I mean, they don't, it's terrible out here. On time to come into work or on time as far as you running over with your appointments? On time for your appointment. So if you have an 8 o 'clock, an 8 a.m. appointment, be there at 7.50 and be ready to start. That's what I'm saying. because that's another thing too though. Barbara can set a time at 1 o 'clock. He's already there, but his client comes 15 minutes late. Yes, and then now it's...

57:55And then he's... So now that 1 o 'clock turned to a 145.

57:58Sway The Pro:Right, and now everybody else after that is late. Right. Exactly. So that's why I would say, I think it was like 10 minutes. And then after that, I just can't do you because of that. Everybody else now has to be late because you were late. And do you have the best practices? You prepay? Yes. On the app? On the app, correct. What's the app? The cut? I was using StyleSeat at the time so they took a deposit at first and then Squire is the new one. You know Squire? Yeah. I'm familiar with Squire. That's a fan. Yeah. I would take the deposit at first and then the balance would be charged but if it was a no-show I'd charge the full price.

58:28But when you're just that good On their credit card?

58:30Sway The Pro:On their credit card. And do you only take appointments through the app? Yes. Somebody can't just text you? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I started out like that but again it's not professional. It's more professional should I say to actually use the app because the app is going to help you with the reporting the apps most apps nowadays they send reminders you know i think a follow-up is so important to really retain clients too it's like after they leave you should be already trying to book their next appointment and then with these apps you can set up a reminder and say hey hey troy you haven't been in a barbershop in a few weeks you want to book an appointment so it's a lot of benefits to using the app um and then like i said you got the payments going through one avenue so you can see your clear reporting but i definitely recommend apps i used to do text and i i can't believe i was doing that but you know be live and learn so but what if you got a good client and they like i'm not do you ever make exceptions not really well t-pain i did just because he kind of called me randomly and and and it was just if i was available i still set that tone that like i'm not just up jumping for you you still have to respect my time because there was a point of time where i would go to him and he would have me waiting like 45 minutes to an hour yeah what about that that's big too yeah so the first two times i was like okay hold on like i'm not i could have been doing something else with my time and what i love about him what i respect about him is once i communicated that to him and said, look, T-Pain, when I come in, we already only doing the size anyway.

59:46He had dreads. So when I come in, I need us just to get straight to it. I have other things going on. And he respected that. So going forward, mind you, his stylist, she was like, this is what he does. I've been with him for years. He's always late. I said, oh, well, I can't do this. You know what I'm saying? So he respected that and he was on time.

1:00:01Sway The Pro:But when it comes to celebrity clientele, I think that's the thing is setting the tone, letting them know that your time is just as valuable. You know, I'm not about to come sit on set for six hours and you still paying me for this one service where I could have been with my consistent, loyal clients. But people would jump for celebrities and abandon their clients. And I don't think that that's a good decision at all. So you got to be real mindful. Is it overrated working with celebrities? I think sometimes. I think it can be. You know, it looks cool. I guess it's cool to say I cut T-Pain's hair.

1:00:27Sway The Pro:Am I going to get a ton of clients from it? I don't think so. It more so just looks cool. But I think it just has to make sense. And I think you should prioritize your consistent clientele 100 % because they're the ones that's coming to you every single week and just paying consistently. So there's pros and cons to it. I hear the discipline. Yeah. I hear the structure. I hear the system. We have this conversation all the time as entrepreneurs, as men. Balance. What does that even mean for you in this space? Man, just living life. You know, sometimes we get caught up in just working so much. And it's like, you know, you want to actually enjoy the fruits of your labor.

1:01:06So I think that that's important to have balance. So with me, I had to learn that I needed more help. And I'm still learning that right now. Me and twin are actually trying to hire somebody else right now because we just continues to keep growing But I think it's so important to to live life, you know, I mean whatever that looks like for you If that's going on vacation if that's spending time with your family if that's just you sitting at home watching tv Finding that balance. So I try to really work off of a schedule That's really helpful for me. Like this is what time i'm going to work at this time I'm going to turn my brain off and relax So I think just you know, like I said having a schedule really helps with that with that balance for sure Because you can get caught up working too much.

1:01:39So how'd you get into teaching? about this and explain that side of what you're doing now as far as like educating people

1:01:47Sway The Pro:absolutely so a couple people would ask me to help them so i did a little consulting before i actually had my program and i said okay that was kind of the era of everybody was kind of dropping courses so i said well let me go ahead and drop my course as well um and that was a whole process in itself but um we were able to do that we started out pretty slow once i understood like ads paying for ads and stuff we were able to scale pretty quickly with that um and i really enjoy that. I really enjoy that because for one, we get real results. So I'm not one of the courses that's just talking and you don't see real results.

1:02:16I mean, my testimonials are crazy. I can't even post them all online, but we get real results. I'm really big on my reputation. I'm really big on over delivering and making sure you get what you pay for and some. So with our mentorship, you know, we have our course where it's more do it yourself. So if you want to just get the information, do it yourself. But then we have a higher tier, which is the inner circle where, like I said, we do everything for you. So from credit repair to funding to having a realtor come online, helping you pick a location. Like I said, trademark attorney. We have a wealth advisor come in.

1:02:48So just a full package. And it's a year program. And like I said, we can pretty much help anybody in any situation. So I really, really enjoy it. We have, I've trained over 100 ,000 people and we do free weekly trainings every single week for people that want to get into the industry. But it's going great so far. I really, really enjoy it. What's that feeling like? Like we've been on the other side of that where you give people information, they execute on information. It changes their life. Yes. Right. Which changes their community's life, changes their family life. What's that like for you? Man, it's really amazing because I remember what I went through.

1:03:20And so it's kind of dope to be able to be to other people what I wish I had when I was growing up. Because, man, if I could have just had one person to call to ask a question, I would have paid anything. That's how bad it was for me. So when I see my students actually cut that red ribbon, it really genuinely makes me proud, you know, Because we're all out here trying to just create more sources of income and reach that financial freedom. So I love it. I love the students that actually come in and want it. There's a lot of people who tap in who just don't have the work ethic. They don't understand what it takes.

1:03:48But I love when I get those people that come in. They're serious. They're coachable. They listen. And they execute. So I love it. I really, really do. So talk about InvestFest. What do you have planned for InvestFest? Yeah. InvestFest, I'm bringing some heavy hitters. Like I said, I'm really excited that we get to bring this industry. you know, and to invest best because there's a lot of people that attend that, you know, we didn't necessarily, from what I recall, have anything specifically targeting this industry. So I'm bringing in BB Jewelry. You know, she owns Kaleidoscope, which is a very big hair product.

1:04:18Sierra Glam Shop, she also was an esthetician turned salon owner. And now she does a bunch of other things as well. And then Portia Williams also owns a hair brand, Go Naked. She's grossed over 10 million with her hair brand. So just trying to show people how to pivot, You know how to get from a lot of us started actually in the same position that most of them are in right now behind the chair. But how do you pivot? Because, again, you get stuck in there. You know, there's there's this 80 year old barber in Atlanta that still cuts hair. And I'm like, God, I can't imagine, you know, having to be 80 and still having to cut.

1:04:46And maybe he does it because he just loves it. I hope that that's the case. But I just think it's so important that you have a plan on how to get from behind that chair, because, like I said, it's a lot of wear and tear. I mean, people don't even understand the importance of a mat. They think a mat is just for looks. And it's like, no, that's to help with your back. You know, your posture needs to be good because people get all kind of cramps in their hands, arthritis, all kind of stuff you can get. So I'm excited to bring people to InvestFest that started where a lot of the beauty pros are now and are going to teach them and just show them and show them that it's possible to to create another source of income, whether it's in this industry or not, whether it's a hair brand, a product, a salon, a salon suite.

1:05:23But you got to have some type of plan for that next level. I'm super excited. Big business. Yeah, big business. I'm happy that you're going to be there. I'm actually bringing that. And the community is going to be there. Yeah. Excited for it. I'll be there in the front row watching. Oh, yeah. I'm excited. And I got the workshop as well. So that'll be more focused on salon suites. But the panel is just overall hair and beauty. Yeah. I've been trying to get. So the same woman that does my son's hair, his braids, does my daughter's hair. Okay. And my wife always talks about how when they get their hair done there, she must be using a product.

1:05:55And I'm like, yo, you got to create a product that scales. I need you. The same thing that you're saying is what I'm saying. You got to figure out the plan to not be behind that chair. And that product might be the thing. Yeah, it might be the thing. You just got to do it the right way and do your research and just be willing to put in the work. You know, they see all this stuff. They think it's overnight success. They don't understand. It takes a lot to really set it up so that you can actually retire. So that's the thing, too, is understanding. Look, it's going to require some work. It may be some long days.

1:06:20You may have to come home from doing six heads and then have to tap into something. But it's just it's just what it takes. You got to, you know, like ET says, I always say you got to want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe. And I tell people when you put in that work, you know, it pays off. You put in the work either way. You put it in, you know, for people that work a nine to five, you put in the work for somebody that did believe. So you might as well put in that same work over here and eventually it'll pay off and you will have more control and just more financial stability, which is what we're all.

1:06:46She will be at InvestFest. OK, cool beans. Maya, I'm talking to you. Yes, Maya. Come check it out. We're going to make sure that you're right there listening to this. Yeah, because there's a lot of opportunities where you can even white label products. You can white label. A lot of people actually do that. They don't know. But it's a lot of opportunities within the industry as well. You know, people always talk about all these sources and income you need. But I think you should always squeeze as much out the lemon first. A lot of times you can create a second and third source within that same industry if you understand it.

1:07:13And if you're, you know, if you're if you know a lot of people don't know stuff. You know, as you all know, you don't know what you don't know. You also can't do what you don't know. So that's why it's so important. you know proximity is so important coming to invest fest i've been there every single year from the very beginning and every time we were there me and my twin would walk through and say now why we didn't get a vendor why didn't we we we always walk through and we're like man we should have really been a part of this so i'm just super excited we're doing it real big bringing a lot of heavy hitters and i'm just excited to just impact the people in this industry specifically so and um talk about like different income streams that people can make from like you said i guess you can have a product yep product you can teach a course yep you can you know sell merch like for a barber or a hair salon person what how can they make different streams of income for themselves

1:08:04Sway The Pro:yeah like you said a product um it can be merch like you said it can be trainings teaching other people how to do what you're doing it can be a salon a barbershop a salon suite that you eventually own. It can be events that you do. Teaching in trade school? Yes. Yep. Teaching in trade school. I think that's for the most, unless I'm missing some, you know, a beauty supply store. I think for the most part that's pretty much it. Yeah, I think that's pretty much it. I could be missing a couple, but... But the product thing is so wide range. It is. It could be the shampoo. It could be a conditioner.

1:08:40It could be a comb. There's so many different things. It could be Beijing. it could be it could be all kind of different stuff so the key with that as any business is just marketing you know what I mean because anybody I think it's pretty easy to white label something but people think oh I have a product now it's just going to sell and it's like it's a whole nother ball game you got to really understand that marketing and invest in that marketing because people don't like to spend money but got to spend it to make it for sure that's what alright guys there you have it before we leave tell the people how to follow you absolutely on social media website anything like that

1:09:11Sway The Pro:yep also social media platforms sway underscore the pro uh the website for my free life training is this line sweetmodel.com that's where you can see my course my trainings my inner circle um and then youtube is going to be sway the pro as well so it's a pleasure having you absolutely thanks for having me thanks for joining us thank you see you guys next week earners what's up look building wealth isn't just about making money it's about knowing where your money is working for you that's why we partner with empower empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little.

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1:11:36Sway The Pro:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.