Business Journalist:My salon serves 100 clients per day!
Photo ,Calister Bonareri
By Calister Bonareri
Business Journalist| Business consultant |marketing strategist |mentor| Gender equity
advocate
“When I started the salon, I could go three days without a client walking in. I would still tell God I was grateful for the day and close believing that the next day would be better. But now I have days where we serve one hundred clients!”
When Esther Muthoni quit her job almost four years ago in Dubai and flew back to Kenya to start a salon business, her friends and family thought she had lost her mind. With her passion for women’s hair and savings, she bought a salon at ksh.250,000 along Lumumba drive in the highly populated Roysambu estate.
“I had no experience in making women’s hair but I knew how well done hair should look. I still can’t braid or style hair,” she smiles.
When Esther opened Braidy Hair salon, one of the leading hair salons in the country, she had three stations and two hair stylists, plus herself as the manager.
“I lost my mother when I was ten. My father married another wife and he was an alcoholic. So when I quit my well-paying job in Dubai, as the firstborn in my family, starting the salon was a matter of life and death for me. As a strong believer in God, I committed the money I had left to God as seed for my business,” she pauses. “It was a crazy thing to do looking back but I don’t regret it.”
Braidy is a fully-fledged salon specializing in braiding, weaving, make-up, and nail services. It currently employs about fifteen employees.
The service industry is very competitive and requires a key focus on exemplary customer service, quality end products, and talented staff. In an industry that relies on casual employees, I ask Esther how she has grown and maintained her clientele.
She says that you must know what you want, and you approve once you see it done correctly. When you see it done wrongly, you must speak up and make sure it is corrected. The soft-spoken mother of one is quick to emphasize that customer service is not compromised at Braidy hair salon. Since its inception, she has been fully involved in business operations, although now she has an assistant.
How do you recruit the right stylists?
“I focus on the personality of the stylist. I give them a month to observe their character and teamwork. If they have a teachable character and are reliable, I know I can work with them. Talent without discipline is not sustainable. I’ve hired some hair stylists who didn’t have good skills at the beginning but were keen to be corrected and improved over time. Some are currently my best employees.”
Salons experience a large employee turnover. Eunice has not experienced much of this. I am curious to know her secret.
“You must be willing to listen to your employees. Treat them like human beings. Be firm but also be empathetic so that they are not scared of you.”
She has created a culture in her salon to take her staff for retreats twice a year. She engages them in open conversations during the retreats, where they feel safe expressing their grievances. The team is encouraged to correct one another and offer recommendations about operating the salon.
Would you recommend buying an employee who has a lot of clients?
“Personally I wouldn’t because if the contract expires, what stops them from leaving with their clients as well as your clients. I don’t find it sustainable long term.”
Braidy salon has over 46,000 followers on Instagram. I ask Esther what kind of marketing strategies have worked for her.
“I’ve done Instagram ads, hired influencers and asked for referrals. What has worked the most is referrals. I have gotten clients from paid advertising. However, what has sustained us is referrals. Influencers are good but very expensive. I always keep track of how many return clients I have and how many referrals I receive. I analyze the data and am able to know where we are doing well and where I need to improve.”
She insists on consistently posting quality content on social media and engaging with your clients online.
Do you have plans to open another branch?
“Customers have been asking me to open another branch. I don’t feel am ready yet and wouldn’t want to do it due to pressure. To me I have to get the customer service right and expanding right now would put our customer service in jeopardy. So for now no.”
Esther’s biggest driving factor is knowing her identity and her faith in God. She advises women to find who they are, know what they want, focus on it, and avoid negative energy. She also recommends anyone in such a business to have a calm character, communicate without hurting the other person, and have faith in your dreams.
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