Latest / Salon Success Secrets — The podcast for salon owners who are done hustling harder and ready to break their revenue ceiling. / The Ultimate Guide to Planning The Perfect Team Retreat

Transcript

The Ultimate Guide to Planning The Perfect Team Retreat · Salon Success Secrets — The podcast for salon owners who are done hustling harder and ready to break their revenue ceiling.

• 0:32
  Speaker 1: If you love having fun together as a team and you want to take your business, your salon business, to the next level.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: We are excited to dive into today's topic, which is all about how to host, set up and execute an amazing team retreat.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and so actually at my salon company we were just actually coming off of a salon retreat and it was absolutely incredible.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: And what I love about salon retreats is every time that we get to experience one or we see one experience, you get to really see that connection refoster, you get to re-energize the team retreats so that you're able to build those connections back and you're really able to create something more beautiful than you've ever thought yes.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: And so I think you know one of the key things when you are ready to host that team retreat is really just setting a clear intention for what you know get out of that time spent together.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: You know, because intention really is, you know, the the root of everything, um, but especially if we are going to, you know, devote a bunch of time and money and energy into creating something like this, you know you really want to work on creating that unifying theme and you know what is that purpose that you really want to achieve while you're together.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and so like, for example, like think about, like hey, what would be the most important aspect that we could create this year?
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: That would help, like, create that win-win situation.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Our team would win, our clients would win, our service providers would win.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: And so like, when you're setting that intention, like what is it?
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: So for us this year, we really looked at mindset.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: We knew, we know that, like mindset, this is just an idea, that mindset would be something that would help create that win-win effect.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: And so you know, going in, we knew our intention was to work on some mindset, to create some transformation for our service providers and then they would be able to take that knowledge and information and bring it back to the salon space.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Yes, and you know, I think that mindset really truly, jen, is like the foundational thing of everything.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: You know, because it's like you can.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: You can tell you know the exact same thing to 10 different people and their mind will filter what you said in 10 different ways, you know.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: So if this has ever happened to you as a leader I know it's happened to me before, um, where you say something it's almost like a really good way to see this is when you play the game telephone.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: You know, like when you play the game telephone, a lot of times people can't duplicate exactly what happens and it's because we have a whole bunch of like subconscious programs that are running all of the time.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: And so, you know, when you go into a team retreat and you set that intention of like hey, let's elevate our mindset, you know this truly can create a huge ripple effect, not only inside of your company but for your team members, families and for just all of the lives that they get to touch.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: You know, because a lot of times you know they're able to be a lot more present.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: You know they've kind of had the opportunity to eliminate some of those mindset things that have been holding them back from the highest, most shiny version of themselves.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: You know, and so, so truly, when you are coming up with that intention, thinking about, you know what is going to create the best outcome.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: Because you know, I think sometimes the salon owners, you know we get, we get stuck in the mindset of like, well, we need to increase our retail, we need to increase our pre-books, we need to increase all of these things.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: But the truth is, if somebody doesn't have the self-concept that they can, you know, deliver top notch education to their guests or, you know, really get them on an at-home hair care plan or, you know, a maintenance plan that works well as a win-win for everybody, they don't have the self-image that they can deliver all of this.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter what education you give them If they don't believe it to be true for themselves, you can never, you know, force that upon anyone.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: And so that's what I think is beautiful about that intention with the mindset, jen, is that you know that's really the key, foundational piece to everything inside of your company.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, as I was thinking too, it was like mindset almost could be utilized and looked at every salon retreat, just because the you know, as human beings, are always growing and evolving.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: And so, like you know, if it's going to be mindset, it's going to be your focus, like making a list of what are some other things that, if your mindset improved, would also help grow, like Lindsay was saying, your service sales, your average ticket, your pre-book because it does start with that self-concept, like you were saying.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: And so just an experience or an example would be now that our team is back and we usually do have yearly salon retreats, I can see that shift in mindset and now we can see that impact on average ticket, we can see that impact on retail to service, and so I love that that mindset doesn't have to be the intention no-transcript.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Yes, I love that.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: And so you know, once you've uncovered what it is that your intention is going to be for your retreat, then the next step is to really you know, and they get to experience staying with their coworkers and seeing who they are outside of work, and you know people have kids or pets or you know just life stuff going on.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: It kind of forces them out of their daily routine and so they can really truly start to see each other as human beings and see, you know, like wow, I didn't know that, so-and-so loved.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: You know that they could do cartwheels.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: I didn't know that so-and-so could.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: You know like whistle the ABCs?
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: I don't even know.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Now I'm making up stuff and struggling with it, but like you really just start to get to know some like just quirks about people, just fun things about people.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: You start to see like, oh my gosh, we're so much more alike than I even realized and you know, or I admire this about you and so it really does.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: You know, create that and foster that connection on the team.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: And so so, determining what the outline is going to look like, how, how much time are you going to spend together?
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: You know, obviously we love an overnight, but sometimes, when you're new in the beginning, like just doing a one day retreat can still be a really powerful experience, you know.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: And then it comes down to like, hey, now let's build what this is going to look like, because you have to balance learning and fun, because if you are just shooting information at people, like opening up a fire hydrant and then them trying to catch anything, it's not likely going to work.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: And so marrying that balance between fun and learning, I think, is an art in itself, jen, and you kill it at that.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: You're really great at incorporating fun, for sure.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: Thanks, so are you.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: And yeah, I love that you said that, because it is that balance, finding that balance, because it's.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: You know, it's like being in school having a teacher teach you all day.
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: Like you are missing that connection piece when you don't add that fun piece.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: But also the opposite is true too.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Like if you're just out there all having fun drinking together, like it's not a bad thing, that can work too.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: But like, what's?
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: The other missing piece to that is like what can we learn from our salon retreat to bring back to the space?
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: And so you know, I think you know some ideas would be like incorporating guest speakers.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: You know, doing some skill building activities.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Like, for one instance, if you're working on selling, to do like a little sales class, teach them about selling.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: That you know, not all sales people are bad.
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: And then, you know, do a fun game around selling.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: One time we did I can't remember which retreat we was, but we did a bunch of different items in a bucket and then we just had the team come up, pull one out and sell them and they were like the cheapest things that you could get at the dollar store.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: What were some of the things that we had in there Like a banana an onion.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: And I know you're laughing because you're talking about the sausages that I cannot say.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Say it, just say it Vaina sausages.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Now my Southern people will know exactly what I'm talking about here.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: For those Northern folk.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: She was talking about Vienna sausages and it was epic.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: It was so epic because the best part was is when the person pulled out that item they were like what is this?
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: And then you with your Southern, you told them the Southern version of what it was and then I think it was just like the fun and confusion and it was just great to see her try to sell something that she wasn't super familiar with and you know, it was just really a fun experience.
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: It truly was.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know you could stand up there all day long at a retreat and say, hey guys, you could stand up there all day long at a retreat and say, hey guys, you got to sell more of this, you got to do this, you got to do that.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: But why not create that active learning where someone's going to retain like 85 to 90% of that, versus that passive learning where you're just standing up there teaching, so like creating that you know, fun environment where there's laughter but there's also learning, I think really can create something special.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, and we are not proponents of you have to learn through pain.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: But sometimes it is awkward when you're, when you're trying to sell to a group and you know, but like, if you can incorporate that fun and laughter as well, it really helps lighten the mood and really helps, you know, lower people's resistance around selling, Because at the end of the day, usually somebody who's had some sort of an experience over time that was less than ideal, and so they just associate that with all of selling.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: But, you know, when you can get them connected to, like, hey, when you are serving your guests, that's actually selling.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: And the way that we serve our guests is by educating them, and it's not just some, you know, 19 year old on TikTok that doesn't care about this person.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: Like you truly are invested in this person and you want them to win.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: And so there's a difference between, you know, serving and selling versus just like selling to sell.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: And so I love that you talked about like incorporating that with your fun and learning.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: You know, because, like there's there's so many different ways that you can do that besides just standing up there and saying do this, do that.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: You know, you know, and I think it's also fun to think about other activities to include, like local excursions or, you know, doing some sort of like a group challenge or game.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: You know, maybe you could do a scavenger hunt or you could even incorporate something like wellness related, like yoga or meditation.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: You know, you just really want to make sure that you are kind of hitting all areas of you know, the human experience, because, um, yes, we're here to play the salon game together.
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: You know that's what we're doing is we're serving our guests to their highest good, we're helping them feel beautiful inside and out, all of that good stuff.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: But we also know like it takes a whole person to be able to do that.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: And so it's like, how do you incorporate mind, body, spirit in any of these things?
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Because when you're showing up as the best version of yourself and all of those, it's really hard to lose, you know it's.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: It feels like you're just winning all the time.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that, thank you.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: And so next part, we're going to talk about setting up a budget.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: So you're probably like, oh, this sounds cool, lindsay and Jen, but we're new.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: We're a new business, we don't have all the funds for this, and I think there's always a creative way to do this.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: I remember being early stages of business, many, many years ago, and there wasn't the extra funds to do the overnight stays.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: So we would do a day group activity, we would network with our distributors and say, hey, could you bring in a guest speaker for us for the day, and then we would do some learning that way, and then at night we'd do something fun and they would go home.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: And so I think you just have to realize exactly what your budget allows and then kind of be able to plan for that.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: And so you know, when you stress the importance of setting that budget, make sure that it aligns with the intentions of the retreat.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: You want to think about costs.
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: You want to think about venue food transportation activities, venue food transportation activities, speakers, um, and so once you are able to look at all those verticals and kind of get pricing for those and like, okay, this is going to cost me six thousand dollars.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: Does that fit into um our budget?
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: Or you know what?
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: I'm not even profitable right now.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: So what can we do that would not cost me any money besides maybe lunch or maybe dinner?
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: That would still kind of create that impact, but just not have the price tag, a bigger price tag at the end of the day.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: And you know, I feel like also too, that sometimes when you do overnight stays, you can get creative.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: A lot of hotels will do group rates, and so just thinking of like ways of, of ways that you can save money.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: Another great idea, too, is like for those that use credit cards to their highest good and not for debt, like using credit card points, like paying for everything on a credit card throughout the year and then using some credit card points to pay for those retreats.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: And so I think you can, you can get creative.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: At the end of the day, it's like this is something that's important to you, and if you truly understand the impact that a salon retreat, if it's done in the right way, can have on the team, like you can find.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Yes, and you know, I know we've touched on this a little bit already, but you know you might be wondering well, how long should my team retreat be?
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: And you know we would say probably two days would be the max that you would want to do a retreat.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: Do you plan out your time and how do you utilize your funds?
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: Because sometimes you know you can have somebody come in around noon and not have to provide a meal.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: You know, cause that can be a large cost inside of you know a budget for a retreat.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: So just thinking about, like, how are you going to allocate those funds?
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Like, sometimes, like if you're renting, like an Airbnb or something that everybody's going to stay in, you know, if you have a team that loves to pitch in and do teamwork, you know maybe you can do a nacho night or something where each person brings like one ingredient or something.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: You know just getting creative based on what your budget is and what your goals are that you're trying to achieve.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: Um, you know, because, like, you just really want to find that sweet spot where you're avoiding, you know, burnout or overwhelm, but you're still maximizing your time for activities, you know, and so so, finding that sweet spot that feels right for you and I would say, like, hey, if you haven't ever done one before, just start with you know, a couple activities.
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: Just start with an afternoon to begin with, you know, maybe work with your distributor to get you know some sort of a speaker for a couple of hours and then go do a fun activity together as a team.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Just start wherever you are and then, as your team grows and as your budget grows, you know you might grow to the point where you're like, hey, jen and Lindsay, I'd love for you to come in and host a team retreat for us and you know if that, if you've hit that spot, email us hello at salon business schoolcom and you know we'll see if it's something that we can work together and collaborate on, because I think you know it depends on, like, your goals as a company and the impact that you're trying to create.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: Start wherever you're at and then just have those goals in mind.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: Like hey, in the future, my goal is I want to be able to do X, y, z and know that, hey, you have the power to get there, especially if you're aligning yourself with the right people who can help ensure you stay on that right path.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, awesome.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: And so you.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: We talked about setting intentions, balancing learning and fun.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: You know thinking about budgeting wisely, choosing the right link for your retreat, and you know one other hot tip, too is set a theme.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: You know it can be something fun, like maybe recharge and renew.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: We've done transformation before years ago and we did some things with butterflies, I mean.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: So you can get so creative with this.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: But I think once you have that intention and that theme and you marry them together, like your team is like wow, this feels incredible.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: This, like I feel this is amazing, like I love these kinds of things and it helps them grow as an individual, which then translate back into the salon space.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Yes, and so once you've, you know, created this epic team event, pulled it off, make sure you get some feedback from your team after the retreat.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: It's just amazing to hear the transformation stories that occur for people and you know you can really learn like, hey, we've definitely got to include something like this next year.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Here's how we can upgrade this and really start to plan that next, the next time you're going to get together and you know, just be really excited for the future about that.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: So if you've got something great from today's podcast, feel free to share it with you know somebody that you love inside of the salon and spa industry.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Uh, if you have any questions, feel free to email us.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: Hello at salon business schoolcom.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: We would love to hear from you and serve you in any way that we can.
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: Awesome.
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: All right guys.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: Happy retreating.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: We'll see you soon.