January began my extension studio’s official first year as just that—an extension exclusive studio instead of a full-service hair salon. As amazing as it feels to have made it to this achievement, you all know I don’t ever stop striving for even more growth, so I really considered what my studio needed to be the absolute best at what we do. We offer a luxury service that is extremely detail-oriented, and requires not just one, but many skillsets in order to really provide a top-quality service.

I knew I had a team full of talented artists, but each of their backgrounds and skill levels is very different and I wanted to find a way to bring everyone up to the same standards not just in the hands-on aspects of our services, but in the quality of service as well. As the owner of the studio, I wanted to set aside time to really pour into my team and my business.

Enter: Level Up Wednesdays

Each week from 5:00-7:00 pm, my entire team comes together to focus solely on the business of hair extensions. This can mean hands-on training, but we also cover verbiage, troubleshooting, efficiency meets complexity, and more in order to prepare every single stylist to be able to best offer the exceptional standard of service that is the norm at Garnish. My stylist team has learned differently than my apprentice team, and I wanted to find a way to bridge that gap and offer the same knowledge and experience to every member of the Garnish Squad.

Our most recent Level Up class consisted of a lesson on connectivity. This is something I value so much and consider at the core of my business, so it was important to me to sit down and work through it with my entire team. Within connectivity we talked about relatability with our guests, prescribing not just extensions, but game-planning their entire journey towards their hair goals.

We talked about making sure that we understand our clients’ needs, and how to find the “nugget”—that most important core of what they are looking for—and how to translate that into finding the extensions that will be the best fit for them. We talked through different scenarios and hair needs to prepare the team to best be able to both communicate with different guests, along with troubleshoot and find the best possible solution for each individual.

It’s so important to understand what each person wants and doesn’t want and what’s going to be a good fit for them. This process is imperative to achieving beautiful extensions and have an incredible experience with wearing extensions. Investing into this process and becoming better communicators is why I feel like we have so many people who keep coming back.

Here’s a sneak peek…

We are continuously leveling up to offer better extensions methods, better service, quality control, and consistency. I’m investing in my team and they are committed to putting in time and effort into growing and making sure things are consistent with one another.

I love that my entire team is committed to this leveling up experience. Everyone from my lead stylist to my newest apprentice is sitting down together to listen, learn, share, and grow. This is exactly the kind of environment I have been striving to achieve within my salon, and I am so grateful to be surrounded by such passionate, inspired individuals.