With more than 350 hair salons in the Grand Rapids area, choosing who to trust to turn a drab ‘do into luscious locks is no easy feat. Some salons have cultured an upscale environment, adding flourishes like fresh flowers, a side selection of beverages and modern furniture. Others throw in hand and head massages or makeup touchups.
Jennifer Foote and Sara Close opened Capelli Salon in Eastown in 2002 because they didn’t think there were enough upscale salons to serve the local clientele. “I really didn’t think there were enough options, especially if someone was moving here from a larger city,” says Foote. “I had no desire to be a business owner; I just wanted to work for an amazing salon.”
After working together in salons that they felt didn’t quite measure up, Foote and Close set out to create a client-focused, modern salon with unique, high-quality products. And business seems to be doing well – at the end of 2007, the pair moved their boutique shop from a 900-square-foot space to one nearly twice as large.
“We had to set ourselves apart from every other salon in Grand Rapids,” says Close. “We’re making a great living at it, but we couldn’t just show up in sweatpants with mediocre service and minimal training and expect to be remembered.”
Jeffrey Cipcic, owner of Jeffrey Richard Salon, where haircuts cost about $75, says the price scale is based on experience, “but you’re also paying for the energy, creativity and personality of the team.” And although Cipcic recognizes that there are many competing local salons, he believes that every salon has its place in the market, from the quick, inexpensive spots in strip malls to the full-service salons and spas that charge triple-digits for a cut.
Beauty knows no downturns
The beauty industry has continued to grow nationally through the economic downturn, with an 18 percent increase in the number of salons nationwide over the past three years. “The cosmetology industry never dies down, even in a recession,” says Michelle Woodard, admissions coordinator for Douglas J Aveda Institute in Grand Rapids. “Everyone will always want to look beautiful.”
Cipcic cites a customer who dropped cable television and other expenses but continued to come in regularly for $75 haircuts at his salon. “Customers love how they feel after coming into our salon, which is even more important when there’s a lot of stuff in the world not to feel good about,” he says.
With an average client retention rate of only 30 percent for first-time customers, the beauty industry, though resilient, is fiercely competitive, with salon entrepreneurs striving to give customers a reason to keep coming back.
At Tanaz, that meant converting a downtown day spa location into Tanaz Express. The recently revamped salon attracts working professionals who are looking for quick yet high-quality services. “We changed our menu for the downtown location, because the demand is completely different,” says Bahar Nbgaran, president of Tanaz. “It’s a quicker pace, and often clients want to get everything done during a lunch hour.”
Another salon, Turning Heads, found its niche in weaves and wigs. It is one of the only salons in the area to provide lace front wigs, which are less damaging to the hairline and look more natural than other hair extension or replacement methods. “I wanted to reach out to people who have problems with their hair, or those who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments,” says owner Pamela Tardy. “We can give people nice-looking hair so they don’t have to look like they’re wearing an obvious wig.”
Searching for the one
In an industry that lives or dies on repeat business and referrals, a strong and talented team that connects with its clients is a must. In West Michigan, there are more jobs available than there are stylists to fill them. Salon owners are divided on whether that is a function of talent supply or demand.
Foote says she has had a difficult time finding stylists who fit Capelli. “We need someone who works with our team and has the same vision. It’s been nearly impossible to find good people,” she says. “Lots of people have been interested, but they are usually lacking experience or don’t share our passion.”
Likewise, Tardy has had difficulty finding the right stylists for the culture of Turning Heads. She now employs two stylists, two barbers and two nail technicians, but has been trying to add a third stylist for some time. She believes she’s had a difficult time hiring because of her salon’s laidback and conservative vibe, and finds many stylists are looking for a flashier, more fast-paced environment.
But Cipcic, on the other hand, has had no trouble filling the eight positions at Jeffrey Richard. “I think Grand Rapids has an amazing talent pool of hairdressers,” he says.
The fashion of a city
Just as the arrival of a medical school will strengthen life sciences and health care, the Douglas J Aveda Institute is elevating the local beauty industry. The school, which occupies a renovated 14,000 square foot space in Heartside, provides students with a true salon, allowing them to see two to three clients each day as part of a 10-month program (for full-time students). It is nearly filled to capacity, with 115 students currently enrolled.
“There was definitely a need here for a higher-end cosmetology school,” says Woodard, the admissions coordinator. “There was a really great demand on the west side of the state.”
“Their students are more contemporary and more prepared than those from other schools,” Cipcic says of Douglas J. “They are improving the talent in town because they make everyone else step it up.”
In addition to grooming budding stylists from Grand Rapids, Douglas J also attracts young talent from around the state. Roughly 40 percent of the school’s students hail from outside of the Grand Rapids area, with more than half of graduates staying in Grand Rapids after completing the program.
The majority of salon managers agree that for an industry that is always changing, continuing education is essential to stay current with emerging trends and techniques. However, since Michigan does not require continuing education to renew a salon or individual license, it isn’t necessarily the standard. “Some people just send in their money every year to get relicensed,” says Cipcic. “They could be using the same techniques they learned 30 years ago.”
Foote believes that a continuing education requirement would strengthen the industry as a whole and benefit all customers. “It would weed out the stylists who aren’t serious about it and give hairdressing a bad name,” she says.
Many of the higher end salons, such as Tanaz, are proponents of advancement through education and require some degree of ongoing training. “It doesn’t matter how much experience you have because the business constantly changes,” says Tanaz’ Nbgaran. “’The only way we can be successful as a salon is to make our stylists successful.”
Some stylists travel to larger cities to learn what trends and techniques are popular elsewhere, and bring that newfound knowledge back to Grand Rapids. “The Midwest isn’t the best place to be creative,” says Cipcic. “You have to find ways to spark your creative juices.”
Close has found that Grand Rapids, like many other mid-sized Midwest cities, can be slower to pick up the trends that spring to life in larger cities. “I’ll watch trends develop here a year to two after seeing them in New York,” she says. “Sometimes you just have to get outside of the bubble of Grand Rapids and see what’s out there.”
On the other hand, Close does see great potential in Grand Rapids. “There is something bubbling under the surface that is going to explode,” she says. “The underground artist community is making people step outside the box a bit more, and that’s where a lot of the local trends are coming from.”
For this reason and others, Jeffrey Richard stylist Jennifer Chojnowski is optimistic about the growth of the industry in Grand Rapids. “I want us to be a strong city for fashion, a place where you can get a great haircut, color, service and the whole look,” she says. “We have to sustain what we have here and raise the bar for the local industry. We have to keep up with the other growth happening in the city.”
Meet the stylists featured in this story
here.
Kelly Quintanilla is a freelance writer born, raised and living in West Michigan. She is also the marketing director at Ada-based CUSO Development Company. She last wrote for Rapid Growth about community-based banking.Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights ReservedJeffrey Cipic of Jeffrey Richard Salon - MidtownJennifer Foote is co-owner of Capelli Salon - EastownJeffrey Cipic cuts a clients hair - MidtownStudents at Douglas J. Aveda - HeartsideJennifer Foote and Sara Close own Capelli Salon - Eastown
Jennifer Chojnowski of Jeffrey Richard Salon - Midtown
Brian Kelly is a Grand Rapids based commercial photographer and Rapid Growth's managing photographer. He can be easily bribed with ice cream and grilled meats. His blog is
found here.