30. How to Lead with Collaboration and Transparency with Ketmanee Whitlock
Also available on YouTube!
In this engaging episode of the Impact Ripple podcast, I sat down with the incredibly talented Ketmanee Whitlock to chat about her transformative journey in the beauty industry.
Ketmanee, the visionary behind Edify Salon, shares about her commitment to creating a salon space that goes beyond beauty, emphasizing collaboration, inclusivity, and breaking free from traditional industry norms.
Our discussion navigates the challenges within the salon industry, including the misclassification of stylists, the need for legal and ethical practices, and the ruthlessly competitive environment that is rampant in the industry.
Ketmanee brilliantly shares her innovative approach to fostering collaboration, dismantling toxic ideals and relationships amongst stylists, and instigating positive change within the industry.
This episode also explores the holistic mindset of Edify Salon, shining a light on its community engagement initiatives, commitment to environmental sustainability, and transparent financial practices.
We also delve into the importance of trust, transparency, and a shared vision in creating a positive team culture.
Ketmanee's emphasis on fairness, pay transparency, and creating opportunities for team members to contribute aligns seamlessly with the values of Edify Salon.
Whether you're a beauty enthusiast, a salon professional, or someone passionate about fostering positive team cultures, this episode offers loads of valuable insights and actionable takeaways.
Join us as we explore the transformative power of beauty, collaboration, and building a salon space that goes beyond appearances, leaving a positive impact on clients, the community, and the industry as a whole.
Tune in now to be inspired by Ketmanee's wisdom and the uplifting journey of Edify Salon!
In this episode, we:
Explore the complexities of the beauty industry, including the misclassification of stylists and the importance of legal and ethical practices when hiring.
Uncover Ketmanee Whitlock's groundbreaking approach to fostering collaboration, breaking down toxic relationships, and challenging traditional industry norms.
Delve into the holistic mindset of Ketmanee's salon, focusing on community engagement, environmental sustainability, and transparent financial practices.
Learn about the significance of trust, transparency, and a shared vision in creating a positive team culture within a small business.
Gain valuable insights into leading with love and Ketmanee's commitment to creating a company culture that stands out.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Edify Elite Extensions Instagram
Ketmanee’s Instagram
Hire Ketmanee to Speak: https://www.edifysalon.org/about-2
Email Ketmanee: connect@edifysalon.org
Book a Free Call: www.sprouthr.co/call
Transcription for Episode 30 - How to Lead with Collaboration and Transparency with Ketmanee Whitlock
Ashley Cox (she/her) (00:02.582)
Welcome to the Impact Ripple podcast, the go-to source for hiring and leadership made simple, doable, and fun for visionary female business owners. I'm your host, Ashley Cox, author, certified HR expert, and founder of Sprout HR. And I believe that you don't have to change who you are to be a great leader because you already are one. Join me as we kiss uncertainty and overwhelm goodbye and say hello to the tools and support you need to grow a profitable, sustainable, impactful team with more confidence and ease.
On today's episode, Ketmanee Whitlock joins me for an inspiring conversation on intentionally designing a vibrant, inclusive, and fun team culture. Ketmanee Whitlock is the owner of Edify Salon and Extension Bar, as well as Edify Elite Extensions a holistic salon located in Johnson City, Tennessee. Ketmanee stands as a beacon and champion for healthy workplaces, while passionately supporting community arts and nonprofit endeavors. Recognized with esteemed accolades, such as the Gold Business of the Year by High Performance Salon Academy, and the Distinguished Excellence Award by the Cosby Awards, she embodies unwavering professional integrity.
Her commitment to cultivating a collaborative space has earned her acknowledgement from the Marquee Who's Who Publications Board, celebrating her significant contributions to societal progress. In this episode, Ketmanee shares her business journey, including what isn't working in her industry and how she has created a completely different experience at Edify Salon for her team, their clients, their community, and the world.
She also shares the importance of providing people with education to grow their skills, as well as equitable opportunities to increase their income. And she also lets us in on her unique vision and values, which have helped her design an intentional and people-centered culture where her team feels valued, respected, and loyal to both Ketmanee and her business.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (02:18.686)
My favorite part of our conversation is where Ketmanee talks about the value of being a numbers nerd so that you can bring your big dreams to life for you, your team, and your community. Get ready to feel inspired, be motivated, and get ready to build a radically different business and company culture. I seriously cannot wait for you to dive right into this episode. So here's my conversation with Ketmanee Whitlock.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (00:07.404)
Hey there, Ketmanee, welcome to the Impact Ripple podcast. I am so pumped to have you on the show today, my friend. Thank you for being here.
Ketmanee Whitlock (00:16.29)
Oh, goodness. Thank you, Ashley, for inviting me. I think you're just a doll. So I was really honored when you extended an invitation. Thank you. It's my pleasure.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (00:24.536)
Oh, you are so welcome. You are so welcome. Just for our listeners, I always like to tell a little backstory about how we met. And you and I have known each other now for seven years, I think, six, seven, eight years. We both moved to Johnson City, Tennessee around the same time. I was October 2015. When did you move here? I think it was pretty close. December same year.
Ketmanee Whitlock (00:40.426)
Yeah.
Ketmanee Whitlock (00:49.346)
December, December 2015.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (00:52.256)
Yeah, yeah. So we met not long after, I think at a networking event. We were at some sort of community event, I believe.
Ketmanee Whitlock (00:59.959)
Right, right. I'm always out in the community trying to promote my business and meet other professionals. So definitely sounds from along the vein of what I do.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (01:10.42)
Yes, yes, same here, same here. And I know like we hit it off right from the start. I've been a super fan of yours for a long time now and all the different iterations of the business journey and the things that you are so passionate about and believe in and cultivate within yourself as an individual, as a leader, as well as with your team and in our community. And you are just such, such an inspiring person and someone that I look up to.
Ketmanee Whitlock (01:17.774)
Same.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (01:38.959)
And so it's such an honor to have you here on the show today.
Ketmanee Whitlock (01:42.)
Oh, it's my pleasure, thank you.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (01:43.936)
Yeah. So before we hopped on, I was telling Ketmanee that I was in the salon a few weeks ago. So this is December, 2023. And I was in the salon in November getting my hair done because I clearly and obviously go to Ketmanee salon and trust her team fully with my hair. But I was asking some of the ladies working there was like, what do you love about working here?
You know, what's great about it. And everybody kept coming back to get many amazing. We love her. We respect her. We're never leaving. And even at one point, you know, one of the ladies had said, people probably think we're a cult. And I just thought that was that was so endearing that they were such super fans of their leader. And I thought, who better to have on the podcast to talk about team culture than the queen of team culture, Ketmanee.
Ketmanee Whitlock (02:41.818)
Oh my goodness, that's huge. It's, I didn't know they thought that way. So that's really touching. Just trying to do my best.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (02:50.708)
Yeah, yeah, sometimes, right? Yeah, sometimes we as the leaders don't often hear the things that people appreciate about us or the work environment or the things that we're working so hard on behind the scenes. So whenever I get an opportunity to hear things like that, I love to pass it on because it's not often that people tell us we're doing a good job, right? We usually hear, you know, here's what I'm struggling with, here's what's frustrating, and those are good things too, because we want our team to be open and vulnerable and to share with us, but we also need to hear the good things.
So kudos to you. I'm so excited to have this conversation. I've already set it up in our intro, so let's just dive in and get into the meat and potatoes of it all. So, Ketmanee, I'd love for you to just start us off by telling us a little about your journey and how you came to be doing the work that you do today.
Ketmanee Whitlock (03:24.014)
Thank you.
Ketmanee Whitlock (03:40.834)
Well, I started out in the beauty industry on the West Coast. When we moved to Tennessee, I had a clientele in both states that I managed for about 3 and 1 half years, and then eventually grew a clientele here to open a brick and mortar salon space. My vision with our space was to remove the toxic behaviors that run rampant in our industry.
And I didn't want to have a space that didn't feel kind and inclusive and supportive and collaborative. My vision was to be able to open up a space that encouraged people to grow, to learn, to make mistakes, to learn from those mistakes, to emotionally and mentally mature so that they can provide a fantastic service and grow in relationship with our community. I think our industry has a history of client hoarding and, um, bullying one another.
We also have a history of not really respecting this craft as a business, much less a profitable business. So statistically speaking, hairstylists don't really earn a livable wage. And we should, considering the knowledge we have in our brains, the execution of the services, we pay taxes just like any other business, but without having a business brain and the emotional maturity to express that to your clients and the ability to execute that skill set, we have components that are not acting in a professional space. So, you know, taking away these toxic experiences in the salon space was really important to me. And in doing so, we have created and helped newer stylists, stylists that maybe have been in the industry for a short period of time, but are floundering and not really progressing. We have been able to help them really have
Ketmanee Whitlock (06:05.89)
professional careers. And my business is only, we're gonna be four years old in a few months. We are a small business. I'm an independent owner. I don't have a big corporation backing me, but it is so important to offer the things that these big corporations offer if you want an increase in lifestyle, health benefits, retirement plans, vacation high commissions or reasonable opportunities to grow your income through some shareholding experiences when they want to and invest the time in developing their relationship with the salon. So we have to change that. And I think when people step into our space and they're used to having all these other toxic elements float around, they are very cautious and untrusting of what we really have to offer because they've had their guard up and their walls up because they've been beat around like a rag doll. And, um, we just have to break those walls down and show them what we're really trying to do within the industry and build that trust with the stylists. And we also have to.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (07:08.05)
Hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (07:33.758)
We also have to change the toxicity mindset of the client because the client is very used to just being so loyal to their stylist. And that is a great thing. I'm not saying that's not a great thing, but in our space, our job is to service the hair. And if I'm unavailable, I can easily say, hey, I can't see you the week that you need an appointment. But let me put you in Hayley's chair or Megan's chair or Lynette's chair or Dakota's chair, because I know they have the skillset to execute. We all share formulas and notes on everyone. So it is a collaborative space. And then being that type of mindset, the hair and the client gets serviced instead of the client hoarding mindset. So we have to shift the client headspace as well.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (08:35.128)
Oh, I love this so much. And I think that there's some really key points here. Number one, you are flipping the industry on its head. And I think that is beautiful and inspiring and allows others to realize that just because something has been done a certain way for ever and ever doesn't mean that it has to continue in that way. And that's one of the things I think is so important when we talk about company culture and team culture
just because this has been the experience doesn't mean that we need to continue to perpetrate that. And that continues to be the experience that other people have just because it has been. So I just want to commend you for looking at the industry as a whole and saying, what's not working? What is broken? And how can I make this better? And I think the same thing that you're doing with the industry, with this is the way we work collaboratively together as a team to
best is what filters over into, and this is the type of team culture that we need to develop and cultivate in order to create that experience. And I'm sure that there's been some challenges along the way. I'd love to hear about some of the challenges that you face because this is a very different experience than what a lot of folks in a traditional salon setting have experienced. And for folks who don't really know about traditional salon settings, can you tell us a little bit about that first? And then let's talk about the challenges that you faced in creating something so radically different.
Ketmanee Whitlock (10:08.254)
Okay, so in a traditional salon space, you have three major business plans. One of them is an hourly employee. Another one is a commissioned employee. And then the third one is a booth rent space where you're basically, you're renting space as a salon owner. And those people are independent contractors. So, you know, with those different things, they offer different things to their team. Our offering is that while you are in a training mode, or new talent is what we call you, and you need to build and grow your skillset, you will be working with me hourly, and you will be on my hip, and I am going to give you nuggets all day long on what we're doing, how we finesse our application what time saving techniques we do so that we can stay within our time schedule. And then when you launch off my hip and you go into a commission, you are earning based on your services. So we have a slightly combined of the first two business models. We are not a booth rent salon. That is a very different space. But what I found in the industry is that a lot of times there's a lot of salon owners that are not classifying their employees well or correctly. Perhaps they're asking them all of these employee type have a schedule, a dress code, things of that nature, but paying them in a 1099 space, which is really, you know, as a 1099 independent contractor, you should have write-offs. But if the salon owner is buying all of the product and taking that write-off, well, then that 1099 person is has no write-offs to offset their income. So that's illegal. But we have found, yeah.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (12:24.)
Yes, yes.
Ketmanee Whitlock (12:26.61)
We have found that a lot in our industry and that needs to stop because pick aside, how are you going to do it, salon owner? Pick aside. You can't.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (12:37.432)
Yeah, and I mean, that legal protection is so important if you're planning on, you know, continue to grow your business. And we talk about employees versus contractors in season one of the podcast. So I'll make sure to link that below too, so that way people can go and get some education on, well, what is the difference? What do I need to know? Because a lot of times what I find is people just don't know, especially as small business owners, but when we do know, we have a responsibility to do the right thing by the people that we're employing, whether it's as a contractor or an employee. So I love that you bring this up because it's such a key point of growing a team and doing it in an ethical and legal way.
Ketmanee Whitlock (13:06.524)
Right.
Ketmanee Whitlock (13:16.03)
Absolutely, absolutely. And another thing that I noticed in the salon space, if say you're trying to encourage your team to have some record numbers and services or in sales of that nature, and you're obviously going to have some stylists that have been in the industry a little bit longer, which also relates to have a bigger clientele, have more booking requests, have less time.
because they're booked. And then you'll have the other members of the team who have less clients, they have more time. So, and they're, you know, trying to achieve the same contest to grow their services for the period. But for us, what we do is we have contests also to try to encourage larger sales and level jumps, but our contests are always fair, as in it's based on percentages. If you see
a hundred clients and you rebook half of them, you have rebooked 50%. Um, new talent. If you see 50 clients and you rebook half of them, you're rebooking is 50%. Whereas some salons are you've rebooked 50 clients. That's 50 points. And another, the other stylist who just has less clientele, smaller clientele, they've rebooked 25 clients. So they have 25 points.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (14:33.444)
Hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (14:42.47)
That's not a fair margin. That doesn't encourage the staff that just happens to have a smaller clientele to keep pushing, because they're never going to win the contest.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (14:44.228)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Ketmanee Whitlock (14:56.87)
That's not fair. So you have to make anything you do in the space fair with the calculations and the, you know, the checking the boxes to everyone, no matter how big or small their clientele is, to know that some of these salon owners that have the person who is more booked, they become kind of a diva. They don't wanna help fold a towel, they don't want to do these little operational things that it all takes to do and it all takes to, you know, they don't want to do that. So then you have the diva who everyone knows is not pitching in. You know, if you're busy, fine.
But when you're not helpless, fold a towel if you see us were folding, you know, so we don't play that game here and I will call people out on it. And you know, that's not fair. That is going to create people to have resentment, people do some stamp collecting, and then finally say, I don't wanna do that, so and so never does. But then so and so is gonna say, I don't have time because I'm so busy, well, that's toxic. So we don't do that here. But you have to lay out the rules and the groundwork for what the salon environment is gonna be like. Our policies and procedure talks about that.
Ketmanee Whitlock (16:23.018)
It also talks about how many chances I give you to do the right thing before I let you go. Because as a salon owner, you have to not be afraid to lose the income that they possibly are bringing in. That's not important. The important part of what we do here is we build healthy relationships with ourselves, with each other, with our clients. You know, we build healthy feelings and mature business minds.
You know, you have to do those type of things, otherwise it's just going to go off the rails. And I don't care enough about money to allow that to happen. And I think that's a big difference.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (17:05.513)
It's so important. It's such a big difference. You know, this is where the saying people over profit really takes action, right? It's really thinking about what is the end game? What's the big vision? What am I trying to create? Not just, you know, from a financial perspective, but from a humanitarian perspective, from an educational perspective. I know you're...
Ketmanee Whitlock (17:15.248)
Right.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (17:29.492)
huge into educating your team and it shows and that's why you can trust anyone in your salon to take on a client. That's why when I walk into the salon, you know, I usually book with Haley, but I would work with anyone because I know that your level of commitment to education, to growth, to collaboration is going to far exceed anything else that I've experienced in any other salon.
Ketmanee Whitlock (17:48.335)
Uh huh.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (17:54.192)
And so I think all the things that you're talking about, of course, I think all the things you're talking about is exactly what company culture is. And so, you know, a lot of times we use this phrase or this term and, you know, we kind of throw it around. And I think that company culture kind of got a bad rap in like when the tech boom happened and people thought it was just like ping pong balls in the break room and beers in the break fridge and all this, you know, these crazy shenanigans.
Ketmanee Whitlock (17:54.194)
Thank you.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (18:21.496)
But company culture so much more, it's so much deeper. It's our shared values, our beliefs, our attitudes, our actions, our practices, our policies, the way we work together as a team. And I think this is so beautiful, the way that you've kind of laid this out here. I'd love to know a little bit more about, you know, some of those challenges that you've faced, you know, because, you know, to create such a collaborative team environment in an industry that can be very cutthroat and can be very, that hoarding of clients like you talked about. I'm sure there have been some experiences along the way that you're like, oh no, this is not happening, which is probably where a lot of these policies and things that you've implemented have come from. So can you share some of those challenges with us?
Ketmanee Whitlock (19:09.81)
Yes, absolutely. And a lot of those challenges stem from a person's experience before they even stepped into our space. That is, you know, what we as a human being, we have experiences that dictate whether or not we're going to move with caution. And when you have someone that has experienced the bullying,
Ashley Cox (she/her) (19:33.56)
Mm-hmm
Ketmanee Whitlock (19:38.91)
the unfair behavior, things of that nature, in the beauty space, and they come here, that's what they expect too. It's very rare that we actually find someone that's like, okay, this is a new space, clear all the air, I'm just gonna roll with it. It's more like, oh, you're gonna do this now, right? Because that so-and-so did that. And I'm like, no, because I am not so-and-so, I am me.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (20:00.871)
Yeah, people don't believe you.
Ketmanee Whitlock (20:08.002)
And here's my examples of how we do. So, you know, breaking those, what I was talking about when I said breaking down the walls of other people when they walk into the door and what they expect from us. But that's kind of a hard thing to do. And honestly, I am like a three strike rule. You've got three chances. Like the first time, I'll just share with you what was inappropriate. The second time, sis pull your act together, we don't roll that way.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (20:20.856)
Mm-hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (20:37.298)
And the third time, thank you for your service. Here's a box for your stuff. Because I don't have time for that. But honestly, but honestly, you know, we, I, whenever I interview anyone, unless it's, I always talk to them beforehand, before they even step into the salon, if that means it's a long conversation because they live out of state.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (20:45.375)
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Ha ha ha.
Ketmanee Whitlock (21:05.71)
if that means I take you out to breakfast or lunch. I wanna know the person and I wanna see their heart. You know, bringing them into the salon space, yeah, we have a pretty salon. Yeah, we have mirrors and cabinets and tools and shampoo bowls, just like any other salon. I don't have to sell them on the space. What I need to know is what their heart is like, because whether they have the skillset or not, I can train a skillset, I can train the execution. I can help develop the emotional maturity and the business brain that they need to operate correctly in this space. But if their heart is not there, I don't have time to train that. I only have so much time in my day and I'm not their mama.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (21:52.04)
That's such a key differentiator. Oh, I'm so glad that you said this, Gethmini, because there are some things that we are not, it's not our responsibility to teach you how to human, right? So that's the thing you need to hire for. Everything else, everything else, we can teach you how to do with time, with patience, with repetition, with consistency. Those are the things that you can teach.
Ketmanee Whitlock (22:15.27)
Yes. Encouragement.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (22:19.96)
Mm-hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (22:22.522)
Yeah. So that's really important. And also like with our holistic mindset, with our salon space, you know, it's not just about the clients. You know, we are very conscious of our community. Our community is extremely important to us. If we didn't have community, we wouldn't be here. You know, our community, we...
Ashley Cox (she/her) (22:22.878)
Oh, I love that.
Ketmanee Whitlock (22:49.19)
We have a program here in the salon and it's called our artist sessions where we share wall space and shelf space with local artists to bring their creations to sell. And when we do sell that, the salon receives a small commission. That commission goes into a community fund at the end of the artist sessions, which is about six months long, and they can come in and replace things if they want to.
But at the end of the session, we take that community fund. And as a team, we talk about where are we donating this? Donate to a domestic violence shelter? Are we buying a bunch of jackets and hand warmers and making food and walking around and giving gifts to our homeless community? Are we supplying the food pantry with this, that, or the other? Are we donating to the foster kids and their specific needs? You know, some of these clients probably won't be one of our clients, or excuse me, some of this community members probably won't be one of our clients, but that doesn't matter to us because they deserve to have the utmost respect just like anybody else. So that caveat to our business plan was very important to me. We have to give back and support our community to have healthy spaces within themselves as well.
Another caveat of our business plan is our earth. So we operate and own our business. It's a specific amount of waste that we have. And because of that waste, we cannot recycle in the regular local channels. So what we do is we partner with a company called Green Circle Salons, and they take our waste and recycle it correctly and honestly. They take the hair that we cut off of people and make it into a hair mat, drag that hair mat through oil spills and waterways. And they, you know, what they do with our waste is something that we can't do locally. And I honestly feel like no matter what business you're in.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (24:57.476)
Mm-hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (25:16.546)
Even as a human being, if you're not in a business, you're creating waste and destroying the planet with various movements throughout the day. And it is our responsibility to negate that negativity on our planet for future generations. So, you know, that's a fairly pricey endeavor to ship hazardous waste through the mail. And our clients pitch in with that, with a small service fee per appointment because you have chosen to get your hair done, you are part of this waste that needs to be tended to correctly. So you have to consciously help us to negate it. Of course, we've had maybe three people in the four years not want to pitch in, but mostly everyone was like, absolutely, this is a brilliant idea. And we were, you know. Since we've been doing it, two other salons in the area are also a green circle salon.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (26:19.638)
Ugh, I love that.
Ketmanee Whitlock (26:40.734)
So thank you for helping, helping. But I don't want to be in a world we're just here to take and we're here just to consume and we're here to just whatever. I'm not a salon owner that buys a Porsche every two years. I drive an old Subaru. It's paid off. You know, but and I live in 103 year old little historical house. You know, I'm not uh, wild and materialistic like that. But there's other things that I'm wild about in my heart.
And, um, and that is encouraging healthy behavior, um, really investing in my team and investing in my local professional community, take giving back to my community in any way that we can, um, sharing our values with other salons. So hopefully they might want to, you know, follow and do it on their own level and their own opportunities and also repairing the earth for the specific type of damage that we do to it just by existing.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (27:26.392)
Hmm. Oh, there is so much goodness just in this one part of our conversation. I want to touch on a key point, a couple of key points here that I've really feel strongly about. So the first thing is that your clarity of vision is what drives your business. It's being so intentional about the way that you operate, the impact that you create on the world and how you can mitigate some of the negative impact, right? Because there's so much positive that you're putting out there, which a lot of begins with, what's the negative parts and how do we combat that? And I think that being so clear in that vision, being so clear in those values is what leads to being able to hire people that feel strongly about those same things, that want to be part of something bigger, that want to contribute in meaningful ways.
And so when you're thinking about, you know, to our listeners, when you're thinking about how do I hire the right people and where do I find them, get clear on your vision and your values and share, share them because that is what's going to attract the same beautiful souls to your business as what you are trying to cultivate and create. And I think that's really the beginning of company culture is getting clear on what am I here to do on this earth? and how do I want to do it? And then people are going to come. People are going to follow you, and when the opportunity comes to work with your business, they're gonna put their hand in the air and say, pick me because I believe in what you're doing. I believe in the way you're serving. I believe in the way you're giving back. That right there's the only recruitment plan you need, my friend.
Ketmanee Whitlock (29:18.29)
Thank you, thank you. But you know, also, and I'm very transparent with my team, I tell them life evolves, business evolves, nothing is set in stone. If we have to add something or change something in how we operate, I am open enough to say, hey, this needs a little updating, or hey, I thought about this, and what we were doing is...
Ashley Cox (she/her) (29:23.253)
Mm-hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (29:47.742)
can be more fair. I'm very transparent with them with the salons earnings. They, we just had a meeting last week and I gave them this is our, what we made, this is our expense sheet, this is how much this costs. So they know that I am not, you know, driving the newest Audi. You know what I mean? It's like, this is where it is and you know,
this is the operational cost, this is everything. So I've never worked at a salon previously that showed me my service numbers. They just gave me a check and I always hoped they did the math right. And, you know, but it was never done in a professional manner where you actually have, you know, a pay stub.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (30:42.733)
Yeah.
Ketmanee Whitlock (30:46.462)
and much less benefits, you know, so.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (30:46.972)
Yeah, yeah, I think pay transparency. Yeah, yeah, pay transparency is so important. You know, the way people get paid, the way that it's calculated, the way that they can earn more. You know, what are the possibilities? What's the potential? How do we all win together? And even if you wanna get an Audi and you want a brand new house and you want, you know, the things in life that are available to us, you know, those are available to you.
And how can we continue to create equitable workplace cultures and equitable pay for people so that one person isn't making 900 times what the, you know, the average worker is making. And I think that's where we have a lot of problems, especially in corporate America, is that, you know, you've got CEOs making billions of dollars and you've got the average worker barely making enough money to where they need two and three jobs just to live life.
Ketmanee Whitlock (31:21.842)
Absolutely.
Ketmanee Whitlock (31:34.802)
Right, well.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (31:44.972)
And I think that that's so important that you're creating such a level of transparency that people can look at that and say, okay, I know that what's happening is fair. It's in the light of day. It's a possibility for me to make more and here are the ways that I can do that. And I think that if we were able to put that much more trust and transparency into our businesses, man, the loyalty factor of our teams soars every single time.
Ketmanee Whitlock (32:13.814)
Right. Yeah, there is no veil. There is no veil here. There is a...
Ashley Cox (she/her) (32:17.08)
Mm-hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (32:22.902)
I think that's toxic. I do, you know, I think that leans into the toxicity where there is a unknown swirling around in the heads. So we have created this year what's called our success planner. And it is a booklet that I created for my team. It has, you know, measurements that they are to document so they can see where they were this year versus next year or this year versus next month or last month. Goal setting sheets. And we have meetings where I'm like, okay, tell me your goal, how are we getting there?
And then I guide them on what I see that they can do throughout their daily activity to get them pushing that needle towards that goal. Inspiration quotes some insight on themselves, healthy journeys for themselves and their bodies. Like my goal is to be able to help my team, you know, get a new car if they want to save up and buy a house in the future. Also have a pension when they, you know, it's time to retire. And that, you know, that is, you know, if I'm a little person in the world, a little business in the world,
and I can do it, everyone can. I don't understand why they're not. I just don't understand why they're not. And if it is because their numbers are all jacked and they're wrong, then take a business class. Get a coach. I've had a coach for years and years and years. I believe in coaching. But coaching got me out of my little brain and expanded my knowledge so I can share with my team.
and survived through a pandemic. We opened our doors in March of 2020. We were open for 21 days and the state shut us down for six weeks. Now I know other states had it worse, I get it. Six weeks is nothing compared to the seven months that my California colleagues had. But because of when we opened, we were not eligible for any help, COVID help. We got zero, but still.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (34:31.946)
Mm-hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (34:42.406)
We're meeting our sales goal. Still, we're serving our community. Still, we're encouraging the mindset of a team environment that is healthy and collaborative and artistic and encouraging. And the paychecks are raising. They're getting up there. And with our community, we owe it to them to not be a piece of shit.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (35:08.696)
Hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (35:12.718)
We owe it to them to be an honorable person and do what is fair. And when other stylists out there are not looking at their services in a business perspective pricing breakdown, they are discrediting the professionalism of our industry with the cost of products, the cost of rent, utilities, insurance, the fact that after working 40 hours a week behind the chair, you might actually need to get a massage to repair your body. There are stylists out there that are, they don't have those components built into their pricing. And they are not even breaking even. So they're basically in the hole. And that's not okay.
Ketmanee Whitlock (36:05.178)
I want to talk to all of them. I'm like, come talk to me. Let me help you. Let me, let's do this math. Like I've got a whiteboard. I'll show you how to do it. But you know, we.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (36:15.263)
And I think that's why so many businesses close, right? Not just in the salon industry, but in industries all across the spectrum is because we're not thinking about what are all the things that we need in order to run this business, especially when it comes to growing your team, because your team is going to be the biggest or close to the biggest expense line on your profit and loss sheet.
Ketmanee Whitlock (36:39.77)
Oh yeah, payroll, absolutely payroll.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (36:41.196)
I mean, you know, if you think about it's not just the wages, it's the wages, it's the benefits, it's the time off, it's the extra training and education, it's all of these things. And so when we're, yeah, one board, when we're thinking about team, we have to think in that holistic manner. What do I want to be able to give my team? If not now, at least in the future, you know, you may not be able to run right out of the gate and say, you've got everything you ever wanted in the not very realistic with the first couple of employees.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (37:10.248)
But how do we start strategically planning for those things every single year and say what else can I add? What else can I add? How do I add this in the budget and make sure that I'm being fiscally responsible? Because if we're not fiscally responsible, then guess what? We're not gonna have team. We're not gonna have, we're not gonna have the finances to pay the people to do the work so that we can continue to grow sustainable and profitable businesses. And I love that you're so intentional about this and you're...
and you're always looking for ways to build that in. So I'd love to know what are some of your favorite ways that you have cultivated this team culture, whether it's through different, you know, perks or benefits that you offer or experiences that you create with your team. I'd love for you to share some ideas with folks so that they can get inspired to get out of that little brain and into that big, beautiful CEO brain of how we're gonna change the world.
Ketmanee Whitlock (38:08.326)
Sure, so I think the first thing you have to do is become a numbers nerd. You have to understand the business numbers in order to offer the benefits, okay? And that means being very specific. We operate with the profit first system and it is an accounting,
organization system and I pay attention to all of the numbers. We have small percentages that go into this pile, into this pile, into this pile. And when we have the budget to do an event with the salon, we stay within the budget. So for example, we like traditions in our space.
March is our anniversary month. We do a small gift of a cookie, mostly with our logo on it, that we give to every client that comes in during the month of March. We have a lake day in the middle of the summer where we rent a pontoon boat and the team and their partners come, and we just spend time on the lake.
jumping off rope swings and, you know, cannonballing off the boat and just enjoying each other. We do a photo shoot every September. So we all have fresh head shots and team shots. Of course, that's part of our holiday gift card. So we do, in October every year, we do a soiree, which is a client appreciation.
event in the salon. We have a cater, we have a bartender, and we just thank our community for helping us exist. We do during the months of November and December, we have candy pecans that the salon makes. We go to a commercial kitchen and rent out space and this year we made 60 pounds in three hours of candy pecans and give everyone a little bag of pecans with the holiday card.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (40:28.9)
Oh my god.
Ketmanee Whitlock (40:34.034)
When people get those pecans, they do a little pecan dance and a little happy dance. They're like, I love these. You make the best candy pecans. And I'm like, okay. It's just what I've done for a long time for my clientele. And when I got, you know, we got the salon, we started doing that for the whole clientele. We have a baby game every winter where we have a.
baby picture, a list of baby pictures and a list of adult pictures, then you have to match them. And whoever wins gets a gift card to the salon. So traditions are really important to us. We always find an organization to do kind of like an angel tree opportunity for people to give back. We have, you know, the food pantry might send us a message saying, hey, we need peanut butter and jelly for the pantry. So we'll send out a text message to the clients, hey, everyone coming in the next month, if you could bring a
thing of peanut butter and jelly we're donating to the food pantry, we have to call the food pantry over three times to pick up peanut butter and jelly. It's just little things that we do that are so important to help our community as a whole give thanks, be happier. You know, just those little things. My team is phenomenal and they love these little traditions that we have. One thing that I think is really valuable to my team and to the kids is that
community is we do a model program. So in December, we start teasing our social media with the model call and applications are live for 48 hours. So we say applications are going to drop on this day at this time, you got 48 hours, and then we'll get like 40. I think the most applications we ever got was in like the high sixties. And we go through them.
We wanna know their social media handle, what they do for work, what they, inspiration photos, and we wanna know what, you know, basically a little mini consultation on that application. And then we bring the ones we would like to work on in for interviews. The whole team is able to sit in on these interviews. I'm specifically looking for different hair textures to work on, different coloring opportunities to share.
Ketmanee Whitlock (42:47.458)
and also combined with what does my team really need at that time. So we have, in that model program, we do our model call in December, interviews in January, and we start from February through October. And we choose, like this year we have four models, and they came in on their specific appointments and we worked on them. And we pushed their hair to new styles and new techniques.
That's how we do our hands-on training. And that is three times a month for nine months. And we've actually decided to open that up to our community. So if there's a stylist out there that just needs more guidance, they can buy a ticket into our modeling program and watch us while we do that. So, you know, those are things that we feel is how we enhance our culture how we enhance our skill set and how we thank our community. But all of that stuff is based on being a numbers nerd.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (43:35.726)
Yeah.
Ketmanee Whitlock (43:59.206)
Because I don't have the personal finances to fund all of this fun stuff. But when we are calculating payroll, I'm taking a small percentage out instead of profiting all of the 5% or 11% profit is what the business is at right now. I will take 1% of that and put it in our salon fun fund. And that's where that comes from.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (44:06.168)
Mm-hmm.
Ketmanee Whitlock (44:29.202)
But being a numbers nerd is where you're going to be able to have this type of fun. So, you know, I mean, we just did a winter retreat where we went away for three days to Helen, Georgia, which is a cute little European town. It was two weeks ago and we were there during Kris Kringle Market, which is like their European Christmas market. And we just rented an Airbnb, drove down in a van together.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (44:35.919)
UGH
Ketmanee Whitlock (44:56.298)
enjoyed the festivities. I did a little scavenger hunt and they had to, you know, figure out the riddles about, you know, mulled cider and take a picture of, you know, a snow globe and action or video a snow globe and they were collecting points and the winner gets a hundred dollar gift card and I got to sit up in the top of the little coffee shop where I said, okay, gave them the rules of the of this scavenger hunt and I said you have one hour ready go. They just took off.
And I was sitting atop and looking out the window and I could see them running all over town to get these points collected. It was the funnest thing, but you know, it's.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (45:39.348)
Yeah. Oh, I love this. I love this so much. So many fun, brilliant ideas. And the way that you've interwoven, it's not just about having fun all the time. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's about how are we giving back and supporting the community? How are we getting our clients involved and our community involved and the way that you can interweave all of those things?
Ketmanee Whitlock (45:40.064)
They deserve it. They worked hard.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (46:05.924)
to really create that whole company culture. It's not just about ping pong tables in the break room, right? It's not just about a virtual cocktail hour or something. It's meaningful ways that we can interact, support our long-term vision, support our values, and really just support one another in becoming and growing as a team, as a company, as a community. And I just, I love all of these.
Beautiful, beautiful ideas, Ketmanee. And again, to reiterate and reemphasize to our audience, you may not be able to do all of this right out of the gate, but as Ketmanee says, become that number nerd, really start building this into your plan, and you'll grow to that point. So yeah, thank you so much for sharing all of this. All of this has been so beautiful. So as we wind down our conversation, it's time for our final segment, our most beloved segment of all called Imagine the Impact.
Ketmanee Whitlock (46:50.244)
Exactly.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (47:04.208)
And this is where I would love for you to help paint the vision for the kind of impact our listeners could have through one key thought or takeaway or action item, either something you've already mentioned as a reminder or something new you haven't had a chance to share yet.
Ketmanee Whitlock (47:20.474)
Ooh, that's a hard one.
Well, I think that if you're operating in love and respect for and towards something else, everything else is going to fall in line.
Ketmanee Whitlock (47:44.886)
I think that's very real.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (47:44.946)
That's so beautiful. Yeah. And you can tell that everything that we've talked about today comes from that place of love and that bigger vision for what could be if we all just loved each other a little bit more and we showed that love in action. So imagine the impact that this could have on...
Ketmanee Whitlock (48:03.111)
Yeah.
Yes.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (48:08.252)
on you as an individual, as a human, on your team, on your business, your community, and the world around us. So thank you, Ketmanee, for sharing such a beautiful conversation. Yes, same, same. So tell us what is the best place or where is the best place for folks to connect with you and learn more. And if they are in the Tri-Cities, Tennessee area, come get their hair did.
Ketmanee Whitlock (48:15.858)
Indeed.
It's my pleasure.
Ketmanee Whitlock (48:33.838)
Okay, so we are located in downtown Johnson City. We are in the historical King Center. Online, we're edifysalon.org. The extension company, which should be launching next year is called Edify Elite Extensions. And that is e-d-i-f-y And that's for our professional community to have a transparent extension supplier with values and integrity. And...
So you can find us on Instagram at Edify Salon. I believe our Facebook is Edify Holistic Salon. And those are our, you know, online channels and social media channels. But you know, whether you have an appointment or not, you're welcome to come by and have a cup of tea and just chill out and hang out. We're very collaborative here. We talk to everyone. So, you know, everyone is invited, no matter what.
You want to do what you want to say. You just need a place to rest your feet, come hang out on our couch. There is no reason why we can't offer space and share space and hold space for one.
Ashley Cox (she/her) (49:48.492)
I love it. It really is a community gathering space. It really is. And it's beautiful. And if you haven't been there, they've got the best snacks of anybody that I've seen with a waiting area. And you can look at the beautiful art on the walls, you know, support local artists or just be inspired and feel good and just be in the beauty of this space that has a million beautiful windows and you get these great views of downtown.
It just really is a special, special place. So you definitely wanna check it out and we're gonna drop all the links that Ketmanee just mentioned in our show notes so that you can find and connect with them super duper easy. So thank you once again Ketmanee for joining us on the Impact Ripple podcast and thank you dear leader. Yes, you are so welcome. And thank you dear leader for tuning into our conversation today. I hope that you found it inspiring, enlightening encouraging and all of the goodness that we were able to share today. So as always, it is an honor and a privilege to be here with and for you on your leadership journey.
Ketmanee Whitlock (50:25.598)
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
