Salonch founder and CEO Kerrie Brandau found the passion and purpose in the magnificence business of the beauty industry by creating Salonch. With TheWebAppMarket, she shares in her exclusive vis-à-vis significant bits of knowledge about business priorities, challenges in the inceptive years and the exciting yet promising Salonch app growth project.

Let’s check her journey!

Q1) Kerrie, First of all, Thank you for talking to TheWebAppMarket, Can you give us a short introduction about yourself and the Salonch App to our audience.

After 30 years as a cosmetologist and former salon and spa owner, My husband and I set out to solve a plaguing problem faced by beauty establishment owners and beauty professionals. Salon, spa, and barbershop owners struggle to find licensed beauty professionals to join their team that aligns with the business structure, mission, and culture. Furthermore, other recruiting platforms that exist are not designed for the beauty industry and they do not address what is important to the beauty professionals or beauty establishment owner. 

Salonch is the only platform that allows beauty consumers and beauty professionals to learn detailed information about all of the salons, spas, and barbershops in their area and empowers the beauty professional to make an informed decision in finding the right career opportunity.

Q2) You have been in the Salon industry for more than 30 years now, What was your journey like and the main inspiration behind building the App like Salonch?

Throughout my career as a cosmetologist and salon and spa owner, I have personally experienced the struggle in finding the right beauty establishment to work at and as an owner the struggle in finding the right beauty professional to join my team. Salonch is truly needed for connecting our industry.

Q3) The beauty industry is highly competitive, can you throw some light on what your App offers that other beauty App’s in the App Store and Play Store don’t?

Salonch is the only app that allows all beauty establishments to create a detailed Salon, Spa or Barbershop Page that includes; 12 Photos, About, Services, Products, Meet the Team with bios and links to their Professional Page, Press, Videos, Hours, Map, and more, plus a detailed Job Listing all for free. 

Salonch also allows the beauty professional to create their Beauty Professional Page and link to the Beauty Establishment Page where they work. Beauty professionals can bookmark their favorite pages, send messages to pros and owners, apply for a job or rental opportunity, and attract new clients.

Q4) The industry keeps on changing, for instance, the current COVID-19 situation leading to mass adoption of remote working. How is it affecting the beauty industry in particular? How have you prepared your app for these changes?

The COVID-19 pandemic has extremely affected and created hardship for the professional beauty industry with the mandated closures and work modifications. Some of these businesses will not recover and beauty professionals will have to find new opportunities at other beauty establishments. The Salonch app allows the beauty professional to connect with salons, spas, and barbershops and find the right career fit.

Q5) Being an App client yourself, what do you think is the most helpful technological platform and tools to use for an App in your niche? Have you implemented them in your app?

Apps that allow the beauty professional to market their talents and services to create business growth are replacing traditional websites. Salonch allows beauty professionals and beauty establishment owners to showcase their business, their services, and what makes them unique to attract new clients.

Q6) As you know there are billions of Apps out in the marketplace but just a few become successful. What do you think is the go-to strategy to market an App like Salonch?

Our go-to strategy has always been to go where our target users are and that is Instagram and Facebook.

Q7) How do you predict the future of the Salon Industry? Its Advantages and disadvantages. Finally, What is your advice to the aspiring leaders of tomorrow who are thinking of starting a venture in this industry? 

The salon, spa, and barbershop industries over the past decade have been going through numerous transitions and disruptions. Today’s beauty professionals want more independence and flexibility, that is why there has been an increase in the number of beauty establishments that offer station rental and private suite rentals. Employee based salons, spas, and barbershops are still very essential in the industry but they need to offer value to the beauty professional such as; ongoing education, mentorship, and a career path to stay relevant. The large corporate chain and franchise salons, spas, and barbershops are growing in numbers and creating more competition for the individual salon owner. All of these changes have created staffing issues for establishment owners of all business models. 

Salonch is easing that burden by allowing the owners to detail what they offer for employment or rental and what they are looking for in a team member right on their Beauty Establishment Page.

Q8) What is your next big step in the Salonch Journey? Are you coming up with any new functionalities in your app that will make the experience more enticing?

We are constantly innovating our platform and adding new features to increase engagement for our users. Stay tuned to see what is next for Salonch!

Q9) What do you think will be the biggest challenges the apps will face after the COVID-19 situation gets under control? Would you like to share some tips that can benefit emerging brands that are just releasing their apps?

Keep listening to your users and what they are asking for and always be ready to pivot.

Q10. Lastly, You being an inspiration to many budding entrepreneurs, any words of advice for our users?

Be prepared to bootstrap, pivot multiple times, and expect that every step of development and growth will go over budget and past the projected timeline. It takes more than passion and dedication, it takes knowing that building this company is your purpose and that the world needs what you are offering.

Key Takeaways

• Salonch solves a plaguing problem faced by beauty establishment owners and beauty professionals.
• Salonch allows salon, spa, and barbershop owners to create a Beauty Establishment Page to showcase what makes their business unique.
• Salonch is the only platform that allows beauty consumers and beauty professionals to learn detailed information about all of the salons, spas, and barbershops in their area and empowers the beauty professional to make an informed decision in finding the right career opportunities.
• The salon, spa, and barbershop industries over the past decade have been going through numerous transitions and disruptions that have created staffing issues for establishment owners of all business models.
• It takes knowing that building this company is your purpose and that the world needs what you are offering.
• Keep listening to your clients and what they are asking for and always be ready to pivot.