Meet Stacey – a Franchise Partner from Burlington, Ontario (owner of our Blo Burlington location) who just celebrated her one year anniversary with us! Read this Q&A to learn more about life as a Blo Franchisee.
What did you do in your previous life?
I was an executive assistant with a global software company
for about 15 years.
What made you open a Blo location?
I was encouraged by my husband to start thinking about having my own small business. Given the fact that I didn’t really have a business background, a franchise made sense. We wanted the structure, support and the framework laid out for us.
What was the reason you chose Blo?
I was always a client at Blo. When I was trying to figure out where I would fit best with a franchise, I remember sitting in the chair getting a blow out and it was like a lightbulb! I knew I wanted to offer that same feeling to other women that I got as a client. I think I’ve achieved that.
How do you define your role as a Franchise Partner?
Given that I’ve only been in the business for a year, and although I’m really well staffed and have a fantastic group behind me, I am still defining my role. My day to day varies depending on the needs of the business. There are many times where I’m in my home office working on supporting the business, growing, staffing, scheduling and bookkeeping. Then there are days like Fridays and Saturdays where I am here on location meeting all of our fabulous guests and spending time with the staff. So, it does vary.
How has Corporate helped you during the process?
Right from the get-go. From our initial conversations, to meeting Paul and Vanessa, I knew in my heart and in my gut that we had selected an excellent company to partner up with. Going through all the construction and the delays prior to opening up the bar, I couldn’t believe the amount of support and patience that the team had for me. As soon as my doors were open, I felt I was trained, knowledgeable, and understood the needs of the business. I remember the week before our grand opening, Corporate helped set my bar up, go through the inventory, train the staff, and got me prepped on social media and print – the list goes on and on. My husband, who is in the car business and doesn’t understand the hair and beauty industry, said to me, “I wish we had a video of what really goes on and the support they give their franchise partners just before opening!”.
What is the most rewarding aspect of owning your own business?
There are so many rewarding aspects to having your own business. For me personally, it is the experience I used to receive as a customer. I’m so glad that I’m able to pay it forward. We’ve had wedding proposals in our bar, we’ve had sisters reunite after 25 years apart (we just turned the chair and there’s her sister!) We’ve had women come in and you can see that they’ve had a hard day, but then they walk out with a fabulous blow out and a huge smile on their face! The biggest joy that I get out of this business is seeing how happy we make our customers. It’s not just with hair or makeup, it’s the environment that we provide. We are a happy team. It’s like our own little bubble here in Burlington.
Were there any challenges you faced when opening your
location?
One of the challenges, that I recognize now, is that I should have made life outside of the bar more of a priority. I underestimated the importance of getting to know your community and looking for opportunities to partner with your community.
Is there anything you would have changed?
Coming up to our 1-year anniversary, and looking back on the past year, there’s nothing that I would have changed through trial and error. I’ve never felt more professionally and personally proud of myself. I have built an awesome team and our business is becoming well known in the community. Everywhere I go locally, they know me as the ‘Blo girl’. The personal and professional satisfaction that I get on a day to day basis, I wouldn’t trade for anything in this world. I’m just so glad that I made the decision to open up a Blo location.
What is your next goal?
I’ve been asked many times if I would consider a second location – absolutely! That is my next goal and I can’t wait!