Have you been considering hiring an apprentice to maximize your time in the salon? I recently Interviewed co-worker and owner of Mane & Co Salon, Katie Schumacher, on Instagram Live to discuss her Apprentice Program as well as the many benefits of bringing on an Apprentice—for not just the stylist but for the clients! Since working with an apprentice I have been able to give my clients so much more in just one appointment!
Watch the 2 part Interview OR Read the video highlights below:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Interview Highlights:
How long have you been working with an apprentice?
“I’ve consistently been working with an apprentice for the last 3 years.”
Can you explain how the apprentice program works at Mane & Co?
“Yes, our apprentice program is very different from your typical program in that you as the apprentice have a hand in deciding how long you will apprentice for. What I mean by that is at our salon you are apprenticing and building your clientele at the same time.
We do something called a 2-for-2, which means you apprentice for 2 days and you get to work behind the chair for 2 days taking your own clients, working 4 days a week total. Then you are getting to put what you learn immediately into practice instead of waiting months and months to try something you learned in your second week of apprenticing.
This is also how you pay yourself. We are all independent contractors at Mane & Co and in creating this program I knew that I wanted to work with people that were motivated to grow their business and themselves, this is the best way that I have found to cultivate that. “
What type of services do apprentices perform?
“My business is mostly extensions which I actually feel has been a great way to explore color with my apprentices because extensions don't lie and they don't hide things so well. On a typical day we’ll have 2-3 extension move-ups with color. My apprentice and I will remove the extensions first while having a color consultation with our client. Once everything is removed we’ll game-plan for the service. Oftentimes I’ll have them root the extensions to refresh them and then add a highlight or lowlight to them depending on what's needed. Then they’ll come over and help me apply the rest of the color. They will usually work on the back and sides while I do the hairline, top and tip outs. Then they will wash the extensions, tone them if needed and get them dry and prepped to be reinstalled while I wash and tone my client. When you have an extension client you are essentially doing 2 people, your client and their extensions. “
What would you say are the biggest benefits of working with an apprentice are for both the stylist and the client?
“The biggest benefit is time. Time is valuable, if you can make it so that your client doesn’t have to be in the salon for half a day that's very valuable. Especially for extension clients. Also, being able to work with my apprentices they are getting first hand knowledge into my clients hair and how it reacts (or doesn’t react) to color. I trust them more with my clients because they have worked on their hair with me and they know how I place color and why I place color the way I do with each of my clients. That's extremely valuable to me and my clients. That's why I would prefer my clients see one of my apprentices or stylists because they would have more insight into their coloring service than a brand new stylist would. “
Do you refer your clients to your apprentice if you are unable to get them in? How does that work?
“Yes. It’s hard sometimes, your clients are used to you and trust you so it’s hard when you tell them that you can’t get them in at the time they’re needing to get in and that you’d like to set them up with your apprentice. The one thing that helps A LOT is my apprentices social media, that sways my clients waaaay more than my words do. So, I try to instill why it's so important that they post, this is how you build your clientele and this is also how your future clientele finds you. “
Should clients be “scared” to see an apprentice for their service?
“NO. When you come at something not trusting it and throwing out those vibes you get what you put out there. It's like when you have a client come in and the first thing they say to you is “no one has ever been able to do my hair right!” grrrrrrreat.. I have confidence in them and I would never send a client to my apprentice if i didn’t think they would do an amazing job and sometimes they even do better than i would! “
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