Joanna Meiseles
Founder, Snip-its hair salons for children
www.snipits.com
With limited business experience, but a ‘dream big’ mentality from her Hollywood upbringing, Joanna Meiseles conquered her insecurities and turned her idea for a children’s hair salon into Snip-its, a national chain that now has 52 plus locations in 21 states and more salons on their way.
Anyone who has dealt with a crying and unhappy child during a visit to a typical salon will instantly ‘get’ why Snip-its salons are big hits with parents and kids.
Snip-its’ cartoon characters like Snips, Flyer Joe Dryer, the Clip-ette sisters and salon-tailored computer games entertain children in a comfortable atmosphere while children have their hair cut by stylists who are specially trained to work with children. Parents relax in cushy seats beside their kids to ease fears and guide stylists. At the end of their appointments, kids get a gift from the Magic Box. Snip-its also hosts birthday and spa parties and sells an all-natural line of kids’ hair care and body wash products.
Here Joanna talks about launching and growing her business with a show-stopping customer experience…
At Home in Hollywood
Joanna: ‘I grew up in California. My parents were both in the movie and film industry her grandfather was comedian Jack Benny and father was film producer Robert F. Blumofe, so I definitely was exposed to a lot of different avenues in the entertainment industry. When I moved East after college at Duke and started my own family, I missed a lot of things in California, such as creative retail establishments and cool restaurants.”
Baby’s First Haircut in Boston
“When I took my first son Ben, then 3 years old to get his hair cut, I assumed there would be a place for kids, but there wasn’t. We went to an adult salon, one of those family walk-in salons. It wasn’t a horrible experience, but it wasn’t everything I hoped it would be.
“None of the hairdressers wanted to do his haircut. When we walked in, they all ran into the back room. I wanted the hairdresser who cut his hair to tell him that he was cute to relax him, but she didn’t. I had wanted it to be a special experience.”
Her ‘Ah Ha’ Moment
“I came home and had my ‘Ah Ha!’ moment. I thought, ‘There should be a better way.’ I said to my husband, ‘I should open a children’s hair salon,’ and he said, ‘You should and call it Snip-its.’ So that very first day, I had an idea and a name.”
Overcoming Her Insecurities
“When I first started I was insecure because I had no business background, but my father would tell me, ‘You’re a producer. A producer is the one with the vision and with the dream, the one who pulls all the pieces together to make it happen.’ I kept telling myself that over and over again as I ran into many obstacles. I’ve learned don’t let people tell you you can’t do it, or that you’re not qualified to do it.”
How She Raised Almost $300,000
“I wrote a business plan that determined how much money it was going to cost me to open the first salon. I thought that this salon would be the most expensive, but I also didn’t know how to raise money. I created a simple format of setting up a limited partnership and created thirty $10,000 units to try to raise $300,000. I also put in $100,000 of my own money.”
Failing and Succeeding in Her First Business Meeting
“To raise money, I had my business plan reviewed by professionals in different areas to make sure I was on the right track. My first big meeting was in New York with a friend of my mom’s who was in the retail business. I was young, inexperienced and had never worn a business suit for something so important in my life. I prepared a lot for the meeting, but I really didn’t know what to expect.
“The man didn’t want to hear anything I had to say, he just wanted to ask me questions that I didn’t know the answers to such as, ‘What are your EBITDA margins going to be?’ I had no clue what EBITDA was. I was practically in tears so I left him with my business plan and returned to Boston.
“Two days later, I got a package with my business plan in it. Inside was a check for $10,000 and a note that said, ‘Good luck.’ To this day, this particular investor has invested in every round that I’ve done and has been extremely supportive.”
Another Investor Snaps Up Shares
“The day that we opened the first salon in Framingham, Massachusetts, one of my investors came in and when he saw it, he said, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing. Are there any units left for sale?’ There were three left and he bought all three. I credit being able to raise money to a very supportive friends and family network.”
Putting Profits Back into the Business
“We haven’t returned anything to any investor. We have put all the profits back into the growth of the business. Fortunately we have an investor group that has been OK with that.”
From One to Five Stores
“I opened five stores in six years. All five have made money and to ease the load as I raised my four children, I hired a good district manager to run the day-to-day operations.”
From Five Stores to National Franchise
“I had a great meeting with Bob Rosenberg who’s credited with growing the Dunkin’ Donuts business to where it is today. He’s a franchising guru that teaches at Babson College.
“He told me that Snip-its would be a good candidate for the franchise growth model. I found him and the conversation so inspirational, that I became more involved in Snip-its’ development and began to work more closely with my district manager.”
First Steps to Franchising
“I put together a business plan and started working with lawyers to complete the legal documents, such as the UFOC (Uniform Franchise Offering Circular) needed to sell and develop franchises. The beauty of franchising is you can put together the program and distribute it to 50 or 500 stores. Franchising is a matter of creating systems and processes more than anything else and supporting franchisees in executing.”
Who’s Buying Snip-its Franchises
“People that buy franchises have an entrepreneurial streak, but don’t want to re-create the system or do it on their own. Most of our franchisees are married couples with children who think, ‘There should be a better solution for hair-cutting.’ They found the Snip-its model and fell in love with what they saw.”
Her ‘Triangle of Success’
“The experience I was trying to go for was turning what was once a tedious chore into a fun-filled family adventure, making haircuts more positive for families. One of the things I learned in my research is that hairdressers really don’t like to cut kids’ hair. I couldn’t figure out why. Most people like kids. Why do they hate cutting kids’ hair?
“Obviously there’s negativity surrounding the entire experience. They cry; they move around. It’s hard to cut on a moving target. So I created a triangle of success… it can’t stand strong unless all three sides are supported. One side is the parents, one side is the kids and one side is stylists.”
Protecting Her Brand and Business from Copycats
“It took me a couple of years from the ‘Ah Ha!’ moment to create the experience. I always thought someone was going to get in and do this before me, but nobody did it. I got lucky and was able to get into my niche without a whole lot of competition to begin with. I created a proprietary look and feel to the salon that is a strong barrier to entry for competitors.
“All the characters and designs are trademarked and copyrighted. We have had quite a few salons that we had to force to change their name or designs. We have lawyers who help us. If you designed it, you own it, but having it trademarked or copyrighted gives you extra protection.”
Words of Advice
“Trust your instincts. I think women are typically a bit insecure and when people are telling you ‘Don’t do it,’ or ‘It’s a bad idea,’ it’s easy to throw in the towel and say they’re right. But if you’ve got something good, then trust your own instincts.
“Beyond trusting your own instincts, you’ve got to do your homework. You have to have a plan, lay the foundation for success in the beginning.”
We Love This – It’s Our Quote of the Day!
“Part of being an entrepreneur is being stubborn, knowing that you’re right in the face of people telling you… people who seem smarter than you… that you’re not right.”
