Episode 19: Reopening Safer At Sola

Posted on August 4, 2020
Sola Salon Studios

On this episode of Sola Stories, Jennie is joined by Sola Culture Ambassador, Kim Bennett, also known as Kimi Kisses. Kim owns her salon in Denver, Colorado and was the first-ever Sola stylist.

After being closed nearly 9 weeks, Kim knew she was not going to let this virus take down her business. So when she was able to reopen her salon on May 9th, she even shocked herself by generating $10,000 in sales in her first week! Kim credits the education and resources she received from Sola to help her make her #SolaStrong comeback and the sanitation training from Barbicide to ensure the utmost safety of her clients - many of whom said visiting her salon was the first time they had left the house since the pandemic hit.

Tune in to hear how Kim adapted her salon and procedures to keep her guests safe and how this pandemic has created opportunities to reinvent herself as a business owner once again.

Listen To Episode 19 🎧

In This Episode

[00:43] Welcome to the show, Kim!

[01:41] Kim shares how she is adjusting to the “now normal” created by the pandemic.

[03:40] Listen as Kim speaks about what she was doing during the months that her salon was closed.

[06:20] Kim discusses how she spent her time during the closure and planned how she would reopen her salon.

[09:44] Kim killed it the first week that her salon was reopened, and she shares how she handled it all.

[11:55] She speaks about how she wanted to make her guests feel safe and pampered.

[13:40] How were the retail sales during that first week?

[15:47] Kim discusses how she got her salon ready for the reopening and how she changed her retail space.

[18:16] Kim speaks about how she brought up her guest's retail needs into the conversation and let them know the products were safe.

[22:02] How did you use SolaGenius technology to rebook all of your clients during the multiple reopening date changes?

[26:08] Kim feels like the technology that Sola offers was instrumental in staying connected with her guests.

[28:30] Kim speaks about how she focused on keeping her client experience as personal as possible with the new restrictions.

[31:37] Over half of Kim's guests her first week open told her that her salon was the first place they had been since being in quarantine.

[34:00] We are in a COVID world, and we are all experiencing this together. Check out Sola’s COVID-19 Resource Center to help you adjust to this new normal.

[35:24] Listen as Kim shares how she feels now - physically and emotionally - after a month back in the salon.

[39:11] Jennie speaks about Kim's new sense of gratitude for the people around her.

[41:33] Kim shares the big years she's had since she started working at Sola in 2014, and how Sola has been with her through all of her difficulties in life.

[46:17] Thank you so much for being on the show!