How Touch of Ash Hair Studio grew revenue 70% across two locations with GlossGenius
Ashtan Hess had built more demand than she could keep up with. What she needed was a system that could grow with her instead of slowing her down.
Discover how Touch of Ash Hair Studio grew revenue 70% across two locations with GlossGenius
Key results
- Revenue up nearly 70%. Her old best month is now an average one.
- A second location that outgrew the first. Her second location passed in five months what her first built in four years.
- 73% client retention. More than two-thirds of appointments come from returning clients.
- 4.97 stars across 200+ reviews. Held through expansion and hiring.
Before GlossGenius: fully booked and running at max capacity
Ashtan opened Touch of Ash in 2018, straight out of cosmetology school. She built her clientele through social media in a small Pennsylvania market, one client at a time. Business was never the problem. She had more people wanting appointments than she had hours to give them.
The problem was that every appointment went through her. Clients messaged to ask what she had open, and the two of them went back and forth until something stuck. Half the time it didn't. People dropped off mid-conversation or the message never came through, and the appointment just never got made. All of it happening while she was standing behind the chair with somebody's color processing.
"That was literally what made me want to stop doing hair, because I hated that part. Having to message back and forth with people. And most of the time, getting nowhere."
She was styling as many clients as she could fit in a day, and that number had nothing to do with how many people wanted in. Bringing on help was on her mind, so was a second location, but that meant doing the same manual work twice over. Ashtan built something people wanted, she just needed was a way to operate it without running every piece of it herself.
Getting serious about the operations behind the business
Moving her business into a converted movie theater in Saxton and bringing on more staff was the turning point for Ashtan to build out scalable operations.
She wanted clients to book without going through her first. She wanted to manage her staff without inheriting a coordination job. And whatever system she picked needed to work well with the second location, because she already knew that was coming.
GlossGenius was the only system that could take on all three to her standards.
Growing with GlossGenius
Booking stopped running through her. One link handled all of it, and clients could see real availability and grab the slot they wanted. No login required, and no marketplace steering them away from her business. Someone who found her on Instagram could book in the same motion instead of getting stopped by an account setup screen or shown three competitors on the way. Her schedule filled up while she stayed focused on her craft.
"You either make an appointment or don't. The feasibility of that was a game changer. Clients just press book now, and make an appointment."
Revenue climbed nearly 70%. The month that used to be her best is what an average month looks like now. With GlossGenius handling payments, client retention, marketing, and analytics seamlessly in the background, she hired another cosmetologist. A year after that she opened a nail salon on the other side of the building, both sides running under one GlossGenius account. No more business separation or disorganized operations.
Chambersburg opened at exactly the right time. Two years in, her team had grown and Ashtan opened another location in Chambersburg, right as GlossGenius had just launched their multi-location feature. She built it inside the same account, assigned providers by location, and set what each location offers.
"GlossGenius had it all laid out to where I could select each location. I have certain people that work at Saxton, and certain people that work in Chambersburg."
She oversees both locations in one place, controls what each team member can access, and pulls any details and documents she needs herself, anytime. Clients get the same booking experience whichever town they're in.
Her second location didn't just open. It took off.
Four years in Saxton had built her a handful of extension clients. Chambersburg passed that in five months.
Retention held through the growth. Nearly three-quarters of her clients rebook within six months. Most software takes the payment and calls it a day. GlossGenius asks for the next appointment while the client is still in the chair, and the waitlist fills any cancellations that open up.
"All of my clients love the system. I feel like I get more respect. No complaints."
Two locations, one brand, and a third concept in planning
Her days are still full. What's different is that booking, scheduling, and both locations run without her in the middle of them.
The time she used to spend managing her own calendar goes to opening locations, coaching her team on the marketing that built her book in the first place, and taking the extension work she actually wants.
And she's not stopping here. Ashtan's already onto the next one. A third concept is in planning, and it'll run on GlossGenius alongside the other two. Coming soon!
@touchof_ash
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How Touch of Ash Hair Studio grew revenue 70% across two locations with GlossGenius
Ashtan Hess had built more demand than she could keep up with. What she needed was a system that could grow with her instead of slowing her down.
Key results
- Revenue up nearly 70%. Her old best month is now an average one.
- A second location that outgrew the first. Her second location passed in five months what her first built in four years.
- 73% client retention. More than two-thirds of appointments come from returning clients.
- 4.97 stars across 200+ reviews. Held through expansion and hiring.
Before GlossGenius: fully booked and running at max capacity
Ashtan opened Touch of Ash in 2018, straight out of cosmetology school. She built her clientele through social media in a small Pennsylvania market, one client at a time. Business was never the problem. She had more people wanting appointments than she had hours to give them.
The problem was that every appointment went through her. Clients messaged to ask what she had open, and the two of them went back and forth until something stuck. Half the time it didn't. People dropped off mid-conversation or the message never came through, and the appointment just never got made. All of it happening while she was standing behind the chair with somebody's color processing.
"That was literally what made me want to stop doing hair, because I hated that part. Having to message back and forth with people. And most of the time, getting nowhere."
She was styling as many clients as she could fit in a day, and that number had nothing to do with how many people wanted in. Bringing on help was on her mind, so was a second location, but that meant doing the same manual work twice over. Ashtan built something people wanted, she just needed was a way to operate it without running every piece of it herself.
Getting serious about the operations behind the business
Moving her business into a converted movie theater in Saxton and bringing on more staff was the turning point for Ashtan to build out scalable operations.
She wanted clients to book without going through her first. She wanted to manage her staff without inheriting a coordination job. And whatever system she picked needed to work well with the second location, because she already knew that was coming.
GlossGenius was the only system that could take on all three to her standards.
Growing with GlossGenius
Booking stopped running through her. One link handled all of it, and clients could see real availability and grab the slot they wanted. No login required, and no marketplace steering them away from her business. Someone who found her on Instagram could book in the same motion instead of getting stopped by an account setup screen or shown three competitors on the way. Her schedule filled up while she stayed focused on her craft.
"You either make an appointment or don't. The feasibility of that was a game changer. Clients just press book now, and make an appointment."
Revenue climbed nearly 70%. The month that used to be her best is what an average month looks like now. With GlossGenius handling payments, client retention, marketing, and analytics seamlessly in the background, she hired another cosmetologist. A year after that she opened a nail salon on the other side of the building, both sides running under one GlossGenius account. No more business separation or disorganized operations.
Chambersburg opened at exactly the right time. Two years in, her team had grown and Ashtan opened another location in Chambersburg, right as GlossGenius had just launched their multi-location feature. She built it inside the same account, assigned providers by location, and set what each location offers.
"GlossGenius had it all laid out to where I could select each location. I have certain people that work at Saxton, and certain people that work in Chambersburg."
She oversees both locations in one place, controls what each team member can access, and pulls any details and documents she needs herself, anytime. Clients get the same booking experience whichever town they're in.
Her second location didn't just open. It took off.
Four years in Saxton had built her a handful of extension clients. Chambersburg passed that in five months.
Retention held through the growth. Nearly three-quarters of her clients rebook within six months. Most software takes the payment and calls it a day. GlossGenius asks for the next appointment while the client is still in the chair, and the waitlist fills any cancellations that open up.
"All of my clients love the system. I feel like I get more respect. No complaints."
Two locations, one brand, and a third concept in planning
Her days are still full. What's different is that booking, scheduling, and both locations run without her in the middle of them.
The time she used to spend managing her own calendar goes to opening locations, coaching her team on the marketing that built her book in the first place, and taking the extension work she actually wants.
And she's not stopping here. Ashtan's already onto the next one. A third concept is in planning, and it'll run on GlossGenius alongside the other two. Coming soon!
@touchof_ash
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