Hire Well, Onboard Fast, Keep Longer — The Operational Guide to Building a Team That Runs Without You
The third book in The Modern Salon Series tackles the hardest layer of running a salon: the people. If you're cycling through staff, struggling to get new hires up to speed, or watching good stylists walk out the door — this book is built for you.
Get Notified When It Launches →The Modern Salon Series
Inside Book 3
Twelve chapters. One complete system for every stage of the team lifecycle — from the first job posting to a salon that hires, onboards, and develops without the owner in the loop at every step.
The actual research on salon staff turnover — and why compensation is almost never the real reason. What the exit interview data reveals that most owners never hear.
✦ Exit Interview Framework includedHow to build a proactive hiring process so you're never making a desperate decision. The Three-Round Interview Protocol. The Paid Trial Day.
✦ Ideal Hire Profile + Interview ScorecardThe 30-60-90 day onboarding map that slashes the 90-Day Cliff departure rate. Plus: how to write a Culture Document that actually shapes behaviour — not a mission statement, but a specific behavioural blueprint.
✦ 30-60-90 Onboarding Map includedManaging your best stylist when they've started acting like the rules don't apply to them — without losing them. The Career Growth Track that keeps top performers from going independent.
✦ Career Growth Track Template includedPlus: all 20 templates will be free to download at modernsalonowner.com/downloads on launch day.
Who this book is for
"I've had four receptionists in two years and I still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong."
"My best stylist just handed in notice to go independent. I didn't see it coming."
"New hires take six months to be useful, and half of them leave within the year anyway."
"I can't take a day off without something going wrong. The team doesn't know how to run without me."
These are not hiring problems. They are systems problems. This book gives you the system.
About the author
Kate Harlow has spent twelve years inside salon businesses — not as a coach, and not as a consultant who parachutes in for a day and sends a deck. As the person operators call when something has stopped working and they can't figure out why.
Her entry into this industry was not planned. She joined a family-operated chain in Chennai in her mid-twenties as a general manager, inheriting three locations, forty-two staff, and a no-show rate the previous manager had described in the handover notes as "a bit of a problem." It was 23%.
Over the years that followed, she worked across salon businesses in urban South India, the Gulf, Southeast Asia, and the United States. The surface details varied. The operational problems were almost identical everywhere.
Books 1 and 2 of the Modern Salon Series are available on Kindle now. Book 3 — The Salon Team System — is in progress.
Already have Books 1 and 2?
Book 1 gives you the operational framework. Book 2 fills your appointment book. Book 3 builds the team that executes it all — without you needing to be there for every decision.
Both books $9.99 on Kindle. All templates free — no email required.