Two sets of twins and a salon
When hairdressing couple Karl and Danelle Radel first opened their salon sixteen years ago, they were aiming to provide top quality hairdressing and a great service to their clients. Today, their salon is a success story.
Karl moved to Dunedin to study dentistry at the University of Otago, but got sidetracked and ended up working in one of the city’s busiest salons. Here he met Danelle, and after getting married, they started Klone Hair together.
The salon has since gone from strength to strength, as has their awards cabinet! Accolades include over 100 local and national awards for Karl, including NZ Senior Cutting Champion and the prestigious NZARH NZ Supreme Hairdresser of the Year title in 2006. Danelle was the first southern New Zealander to win the Wella Young Professional Stylist award, and with a passion for creative styling, her work has graced many magazine covers.
Outside of the salon, Karl and Danelle have their work cut out for them. They’ve got two sets of twins, and at one stage their four kids were all under the age of two. The salon has grown alongside a very busy family life.
So what are the secrets to success for this hairdressing power couple? There are a few factors which spring to mind:
Provide exceptional service and creative expertise
This highly creative couple wanted to create an environment where clients could expect exceptional customer service as well as creative and leading edge hairdressing. That’s why they use the best products for their clients, and the best software to run their salon.
“Timely gives us the latest technology to take our business forward. If you have software that continues to evolve and offers great service, then you’re keeping up with the times…and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do in our own salon.”
Clearly, they’re doing something right. When you walk into the salon and look at the awards shelf, you know you’re in good hands. You look around and you see many loyal customers who have been coming to them for years; a living testament to the service they provide.
Choose the right staff
From the start, it has been a priority for Karl and Danelle to hire good staff and train them through the ranks of hairdressing. Although Klone started with five stylists, the team has since doubled to ten staff. Two of the current stylists are still at the salon today, meaning their entire hairdressing career has been at Klone.
“We like to hire stylists straight out of school,” Karl says, “That way we get to shape them to suit our salon, rather than having to get rid of their bad habits.”
Introduce the right systems
Timely has become a key part of the salon’s day to day operation. Karl loves the fact that Timely is so portable, and with his iPhone in his pocket wherever he goes, the business is always with him.
From a business point of view, cost is always important. Klone previously used Kitomba, and after making the switch to Timely they are saving $500 a month for an easy to use system that they can access from anywhere.
It’s also great for the couple to be able to quickly see what’s working at the click of a button. The reporting is vitally important to their business in terms of retail and staff KPI’s. They regard Timely as a tool that will help them to grow into the future.
“It’s good to see what’s working and what’s not in terms of retail, and staff KPI’s.”
They’re now looking to make online booking available to their clients. After originally not being too enthralled with the idea, Danelle changed her mind after making a booking using the Timely online booking feature at a local Pilates studio.
Karl says they save “hours” every week by using Timely salon software and definitely recommends it to others in the hair industry.
