Radical Intervention

Orbit salon had to be one of the filthiest salons I’ve ever seen; it was covered in hair, dust and dirt—it was a pigsty. And it was shocking to me because everyone acknowledged how dirty and rundown the salon was but nobody actively did anything to clean it up and make it better. Even Eddie, the owner, called the place a dump and his staff hand-me-downs. Way to motivate, Eddie! And the lack of initiative and zeal in taking care of the salon carried over to everyone’s work. I saw sloppy color, uneven haircuts, and a total lack of attention to detail. The worst of it all, was Eddie had been using his basement as a personal storage space. Tens of thousands of dollars in products were buried under his clothes, bicycles, and junk. This is no way to run a successful business. Over-ordering product and then not storing it and organizing it properly so you can sell it for a profit is literally throwing money down the drain.

The moment I met Eddie I could tell he was a proud man and it was hard for him to open up about the issues in his salon, and he knew there were many. I liked Eddie because I could see that he wanted a better salon but he was totally stuck. He had owned Orbit for a long time and the wear and tear showed on both the salon and the owner. My challenge was to find a way to shake Eddie out of his rut, to wake him up in order to save his business. And I needed to make sure the staff took some responsibility, as well. So I tried one of the most radical interventions I’ve ever done—I made Eddie and his staff pack up all his personal sh*t in the basement, load it on a truck, and take it to Eddie’s condo. He needed to really understand the mess he’d made of his business. He needed to live with it. And it worked. I really saw Eddie and his staff transform. They found their passion and they could finally find their products in a cleaner, more organized basement! Bobby and Andrea really transformed their attitudes and their work. Everyone pulled together and supported Eddie, everyone except Lindsay, that is. I could see that Lindsay’s inability to change really bothered Eddie; he broke down. Firing her was clearly a difficult decision for him but he did what he believed was best for his business. And I have high hopes for Eddie and for his whole team now that they have a fresh start.