“I’m a day-maker. I make people’s days.”
About 900 a week, that is.
The founder of the Yellow Strawberry beauty salons has been a fixture in Sarasota since opening his first hair and makeup business here four decades ago.
But the company’s growth has exploded in the wake of the recession, opening two more stores in the past five years and rolling out its own new product line.
With cutting-edge technology and an age-old focus on customer service, Weintraub is now helping to train his future competition through a rigorous apprenticeship program that has beauty school graduates flocking to his salons for their first taste of the trade.
Among the hundreds of salons in the region, from two-chair independents to big chains, how does one small independent operation thrive?
“We are fairly recession proof,” said Steve Sleeper, executive director of the Professional Beauty Association in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Given the artistic nature of the business, independent salons like Yellow Strawberry represent the vast majority of the operators. Chains tend to serve a more value-driven customer base, he said.
While some customers might stretch out the time between their visits or cut down on services, Sleeper said, it is historically one of the last ancillary spending items in the budget to go.
“We’re in the look-good, feel-good business,” Weintraub said. “It’s a culture.”
But as the economy builds, more salons are now starting to roll out growth plans put on hold during hard times.
“The last go around was a little different,” Sleeper said, “but I attribute some of the rebound to pent-up demand and general improvements in the economy.”
Moving north to Sarasota
From Key West, Weintraub stumbled upon Sarasota by accident. He opened his first salon here in 1974, near the corner of Bee Ridge Road and Shade Avenue. At the time, the sleepy Bee Ridge had only two lanes and no sidewalks.
Yellow Strawberry eventually moved just across the street from its first location to the plaza where it has stayed for 30 years.
Weintraub eventually brought on partners from Manchester, England — married couple Desmond and Caroline Behan — to help spur growth. The trio has more than a century of experience in the salon business between them.
Like most businesses, Yellow Strawberry was forced to slim down somewhat to survive the Great Recession, but the company made sure to maintain service levels so it could endure for the long run. Now, the salon is experiencing the fastest growth in its 40-year history.
In 2006, Yellow Strawberry opened a second store in a smaller space in Lakewood Ranch. But that salon outgrew that location, and the company recently moved into a much larger Lakewood Ranch storefront — and bought the entire building.
The group in May opened a third store in the Target-anchored strip center at Fruitville Road and Honore Avenue in Sarasota.
Between the three locations, the salon serves about 900 customers every week, a number that balloons during peak winter tourism season.
Weintraub credits that success largely to the system he has built.
“If you don’t have an absolute system from beginning to end, you can’t be consistent,” Weintraub said. “The No. 1 reason a client leaves their hairdresser is because they can’t replicate it.”
Despite the many changes in styles and trends over the years, scissors are still scissors, combs have not changed much, and hair dryers still blow hot air.
But many other aspects of the business have evolved, as customers place a heavier emphasis on their time, technology and the overall experience. They expect more when they walk in the doors.
“A good haircut now is just not enough,” Desmond Behan said. “That experience from when they come into the front desk, to the music, to the shampoo room, it all has to be there.”
Employees are the key
The pride of Yellow Strawberry is its 60-some employees.
“Our point of difference is in our training and developing,” Weintraub said. “We’re devoted to our people, and we’re constantly working on their growth.”
Before they can hit the floor on their own, each stylist must test out of an in-house training regimen that consists of weekly sessions for about 18 months. It doesn’t matter if they’ve been cutting hair somewhere else for 10 years.
Weintraub said the apprenticeship — relatively common among prestigious salons around the country — was designed to not only give stylists first-hand training on cutting and coloring hair but also teach them the business side, including expectations for how stylists must conduct themselves behind the chair.
Eighteen employees now are taking part in Yellow Strawberry’s training camp. Each of them works as an assistant to the more seasoned stylists at the shops. Upon testing out, each stylist begins with the company’s lower-tier cuts before ultimately moving up to the more demanding luxury services.
Cuts at Yellow Strawberry range from about $40 to around $100.
“We’re trying to offer you a Mercedes,” Desmond Behan said. “But it’s not always going to cost as much as you think.”
Yellow Strawberry products
To further accelerate growth, Yellow Strawberry also developed its own product line.
Sold in its salons, the products range from hair spray to shampoo — and the in-house lines are actually among the cheapest products the salon retails. They’re also among the most popular.
Weintraub (who comes from a chemistry background) said that’s because the lines were designed not only for beauty but also health. Unlike most over-the-counter products, the Yellow Strawberry line is entirely vegan. It is also gluten and sulfate free. The products contain no harmful additives or toxins.
“We’re trying to be as natural as we can, and create something that’s different from everyone else,” Weintraub said. “I’m a health nut.”
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