Renée and Jesse are sitting down to discuss what can happen when one embraces an unexpected opportunity; the differences between taking over an existing franchise location and opening a brand new one; creating balanced partnerships in business; multi-unit ownership, and the impact of local marketing.
Jesse Pooni began in the salon industry in 2013 after becoming a district manager for Chatters Hair Salon. At the time, his wife asked him, “what do you know about hair?” to which he responded, “nothing, but I know people.” And despite the lack of direct industry experience, Jesse had the skills to rock this new leadership position and learned even more in the meantime.
While working for Chatters, Jesse got to know Tommy Gun’s Originial Barbershop too, since they are both part of the same family of brands. Tommy Gun’s boasts a particularly unique experience in that it offers traditional men’s barbering with a focus on luxury and premium services. There are also no appointments; clients can simply show up and hang out until it’s their turn, watching the game, browsing products, or enjoying the space’s amenities.
After some time with Chatters, Jesse was promoted to director of operations for western Canada, a job which included quite a bit of traveling. After having his son and deciding he needed a position that would allow him to stay more local, he ended up leaving his position with the salon. But they weren’t letting him go that easy!
On his last day, Jesse got a call, and suddenly a whole new opportunity opened up to him in the salon industry, this time through business ownership. Knowing that he’d do best with a partner, Jesse reached out to his network and teamed up with someone he trusted and who had barbering experience, forming a strong partnership where each could bolster one another’s skills.
Since then, Jesse has become a multi-unit franchisee with four locations across BC’s lower mainland. His first three stores were converted from corporate stores to franchise locations under Jesse’s leadership, and his fourth was opened brand-new. In this experience, he’s gotten to see the varying benefits and challenges of different avenues to business operation. In networking, local store marketing, and forging a presence for himself both in the store and in the community, Jesse has grown the unit into an increasingly successful barbershop.
Tune in to this week’s episode of Franchise Canada Chats to hear more of Jesse’s story and to gain access to his insights.
On this episode we’ll discuss:
- Forging strong business partnerships
- Taking over an existing location VS building a new one
- Marketing at the local level
- And so much more!
