Article: Voyage KC | https://voyagekc.com
Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Kienzle.
Hi Kristin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I always knew I wanted to be a hairstylist. As a kid I always enjoyed visiting the salon. I attended cosmetology school immediately after graduating high school, and from there, I have had every opportunity and experience my license affords me. I’ve worked in every type of salon setting, from a chain in the mall to a space in my home, and everything in between. I also spent some time as an educator for a color company.
Two years before leaving Olathe and returning to Wichita, I began working in a suite-concept salon called Identity Suite Salons, owned by my friend and now mentor, Vanessa Montgomery. The experience at Identity was terrific, and I realized that the suite concept was genius! There is no downside to this contemporary salon set-up where beauty professionals work together under one roof running independent businesses alongside each other.
In 2014, I relocated to Wichita and was sad to leave my clientele and my cozy suite at Identity. I wanted to build a clientele in Wichita, but I couldn’t bear the thought of returning to an open-concept, traditional salon. I was lucky to have an opportunity at Sola Salon Studios to share a studio with a part-time hairstylist while I worked to build my business. My studio mate became a dear friend, and my business grew enough that I took on my own studio. She eventually retired, leaving me the bulk of her clientel, which was a great boost to my business.
As I approached my 50th birthday, I realized I was upon the final push of my career. Because my kids were all grown and my husband was crazy supportive, I knew I had the time and the energy to create my own little slice of heaven in this industry. I have always loved working in the salon. I love the hair, the people, the art, the pressure, and the money. I especially love the contemporary suite/studio concept salon! And so it began…
I began to dream up the perfect salon. I dreamed of a beautiful, modern salon where beauty professionals would be supported and feel the inclusion of being a part of a salon as a whole while being 100% independent. I envisioned a clean, neutral common area space where beauty professionals could express their style, vibe, and creativity by setting up and decorating their private suites in a way that they could manifest the success they desired. I wanted to one-up the competition by offering comfortable seating in the common areas and coffee, teas, and fresh, cold ice and water. Additionally, I wanted to offer mentorship and encourage beauty professionals to not only master their craft, but become smart business people. My dream was to create a space desirable for beauty professionals to call their business home and a place where their clients truly enjoyed visiting, influencing the perceived value of the services they would be visiting our salon to receive.
My dreaming turned into sitting up at night and taking notes on my thoughts and ideas. Eventually, I took the leap to the bank and find out what it takes to obtain financing for something like this. I half expected to be told I was crazy and didn’t know what I was doing. However, every time I reached out to professional resources, I was believed in and encouraged. With the support of my friends and family, and people I perceived to be much more intelligent than me believing in me, I kept moving forward.
The journey has been terrifying and challenging at times. I’ve had days when I wondered what the hell I’ve gotten myself into! But honestly, every hurdle has been jumped, every path has been laid out before me, and the roadblocks have been moved multiple times. Getting the first salon opened up and fully leased in September of 2022 was such a great experience that I did it again 6 months after we opened. We are just weeks into our second location being opened up and fully leased, with another set of beauty professionals who I couldn’t have hand-picked any better!
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’m having trouble coming up with something I can tell you has been a struggle. I can’t tell you why, but somehow, we have managed to attract the absolute best people as tenants! We have 12 at each location, and they are all smart businesswomen, kind people, talented practitioners, and simply good people. We are all different, come from different places, and have different lifestyles, but we support, accept, and enjoy each other. It’s very unusual for a group of women to get along as well as we do, but that is another reason the suite-concept salon is so successful and desirable. We have a community that doesn’t include drama from sharing space and stepping on toes.
Thanks for sharing that. Can you tell us more about your business next?
Utopia Modern Salon Suites is an upscale, contemporary suite-concept salon. Each of our beauty professionals leases space that our brand refers to as a Suite. Our beauty pros run their own small businesses within their private, customizable suites. They determine their hours, pricing, and policies. They choose the brands they work with and the services they provide. Our beauty professionals currently include hairstylists, estheticians, wax professionals, and a nurse practitioner who provides medical aesthetics. We offer more than just the space. We support our tenants’ small businesses with marketing and advertising opportunities, bookkeeping/tax support, educational and networking opportunities, events, 24/7 access to their suite, and responsive management. Additionally, we provide a towel service to ensure our beauty pros enjoy their time out of the salon – not washing, drying, and folding towels! We welcome our tenants’ guests by offering coffee, tea, ice, water, comfortable seating, and a welcoming atmosphere. We currently have 2 locations in NE Wichita and are working to expand as a franchise. We are confident that our model can compete with the current franchises nationwide simply because of the rapid success we have had locally. We attract the best of the best in the industry as tenants, and the guests who visit our salon feel confident that they are in for an exceptional, comfortable experience and will leave our salon with the results they desire.
What’s next?
We are working to franchise Utopia Modern Salon Suites. We can’t wait to see our brand multiply throughout the Midwest and move east within the U.S. Our vision is to have multiple locations situated in cities similar to Wichita in size and demographics and to be perceived as THE suite-concept salon to call home for the business-minded, successful beauty industry professionals.