Your Wage Bill Under Control
Commission is the lever that decides whether your team is motivated and your salon is profitable, or whether you're quietly losing money every month. Salon Commissions Made Easy walks you through the models that actually work, then hands you a spreadsheet to find the one that fits your business. The whole thing takes under an hour.
The Problem
"I copied what the salon down the road did, and it nearly ruined me."
Pay too little and your best people walk. Pay too much and there's nothing left for the business that takes all the risk. Most owners inherit a commission structure, copy a competitor, or pluck a percentage out of the air, then spend years quietly resenting the wage bill. The truth is there isn't one right number. There's a right model for where your salon is right now, and a sensible way to work it out. This is the question Phil gets asked about more than any other, so he built a short course to answer it properly.
What You'll Learn
No jargon and no formulas you don't understand. Just four clear ways to pay your team, each with a worked example, the pros and cons, and exactly who it suits. Every model is held up against the same three-point acid test, and every one is built to keep your wage bill under control.
A guaranteed basic wage, plus a flat percentage on everything a team member takes above their target. The most popular model in the UK and the easiest to understand. It's also the one most salons get wrong, usually on where the target and the percentage are set.
The same idea, but the percentage steps up as your team passes higher revenue thresholds. It rewards your strongest performers, as long as you set the tiers carefully and don't add so many that nobody can follow how they're paid.
Your team member gets either their basic wage or a more generous commission on their full takings, whichever is higher. This is Phil's own favourite, and what he ran in his salon for years. Very motivating once it's understood, and it makes wage control simple.
Rather than rewarding each person on their own takings, the whole team shares in everything the salon earns above a shared target, usually measured over a quarter. It's the newer, more modern approach, it ties pay straight to your salon goals, and it can get the team rallying around each other. It needs a stable, tight-knit team to work, and the course shows you exactly when it does and when it doesn't.
The first three reward individual effort, while group commission rewards the team as a whole, so you'll learn how to choose between them. You'll also see why a pure commission-only structure is usually a trap, and the rough wage-percentage ceiling that keeps a salon profitable whichever model you pick.
The Acid Test
It's the simple gut check Phil uses with the salon owners he coaches. If your commission structure can't tick all three boxes, it isn't working, and the course shows you how to fix it.
Stretching enough to mean something, but realistic across both your quiet months and your busy ones.
Simple and generous enough that your team actually wants to do the extra work, rather than ignore it.
Big enough to show up in their pay packet, so the effort and the reward clearly connect.
The Decision Tool
Reading about the models is one thing. Knowing which one your salon can actually afford is another. The course comes with a Google Sheet you copy to your own Drive. Drop in a basic wage and a month's takings, and it shows the three individual structures side by side, along with what each one costs you as a percentage of turnover. You decide with real figures in front of you instead of a gut feeling.
It's a design tool to help you set your structure, not payroll software for calculating wages month to month.
Who It's For
Salon Commissions Made Easy is for owners who already have a team, or are about to take one on, and want to get the pay structure right rather than inherit someone else's mistake. Whether you're setting commission for the first time or fixing a scheme that's quietly eating your profit, you'll come away knowing exactly which model to use and why.
Get Started
Questions
What exactly do I get?
A short, no-fluff mini-course covering the main salon commission models, plus the Commission Sanity Check Calculator, a Google Sheet you copy and keep. You get instant, lifetime access as soon as you buy.
How long does it take to go through?
Under an hour. You can watch the whole thing and run your own figures through the calculator in a single sitting, and walk away with a decision made.
Do I need to be good with spreadsheets?
No. You copy the Google Sheet to your own Drive and just type your numbers into the white boxes. It does the comparison for you, and if you ever break it you simply take a fresh copy.
Is this right for a brand-new salon?
If you employ people, or you're about to, it's relevant. It's just as useful for setting commission for the first time as it is for fixing a scheme that isn't working.