Small Business Award winner spotlight: RedBloom Salon

RedBloom Salon is a full-service hair salon with multiple locations across Calgary. While it may seem as though they have plenty of competition, the company has won over the loyal support of their community through unique initiatives and welcoming ways. This October, RedBloom Salon took home the Servus Credit Union People’s Choice Award at the 40th Calgary Small Business Awards.

Turning passion into purpose

Troy Winget, CEO and Founder of RedBloom Salon, believes that even after 19 years in business, staying engrained in the community through charity work and having consistent messaging is integral to building and maintaining a connection with their clients.

Michael Anthony, Director of Operations for RedBloom Salon, explains the passion the team has is what sets them apart from other salons.

“When we have customers in our chair, they see that we honestly love what we do and it rubs off on them,” he says. “They can see how important hair is to us and we know they see and live with the services we provide every day. That’s what keeps us engaged and sets us apart from our competitors.”

Troy stresses the importance of the relationships each stylist has with their customers. “It’s a huge responsibility dealing with our customers and their everyday lives. We take how we show up for them very seriously.”

“Doing hair is everything to me,” he says. “It’s not just a job, it’s a lifestyle. I am a mentor, an entrepreneur and I have a responsibility to keep the trust our clients give us. There are so many aspects to it and that is why I love doing what I do and I think the whole organization feels the same way.”

Michael confirmed Troy’s thoughts noting that the team feels the same way.

“I love the energy in the salon space, being around customers and seeing them get excited about the services they’ve received,” he says. “It reverberates into our service providers. Seeing how passionate a client can be after they receive a service makes everyone feel good.”

Shannon Robinson, RedBloom Salon Co-Owner and Director of HR, takes pride in the salon’s guest experience.

“I love the way we can cater to all the demographics across our city. I also love how our stylists can progress in our organization, starting as an apprentice and reaching the pinnacle of their career as a master or executive stylist,” she says. “We listen to our employees and we make changes where we need to. There are lots of things we have done to improve over the years and it really jazzes me up.”

Building a legacy

Michael notes the importance of taking a step back to consider the work they have done in their community to continue to improve and make more positive contributions going forward.

“We are always looking to push out new initiatives, but to also have the humility to look back at what we’ve done and understand how we can make it better moving forward,” he says. “Whether we’re talking about education for our junior stylists or creating new levels for the top echelons of our service providers, we try to offer flexibility to our staff who it’s most important to. RedBloom is a place where a stylist can start their career and where they can spend their next 30 years.”

Shannon considers a new offering they have introduced to their guests to be a huge milestone for the company.

“We are really proud of being able to identify what kind of experience our guests want, whether they want to talk, read a book or work from their phone, we now have a guest experience menu they can choose from to help their stylist make their appointment more comfortable,” she says. “Our guests can also have a glass of wine while getting their hair done. Wherever there is an experience that we can elevate for our guests, we are totally after that.”

“We’re always investing in our people, technology and our locations. All of our locations are renovated and current, so nothing gets tired. We are always changing and always growing,” says Troy. “Within the next year, we want to continue to strengthen our brand recognition and build a higher level of client engagement. Looking ahead, I want to turn RedBloom into a legacy. I want people to always love working here, even after I’ve gone into the sunset."

Recognizing their win

While Troy was unable to sum up the feeling of winning the Servus Credit Union People’s Choice Award, Shannon puts it into just one word: “Elated.”

“We had a table of eight with our management team with us and it was fantastic to have them there,” notes Shannon. “They got to be celebrated by the rest of the Calgary Chamber community and I think they really deserved it.”

“We were there to celebrate our organization’s resiliency. It’s not a secret that Calgarians have been going through tough times and being recognized shows us that our clients love us, even when things are challenging,” says Troy. “It was an honour to be nominated and become a finalist amongst the other candidates; every one of them is a winner because their clients love them.”

Michael beamed over the win. “I’m just so proud to be involved with an organization that is so entrenched in the local Calgary community and has that type of positive outlook within our client base. It’s nice to be chosen because our clients love us. We love them, and it’s nice to see they love us back,” he says. “We really couldn’t have even been nominated without our frontline staff and our service providers. They are the first touchpoint for a client, they set the mood and the atmosphere and they have to send our clients away with above-satisfactory service.”

“What it really comes down to is that we are extremely honoured to have even been nominated for this award,” Shannon concludes. “We have to thank our guests for their loyalty they have given us for the last 19 years because it makes us want to continue for the next 19 years.”

See the full list of winners from the 40th Calgary Small Business Awards. To learn more about ORKA Performance, visit www.redbloom.ca.