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Inc: To Build a Business, First Build a Relationship
Dr. Tye Caldwell is a lifelong student of human relationships. His formal study began early, as his mom and dad started teaching him how to talk to adults and how to socialize. As he reached school age, and then as a teenager, his parents briefed him on how, as a Black man, he needed to be cautious and intentional in his interactions with police. That early attention to fraught communications has served him well in his efforts to build, sustain, and expand his two businesses: Salon 74 by Tye, based in Plano, Texas, and ShearShare, a technology platform, co-founded with his wife, Courtney, to match stylists with available space at salons. –As told to Kimberly Weisul
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In 2012, Tye Caldwell thought he knew everything about the hair business. He’d started cutting his seven siblings’ hair with his school Fiskars scissors at age 11 and opened his own salon in Plano, Texas, in 2001. That’s even where he met his wife, Courtney, when she came in for a cut. But one day, a phone call briefly stumped him.
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Shifting an industry surely doesn’t happen overnight, but for years Courtney Caldwell has been gradually reshaping the cosmetology world. She’s the co-founder and CEO of ShearShare, an app that allows freelance stylists and barbers to rent open spaces in salons all across the country.
She’s been leading ShearShare since 2017—meaning she’s no stranger to running a tight ship and producing impressive results. (That’s why Cosmo and digitalundivided selected her to be in our 2023 New C-Suite Class, after all.) When someone who’s killing it at the top is ready to share tips on how exactly they got to where they’re at, personally, I prefer to listen. If you’re down to do the same, scroll on to soak in some of Courtney’s advice on how to stay productive, patient, and persistent in the ever-changing professional world.
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In the past, hairstylists and barbers had a few options for pursuing their craft, each with its own drawbacks: long-term booth rental contracts, commission, or salary. With booth rental, stylists sign long-term leases, have to pay weekly or monthly rent even on for days they don’t work and bring in their own clients. Working by commission means a stylist gives the salon a large percentage of their profits — as much as 70% — for booking appointments. Some salons do offer salaried or hourly positions, but the income is low and often inhibits professional growth, even for a stylist with a terrific reputation.
ShearShare is giving this traditional business model a makeover as the salon services market in the U.S. continues to grow. Its app enables salon owners to rent out empty chairs to hairdressers and other beauty professionals on a per diem basis. Operating in more than 900 cities with 50,000 users across the country, salons can use the ShearShare app to advertise empty chairs to independent beauty professionals.
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Inc: New ShearShare's Day-by-Day Liability Insurance Holds Promise for Gig Workers of All Stripes
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At the end of November, ShearShare, a McKinney, Texas-based marketplace connecting hair stylists with salon owners, partnered with Lloyd’s of London, one the world’s oldest insurance syndicates, to offer short-term professional liability insurance. In the case of a stylist, professional liability could cover a chemical left on hair for too long or a client who is extremely unhappy with a cut and can show that it’s not what he or she asked for. Stylists can buy the insurance for the days they are working at booths booked through ShearShare, rather than paying $169 to $259 in advance for an annual policy.
The new policy from ShearShare and Lloyd’s costs $5 a day and covers stylists for up to $1 million of liability. “We want to provide the tools people need so they can pay-as-they-go,” says Courtney Caldwell, co-founder and COO of ShearShare. “There are so many things stylists will go without because of the cost.” Professional liability insurance and health insurance, she says, are at the top of list.
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Gig platforms are already experiencing positive impacts. ShearShare, a marketplace that allows hairdressers and other beauty professionals to rent workspace on demand at salons in over 1,000 U.S. cities, through their participation in Mastercard’s startup engagement program Start Path, was connected to a Mastercard Move enabled payment service provider.
“Previously, paying our hosts was a very manual and tedious task,” says Courtney Caldwell, co-founder and CEO of ShearShare. “Now the process is fast and efficient, which leads to happier users and improved retention for us.”