THE CINCO SUCCESS FORMULA
By Louise May
The Cinco experience is like no other. From the relaxing colour bar to the extensive range of food and beverages delivered straight to your chair, to the signature treatments… It’s luxury from walk-in, to walk-out.
Cinco Hair Boutique overdelivers in customer experience. When customers enter the salon, it is a one-of-a-kind experience. Everything from sound, to smell, to visual appeal has been crafted for the best customer experience imaginable. It is no wonder that Cinco Hair Boutique in Western Australia was named Finalist in 2021 for the AHIA Newcomer of the Year.
Was business ownership always a priority for you?
Cinco Hair Boutique was started by owner Kendall Drake in 2018 from scratch, and built from the ground up. Within three years, she grew her team from 1 to 7 staff, and built a client base of over 4,000 customers, pivoting from a wedding hair business to one of Busselton’s most sustainable, luxury city-feel hair boutiques.
The most challenging part managing staff. Why can’t they stay forever… I feel like as the leader you have to always be on the A Game but also you have to learn to accept people and things they do and not to stress the small stuff!!
Our Hair Biz Editor Louise May spoke with Kendall to find out more about Cinco’s success formula.
“IN THIS INDUSTRY YOU HAVE TO BE MOTIVATED AND HARD WORKING. GROW ORGANICALLY AND ENJOY THE RIDE!” 40
Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 3
Tell us a little about your career prior to opening your salon.
I had studied the TAE Course, so the plan was to become a Trainer and Accessor @ TAFE for hairdressing and had just been accepted into UNI. This was the area I was heading down. So, a totally different path… but I was so passionate about hair and the industry, I just wanted to make a difference and change the old ways of running a hairdressing business or salon. I wanted to work out a way to retain my staff and inspire them to be the best version of themselves, this was always in the back of my mind.
It was always on my mind but purely to challenge myself and inspire and to create a good working environment for the team
Share with us some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the journey and how you overcame these/ What’s the most challenging aspect?
Who were your industry heroes in your early years and who inspires you today?
Sharon Blain was a huge inspiration to me as an apprentice hairdresser I just loved her and would watch her hair tutorials for hours. I also was able to afford and attend one of her courses a couple of years ago , and finally got to meet her, I was so happy I cried…. Also, Lauren Curtis in my early makeup days, I would watch her for hours… So was so inspiring!
What do you enjoy most about your business?
I love training the staff and watching them grow. I love to look back to see how far we have come. This makes me feel so proud of what we have achieved in 4 years.
