The Modern Hairstylist ™ Podcast

Hunter Donia
  • 4.9 (138)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Teaching you how to grow your beauty business as a hairstylist or salon owner without the overwhelm by implementing modern strategies so you can reclaim time, freedom and energy from working behind the chair.

  1. 2d ago

    A Growth Path That Retains Team Members And Makes Money Faster

    In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown get into one of the most common and costly gaps Hunter is seeing with the salon owners he works with inside Mastermind: a lack of a clear, fair, and measurable growth path for the stylists on their team. Hunter pulls directly from real conversations he has been having with new Mastermind members to break down what a growth plan actually needs to look like, which KPIs actually matter, and why getting this right is one of the fastest ways to protect your revenue and retain your best people. This episode is for salon owners at every stage, whether you have one employee or ten, and it is equally relevant for stylists who have ever felt stuck, resentful, or like there was no future for them where they were working. Key Takeaways: 🗺️ A Growth Path Is A Non-Negotiable For Retaining Good Talent: Hunter is clear that in a generation where stylists are more aware of their options than ever, a vague or nonexistent growth plan is one of the fastest ways to lose your best people. Jodie shares from personal experience that she has left two salons specifically because of a lack of a growth path, and Hunter explains why clarity about what someone can expect is one of the most powerful retention tools you have. 📊 Commission Raises And Price Increases Should Be Measured Separately: One of Hunter's most practical takeaways is that these two things are often coupled together when they should not be. A price increase is earned through supply and demand, utilization, and retention. A commission raise is earned through things like retail performance and direct referrals that reflect a stylist's personal contribution to the profitability of the salon. Mixing them together creates confusion, resentment, and missed revenue opportunities for everyone. 🎯 The KPIs That Actually Matter: Hunter breaks down the metrics worth tracking: utilization rate, new client retention, direct referrals, average retail per client, and client satisfaction. He also gets specific about which ones are commonly used but actually irrelevant in certain situations, like pre-booking percentage for a curly specialist who is 100% booked with no need to pre-book. ⚠️ Never Hold Someone Accountable To A Metric They Cannot Control: Hunter shares a real example of a stylist being held back from a raise because her revenue KPI was not being hit, despite being 100% booked, simply because the salon had underpriced its men's cuts. If you set the prices and this person has no control over the number, holding them back for not hitting it is not fair and it will cost you that person eventually. 🛠️ Equip Your Team To Actually Hit The Marks You Set: Hunter closes with a story about a Mastermind member who is bringing him in to teach their team how to market themselves, because that is one of the KPIs the team will be held to for a commission raise. If you want your team to hit a standard, you are responsible for giving them the tools and coaching to actually get there. Why You Should Listen: If you have ever lost a great stylist you wanted to keep, or if you are a stylist who has ever felt like the goalpost kept moving with no real path forward, this episode gives you the honest and practical framework for what a growth plan should actually look like. Hunter makes the case that clarity is not just good leadership. It is a direct driver of retention, revenue, and the kind of salon culture where people actually want to stay and grow. Let's connect on Instagram!

  2. Sep 7

    The Strategy That Creates A Cult-Like Following

    In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown dig into a concept that one of Hunter's all-time favorite Mastermind students put into practice and completely ran with: creating a signature methodology. Using the real example of Brandy Chavez, an Arizona based stylist who built her entire brand around a hard water detox method she developed herself, Hunter and Jodie break down why this strategy is one of the most powerful things a niched down stylist can do to set themselves apart and build the kind of loyalty that markets itself. This is not a conversation about copying what someone else has done. It is about recognizing what you are already doing uniquely, documenting it, and turning it into something your clients can identify with, talk about, and come back for. Key Takeaways: 🧪 What A Signature Methodology Actually Is: Hunter uses Brandy's hard water method as the anchor example throughout the episode, walking through how she took a consistent client problem, developed her own systematic approach to solving it, and turned that into a framework that drives her consultations, her retail sales, and her word of mouth referrals all at once. 🧠 There Is Something Primal About A Proven System: Hunter gets into the psychology behind why methods work so well in business. From IBE to the Curly Girl Method to Aveda salons to Drybar, the pattern is the same. When people subscribe to a method, they are not just buying a service. They are adopting an identity, and that creates a level of loyalty that is very hard to compete with. 📣 A Method Makes Word Of Mouth More Powerful: Hunter points out that there is a big difference between a client saying "I love my stylist" and a client saying "I use the Brandy hard water method." The second one sounds official, proven, and trustworthy in a way that a generic referral simply does not, and that specificity makes the recommendation land harder. ⏳ This Is Not A Strategy For Everyone Right Now: Hunter and Jodie are honest that a signature methodology is not something to force at the start of a career. It tends to emerge naturally from lived experience, a clear niche, and a consistent pattern of solving a specific problem in a unique way. If you are early in building your clientele, focus on getting fully booked first. ✍️ If It Is Not Documented, It Is Not Real: Hunter closes with a practical challenge. If you are already doing something uniquely, write it down. Document the steps, identify the patterns, and start to actualize it as your own method. A page on your website or a framework you walk clients through in the consultation is enough to start making it feel official. Why You Should Listen: If you have ever wondered how certain stylists build the kind of following where clients are fiercely loyal, refer everyone they know, and would never dream of going somewhere else, this episode explains exactly how that happens. Hunter and Jodie give you a clear, honest look at the strategy behind it and how to know whether you are ready to make it work for your own business. Let's connect on Instagram!

  3. Aug 31

    Give People A Reason To Give A Shit

    In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown break down one of the most fundamental communication shifts you can make in your business: giving people a reason to give a shit. Whether you are trying to sell retail, upsell a service, get your team on board, or stop the scroll on social media, the same principle applies across the board, and most stylists and salon owners are skipping it entirely. Hunter pulls from a real consumer behavior study he and Jodie conducted, personal coaching moments, and his own experience as an educator to make the case that if your message is not landing, it is not because people are not interested. It is because you have not given their brain a reason to care yet. Key Takeaways: 🧠 Your Brain Burns Calories To Pay Attention: Hunter opens with a concept that reframes everything. Paying attention to something actually costs your brain energy, which means if you are not giving someone a compelling enough reason to tune in, their brain is literally going to tune you out. This applies to your clients, your team, and your followers. 📊 What The Data Actually Says About Client Education: Jodie shares a striking stat from their consumer behavior study: 100% of boutique salon clients said education builds trust with their stylist, and 28% organically brought it up without being asked. Hunter connects this directly to why how you communicate your education matters just as much as the education itself. 🎯 Use Their Words, Not Yours: Hunter demonstrates exactly what this sounds like in practice with a real behind the chair example using Jodie as the client. The difference between saying "this brush is great for detangling" and connecting the product directly back to the specific struggle the client already told you they have is the difference between a forgettable moment and a retail sale. 📣 Why Your Marketing Is Creating White Noise: Hunter breaks down the levels of awareness and explains why jumping straight to "here is my service, here is my product" is the fastest way to get scrolled past. You have to start where your client actually is, make them aware of the problem first, and then position yourself as the solution. 👥 Why Your Team Does Not Care About Selling Retail: Hunter gets honest about why incentives and scripts alone will never create consistent retail behavior on your team. Until you connect selling retail to something your team members actually care about on a personal level, it will always feel like something they are doing for you, not for themselves. Why You Should Listen: If you have ever felt like you are saying all the right things but nobody is actually listening, buying, or following through, this episode will show you exactly why. Hunter gives you a practical, repeatable framework for making your message land every single time, whether you are behind the chair, leading a team, or showing up on social media. Let's connect on Instagram!

  4. Aug 24

    What Has Changed For Hairstylists' Websites in 2026

    In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown get into a topic Hunter has been teaching and refining with his Mastermind and Modern Stylist Movement members for the past year: what has actually changed when it comes to building, optimizing, and maintaining a website as a hairstylist right now, and why what worked a few years ago is no longer enough. Hunter is honest that he hates building websites just as much as you do. But he is equally clear that if you want to attract high ticket clients and charge high ticket prices, your website has to look and perform the part. This episode covers exactly what that means in today's landscape. Key Takeaways: 🤖 AI Website Builders Are Changing Everything: Hunter breaks down why he has moved away from traditional drag and drop builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Showit in favor of AI powered builders like Lovable and Base44. The difference is not just convenience, it is performance, speed, and the ability to add backend SEO code that traditional builders simply cannot do for you. 🔍 SEO Is More Important Than It Has Ever Been: Clients are now finding their hairstylists through Google AI summaries and chatbots, not just traditional search. Hunter explains why this makes SEO more specific and more competitive than ever, and what you can do right now to make sure you are showing up where your ideal clients are actually looking. 📄 Specialty Pages Are A Game Changer: Having a dedicated page on your website for your specialty service, whether that is extensions, curly hair, or Brazilian blowouts, sends a powerful signal to Google and AI crawlers that you are an authority in that specific area. Hunter walks through exactly what that page should include to actually convert the clients who land on it. ⭐ Social Proof Should Be Everywhere On Your Website: Hunter is direct: between every single section of your website, there should be a testimonial, a before and after, or a client story. The more social proof that exists on your site, the more trustworthy you appear to both potential clients and the AI systems recommending you. ⚠️ Know When Not To Make The Switch: Hunter closes with an important caveat. If your current website is already performing well and getting you found on Google consistently, disrupting it may not be worth it right now. He walks through when it makes sense to wait and when it makes sense to make the move. Why You Should Listen: Whether you have been putting off dealing with your website or you are actively trying to figure out how to get found by more of the right clients online, this episode gives you an honest and practical breakdown of what is actually working right now and what you should be prioritizing to stay competitive in 2026 and beyond. Let's connect on Instagram!

  5. Aug 17

    Things AI Can Do For You Behind The Scenes

    In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown get into one of the most exciting shifts Hunter has been making with his Mastermind and Modern Stylist Movement members over the past year: moving beyond using AI as a chatbot and actually putting it to work as a behind the scenes operator in your business. Hunter is clear that going back and forth with ChatGPT to make a caption is not what this episode is about. This is about what it looks like when AI is genuinely replacing labor, running automations, and doing things for you completely hands off so you can stay focused on the work that actually requires you. Key Takeaways: ✍️ AI That Auto-Drafts And Posts Your Blog For You: Hunter walks through how his students have set up systems where AI pulls from their own content bank, writes a blog post on a consistent schedule, and either auto-posts it or sends a draft for a quick review before it goes live, and then automatically turns that blog post into a Google My Business update as well. ⭐ Automated Review Responses That Sound Like You: Hunter breaks down how his students have set up automations that respond to five-star Google reviews within 12 hours without them lifting a finger, including smart filters that flag anything that needs a human response before anything goes out. 📋 An AI Consultation Note-Taker That Builds Client Profiles: Hunter shares one of his favorite tools inside Modern Stylist Movement: a consultation recorder that transcribes your appointments, summarizes the conversation, builds a client history profile, integrates with Square, and generates a follow-up email ready to send in seconds. 🤖 A Custom AI App That Recommends The Right Service To Book: Inspired by a Mastermind student expanding into a micro salon, Hunter built a custom AI trained webpage that reads a client's digital consultation form answers, recommends the right service, and only shows the booking link for that specific service so clients cannot accidentally book something cheaper. 📧 AI That Drafts And Designs Your Email Marketing For You: Hunter talks through how his students are connecting AI to their email marketing software to create fully branded, beautifully designed email drafts that are ready to send with minimal effort, making it easier than ever to actually show up in their clients' inboxes consistently. 🌐 AI That Builds And Optimizes Your Website: Hunter shares how AI website builders are completely changing the game for stylists who have been held back by tech overwhelm, including the ability to add backend SEO code that Wix and Squarespace are not doing for you automatically. Why You Should Listen: If you have been using AI to write captions and not much else, this episode will completely shift how you think about what is possible. Hunter shares real examples of what his students are actually implementing right now, and makes a compelling case that the real power of AI is not in the conversation but in the automation. Let's connect on Instagram!

  6. Aug 10

    Gender, Length, Discrimination Topic

    In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown dive deep into a conversation that started on Hunter's Instagram and clearly struck a nerve. A post about gender and length based pricing got 11,000 views and 57 comments, and the discourse made it clear that this topic needed more than a carousel could hold. Hunter unpacks the full nuance behind his original statement: charging based on who someone is, whether that is their gender, their hair density, or their length, is by definition discriminatory. And beyond the moral argument, it is also just bad business. This episode breaks down why, and what to do instead. Key Takeaways: ⚖️ Charge For The Work, Not The Person: Hunter's core argument is simple. What is on the line item of your service menu should reflect the labor, the time, and the product you are using, not who is sitting in your chair. A pixie cut can take longer than a trim on long hair. Length alone is not an accurate indicator of anything. 💰 Genderless Pricing Is A Profit Decision As Much As A Moral One: When you are charging men significantly less than women for the same amount of time, you are earning less per hour every time a man sits in your chair. Hunter breaks down why going genderless is not just the right thing to do but the more profitable structure for your business. 📋 How To Actually Structure Your Service Menu: Instead of charging extra for thick hair or long hair on the line item, Hunter recommends building a base service with a time and product variation tier. The language on your menu should describe what you are doing, not who you are doing it for. 😤 Scarcity Is The Real Reason Stylists Are Afraid To Make The Switch: Most of the pushback Hunter sees around genderless and length neutral pricing comes from stylists who are still operating on thin margins and feel like every dollar counts. Hunter is empathetic but clear: nickel and diming clients based on what they were born with is more likely to hurt your bookings than help your bottom line. 🗣️ The Way You Say Things Matters: The comments on Hunter's post proved the point of the post. Nuance gets lost in short form content, and the way you communicate your pricing to clients has a direct impact on how it lands, how they feel about it, and whether they come back. Why You Should Listen: Whether you are still charging men less, adding length fees to your service menu, or just trying to figure out how to price more fairly without losing income, this episode gives you the honest business and ethical case for rethinking how you charge, and exactly how to structure it so it actually works. Let's connect on Instagram!

  7. Aug 3

    How To Create A Team That Holds Itself Accountable

    In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown dig into one of the most common challenges Hunter is seeing as he works with more and more salon owners: how do you actually get your team on board with the changes you are making, and how do you get your clients to follow your lead without it turning into a constant uphill battle? Hunter pulls from his own experience as a leader and from the real conversations he is having inside Mastermind right now to walk through a leadership framework that is rooted in core values, honest feedback, and empowering people to come up with their own solutions. This one applies whether you have a team of ten or a clientele of one hundred. Key Takeaways: 🎯 It All Starts With Who You Hire: Hunter is honest that the s****y but real answer to most leadership problems is that it starts with hiring the right person in the first place. When your team shares your core values, hard conversations become productive ones instead of dead ends. 📋 Make The Intangible Tangible: Telling someone to be cleaner or more professional is not enough. Hunter walks through how to document your standards with real examples so that feedback is never personal, it is just a comparison between the expectation and the reality. 🪞 Let Them Self-Evaluate First: Before you share your feedback, ask your team member to rate themselves. This creates self-reflection, gives you insight into where their head is at, and makes the conversation a two-way dialogue instead of a one-sided lecture. 💡 Ask For The Solution, Do Not Give It: One of Hunter's most practical takeaways is that when something needs to change, your job is not to hand someone the answer. Ask them what they are going to do about it, get a specific and tangible plan, and then follow up on it. Vague commitments like "I'll just be better" do not count. 🤝 You Are Always On The Same Team: Whether you are talking to a stylist or a client, Hunter's through line is the same. Lead with the fact that you are on their side and that any change you are asking for is ultimately about serving them better, and the response will almost always be more receptive. Why You Should Listen: If you have ever felt like you are constantly chasing bad behavior, repeating yourself, or bracing for a hard conversation, this episode reframes what leadership actually looks like in a salon setting. Hunter gives you a practical, step by step approach to building a team and a clientele that holds itself accountable so you do not have to. Let's connect on Instagram!

  8. Aug 2

    Part 3: Pros And Cons Of Trending Service Niches (Gray Transformations)

    In this bonus episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown come back to finish what they started. Gray transformations were promised in the trending service niches series and then completely forgotten, so consider this the part three that the Modern Stylist Movement group asked for. Gray transformation is one of the most in demand niches in the industry right now, and it is also the only one on the list that is deliberately designed to make your clients visit you less often. Hunter and Jodie break down what that actually means for your business, and how to build around it instead of getting blindsided by it. Key Takeaways: 💰 The Ticket Is High Because The Expectation Is Already Set: Most clients walk in already knowing this is a long, multi process, high investment service. They have Googled it, they have budgeted for it, and they are treating it as a worth it investment because it buys them out of endless root touch ups. That predisposition is the reason you can charge accordingly without a fight. 📉 The Big Con Is Lifetime Customer Value: This is the one nobody warns you about. The entire point of the service is that the client stops coming in as often, which means the niche is built to lower the total amount that client spends with you. Hunter is direct about the fix: get intentional about frequency, keep them tied to the salon with cuts, toners, and treatments, and understand that this model runs on a constant flow of new clients. 🪞 Identity Marketing Is Your Unfair Advantage: Jodie makes the case that going gray is one of the biggest identity shifts a client will ever go through, and that is exactly why the marketing works so well. The transformations are visually shocking, the demographic is easy to target, and clients are willing to leave their current stylist and travel hours for someone who has clearly branded themselves as the person who does this. ⚠️ The Labor Is Not Just In The Chair: Between gray blending and full transformation there is a whole spectrum of approaches, and no two stylists do it the same way. That means constant education, expectation setting, and consultations that balloon out of control. Hunter shares the fix one stylist used to cut a 30 minute consultation down: stop writing paragraphs of disclaimers nobody reads and replace them with one bold statement. 💵 If The Labor Is Brutal, The Price Should Reflect It: Hunter tells the story of a stylist charging around a thousand dollars, drowning in requests, and completely burnt out on the service. The advice was simple. Double it. If the demand is that hardcore, the price is the leverage, and that is how you turn an exhausting specialty into fewer appointments and more time off. Why You Should Listen: If gray transformations are on your radar, this is the honest breakdown of what you are signing up for before you commit. And the bigger point carries across the whole series. There is no perfect niche with no downside. Every specialty comes with a challenge attached, and the win comes from knowing exactly where yours is weak so you can protect against it and take the full upside. Let's connect on Instagram!

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Teaching you how to grow your beauty business as a hairstylist or salon owner without the overwhelm by implementing modern strategies so you can reclaim time, freedom and energy from working behind the chair.

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