Excellence Convenes at the Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle
In the world of franchising, few events capture the essence of a brand’s culture and mission, like the Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle. This annual gathering, often referred to as our “national convention,” serves as a vibrant hub of education, motivation, and celebration. Over 3,000 attendees, including franchise owners, store managers, vendors, stylists, and support team members, gathered in the heart of Ft. Worth, Texas, to partake in this awesome event.
The Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle is much more than just another industry conference. It’s a vibrant celebration of our brand’s culture and a powerful catalyst for growth. The primary goals of the Huddle are to educate, motivate, and celebrate the entire Sport Clips franchise system.
The Purpose and Goals of the Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle
Education takes center stage at the Franchisee Huddle. Franchisees and their store managers receive valuable training and insights that empower them to enhance their business operations. From classroom sessions to in-person training, the Huddle covers a wide range of topics crucial for longevity, including marketing strategies, customer service excellence, and industry trends. The event provides attendees with the knowledge and tools needed to excel in their roles and drive the performance of their stores.
Motivation is another key component of the Huddle. Inspirational speakers take the stage to ignite the passion and determination of franchisees and their teams. High-energy stage haircutting competitions showcase the incredible talent within the Sport Clips network, inspiring attendees to aim higher and push the boundaries of their capabilities.
Celebration forms the core of the Huddle experience. It’s an opportunity for the Sport Clips community to recognize and applaud the hard work and achievements of franchisees and their teams at the store level. Hundreds of awards are presented at the Huddle, honoring excellence in various aspects of the business. Notable awards include the prestigious “Heart of a Champion” award and the coveted Logan Trophy.
Noteworthy Events and Activities
The Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle offers a wide array of events and activities that make it a truly unforgettable experience. Here are some highlights:
Supplier Fair: The opening show kicks off the Huddle with a bang. In 2023, it was designed with a lively tailgate theme, setting the tone for a fun and engaging event. The fair allows attendees to connect with suppliers and explore the latest products and services that can enhance their salons.
The Pro in You: In 2023, Sport Clips launched a stylist campaign called “The Pro in You.” This initiative highlights our commitment to supporting stylists. The Pro Village at the supplier fair showcases various support programs and resources available to stylists, reinforcing Sport Clips’ dedication to the professional development of its team members.
“The Look” Haircutting Competition: This competition is a platform for stylists to showcase their incredible talent. Stylists from five regions in the United States and one from Canada compete in a high-stakes showdown. The winning haircut becomes “the look” for the following year and is featured in posters displayed in every Sport Clips salon, making it an iconic style for the brand.
Awards Gala: The pinnacle of celebration at the Huddle is the grand awards gala. Attendees dress to impress and come together for an evening of recognition and revelry. It’s a time to acknowledge outstanding achievements, share inspiring stories, and celebrate the spirit of the Sport Clips community.
Benefits for Current and Future Sport Clips Franchise Owners
The Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle offers a plethora of benefits to both existing and prospective franchise owners. For current franchisees, the event provides access to invaluable education, motivational insights, and recognition of their hard work. It’s a moment to recharge, learn, and connect with fellow franchisees.
For future Sport Clips franchise owners, the Huddle is a glimpse into the vibrant and supportive community they could join. It showcases our focus on diversity and inclusion, highlighting the many opportunities available to individuals from all backgrounds. Aspiring entrepreneurs can witness firsthand the culture of teamwork that defines Sport Clips, and gain inspiration for their own entrepreneurial journey.
Feedback and Stories from Franchise Owners
Franchisees love the Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle. For them, it’s an affirmation of their hard work and dedication to the brand. Managers in particular leave the Huddle feeling even more inspired and motivated to excel in their roles. The event provides a platform for networking and connecting with fellow team leaders, creating opportunities for collaboration and shared excellence.
One noteworthy aspect of the 2023 Huddle was the “next generation/second generation” event, which showcased Sport Clips as a generational business. This event demonstrated that with the right mentorship and guidance, Sport Clips can be passed down from one generation to the next, reinforcing our brand’s enduring legacy.
Join the Sport Clips Franchise Family
The Sport Clips Franchisee Huddle is more than just an event, it’s a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence, diversity, and inclusivity. It’s a celebration of the Sport Clips culture, where hard work is recognized, and achievements are celebrated. For existing franchisees, it’s an opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. For aspiring franchise owners, it’s a window into the world of Sport Clips, where the satisfaction of our franchisees is paramount. Learn more about our values and the benefits of franchising with Sport Clips by visiting our research pages here.
If you’re an entrepreneur seeking a franchise opportunity that combines a vibrant community, comprehensive support, and a commitment to diversity, Sport Clips is the ideal choice. Fill out our inquiry form here to start a conversation with our franchise team about your business goals. Join the Sport Clips family and become a part of a thriving community where your aspirations are celebrated, and your development is our priority. Invest in a brand that believes in you, educates you, motivates you, and celebrates you—join Sport Clips today.
Sport Clips Franchise Review: Meet Melissa Strick
How one woman entrepreneur became a top-performer with the iconic men’s haircut franchise
If you wanted to find out how to become a top-performing franchise owner with Sport Clips, asking Team Lead Melissa Strick would be an excellent place to start.
After opening her first location in Hagerstown, Maryland in January 2021, Melissa is already looking for her second location. She shows how our business model is built for growth, and that the significant training and ongoing support can help a first-time business owner exceed their goals.
“This experience of owning a Sport Clips has been incredibly rewarding,” Melissa says. “I knew before we opened that Sport Clips had a great reputation, but they’ve gone above and beyond. Ever since we opened our doors, support has been pouring in every day.”
In many ways, Melissa had the inside scoop on Sport Clips long before she became a Team Lead. Her sister works in the hair salon industry, and had not only managed a Sport Clips location, but she had also worked for Great Clips and Super Cuts, and Sport Clips was by far her favorite.
“When my husband and I were fortunate enough to explore business ownership, we looked at a lot of different brands,” Melissa says. “We looked at Massage Envy, we looked at lash bars, and family entertainment franchises. When we came upon Sport Clips, I knew it was the right choice. It was a manager-based business model, which was my wheelhouse, and my sister was a manager of a few different hair salon brands, and Sport Clips was such a positive experience.”
Even during their process researching franchise opportunities, the couple found that the way Sport Clips treated them was far different than the other franchise concepts they were exploring at the same time.
“The other franchise opportunities made us feel like they were only interested in us for our money,” Melissa says. “With Sport Clips, it felt like they were trying to get to know us as people. They wanted to know about our family, our goals, and our values – and that’s exactly what we cared about. We wanted a brand with a strong culture, strong values, and proven track record.”
Melissa found that Sport Clips made good on their culture of support and Heart of a Champion ethos right away when she went to her initial training session.
“When I first came to the Team Lead training, I was drinking little sips of the Sport Clips Kool-Aid, but by the time I’d graduated, I was drinking whole gulps,” she says, with a laugh. “The level of support at every level of the business model has been phenomenal.”
Melissa is focused on creating a culture of care and support in her store. This means visiting her store frequently, and making her stylists feel like valued members of her own family.
“It’s so important to make sure that my stylists feel important, because they truly are,” Melissa says. “I’m in my store often, and I like to make sure they feel appreciated. I give out gift certificates for hitting their goals or doing a great job, I bring coffee, and I listen to what they need. You have to create a culture of support with your stylists to retain them, and making them feel valued goes a long way.”
A little over one year into her new business, Melissa is ready to grow. Her experience in the business has given her confidence to expand into multi-unit ownership – and she’s already looking for a second location.
“I believe in Sport Clips so much that I told my Area Developer that I want all of the available territory,” Melissa says. “I’m very excited about the future, and can’t wait to keep growing.”
Ready to start your next chapter as a Sport Clips Team Leader?
If you’re interested in learning more about the Sport Clips franchise opportunity, simply fill out an inquiry form on this website and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly. We can’t wait to learn more about you!
Sport Clips Team Leader Profile: Brandon and Carissa Garrett
As parents of young children, Brandon and Carissa Garrett started to discuss what they wanted their future to look like. It was important to them to create a foundation for more freedom and flexibility in their lives as their girls grew. “We knew it would take several years to get any kind of business up off the ground, and we didn’t want to wait too long,” recalls Brandon.
Brandon, who works in the animal healthcare industry, wanted to create the option for a future exit strategy from the corporate world. Carissa, who took some time off from her corporate and teaching career to stay home with her children, realized she missed having a project to work on. They began a search for business opportunities that would align with their personal and financial goals.
From the onset, franchising appealed to the Garretts. Brandon says, “My dad had built a survey engineering business from the ground up and I saw how much work goes into creating something from scratch. We didn’t want to have to reinvent the wheel, we wanted something that already had the format there.”
As they looked for business models that would fit their lifestyle goals, they found the semi-absentee model to be the best fit. Brandon says, “The owner-operator models we looked at, particularly those in food, did not fit our goals. We would have to be too involved in the daily operations, and that wasn’t for us. We would rather hire managers to take care of the day-to-day while we built the business and networked in our community.”
Having settled on an ownership model, they further narrowed their search down to the haircare industry. Sport Clips Haircuts, in particular, caught their attention. “We looked into a few haircutting brands, but we felt the market was too saturated with some of the other brands. However, we saw plenty of potential for growth with Sport Clips,” says Brandon.
The brand’s culture and values also resonated with the pair. Brandon says, “Sport Clips’ culture is built on trust and doing what’s right. This fits with our own personal values.”
When they first looked into Sport Clips, there was no availability in their market. Brandon says, “We knew this was the brand and business model for us, so we checked back over the years.”
Finally, in May of 2018, opportunity presented itself, and the Garretts built their first store just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They are now in the process of building their second store. As the Garretts work to grow their team, they have relied on help from the Sport Clips support team, training and playbook to help shorten the learning curve and scale.
“We are able to leverage the expertise and recommendations of the Sport Clips support team to help us see where the issues are and how we can improve,” says Carissa. “We feel our current store team is a rockstar team, and we are so lucky to have them. The first four team members we hired back in March 2019 (with 17 years of collective Sport Clips experience) are still with us, and we strongly feel that is why the numbers in that store are so amazing!”
Currently, the Garretts are spending much of their time intentionally building a positive store culture. “We run a variety of store contests, do a lot of recognition, and overall just listen to the needs of our team. We are always looking for ways to grow in this area because it is so vital to our store’s success,” explains Carissa.
Brandon’s advice to someone considering investing in Sport Clips is this: “You will have to put in a lot of work upfront. You will only get out what you put in, so set your expectations accordingly. You and your partner need to be on the same page. While I maintain my current employment, Carissa focuses on the store. It only works for us because we are able to divide and conquer.”
Learn more about the Garretts and how Sport Clips is helping them lay the foundation to achieve their future lifestyle and financial goals on this month’s Validation Conference Call.
Learn more about your success with a Sport Clips franchise here!
