Gene Juarez Salons and Spas CEO Scott Missad is the newly elected president of the International SalonSpa Business Network, and his first move will be to drive forward the role of the ISBN as the leading industry business champion. Missad takes on the role this month after Great Clips, Inc. vice-chair Rhoda Olsen completed four successful years as president. During that time she oversaw a fundamental shift in focus, adding additional layers of value to ISBN, which has seen membership of multi-unit salons and spas double.  

"I joined the ISBN board only a few years ago and my involvement has become increasingly deeper," says Missad, who recently oversaw the sale of Gene Juarez to Transom Capital Group. "In that time I've discovered that ISBN is a remarkable network, unlike any in the industry. Its outreach in recent years has transformed the association and my background will continue that evolution, enriching the organization and supporting our members."

The progressive nature of the multi-location association was evident at this year’s annual conference, where all sessions were streamed so non-members could tune in for expert guidance on how to drive forward business in an age when generational and technology changes are threatening the very core of the beauty industry.

"It is a network and its ability to share expertise is incredibly powerful. You can’t get that knowledge anywhere else," noted Missad. "But I want to shake that up even more, really re-energize it. The expertise and experience of our membership enables us to investigate the big issues that threaten the industry as a whole, such as commoditization, and find solutions."

The ISBN has become the industry focus for large, multi-unit salon and spa companies and regional market leaders like Gene Juarez Salons and Spas in Seattle or Design 1 Salon Spa in Michigan, as well as the top franchise operators with multiple locations across the US. It provides an essential forum for owners to share ideas and challenges unique to a business with multiple locations; a place to go where they won’t have outgrown the program.

In the past two years, it has added regional events to benefit members, with highly open and intimate tours of key members’ businesses. However, the highlight of the ISBN remains its annual conference, where the delegate list reads like a who’s who of the industry’s greatest business minds, creating a unique opportunity for ambitious salon and spa owners to network with others in a similar position within the sector.

"My priority as president will be to continue to increase the membership as well as enhancing our relationship with vendors and the industry at large. The industry is so fractured; we need to strengthen both the ISBN and the industry to work towards cohesion," said Missad. "We need to reach those with ambition to scale up. They need to know there is somewhere they can go to learn what is required to push to the next level, how to scale up from one or two salons to five or six and then on to 10 or 15. The leap between running a small, single unit to looking after multiple units is huge, but so much of the information out there is so focused on single units. It’s just not significant or substantial for our level of need. But that’s what the ISBN is all about, networking and sharing information and expertise. It is a beacon for those determined to grow exponentially."

To learn more and to register for or sponsor the conference, or to join an ISBN Tour https://salonspanetwork.org/membership/

About ISBN: The International SalonSpa Business Network (ISBN) represents the global voice for the multi-location salon and spa segment of the professional beauty industry. It comprises the full spectrum of the industry, high-end to value-priced, salons/spas with thousands of locations to those with two or three, corporate-owned to individually-owned, franchise companies and their franchisees. To be eligible for membership, applicants must own or operate 5 or more salons or spas and employ at least 50 licensed professionals; or own and operate 2 or more salons and spas that yield total gross sales of at least $3 million annually; or franchisors in the industry.