The shampoo sinks all leaked during use. How did I not think to check that? When I called a plumber, I found out the leaks were the least of my concerns…

The shampoo sinks didn't have thermostatic mixing valves (TMV’s). That's not a cosmetic issue. In a salon, these TMV's on shampoo sinks are a legal requirement. Clients are leaning back with their heads in the basin, and without a mixing valve, there's nothing stopping scalding water from immediately coming out of the tap and burning them directly. I had walked through this building multiple times during due diligence. I never once checked the sinks for leaks let alone a part buried in the plumbing.

That was day one. By the end of the first week, the list was long. Ceiling tiles stained from old AC leaks, some of them housing light fixtures and vents that made them a real pain to replace. A security system that was only partially functional, with broken components the previous owner hadn't bothered to fix. Cabinet doors with broken hinges and worn-out interiors. None of it was in the listing. None of it came up in conversation. And none of it was the kind of thing that would stop a sale. But the cumulative effect was a low-grade realization that the business I bought on paper and the business I was now standing inside of were not the same thing.

So I did what I knew how to do. I made a list and started fixing things.

I painted walls. I replaced ceiling tiles. I got the sinks sorted out. I fixed cabinet doors. And I did something that I think mattered more than any of it: I took out the trash. I cleaned the bathrooms. I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the floors.

I need you to hear that clearly because there is a version of this story floating around the internet where you buy a business and it generates passive income while you sit on a beach. That is not what this is. This is literally active, very dirty income. And if you're not willing to do the unglamorous work, especially in the beginning, your employees will notice. They will remember. And they will decide what kind of owner you are based on what they see you do, not what they hear you say.

I didn't know it at the time, but my employees were panicking.

Months later, after we'd built real trust, one of my stylists told me what those first days actually looked like from their side. The team had been seriously considering leaving. All of them. Some were looking at other salons. Some were thinking about going independent and renting chairs on their own. The group of people I had just paid to acquire was, without my knowledge, actively planning their exit.

I don't blame them. I've been through acquisitions in tech. I know what it feels like when a stranger shows up and tells you they're in charge now. You fill in every blank with your worst fear. You assume the new person is going to change everything, cut costs, and treat you like a line item. That's exactly what my stylists were thinking.

What changed their mind, according to the person who told me, was watching me invest in the space. Seeing me physically working on the building. Painting, fixing, replacing things. They gave me a chance because I was showing them, not telling them, that I cared about what this place was.

The other thing that built trust faster than I expected was how I handled difficult customers. There were situations early on where a client was unhappy, and I had a choice: throw my stylist under the bus to keep the customer happy, or stand behind my team. I stood behind my team. Every single time. When your employees see that you're not going to sacrifice them to avoid a confrontation, something shifts. They start to believe you're actually on their side.

Here's what I'd do differently if I could go back. I would have been more transparent earlier about who I was and why I bought the business. Not a rehearsed pitch, but a real conversation on day one or two: here's my background, here's why I bought this place, here's what I'm not going to change, and here's what I need your help with. I think the uncertainty in those first weeks was harder on the team than it needed to be, because they were filling in the blanks with their own fears.

I would also have spent more time one-on-one with each person. The group dynamic in those early days was tricky because nobody wanted to be the first person to trust the new guy. Individual conversations would have built relationships faster than trying to win the room.

One more thing I learned the hard way: contractors will charge you more when they know you're a business. I got quotes for repairs that were significantly higher than what the same work would cost at a house. Get referrals from other local business owners. They know who does honest work at fair prices. That network saved me real money and a lot of frustration.

A year later, every stylist who was there when I took over is still here. We've grown the team and grown the business nearly 200%. Multiple stylists have told Chelsea and me that we "saved the salon", that we brought it back to the energy it had when it first opened. That means more to me than any revenue number.

But I came closer to losing all of it in the first week than I realized at the time. If you're about to buy a business with existing employees, remember this: you're not just acquiring a company. You're asking a group of people to trust a stranger with their livelihood. Earn that trust with your hands, not your words. And don't underestimate how much fear is in the room, even if nobody's saying it out loud.

Michael

I’m building out a suite of products and services to help people like you consider buying or starting then scaling a local small business. If you’re interested in learning more, let me know.