Our favorite business woman on television returns to kicking a$$ and taking names December 6 when Tabatha’s Salon Takeover returns for its third season on Bravo.
The show features salon owner and no-nonsense uber business bitch Tabatha Coffey, who goes into struggling hair salons and takes them over for a week, overhauling the facilities, staff and anything else she perceives as impeding the success of the salon.
But in case you haven’t seen the show, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression – Tabatha has a heart of gold and it often surfaces when these small business owners on the brink of financial ruin are forced to confront the harsh realities of why their salons are in the bad situations they are. Tabatha is compassionate and understanding in these situations and more times than not her renovations include the personal lives of the salon owners as well as the salons themselves.
Tabatha in an emotional scene from Season Three:
Of course, you can cry all you want but that will not impact the rigidity of Tabatha’s business assessments! The emotion stops at the cash register when the walking, talking reality check that is Tabatha Coffey shows up and asks for your keys!
Tabatha was kind enough to do a round table interview with a number of different media outlets (Starcasm was not included! GRRRRRRRR!!! Maybe it’s for the best because our questions would probably have been basically pathetic fawning like, “Tabatha, why are you so awesome?”) to promote the new season so we thought we would share all the questions and answers with you as well as a few preview clips for Season 3 provided by the good folks at BravoTV.com!
Q. Going into your third season, how do you keep things fresh on the show?
Tabatha: The thing that I really love about the show is that it’s always fresh for me. Every salon that I walk into is totally different and has its own set of issues. It really changes. Every single salon that I walk into has a new staff, a new location, a new problem, a new feeling or vibe to it. That just happens naturally. It always keeps it very fresh. Every salon I walk into, I have to forget about the one that I was just in. I walk in with a fresh set of eyes to help that business on that day and get to the bottom of their issues.
Q. When salon owners and employees do not react kindly to you, do you ever take it personally?
Tabatha: I don’t take it personally. It frustrates me, as you all can see. I don’t hide my frustration. I don’t take it personally. It is business and I try to understand that I have a very small window. I’m very direct with people. I don’t want them to take it personally. I want them to see what they need to do to make changes.
Q. In the upcoming season, what was your craziest moment?
Tabatha: They’re all a little crazy in their own way. I think the craziest is when we went to Provincetown. It had a lot of challenges and I have never seen a stripper pole in the middle of a salon. That was definitely my craziest moment! They would receive a dollar off for every minute they spent on the pole. It wasn’t a great marketing tactic at all.
Preview trailer for Season Three:
Q. What is your advice for a stylist looking to open a new salon?
Tabatha: I think if a stylist is opening a business for the first time, it’s really preparation. Some people think, “I’m great at what I do and that’s enough to carry me through.” You need a solid business a plan, a company statement, you’ve thought about a good location, and the demographic of your clients. It’s great to have a great skill and passion but you need to make sure that you’ve really laid it out on paper. You need to have a true vision of what you want your business to be.
Q. Is there something you see salon owners consistently doing wrong?
Tabatha: I think a lot of salon owners become overwhelmed and give up. Any business that you have to manage is a constant reiteration of rules and staying on top of things to make sure things are done the way you want them to do. I think a lot of owners feel bad telling people how they want things done or they feel like they’re babysitting and they don’t want to be active in their business. Instead of being proactive, they kind of throw their hands up and give up a bit. Things spiral out of control from there.
Another preview clip of the Mia Bella Salon episode:
Q. Is there anything you’ve learned from doing the show that you’ve applied?
Tabatha: Absolutely. I learn all the time. When I walk into other people’s businesses, I’m aware that I need to make sure to thank my staff or make sure clients are getting a great experience. Sometimes it’s juts realizing that you need to step back for a minute and take a break so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. For me, it’s always a learning experience that helps keeps me on my toes.
Q. You are a very confident woman. Is that a skill that you learned or do you feel that’s inherent?
Tabatha: That’s a great question! I think it’s both. When I was younger, I obviously didn’t have the same confidence. I think confidence comes with age and experience. I think it comes from caring about what you do. When you’re really passionate about what you do, it helps to build your confidence. I think it’s a little of both. I think I have become more confident through the years but when it comes to my hairdressing, I was always confident with that. I truly loved every facet of the industry. That got me through any rough patches during my training experiences when I was young.
Tune in tonight at 10/9c for the Season 3 premiere of Tabatha’s Salon Takeover on Bravo!
