Citryne Rose’s founder shares how salons can fill their calendar in a competitive market

Founder and owner of Citryne Rose in New York City, Julie Dastine isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. Launching her salon during the pandemic, Julie combined her passion and creativity with her years of hairstyling experience to hit the ground running. 

Now she stands out as an example of success in New York’s fiercely competitive salon market, having grown an impressive following of loyal clients and landed partnerships with some of the world’s leading hair product brands. 

Julie’s career as a hair stylist began in 2009, when she got her qualification from the Aveda Institute. With the support of clients and the community she’s built  over the years, she launched Citryne Rose. Julie wanted to uplift women with luxury afro hair care experiences and teach them about their hair, while fostering a community culture that embraces self-care and empowerment. 

And with Fresha powering her business, Julie and her team are set to keep succeeding. 

“Before Fresha… I’d often have a flat iron in one hand and a phone in the other, trying to manually book appointments for clients.”

Fresha helps Julie run her salon smoothly, so her time is freed up to strategise and focus on growing her business. “I needed an online booking platform that would make it easy for clients to book their own appointments, let me add more employees as we grew, and wouldn’t be a headache to set up. Fresha ticked every box,” Julie recalled. 

“Before Fresha, we were overloaded with emails and phone calls. I’d often have a flat iron in one hand and a phone in the other, trying to manually book appointments for clients.”

How social media keeps Citryne Rose in the spotlight

Julia’s presence on social media is a big driver of business for the salon, helping them grow their client base and build trust in their staff. Thanks to Fresha’s simple integrations with Instagram and Facebook, it couldn’t be easier for Julie to secure bookings.

“At least 80% of our bookings come from our Instagram ‘Book Now’ button.”

“Posting regularly is crucial to staying at the top of peoples’ minds, then all they need to do is go on our profile and press the button. We can see exactly where our clients make appointments from — and I would say at least 80% of our bookings come from our Instagram ‘Book Now’ button.”

Julie cares deeply about her team, and Fresha has helped ensure she always has their backs. By promoting their skills on social media, she makes sure her client base is well aware that everyone working in her salon provides the same high quality service she does.  “Showing my team’s work on the salon page has really maximised the volume of bookings, because clients aren’t only looking for me anymore.”

Locking in repeat bookings with Fresha memberships

One of the most important parts of running a salon is securing consistent business, and Julie uses Fresha memberships to make sure clients keep coming back for more. “Fresha memberships give us a valuable edge over the competition,’ Julie explained. “Our stylists are extremely busy and get booked up quickly, so our clients appreciate the option to pay in advance for guaranteed appointments. It’s a level of consistency that they don’t get anywhere else.” 

Protecting against no-shows and cancellations

Since switching over to Fresha’s payment system, Julie’s been able to use the data from Fresha’s reports to develop her marketing strategy — and she’s seeing great results.

“You can see what your top-selling service is, or what days your staff members make the most money. All this data helped me understand what I need to promote to make sure the business makes more money — for example, if people like doing a particular service with a particular staff member, it shows clearly in their booking numbers.”

“The upfront payments feature has secured my business and given my staff confidence.”

Fresha’s payment system also provides security for Julie and her staff, protecting them from cancellations and no-shows. “Right now we take a 50% upfront payment, and it’s enough of a commitment to make sure clients show up for their appointments,” Julie explained. “Fresha is very clear on the policy. The upfront feature has secured my business and given my staff confidence — so they know what their numbers are going to be at the end of the week.”

Onwards and upwards for Citryne Rose

The salon’s reputation speaks for itself – even Julie’s newest staff members get booked up fast, which is a gamechanger for staff who are fresh out of beauty school and looking to refine their skills.

With all the support she gets from the platform, Julie is confident that Fresha will play a role in how she expands the business. “I feel like Fresha cares that we're having a great experience, and takes what we have to say into consideration. Plus, they’re constantly updating their features and giving us new tools, so I’m really excited for what the future holds.”