Dave and Carol Hagemeier are the first “Rookie” SFA franchisees to be included in the Meet the SFA Interview Series. Dave & Carol have been married for 28 years and together they are opening stores in the greater Milwaukee area.
Here is their story……
We joined the Regis family as Supercuts franchisees in August 2013, and we were delighted to be accepted into the SFA shortly after. We’ve been seeking sites in the greater Milwaukee market, and we’ve been working with Regis to acquire corporate-owned salons. We’ve acquired three Supercuts and Cost Cutters salons to be transitioned in February and March, and we have four new salons in development. We’ve been happily married for 28 years and we’re very proud of our two grown children. We’re both corporate refugees and delighted to be working together on a business of our own.
Tell us about your favorite vacation destination or the last place you visited.
We got out of the Midwest cold and spent time in Las Vegas together with our children several months ago. We loved the daytime sunshine and the nighttime lights. We had a great time lounging by the pool, pigging out at the buffets, power-shopping, and people-watching.
Why did you choose Supercuts or how did Supercuts choose you?
We reviewed a number of business opportunities against a carefully-considered list of objectives. Supercuts was everything we were looking for, and we fell in love with the creativity, energy, and diversity in this business. We’re very happy with our decision!
Who or what has had the most impact on your success?
We’re just getting started and our first salon is not open yet (11 days and counting as we write this!) But we think we’re well-positioned, thanks to the patient and thoughtful help we’ve received from a large number of Regis employees, SFA members, and Milwaukee-area friends and supporters.
What kinds of things are you doing to take care of your employees?
Attracting and retaining high-quality employees will be the single most important factor in our success. We’ve assembled a strong pay and benefits program, and we’re working very hard to include medical, dental and vision benefits, a 401k retirement savings program, and other incentives. We’re going to be very active in our salons, working closely with our employees to help them to be successful.
What innovative technologies are you using in your stores to increase business and customer engagement?
As we’ve not opened our first salon yet, our focus has been on our back-office. We’ve brought on a full suite of tools from ADP for payroll, employee scheduling, online access to employee documents, and the company 401k plan. We’ve hired folks to help with branding and messaging of our company to potential employees and business partners. We’re putting these foundations in place so that we can focus on our employees and our guests as our salons open.
What would you like to accomplish with your stores in the next 10 years?
We plan to open additional salons, and we love the idea of offering advancement opportunities to our employees as a growing company.
What areas would you like to see the SFA focus on in 2014?
We would love to help the SFA to find a way to increase the collaboration among members. Much more information could be shared and we want to contribute in ways that help to make that happen.
We’re pleased and proud to be Supercuts franchisees, and we’re looking forward to meeting all of the SFA members in the months and years ahead.
