When Kacy Reynolds embarked on her career as a stylist at Paris Parker, she happened to start as the rest of the company was finishing up the Qnity program, a system to help stylists understand and track their numbers.

But Reynolds didn’t let that stop her. She studied the Qnity tips on her own and ended up doing a crash course with one of the Qnity educators.

“I had support from the staff at Paris Parker, too,” Reynolds says. “The first time I tracked my numbers was when I was chosen for a pilot challenge for the company.”

Paris Parker tracked her numbers for her and, as a new stylist, Reynolds didn’t want to disappoint.

“I didn’t want them to come talk to me and ask how it was going and not know,” she says.

Soon, Reynolds even started embracing her bad weeks as a way to learn.

“One week I had a $500 week, which I hadn’t had in a long time,” she says. “But I could look at it and know that even though the client count was low that week, maybe I could’ve done better if I had done more add-ons or sold more retail.”

Staying On Track

At only 23 years old, Reynolds knows she is just getting started, which is why she continues to take the time to track her numbers, regardless of what kind of week she had.

As she comes to the fourth phase of tracking numbers (it will be a year at the end of this phase), she has watched her goals evolve as she hits them and sets new ones.

“At first, my goal was to get comfortable charging what I’m worth, and offering people add-ons and products. I focused a lot on just speaking the words to upsell and offer retail,” she says. “Now I’m more focused on numbers and growing them.”

Paris Parker does stylist evaluations and price increases—if warranted—every six months. All stylists start at $30 for a haircut.

“In August, they bumped me up to $40 and now I’m being bumped up to $45,” Reynolds says. “But in order to receive the increase, we have to meet particular metrics. And since I’m always tracking my numbers, I’m able to hit those, get my increase and retail bonus.”

Lately, retail has been Reynolds’ main focus. Her company asks stylists to sell to 30 percent of clients, and Reynolds was only hitting 9 percent, so she shifted her efforts into retail.

“I’m still trying to figure out how to pick that one product the client will really enjoy,” she says. “When you first start doing hair, it’s shocking that anyone is even trusting you. But now I’m working on being a better business person and how to make the right recommendations for my guest.”

And she’s finding that the more comfortable and knowledgeable she gets, the more clients say “yes.” The result? Reynolds got her first retail bonus in October.

Personal goals have helped keep her on track as well. A few months ago she needed to buy a new car, and because of her price increases she was not only able to afford it, but she’s also confident her salary will continue to climb.

“I was really comfortable and confident making the decision to get the car because I could see where my numbers were going,” she says.

Next up? Possibly a new house. “I’m married with two kids and would love to build a home for us.”

But to reach these goals, she must stay on track—not always as easy as it sounds. But she has found having control over her own numbers is a great way to hold herself accountable and to see where potential income lies.

“You can look at 10 clients and see what you did and why you made a certain amount of money one week,” she says. “But then you can look at the next week and see what you didn’t do—maybe you didn’t sell any retail or have any add-ons.”

Whether she has a good week or a bad week, knowing her numbers has been a huge confidence booster. Reynolds feels grateful to have been introduced to Qnity and working for a company that values numbers so early in her career.

“I don’t ever want to be burnt out on this,” she says. “You must be happy with the financial side of what’s going on in your chair. And sometimes it’s nice to take a break from feeling everyone’s feelings and look at numbers. I’m creative, but I crave structure.”

Reynolds feels many stylists leave their careers when they don’t reach financial goals or hit a salary cap they can’t get past.

“I’m not where I want to be, but I’m in a really good spot for only being behind the chair for one year,” she says. “A lot of us think we’re just artists, but that’s not going to pay bills. You have to be aware of what’s going on.”