The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
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The Alimond Show
Ilona Kirzhner of Hammer and Nails - From Government Contracting to Grooming Franchise Innovator: Transforming the Men's Barber Spa Experience, Crafting Unique Membership Models, and Expanding Community Engagement Initiatives
Curious about the driving force behind one of the most luxurious men's grooming franchises? Meet Ilona Kirzhner, the powerhouse behind three top-performing Hammer and Nails locations in Virginia. Join us as Ilona shares her fascinating journey from government contracting to transforming the barber spa experience for men. Discover how her innovative membership model is reshaping the grooming landscape, offering exclusive perks and a personal touch that keeps clients, including members of the Commanders' staff, coming back for more. Learn firsthand about Ilona's visionary expansion plans and her heartfelt commitment to community outreach, including collaborations with A Few Good Mentors.
Step into the world of Hammer and Nails, where customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of their success. We explore the uniqueness of the male-centric oasis Ilona has crafted, offering everything from haircuts to MANicures in an indulgent and relaxed atmosphere. Get inspired by Ilona's leadership approach, which prioritizes personalized service and ensures every client feels valued. We also touch on the wisdom and life lessons of an Ohio State grad who reflects on the importance of self-care and foundational values. From upcoming community events to potential expansions across Maryland, Virginia, and DC, this episode is packed with insights and stories that motivate and captivate.
My name is Ilona Kirshner. I own and operate three hammer and nails men's grooming shops. We have a location right here in Leesburg next to the Wegmans and in Gainesville and Reston Town Center as well. Have had those shops for about four years three years and two years and super excited to bring you know a high end concept for men's grooming haircuts, of course, beard grooming, straight razor shaves, facial waxing. We do camo services, if you want a little less salt in your salt and pepper blend and in our man cave really incredible modern environment. We do man accures and pedicures for guys as well.
Speaker 2:I love that. That's so incredible. I love that there's like a space for guys to just be themselves, bro it down whatever they need to do over there, but also get taken care of like a spa.
Speaker 1:Exactly, we actually coined it a barber spa. So right on point there with that comment.
Speaker 2:Love it. And now give us a little bit of a background about yourself and how you got into your industry, how you ended up working with Hammer and Nails, and talk to me a little bit about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I just have had enough with government contracting work, which is so prolific around here, and was just ready to stop playing the contracting game and start really go back to the roots of capitalism, which is you like me, you put money in my bank account. You don't like me, you don't put money in my bank account and jumped off a cliff, honestly, into hammer and nails. My background is that of a process improvement, management, consulting, engineering kind of background, something in the field Some of the viewers might know Lean Six Sigma. I was a Lean Six Sigma master, black belt for two and a half decades. I'm dating myself here and just felt like I had one last career, maybe, maybe in me, and was recruited to join the franchise world. Have never done anything in franchising, in barbering or in retail before, let alone for men. So, yes, exactly, even for men and that was one of my questions at the time Like, would a woman be a good owner? Yes, yes, absolutely, and actually currently own and operate the number one, three and four revenue generating shops in the nation.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. That's kind of how I came to be with Hammer and Nails and you know I'm glad, excited to say we're doing really well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm happy to hear that. I know you guys had your first Hammer and Nails golf tournament this year. Talk to me a little bit about that and how it went.
Speaker 1:We actually punted the golf tournament to, at least locally, to next year. Just kidding, yes, exactly, there are other shops in other parts of the country that, have you know, went forward with the golf tournament idea. We just didn't have enough time to really pull it together before the winter. But keep an eye out for next year.
Speaker 2:I was going to say well, since we are on topic of that and it hasn't happened yet, now people can look forward. Do you have a date and time set, and what will it entail? What all kinds of goodies are going to be there, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we don't have a date yet. We're trying to work with a couple of charities that some of our members represent to kind of integrate, you know, it being more of a donation for the charities. We always, no matter what event we go to, we bring our booth, we bring our spin, win a prize wheel. We set up little gift baskets wheel, we set up little gift baskets, you know, giveaway gift cards, all kinds of goodies like that. We have some really amazing products as well Men's grooming products, swag. So you know the standard kind of fanfare I guess I would say we have had. We have done this year probably four or five cars and cigars events where, yeah, you know, our ideal customer, obviously Right, the man with the fancy car, maybe some affluence to him, you know. And we sell memberships, give away appointments, you know, free haircuts, that sort of thing, wonderful.
Speaker 2:And I'd like to ask you about the April-May community outreach called A Few Good Mentors. Can you talk to me a little bit about that and where it takes place?
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure. So one of our members in our Gainesville location runs a non-for-profit called A Few Good Mentors. He has a hard time finding enough mentors. He has, you know, hundreds of kids that need a mentor, yes, but not a lot of you know gentlemen who are willing to mentor. So our 2,500 membership base across three shops was kind of a nice potential ground for him to solicit more members.
Speaker 1:So every year we've hosted a few good mentors kind of event, primarily in our Gainesville shop, because he services Prince William County mostly and we invited all of our members. We, you know, potlucked or not potlucked, but catered, catered food and drinks and it was a real give, gave away maybe $4,000 in services and prizes and just a way for him to really, you know, give visibility to his organization. We're trying to do a lot more of that kind of collaboration, especially with, you know, community organizations who need, maybe don't have the marketing dollars and who need some, you know, kind of way, yeah, exactly, extra help to promote themselves. Why is that important for you guys? For him way, yeah, exactly, extra help to promote themselves.
Speaker 2:Why is that important for you guys? For him or Nels to like give back to the community involved?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know I, I've always personally been a person where I think karma goes and comes around, you know, and so if you can do good, you should do good. And we have now 70 employees. It's crazy. I'm just blown away, I know, by the payroll Congratulations. But thank you, thank you, it's a lot of work, I'm sure. Yeah, so I just feel like now that we have some labor and we have some folks on my teams that are either vets or have themselves done a lot of community outreach, one of my staff mentors we have him on retainer is a pastor who is just there for us and you know we've supported his organization as well. I don't know, I just feel like it's the right thing to do. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2:And, speaking of a lot of hard work, tell me about some of the challenges. Maybe, for any entrepreneurs who are listening, maybe they have yet to make their own business and put in all the hard work. Talk to me a little bit about some of the challenges that you've had and how you've been able to overcome them.
Speaker 1:Sure, I think the biggest challenge that we've, that we as a business have overcome, is certainly COVID. You know where you know in. In the COVID days you have a blood pressure, you're hired. In the COVID days, you have a blood pressure, you're hired. It wasn't about hiring the right people, it was about hiring anyone who was willing to work. And now we've really gotten through that period where people barbers, nail techs have come out of basements and come out of their homes and are now really ready for a really nice place to work. And so we, you know, just weathered that as best as as best we could.
Speaker 1:I think as an entrepreneur, you know they have a saying sales cures all problems, and so I would say, counter to maybe many entrepreneurs approach you have to be bullish on the marketing. You have to be bullish on, you know, spending the dollars to drive folks into your shops, especially on the retail side of things. You know social media is such a huge component of that as well. Those are some some things that you know as a government contractor, we don't really do social media. You know what I mean, so that everything's really private you need to clear a government contractor.
Speaker 2:We don't really do social media, you know what I mean. I feel like everything's really private.
Speaker 1:You need a clearance, right, Right exactly, and so you have to really watch what you do on social media. So it's completely counter to that when you're running, you know, a retail enterprise. Yeah, so that was a huge learning for me and you know, honestly, I hate to, you know, say it this way, but you kind of have to have the means to buy your way to success. You need some deep pockets, you know, or reserve. You have to be willing to not try things that may or may not work, and it'd be scary. Yes.
Speaker 2:But you got to try.
Speaker 1:For sure. And you know I think my biggest strength and my biggest weakness is my risk tolerance is extraordinarily high. I love that, yeah, and again, it's a pro and a con. Like I have to really check myself. Sometimes, you know, I'll just jump off the cliff and figure out how I'm going to land after I'm in the air. Yes, so you know I'm pretty excited that we've. You know we're an enterprise of 70. And you know, my number one revenue generating shop in the nation and the brand out of 40 will come in at probably about 1.8 million for a barbershop this year. So it's, it's kind of a big deal. And um, yeah, we're, we're super stoked to be in Northern Virginia.
Speaker 2:We're happy to have you guys here and thank you for touching on the marketing piece, cause that is something that I do ask people about, and I'm glad that you see the importance of marketing yourself, getting your name out there, putting in all the work online, making sure that your visibility is like top of mind.
Speaker 1:Must, it's a must. Yes, so I love that.
Speaker 2:I'd like to ask you how many employees do you have right now?
Speaker 1:I think you said 70, no, Across three shops, yep, and we have a little bit of a headquarters management team as well. We have about 70 employees, not all full time, a bunch of part timers, just like I feel. Like I grew up with side hustles, I welcome the side hustle, for some people were their side hustles, for others they have other side hustles. So we do carry a pretty significant portion of our staff that's part-time.
Speaker 2:Very nice, yeah. And then for the experience for your clientele that come in, talk to me a little bit about it. I'd like to know what type of experience you'd like for them to have when they come in.
Speaker 1:Sure, and you know, I think it's really important that you use the word experience, because I think you can go to a million different places for a haircut, but we don't just provide a haircut, you know, it's about the experience, it's about greeting them, it's about knowing their names, what they, what beverage they want. It's about pairing their needs with the right artist on our staff, not rolling the dice on making sure that they get exactly what they want. It's about, for me, it's also about, like, taking their side, advocating for them. Unfortunately, in a people service business, you know, out of 2,000 services we deliver every month, we're going to, even if we're 99% good, we're going to screw up. You know 2030 of them.
Speaker 1:And it's about owning our mistakes and even owning their mistakes. We could have helped them avoid making a mistake through a better consult or through, you know, more questions or whatever the case may be. So I always want the customer to feel like I would feel as if I were in his shoes, and so that's. It's in that vein that we treat our customers and you know, I'm proud to say, out of 2,500 members across three shops, there's been maybe only two that I've wanted to kick out. You know I love honesty. I appreciate that, yes. Otherwise, you know, we try to always make sure they're happy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely I love that and I love that policy. Yeah, honesty is the best policy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2:And then were you taking Ingris to open up new shops? Tell me a little bit about that. You're to expand, right?
Speaker 1:Yes, we are super excited to help the brand grow. We are still what's considered in the franchise world, an emerging brand. That means we have less than 100 locations open nationwide. We're about to hit 40. We have pre-sold another couple hundred, so we'll have a lot. We'll be doubling and doubling again in the next year, absolutely, and we're excited.
Speaker 1:In addition to owning shops, I'm a territory lead for Hammer and Nails across the Maryland, virginia and DC markets. We have plenty of open. You know territories where folks might want to open up a shop. You know it's approximately an $800,000 to $900,000 investment to get to opening day. But you know, in our model we're one of the fastest to break even and to recoup that return on investment. So that's exciting and it, you know, the model has really proven itself, especially in our area. Also super excited to say four of the commanders staff, three coaches and one player are repeat customers of ours. Yes, yes, very cool. So we're actually thinking about an event, maybe around them, where maybe some some folks might get to meet them or something like that you should definitely promote that.
Speaker 2:I'm like social media obviously. Like with their permission or blessing of course right, that would be something cool, just yes reference that dallas cowboys will be angry, but it's okay.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's really funny. John Bates is on the offensive team on the offense for the Commanders and one of my rock star barbers, Brad Kiefer, services him. Yeah, and in the Pittsburgh game John is known for his feistiness and his helmet came off and he was, you know, about to engage and the commentators said they commented on his modern day mullet and where did he go for his haircut? And I'm like exactly, he went to Howard Ells, right there in Leesburg. That's so cool so yes, it was kind of a nice story to share.
Speaker 2:I think the pride you have like that was us. Exactly you should have that Wonderful, and so I would like to ask where do you see yourself in the next five years with your business and as a person? I know we've talked about growth, but anything else that you're seeing in the future coming for you, guys, sure?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so of course, we plan to have 30 to 40 locations in this Maryland, virginia, dc market. We are very focused on that. Right now. It's a great time to buy into the brand because we are so young, the brand because we are so young. I see us really, you know, making a household name for ourselves, really getting out there and being, you know, a safe place for guys with maybe some gnarly feet or, you know, who might enjoy a little facial here and there, to really come and pamper themselves, take care of themselves. So we are looking forward to blowing up this territory in the next five years and really servicing the men of the DMV in ways that maybe they haven't been able to get in the past.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Very exciting.
Speaker 2:And then is there anything maybe that I have not touched on that perhaps you would like to share?
Speaker 1:our leadership comes from Massage Envy which is a membership-based kind of concept. We took out all of the rules and strings attached and our membership is no contract, cancel any time you can share it with anyone you want for free. Yeah, it's super, super flexible, no commitment, yeah, and guys really like that. It helps them kind of stay regular with their grooming and it provides them a significant discount either 20 or 40 percent off our retail rates depending on the level of membership they choose. Kind of establishment, meaning you can get a haircut, you can get your beard trimmed, you can get your nose, eyebrows or ears waxed, you can get a little facial, a little mini men's facial, and of course, your manicures and pedicures as well, In a very safe, male-centric kind of environment. We do also have adult beverages. So that is really nice, you know, after work you can take the edge off, you know, kind of zone out. That's so nice. Yeah, you know, I want to go dang it.
Speaker 2:But we have many. Us girls have many spaces to do this. It's time to pamper the men, yes, and think about them, right?
Speaker 1:Exactly, we do welcome women, we just cater to men. Yeah, many women either don't do polish, you know, on their manicures or pedicures. The service itself is very high end. We can really focus on the nail care and the massage and you know all of that. And we also, a lot of women, have men's cuts, and so a barber is generally, yeah, much more equipped with the right tools, the right skills, the right products to handle more of the men's cuts, the beards, you know that sort of thing, so I love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I remember Anoop came in and he had like a nice beard haircut. His nails were super shiny. They looked better than mine. I'm like embarrassed, I'm like dang he is like. Put together. Yes, I was like, oh my gosh, I need to get my husband on that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's kind of funny. Anup was a founding member here in Leesburg. Okay, he joined when I was peddling the streets of the village at Leesburg trying to drum up some founding members and he joined and, like over an 18 month period, just really loved the brand. He's like, how do I do this, I don't know, without actually owning a shop and I'm like, well, let me lay it out there for you. So he's my business partner on the territory side and it's our job to really find franchisees and, you know, promote the brand and build out the brand here in our area.
Speaker 2:Amazing. I freaking love that. Like that's so cool. Thank you. And then, when you are relaxing and you have me time, what is it that you like to?
Speaker 1:do and you have me time. What is it that you like to do? It's been a minute since I've had some me time, but I'm super excited to announce to all of my staff and, I guess, everyone listening that 2025 is definitely gonna be back to me. I just bought 24 one-on-one private training sessions that I started. So you don't know this, but my biceps are hurting really bad right now.
Speaker 1:Okay, oh my gosh, you've been working it out, I've been working it out, and consistency is the key, of course. Know, really get back to my, my healthy sleep habits, which I've not had. You know, payroll at 2am isn't, isn't always the best. Yeah, right, so I'm excited to kind of really, now that the businesses have gone through, crawl, walk, run, you know where I've taken care of everybody. Three babies, yes, yes, and you know, kind of get back to really taking care of myself. I do have two boys in college and one wrapping up high school. So I am a mom of a single mom of three, three handsome, dapper young men who are all customers of Hammer and Elf, I was going to say I bet you they just look so good too.
Speaker 1:They do, they do, and you would be amazed, you know, like they're about taking care of their feet, especially because they are athletes, you know. And so the younger generations are more open to getting pedicures to make sure, are more open to getting pedicures to make sure, you know, they keep foot ailments at bay and, you know, kind of stay regular with that. My oldest son actually treated his best friend to what we call a big daddy manicure pedicure combo for his 18th birthday. So the two of them were in the shop, living large, yeah, and their bro date Exactly.
Speaker 2:I love that. Look at that the youth is in good hands with a hammer and nails here and the future and everything everybody. I love that. That's so nice. I would like to ask you, as my final question it's one that I like to ask everybody that comes in is do you have a quote, a saying or a mantra that has inspired you or stuck out throughout your life that you've heard and you're just like, wow, that was, let me share. That. Would you mind sharing?
Speaker 1:that, wow, um. So I think I would go back to um, my sports days. Um, I don't know if I mentioned, uh, I'm an immigrant. I was born in in Kiev, ukraine. I grew up in Toledo, ohio, go Buckeyes. I'm an Ohio State grad as well and throughout my life, you know, I really tried to exhibit. 3ds is what my basketball coach kind of instilled in me in high school, and that is dedication, determination and drive, you know. And so it's just kind of a way to, you know, to bring that kind of mantra to everything I do. Um, and I think it just has, um, you know, played out to be the way I, I um, attack any situation in front of me I love that.
Speaker 2:I love that it was like your basketball coach.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sports is so cool, like yes, and a team sport you know, so perfect, yeah, absolutely well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Yeah, and a team sport you know so Perfect, Yep, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. I'm seeing all your wisdom and the new upcoming things coming with your business and with your life. I know you've put in a lot of work, so now it's time. 2025 is the year for you to take care of yourself 100%.
Speaker 1:So thank you so much. My pleasure, thanks for having me today, absolutely.