We recently had the chance to connect with Kat Scott and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kat , thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Honestly, my purpose has shifted from shape-shifting hair behind the chair to shaping the talent that creates the looks.
It’s a scary leap, going from stylist to full-time salon owner. You go from being booked and busy to having actual time to think, to breathe, and to work on your business instead of constantly being buried in it. Learning how to enjoy that downtime has been a huge shift for me. When you’ve lived in hustle mode for years, slowing down feels unnatural at first but it’s where the real growth happens.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Kat Scott salon owner, coach, and unapologetic disruptor of the beauty industry. I’m the Micro Salon Queen, helping suite and booth renters turn their “little” spaces into high-profit, commission-based micro salons. Because independence doesn’t have to mean being chained to the chair or running yourself into burnout.
My 4 year success with this model led me to create The Rosewood Salon Co. a thriving, inclusive salon I was able to upgrade and expand using nuanced, intentional business practices in one of the most antiquated industries still operating today. In beauty, we’re told to work harder, take on more, and spend bigger to “make it,” yet stylists and salon owners still can’t access the financial freedom every working person deserves. I’m here to change that.
Through my Micro Salon Revolution coaching, my own extension line, product line, and a relentless push for inclusivity, I’m showing salon owners how to work less, earn more, and build businesses that actually serve their lives not the other way around. This isn’t just about better hair it’s about a better way of doing business.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that believed hard work had to feel physically and emotionally draining to be “real” work and that success meant being everything for everyone has served its purpose and is ready to go.
I’ve learned that in this world, “hard work” looks and feels different depending on who you ask, so why carry the weight of other people’s expectations when the only person I truly need to be enough for is me?
On this journey of self-discovery, I’ve realized my services, my values, and my voice won’t align with everyone and that’s a good thing. If everyone agreed with me all the time, there’d be no challenge and no real impact.
That people-pleasing, burnout-driven version of me got my foot in the door. But the woman I’m becoming? She’s here to walk through it, build her own table, and decide who gets a seat.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I grew up without the kind of foundation most people take for granted. My mother walked out when I was two, and at 32, she still chooses not to have a relationship with me. My father charismatic but deeply narcissistic left my grandmother to raise me in severe poverty, only later moving me in with the belief that his sole job was to provide me with the air I breathed.
Having both parents essentially reject your well-being, your existence, and your worth is a wound that cuts deep. It’s something I won’t pretend I’m “over” but I have learned to live with it, grow from it, and use it as fuel. I’ve realized that family is chosen, and that your beginnings don’t define your end.
I had to rely on myself for everything, so self-determination became my lifeline. I think I joined the beauty industry because I wanted to give others the confidence and support I spent most of my life missing. Almost five years into entrepreneurship, I’ve built a business where I can pour into others, advocate for them, and create a space where they feel like someone’s in their corner. Because sometimes, that’s all you need to change everything.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Oh, I can go all day. Here are the biggest lies our industry keeps telling itselfand why they’re holding us back:
1) “Big space = real success.”
BS. Square footage doesn’t create profit systems do. I built a high‑earning team in two chairs. One chair is a business model if you run it like one.
2) “Independent means solo.”
No. If you signed the lease, you’re a salon owner. One additional stylist is a team. Stop waiting for a storefront to start leading.
3) “You can’t build a team in a suite.”
You can if you hire like an owner (adults + accountability)
4) “Hustle or you’re lazy.”
Booked back‑to‑back, no breaks, is not a badge of honor. Conscious timing, space to think, and a nervous system that isn’t fried produce better hair, better service, better revenue.
5) “Your zip code sets your prices.”
Copying the salon down the street is not strategy. Price for your model, your timing, your costs, your goals. Lead don’t crowdsource your menu.
6) “Clients won’t pay for time-based pricing.”
They will when you communicate clearly and run a consistent process. Time-based pricing is transparent, inclusive, and future‑proof.
7) “Gendered pricing is ‘just how it’s done.’”
Also BS. “Men’s cut” vs. “women’s cut” is patriarchy in a price list. Charge for time and technique, not identity.
8) “Luxury = Eurocentric aesthetics and a big lobby.”
Luxury is care, clarity, and consistency. Craft and experience don’t require a warehouse.
9) “Assistants are the only way to grow.”
Assistants are for education not for plugging operational holes. If you need revenue now, recruit established pros and lead them well.
10) “Owners must teach people how to do hair from scratch.”
Your job is standards, systems, and quality control. Teach the way your salon operates; stop confusing leadership with cosmetology school.
11) “Communities of color ‘can’t afford’ premium services.”
That’s bias, not data. Value exists across communities; exclusionary menus and old narratives keep everyone small.
12) “Speed proves skill.”
Detail‑oriented isn’t “slow.” It’s mastery. Stop apologizing for the time it takes to do it right.
13) “Tips will make the numbers work.”
Tips are a bonus, not a business model. Build sustainable pricing that pays the bills before gratuity.
Here’s the truth I’m living at Rosewood and in my coaching: micro but mighty wins. You can lead, hire, and out‑earn “big” salons in a small space when you stop performing the old rules and start running a real model time‑based pricing, adult teams, clean systems, clear standards, and zero shame about doing business differently. I’m not here to fit in. I’m here to make it impossible to keep pretending the old way still works.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What pain do you resist facing directly?
Rejection.
It’s the one thing I try to avoid yet it’s the exact thing that keeps showing up and pushing me forward. Every time I think I can sidestep it, there it is, right back in my face.
Rejection is both my biggest roadblock and my greatest motivator. Whether I’m hiring and recruiting new stylists, talking to salon owners whose businesses I know I can help, or even answering these questions hoping for my moment in the spotlight rejection is always hovering.
Sometimes I stall. I hold off. I let the fear make me hesitate. But the truth? Every “no” gets me closer to the “yes” I’m after. It’s a numbers game, and the only way through is to play it.
The goal isn’t to avoid rejection it’s to learn how to meet it head-on and keep moving.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Rosewoodsalonco.com
- Instagram: Rosewoodsalon.co
- Other: Katscottcoaching.com
Katscott_styles – instagram
Image Credits
Amanda Ghobadi
The branding babe photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
