About

Peer operators.
Lived the floor.

Chairward is Derek and Kim Lucas’s Salon Ops practice — separate from day-to-day salon brand work. Direct. Calm. Systems-first. We show up for 1:1 owner time, walk the floor when we can, and leave you with a plan.

Derek and Kim Lucas

We’ve run our own floor.

Chairward is how we help other owners install systems, direction, and rhythm — without overwhelm. Consulting practice. Experience is the credibility.

Derek and Kim built a place to make their ideas real — for guests and for the team. Derek has been on the management side of the industry for 18 years. Kim started in an apprenticeship and worked her way up through craft.

Both driven. Both passionate about the industry. They know what it takes to run a thriving floor — and a workplace people want to stay in.

Chairward is the consulting practice that came next: help other owners install Salon Ops — systems, Weekly Focus, monthly numbers, growth path — so the salon doesn’t only live in one person’s head.

Like Michael E. Gerber’s E-Myth: the technician who built the salon still needs the business side. That’s the gap Chairward fills — calmly, with real numbers and clear paths.

Derek Lucas

Operating partner

Salon Reviews, Monthly Ops, cost monitoring, Weekly Focus, monthly number packs, growth paths, leadership direction. Speaks as a peer — digs the numbers with you, educates on structure, and hands you a simple deploy plan.

Kim Lucas

Craft & training

Education and structure in the salon — training, curriculum, stylist skill development, and how craft supports ticket and production.

Kim · Craft

When craft is the gap.

Not every engagement needs training. When it does, Kim joins on purpose.

When

Skill and education are holding ticket or production back — usually after Salon Review, or alongside Full Salon Ops. You ask; we scope it.

What

Curriculum, stylist skill development, and craft that supports the ticket. Structure in the salon so training sticks — not a one-off demo day.

Promise

Systems. Direction. Rhythm.

A clear operating rhythm you can install once — or keep monthly. Systems in place. Leadership with clear direction. Cost monitoring. Stylist growth paths. Weekly Focus. Monthly numbers to staff — shared well, not gut feel. Growth paths with production gates, not vibes. Done without overwhelm when the owner is still behind the chair. Kim stays on craft and training.

Who it’s for

  • Commission / W-2 ownersIndependent and small multi-location hair salons.
  • ~$500k–$2.5M revenue4–20 chairs. Still on the floor or recently off it.
  • Want operating rhythmSystems, leadership, growth path — not reinventing it every Monday.
  • Will share the numbersBooking, payroll, bank categories.

Who it’s not for

  • Pure booth landlordsOptimizing rent collection isn’t the work.
  • Med spas / aesthetics hybridsDifferent unit economics.
  • Fluff-only buyersNo vision boards without payroll, tax, and card fees.
  • Ultra-large chainsWrong scale if you already have in-house finance.

Full Approach

In the salon. On the numbers. With a plan.

01

1:1 owner time

Not a remote-only dump. Real conversation with the person who signs the checks.

02

See the environment

Walk the floor. Feel the culture. Suggestions that fit what we saw — and what the P&L says.

03

Educate the structure

Help you quickly understand systems, costs, and growth path — so direction has math behind it.

04

Easy plan to deploy

Clear next steps. Not overwhelming, confusing, or messy. Rhythm you can keep.

Voice

Short lines. Quiet confidence.

  • Direct, calm, systems-first
  • Salon-fluentChairs, backbar, ladders, Weekly Focus, guest handoff.
  • No hype. No shame.
  • Peer who lived the floorOperating work — not guru theater.

Fit check takes one email.

Tell us revenue band, chair count, and what you need — systems, direction, growth path, or an ongoing operating rhythm. We’ll say if a Salon Review is right.

Contact Chairward