Ashley Toliver-Williams
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Ashley Toliver-Williams is an educator, stylist and entrepreneur with a passion to increase awareness and respect of the salon industry.
Try more stuff.
That’s not a sophisticated business principle.
It’s just the current action of the current win of what I’m working on.
An idea I had in 2016 that I saw come to life in my head in 1000 different ways.
It seemed too big to just test.
I finally paused long enough to really work on it coming to life, and what’s happening is changing my mind on so much.
I’m also kicking myself for not starting sooner.
This is adding value in the way I hoped, but it’s also helping me learn something super valuable.
I am not an expert at some pieces of what I’m testing.
But I am an expert at the theory. I know it better than anyone because I built the theory to help me - when I was the busiest in my business.
Thankfully, it’s helping someone else too.
I’ll be running it with two more businesses next week.
And then continuing to test and iterate.
It’s exciting.
Try more. Do more.
Test more stuff.
Even if it’s not polished yet.
Excited to report some of the results soon.
What if your business doesn’t actually have a slow month?
Every business has a lowest-producing month. But there’s a big difference between knowing which month is historically your lowest and accepting that month as a loss.
If you know what’s coming, you can build for it.
A slow month becomes a problem when it is looked at like a rare occurrence.
Nothing is rare that happens each year.
Your business has patterns. Learn them and plan your business around them.
Rely on your slow months.
Expand and grow with your more robust months.
08/06/2026
The problem isn’t that customers push us.
The problem is that we’re have the conversation at all.
I worked 3 Fridays and month and Monday every 6 weeks for the last 3 years I was BTC.
Guess who knew?
My team.
I could accommodate people when I could accommodate them.
Can you do Tuesday?
I’m fully committed.
What about Saturday?
I’m fully committed.
No one canceled.
No one moved.
No one asked unless there was a true emergency.
Unwavering, relentless commitment to what we can and can’t do.
Prebooking?
“I’ll just call when I’m ready”.
Ok, great! I likely won’t have any availability, but I will ensure they know the best option of a stylist who will work for you when you call.
“Huh? But I want to see you!”
I totally get it. I’m extremely flexible for all guests who book in advance if an emergency happens and you have to move.
But I can only do that for guests already on my schedule. You’re welcome to reserve now, and if you need to move it, just let us know within 72 hours, and we will ensure you’re taken care of.
“Okay, I guess I’ll just book now.”
Great! That’s what most people choose. Look forward to seeing you in 5 weeks. Have an awesome day!
Unattached from what they want.
Not making them wrong.
Always saying yes.
Always finding a solution that works.
You do that, and they will too. ❤️
08/06/2026
The ones I’m talking about are quietly building businesses that are making a huge impact without needing to be loud.
Can’t wait to hear.
She has accidentally, intentionally built one of the healthiest foundations I have ever seen in this industry.
I got off a business analysis today feeling genuinely excited.
Not because I “fixed” anything.
Because I watched someone realize that she is already at the top of this industry in so many areas other salons aren’t even close to.
She reached out to talk about her training program.
When I heard her constraints, it was clear this isn’t just about a training program.
Before deciding where to go, she needs to decide where the business is going.
Because once you’re clear on that…
Your pricing supports it.
Your career path supports it.
Your training supports it.
Your customer journey supports it.
Your hiring supports it.
Everything starts moving in the same direction.
That’s where so many businesses get stuck.
Not because they’re making bad decisions.
Because they’re making disconnected decisions.
The goal isn’t to have the best training program or the best pricing strategy.
The goal is to build a business where every decision supports the same vision.
That’s what gets me excited.
If she accidentally, intentionally built one of the healthiest businesses I’ve ever seen in this industry, imagine what she will do when she knows exactly where she’s headed. ❤️
08/03/2026
We used to have experts.
They wrote books, were vetted and only gained media attention if they were given someone’s audience.
Then we entered the Wild Wild West where anyone and their mother (literally) could make a bunch of content and make anything true, build a fan base and completely transform our culture.
We’re now in the craziest time of all because the influencers are now doing what the experts do. And many of the experts don’t have the same influence.
So what do you believe and what do you do?
First - know what YOU believe without anyone else involved.
What is my truth?
Vet information against that.
One personal example.
I had a hard 2021, and multiple people who worked for me began spreading lies about me.
Someone told someone I dearly loved, respected and admired who was one of our top performers, “she doesn’t believe you have the balls to leave”.
That was never said, thought, talked about or even a topic.
In fact, someone else told me directly that I needed to worry about him leaving, and I said “no I don’t. We have talked about the steps he wants to take (he wanted to open a salon), and our communication is open. When he’s ready, he will come talk to me.”
Other than that, I had no conversation about him and certainly not with the person who went to him. That person also called me the devil, through an energy drink at me and terrorized several people at the salon.
But the one I cared about and wasn’t worried about worried about me.
All it took was one convicted person saying something out loud to remove every bit or rapport we had before that.
When something seems odd or off, lean in before you dive head first, and especially if it’s on this good old internet.
Our industry is being shaped. Our views are being shaped. Our decisions are being affected.
Know your vision. Know your truth.
And don’t let someone’s hook, story or status shake you.
I love hearing from you, so let me know your thoughts. ❤️
07/31/2026
I enjoy healthy discussions.
Finding proof.
Truth.
Digging through all sides of an argument to understand.
And I especially love people’s ideas, viewpoints and knowing more about what makes them cling tight to their beliefs.
Some things we get stuck on end up causing us to dig into versions of the truth that aren’t truth at all.
What we lean into determines our focus, and committing ourselves to proving how wrong someone is is so different than committing ourselves to what we believe is right.
The way we frame a problem directly impacts how we experience it and what solutions we do or don’t look for.
Whether it’s retail.
Leadership.
Hiring.
And even things like technology and AI.
What we believe heavily influences our behavior.
Sometimes encouraging us to dive in deeply to strengthening systems in challenging areas and sometimes fully opting out with a commitment to justify why.
Whether you do or don’t do something actually shouldn’t involve an explanation to anyone other than yourself and the people you lead.
One of the biggest shifts in my thinking about small business owners has been realizing that businesses don’t usually struggle just because they have bad systems.
They struggle because their systems were built independently.
A pricing strategy can be excellent.
A training program can be excellent.
A career path can be excellent.
A marketing plan can be excellent.
None of that matters if they’re all pulling the business in different directions.
Before you build any system, ask yourself one question:
What is my business trying to become?
Not what trend are you chasing.
Not what another salon is doing.
Not what the newest coach is teaching.
What are you intentionally building?
Because that answer should shape everything else.
If your goal is to create six-figure stylists working two days a week, every decision should support that.
If your goal is to create the best client experience in your city, every decision should support that.
Your vision isn’t just something you write on a whiteboard.
It’s the filter every decision should pass through.
Most business owners aren’t making bad decisions.
They’re making disconnected decisions.
And disconnected decisions eventually create disconnected businesses.
The most important job of a business owner is not simply solving every problem.
It’s making sure every solution moves the business toward the same destination.
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