Photography by Gloria Chik
At first glance, Kristen Woodâs founding story might sound like an entrepreneur fairytale. After all, she wrote a business plan in one night after getting laid off, opened up her first location three months later, and found national success in a few short yearsâbut in real life, sheâs one of the most authentic people youâll ever meet. Equal parts self-effacing and admiringly confident, she is the soul of The Ten Spot brand: the godmother of Canadian beauty bars, whose combination of top-shelf-grade efficiency and warm vibes continue to influence aesthetic hotspots across the country.
As restless as she is determined, Kristen went from majoring in philosophy to interning at VICE (and moonlighting in a New York nightclub) to pursuing graphic design. She eventually landed at Queen Westâa very different street ten years agoâwhere she was one of the first people to help reinvigorate it into the internationally recognized neighborhood it is today. Read more to find out how she honed her gut instinct into incredible business sense.
You have an amazing founding story. Have you always been a very âaction!â type of person?
Yes. Bradyâmy husbandâand my CFO now know they have to give me firm noâs on things. Because they know if thereâs even the tiniest window of possibility, Iâll do it. One time I asked Brady if he wanted to get a puppy, and he said, âsure, weâll talk about it when I come home from work.â That night, he shows up, puppyâs there. If itâs not a âno, you canât, itâs over,â Iâll find a way.
And how does that manifest at work?
My dad was an entrepreneur, so heâs always taught us to find something we loved to do and make a business out of that. I went back to school. Graphic design was good, because I could work as a designer and eventually brand my own business when the right idea hit. I fell in love with it; itâs my primary passion.
I moved back to Toronto to work at another company. Then I got laid off. The two weeksâ worth of pay in lieu of notice seemed like so much money to me at the time: I was like, âI donât have to come to work on Monday, and youâre paying me for two weeks?â I thought it was a sick payout package. It was a sign: Iâm going to start my business.
That night, I had pie with my friend Craig. We were on Queen Streetâand this was ten years ago, when there was the Drake Hotel, and Czehoskiâs and nothing else in between. It was dope, and I told him this was the street where I was going to start my own business. I used to live above a nail bar in New York, and it would always be packed, but sketchy and gross. And Paula Abdul had just had her nail fungus thing. Why canât somebody do a cool nail place, where they could go for manicures with their girlfriends after brunch? I biked home that night and wrote my business plan. The next day, I took it to a bank, and got a loan.
You make it sound easy.
It was easy. The thing I tell people in business all the time is that itâs always one never-ending to-do list. You canât stress about whether or not people are going to come before even having a business plan, for example. Once thatâs done, submit to the bank. Then register your name. Youâve got a million steps before you even need to worry about whether or not customers are going to come.
“The thing I tell people in business all the time is that itâs always one never-ending to-do list. Youâve got a million steps before you even need to worry about whether or not customers are going to come.”
What about Queen Street intrigued you?
It was gritty. There were these cute little stores, like diamonds in the rough, where you could go for brunch. And that was how I imagined The Ten Spot fitting inâsomething to do after biking down for food, then the park, and go home.
Because the concept of The Ten Spot was so social and communal, it stood out. It got a lot of attention. The marketing and branding was also very unique. I modelled it after how I would actually interact with peopleâputting out newsletters with inappropriate jokes, calling our services things like The Threesome Special, the male manicure the Handjob. Back then, brands didnât talk like that. Especially not spas. It was all about the towels and whale music.
Is that what you guys mean by the âanti-spaâ movement?
Yes. We donât have a hundred types of treatments; like the chocolate body dip with the coconut paraffin cream? No. It was going to be the manicure, the pedicure. We played loud music and had alcohol.
There were two markets at the time. On one end were the chop shops, where customer service would be nonexistent and the actual spaces would be shitty. Health and sanitization standards werenât good. But they were efficient, and they were for people who were on the go, with reasonable prices. And on the other end, there were the spasâwhere youâd have to get your mom to pay for you, or youâd go there armed with the gift certificate. We took the best of both worlds.
Can you tell me more about what inspired The Ten Spotâs branding? Itâs so awesomely personable.
I knew what I really liked. If I put it out there and everyone hated it, then sure, I might have bad tasteâbut at least I wouldnât have any regrets. Like the color orange. It was fun, and gender-neutral, and nobody was doing anything like that at the time. Being authentic is all I can do. This applies to the type of women we serve too: just normal, everyday gals who want to feel polished and put together.
How does that apply to the way you build relationships? Whatâs unique about your approach to networking?
Iâve always just been myself. Iâve never felt the need to put on a thingâfind an actress I wanted to mimic, or something. But Iâm just always⌠this. [laughs] I hope this comes across in our space. Spas can feel kind of impersonal and intimidating. When I go into a spa and wonder whether or not I can sit on something, or what I can do with my arms, and feel weird⌠I never want people to have that feeling at The Ten Spot.
Thatâs so ironic, considering that youâre supposed to feel relaxed and pampered in spas.
Totally. Itâs like when you get really dressed up to go with your girlfriends somewhere, and everyone suddenly becomes uncomfortable.
And you canât even sit down properly or eat what you want because your skirt is cutting into you.
Exactly. Itâs this air about it that makes it awkward.
Do you have any regrets?
There have definitely been opportunities that I decided to pass up. But you canât ignore the feeling that somethingâs not right. You just have to go with your gut. The worst is when you listen to someone elseâs advice, and it turns out badly⌠not only are you coping with the fact that you made a mistake, but youâre also like, âI knew it.â Sure, thereâs fall-out, or money loss, but months later youâll look back and realize how smart you were actually being.
Itâs like one of those things when youâre like do I love him? If youâre asking that question, you donât. You know. You have to have confidence. Otherwise it compounds the air around you.
“You have to have confidence. Otherwise it compounds the air around you.”
Has that ever come in handy while working with people who have doubted youâsuch as people who might doubt female entrepreneurship?
Iâm working in the beauty industry, which is more typical. If I was in oil or gas, itâll be a different story. There have been instances, thoughâsuch as this one head banker we met with. I was with my CFO, who is a full-blown CPA, and he just sat back and said, âlook at you girls! You donât even need me here!â If youâd subbed in any other group of peopleârace, for exampleâcan you imagine how bad it would sound? It was so insidious.
Thereâs also the anxiety and depression that comes with the responsibility of running your own business. Nobody can really knowânot your husband or your friendsâexcept for the people you actually work with. Iâve got over fifty employees; thatâs a lot of people who depend on me to make a living. Thereâs been a lot of crying in the shower to the saddest songs. Iâll be a baby for awhile, but you canât wallow in it. Because youâre in the driverâs seat. Nobody else can do it.
Itâs the tenth anniversary of The Ten Spot. Whatâd you guys do to celebrate?
Somebody asked me when I realized Iâd âmade it,â and I donât think Iâd ever feel that way. When I had one store, I wanted ten. When I had ten stores, I wanted a hundred. You never really get to where youâre going because your goal just moves. But the tenth anniversary was so special. To see thousands of people lining up across the countryâfrom P.E.I. to Vancouverâin such a crazy heat to get our services? Itâs such a testament to how great our people are, and how well we all work together.
Itâs so funny to think that on that night ten years ago, I couldâve just thanked my friend for the pie, said goodbye, and start looking for another full-time job somewhere else because thatâs the âpracticalâ thing to do. But instead, thousands of people were affected. I have my employees; my franchise partners, who have dedicated their lives and savings into what couldâve just been another fleeting idea.Â
“When I had one store, I wanted ten. When I had ten stores, I wanted a hundred. You never really get to where youâre going because your goal just moves.”
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One Reply to “#ROGUESTORIES: Kristen Wood, The Ten Spot”
So great you’re sharing Kristen’s story to inspire other entrepreneurs! Thanks Rogue Stories & LOVE The 10 Spot đ