Faith in Curls
Alberto excelled, consistently delivering quality results on complex tasks and meeting deadlines. He was flexible with my schedule, answered questions thoroughly, provided honest business insights, and valuable education. His clear communication and organization eliminated any concerns about the project. Plus, he has a great personality
Larry Jones
Owner of Faith in Curls, LLC
Jarely founded and leads Faith in Curls, helping clients enhance their natural curls. Since 2016, she's become a sought-after stylist and a key figure in the curly hair community, making her salon well-known.
Compared to their average monthly sales from the previous year, the salon has experienced a remarkable surge, multiplying its sales by nearly 3.9 times in a peak month this year. This striking growth is a direct testament to Larry’s newfound strategic capabilities and his willingness to invest confidently in the business’s potential.
Faith In Curls: A Founder's Journey From Fear to Financial Breakthrough
An Eightfold Coach Transformation Story
Every small business owner dreams of success, but often, the path is clouded by uncertainty and fear. For Faith In Curls, the story was one of owner burnout and a business with modest monthly sales, stalling without clear direction. However, in a transformative 3 months with Eightfold Coach, a new narrative emerged – one of empowerment, strategic clarity, and a founder stepping boldly into his role, rocketing the salon's performance to new heights.
Client: Faith In Curls LLC
The Catalyst for Change: Larry Jones, CEO (embracing a new leadership role)
The Coach: Alberto Chan, Eightfold Coach
The Roadmap: The Entrepreneur's Compass
The Crossroads: When Passion Meets Burnout
Faith In Curls had been born from passion. Yet, two years in, this passion was overshadowed by the immense pressures of day-to-day operations, with Jarely, the founder, facing complete burnout. The salon, with its typical monthly revenues from the previous year, was adrift without a strategic rudder, struggling with inconsistent finances and a reactive approach to management. Selling the business seemed like the only way out, yet it promised little relief. What they needed wasn't just a quick fix, but a fundamental shift in how they approached their business and their lives.
The Turning Point: Discovering a New Way Forward with Eightfold Coach
When Alberto Chan began working with Faith In Curls in mid-March 2025, the first step was to redefine leadership. Larry, Jarely's husband, was encouraged to step into the CEO role, bringing a fresh perspective. The cornerstone of the coaching was "The Entrepreneur's Compass," introduced through an intensive 5-day educational program designed to illuminate the path from operator to strategic owner.
This wasn't about abstract theories; it was about practical shifts. Larry, who initially, like many small business owners, leaned towards "free" marketing on social media to minimize costs, began a journey of breaking free from a fear-based mentality. The coaching focused on understanding that true business growth comes from strategic investment and well-defined processes, not just cost-cutting.
Key areas of this initial transformation included:
Building Financial Acumen:
Demystifying the numbers by restructuring financial records, creating clear P&L statements, and forecasting for desired income goals. This moved them from financial ambiguity to informed decision-making.
Strategic Marketing & Investment:
The crucial lesson was learning to see marketing not as a drain, but as an engine for growth. The focus shifted to understanding how to measure returns and make informed choices.
Empowering Through Frameworks:
Providing Larry with the tools and mental models to analyze situations, understand cash flow, align incentives, and prioritize effectively.
The Unfolding Transformation: A Leader Emerges, Revenues Soar
The most significant change wasn't just in the salon's operations, but within Larry himself. He began to shed the fear of the unknown and embrace a proactive, analytical approach.
The impact of these internal and strategic shifts on Faith In Curls' top line has been dramatic. Compared to their average monthly sales from the previous year, the salon has experienced a remarkable surge, multiplying its sales by nearly 3.9 times in a peak month this year. This striking growth is a direct testament to Larry’s newfound strategic capabilities and his willingness to invest confidently in the business’s potential.
Armed with a new framework for looking at his business, Larry took the initiative himself to explore online advertising. This was a major step. He learned to move beyond simply taking suggestions and instead sought to understand the underlying mechanics of how money flows and how incentives drive behavior. He was no longer chained by the fear of making a wrong investment; he was driven by the potential for growth, now understanding how to test, measure, and refine his efforts. He learned to make data-informed decisions, identifying which marketing efforts yielded the best returns and which were less effective, allowing for smarter allocation of resources.
This new strategic lens extended to cost management. Significant potential annual savings were identified by closely examining ongoing expenses like software subscriptions and service fees – opportunities previously obscured by the daily whirlwind.
The transformation was so profound that Larry, invigorated and confident, decided to commit to his CEO role full-time. The salon, once a source of apprehension, was now a field of exciting possibilities. His willingness to openly acknowledge past mistakes and an eagerness to learn and adapt became the true engine of progress. This, as he discovered, is a core secret to sustainable success.
Navigating the Narrative's Twists: Growth Through Learning
The path wasn't without its learning curves. Initial staffing adjustments were part of the journey. But instead of reacting out of fear of being understaffed, Larry, equipped with a better understanding of lead generation and a strategic approach to HR, could now build his team with intention and confidence. The focus shifted to creating a supportive structure where everyone could grow alongside the business.
The Next Chapter: A Future Driven by Empowered Leadership
For Faith In Curls, the future is bright. The immediate goals are to continue building a strong team, fine-tune operations for profitability, and leverage the strategic frameworks now in place. Larry is no longer just running a salon; he's architecting a scalable business. The long-term vision, which includes possibilities like franchising, is now built on a foundation of strategic thinking rather than hopeful ambition.
Why This Story Matters: The Eightfold Coach Philosophy – Beyond Numbers, Towards Freedom
Larry's journey with Faith In Curls beautifully illustrates the core philosophy of Eightfold Coach. While the leap in revenue is a fantastic outcome, the true measure of success lies in the founder's transformation.
As Larry's experience shows, Alberto Chan's coaching provides:
A Shift from Fear to Empowerment:
Helping founders overcome the anxieties that often stifle growth and instead build confidence through understanding and strategic frameworks
The Tools to Think Strategically:
Equipping leaders with the ability to analyze their own business, understand financial levers, and make independent, informed decisions
A Path from Operator to True Owner:
Guiding entrepreneurs to build businesses that can thrive, allowing them to step into a role of strategic oversight and achieve genuine entrepreneurial freedom
A Culture of Continuous Improvement:
Fostering an environment where learning from mistakes is encouraged, and adaptability is celebrated
The story of Faith In Curls is more than a business turnaround; it's the story of a leader finding his footing, embracing a growth mindset, and learning to steer his business towards a future he actively designs – achieving remarkable financial breakthroughs along the way. This is the essence of the transformation Eightfold Coach aims to inspire in every founder we partner with.
Corazón (Fictional name, real story)
From a significant monthly deficit to a thriving $1.25 million per month operation, Corazón's story is a testament to strategic financial leadership and operational excellence. This case study highlights how targeted interventions transformed a struggling restaurant into a highly profitable and rapidly growing enterprise. However, this story doesn't end as it should, offering a powerful lesson on why true, lasting success is about more than just money.
The Challenge: Bleeding Cash and Lacking Direction
When Alberto Chan was engaged by the owners of Corazón, a restaurant in Miami, was in a precarious state. Despite generating a respectable $350,000 in average monthly revenue, the establishment was bleeding money, operating at a negative EBITDA of $300,000 each month. The internal financial systems were opaque, accountability was diffuse, and there was no clear strategy to navigate out of the financial nosedive. The passion for creating a lively cultural hub was being overshadowed by overwhelming operational and financial distress.
The Eightfold Coach Solution: Forging a Path to Profitability & Growth
Alberto embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of Corazón's financial and operational framework. The core philosophy was clear: transform raw financial data into actionable business intelligence and instill a culture of accountability. Key interventions included:
Robust Financial Systems & Controls
Implementing clear bookkeeping practices, detailed P&L reporting, and cash flow management systems to provide true visibility into the restaurant's performance.
Business Intelligence & Profitability Analysis
Moving beyond surface-level numbers to understand true per-dish, per-customer, per-event, and per-day profitability. This allowed for data-driven decisions on menu engineering, event pricing, and marketing spend.
Strategic Cost Management
Scrutinizing all major cost centers – food & beverage, labor, entertainment, and overhead – to identify inefficiencies and implement targeted savings strategies without compromising the quality of offerings or guest experience.
Team Accountability & Incentive Structures
Introducing systems where every team member understood their role in the financial health of the restaurant and were recognized and rewarded for achieving key performance indicators. This fostered a sense of ownership and collective responsibility.
Strategic Financial Planning
Guiding the owners on effective capital utilization, reinvestment strategies, and building a financial foundation for sustainable growth.
The Results: A Remarkable Turnaround
The impact of these strategic interventions was swift and dramatic. Corazón became a thriving, profitable enterprise, demonstrating the power of expert financial strategy and disciplined operational management. Within six months under Alberto's financial stewardship:
Profitability Achieved
Corazón's EBITDA was successfully turned from a $300,000 monthly loss to a profitable operation.
Explosive Revenue Growth
Monthly sales didn't just recover; they skyrocketed from an average of $350,000 to reach $1.25 million per month at its peak – an incredible increase of over 4 times.
Operational Stability
The restaurant achieved a level of operational and financial stability it hadn't seen before, with clear systems and an engaged team.
The Eightfold Principle: Building Thriving, Scalable Ventures
Clarity Generates Control
Implementing robust financial systems and transparent reporting is fundamental to understanding the business and making informed strategic decisions.
Data-Driven Profitability
Moving beyond gut feelings to analyze profitability at granular levels (per offering, per customer, per event) unlocks pathways to optimize revenue and margins.
Accountability Cultivates Excellence
When team members understand their impact on financial success and are aligned with the business's goals through clear metrics and incentives, performance naturally elevates.
Strategic Systems are Scalable Systems
The focus is not just on immediate fixes but on building robust operational and financial frameworks that can support and sustain significant growth.
The engagement with Corazón showcases Alberto's ability to rapidly diagnose critical business issues, implement high-impact solutions, and guide businesses from severe financial distress to remarkable profitability and growth. It underscores the value of strategic financial leadership in unlocking a company's true potential.
The Final Chapter of Corazón: A Powerful Lesson for All Business Owners
Unfortunately, this story became a cautionary tale. As significant profits started to accumulate, the owners' focus shifted away from the sustainable, people-centric principles that had fueled their growth, to a more selfish approach. Recognizing this fundamental misalignment in values and vision, Alberto decided it was time to part ways.
After his departure, the principles that had built their success began to crumble. The owners' management style changed, leading to decisions that negatively impacted the team, such as lowering salaries and benefits. This immediately increased employee turnover and led to hiring lower-quality staff. As a result, service quality declined, customer reviews worsened, and revenue steadily dropped. This downward spiral continued until the restaurant ultimately went bankrupt and closed its doors in 2025.
This story makes one thing perfectly clear: hiring an expert to implement strategies is not enough. True, lasting success requires the business owner to learn, internalize, and personally commit to those strategies. It demands a genuine transformation of the founder's own mindset. A business built with a mindset that cares for its people—its employees and its customers—is resilient and creates lasting value. A business where the leader cares only for himself is built on a fragile foundation, destined to fail. This is the core principle of the Eightfold Coach philosophy: to guide founders through that essential personal transformation, equipping them with both the tools and the mindset to build a truly sustainable and successful business.
Ready to learn how Alberto can help you build a sustainable and lasting business?
Schedule a discovery call and let's get to work!
Contact
achan@eightfoldcoach.com
