May

20

How One Gay Couple Lives, Loves and Works Together and Haven’t Gone Crazy

Filed Under Gay Business, Life, Relationships 

David Kafer (L), and Jason Hall (R) of Red 7 Salon in Chicago, partners in both sense of the word. (photo courtesy of Red 7 Salon)David Kafer and Jason Hall of Red 7 Salon in Chicago, celebrated the 6th anniversary of their 100% Gay-Owned business earlier this month; they’ve also been a couple for twelve years. How on earth did they manage to accomplish these fantastic milestones and not go crazy or worse?

Six years ago, David and Jason, a gay couple who have been together for twelve years so far, decided to bring some “Relationship Focused Upscaledness” to the Chicagoland market, and so, Red 7 Salon was born.

Six years, two locations, (Evanston and Chicago) and numerous salon industry awards later, this gay entrepreneurial gay couple have proven that you can work, live, love and succeed together and not go crazy.

As a matter of interest, Red 7 Salon was named ‘Best New Salon’ by Chicago Magazine and has won a place in the Top 200 Salons in the U.S. by Salon Today Magazine for the past three years (2006, 2007, and 2008).

I asked the boys to share the secrets to their success. They willingly obliged and their answers are both illuminating and inspiring for couples who wish to work together.

David and Jason say that the first part of their secret to working, living and loving together successfully is in balance, respect, and separation.

They elaborated on these points:

BALANCE - know when to stop talking about work. For those that are OCD about their jobs and love what they do, this could be difficult (”It has been for me”, confides Jason). BUT, it really is necessary. Know when to start talking about life outside of work - maybe the focus is on the house, kids, vacations, etc….

RESPECT - in order to work together successfully and to have a staff that respects and follows you, the couple needs to respect each other. This is something that is very difficult to do when you disagree. It’s easy to argue and involve your staff in things in which you don’t see eye to eye. However, doing this only weakens EVERYTHING - teamwork, morale, and respect.

Jason goes on to say, “Both David and I have really learned to always respect what the other person brings to the table. We both do very different things with the business. David’s focus is the creative end and the services. My focus is the business end and the books. Both need to be respected. SEPARATION - know when to NOT be in each other’s grill. Learn to give one another space at work and not be on top of each other (that’s for home!).”

The other secret we would say is COMMUNICATION. When there is no talking, there is no listening. Communication really is the key to understanding where the other person is at - although having a business partner that is also a life partner really cuts down on the need to always talk (never underestimate couples intuition).

Making sure that both partners are on the same page with any major decisions, as well as any major announcements to the staff is important. To have strong communication is the ONLY support system that you have as a working couple.

So there you have it, the secrets of how one gay couple lives, loves and works together in a business that they love.

Congratulations to David and Jason as well as the staff of Red 7 Salon! Here’s to many more years of a successful partnership.

More Info about this unique boutique salon:
RED 7 SALON
RED 7 SALON Chicago (312) 644-7337
RED 7 SALON Evanston (847) 866-7337

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