Teach what you wish to receive!

Teach what you wish to receive!

Had an awesome experience out in California this past weekend working with two different groups of hairdressers.
The focus of both days where hands on design classes.
Both groups were advanced and as a result had to go in with my "A Game"
Honestly it had me pretty nervous so throughout the week preparing for the trip I practiced alot!
At the end of day two one of the girls in the group said
"we are all so glad that we came today"
and went on to say that they had all called each other.
They had discussed whether it would be a waste of time.
They all laughed, and I was relieved to hear that they where pleasantly surprised.
The truth is, on both days the design that we did was way better than the ones that we had practiced..

After the weekend I was reflecting on exactly what it was that made the weekend so inspiring and successful.
I came to the conclusion that it was because my nervous anticipation had fueled me to take it to the next level, a new personal best!
Combine that with the fact that I felt responsible to teach the group something new and inspiring.
So far this week at the salon I have been living on the adrenaline from the weekend and giving my clients the benefit of the creative aftermath!
Stay With Me this is going somewhere!!

When was the last time that you where nervous doing a haircut or color?
If you have been doing this as long as I have that's probably been a long time!
Many of us come to work and "day in and day out" get into a comfort zone with the people that we service.
For many salon professionals this can lead us straight into a big rut!
Ever felt like that before? My guess is probably.. that's kinda how it works on planet earth!

I have touched on this same thing before:
http://ibeautifydotnet.blogspot.com/2010/05/hairdresser-burnout.html


I have taken notice that many of us seasoned professionals are greedy with our knowledge and skills!
Most are unwilling to share by going out to beauty schools and teaching a class or even just sharing a technique with some of our less experienced coworkers.
To not share your gift with others is a tragedy!
When we share or teach someone we get better at the very thing that we are teaching!
It also takes us out of our comfort zone and puts us on edge which in turn brings out our best.
And lets not forget ! you were learning once too, and your co-workers have probably introduced you to a thing or two...
so even you are:
"standing on the shoulders of giants" as they say..
So if your finding yourself in a rut or just looking for some inspiration?

Just remember this, teach that which you wish to receive!

ibeautify.net the stylist notebook

Hey Salon Owners!! Listen up!

Your stylist's want to work hard!!
Just ask them!

Every day I spend time brainstorming and consulting with Salon Professionals and Salon owners.
Much of that time, feels like a "He said - She said" therapy session!
Most of the time the stylist's and owners are simply complaining about each other.. The best (or worst) part is the complaints are exactly the same:

From the stylists:
"The Owner doesn't care"
"She is so negative"
"they don't motivate me"
"the owner is jealous because I'm busier than her"
"all she wants is to make money off of my hard work"
"The owner won't advertise"
" there is no training here"
and the one that always makes me laugh inside "If I leave this place would close!"

From the salon owner's it's something like this:
"The people that work here don't care"
"Their not motivated"
"They won't act like a team"
"they won't dress professional"
"I'm tired of training people and they just leave"
"They just want me to hand them business without working for it"
and of course... "I want them to care about this business as much as I do"

And the list for both could go on..

Unfortunately whenever asked if they have talked to the other about their concern's the answer is, most of the time.. you guessed it..... NO!

You see the whole thing is just a big misunderstanding!
The truth is most people generally want to do a good job.
Isn't that true? Think about it, when was the last time that heard someone say,

"when I start a career, I'm gonna do a terrible job".
Most of the time people are not aware (owners and employees) of what is truly expected of them.
So, we go on doing what we think we should and never know what the other is thinking.
Many times, by the time we find it's too late. So how do we avoid this?

"Go In Asking"
Start setting time aside to at least once a month to communicate with each member of your staff.
Rebuilding rapport and trust with your staff and beginning to open up lines of communication on issues that may be on their mind.
At the Gene Juarez Salon, the Management team has a motto "Go In Asking", meaning if you want to know if your staff has something on their mind...Just Ask!

What we permit we promote
Generate some clarity on expectations and goal setting.
People want to know what is expected of them.
This is especially important for newer professionals in our industry.
They need guidance on what skills to focus on and how long is should take them to achieve certain benchmarks.
If an employee or owner is unaware of an expectation that we have of them they will assume that what they are doing is OK.
We need to be clear about the guidelines and behavior's that are acceptable in our salon from the start, the longer that we let it go, the harder it is to reform.



Appreciate yourself and your staff for their individuality.

How do each persons unique strengths and weaknesses add to your salon culture.
Identify the opportunities you have to grow together and what could you be working on to better yourselves and the business.

Schedule time out from behind the chair

(even if it's just 2 or 3 hours per week) to check in with your staff and give them your attention towards planning their growth and development
If we stay focused, as my pal Randy Kunkel says "Grow people for a living, and do hair for fun!!"

This blog brought to you by:

http://www.ibeautify.net

Sometimes, it takes two!

Have you ever had someone in your life who made the work you do seem to have a deeper purpose and meaning?
Isn't it safe to say that we have all been inspired by someone at one time or another?
For the past 10 years much of the inspiration that has really kept me most excieted has come from working with our future industry professionals!

Do you remember your first few years in the business?
How excited were you when you did your first haircut on your own?
Do you remember how nervous you were ?
Well I sure do....
However that feeling does not last forever and thank goodness for that !

Eventually we all develop our skill and self confidence.
Unfortunatly for alot of us, a routine can become a rut!
Well that's what happened to me, but just then "she" walked in!

Her name was Elizibeta Frangoni, and she applied to an open stylist assistant position I had in the local paper. She was not living here legally yet, but at the time I was overworked and really needed an extra set of hands.
The rest of the truth is that she had already been a hairdresser in Italy for some years, she and her husband Tony had just come over and where staying with some friends at the time.
Looking for new opportunity in a new land, Elizibeta spoke about three words of english but the way that girl could finish hair had no language barrier!

It was amazing how over the next few months we where able to mesh our style and could effectively service so many more people in a day.
With the two of us always focusing on the guest, customer service was off the charts!!
Feeding off each other, our creativity grew stronger than ever and as a result work was more fun than it had been in years.

The increse in income was not to complain about either, during that time Elizibeta was working on a cosmetology license in the states and getting better and better with her english.
After about eight months she was able to begin to work on clients for herself and by that time I had gotten so used to working with another person that I decided to go to the hairschool that I attended and begin to recruit my next partner!

Bringing someone in fresh out of school was a little different than working with Elizibeta, however it was equally as exciting.
To work with a person who is in the infancy of a career, watch them light up every day with the new and exciting things they were learning.
Additionally by getting a fresher perspective on things inspired me to try new things when working on my clients whose hair I had been doing for years.

It was awesome!

I was enjoying work even more than I ever had, but what happened next, I was really not expecting.
Over the next couple of years I continued to help new sylist's grow their careers never really thinking that I would soon have one of the most profitable salons in town.
Now the issue of recruiting new staff was nearly gone.
I had more resume's than I could handle!
We had grown a culture of self motivated stylists who kept the "good of the salon" at the forefront.

OK OK, I can hear some of you thinking.

"I'm already too busy to take time to train someone else"
or
"My clients will never let someone else work on them"

What i say to you is GET OVER IT !! :)
If you really believe no one else can do hair the way you can, then your name must be Vidal Sassoon!
Wait until you give your clients a chance to feel the customer service from two professionals at once.
Two people applying a color get's it done twice as efficiently!
Two people to brainstorm new ideas, and the list goes on!
The most important thing is you go from being a hairdresser to mentor.
Something happens when it's not just yourself that you are looking out for but the growth and development of others, word begins to spread.

A cause, set in motion.

For my business this was the best thing ever did.
If your stuck in a rut in your career, this may be the next step for you.
If you are already one of the those who has been responsible for training and growing our future leaders, we congratulate you!

Finally, If you are thinking of taking on a new associate here is an idea on how to find that potential new employee:

Go and volunteer to teach a class at a local hair school. It does'nt have to be long.. just an hour or so, and after the class there will always be a few interested applicants who will want to stay around and talk.

Once you have chosen a new associate, remember continuing their education is a marathon not a sprint.
Don't overwhelm yourself thinking you have to teach them everything in one day.
Begin with small stuff like

"these are the tool's we will need for setup of a color process"
and
"this is the way we greet our clients"

Then schedule one "class" per week or every other week.
It will not be long before your associate will be well trained in all that they need to be.
Don't forget to spend time teaching them client communication and sales skills.
They will need these vital skills if they are to be successful long term.
And most importantly Have Fun!!
The more fun you have while teaching, the happier your associate will be.

Good luck until next time!

Check out our web app and iPhone app to help stylists make more money behind the chair:
http://www.ibeautify.net

sharpen your saw

Heard a story once about a man sawing down a tree in the woods. He was sawing for a long time and not making much progress. Another man passing by says to him:

"Sir you seem to be working for a long time and not making much progress. Why don't you stop and sharpen your saw?"

The man sawing is insulted, he responds:

"Can you not see? I am too busy sawing you dummy!"

Many of us get so busy, that we sometimes forget to stop and ask ourselves if what we are doing is working for us.
Is it still inspiring us?
Are we getting the results from our actions that we set out to get?
Do our habits make sense or are they leading us into a rut?

Today a busy salon professional can service well over 1200 clients a year and never take time to "stop and sharpen their saw".
Industry shows can be fun, inspiring and can be a great way to expose yourself to whats out there.
Once we get a taste for the type of "sharpening" that is right for us we can take the next step and attend an intensive workshop.
Workshops can range from one day to a week or more.
You can also attend an advanced academy that put on by anyone from Vidal Sassoon to Martin Parsons! With all that is available to us in this industry today Burnout should not be an option. Even if you are a veteran in this trade, it can sometimes be tempting to say "been there, done that". However, when I hear people say that it makes me feel sorry for their clients and the people who they work with!!
So, this is your challenge!!
Find ten classes or retreats that you would like to attend. Research them. Then narrow them down to at least 2 that you are willing to attend over the next 14 months. Next mark the time out of your salon and BUY A TICKET!! Preferably something you have to travel to!! Mark Twain said " Travel is fatal to ignorance, bigotry, and self centerdness." Get out of town!! Get out of your comfort zone!! And kiss that RUT Good-by!!

Here are a few suggestions on where to start. This should get a Pandora's box opened for ya!!

Martin Parsons seminars
Trevor Sorbie
Vidal Sassoon Academy
TiGI Academy
Redken Exchange NYC
Scott Cole and Melissa Yamaguchi
Irvine Rusk
Michael Della Penna
Chris Baran
Sam Villa
Carmondy Harmon
Michael Cole
Geno Stampora
Frank Gambuzza
Behind the Chair
Susie Fields Carter
Eric Fisher
NAHA
The Salon Association
Dom and Teri Gardino
Boho Artistic team
Scott Bentley and the B-Concept artistic team
British Hairdresser of the year
Wolrd hair Congress
Noah Hatton
Albe Mulcahy

And to help manage your new-found success on the business side check out the iBeautify.net stylist notebook
Organization and planning built for hairdressers by hairdressers.
www.ibeautify.net

I'm an Artist, not a salesperson!

When you ask Rockstar James Hetfield of Metallica if he has "sold out"

He will answer: "YES! we sell out every show"

This is the attitude I would love to see more stylists have..

yes we are artists, we have sharpened our technical skills,

we can highlight, color, cut and shatter a bob with our eyes closed.

But why is it we clam up when trying to sell a bottle of conditioner?

Its very important to educate your client wile styling their hair. Show them what to use tell them why it works, and

finally teach them how to use it.

Here is an example:

During your client consultation you learned that your client "Susie" has fine hair and wants more fullness and shine.

The education starts at the Shampoo bowl:

"Susie, I'm going to use a body building shampoo & conditioner.

This will give you a clean shine and won't weight your hair down.

So just lay back and relax..... doesn't this conditioner smell wonderful ?

......mmmmmm......

Quick simple and to the point, you don't need to list every ingredient.

So now you are ready to style:

Okay Susie, I'm going to use ( your fav product or fine hair ) This will support the roots to give you the boost you are looking

for. Show them how to use it, you spritz it in the roots and as you are working it in.. hand it to them, let them look at the bottle, touch it, smell it.

Next, while blowdrying give them a little lesson, show them how to hold the brush, how to section their hair, how to position the blow dryer etc.

Give your client the confidence to do their hair at home, and you will be surprised how many times you hear: "wow no stylist has ever showed me how to do that before".

When you finish up:

Always walk your guest to the check out, put at least 3 of the products you used on Susie's hair right on the counter.

"Susie here are the tools I've used in your hair to give you the body your looking for. What would you like to start with today? "

I promise... if you teach them ........... they will buy!!

And to help manage your new-found success on the business side check out the iBeautify.net stylist notebook
Organization and planning built for hairdressers by hairdressers.
www.ibeautify.net

Inspiration is the driving force!

Looking back on some of our earlier blogs we realize much we have written is geared towards helping salon professionals make more money.

But when you get to the bottom of it, we will only do what we are inspired to do.
Most of us agree that we feel the most success when we are inspired by our actions, not necessarily the rewards. The rewards seem to come from purposeful actions and as a principle, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Also, most of our greatest actions are caused from either of two driving forces:

Inspiration or desperation.

While writing one of our previous blogs:

(http://ibeautifydotnet.blogspot.com/2010/06/bit-of-hair-history.html)

I couldn't help but remember some some of the really great times in my career.
Some really inspiring times.

It was in the 80's that the hair competition scene was really booming.
The hair competition scene is still alive and well in many different facets such as Contessa awards, NAHA, British hairdresser of the year and Hair World to name a few and the work even now continues to evolve and the Artistry is out of this world.

Coming of hairdressing school around mid 1992, my older brother Dean had just come back from competing in hair shows all over the world. After one competition in Budapest Hungry around 1987 or 1988, he decided to stay in Italy and work at salons in Bologna and Modena. When he finally came back to the states Dean started to work with a guy named Omar Sassin (a hair "world champion").

Back then I was still in high school and loved to hang out with them after school and watch hours of practicing on models and maniquens. At the time it seemed like the only thing that mattered was doing hair. It was what we ate, breathed, talked, and slept! As it does, high school flew by. Not long after that found we ourselves working in what I remember as the ultimate power salon.

Still very active in the compettion scene, Dean opened Salon Salvatore Christian. Hairdressers trained in London, Italy and educators from Lanza, TIGI, Sorbie, and Loreal, All in the same room.

It was Awesome.

Our Business was going through the roof! The primary focus was on our clients and our craft. The hard work was spent getting better! The easy stuff was marketing ourselves.
At that time it was a norm to be doing 2 or three perms a day. Hair was still big and fun, and we loved every minute of it!

When your excited it's easy!

Though in the very beginning I was just building a clientele it seemed obvious that the most successful hairdressers where the ones who went to the most classes.
One of the most memorable of all was my visit to the ladies hair compettion world champion Brothers Constantinou salon located in the castle arcade in Cardiff wales.
Still family run today by Anna Constantinou. At the time I was there to assist Michael Della Penna. Michael is the only United States team member who has ever won both the Mens styling and ladies styling world championships.

The trianing was like more intense than i had ever seen. For 8 hours each day dozens of models would keep showing up and sit through hours of cutting and blow-drying. Afterward we would head out to the arcade. Then on to Queen street, where we would stay out all night. Back then the fashion seemed decades ahead of the states. (and it was). From that trip forward I visited Europe 12 more times, I remember thirsting for the latest euro fashion! Our clients seemed to love trying it on and we loved bringing it to them! In those years it was about creating beauty, and it still is............

So find some inspiration out there!

It will drive your success like you cannot imagine!

And to help manage your new-found success on the business side check out the iBeautify.net stylist notebook
Organization and planning built for hairdressers by hairdressers.
www.ibeautify.net

software for the hair industry

Take a look at the software products for hair industry out there and you will notice a few things:

complexity
these software packages have dozens of features that do all sorts of things, and sure, somewhere somebody uses
all of those features. But ask yourself, what features do you NEED ? which ones do you use everyday ?

I think you will find you need a lot less to stay productive then all these software packages are providing.

Here is the thing about software vendors..they try to put every possible feature they can squeeze into a product
so that its not "missing" anything, so a potential customer will not ever say "well it does not do this or that"

cost
guess what ?

all those features cost money!
they cost money to develop
they cost money to test
they cost money to support

guess who pays for these costs ? their customers of course...
oh..and the ones that use only 10% of the software features ? they still pay 100% of the cost.

end-user

have you priced some of these packages lately ?
well I have, and its really unbelievable.

thousands of dollars initial cost and hundreds of dollars per year ongoing maintenance/support/subscription costs

who do they think is buying this stuff ?
Big-shop owners that's who..

who are they all ignoring ?
The booth-renter.. the "single-chair business owner" that's who.
They can't afford thousands of dollars for software, so they generally get by using paper books
and a calculator.
They miss out on the productivity benefits of technology because the software vendors have priced this group right out of the market.


The bottom line ?

Really take a look at software products before you buy:

Make sure you understand ALL of the costs involved !
Make sure you understand the costs for support. When you have a problem is it a per incident charge ? or a yearly support contract ?
Most times you are ONLY eligible for new version upgrades if you keep your software under continuous ( and sometimes expensive ) support.

Do you really need that feature ?
Or can you get by without it ? Sometimes the add-on modules they are trying to sell you "adds-on" a bunch of cost, with not a lot of benefit.

Test Drive !
I researched nearly 100 software products for our industry, and I found some that had absolutely no way to try-out their software !
Would you buy a car without test-driving it ? or without even looking inside ?
If you can't trial the software with a fully working version, you wont know if its going to work for you.
If the company does not offer it, and will not make an exception, move on.


Well now, the shameless plug!
We think we have built a great easy-to-use product aimed specifically at the booth-renter
to help them get productive and stay productive.

We also think we have it at a pretty good price point too!
Check us out http://www.ibeautify.net ( and yeah, we have a 60-day free trial )

A bit of Hair history

I'm not sure if it was the beginning of time or the invention of the mirror either way, for a very long time our hair has had a major effect on our self image.
Ive heard it said that nothing affects confidence like our self image and nothing affects our self image like our hair!
For many years our business was built around neighborhood "beauty shops".
People would come and get their hair washed and set, one time a week you would see all of the ladies in your neighborhood whether you wanted to or not!

Something happened in the mid 1960's that would change our industry and the way we work forever.
Vidal Sasoon came along and started to show the world that it was no longer about setting the hair for weeks at a time.
What he did with a three inch pair of shears and gravity would dictate how people around the world!
As hairdressers we went from 50 "customers" a week, to 200 "clients" that came to the salon every six weeks.
A major revolution in style. Icons like twiggy and the Beatles where on the scene to solidify that cultural transformation.
For almost next decade and a half we transformed from firm hair that was never out of place, to soft touchable hair that shined and bounced as you moved.

Soon the product companies caught on. The industry started producing products that supported the health and shine of hair.
Redken turned "PH" into the buzz word of the industry! We where evolving from "beauty operators" to "Salon professionals".
Salons where branding themselves by aligning with Major product manufacturers.
High end chain salons began to appear everywhere and gave many future industry leaders a place to start.
The industry began to attract "Artist's", our median was hair. Many of the best competed around the world in competition's form avant garde to consumer fashion.
The skill level and mastry was truly sensational.

This core group of hairdressers are now responsible for many of the trends that we still see in the industry to this day.
Lots of these artist's (like Sam Villa, Omar Sassin And Michael Della Penna, to name just a few)
Still train students around the world. All of this happening at the end of the 70's through the late 80's.
Unfortunately the hair competition circuit is not nearly as popular as it once was.
If your ever at a major hair show and there is a competition floor, check it out, its amazing how talented the artist's are!!
Many of these artists worked in popular chain salons such as Mantrap and PHD (Professional Hair Designs).
Chain Salons really built their strength after the recession in the early eighties and were dominant till the early nineties.
Many of the seasoned salon leaders began to open independent salons. Middle and upper class salons really became the backbone of our industry until the present day.
The next generation is starting to emerge, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the large shift that comes with each passing day.

Something else is going on at this time. Much like the Rock-a-billy movement of the 50's, the underground London Punk music scene was building momentum.
Punk began to get world wide attention. The fashion industry was inspired by the energy and excitement of the movement.
A hairdresser named Paul Mitchell started to produce products that defied gravity and gave hair memory.
Perm and texture services exploded. And of coarse Mohawks and mall bangs! Hair color was also really beginning to catch on and companies began mastering more vibrant color that lasted longer.
Trevor Sorbie trademarked the Wolf man (a translated version was worn by Olivia Newton John) and the Wedge (which would inspire most short haircuts in the 90's) .
The 90's, by the way would prove to be a melting pot of retro fashion and never really gained a voice for itself, but how could it, shadowed by the eighties (which has never really gone away).

What's so interesting to me is how much money people would spend for some of the most mediocre hair and fashion in history.
I guess that's why what happened in the nineties will stay in the nineties !
I guess one thing was solidified.. at the end of that era, advanced highlighting and color was becoming the dominant income producer.
Texture services had taken a back seat and have not yet made the strong comeback that industry "experts" predict.
Oh, what a time that was ! Hairdressers, (good ones anyway) where making as much as doctors and lawyers.
And we treated our business as such, but boy were we fooled by the recession that would begin in the first decade of 2000...

So What happens now?? Stay tuned for our next blog!!

For any questions or comments you can contact us on twitter:http://www/twitter.com/ibeautifydotnet

Check out our web app and iPhone / iPad / iPod touch application to help stylists be more successful behind the chair:

http://www.ibeautify.net

hairdresser burnout

One of the things i think we all struggle with at no matter where we are in life is burnout!!

About 6 years ago i had hit a point in my career where it looked like there was nowhere to go but down, it seemed to take 10 times the energy to do regular daily things
like haircuts, colors, or even just being nice to people.
Whats funny about that is, i would be hearing the hair school kids who only had 300 hours in school saying the same damn thing!
you would hear things like "im soooo buuurrrnnntt oouuuttt!!" and when I would hear that, i would think "well just wait till you have been doing hair for as long as I have" you will really hate life then!!

Then one day I was sitting in a class thinking about what else i could do for a living and the teacher said:

"If you cant get out of it.. get into it"
"if you can't get out of your job.. get into your career"

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks!!
All this time i was putting so much energy into being burnt out and miserable that i had forgot how much fun this career could be.
I mean how could i be burned out of something that is ever changing, a job where you never know what your gonna get from day to day!

Well that day i decided!! It started from the inside and worked its way out.

I started actually enjoying things like shampooing hair and realizing how relaxed and good i could make people feel.

I started to look at my coworkers like profound gifts in my life instead of "blood sucking leeches, who just take what they want and leave the scraps behind".

I would actually "look" at my clients again and give them the attention and service that they truly deserve.

Suddenly my job had turned back into a career.
Not to mention, the next 5 years where the most profitable of my 20 years in this business.
With all that has happened in the world in the last few years, i believe there a lot of people who could be feeling the same way i did at that time.

So that's why im writing this blog.

If this career looks scary or harder than it used to, im suggesting that it may be in the way that you are viewing it.
We all know that when we are in a good mood our problems or "challenges" (as i like to call them) seem to feel easier.
When we are in a "not so good" mood (well you get it).
If we are experiencing burnout or stress its because at some point we decided that what we are doing is stressful or boring.

Well i ask you now, What would your life be like if you chose to look at it as exciting?

What if, You choose to see your career as a limitless river of possibilities and opportunities.

What if, you choose to see your coworkers for their potential, not a bunch of lazies who steel your clips and combs and never sweep their stations.

How much better could your life be if you chose to think differently?
You get the picture..

John C Maxwell said: "winning is an inside job".

That's the truth (at least I believe it is).

If your not sure yet give this a try for 7 days.
if you don't see a positive change in your life, go back to the way you were!

The 7 day challenge

1. Set an intention to enjoy each day and be happy! Make it your goal no matter what you have going on (work or play, good or bad)
2. Write down your mood 4 times each day. if your a little down or in a bad mood Simply ask yourself what's good about right now? (if you can't think of anything, ask, what could be good about this moment?) Come up with an answer!
3. Smile at three people that you may not have even looked at. (look them right in the eyes and smile)
4. Last, each night for seven days journal. Come up with 3 great moments that you had that day. Then list three things that you love about yourself.

OOOHHHHHH!! Come on! I know it seems a little sappy. Just try it!

For any questions or comments you can contact us on twitter:http://www/twitter.com/ibeautifydotnet

Check out our web app and iPhone / iPad / iPod touch application to help stylists be more successful behind the chair:

http://www.ibeautify.net

It's who you are, that makes you what you are!!

It's been a while since our last blog, The reason for that is a lot of traveling and working with hairdressers from around the country and ready to share some new insights!

We have all heard the industry experts for years giving us their magic formulas to success.
Somehow the answer always somehow ties in selling more of their product!
( and it is true that retailing is a very profitable part of our business, for the salon owners retail sales is on average is 8 times more profitable than service sales)
but there are so many very successful salon professionals that seem to not follow any of the traditional rules, it left me to ponder...

When you take a look, some of these people do all of the wrong things and still get ahead.. So what is it,, Or better yet WHO are they?


Think of the most successful person you know.

Not just financial success but successful relationships, health, happiness the total package.
How do you feel when your around them? Do you feel good or..... no-so-much ?
Seems interesting that most of the time these people make you feel great just by entering the room.
For some reason you just wanna be around them.

Why?
Successful people make it about you and not about them.
They ask questions, and then actually listen to the answer.
They tend to be courteous and humble.
Many times you can catch them preforming random acts of kindness for no reason.
They don't seem to care about "keeping up with the Jone'es"
It seems that they are just nicer people than those who are caught up in the Rat Race.

Now.. this may seem obvious but think about a conversation that you have had where the person you where talking to made the whole conversation about themselves and their petty drama.
To be polite you smiled and nodded but the person is so wrapped up in themselves, they have no idea how uninterested you are.
So they keep talking and talking.. and you keep smiling and nodding.

What's the point ?
Salon professionals serve people, and yet many times are so self serving.
If many of us could just break the habit of being so self absorbed we would begin to see that our clients, families, friends, coworkers are so much more than objects in our lives who help us get what we want. They are people, and to the point that those people know that you care they will allow you to serve them.
If the vibe that we give off is all about me, myself and I, it closes off the highway that takes us to new heights.

So be nice!!
At first this can be hard. Here are a few "Practices" that can help you on your start your journey to a better way of "being".

• Ask genuine questions and listen to responses without planning your next statement.

Questions that give a person the opportunity to to answer with more than one word.
In time you will find out so much more about people you thought you already knew.

• Practice humility.

Don't try to benefit from from every and all situations.
Sometimes its okay to let someone else be right.

• Give people compliments even when they are not around, and never speak behind someone else's back negatively

This will help to make YOU the person people want to be around.

• Preform random act's of kindness and expect nothing in return.

When you expect nothing in return, the act becomes so much more powerful.


Finally, success is really what happens on the inside you can have that anytime you choose!

the discount spiral

"A problem seen is 75% solved" -Michael Cole.

It's a friendly business, but they are not our friends.
Has this ever happened to you?

A client that you have been servicing for a few months tells you during her appointment how broke she has been, how her husband just lost his job, and they just don't think they can make it. So you preform the same service that you always do (maybe even throw in a free treatment), but this time as you walk her to the front desk somehow her bill is now 20% less than it is supposed to be. Then from then on every time this client comes in, she begins to haggle with you on price of services.

I'm sure we can all think of a few guest's that have "guilt-ed" us into giving discounts, and at the time it seems like no big deal. However at the end of the year this can add up to several thousand dollars in lost income!

( Note; we are not talking about honest promotions and other guest reward programs that your salon participates in )

The client SEES the VALUE in their loyalty to your business. These types of programs are necessary for the growth of new millennium salons.

Just think about it for a minute... if a hairdresser gave away just $50 in discounted services just one time per week at the end of the year $2,600 was given away. Now, that example is mild, can any of you imagine the possibility of giving away $100 in service discounts per week ? You guessed it, that's going to cost you $5200 ! Can anyone else enjoy an extra $5200 in your budget ? I know I can !

First thing we need to find out is why do we do this to ourselves. So think about it for a second, just stop reading and say to yourself out loud:

" What makes me give unnecessary discounts? "
Ask this to yourself 5 times, and just see what your answers are.

So, what where some of your answers ?

Was it guilt, or fear of losing the client, maybe fear of rejection.

You don't want to be rude and seem heartless or perhaps: "If I charge her too much she won't like me".. those are examples of emotional reasons..

Sometimes we are just not sure what to say or how to give a ONE TIME discount and not have it reoccur. Then when the moment passes us we just never bring it up again. These types of reasons are more technical and script based. Think about it, this was never talked about in hair school

(and if it was, I must have been asleep that day).

Let's first address our more emotional side.. Just think about this next scenario..

Imagine that you just hit the lotto for 1 million dollars. After all of the excitement of the moment has faded what would you do with the money?

Is it enough?

Would you pay off your house or buy a new one in a better neighborhood?

Are there some people in your life that you could help?

How much would you give them?

Would you still work?

If you did how would you be treated?

Would your friends be jealous?

After asking yourself these questions how do you feel about the money now
Do you wish that you had not won at all?

Why are 80% of lotto winners broke within 5 years of winning? Hmm. Something to think about?

"Money problems have little to do with money" -annonymous.
Well let's ask ourselves what we were taught about money growing up.
How much do you remember learning about money in school?
Did dad sit down at the kitchen table and show us his expense report and P&L?
Does this sound familiar: "we can't afford it, money doesn't grow on trees"
or
"money is the root of all evil"
What are our belief's about the rich?

If we thought that rich people are a bunch of selfish pretentious snobs why would we ever want to be rich?
You see most of us have been miseducated about money from the start.
Then some client starts to tell us about their hardships and we cost ourselves thousands of dollars without even knowing!



Ok, ok, I hear ya. So how do I get started back in a better direction.

Well here's a few powerful and effective steps to rapidly get you back on the right track and in the money!

1. Go through your last month of appointments and add up all of the discounts that you may have given. Now write that number down ( this is how much your costing yourself and possibly your family each month)
2. Make a list of those people. ( most of the time these are people who we spend way more time and energy on for far less money)
3. Begin to include in your consultation the price of your service before you begin. Let them decide. Have two or three options for your client at differnt price pionts so if they are on a budget you can do the appropriate ammount of work without giving anything away.
4. Understand. It is perfectly normal to want to help your client. The best way to help is to preform a great service!

For any questions or comments you can contact us on twitter:http://www/twitter.com/ibeautifydotnet

Check out our web app and iPhone / iPad / iPod touch application to help stylists be more successful behind the chair:

http://www.ibeautify.net

Attitude part two- Still the key to success behind the chair!

"Do what you love and the money will follow"

True?

Maybe maybe not.

Maybe more true is this "show me someone who is miserable at in their career and i will show someone who has a hard time attracting clients" No matter how skilled you are. One of the laws of life that proves itself over and over again is the 80/20 rule. It basically states 8 out of 10 of us are for all intents and purposes will never really live life to the scale of happiness, financial success, physical vitality, quality relationships or spiritual abundance that we truly deserve.

While on the other hand, 2 out of 10 of us seem to have more of a handle on those areas of our lives and seem to be able to enjoy the fruits of life at a greater level of appreciation... What does this have to do with the salon industry? Everything!! I happen to work with a girl who proves this to me every day. She is a very busy and successful hairdresser, part time college student (just a few credits away from her bachelors degree) is in a smitten relationship and never holds a bad mood for too long. I know hairdressers that run circles around her when it comes to technical ability. However day in and day out She runs circles around their bank accounts. And all of that is done with a smile on her face!

So what's my point? Simply, attitude = altitude. In business, personal and all other areas of your life you can find proof. Attitude, it's so hard when i have to and so easy when i want to! Attitude

1. A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself.

2. A state of mind feeling or disposition.

3. A way of seeing things.

I ask you now, are you getting what you want from all areas of your life?? I mean really. Not just partially satisfied but totally fulfilled! If things just can't get any better than stop reading and go spend your lotto ticket wisely.

If your at the top of your game ? or in a bit of a valley, or feeling like your living a nightmare ? Here are some simple actions you can do on a daily basis to be sure your attitude is one that will keep the results you want in business and in life flowing without interruption and taking others up with you.

1. Take a few minutes in the morning to recognize what your grateful for. ( even if this seems a little corny ) think to yourself are you grateful for your family, children, health, job, that it's sunny or cold out. Are you grateful for a skill that you have? when you get that thought, really feel it and focus on it for a minute or so. This action alone will increase the quality of your interactions with yourself and the people you come in contact every day. If you feel there is nothing to be grateful for, what could you be grateful for ? make something up. The reason this is so important is the world and the news and culture will give us plenty negative to focus on. Consider it a healthy breakfast for the mind!!

2. Go out of your way once a day to make someone feel special. when you first start to practice this it may feel a bit contrived but hang in for a while. Make it authentic, you won't have to force it when the moment presents itself be in the moment. It may just be a smile or recognizing a quality in someone you have not noticed. Another great way is to simply to look people in the eye as you listen to them.. People love to be around people that make them feel great and people do business with people they like.

3. Finally, set an intention to enjoy the day. Have you ever heard someone say "if i can just get through these next few days then I'll enjoy myself". Oh yeah, even i catch myself saying that. Well, if that's the case why not enjoy yourself now. Have you ever heard "someday I'm gonna look back on this and laugh". Hey, Laugh now.. Your not getting any younger! An intention is different than a goal because it says, no matter what happens today I'm gonna do my best to find the good in it.

I invite you to try these things for just one week and see and feel the difference it will make in your life and those around you every day! For any questions or comments you can contact us on twitter: http://www/twitter.com/ibeautifydotnet

Check out our web app and iPhone / iPad / iPod touch application to help stylists be more successful behind the chair:

http://www.ibeautify.net

The importance of retail

I have recently heard some stats that should be alarming to the Independent salon and spa industry..

71% of clients leave a salon or spa and where never offered a professional products!

Yet 44% said they would buy if they where offered

.. so let me ask.. How would it benifet you if 44% of your clients left the salon purchasing professional products from you?

Well lets say you see on average 100 clients in a month and 44% of them left with just with a purchase of 20$.

let's do the math 44 x 20 = 880$ in retail sales JUST FOR ASKING!! lets say your commission is 15%,, 880 x 15% = 132$ per month for doing no more work at all..

Lets not forget this is recurring income, there are industry stats that says that a client that purchases a professional product from you on a first visit has a 60% greater chance of returning for a second visit.

Why would you think that is ??

Because, by offering your clients professional products, we have opportunity to focus on your clients favorite subject which is them!

The iBeautify Stylist Notebook can help you earn more money behind the chair, check it out!
http://www.ibeautify.net

The dream clientele

Dream Client... Hmmm.

What does that actually mean??

Well Do you happen to remember the moment you know this was your chosen career? What did that feel like? Where you curious?... excited?.... A little nervous maybe?? What did your clients look like? Where they models on the runway? or funky hipsters on "the scene"?

Or maybe it was your dream to help cancer patients look and feel better about themselves during a tough time in their lives? whatever it was, do you still feel that way? Do you really get to live your dream every day or are you living the Nightmare.

Wherever you are in your career its always nice to check in and make sure the path that you are on is the right path..

What are some things that we can do to take back the dream ?

Everything in your life once began as a thought.

Take a look at your car, your house, your significant other, your career or even your clientele. It may seem a little metaphysical but one of the first things that your gonna want to do is...

1. Begin to visualize your dream client (you already have some of them in your life)

• what do they look like
• how old are they
• what is there personal style
• what color is their hair or texture
• what kind of car do they drive
• where do they socialize
• how much money do they make
• how often do they receive maintenance on their hair, skin or nails
• what books do they read
• how do they like to be spoken to
• what kind of things do they find important

You want to come up with any and every detail that may be relevant to them wanting to spend their time and money with you. And why do they want to take your recommendations on their image ?...

Now... sit down and make this list, it's the first step in unlocking the door to re-living your dream career!!

Don't wait!!

Go now!!

Go ahead... Ill wait here...

Well?.. what did ya learn?

Is that what 80% or your existing clientele look like?

If not we have some more work to do..

It's time to take some personal responsibility for the business that you have created.

You hear it all of the time:

"My clients will not let me do the fun stuff on their hair"

"They always want the same thing"

"My clients are not adventurous, there conservative."

And then there is my personal favorite:

"My clients are cheap, they won't buy that stuff !!"

Whatever our clientele looks like, at some point we are responsible for creating it.

We all have heard the saying "What we permit, We promote !"

The truth is your clients come to you because they trust your judgment about their self image. We need to understand that our clients are expecting us to help take their ideas to the next level. It's our job to suggest what they have not envisioned!

We need to begin to talk with our clients about something we have not talked about for a long time... their hair, skin and nails!

We need to talk about their desired look and feel.

So what kind of business are you committed to having?? This brings us to our next step..

Now we need to take another look in the mirror.

2. How much does our desired clientele match the professional that we are being right now

• do we wear the looks that we are promoting Or at least talk about them
• do you go to the places your dream clients hang out at
• do you offer new options to every client every time
• if you where that perfect client, would you let you do your hair?
• do you attend regular networking events where your dream clients hang out
• do you belong or support the same charities that they do
• do you consistently attend or teach educational events to better your craft

You should be beginning to see that until you become the stylist, nail tech, or esthetician of your dreams why would we expect anyone else to want to come and see us?

Check out my personal stylist management app:

http://www.ibeautify.net

Attitude.. the key to success behind the chair

Well, I don't know about you but it took a week for me to shake off the holidays and things are starting to feel normal again. And as the hangover of negativeness in the media seems to be somewhat calming down. I'm starting to remember a time when Hairdressers and other Salon Professionals used to genuinely enjoy what we do for a living every day
(yes I know you still love it, but I mean have fun at it too).

So now that we have another chance at another year, lets choose to prosper by "loving what we do every day"!!
Recently I was speaking to a group of about 200 Salon Professionals and the lecture was about strategies to grow referral business. Just then something became more obvious than ever.
Most of the people in the room where never going to go home and use any of our suggestions, and the ones that actually do have the willingness, don't really need us anyway.
What I realized was winning salon professionals have a winning attitude. It hit me like a ton of bricks!!
Some of the most successful salon professionals in the world are not necessarily the best! So, whats the difference?? Attitude!!

Attitude:
A mental state involving feelings and values
A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself.

Hmmm, Feelings and Values. Let me ask you, how are you feeling about your business or your clients or yourself?

Are you valuing every opportunity for what it's worth?

Are you valuing yourself ??

Are you valuing your time ?

Are you just coming into work day in and day out and being to busy to set some time aside to make real money !?!

Too busy to set some real career and financial goals ?

Too busy to decide what you want your clientele to look like and what actions you need to take to make that reality ?

Most salon professionals bought the dream, and live the nightmare!
Some salon professionals are having the time of their lives these past couple of years, while most where wondering where have all of my clients gone??
Time after time the person with the right attitude will win business over the one who piss and moan about how bad things are!!

So ask yourself, How do I feel about my business? and be honest!! What kind of experience have I been giving my clients?

Because this year clients are choosing to spend their time and money in places where they feel appreciated. They want to go to the hairdresser, nail tech, massage therapist that says I LOVE MY CAREER!! Is that you?!?! You have to make the choice!

Thank You so much for your time and reading this blog..

In my next blog we will take a look at some key actions that you can take to accelerate the growth and development of your dream clientele!!

The iBeautify Stylist Notebook can help you earn more money behind the chair, check it out!
http://www.ibeautify.net

stylist consultation

The Consultation:


1. First part of Visit comes in the greeting of the guest. 56% of our communication comes from our body language and our NON VERBAL SKILLS. This is our look, smile, handshake, personal hygiene, professional image, confident outward appearance and our attitude. ( for this first part to take some of the work off of you, you might ask the group to take 1 minute to talk among themselves and come up with all of the things that make a Great first impression and greeting.)

Also the intention of the greeting is to LOWER anxiety and RAISE trust!! FAST.

2. When we finally get to the chair we want to begin the consult by using natural bonding and rapport builders.
A. Bonding- The building of a close interpersonal relationship,, personal Attachment. Or a mutual interactive process.
To build bonds we can simply ask things like.. Where are you from? How did you hear about the salon? Who referred you to see me? Where do you work? Where did you go to school? These are just things that we can start to build in common so the guest can see that we are like them. (people like to do business with people who are like themselves)

B. Rapport- Relationship, especially one of mutual trust or emotional it's affinity Accord or fellowship. a little different than bonding it's where we set up the "rules" of the visit. This is where we may say to the person " Julie, is it ok if i ask you a few questions about your hair before we get started." Or if the visit is with an existing client that we already have a relationship with we could say something like " Samantha, I know it's been a while since we have checked in with you about updating your look.. Is it ok for me to ask you a few questions?

With regards to rapport there are a lot of clients that we have been working with for a long time that a long time ago we stopped talking about there hair and the visit turned more social. So, to steer the conversations back more about their hair we need to start to ask them a new set of questions and start doing something that we also stopped doing a long time ago.... Listen......We need to start to listen again!!! So When we begin to ask questions.. and we want a new result we need to listen t all of the clients responses before we give our ideas and recommendations.

Also when consulting sit face to face with the person, without draping the person until after the consult is finished. People feel less comfortable with a cape or smock on. this sometimes keeps the person from sharing info with you.

3. Types of questions to ask.. Haves and wants questions EX; What are some things that you like about your hair right now and what are some qualities you would want to have more of?.... or What are some things that your not enjoying about your hair right now.. What are you liking about your haircolor,, what colours would you like to have more in your hair? What problems are you having styling your hair at home? What are some other ways you would like to style your hair at home of for going out? After our questions have been asked then it is time to repeat back or paraphrase to them what you heard from them.

It sounds something like.. So you like your fringe a little longer but you feel like your hair is too flat on the top. If you could you would have lighter hair but you do not want too much maintenance. You like the length but you wish your hair could have more shine.



Check out our web app and iPhone app to help stylists make more money behind the chair:
http://www.ibeautify.net

Things that salon professionals need to know

Ok The next thing we need to take a serious look at is our SAVINGS.
For some of us this is a four letter word!!
Or it's like "I'm in my early twenties what do I have to worry about that for"?
Well lets just say TIME has a very strong effect on the growth of MONEY.


You see, everyone knows that money deposited in a savings account will earn interest. because this is a universal fact, it is best for us to save today rather than next year or next decade.. So no matter how tight money fact's will prove that the money you earn today is worth far more than the money you will earn ten years from now.

Here is a simple example. Your savings account earns a 5% interest rate, $100 dollar investment today will be worth $105 next year (100 multiplied by 1.05). Conversely, 100 received in one year is only worth 95.24 today (100 divided by 1.05), assuming a 5% interest rate.

Now if you are a salon professional, you have an enormous amount of creativity. So you can come up with more exciting examples on your own!I think you get the point!! START SAVING TODAY!

Note: One of the easiest ways to "find" money to start saving is out of your tip income. If this is a new habit start with an envelope and put your first 5$ or 10$ tip per day in and do not touch it!! I challenge you to try this for a month and see how fast it will start to snowball!

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money management for hairdressers

All right, all right. So another year has passed you by and your thinking" this year, I'm gonna do it!!" Well, I ask you. What exactly is it that your gonna do?? If you are one of the few who do actually have an answer... Just how the heck do you plan to do it?!?! So if you are a hairdresser, nail tech, massage therapist or aesthetician and your hoping to look better in the pocket book area at the end or 2010 than you are right now, read on..

Traveling the country and dealing with hairdressers one of the things that has proven itself to be a harsh reality is that most people in our business could so easily achieve their financial goals. However most do not. This is true for two simple reasons. Number one reason; They do not know how much they want to make in the first place. Number two reason; they have no plan at all on how to achieve their goal.


First of all there are only 4 things that we can actually do with money. We can Make Money, Save Money, Grow Money and of course SPEND MONEY. Most people do not read a blog about how to spend money so let's focus on the first two for now.. first of all How much $ do you want to make this year?? There are just two things that you need to consider when answering this question. 1. how much dose it cost you to live for a year. And 2. how much would you like to have left over after that (Which is the saving part).

#1. How much dose it cost me to live.. Make a list of all of your monthly expenses.

A. Rent or mortgage
B. Car maintenance, and insurance

C. Consumer debt or credit cards
D. Savings long term and short term
E. Electric and Utilities
F. Child care ( and all that comes with that)
G. Clothing
H. Groceries
I. Entertainment
J. Telephone and Internet
K Etc. etc. etc.

Now add those all together and come up with the total.

Let's say that all of your monthly expenses added up to $ 3,750
Next we are going to take that monthly expenses total and multiply it by 12. (because there are 12 months in a year)
SO, 3,750 * 12= 45,000

There we have it! An accurate number of how much you would need to make this year if your current monthly expenses are $3,750.

Now If you are a salon professional who works on a commission basis of let's say 50% (to make the numbers easy your commission may be higher or lower in this case you would adjust the numbers to fit your personal situation) we would take your monthly Desired income and multiply it by 2 ( because at 50% you take home 1/2 of what you take in).

3,750 * 2 = 7,500 this gives our before taxes bring in income it would take for us to achieve our desired income.

An easy way to for us to figure taxes is to "guesstimate" that taxes are 30% if our "bring home income". So again take your desired monthly income ( which for the example is 3,750) and multiply X .3 and we will come up with a good estimation of taxes.

3,750 x .3 = $1125 So $1125 would be your estimated tax with hold. Let's now add this with your desired monthly "take in" income and see what we come up with. This will give us a grand total of what we would actually need to produce behind the chair to achieve our financial goal.

7,500 + 1125 = $8,625 This is a very realistic $ amount that it will take in to cover your monthly expenses. Dose this make sense?


* remember the difference between "take in" and "take home" can be very different. However they are both VERY IMPORTANT numbers for you to have great awareness about!

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