Good health is an important part of the SalonLife message and so we thought we’d share with you the following message from Emmett Hickey, husband of NCA Board member Beth Hickey, and a longtime member of the salon industry community of manufacturers. Emmett recently had an unexpected heart attack and had the good fortune to live to tell the tale – and share what he learned in the process.
I Thank God for My Heart Attack
It was a typical Wednesday morning around the Hickey household. Beth was up at the crack of dawn, maybe earlier. It was 6:20 a.m. when my feet hit the floor and the day was off to a great start. First, brush the teeth, then put on the sweats and tennis shoes and hit the fitness room. By this time Beth had finished her 20 minutes on the tread mill and was completing 20 more on the elliptical trainer. I would be happy to get in 20 or so, on the tread mill, get breakfast and off to work. After 4 minutes on the mill I felt this nauseating pain in the throat and neck, so much that I stopped for a minute before returning to an easy 4.5 mile per hour pace. Less than one minute passed when the same aching, nauseating pain crept back.
Later Beth told me at 12 minutes and 44 seconds is when I said, this does not feel right, and went to the kitchen for a healthy protein drink for breakfast. This breakfast drink is quick and easy. It involves oatmeal in the blender to make it a powder, whey protein powder, flaxseed, blueberries and skim milk. It is best consumed in front of the computer trying to outwit some idiot in Europe at your favorite poker website. What a great way to stimulate the brain and get the day started. It doesn’t hurt to add $200 to $300 to your bankroll which is exactly what I did that morning.
On the way to the shower that morning the aching nauseating pain returned, except this time it did not stop in the neck. I’ll lay down for a couple of minutes and it will go away. After 30 seconds of this lying down technique I knew something more serious was going on. Beth also knew I was not well and asked if we should go to the emergency room. I agreed.
My goal for telling this story is to maybe help someone else dodge the mistakes we made on January 30, 2008. So if you are paying attention you have already picked up on some of the stupidity. If not, retrace the events and think about it. You would have to be living under a rock for the last 40 years to not know the symptoms of a heart attack. Maybe I just did not want to admit it.
Error #1. I allowed almost 50 minutes go by from the time I suffered the first symptom on the treadmill. Remember, I was on the mill almost 13 minutes then walked to the kitchen made breakfast, drink breakfast in front of the computer, tried to lie down, got dressed and went to the emergency room. All of this happened in about 50 minutes. (What should have happened? Call 911 at the first sign).
Error #2. I allowed Beth to drive me to the emergency room. Don’t get me wrong, Beth is a good driver but the 15 minute trip to the emergency room was crazy. Can you say 911? Had we called 911 in 5 minutes trained medical emergency professionals would have been at our door to diagnose a heart attack and further start treatment to stabilize my condition. (What should have happened? Call 911 at the first sign dummy!)
Error #3. Maybe it is not as bad as I make it sound. After all, Beth got me to the nearest emergency room in Arlington Texas. That was smart. Oh, did I mention the nearest emergency room was not staffed or equipped to handle cardio care? It turns out that not all emergency rooms handle every kind of emergency. Had we called 911 the EMT would have known where to take me for the best care for my condition. (What should have happened? Call 911 at the first sign idiot)
By the time we arrived at the emergency room the pain was in my chest, arms, back and throat. My breathing was short and hurried. My hands were trembling, I suppose from the heart trauma. Little did I know I was on the edge of disaster.
As it turns out my heart was in great shape. Two of the main arteries feeding oxygen rich blood to my heart were clogged with sticky plaque build up.
Error #4. You’ve probably never heard of this but smoking cigarettes can cause heart problems. Smoking causes the plaque we all have running through our veins, to get sticky and, well, stick together causing blockage. That is what happened to me. It does not happen overnight. Forty years of smoking and bad genes caught up with me. (What should have happened? Stop smoking Einstein.)
It’s not like I did everything wrong. The Doctors and nurses kept telling me, “It is a good thing you work out, eat right and take your aspirin every morning.” Without those things going for me it is likely you would be getting a funeral announcement instead of this story.
I am lying flat of my back on the gurney in the emergency room, IV plugged nicely in the big vein of my left arm, and breathing is difficult the pain is so bad I almost don’t notice it; black spots are forming in front of me and the attending physician yells, “He’s gone V Tach, get the crash cart”. (Ventrical Tachycardia) Read, your screwed. Beth is asked to leave the room.
My conversation with God gets more serious; If you are ready for me I am ready to come home, but maybe you could reconsider the timing with the grandkids and home remodeling undone and all.
I must be a pretty good salesman after all. The crash cart was not needed. 15 minutes later the nurse removes the crash cart, the morphine has really kicked in, and my vitals are stable and good. The EMTs have arrived to transport me to the hospital where my cardiologist is ready to make an incision in my groin and perform Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, or Angioplasty. I am awake during the whole procedure and did not feel a thing. Two hours later I am in a room on the Coronary Care Unit. The routine stay for this procedure is three days.
Thirty two hours after this all began my Doctor tells me everything looks great. No damage to the heart. Take it easy for two weeks. No travel, avoid stressful situations and quite smoking. Then he releases me to go home.
Giving cigarettes up has not been as difficult as I thought it would be. The real test will be at the next show in Vegas. I think I can handle it. I do thank God for my heart attack. I survived it. The rest of my life will be better for it because of an improved lifestyle. Funny how your appreciation for people and things are enhanced after an event like this. Beth has always been a beautiful person but somehow she is more beautiful today. I noticed some of the art on the wall in our family room today. It has been there for years and today I noticed the detail of Windberg and Adkinson. And yes, the songs are sweeter.
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Who would have guessed a few years back that we’d go from wondering if “global warming” was fact or fiction to “green” being the hottest social movement to hit the country in perhaps decades. And if the industry’s trade magazines are any indication, this trend has not escaped the attention of salons - or at least many of the big businesses that sell products and services to salons.
So what’s it all really mean - all this talk about saving the planet (from us!)? We’ll admit that we occasionally sort plastic and paper, and have bought some of the new long lasting light bulbs (but are waiting for the short lasting ones to burn out before replacing them - is that eco-correct or not?? Hmmmm…). But in the bigger scheme of things we must admit that we’ve yet to rally to the cause in spite of being deeply bothered by corporate polluters, gas guzzling SUV drivers, and the government bureaucracy.
So how about you? What’s your take on going green - at home or in the salon? Are you changing your habits - and whether you are or are not, do you think doing so can make a difference? We want to know what you think!
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With the prospects of a “recession” ahead of us, we offer the following as a conversation starter for all of our readers:
Many leading salons have strategies in common to drive long term success. As the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details” and successful salons know this – focusing relentlessly on driving out expense wherever possible while constantly finding ways to increase per client revenue.
On the income side of the equation, we hear most often about expanded service offerings to capitalize on trends (i.e. everything from hair straightening to eyelash extensions and anti aging services). On the other hand, many caution that when adding services, be sure to evaluate every menu item and consider dropping low profit services that eat up valuable time that could be spent on targeted high profit niche offering.
Most importantly, successful salons view every client as an opportunity to increase revenue. Maximizing per client revenue (i.e. getting the most out of add on services and retail sales in the chair and/or at the front desk) is a core principle shared by success minded salons.
Market leaders are also looking outside the industry for ideas to build revenue. Target is pioneer in mixing value pricing strategies with premium names (think Martha Stewart and Isaac Mizrahi) with a luxury cache to their product mix. Add to that Target’s marketing strategies (youth focused and “hip” in spite of a core audience that some define as anything) and you have a new take on growing retail sales.
Leading retailers often use the time customers spend “checking out” to increase sales by offering “impulse purchases” that can add profits. And with profit margins thin, it’s these kinds of strategies that are often separating success from failure.
Finally, successful salons are almost always successful retailers who focus on effective inventory control, strong display and in-salon promotion skills, ongoing staff training, and effective retail sales incentive plans.
On the expense side, successful salons are continually looking for methods of reducing costs. They track back bar efficiency (think color!), labor costs, and other overhead to reduce expenses wherever possible. They are masters at lease negotiations and aren’t afraid to look into long term contracts for opportunities to renegotiate when the time is right.
Expense management is about constantly managing the bottom line and keeping to – or beating – the budget (and yes, successful salons create annual budgets – and sue them all year long). It’s about savings a dollar here and a dollar there to create incremental savings all year long. Key areas include bank charges, credit card fees, utility charges, and towel and cleaning services – for starters. No line in the budget is immune from consideration.
Expense management is also about controlling the cost of labor – the number one expense on every salons budget. With commissions creeping up nationally, this is an important area of consideration – one that successful salons manage with effective communication – and counseling – so that staff understands the big picture as it relates to compensation.
Overall, the ideas shared above apply in good times and bad. If we have learned only one thing from our conversations, it is that you must keep you eye on your profit and loss statement at all times. Attention to detail matters – and can make the difference between success and failure, now perhaps more then ever.
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Okay, in case you have been too busy to notice, it’s an election year and that means you’ll soon have a chance to VOTE. And although we may not care so much who you VOTE for (okay, that’s not really true but we’ll keep our thoughts on this to ourselves), we do care that everyone eligible to VOTE does VOTE. And for any first time voters (or those who have moved and need to update your registrations), it’s important to know that you can’t just appear at a voting place and VOTE - you need to register in advance.
And here’s the good news - registering to VOTE is fast, easy and painless! Simply go online to www.rockthevote.com. It will only take a few minutes of your time – and come election time, you can make your opinion count by going to the polling place to VOTE!!
Now although we won’t give our opinions on the candidates, this is a blog - and so your comments are welcome.
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Just in from our friend Winn Claybaugh’s “Be Nice” monthly e-newsletter is what we think is the perfect holiday gift for all of our blog readers. It’s a heartwarming story that not only inspires, but also provides a wonderful insight into a business concept that should matter to every salon as our industry is all about creating a memorable experience that touches people in unique ways. Take the time to watch as we promise you will enjoy and learn!
We’ll be taking some time off between now and the new year and so will close by wishing every one of you a most joyous and “memorable” holiday season!
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SalonLife is all about encouraging good health, more wealth and happiness in the lives of salon pros. With the New Year upon us we hope that all are considering “fine tuning” your lives to have a bit more of each in the coming year. To that end, we are thinking about our wish list of “New Year’s Resolutions” for the industry - as it’s hard to make change happen without some specific goals in mind:
First and foremost, we hope salons will look hard at their income opportunities, see where there is room for growth and take some simple steps to make it happen (i.e. if your retail sales are less than 20 percent of your total sales, you have room to grow!).
On the health front, we encourage all to schedule a personal check up. “Prevention” is a key to long term good health - but if you’re like most Americans, you fall short in this regard.
And when it comes to balance, consider what makes you “crazy” (!!), and take some steps to ratchet back the stress. Where there’s a will, there’s a way - but it all starts with recognizing the problem.
So, here’s to you and yours from all of us at NCA. We wish you a life filled with great health, enormous (!) wealth, and happiness!
P.S. If you’re looking for a new way to give this holiday season, visit www.kiva.org for an inspired opportunity to share some holiday cheer!
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What Not To Wear’sNick Arrojo speaks to SalonLife attendees about the importance of “selling” in the salon (retail in particular), the value of “teams” over “independence” and the need for “accountability” - all serving as the foundation for his own rise from very humble, working class roots to becoming one of the most respected and successful names in the industry today.
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These might have been the final words of renowned artist Vincent Van Gogh, as gifted a “failure” the world has likely ever known. Thankfully, although he struggled to find buyers of his paintings while living, his art lives on and for this the world is a better place.
Much of the “art” salon professionals create is lost on the world as soon as it leaves the salon and so the artist as “self promoter/salesman” should not be seen as a bad thing but rather a means to end (i.e. paying the rent, raising babies, buying a bit of bling, and more).
When it comes to selling assorted potions, lotions and sprays, most clients don’t purchase retail from the salon (go ahead, say it now, you’ll feel better - “those darned diverters!”) Okay, now let’s put our emotional reactions away and consider the truth:
- Before there was “diversion,” salons were not selling much retail.
The fact is that most have struggled to take what is a natural extension of the service model (the core of the salon business) and build “incremental retail sales” into the same kind of powerhouse business model that keeps the likes of Regis and other corporate salons afloat in the face of rising labor costs. Translation – retail is first and foremost about helping to sustain your business, build your balance sheet, and ultimately build a better life.
Let’s try another analogy: building retail is kind of like building a healthier body. It takes work – and the reality is that (just like retail sales in salons) most of us lack the commitment to pull it off. There are many ways to achieve the goal of better health – join a gym, go on diet, or maybe just take regular walks. But it starts with motivation – typically the health scare that gets us off the couch and onto the treadmill. But when it comes to business, the warning signs are more subtle and solutions seemingly more distant.
So let’s focus on the benefits. Just what do great salon retailers get from their efforts that others may be missing? Consider the following list of real life examples from real life salon pros who have figured out that that a professional recommendation of retail products to go with services is not only a nice things to do for clients but even nicer to do for you:
Savings for a rainy day
Quality health insurance
A real retirement fund
Nice vacations
Great education
Home ownership (or a bigger, better one)
Nicer stuff (you pick!)
Better lives for those you care about most (family, friends – and employees!)
The ability to do more for others (think charity)
So much more…
Some like to say that they work in our industry to make people look good and feel great. Some like to say that the reason to sell product is to better serve the client, extend the service, and provide home maintenance options and more. But few ever say that they do what they do to make a better living for themselves and those they care about. Few say that they say retail because it’s REALLY profitable over time – and yes, it’s great that it fits into our business perfectly as a win-win for client and professional alike.
The bottom line is that money matters. The more you have, the more you can do for yourself, your family, your community and the world around you. More money is a good thing. Less money may not be “bad” but its usually not nearly as good as “more” – and more retail sales can make you more money – ergo more retail sales is a good thing.
Next year, tens of thousands of salons will close their doors and hundreds of thousands of salon professionals will hang up their shears, cuticle clippers and/or steamers to go make a better living doing something else. Believe it or not, had many of them hopped onto the retail treadmill earlier in their careers, they might still be with us. The good news for the rest of us is that it’s never too late to get “healthy.” Maybe our 2008 mantra needs to be “retail or die?”
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Robert Cromeans is known the world over as one of the industry’s most dynamic and inspiring platform artists/educators. During his “back by popular demand” stint on the 2007 SalonLife stage, he wowed the crowd once again with his unique style of engaging, real world “coaching.”
For a peak at Robert live and “unplugged,” take a look at this inspiring video clip - and stay tuned for more words of wisdom from the always enlightening master of salon life - Robert Cromeans.
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“NCA CARES” has long been the association’s “tag line” and this presentation gives you some insight into how members bring that phrase to life everyday in their salons and communities every day.
If you are an NCA member, we hope you will add your comments and share your thoughts about “NCA CARES” - and if you are not, we encourage you to go to the NCA homepage and click on the join button today.
So whether you are someone looking to be actively involved in one of our member benefits or programs or not, know that NCA member dues are the foundation for doing good work on behalf of our entire profession!
Please share you comments by clicking here and then on the comments link below this post.
Good health is an important part of the SalonLife message and so we thought we’d share with you the following message from Emmett Hickey, husband of NCA Board member Beth Hickey, and a longtime member of the salon industry community of manufacturers. Emmett recently had an unexpected heart attack and had the good fortune to live to tell the tale – and share what he learned in the process.
Later Beth told me at 12 minutes and 44 seconds is when I said, this does not feel right, and went to the kitchen for a healthy protein drink for breakfast. This breakfast drink is quick and easy. It involves oatmeal in the blender to make it a powder, whey protein powder, flaxseed, blueberries and skim milk. It is best consumed in front of the computer trying to outwit some idiot in Europe at your favorite poker website. What a great way to stimulate the brain and get the day started. It doesn’t hurt to add $200 to $300 to your bankroll which is exactly what I did that morning.
Error #2. I allowed Beth to drive me to the emergency room. Don’t get me wrong, Beth is a good driver but the 15 minute trip to the emergency room was crazy. Can you say 911? Had we called 911 in 5 minutes trained medical emergency professionals would have been at our door to diagnose a heart attack and further start treatment to stabilize my condition. (What should have happened? Call 911 at the first sign dummy!)
Error #4. You’ve probably never heard of this but smoking cigarettes can cause heart problems. Smoking causes the plaque we all have running through our veins, to get sticky and, well, stick together causing blockage. That is what happened to me. It does not happen overnight. Forty years of smoking and bad genes caught up with me. (What should have happened? Stop smoking Einstein.)
I must be a pretty good salesman after all. The crash cart was not needed. 15 minutes later the nurse removes the crash cart, the morphine has really kicked in, and my vitals are stable and good. The EMTs have arrived to transport me to the hospital where my cardiologist is ready to make an incision in my groin and perform Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, or Angioplasty. I am awake during the whole procedure and did not feel a thing. Two hours later I am in a room on the Coronary Care Unit. The routine stay for this procedure is three days.
Who would have guessed a few years back that we’d go from wondering if “global warming” was fact or fiction to “green” being the hottest social movement to hit the country in perhaps decades. And if the industry’s trade magazines are any indication, this trend has not escaped the attention of salons - or at least many of the big businesses that sell products and services to salons. 
So what’s it all really mean - all this talk about saving the planet (from us!)? We’ll admit that we 
With the prospects of a “recession” ahead of us, we offer the following as a conversation starter for all of our readers: 
On the income side of the equation, we hear most often about expanded service offerings to capitalize on trends (i.e. everything from hair straightening to eyelash extensions and anti aging services). On the other hand, many caution that when adding services, be sure to evaluate every menu item and consider dropping low profit services that eat up valuable time that could be spent on targeted high profit niche offering.
Market leaders are also looking outside the industry for ideas to build revenue. 
On the expense side, successful salons are continually looking for methods of reducing costs. They track back bar efficiency (think color!), labor costs, and other overhead to reduce expenses wherever possible. They are masters at lease negotiations and aren’t afraid to look into long term contracts for opportunities to renegotiate when the time is right.
Overall, the ideas shared above apply in good times and bad. If we have learned only one thing from our conversations, it is that you must keep you eye on your profit and loss statement at all times. Attention to detail matters – and can make the difference between success and failure, now perhaps more then ever. 
Okay, in case you have been too busy to notice, it’s an election year and that means you’ll soon have a chance to VOTE. And although we may not care so much who you VOTE for (okay, that’s not really true but we’ll keep our thoughts on this to ourselves), we do care that everyone eligible to VOTE does VOTE. And for any first time voters (or those who have moved and need to update your registrations), it’s important to know that you can’t just appear at a voting place and VOTE - you need to register in advance. 
We’ll be taking some time off between now and the new year and so will close by wishing every one of you a most joyous and “memorable” holiday season!
SalonLife is all about encouraging good health, more wealth and happiness in the lives of salon pros. With the New Year upon us we hope that all are considering “fine tuning” your lives to have a bit more of each in the coming year. To that end, we are thinking about our wish list of “New Year’s Resolutions” for the industry - as it’s hard to make change happen without some specific goals in mind:
First and foremost, we hope salons will look hard at their income opportunities, see where there is room for growth and take some simple steps to make it happen (i.e. if your retail sales are less than 20 percent of your total sales, you have room to grow!).
And when it comes to balance, consider what makes you “crazy” (!!), and take some steps to ratchet back the stress. Where there’s a will, there’s a way - but it all starts with recognizing the problem.
“I’m not a salesman – I am an artist!”
When it comes to selling assorted potions, lotions and sprays, most clients don’t purchase retail from the salon (go ahead, say it now, you’ll feel better - “those darned diverters!”) Okay, now let’s put our emotional reactions away and consider the truth:
Let’s try another analogy: building retail is kind of like building a healthier body. It takes work – and the reality is that (just like retail sales in salons) most of us lack the commitment to pull it off. There are many ways to achieve the goal of better health – join a gym, go on diet, or maybe just take regular walks. But it starts with motivation – typically the health scare that gets us off the couch and onto the treadmill. But when it comes to business, the warning signs are more subtle and solutions seemingly more distant.
The bottom line is that money matters. The more you have, the more you can do for yourself, your family, your community and the world around you. More money is a good thing. Less money may not be “bad” but its usually not nearly as good as “more” – and more retail sales can make you more money – ergo more retail sales is a good thing. 
