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!
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Industry luminary, Dean of Paul Mitchell - The School and past SalonLife speaker Winn Claybaugh has an inspiring video we ran across on YouTube that we hope you are inspired to share with others. Its an amazing story about an encouter with the late Noel de Caprio, an industry legend who inspired so many who knew her with her amazing grace, wisdom and courage in the face of a long battle with breast cancer. (Noel de Caprio pictured above).
The September 19thUSA Today editorial pages are filled with opinions on how to best begin to fix what polls show that most Americans agree is “broken” – America’s health care system.
With the wealthiest country in the world now ranking 37th of our 191 countries rated on “health care performance,” Americans seem more open to change then ever - with some of those sentiments now spilling onto our SalonLife blog.
Generally speaking, health care benefits are not a part of our national salon culture. And even in the minority of salons that actually offer group health insurance as an option, few appear to pay the majority of premium costs for employees - in spite of industry wages remaining generally low (especially for new entries into the workforce). Add to this the growing number of booth renters as well as a commissioned work force that changes employers frequently (and likely do not qualify for group plans on their own) and it becomes clear that our industry likely ranks high on the list of America’s “under insured populations.”
One possible solution - the decision by Minneapolis based Juut Salons to include a service charge to clients to directly help pay for employee insurance costs. It’s a unique approach that, although we believe ignores the bigger question of employer responsibility to employees, it’s a start.
Importantly, we hope that the industry will begin to engage in a dialogue on this issue. As professionals we spend virtually all of our time caring for clients - but less and less it seems caring for our own. Juut Salon CEO David Wagner raises an important question - just who is responsible for the well being of employees? Is it the employer, employee, customers, our government or a mix of all?
We would argue that Starbucks, David Wagner’s inspiration, gets it close to right - not by creating a client service charge to offset some costs, but simply by building health care costs into the price of every cup of coffee and offering quality benefits to both full and part time workers.
Inspired by a childhood made difficult by a fathers lack on insurance and its devastating impact on an entire working class family when tragedy strikes, Starbucks today spends more on employee healthcare benefits then it does on coffee beans - and yet has no lack of customers for what is surely one of the most expensive cups of coffees brewed anywhere.
If Starbucks can convince consumers to pony up top dollar for a cup of coffee, perhaps the industry can do itself a big favor by building the costs of healthcare into service prices - and simply (a) letting clients know that that the increase in prices is related to the increasing costs of healthcare and (2) exempting a portion of service prices paid by clients from commissions so that benefits can be realized by staff.
As is made clear in the USA Today editorials, there is no shortage of opinions on the question of insurance. What is lacking is an imaginative, entrepreneurial approach that inspires small businesses to action. For this, we congratulate Juut Salons - and hope that others are inspired to do even more.
Have an opinion on health insurance in the salon industry. Add your comments, click here and then click on the comments link below this post. Also, visit NCA’s website to take our insurance poll - just click here and scroll down the page.
NCA was proud to bring Dr. Mehmet Oz, health expert to the Oprah Winfrey Show, to our industry at this year’s SalonLife event.
Dr. Oz wowed the crowd with a down to earth, inspired presentation on how to insure long term health and vitality. His insights into the key to good eating, weight loss (or ”waist” loss) and maintenance and exercise were among the program’s many highlights. See Dr. Oz on the SalonLife stage by clicking on the video below, or use this link.
If you’ve been fortunate enough to be inspired by a speaker, book or “program,” or have anything to share on the subject of living a healthier life, add your comments by clicking here and then on the comments link below this post.
Of all of the many issues facing our industry, few receive as much attention as “reciprocity” – the recognition by one state’s government of the credentials of a licensed professional from another state. And although there are rules in place that now allow for forms of reciprocity among over 30 states, significant challenges remain. NCA receives hundreds of communications each year from frustrated salon professionals that are re-locating across state lines. So what is the problem?
At the heart of the reciprocity issue is just what knowledge and skills are required to protect the public - and what educational process is required to best prepare new cosmetology professionals to do just that (regardless of where one practices) - and why is it not the same in all states? Does it take:
1000 hours of schooling (New York)
1200 hours (Pennsylvania)
1500 hours (Illinois)
2300 hours (Oregon)?
Is there a logical reason for the differences that exist today – or is it more a function of the times in which laws were developed – a time when information wasn’t shared as easily and when “reinventing the wheel” was an all too common practice in many areas of life.
Beyond the issue of assisting those who move to a new state to do so with as little disruption to their livelihoods as possible, there is perhaps a much bigger issue for us all to consider. Each year, close to 200,000 young people enter beauty school with the goal of making better lives for themselves and their families. Depending on where they live, some must go to school for 6 months and some for 18 - all to reach the same goal of being licensed. Given the disparity in requirements based on what seems to be only geography, logic would dictate that some are getting short changed by either (1) not getting enough training or (2) being required to stay in school longer then is needed - all because of the laws in place.
Over time, the industry has changed in more ways then we have space to list. The ways salons are operated, the services we provide, the business and employment models we operate under the needs of clients and the ways in which salons are provided products, education and support by industry companies and partners has all been changing – and yet the foundation of the laws that govern the industry (the hours required to be licensed as a cosmetologist) have changed very little as it relates to the core knowledge and experience required to meet the needs of the pubic.
As all of the industry’s various associations continue to work to a solution for reciprocity nationwide, NCA encourages all to look beyond the obvious and to consider together the larger issue of modernizing and standardizing the requirements for licensure across the board in all areas of practice for the benefit of both working and future generations of professionals.
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Dr. Lew Losoncy brought to SalonLife attendees the passion for salon professionals that has made him one of the most requested motivational speakers in the industry today. Focused on reminding all of the important role that every one of you play in the lives of so many clients and peers, “Dr. Lew” brought tears to the eyes of many and the audience to its feet in his emotion packed conclusion to another great “performance.”
If you can’t see the video above, click here to view it.
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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!).
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. 
Industry luminary, Dean of 
The September 19th 
Generally speaking, health care benefits are not a part of our national salon culture. And even in the minority of salons that actually offer group health insurance as an option, few appear to pay the majority of premium costs for employees - in spite of industry wages remaining generally low (especially for new entries into the workforce). Add to this the growing number of booth renters as well as a commissioned work force that changes employers frequently (and likely do not qualify for group plans on their own) and it becomes clear that our industry likely ranks high on the list of America’s “under insured populations.”
Importantly, we hope that the industry will begin to engage in a dialogue on this issue. As professionals we spend virtually all of our time caring for clients - but less and less it seems caring for our own. Juut Salon CEO David Wagner raises an important question - just who is responsible for the well being of employees? Is it the employer, employee, customers, our government or a mix of all?
We would argue that 
If Starbucks can convince consumers to pony up top dollar for a cup of coffee, perhaps the industry can do itself a big favor by building the costs of healthcare into service prices - and simply (a) letting clients know that that the increase in prices is related to the increasing costs of healthcare and (2) exempting a portion of service prices paid by clients from commissions so that benefits can be realized by staff.
Of all of the many issues facing our industry, few receive as much attention as “
1000 hours of schooling (New York)
Over time, the industry has changed in more ways then we have space to list. The ways salons are operated, the services we provide, the business and employment models we operate under the needs of clients and the ways in which salons are provided products, education and support by industry companies and partners has all been changing – and yet the foundation of the laws that govern the industry (the hours required to be licensed as a cosmetologist) have changed very little as it relates to the core knowledge and experience required to meet the needs of the pubic.
Dr. Lew Losoncy brought to 