For those of you who are just meeting Tena Pettis, she is the founder of Tena.cious, a social media and graphic design firm in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Additionally, she is the host of two podcasts: Create Your Clique and Before You Open Your Mouth—yes, they are as fabulous as they sound! If that’s not enough, she has also launched her very own product line: Hello Life. Keep reading to learn how Tena took an idea and turned it into a product in only eight months!

The Vision

Tena explains that the idea to start a product line didn’t actually begin with her; instead, it was the idea of her counterpart at Tena.cious—Angie Weber. In Tena’s words, “Angie got the entrepreneurial itch.” Tena couldn’t help but lend a hand to the fledgling entrepreneur!

Angie and Tena knew that they wanted to launch their own brand, but they weren’t always set that they were going to create a makeup line. When they started brainstorming product ideas, Tena explained that the ideas “just weren’t sticky enough—there wasn’t anything new or exciting about them.” Even though they hadn’t reached their “Aha!” moment, Tena and Angie kept coming back to the guiding question: “What makes women feel gorgeous?” After reflecting on this question, they both decided on creating a makeup line! Whether spending five minutes putting on mascara and lipstick, or twenty minutes creating a stunning evening look, women feel gorgeous when they stand in front of the mirror and apply makeup.

After the duo decided on makeup, they needed to make their product stand apart from the countless makeup lines on the market today, so they focused on three components. First, Tena wanted “everyday makeup” that was simple and would take minimal time to apply. She wanted to avoid offering ten blushes and five mascaras that would force consumers to make even more decisions in their busy day. The simpler, the better.

Second, Angie and Tena wanted positive messaging. They wanted moms to buy it for their teenage daughters and have everyone feel beautiful and positive as they were doing their makeup. To accomplish that goal, they named all their products something empowering such as: joyful, bliss, bold, and classy. How fun is it to put on your makeup and say, “I’m joyful and sassy!”

Lastly, Angie wanted a give-back piece to the brand. Angie’s family has a history of mental illness—like many of our families—so one dollar from every product sold goes back to the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care. If someone buys nine products, they donate $9 dollars—it’s so easy to give back and it makes a huge difference!

Production & Branding

Now that Tena and Angie had a vision, they needed to actually produce their product. Through their work at Tena.cious, Tena and Angie had made some relationships with various manufacturing plants. Because their firm had been great to work with in the past, the manufacturer agreed to work with them on creating their makeup line! This goes to show that you never know where your connections will take you, so always be on your toes and have an eye on building lasting relationships.

You might be wondering, “Well, where do I start if I don’t have any connections?” Tena explains that you must start with research! Going down this rabbit hole will likely lead you to an industry trade show, and this is a terrific place to get started! You can pretty much Google: “your product + trade show” and find a gold mine of information.

Because Angie and Tena both have a background in marketing, they knew the importance of branding, so this was one of their main considerations when developing their product. They didn’t want the product to look like a start-up from Minnesota, but like a professional product that you would see in any high-end salon. When you visit their website, you can tell that they are spot-on—the products are super cute and professional!

Marketing

At this point, Tena and Angie had transformed their idea into a product.  Now they just needed to sell it! Since the beginning, they had the goal of finding retailers for their product. Even though the products are sold online, the team “really, really, really” wanted to sell in salons and boutiques. To accomplish their goal, they developed an Instagram strategy. Tena started following all kinds of retailers where they would want their products sold, and started interacting with their brands—liking their posts, commenting on pictures, and reposting other people’s work.

Tena explains that when you start your brand on Instagram, you need to be intentional and you need a strategy because people will judge you in seconds based on your Instagram “grid.” When you visit someone’s IG, you will see the first six to nine pictures and that is your grid. This is your first impression and it needs to be clean, inviting, and represent your brand. If you need some inspiration check out Hello Life’s Instagram—it’s pure beauty.

Tena admits that taking great pictures for social media seems daunting, but you just need to do it! The more pictures that you take, the better you will become. In addition to great pictures, your captions should speak directly to your dream client. Is your dream client a little sassy? Then, add some snarky jokes to your posts—don’t worry if some people won’t understand it because your dream customer will! Again, you don’t need to hire a professional company; just do your very best, and it will serve as a strong foundation.

Tena and Angie’s strategy has proved to be successful because they actually matched with their first boutique via Instagram!

Does Tena’s story inspire you to launch your own product line, or are you slightly overwhelmed? Both feelings are totally understandable, but you just need to take one step at a time. Think about what you can do today to move closer to your product launch and never forget your mission! To get more industry advice, make sure to follow Beyond The Technique, listen to our weekly podcast, and join our private Facebook group.

Listen to Tena’s full interview on Beyond The Technique podcast Episode 56.

I recently spoke at an Aveda Institute workshop, and the young talent really got me fired up and reminded me why I love the beauty industry! The students had tons of great questions, and it was a great way for me to learn what young professionals want to know more about. One of these topics that I kept getting asked about was resumes. As you know, the beauty industry is like no other industry, so I’m excited to share four specific components to a fabulous beauty industry resume!

#1: The Aesthetics

Your resume needs to be visually appealing. After all, you are entering into the beauty business, so salon owners/managers want to see that your resume is beautiful! If you’re not great at graphic design, don’t worry,  there are a lot of free templates where you can customize borders, change colors, add a graphic, etc. A little pop of color will go a long way to making your resume stand out from the crowd! In addition to color, pay attention to spacing and layout. Basically, you want to make sure that your resume is easy on the eyes!

#2: Grammar

You likely became a hairstylist because you love making people beautiful, not because you’re excellent at writing essays. Nonetheless, you need to make sure that you’re using correct grammar on your resume! If you aren’t the best at this, ask a friend or family member to review it for you. Knowing when to use there, their, and they’re on your resume will give us confidence that you’re a competent professional. Remember, the little things mean everything!
 

#3: Loyalty

For me, this is huge! Salon owners are looking for people who have held a single job for more than a year. Skipping around from job to job every three months will be a red flag to a hiring manager. I am looking for someone who has been consistent and loyal to a position. Additionally, I am looking at what kind of work experience you have because this will say a lot about your work ethic. For instance, if you have been a server at a restaurant for two years, I’m going to respect that you work in a fast-paced, customer service environment. This tells me that you’re going to work hard and take care of our clients. Any consistent work related to retail, the restaurant or hospitality business, or healthcare will likely make you a great fit for working in a hair salon!
 

#4: Honesty

I want to find someone who has honestly filled out their resume. Now, I’m not suggesting that you should be super modest. In fact, your resume is your ultimate bragging rights, so don’t shy away from listing everything that makes you look great! However, you need to make sure that everything is the truth. I’ve had situations where a candidate lists one type of experience on her resume, only to find out through the interview that it’s totally different. You don’t want this to happen to you, so honesty is the best policy!

Other Tips

I’ve explained the things that salon owners care about, but, here is one thing that we don’t care about. We do not care if your resume is more than one page. My first resume was three pages—kind of like a mini-booklet. The first page had my headshot with basic info, the second page was the bulk of my information, and the third page listed my references. There is an outdated belief that resumes need to be one page, but that simply isn’t true anymore.

I know that a lot of beauty schools will provide you with a resume template, but make sure to customize it! It is noticeable when you are simply filling in a template! You can use the template as a building block to understand what the key components of a resume are: experience, education, skills, awards, etc. But, add your own creative flair to stand out from the crowd!

My last piece of advice is to make your objective or email specific to the salon where you are applying. For instance, if you are emailing your resume to Be Inspired Salon, craft an email like this:

“Be Inspired Salon, I know that you are an award-winning bridal hair and makeup salon, and I would absolutely love the opportunity to learn from you and your team because I love doing updos and makeup. It would be my greatest joy to be part of that environment.”

This shows me that you have really done your research about my salon, and you’re not email blasting everyone in the area with your resume.

If you’re a salon owner or manager, you know how difficult it can be to find great talent! When I first started my salon, I struggled with this too, but I’ve learned a ton of great lessons along the way and want to share these with you! Check out my Hiring Guide for a comprehensive look at a process that works!

Do you want even more advice from industry pros about resumes, interviews, and hiring? Make sure to join our private Facebook group! We can’t wait to meet you!

Do you want growth and development in your career? Instead of thinking about your career coming before family, or being placed as a higher priority than your spiritual life, think about your career as a slice within your personal life pie. Each area of your life has a different size pie slice, depending on the importance of that area of life at any given moment. And everyone’s priorities, or pie slice sizes, are different.

Here are three ways you can experience growth by focusing on the development of your career!
 

1. Education

Education is key; it’s essential in order to advance your skills. You might educate yourself by attending educational events, seminars, expos, or by watching videos and tutorials. The education aspect of growing your career is so important. Without it, it can be very hard to gain traction in your industry. How will you commit to advancing your education? It could look like scheduling thirty minutes in your calendar, once per week, to read a book that you’ve heard would impact your professional environment. Small, obtaining strategies will lead to success.

You could also plan to gain educational experiences by proactively booking three events per year. That’s about one per quarter, and you could even take the summer off! You could think about having guest speakers that come to your business every couple of months. P.S. I know this girl who may be a good fit for you (wink).

How Do You Respond to Education?

Many of you know that I’m heavily involved in the beauty industry, so allow me to use this industry to give you an example. Ask yourself, if translated into your world, can you relate?

I’ve seen stylists who attend educational events and then completely revert back to what they’ve always done. They did not apply what they learned because it was uncomfortable stepping out of their comfort zones. It’s sometimes painful to implement new techniques, systems and/or processes. Yet, we believe that if we would, we’d benefit greatly. In the beauty industry, if you aren’t changing with the times, the times are going to change without you, and you’ll become outdated. Eventually, you may lose clientele if they become bored with you or mature in their styles before you do.

I personally struggled from the opposite. As soon as I learned something new, I’d want to apply what I had learned to and for everyone. I once attended an intimate razor cutting class with Wayne Grund, the Founder of Surface Hair. I came back from his workshop and was way too excited about applying what I learned and I ended up giving this long-haired teenage girl a disastrous haircut. I used the razor on her fine hair and I took too much weight out, which left her with even less hair than she started with. If you use the razor in this inappropriate way, the hair becomes very tangled and delicate. Needless to say, I never worked with her again. She and her mom were so unhappy that I ended up losing both of them as clients. Lesson learned? When you learn new things, don’t be afraid to try them, but make sure you have a trial period or practice period prior to launching full force!

You may sometimes fear that you won’t be as good as the professionals you see at an event or in a video. You’re probably right! At least at first, very few new skills should come totally natural to you. It’s like being at beauty school before you even know what a zero-degree haircut is. Learning new things takes time, but you have to be willing to invest in yourself if you want the long term benefits that will propel your career success.
 

2. Development Through Networking

This is another huge way to get to that self-mastery. For the most part, everyone either totally loves or completely dislikes networking. I believe that networking is essentially getting out, meeting new people, and getting to know them. If you’re always hanging out with the same people, you have no idea what you could be learning and gaining from new relationships. There may come a time where you realize that you’re outgrowing those around you, and you might need to be around new people that offer more than what you already have. It sounds negative, but it just means that you could be moving at a different pace than those around you.

Who can you get out and start meeting? Where can you go to start meeting new people? There are very few times when I haven’t benefited from networking. I remember going to a local chamber of commerce event and it just so happened that a person I had networked with in the past introduced me to Spencer X Smith. He’s brilliant at marketing, social media and writing for well-respected business magazines. He’s an expert in areas that I am not. We started meeting once a month, and I would spend a lot of the time taking notes. We bounced ideas off of each other, but I tried to absorb as much of what he said as I could. It was a great opportunity for me to talk to someone who excels in different areas, and as a result, I’ve learned so much. He also provided me with resources that I never previously had access to and invited me to events that I’d never been to. He became an advocate on my behalf and talked about me to other professionals.

Because of all of this, I ended up having an opportunity to speak at UW-Madison. They have an event called MUBS, which stands for Midwest Undergraduate Business Summit. The talk I gave was called “What Every Young Entrepreneur Needs to Know to Be Successful.” There were 60 amazing, young adults in attendance and they were eager to learn. It was awesome. And none of this would’ve happened had I not been willing to network, willing to ask questions, and willing to apply what I’ve learned. At the end of the day, networking always leads to growth in your career.

3. Spend Time with A-Players

Have you heard the “Rule of Five”? You become most like the five people you spend the most time with. So it makes sense that if you want to get better, you must hang out with those who are better. When you start hanging around people that perform at a higher level than you do, what happens? You’re able to see how they interact with their clients, how they communicate, and witness some of their non-verbal communication skills as well. These are all important things to pay attention to if you want to advance yourself.

How do these people sell products or services? How do they retain their clients, or gain new referrals? How are they following up with their clients after they experienced working with you? If you can observe and identify the strengths of those A-players, and ask some questions, then you should be able to start taking action. Mimic their positive characteristics and you should slowly but surely reach the same level of performance.

If you try doing any or all of these steps, I guarantee that you’ll start seeing increased success very soon. Spend time networking, learning from the right people, and continue to be educated throughout your life and career, and you’ll be so much closer to your goals that as of today, may seem out of reach. 

The Physical

Why is it important for us to become masters of ourselves physically in order to reach success? I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Tony Robbins? He has this acronym called CANI. It stands for constant and never-ending improvement. I love that! My personal mission statement is, “empowering you for consistent growth and development.” I definitely see a similarity between the two statements.

So, when we talk about the importance of reaching success in self-mastery and the physical part of that, we’re talking about your health, and your wellness. So here are some questions you need to ask yourself:

• Do you take care of yourself and your health?
• Are you responsible with the amount of sleep that you have every night?
• Are you shorting yourself on the sleep that you should be having?
• How about nutrition?
• How about fitness?
• Do you have the energy levels to produce optimum productivity?
• What are you doing physically to relieve the stress in your life?
• What are you doing that’s helpful not harmful?

I want to touch on the physical part of self-mastery because I believe as entrepreneurs and business owners, no matter what you’re doing, if you want to be successful in life I believe you have to work on self-mastery first. We’re going to talk about all the different elements: physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, environmental, but I do want to start with the physical. This really hits home for me.

My Experiences

Here’s a bit of my background story. I was a food addict at the age of five years old. I did not realize it at the time; I didn’t even know what was happening. All I knew is Grandma and Grandpa started watching me a lot more because my siblings are seven and nine years older than I am. By the time I hit kindergarten my siblings were playing sports and my parents were attending so many different events with my brother and sister, that they needed help with their kindergarten child who came much later in life. So my grandparents would watch me a lot, and they showered me with gifts. Many of those gifts were food. They’d take me grocery shopping and allow me to get whatever I wanted. By the age of five I could sit down and have what would seem normal to an adult size dinner, drink a ton of milk, followed with ice cream for dessert. About an hour after dinner, my grandma and I would watch the Golden Girls or Matlock...or Perry Mason (who remembers these?). All the while we’d be sharing a bag of popped popcorn and we would dip the popcorn in butter while we would watch TV together.

I’ll say this: thank God I was in sports. I grew up playing basketball, softball, volleyball, and golf. Had it not been for my activity level, I would’ve definitely been even worse off. So there’s this crazy shift between my four-year-old photos and my five and six-year-old photos. The change was drastic. I would play sports and I remember becoming so red and overheated that my parents were a little concerned about my oxygen because it was clear that I was struggling. But I still had these natural athletic talents. Again, thank the Lord. But still, my physical health at that time was going downhill.

At that point I had built a very unhealthy relationship with food. I became ravenous so often and was very ashamed of it. Here’s another example of that. When I was in high school, my mom would make a pan of brownies. I would have some with everyone else when it was served after dinner. And then by the next day maybe a half a pan was left. I’d get so crazy in my mind thinking about how I didn’t want them to be gone by the next time I’d want some, so I would wait until no one was around and eat the rest of the pan. I wasn’t ashamed of what I was doing, though I didn’t want people to know. It was more that I was secretly ashamed of myself.

By the time I hit my twenties, I tipped the scale at 276 pounds. I felt awful about myself and I felt awful about my life. And I had this moment - this significant moment - where I hit rock bottom. Anybody who struggled with an addiction of any kind knows that this moment happens. But I believe it was meant to be. I believe God saved me from myself. I don’t know why this was the moment, but I finally realized that this wasn’t who I was supposed to be.
 

Sugar Shock

I remember seeing a nutritionist speak about sugar, and how it can be as addictive as cocaine. It affects the brain, it affects your insulin levels, and your pancreas has to pump out insulin so you don’t go into an actual coma. So we joke about these food comas but it’s actually not a joke. However, your body is so amazing that it protects you from what would really happen if you didn’t have all of the inner processes working on your behalf.

At this point in the nutritionist’s talk, I realized this is what had such a hold on me. I am addicted to sugar. I am a food addict.

Side note! If you haven't heard of or seen the documentary called Fed Up, it’s a more recent documentary with no agenda other than to expose the way food is processed and manufactured. It’s not one of those documentaries that says, “Don’t eat this because we want you to eat this instead.”  It’s intended to ask, “Do you realize this is what’s going on with the food in our country?” I would highly recommend you watch the documentary if this is an issue for you or something you’re interested in.
 

Manipulation

At first, I tried to manipulate my way around having to really change. I’d try anything out there to lose weight fast. My goal was to get skinny so I could let loose and eat what I really wanted again. It was no surprise that as a result, I became a yo-yo dieter. Maybe you’ve heard of HCG; that was one of the diets I attempted, and it was a terrible idea. You take these little drops that are supposedly synthetic HCG hormones that help satisfy the body so you only take in 500 calories a day. I lost 25 pounds. But I’m sure you’re wondering what happened when I finally ate like a “normal” person again? I gained all the weight back. It was so disheartening. I didn’t want this to be the one thing that I would eternally struggle with! I was desperate for change. Real change. I was ready.
 

Support

A friend and I joined a support group. This group was kind of like AA, but specifically for people with food problems (though it was not Overeaters Anonymous). We showed up, we held each other accountable, we exposed our emotions, we were very vulnerable and transparent, and we would speak with one another about the struggles that we were facing. At the same time, we were exercising. As you might imagine, because I played sports and was an athlete growing up, the physical fitness part of this “journey” was never much of an issue. What is and always will be an issue, is food.

By having the support of this group, it was the first time in my life that I stood in front of people and these words came out of my mouth: “I am a food addict.” There was such a release from admitting this. It was still hard to say out loud, but it was true and necessary for healing.
 

Food Addiction

Most nutritionists would tell you that moderation is okay. You can have a little bit of what you want, and that’s okay because it’s just unrealistic not too. But I have never met a nutritionist that was a former food addict.

Try thinking about it this way: if you have a friend that’s an alcoholic, you probably wouldn’t say, “Hey let’s go to the bar” or “C’mon dude, can’t you have just one beer and be okay?”

I’m not saying that food addiction is exactly like alcoholism for everyone, but for me, when it comes to food, I cannot have just one. If I were an alcoholic, I wouldn’t be able to have a shot of alcohol and expect not to plummet deep into a pit.

Moderation doesn’t work for everyone. I didn’t totally accept this until I read these two books: The Secrets from a Former Fat Girl and Better than Before. These were books about women just like me, who couldn’t just have a sliver of cheesecake and then be okay. I can tell you honestly, if I had a sliver of cheesecake all I would be able to think about is that frickin’ cheesecake. It would consume my mind!
 

Be Honest with Yourself

Consider honestly: Can you handle moderation with boundaries, or would you be better off abstaining completely from certain things?

Once I acknowledged my struggle and sought support and accountability for those challenges, I finally found freedom and personal acceptance. I asked myself, would I rather be healthy or would I rather be constantly struggling? Would I miss out on trying that amazing pizza that they’re serving right now? Maybe. But what feels better, eating that pizza right now or feeling awesome tomorrow? Because I know, if I eat a slice of that pizza right now, tomorrow I’ll feel awful. My skin will break out, I’ll feel like I have a food hangover, and I’ll totally regret it. I don’t want my tomorrow to be terrible because of one food decision today.

So that’s a deep look into what I’ve gone through. Most of you out there don’t have the same challenges as I do, and that’s awesome. I wouldn’t wish this struggle on anyone.
 

Accept Your Challenges and Rise Above Them

Maybe for you it’s getting the right amount of sleep each night or sleeping more consistently. If you want to be a proactive entrepreneur who’s optimizing their productivity, then consider setting boundaries for yourself. Decide you’ll get to bed by 10 pm and get up by 6 or 7 am. Create consistency in your life that will benefit you. Every day, create as many positive habits as you can, that will lead to enhanced success. You want your personal life to run as efficiently as your business runs. You’re mirroring the success of your business and how you run your business.

Maybe you don’t handle stress well or you’re drinking every night after work. Possibly you’ve had a smoking habit forever and that’s your release. What if you replaced that with yoga, meditation, or cycling? Any of these would produce endorphins, which will make you feel great rather than regretful. And you’re getting that same neurological payoff. Fitness really is a great method to self-mastery. Maybe you’d even benefit from taking a nap once in a while.

Find out what works for you, ask yourself, “What can I do that’s helpful instead of harmful?”

Typically what you don’t want to do is what your body actually needs. If you take care of yourself physically and master this area of your life, you will be more proficient and efficient in your professional life. What action will you take today?

Did you know that it will take 21 times of hearing something for an adult to remember a new piece of information? At least 21 times! This is why it’s good to sound like a broken record, and it’s also why you want to approach advertising as a marathon. You want to commit for the long haul. Whatever your strategy is, you must be willing to commit – and yes, this is scary and expensive – to at least one year.

Here’s an example of an advertising failure. My first year in business I was advertising that we are experts in bridal hair, which we are. If you look us up (Be Inspired Salon in Madison, WI) we are highly rate on TheKnot.com as well as WeddingWire.com. We are the very best for bridal hair and makeup in Madison, WI. I’m very proud of that, but it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with my bridal coordinator - the manager who communicates with our brides. She is phenomenal. And the stylists as well—their work is unbelievable. I even have a stylist who is so talented that she creates unique hairpieces for the brides.

But anyways, this was my advertising mistake: I put our message about bridal hair in a magazine that is for a demographic of women over the age of 45. It’s a local magazine for affluent women over the age of 45. That was definitely not my brightest idea. And eventually I realized I was doing something wrong. Usually if advertising is not working, it’s because it’s the not the right combination of message, place and timing.

Choosing the Right Message and Platform

Think about this: What do you want to be known for?

I’m going to give you one example. Let’s pretend that your salon wants to be known for red hair coloring. This is not as specific as the bridal example, with the wrong strategy of advertising in a magazine for older women. Red hair color could definitely be applicable to a wider demographic; there are more people you can reach. There are probably a lot of kids in high school that want red hair, all the way up to people like Sharon Osbourne, who is in her sixties and still rocking that plum red hair. So we’re going to say that you want to be known for specializing in red hair color.

Here’s the advertising tip I hope you’ll remember. You’re going to approach this like a marathon. Commit to a platform, whether that be social media like Facebook or Pinterest ads, radio, online ads or magazines. And your message will be this: “We are the very best in red hair color.”

 Now you need to focus all of your efforts in exploiting this.

You can create a Facebook photo album, featuring all of the sizzling reds. You could even have a different album for various shades of red - burgundy, auburn, strawberry blonde, animated red, bright red, etc. You can then pin all of these red hair examples on Pinterest or post them on Instagram.

And then a promotional message you can use is this: “Have you always wanted to try red, but you’re scared it won’t work for your skin tone?” or “Have you always wanted to try red, but don’t know if it’ll work for you? Let our experts offer a complementary color analysis to unlock your red hair color potential.”

And then show different shades of red hair color that are applicable to different types of clients. Anyone can be a redhead, but the shade of red is going to change for them based on their skin tone. If you look down at your skin tone, it’s not completely unlike everyone else’s. You can find a makeup that works for you, then you can find a shade of red that will work for you. You can use this as a way to encourage people to try new things!

Stick with Your Message

Especially because this is a niche service, it’s even more important that you consider it a marathon. Stick with your message over and over again, for at least a year, and make sure you don’t give up on it.

You have to choose one service that you want to be known for. You’re going to hone in on a specific message that you’re giving them. You’re going to place it in the right advertising platforms.

And based on the platforms you’re using and the area you’re in, it might even take a little more than a year. But your brand will eventually be strongly associated with this service that you choose. You just have to give it time.

I’ll leave you with this: what is that you want to be known for? Is it men’s hairstyling, bridal hairstyling, makeup, treatments for thinning or curly hair, balayage hair coloring? Once you choose your niche, you want to stick with that message and advertise it consistently for the long haul.

And make sure everyone is on board. Your team and your clients should be on board and aware that this is what you’re known for. That way, even if they don’t have red hair, but they know someone who starts talking about wanting red hair, they’ll immediately think of your salon and recommend you.

The power of consistency is important. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Inspiring Examples

I want you to think about some professionals that inspire you. Think about huge sensations like Adele. Or fitness gurus and celebrity trainers like Jillian Michaels. There are athletes like JJ Watt, or TV personalities like Al Roker. All of these may be people you look up to, whose successes you admire or aspire to.

You’d agree that they all had support as they rose to the top, right? They all needed some type of assistance, whether with business, photography, social media, public relations, or something else altogether. Along the way, I believe that they all had mentors that they reached out to for advice as they established their careers.

Who’s your mentor?

Who has experience at the level of success that you desire? Finding the right accountability partner is key to having substantial success in your field.

So where do we begin? Well, first of all, think about the categories of your life. There are seven major categories: career, finance, spiritual, physical, intellectual, family, and social. I would encourage you to choose accountability partners in any or all of these areas where you want to make a commitment of growth and development. To stay focused, I’ll stick with choosing an accountability partner for your career.

As mentioned before, this is someone (or a few people) who have reached a level of success that you desire. We’re going to start with a brainstorm list. Take out a timer and set it for fifteen minutes. Remove any distractions. Set your cell phone in another room, make sure there’s no social media distraction.

If you get easily distracted like I do, you may want to go to a coffee shop, or somewhere else where you may be able to focus more easily. And then simply write down a list of all of the successful individuals or companies that come to mind, without stopping and without restrictions.

Then go through each person and company and write down who they know or who works for them that could be the right person for you.

Here’s an example: I knew that my friend, Jacob, was a successful real estate agent, so I put his name on my list. I could reach out to him directly, but I could also reach out to his boss, because I’ve heard Jacob mention that his boss offers amazing education, and has been a tremendous resource for him. So, in other words, I want you to think outside the box and avoid any temptation to think, “Oh, they’d never have time to talk to me,” or “They’re too busy,” or “I couldn’t reach out to them, I don’t know them.”

You don’t necessarily have to know the person. They don’t necessarily need to be in your field or specialize in the things you’re specialized in. And this is also just a starting point! You just need to make a huge list without overthinking it.

Mentors to Avoid

There’s only one rule to your brainstorming session. You cannot list any friends, family members or other relatives.

Why?

Because you don’t want to choose someone you can manipulate. If I choose my husband as an accountability partner, I’d rip his frickin’ head off if he ever tried to tell me that what I was doing wasn’t right. And maybe that’s saying too much about our relationship…and we’re going to work on that!  But you definitely don’t want to choose someone you can manipulate, or someone who can manipulate you!

Number two, you don’t want to select someone who’s going to let you off the hook! People who are very close to you are going to empathize at a higher level. It’s good to have a mentor who can say, “I can empathize with you, however, these are still the expectations that you and I agreed you were going to hit!”

Then you also have to consider that you don’t want to choose anyone you’re going to hold a grudge against if they hold you accountable. You don’t want to have anyone to blame but yourself if you don’t reach your goals. I think it’s so important to choose someone you aren’t close with. There’s a different mindset to valuing one another when you do that.

You Get What You Pay For

Have you ever thought about hiring a coach, but hesitate out of fear?

I’m going to share my success story with you. In 2010 I founded my upscale salon boutique. It was my first business with actual, W-4 employees. Prior to this, it was just me operating as an independent contractor. Three years after opening the salon, I had great success. We had approximately twelve employees. But I hit a plateau. I got as far as I could based on what I knew I needed to do. But I wanted more, I was seeking more. I knew it was time to find help, and I had heard this business coach stand up and speak at a networking event.

And it just hit me: this my guy, I have to talk to him. So I met with him, and I have to tell you, it was not cheap. I was very scared of the cost. For weekly sessions, it was $2,000 per month. That’s $500 per hour! I knew that it was a fear of mine to spend that kind of money. At the time, I wasn’t even spending that much money on advertising. But I asked myself this question, and I want you to ask yourself this question also: What would it cost if you didn’t hire a coach?

That’s what I thought to myself, “What would it cost if I didn’t hire a coach?” When I was weighing the costs, the fear of receding, or falling behind, or going backwards; that fear outweighed the fear of the money part. So, when I thought about that, it was very clear. I took the risk and I spent the money. I hired a business coach. So after one full year of working with my coach, what happened? Our salon expanded! We added an additional 50 percent on to our working space. And are you ready for this? We had 838 percent increase in profits during the first quarter alone, compared to the year before. It was huge! We also hired our first full-time manager, and it gave me the freedom to work on the business instead of in the business. There is no way that I could be here with you today, investing the time and educating others had I not had support inside of the salon. If it was me there running everything, this would not happen.

So, as a result of hiring the coach, our team has now doubled, we have four managers, all full-time, we have our first two apprentices, which are young stylists-to-be who learn from you and your team. From our education and direction they will be able to go forth and take their state license exam and become official practitioners.

Looking at my story, wouldn’t you agree that it was worth every penny? I certainly do.

Choosing Your Mentor and Reaching Out

Now that you’ve narrowed down your list and you’ve looked at who’s on your list, we get to the really hard part: having the guts to reach out to them. So, let’s get this fear out of the way right now. You all know that the worst thing that could happen is that they say, “No, I just can’t do that, that’s not going to work for me.”

And that’s okay. Everything happens for a reason. Either they aren’t the right accountability partner for you, or right now isn’t the right time for the two of you. But that’s exactly why you made a huge list of options.

And if you’re wondering how you’d reach out to someone on your list, I would recommend using a simple message. I mean a short, simple message that won’t overwhelm someone. I suspect that no one, not even you, would want to open up a message that’s four paragraphs long. It’s too daunting. You don’t have to tell them everything that you’re looking for right now. So here’s an example:

“Hi, Jacob. I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to see if you had time this week for coffee or a drink after work. I have an idea to run past you and would appreciate your input. Thanks!”

And then sign off. I’m assuming if you’re picking somebody that is really to the level of the success you’re going for, this is probably going to be an email, or a voicemail. Because you don’t know them very well yet, and if they’re really high up, it’s probably going to be even harder to find out that information or to get a hold of them. So I would go through their website to email them, usually using the “contact us” page. And again, this is why we create a huge list of options—sometimes you may be unable to contact someone.

Then when you get face to face you can really say, “You’re someone that I would love to learn from, and I would love to form an accountability partnership. Here’s where I am, and here’s where I want to be. How does that feel for you? Would that be in line for something you could work with me on?”

And when you’re meeting face to face, I’d hope that these will be transparent people. I don’t believe that very successful individuals are usually timid. Typically they’re more assertive and willing to tell you “no” if it’s not right for you or for them. So if they do say, “I won’t be the right fit for you,” I hope they’ll also say, “Here’s someone else I’d talk to if I was you.”

They’re probably going to volunteer that information if they know they’re not right for you. But if they don’t tell you, you can also ask, “Who would you recommend that could be a good fit for me, based on what you know now?”

We tend to want to help one another, and they’re going to be flattered that you respected them enough to consider them. I believe they’ll want to help you.  Now we come to the point where you meet with one or three or five or fifteen prospects, until you’ve chosen a great partner who is ready to work with you.

Establishing Boundaries

The final step is to come up with clearly defined boundaries. Here is my personal list of questions for you to consider:

• First off, how often will you meet?
• Will you meet in person, speak on the phone, or communicate online?
• In between meetings, will your mentor still be accessible?
• If so, what is the preferred method of contact? Is that text at this point? Email? Social media messaging?
• Will there be homework to complete before each meeting? In other words, establish some concrete goals, rules and steps to success.
• And there probably should be some expectations between meetings! This is the main point of having an accountability partner!
• If one person cannot meet when you’re intending to, what are the expectations on notifying one another? Is that 24 hours? Within the week? Of course, there is always the chance of unexpected disruptions, but make all efforts to attend your meetings, and find an accountability partner who will do the same for you.

Simply put, clearly define your boundaries before ever beginning.

This is also why it’s so important to choose someone who isn’t close to you. Once they’ve been established, the boundaries will never become fuzzy. If you pay for a coach, the boundaries issue becomes a nonissue, because you are following their guidelines, and playing by their rules. That’s the opportunity that having a coach allows for.

Think about this. If you take these steps and stick with an accountability partner, you will undoubtedly have tremendous success.

And you may be thinking, “How can I be sure?”

Well, think about it. Compare this to professional athletes. None of them are without a coach, let alone a team of coaches. Why shouldn’t you find success in a similar way?

If you are ready to hire a coach, Beyond the Technique can help! Check out our services page to learn more. 

Everybody wants more, and the beauty industry is no different! Consumers are always looking for an added value, greater convenience, and extra perks. As a salon owner, you might be thinking, “This sounds expensive and time-intensive.” Well, just wait, because we have good news. Adding value allows you to raise your prices which increases your revenue and profit margin! Trust us, you can have your cake and eat it too.

We know that the best way to justify increasing price is when a stylist advances to the next level. If you’re a Level 1 Stylist and you advance to Level 2, of course, there will be a price increase. So, how do we increase prices outside of this standard? The answer is simple: add value to your guests’ experience. We offer you four tried-and-true methods to use at your salon.
 

1. Upgrade Your Amenities   

Upgrading your amenities does not need to cost a fortune, and you can simply start with just one or two methods. At Be Inspired Salon, we offer our clients a small beverage menu. (For our new readers, Beyond the Technique founder, Kati Whitledge, owns Be Inspired Salon in Madison, WI!) When guests check-in, we show them where to have a seat and offer a beverage menu with several options including coffee, tea, water, wine, beer, and bourbon.

Although many salons are starting to offer this amenity, focus on the upgrade.  For instance, we don’t just offer any ordinary coffee that we picked up from the grocery store, we offer a locally brewed French roast. Next step: tea—we offer local Cha Cha Tea in a variety of flavors. The water we serve has gone through the reverse osmosis process. Our wine, beer, and bourbon are all sourced from phenomenal local businesses as well! So, you get the idea here, right? Upgrade your amenities.

If you are new to serving alcoholic beverages in your salon, you do need to set some ground rules for your staff and clients. These beverages are completely complimentary; you cannot charge for them. Also, you cannot have anyone under 18 serving alcohol. To be on the safe side, we recommend measuring a 4-ounce pour of wine and a single shot of bourbon, so one alcoholic beverage is their max. After a client is finished with their drink, we simply offer our other options such as water, coffee, and tea.

2. Convenient Scheduling & Communication

Another way to add value is by making it easier for clients to schedule and communicate with your team. Many of you already have online scheduling, but for the few of you who don’t—you need to get on board! Like, right now! As a salon owner, you want to make it as easy as possible for clients to book and reschedule. Allowing clients to conveniently reschedule is a huge bonus for today’s busy professionals.

Not only should online booking be convenient, but clients should also be able to easily communicate with your stylists through email. Listen up salon owners, you must be willing to give your stylists work emails! If you work at any business or corporation, you will be given a work email, and the beauty industry should be no different. Clients will definitely appreciate the opportunity to directly ask their stylists for clarification on using a product, request styling tips, and even reschedule appointments. If you want to charge what you are worth, you have to play in the big leagues and hold your stylists to a professional level.

Some salon owners may be resistant to allowing their stylists to communicate with guests out of fear that they will leave and take those emails/clients with them. Please put this anxiety out of your mind. If your salon environment is phenomenal, everyone is thriving, and there is great comradery, why would a stylist want to leave? You cannot allow these fears to prohibit you from providing excellent customer service!
 

3. Offer Complimentary Perks

Have we mentioned that everyone wants more? One way to offer complimentary perks is by giving away product samples. Reach out to your distributors and ask if they have foil packets of shampoo, conditioner, or other sample products to give away to your guests. A lot of times it’s simple: ask and you shall receive! Another way that we give samples is ordering in bulk from Qosmedix.com. We will place product samples in small see-through containers labeled with permanent marker. This gives you the opportunity to give inexpensive samples with the goal that clients will return and buy the full-size product!

Another complimentary perk is offering services that are low in cost and time. For instance, we offer complimentary bang trims and “tweeners.” We know that clients should not be trimming their own bangs, so we offer this as a complimentary service in-between haircut appointments! This service is on-the-house as long as the client shows up. If they are a no-show or abuse the cancellation policy, we will charge $15 for the service. We also offer “tweeners” which are in-between clean-ups for men. At this short appointment, we simply clean-up the areas around their ears and nape. While our men’s haircuts cost significantly more than the quickie, stop-in appointments at other businesses (you know who we are talking about!), our clients receive this great added value of always looking their best! 

What other complementary services could you offer? How about free haircuts for children under 3 or a complimentary eyebrow wax with a haircut and color?
 

4. Give Extra Pampering

This might be the simplest technique to add value. At Be Inspired Salon, we offer a hand massage every time a client receives a shampoo. The guest lays back, we put a towel underneath their neck and prop their feet on a stool, so they are completely laid back and relaxed. After we condition their hair, we ask them to close their eyes while we spray a little lavender aromatherapy into the air that smells amazing. After their eyes are closed, we cover them with a small towel and offer a hand massage with a rich massage lotion. Trust us, clients LOVE this experience, and they often tell us that it is their favorite part of their visit! This simple pampering only adds about 3-5 minutes and it adds a tremendous amount of relief—how simple?!

Which one of these four methods is speaking to you and your salon? Remember, the goal is to enhance the overall guest experience—that is what adding value is all about. Adding value allows you to raise prices and increase revenues and profit margins—now, go get started and let us know your results!

To get more industry advice, make sure to follow Beyond the Technique and listen to our weekly podcast! 

Do you have any bad habits you’d like to really kick? I know I do. I’d like to give up swearing. I’m very disciplined when I’m in certain environments, like babysitting my niece and nephew, doing recordings for my podcast, and of course at church. However, if you place me in an environment like a public presentation or group fitness class, or if I’m among friends or family, I can be a little out of control with my language.

Do you have any negative relationships that are draining you and bringing you down? Or people you spend time with who suck the life out of you?

How can we remove the bad?

My answer is displacement. Displacement by definition is “the moving of something from its place or position.” It’s a shift. Plain and simple. That might be exactly what you need.

I heard an awesome analogy about displacement when I was at Dave Ramsey’s Smart Conference last year. First, visualize a dirty glass right after you drank a really thick smoothie. Now, take that smoothie glass and put it underneath the faucet in your sink and turn the water on. Let the water run non-stop and imagine what happens there. The result is that eventually all of the smoothie residue will be removed and the glass will become clear and clean.

That’s displacement: pouring in the good to remove the bad. I love the psychology that Wikipedia shares about displacement. It says that it’s an “unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for goals felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.”

Do you have habits or people in your life that are either dangerous or unacceptable? If you’re thinking, “Okay, that’s a little harsh,” take a moment to think about it. I believe the long-term effects of those bad habits or people could actually be a lot harsher. Those habits and relationships are not serving your life.

So where do you go from here? First, identify what it is that you want or need to remove from your life. Once you’ve done that, start pouring in the good. In other words, replace the unwanted with the wanted.

Realistic Examples to Build From

Maybe you want to give up smoking cigarettes or snacking on candy while you’re at work. You would replace either of these with another more positive habit. Instead of trying to just give it up completely, you would replace the action with a new action that would be positive or beneficial for you.

If you wanted to give up smoking cigarettes, you could try replacing them with sucking on straws. I know this might sound kind of out there, but it may actually work for you! You replace that action, the feeling of holding a cigarette and going to smoke, with something that won’t harm you. You could go to any fast food restaurant or a Starbucks and grab some straws, or you could buy a box of straws from the grocery store and cut them down into smaller sizes. Now that new action would start to replace smoking and it would no longer be harmful to you.

The other negative habit I wanted to mention probably affects a huge percentage of us. Many people get into the habit of constantly snacking on candy at work. But instead of having a candy jar out you could replace it with something like a dish of almonds, or you could bring a little bag of carrots to work with you.  This way you could continue to snack, but it would be positive nutritionally for you instead of being sugary and unhealthy.  

Another scenario would be with negative relationships, which is probably the tougher part. Let’s say you have a friend or a relative that’s always very negative. I completely understand how challenging this can be. They bring out the worst in you. So instead of telling them to “hit the road” and ruining a relationship, you might not be willing to completely lose, just become too busy to connect with them. In this way, you’re essentially going to “replace them” with new people who are improving your life. Is there someone you know who makes you feel better about yourself and better about life? Call that person. Text them and start investing your time and effort into that relationship instead of a negative one. That way you’re pouring in the good to remove the bad.

How will you implement displacement into your life? How will you pour into the good to remove the bad? That’s up to you.

It has been many years in the making for me to really feel like I can identify my life’s purpose. I feel like many of us find ourselves in a hamster wheel, just doing the same things every day, on and on and on. And then there’s this lack of fulfillment inside of us.

Recently, I came across some advanced education, and I heard some very profound questions that really impressed me. I sat down and wrote out the answers to these questions, and it brought such clarity to me. So I want to offer them to you today. I hope that they’ll help you find clarity as well.

What brings you energy?

What is it that energizes you?

Think about that. You do a lot of things every day and have a lot of commitments. And some of those things will drain you! And you might start to think, “Well I slept great last night, but after doing this for twenty minutes, I feel like I’ve been here for five hours!”

And part of this is realizing what you need to give up. But, we’re going to focus on identifying your purpose; what gives you energy?

For me, it’s people! Being a part of an event with people and leading people. Music, singing, and dancing also brings me energy. Fitness gives me a ton of energy. Education—when I’m learning or teaching—also brings me energy. When I’m organizing or planning new projects, I find I have a ton of energy.

So, take some time to think about it, and discover what that is for you.

What is important to you?

Relationships are huge for me. Especially my personal relationships with Jesus Christ, family, employees, colleagues, friends, my husband, and my church. Health and fitness are also important to me; building muscle strength, clean eating, flexibility, dancing. I also believe that having a flexible lifestyle is important. It gives me the opportunity to meet new people, attend educational events, and travel.

What else is important to you?

What tasks, activities and environments are you 100% present for?

Once you take a few minutes to brainstorm some of those, I believe that you, like me, will find some common ground. You’re going to start noticing that on each of these lists, there are a lot of similarities.

I’m also going to throw one more question in as a bonus.

What do people reach out to you for?

For me, it’s a lot of business advice, or people asking, “How would you handle this situation?”

What is that for you? Maybe you haven’t been paying attention to that, but when people start reaching out to you, consider jotting it down. And over the course of the next month or two you’re going to start to see some similarities.

Here’s one last neat thing to think about: I believe that I’m made up by these specific talents and gifts, and I ask myself: How can I take who I am and serve the world?

Is it time for you to ask yourself the same thing? Is it time you identify your purpose?

I’m going to start with the passion piece of this equation. I think that we can relate a lot with this because – think about it – have you ever been to a hair show? I mean, put your hands up—yes, I’ve been to a hair show.

And we’re watching these professionals on stage and what happens? We end up buying what they’re selling, we’re signing up for their classes, we’re following them on every social media platform. We are so fired up about them. Why? What’s their secret?

I believe it’s because they’re fired up. That’s the passion. Passion is being excited about what you have to sell and what you have to offer. Excited about your services, trends…the more excited you are, the more passion you display, the more excited your clients will be. And their level of excitement will rise to meet yours. So friends, we’ve got to be passionate. You’ve got to believe in what you have to offer.  

So, are you sold, really? If you’re not sold on your products or services, your clients won’t be either. You are the ones that have the power to bring passion to the chair each day.  Let me say that again: You have the power to be passionate each day. It’s a choice you make, regardless of what’s happening behind the scenes.  If you make this experience about them, which is the people part of sales, then you will bring the show alive and direct with the passion part of the sales. Then you will be wildly successful.  

Practice makes permanent. You’re not going to become this wildly, over-the-top, passionate person overnight.  You’re not going to just potentially have it already in you to put on a show and entertain the masses.  But passion can come in other ways.  You don’t have to just show the *crazy excitement*.  You can look people in their eyes and say, “This product was a game changer.”

Here’s an example: “Donna, if I’ve heard you correctly, you are struggling with dry hair. And I get it, it’s that time of year. The winter…especially here. We are in Wisconsin. The winters are brutal. It’s dry, it’s cold, it’s awful. I mean, why do we live here? Another topic for another day."

"But, okay, so Donna, you know what? I’m going to have you leave with this conditioning mask today, and it’s going to be a game changer for you. I cannot tell you the amount of success I’ve personally had, but other clients who have said the same things, have had success with this as well.  But here’s what I’m going to need you to do. I’m going to need you to commit to using this at least twice a week. Put this on twice a week. So think of a time, Donna, where you have about ten minutes to yourself. Is that in the morning? Maybe before bed? You can put this on, put on a cap, and leave it sit for ten minutes – just hang out, read a little, watch TV. Minimum of ten minutes, maximum of sixty—I mean, that’s cool too. And then you’re going to go and you’re going to rinse that out. You’re not going to wash, you’re not going to shampoo. You’re just going to rinse that out. And then here’s the next thing I need you to do Donna. I need you to blow dry your hair.”

“Why? Why not air dry? I thought that was healthier?”

“No, no, no. The technology of our blow dryers today…I mean this is not the same world we lived in when we were doing our hair back years and years ago. The blow dryers are not going to damage your hair. What will be stripping the hair though is if you let water just sit and chill. Well, we can talk about the pH scale.”

“Well, what do you mean, Kati?”

“Well think about the pH scale. Your hair, skin and nails are 4.5 to 5.5 on the pH scale. Well, where’s water? It’s at 7, it’s neutral. So even water is damaging to the hair. So we’ve got to get that water out. So, after the conditioner is rinsed, you’re going to use – I know you already have this at home – this moisturizing oil. I’m going to have you put this in, right after you get out of the shower. You towel dry, you put this oil in, and I want you to put this in. So if that makes it easier for you to do this in the morning, that’s cool, but this is going to be the game plan. And I promise you, you are going to see results.”

Now, I’m not acting or saying those recommendations to Donna in a wild, crazy, on stage way. But I’m bringing passion behind what I’m saying. Some of you who are very supportive personalities, and maybe your face turns red a little when you have to speak in front of anybody in general. And I get it; I mean I can’t relate, but I have team members who would do anything to stay behind the scenes rather than be in front of people or be onstage.

So, for you, you’re going to have to kind of go into the mindset of "I’m going on stage right now." When you go behind the chair, you’ve got to be like Beyoncé. You’ve got to cultivate that Sasha Fierce. When Beyoncé steps on stage she becomes a completely different person. When you go behind the chair, I want you to cultivate your alter ego, and bring to the table almost like you’re acting a part. I mean for real, very introverted personalities—and these are often very logical, analytical people, so you’re great at your craft—produce phenomenal results, you produce precise results for your behind the chair work, whether it be coloring or cutting.

But, you sometimes struggle to bring the creative imagination side of the brain to the table, because it’s just not naturally there. And that’s fine! I mean, there’s a place for everybody. But when you go behind the chair, my recommendation is that you pretend that you’re playing a role, this is your role in this play, you’re acting a part. And your passion doesn’t have to be unrealistic for your personality type.

So maybe your passion is compassion. I will tell you that eye contact will be the biggest key. Put your hand on their shoulder and say, “Donna, this right here is the conditioner for you. I couldn’t back a product up better that will give you the result you’re looking for today.”

And remember, practice makes permanent. Practice makes permanent. When you’re implementing new behaviors, it’s not going to become a habit overnight. You must practice positive habits each day. An Aristotle quote, one of my favorite quotes is, “We all are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”

Eventually, you won’t be acting anymore. When you practice this repeatedly, it will become a habit. It will become who you are behind the chair, and you will become very successful. Your clients will be as passionate as you are. Their level of excitement will come and rise to meet yours. Passion will bring you the sales you desire.

But without the people part of this, it won’t matter how passionate you are. What do I mean? You’ve gotta love on your people. You aren’t selling products and services, you’re selling to people. We sometimes forget because we’re all saying, “Oh, here’s what this can do, and here’s what we do,” instead of saying, “Why do the people you work with care to hear about this?”

I mean, the saying is true: “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care”

So, in my opinion, for most professionals in the beauty industry, this is actually a strength of ours. Because I believe most of us got into this industry because we love people. We want to help people, we want to bring out the best in people. We want to help people look and feel good.  So we’re already a step above. I mean, we’re ready to go; we love people. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we do that we forget we need to give the proper attention to the person. Especially if you get to the point where you’re double, triple booked. Then it becomes managing your schedule and time and moving people around.

But take a moment to say, “How’s your day going?”  I mean, just asking people.

So how do we care for our clients so much that we can create a trusting rapport with them? Hopefully, by getting to know them. Are you genuinely engaged? Do you know how your clients like to be talked to?

There are clients—and you know what I mean, right?—they’ll come in and you’re going to be like, “Heyyy girl, have a seat. Got this new trend for you, I know you’re going to love it, it’s on point. Girl, check this out.”  

And then you’re going to have other clients where you’re like, “Fabulous to see you today. Take a seat right here.”

And you sit down face to face and you lean in and say, “Tell me, how is your family doing?”

And yes, these are completely different clients. But you’ve got to understand how you talk to your different clients in different ways. Do you understand your clients’ values? Some people are going to be into different things than others. Are you remembering these things?

I mean, every salon software out there that I’m aware of, will have a little notes section that will potentially pop up for you and remind you of things. (We’ll just stick with Donna.) “Donna was on vacation last month” or “Donna is heading to Florida on vacation.” So by the time she comes in next you can be like, “Donna! How was Florida? I missed you!”

Here’s a question: What is the number one thing people want to talk about?

Themselves!

So how do you become more engaged with your clients? How do you get to know them?

You ask them questions.

And there are some personal questions, and there are questions that lead to the end result of your appointment. So, a personal question—and this is going to help you professionally so just go with me, here—a personal question you can ask your clients is, “Hey, what does your everyday life look like?”

People are going to be very excited to answer that.

And they’ll say, “Oh, I get up, I go to my workout, and I get home, eat breakfast, get the kids off to school…”

And then you can say, “Oh, let’s back up! So I’m assuming you’re going to shower after your workout; tell me, what are the top products for your shower?” Now that’s a lead-in to your professional conversation. So it’s a personal question, you’re getting to know them. And now the next time they come in, you can be like, “Hey, how are your workouts going?”

But that was also a discovery question that also led to a useful question: What’s your daily regimen with your hair?

Another leading question like that is: Do you have the time that you’d like to have every day to style your hair or apply your makeup?

“You know, I wish I had more time, but honestly I have about twenty minutes that I can allow for both.”

“I hear that, Donna. Because now that I know you only have twenty minutes to work with, I have a couple of suggestions for you.”

Another question: If you had more time, what would you like to achieve?

“Well, if I had more time, I’d love to put in those curls where it looks like waves, not like beach waves, but kind of…”

And they show you a picture and the light bulb goes off—and you’re like aha! Those are flat iron waves.

And now this is in the back of your mind: Now I’m going to show you the flat iron you need to be using, and I’m going to show you the proper product to put on your hair before you put the heat on. It’s not only going to protect your hair from the heat, it’s going to infuse protein into your hair, and it’s going to hold the curl.

Boom! Opportunity.

Another question: If you had no fear or hesitation, what would you love to try?

Now, stick with me on this. Because you don’t ask this like, “Oh, we’re going to do the whole world today, we’re going to take you from a level four to a level ten today.”

No, but it’s kind of cool to see whether this person is a risk taker, or if they’re kind of in their comfort zone. Once you know that, for future visits, you can make a note that this client, Donna, likes to push the boundaries.

That is so fun. Because you know, you can do a little change to their look—add bangs—and it changes the whole thing. You can place foils in a certain way to completely change the look of their style. You add a few highlights on top, it’s going to instantly seem like there’s more lift, more volume at the top of the crown. So that’s so cool to find out.

Then there are products and services questions, for example: What are your products not doing for you that you wish they would?

Especially maybe with new guests. They come in and you ask, “What are your products not doing for you that you wish they would?”

And they say, “Well I really like how soft my hair is, but I’m struggling with volume. I feel like my hair is lifeless.”

You look and they have blonde, Norwegian, thin hair. And you think, “Well, you probably shouldn’t be using that product…”

But you don’t say that! Instead, you say, “Oh, well I have a really awesome idea I’m going to work with you on today, and you’re going to be blown away at how much volume you can have with your hair, and not compromise the softness, the moisture, the integrity of your hair.”

Another question: On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your current product over this product?

And if they say, “Well, maybe a 6…” this is your follow-up question: “What would need to happen to make it a 10?”

And she says, “Well, I love the softness, but to make it a 10 I need to have volume.”

So now you’re coming up with your game plan. You’re genuinely engaged. This is a give and take. Being great at sales, building trust so people will buy from you…it starts with the person. Getting to know them, and not just getting to know them to be their friend.

You know, when I’m hiring new stylists and I say, “Why would a client want to work with you?”

And they say, “Well I believe I can get along great with people, and I have a really great personality and I like to make people happy…”

I’m thinking in the back of my mind, “Yeah, you and every other stylist out there!”

Friends, this is why we’re going to talk about your unique selling proposition. What makes you truly unique?

Because unless you’re a complete A-hole, people are going to genuinely feel like most hair stylists are nice people. So that’s not doing it. With your client, it’s not “let’s be best friends time”. With your client, there is a way to maintain your professionalism and the fact that you are in a sales position, and still care deeply for people. Your goal is to be their professional.

And are you friendly? Do you care so much for them? Yes. But you’re their professional first.

That is if your goal is to make the earnings you’re worth. You know, I had talked before that the average stylist in America makes $30,000 a year. Across the nation, the average income for a hair professional…$30,000 a year.

Are you okay with that? I’m not! I don’t want that for the stylists that work for me. I don’t want this to be their job for a little while, that’s fun. I want hair professionals to feel that this is a long-term career, that they can retire from this career, and feel comfortable.

And so, I’m just not willing to settle for the average. And just remember, friends, the average is best of the worst or worst of the best. 

I want us to be the exception.

So sales is about the people plus the passion. Here’s the sales process: People have to know you. They’ve got to know that you exist. (Oh, I’ve heard of that salon, I’ve heard of that professional.)

And then, they have to like you. We’re going to get into this a little bit further because that’s all about authenticity. Then, they’ve got to trust you. I believe trust is built when you have the opportunity to sit down and get to know them, ask questions (the right questions) and come up with solutions.

Once, they trust you, then they’ll buy from you. You know, it’s hard to say, “Oh, I’m a sales position when I’m in the service industry.”

Friends, if you don’t make sales, you don’t make money. Please, consider charging what you’re worth. You will attract the clients that believe the same things you do. Their values will match your values. There’s plenty of people to go around. This is not a world of scarcity. This is a world of abundance. There’s plenty to go around.

Don’t fear the unnecessary. Instead, focus on your potential. And remember, practice makes permanent. This won’t come overnight, but today is the day that you can implement a new mindset that will result in new behaviors, that will result in new habits. And eventually, a year from now, you will a completely different professional than you are today.

I believe you deserve it.

As many of you know, I’m the owner of Be Inspired Salon in Madison, WI. As the owner, I’m always recruiting amazing talent which means conducting interviews, and there is one question that can be a definite deal-breaker for me. If you want to get hired at a fabulous salon, you have to be prepared for this one question: “What do you know about our salon?”

When I ask interviewees, “What do you know about Be Inspired Salon?,” I’m shocked when they respond: “I don’t know much yet.” This answer means that either this candidate is interviewing anywhere and everywhere or that they aren’t prepared—neither is a good sign! If you’re interviewing at salons, you need to know about them!

If you want to get hired at a fabulous salon, here’s what you need to look into. Check out their website and social media sites to look for answers to these questions: What do you like about the salon? What services do they provide? What services do they seem to specialize in? What sets them apart? Have they received any awards or special recognition? Do they have any unique programs? Do they provide education for their stylists? What products do they use? Finding answers to all these questions will help you learn if you even want to work at this salon. If you do, learning more about the salon and the people who work there will get you even more excited about your interview!

Here’s another important question to consider: do they value what you value? You want to work for a salon who shares the same beliefs as you, so get on the salon’s website and find their mission statement. By the way, if you’re a salon owner, you need to have your values listed on your website. This will help you attract the right clients and the right talent! After all, people do business with those they believe value what they value.

If you have an interview and are fired up about the salon, be ready from the very beginning and learn everything you possibly can about this salon! Think about how impressed the interviewer will be when they ask you this question and you respond: “I know that you carry XYZ products and you perform these types of services. I love that you offer a rewards program for your clients and seem to offer a ton of education for your stylists. Also, I read that you won an awesome award on WeddingWire.com. Lastly, I’ve read your mission statement, and I really value what you value!” If you say something like this, we are going to think: "WOW, she has really done her research!"

If you’re a hair stylist who is looking to step up and into a new environment, you must know about the salon you’re interviewing at and be prepared! If you want to exchange other interview questions, tips, and strategies with industry pros, check out our private Facebook group! At the end of the day, we all rise when we lift each other! Good luck on your next interview!

Does your salon encourage—actually encourage—stylists to say no to clients? If you’re lucky enough to be in a leadership position at your salon, you need to start encouraging your stylists to say no to performing services that just don’t feel right. I’m going to share with you when saying no is appropriate, a strategy for avoiding this situation, and how to say no confidently and kindly.

When To Say No

At my salon, Be Inspired Salon in Madison, WI, we teach our stylists that if a consultation takes more than 5-10 minutes, it is not the day for this service. At this point, the stylist should say no, and I’ll explain how to do this shortly. You’ve probably seen this situation happen when a client who has unrealistic expectations takes control of the consultation, and your compassionate stylist is too timid to say no and explain why this can’t happen today. Basically, the stylist is left feeling uneasy about the consultation, and there is no way that she is going to make the client happy. More often than not, the clients who have a shaky consultation will be the ones who call back to complain. Although receiving a handful of complaints is unavoidable, we could save ourselves a lot of heartache if we just say no from the beginning.

Try to Avoid It

Simply saying no is a great option when a consultation isn’t going smoothly, but there are other ways that you can avoid this situation altogether. For example, clients often bring in pictures of how they want their hair colored, and sometimes the stylist can’t do exactly what is pictured for various reasons. You know what I’m talking about, right? So, the stylist uses the client’s photo as inspiration and explains what she can actually perform during this appointment. While it’s great that the stylist is saying yes to what can happen while saying no to what can’t happen, the stylist often forgets to show the client a new photo. This is the fail. The only image in the client’s head is the photo that they brought in, so the stylist needs to show the client a new, inspiring, and beautiful picture of what will be performed today. If the client still isn’t understanding, even with the additional pictures, this is when you need to say no.

Another strategy to avoid saying no is by using the award-winning marketing tool: Meet Your Stylist. Meet Your Stylist is a customized tool that matches clients with hair stylists at your salon who are the best fit for them based on their personality, lifestyle, and relationship preferences. Above all, Meet Your Stylist gets the connection right the first time. When clients are uniquely matched with their stylist, the client has respect for you and your expertise because they have been prequalified to work with you. How great is that?

How to Say No

Now that we’ve tried several strategies to avoid saying no and decided when it’s appropriate to actually say no, how exactly does a stylist do this? Here’s your basic script, just add your own personality: “You know what, I just don’t think today is the right day. I really want us to firm up where we are headed with this look before we start. My fear is that I’m going to start working on your color, we put all this time and energy into it, and you might not be happy with the result. I don’t want that for either of us.” At this point, you can do what is right for you and your salon. You may want to refer the client to a different stylist, explain that you’ll be in contact via email with some new pictures, or even refer her to a different salon. It might seem scary at first, but you won’t regret saying no to a service that just doesn’t feel right.

If you’re a salon owner or manager, you need to train your stylists on when and how to say no. Then (and most importantly), you have to have their back when they come to you and explain why they didn’t perform a service on a particular client. The truth is, if you take care of your team first, they will take care of the clients. This is a win-win situation, so hopefully this has encouraged you to empower your stylists and build a fabulous team of professionals!

Do you have other tips about saying no, or want to share a troubling situation with other professionals? Share your thoughts on our private Facebook group; we all rise when we lift each other! To get more industry advice, make sure to follow Beyond the Technique and listen to the weekly podcast, including this topic: Episode 104.

Guess who’s back? Our top contributor and industry expert, Shana Dee! Shana has already shared countless industry tips with our followers ranging from consultation advice to Instagram tricks, and she is back again to discuss four ways to overcome hairstylist anxiety. Even better, this is a topic that one of our followers requested, and we’re excited to offer our help!

What is Hairstylist Anxiety?

To start, Shana Dee wants to make sure we are all on the same page about what hairstylist anxiety actually is, so we can work together to overcome it. Let’s start with a stressful situation that we can all relate to: the moment you realize that your client doesn’t like her hair, and you’re thinking “Oh man…this isn’t good.” Sometimes, your client doesn’t even have to say anything, but you can feel it, and you start to feel deflated. Can you relate to that? How about the situation when you have a new client who is booked for a fifteen minute color retouch, but needs a full color correction? You’re magically supposed to fit an hour service into fifteen minutes while winning this client over. There’s no way that this can turn out well, so here comes the anxiety (and maybe even some tears)!

Shana Dee wants to reassure our readers that she experiences these problems too—we promise that you are not alone! Even as a seventeen-year industry veteran, Shana has days when she drives home and thinks about starting a second career as a neurosurgeon! So, maybe you haven’t considered becoming a neurosurgeon, but hairstylist anxiety is a real problem that we all experience. Many hairstylists live in fear about receiving a bad review, having their reputation ruined, and losing their paycheck. This is not healthy, so Shana wants to open the conversation up and share four ways to overcome the unique stressors that hairstylists experience!

Strategy #1: Eliminate The Problem Before It Starts

Here’s another situation that Shana is sure you can relate to: you check your schedule for the day, you see a name that you don’t recognize, your heart skips a beat, and anxiety rears its ugly head! You run to the receptionist, ask a million questions about this new client, but you end up feeling unprepared and anxious about the unknown. Of course, this new client expects you to solve all her past hairstylist transgressions in one appointment. No wonder we feel so much pressure!

Well, Shana was so tired of feeling this stress that she decided to eliminate this problem before it could even become a problem! To do this, Shana received approval from her boss to implement a new requirement that all new clients had to have an email consultation with Shana before they could be added to her books. Basically, any new client had to talk with Shana before they could have an appointment with her. By taking charge of how new clients were being scheduled, Shana no longer felt anxiety when looking at her schedule. Now, she knows exactly what type of client she is seeing, what they are expecting of her, and knows that they are scheduled for the proper service time. What’s even better is that Shana’s clients are often so appreciative that she has taken this extra step that they feel even more comfortable with her! That’s a win-win!

Shana Dee understands that this system might not work at every salon, but there is a tool that can work at (almost) every salon! This tool is Meet Your Stylist! Meet Your Stylist is a unique survey that matches clients with the hairstylist at your salon who is the best fit for them based on their service, personality, and lifestyle. Again, this eliminates the fear of the unknown for both the client and the stylist. If you can use Meet Your Stylist and implement email consultations, you can say bye-bye to this type of anxiety for good!

Strategy #2: Let It Go!

When clients complain, it sucks. There is no way to sugar coat it. Shana Dee admits that there is nothing that can deflate your confidence as quickly as a complaining customer. Just one complaint can haunt you for days while you replay that appointment over and over in your head. In that moment, you are expected to fix the problem while totally shutting out your own emotions and trying not to get flustered. Who can’t handle that, right? Wrong! This is totally overwhelming, and we often find ourselves alone and crying in our car—Shana is not afraid to be honest and say that this has happened to her! We give our energy, love, and talent to each guest, so when it doesn’t turn out right, it really hurts us emotionally.

While Shana wishes that she had a magic wand and could make all the hardworking stylists feel better after a complaint, she just can’t do it. But, she does have a few suggestions to build your confidence back up! First, Shana Dee recommends going home and eating a really nice dinner! Whether you pick up your favorite takeout or make a bowl of mac and cheese, take some time for yourself and eat dinner. You’re probably jacked up on caffeine from working all day and haven’t eaten lunch, so a relaxing dinner is a must! Then, go to bed. Just close your eyes and leave the day behind—just let it go! When you wake up in the morning, scroll through your Instagram and remember all the clients who have left your chair with huge smiles and loving their hair!

Shana reassures you that it might take a few days to heal, and that is okay! But, one of the worst things that you can do is start telling everyone about the incident. Just don’t do it! It’s understandable to tell a few trusted friends, but Shana Dee has heard colleagues talk about bad experiences over and over again and suddenly this one incident has been dragged on for two weeks. If you are still talking about it, it has power over you; once you stop talking about it, you can move on. At the end of the day, you just have to take out the emotional trash, and let it go!

Strategy #3: Fake Being Ok

We’ve all heard the saying “Fake It ‘Til You Make It.” Well, Shana Dee is here to tell us that there is some truth to that! Have you ever heard of the concept of cognitive dissonance? Shana explains that cognitive dissonance is the scientific explanation of fake it ‘til you make it. Essentially, if you act like you’re confident and happy, even if you genuinely aren’t, you can start to actually feel these positive emotions. Shana recommends that when you’re feeling hairstylist anxiety, just take a few minutes and pretend that you’re okay. That’s right, just pretend that you’re feeling terrific. This one simple activity can help alleviate so much of your anxiety!

On days when the struggle is extra real, Shana suggests repeating to yourself “I’m the best hairstylist in my city. I am smart and this will not break me.” If you keep repeating this in your head, you will start to believe it, and you’ll get a huge confidence boost! While this might sound silly, Shana Dee assures us that these are techniques that she has used and have worked!

Strategy #4: Education is Key!

One of the biggest culprits of hairstylist anxiety is feeling like we can’t get the results we want, or wondering why a service turned out so badly. Shana is here to remind us that hair color and cutting is a science. Once you understand the laws of hair color, you will know how to do all color corrections, and it is no longer a guessing game! You will know with certainty how to perform every single service, and you will feel so confident!

With the fabulous invention of YouTube, Shana explains that you have no excuses for not learning something new every day. You don’t even have to leave your house or spend any money to learn something new! Start doing this today, and not only will you learn so much, but you will be so inspired by others. Shana Dee also encourages you to not limit yourself to learning about cutting and coloring, but start reading books about marketing, business, communications, and so much more! Educating yourself is all about gaining confidence which will definitely reduce your anxiety!

To recap, Shana Dee recommends four ways to reduce your hairstylist anxiety: #1: Eliminate The Problem Before It Starts, #2: Let It Go!, #3 Fake Being Ok, and #4: Education Is Key. Shana would love to hear about other situations that produce anxiety, so we can work together to overcome them! Please remember that you are not alone in experiencing these feelings, and we are all here to support each other. If you have other instances to share, or tips to overcome anxiety, please share them on our sister company's private Facebook group! We can’t wait to meet you!

We’ve all been in the situation when you need to clear your shelves of a certain retail product. Sometimes this is because a product is being discontinued or a product line has repackaged their items. Whatever the situation, you need to move these products to make room for the new goodies! So, how do you do this?

Most salon owners will instantly discount the old products. This seems logical, right? Wrong—don’t do it! You’ve likely seen this scenario play out before. First, the items will be marked down 20%, and a few products will sell. Then, they will be marked down to 40%, and a few more will sell. But, eventually you will have a small group of products that simply won’t sell. There is a better way to do this!

Here’s what you need to do to move these products quickly without losing money. Try a promotion similar to: Buy $60 in products and receive XYZ product for FREE! The products that they are getting for “free” are the products that you need to clear from your shelves—see how this is working! So, are they really getting the product for free? Of course not. The price of that product is amortized across all the products.

The amount that your customer needs to spend to receive the free product depends on your salon. For instance, at our salon it is relatively common for customers to spend about $50-$55 per visit on products. So, we wanted to push that just slightly and set our minimum at $60. If a customer spends $60 in products, tools, or cosmetics, they can choose one of the selected products for free.

When running this promotion, there are a few logistics to keep in mind. First, you need to include “while supplies last” on your marketing materials, since the promotion ends when the discontinued products have been sold. Second, make sure that you’re giving a 100% discount on the free product, so it can’t be returned.

The bottom line is that people aren’t attracted to discounts. But, they are attracted to complementary products! Instead of devaluing your product, try this strategy and watch the products move off your shelves! Give it a try and share your results on our sister company's private Facebook group! We can’t wait to hear from you!

Have you considered hosting a charity cut-a-thon, but you weren’t sure how to get started? Or, have you hosted a cut-a-thon and it didn’t produce the results that you wanted? If you answered YES, then this article is for you! Hosting a charity cut-a-thon is a great way to give back to your community, it’s easy to implement, and can be incredibly effective—keep reading to learn the secrets for success!

Why Host a Cut-A-Thon?

As the founder of Be Inspired Salon in Madison, WI, I wanted a way to give back to the community that supports us everyday. A great way to do that, while sharing our talents as hairstylists, is to host a charity cut-a-thon as part of year-round efforts to support a local charity. That’s right—we do even more than an annual cut-a-thon to give back to the community.

Before the beginning of a new year, I ask my team to submit their top three local charities that they want to support for the upcoming year. Then, we create a long list highlighting these great organizations, our team votes, and we narrow down the list to our top three charities. Here is where it gets fun! With the top three choices, we send an email to our clients asking them to vote for their top choice. At the end of the voting period, we announce which charity received the most votes, and that is the charity who we will be supporting for the upcoming year.

In addition to the annual cut-a-thon, we also give donations to our chosen charity throughout the year. Here’s what we do: for every positive review that we receive on Google, we donate $10 on that client’s behalf to our local charity. How awesome is that! Not only is this a great way to give back, but it’s also motivation for customers to leave reviews. This initiative runs year-round and is a great addition to the charity cut-a-thon.

The Logistics

Hopefully, you are convinced of the value in hosting a charity event, but where do you start? First, you need to choose a date. At our salon, we host the charity event in early October when bridal season has settled down. Wintertime can be unpredictable in Wisconsin, so there (usually) isn’t any snow to contend with in October, which makes it easier for people to get to the salon. Additionally, we host our event on a Sunday when the salon isn’t already open. By doing it on a Sunday, we aren’t dipping into normal revenue-producing days. Take stock of your busy times, local market, other promotions, and plan accordingly!

Now that you have your date solidified, you need to choose a time and start promoting the cut-a-thon! We usually host our event for three hours, so even if we go over time, we are under the four hour mark. Usually, we host from 11:00am-2:00pm. Also, you have to get the word out about your event! You can do this by sending an email to your clients, placing handouts at your front desk, and promoting it on social media. Your local charity may even promote it on their site! On our promotional materials, we explain that we do not set up appointments—all cuts are first-come, first-served. Also, we request that everyone arrive with clean, dry hair. If someone doesn’t show up this way, we will still have our assistants or apprentices help, but hopefully this is minimal.

I believe the key to what makes our cut-a-thon so successful is that we require a minimum donation of $35 for a haircut. This is not a suggested amount, it is a minimum required donation. (You should also include this on your promotional materials!) While we would love to take everyone’s donations no matter how big or small, we only have a few hours to make this as successful as possible! The minimum donation helps us maximize our time and our donation. Lastly, the stylists who work at the event do not earn commission on their services—everyone is giving back. The stylists can accept gratuity, or they can choose to donate that as well—this is entirely up to the stylist.    

On the day of your event, most people will show up right away at the beginning. As people start arriving, we add them to our waitlist. Again, all the cuts are first-come, first-served, so our front desk will be busy checking people in and getting them served as quickly as possible. We aim to get each client in and out within 30 minutes. Pro tip: when clients are waiting, ask them if they would like to check out right then. This will save the client time when they’re done, and you know they aren’t going anywhere.

When the cut-a-thon is done, you get to complete the best step which is writing one big check to your local charity! Oh, yeah!

Here is a quick recap of the items that you need to remember to make your cut-a-thon a success: ask your team and clients to vote for their top charity, choose a date and time based on your market, select a minimum donation amount, advertise, and give back!

Do you have any more questions about hosting a cut-a-thon? Or  do you have more tips to share with those of us who are already doing this? Share your thoughts with our community of professionals on our private Facebook group! We can’t wait to connect with you!

We’re excited to have industry expert, Shana Dee, back at Beyond the Technique to share more Instagram secrets! Curating a successful Instagram account can be overwhelming since there seems to be endless amounts of information, tips, and tricks to implement. We understand the struggle, so Shana Dee is here to share the basics to set your profile up for success. If you implement these three easy steps, you’ll find that Instagram success is easier than you thought!

Hint: it’s best if you have your phone nearby, so you can follow along with our tips and tricks!

1. Public Profile

Let’s start with putting ourselves in the shoes of a prospective client on Instagram. This client has searched #dchairsalon and is scrolling through tons of pictures on Instagram. She sees your hair picture, loves it, and taps on your profile to see more. The client is halfway to booking an appointment with you—this is terrific, right? Except when she reaches your profile, it’s private. Total bummer. There are no more pictures for her to fall in love with! This client will lose interest immediately, and you’ve suddenly lost a prospective client. To avoid this disappointment, you need to make your Instagram profile public!

You will not attract new clients if your page is private, guaranteed! Shana explains that some stylists hesitate to make their page public because they don’t want people to see their personal photos. Well, you need to go into your profile, and clean it up. Delete pictures of you partying at the bar, pictures with a ton of words on it, and pictures that simply don’t represent your brand. Your profile needs to be consistent with the photo that made this client click to your page in the first place! If your page is private, follow this link for simple directions to make it public.

2. Instagram Bio

Okay, your page is set to public and a prospective client has landed on your account. Now, the customer wants to know who you are which is why your bio is so important! For instance, Shana Dee works at Izzy Salon in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. When you click on Izzy’s Instagram, their bio reads: “Proudly Serving D.C.’s Elite. Balayage, Lived-In Color, Beachy Blondes, French Styling and Haircuts, Hair Extensions, Makeup, Waxing, Facials.” When a new client looks at Izzy’s bio, they know right away what type of work is done at their salon. This makes it easy for a new client to decide if this salon is a good fit—this is what you want!

Your bio as a stylist should be similar to the one for your salon and include two key components: location information and your personal vibe. First, clients need to know where you are located. If you visit Shana Dee’s Instagram, you will see right away that she works at Izzy Salon in Georgetown, D.C. If a client doesn’t know where you are located, she will move on without further research. Remember, your goal is to make it quick and easy for a client to know the basics about you!

Second, you need to give some information about your personal brand and the type of client you want to attract. Right now, Shana’s bio reads: “DC’s Extension Specialist. IZZY SALON, Georgetown DC. LA Trained DC Living. NBR CERTIFIED Hair Extensions. Babylights/Balayage/Color Correction. Appt: Email.” Shana Dee’s bio explains all the key components: where she lives, what type of services she specializes in, and how to get in contact with her. So, take a look at your Instagram bio and review what it is saying about you. If you need to make some updates, follow this link for easy instructions to make those changes.

3. Business Account

Shana Dee’s last piece of advice is to take advantage of Instagram’s new feature that allows you to change your personal account to a business account. What’s the difference? Great question! A business account doesn’t cost you anything to set up, but it provides you with priceless information! The first perk: a business account allows you to add a link with directions to your salon and a direct link to your email. Again, this makes it super easy for a client to contact you and visit your salon!

The other priceless perk is that a business account allows you to easily track statistics. You’ve probably noticed that there are times of the day when your Instagram posts receive more likes than at other times. With a business account, you can actually view the times of the day when most of your followers are online. If most of your followers are on Instagram at 6:00pm, then you will want to post your pictures at 6:00pm when there will be a lot of activity. This is a huge bonus!

There are even more perks that come with a business account such as easily promoting your pictures, viewing the reach and impressions of your posts, and reviewing the age and gender of your followers. If you’re ready to step up your Instagram account by turning it into a business account, follow this link for directions!

To recap, there are three basic elements for a successful Instagram: public profile, straightforward bio, and setting up a business account. Shana shared with us that by implementing these three basics, she attracts one to three new clients a week, and you can have these same results! If you have any more Instagram tips and tricks, share them on our private Facebook group. We can’t wait to learn from you!

Are you a rebel, an upholder, a questioners, or an obliger? These are the Four Tendencies that Gretchen Rubin identified in her book: Better Than Before. Why are these tendencies important? Well, identifying your tendency is an essential step to understanding how easy or difficult it will be for you to create habits, respond to inner and outer expectations, capitalize on your strengths, and overcome your weaknesses.

Break It Down

What are outer and inner expectations anyways? Outer expectations are requests from others. For instance, outer expectations are deadlines from your boss, or a request to load the dishwasher from your partner. On the other hand, inner expectations are requests from yourself. Inner expectations are your New Year’s Resolutions or your plans to clean out your closet. Got it? Good, let’s keep moving!

Let’s start with a brief overview of each tendency, then dive into the characteristics of each one. An upholder responds readily to both outer and inner expectations. Questioners will question all expectations and only respond to expectations that make sense to them. An obliger will readily meet outer expectations but struggles with inner expectations. And lastly, a rebel resists all expectations—both inner and outer. Do one of these tendencies sound like you?

Upholders

Remember, an upholder responds readily to both outer and inner expectations. Responding to inner expectations really sets the upholder a part from the other tendencies. An upholder wakes up in the morning and thinks about what is on her schedule and to-do list, because she wants to avoid letting herself and others down. A noteworthy characteristic for upholders is their strong instinct for self-preservation. This means that upholders protect themselves from too many outer expectations by establishing plenty of time for themselves. I love that characteristic! Finally, habits are easy to cultivate for upholders, and they find gratification in achievement.

Even though that all sounds great, there are some downsides for the upholder. An upholder will struggle in situations where expectations aren’t clear, or there aren’t established rules. Sometimes, the gold-star seeking, hoop-jumping, and mindless rule following can be exhaustive for the upholder, and it will come back to bite them.

Questioners

No surprise here, a questioner will question all expectations and will only respond to expectations if she concludes that they make sense. Questioners are motivated by reason, logic, and fairness. Unlike the upholder, the questioner will look at her to-do list and think about why something needs to get done today since she resists doing anything that seems to lack sound purpose. Nonetheless, if a questioner concludes that an outer expectation makes sense, they will essentially turn it into an inner expectation. A questioner will stick to a habit if they believe it is worthwhile and useful.

If you aren’t a questioner, you probably know one. Questioners do exhaustive research before making any big decisions or purchases. When a new product comes out, a questioner will research it up, down, left, and right before making a decision. If you’re a hairdresser, you might have clients who are questioners. Somehow, the client knows more about balayage than you do. Are you with me on that? If you have a questioner on your team or in your chair, you have to explain the why behind your actions.

Questioners are very intellectually engaged, but they have their own struggles too. Questioners can often suffer from “analysis paralysis.” Because the questioner needs to make sure she is making the right decision, this can lead to endless amounts of research without taking any real action.

Obligers

The next tendency is the obliger. Obligers will meet outer expectations, but they struggle to meet inner expectations because they’re primarily motivated by external accountability. An obliger will look at her to-do list and ask: what must I do today. Obligers depend on external accountability with controls like deadlines, late fees, and the fear of letting other people down. Because of this, obligers are great friends, colleagues, and family members since they always make time for you and rarely let you down.

Because obligers resist letting other people down, they are susceptible to burnout. Keep that in mind if you have an obliger on your team; you should be careful about giving them too many assignments, even if they seem eager to help. Additionally, obligers can feel down when they think about how much time they spend on others compared to their own “me time.” Obligers will also find it difficult to create habits, since habits are usually for our own benefit versus being to the benefit of others.

Despite their weaknesses, obligers often find creative ways to create external accountability. For example, one obliger explained that if she wants to clean out her closet on the weekend, she will call a charity  to pick up her donations on Monday. With the external factor in play, she will avoid disappointing the charity and stick to her goal. This shows that no matter your tendency, you can find ways to accomplish your goals!

Rebels

Last, but not least: rebels - you know who they are! Rebels resist all expectations, inner and outer alike. Rebels have a sense of freedom, so they can’t be asked or told what to do. Rebels will work toward their own goals in their own ways. Therefore, rebels place a high value on authenticity, vigor, and self-determination.

Do you know someone who just can’t seem to follow the rules? These are rebels, and they often frustrate others. In fact, asking or telling a rebel to do something will often lead them to do the opposite. So, how do you handle rebels on your team? Allow rebels to make decisions without an audience. If they think no one is watching, they don’t have anything to rebel against.

Surprisingly, some rebels actually gravitate towards institutions with many rules. Because of that, there are more rebels in the military than you’d suspect. Allowing others to have control can bring rebels a sense of freedom. Lastly, rebels really resist habits unless they take it just one day at a time and end up with a “streak.”

Have you been able to identify your tendency and how to capitalize on your strengths and overcome your weaknesses? If you’re someone who likes to work on becoming a better person every day, check out Gretchen Rubin’s book because every topic will help you master your own life! Share your thoughts about Gretchen’s book and your own tendencies on our private Facebook group! We can’t wait to connect with you!

We all know the toll that being a hairdresser can have on our health. As a stylist, you’re standing all day, oftentimes skipping lunch to squeeze in another client, and loading up on coffee. But, you need to prioritize your health to have a long, lucrative career. So, how can you stay healthy when you’re crazy-busy behind the chair? We are sharing three simple pieces of advice that can make a huge difference for your health!

1. Drink water!

I know it seems so simple and you’ve heard it a million times, but how often are you reaching for something other than water? Water fuels your body, so you need lots of it! Just how much? Most trainers and nutritionists suggest that you should drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water per day. If you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces of water per day.

You might think that’s a crazy amount of water, but there are actually dehydrating factors in other beverages and foods that you consume during the day. For instance, dining out, drinking wine, and sipping on coffee are all dehydrating. So, the best standard to apply is half your bodyweight in ounces. Drinking water is the first step to staying healthy and comes with many other added benefits!

2. Reach for healthy meals and snacks!

As a stylist, you need foods that fuel your brain and energize your body! I have a great piece of advice that you’ll want to remember when planning healthy meals. You should always combine a fruit, a fat, and a protein. Why is a fruit, a fat, and a protein the golden trifecta? Fruit is your energy, fat feeds the brain, and protein builds muscle. By the way, did you know that the majority of your brain is made up of saturated fat? Who knew?!

Here are some easy meal examples that will fulfill all of these criteria. A great snack to reach for is a handful of almonds and an apple. Almonds satisfy the the fat and protein criteria, and the apple is your fruit. This snack is easy to prepare, quick to consume, and great for your energy! Another healthy meal is 4-5 ounces of chicken, half an avocado, and a banana. Again, we have a fruit (banana), fat (avocado), and protein (chicken). By combining these three elements, your energy levels will stay consistent throughout the day.

3. #TreatYoSelf.

If you’re a fan of the show Parks & Recreation, you know all about this! My last piece of advice to staying healthy is to be proactive about your life outside of the salon. For instance, treat yourself to a massage! A massage will break up the fascia around your muscles and is great for relaxation! If you don’t have the budget for a massage, you can also buy a foam roller to achieve the same benefits. Other great activities to try are yoga, going for a walk, lifting some weights, and just treating yo’self to being active.

Drinking water, eating healthy, and staying active are key to actually showing up and performing when you're behind the chair! Do you have other tips to staying healthy when you’re crazy-busy behind the chair? Share them with us on our private Facebook group.

Do you have any guesses to what the number one necessity for every salon is? Well, it’s probably not what you’re thinking. Your salon’s number one necessity is engagement in culture. What does that even mean? Well, we are going to break down what engagement looks like and how you can foster it in your salon!

Recently, I saw Richard Maloney speak, and he is the “engagement guy.” Richard’s mission is to create a globally engaged workforce, and he works with companies all over the world to improve engagement. Friends, engagement is not something to brush off; check out these statistics: 67% of the global workforce is disengaged, 20% are actively disengaged, leaving only 13% as engaged workers. Wow—this is shocking! A disengaged workforce consistently underperforms, struggles with turnover, and can lead to huge losses in profits! In other words: not good!

What is Engagement?

Let’s start with what engagement isn’t; engagement is not training. When things get a little rocky at a company, most leaders think that everyone needs more training. Well, guess what? Traditional training is dead. Having your employees sit and listen to a speaker with some hands-on activities is not good training, and it does not lead to engagement. So, what is engagement? Engagement is participation. Participation is how you can tell if your employees are engaged with the company.

So, let’s start at the beginning. How do you motivate people to participate? There are actually six key motivators that drive all behavior: love, variety, certainty, connection, significance, and contribution. Love can mean many things; it can be spicy romantic love, but oftentimes love is simply caring for people. Variety is central to our industry, so most in the beauty profession have this covered! We are constantly changing as trends and times change. Certainty comes from knowing the end result. When we know what is coming next, we feel secure. Connection is formed through bonds among your colleagues. It’s easy to spot the opposite of connection—are there cliques? or do you play favorites? Significance is making everybody feel like a somebody. Contribution is allowing everyone to contribute to the team’s purpose and goals.

Keeping these six motivators in mind, I’ve learned that there are three ways to get my stylists to participate: discussion, experience, and teaching others. Create an atmosphere where you can have a discussion with your team. An open discussion can lead to love, connections, and allows everyone to contribute. Next, is creating opportunities for experience. Allow your team of stylists to be involved in hands-on learning and to be on the front-lines. Lastly, allow everyone the chance to teach others. For instance, create a mentoring program at your salon where everyone can teach and learn from others. This triggers several key motivators including: contribution, significance, and connections.

What is Culture?

Similar to engagement, many people think culture is something that it actually isn’t. Culture is not perks, and it is not getting everything you want. Culture is how people treat one another as evidenced through meaningful relationships. Aren’t we lucky to be in the industry where we get to pass along positive energy through relationships with our clients? This makes me so excited!

There are a few behaviors that are consistently displayed in a salon with a fabulous culture: respect, honesty, accountability, care, and selflessness. Many of these qualities come down to this question: do you have a we or me mentality? If you’re a Master Stylist, are you willing to help an Associate Stylist rinse her client if she’s running behind? Are team members holding each other accountable? Are there honest conversations taking place among your team members? Basically, if you want a great culture, it comes down to how you treat each other.

Engagement & Culture: Putting it Together

Let’s recap. The number one necessity for your salon is engagement in culture. Culture is how people treat one another at your salon, and salons with a great culture display the following behaviors: respect, honesty, accountability, care, and selflessness. Finally, you can get employees to display these behaviors through discussion, experience, and teaching others.

Are you motivated to take a hard look at your team’s culture and engagement? If you want even more insights into engagement, check out Richard Maloney’s book: The Minds of Winning Teams. Then, share your takeaways with our private Facebook group—we can’t wait to engage with you!  

What is your why? Do you have an answer to this question? Have you thought about it before? If not, that’s okay, because we are going to share why your answer to this one question is so important, and how you can identify your why!

I was fortunate enough to see Paul Dunn speak a few times in 2016, and I absolutely love him! If you aren’t familiar with Paul’s work, his mission is to share the Power of Small and the Power of Purpose. Another inspiring speaker who stresses the importance of ‘why’ is Simon Sinek who wrote a book titled, Start With Why. If you haven’t engaged with either Simon or Paul yet, you should definitely check them out! In Simon’s book, he explains that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. In other words, they buy what you believe in, and I couldn’t agree more! When I heard Paul speak most recently, he stressed not only identifying your why, but making it front and center for your business. So, how do you do this? 

Why the Why

In the beauty industry, we are always striving to identify and refine our unique selling proposition—in other words, how are we different from the salon around the block? Oftentimes, salons think what makes them different is the abundance of services they offer: hair extensions, color, brows, nails, and so on. But, Paul Dunn contends that differentiation comes from clarity of why, not an excess of what. Read that one more time. Differentiation comes from clarity of why, not an excess of what. People will do business with you because they value what you value - they believe they are like you. Do you want more clients, more loyalty, and more retention? Well, Dunn contends that the shortcut to more is to matter. How inspiring! 

Identify Your Why

Now that you’re convinced of the importance of why, you need to actually figure out what your why is! This can seem daunting, so let’s break it down. There are two simple ways to identify this. First, engage with your team. Having two, three, five, or even ten brains is better than one for this task! Sit down with everyone and brainstorm, collaborate, and discuss your values. At the end of the session, you should be able to fill in the blank at the end of this sentence: “We do what we do because _________.” 

The second method that Paul Dunn suggests is even more straightforward. When you get up in the morning, the first thing that you’re going to do is answer this question: “I get up every morning to: _________.” Fill in this blank with the first thing that comes to mind. 

If you follow me, you’re going to notice that my tagline or ‘why’ is “Empowering you for consistent growth and development.” This was created because it was the first thing that came to my mind when I completed this exercise! I get up everyday to help others grow and develop themselves. Why do you wake up everyday? 

Front and Center

Remember, Paul Dunn explains that you not only need a why, but you need to make your why front and center. A great way to do this is to include it on your website! If you visit Beyond The Technique’s homepage, you will see our why at the very top: “We do what we do because everyone needs a coach in their corner. Cheering them on when they’re winning, and helping them back up when they’ve been knocked down.” That is why we do what we do at Beyond The Technique. As you may know,  I’m also the founder of Be Inspired Salon in Madison, WI. Underneath our header, you’ll find our why: “We want to be your hair salon because exposing your inner beauty is the most authentic form of freedom.” 

I hope this has inspired you to take time and discover your why, then start sharing it with everyone! If you’re still having trouble identifying your why or you want to bounce ideas off of other pros, join our private Facebook group! We all rise when we lift each other—we can’t wait to meet you!