I am well aware of the many challenges of salon ownership. For over 43 years I also faced the same challenges you face as salon owners, but I also have been able  to enjoy the benefits of owning my own business. I certainly know about the peaks and valleys of owning your own business.

I am sure that everything that has happened to you has happened to me over the years, many a time I had to ask myself if making all these sacrifices was worth owning my own business. Yes there were times I wanted to quit, but my motivation to continue was my family, it was sink or swim.

I not only was able to survive the blood, sweat and tears and learn from my mistakes, of owning my own business, I was able to survive, and was able to retire financially independent.

I formed Hairdresser Career Development Systems first as a hobby  but realized I was able to help and impact the lives of my colleagues. I have everything I need; now I have an opportunity to have a purpose in my life to help others. It is my wish by providing lessons learned and mistakes I was able to overcome, I can give you a short cut and make your journey easier than mind.

It is my wish that the following tips will help you gain a new found passion to succeed in spite of the many deep rooted obstacles you face daily.

Get Help — learn from people who have probably experienced your pain and has found ways to overcome the same obstacles you face everyday. I formed my educational company as a guide in helping you meet these challenges with confidence. I want to create a truly educational company you can trust and count on,free of any special interest groups.

Keep an Open Mind — our profession has changed dramatically in the last few years, business practices that may have worked before are now outdated. Keep an open mind to opinions of others then do what you feel is right for you.

Don’t Follow the Crowd — of glitter and hype. Sadly I had to go outside my profession to find education that was not biased towards the needs of the product companies and special interest groups. Information is available, sometimes you have to go outside the profession to learn.

Education — find quality education that will help you get results, especially in the area of business. Salons that are well managed will always be in demand.

Perseverance — when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Never and I mean never give up. Owning a salon offers both rewards and sacrifices. Nobody ever said owning a business would be easy. You’re not alone any more. I formed my educational company to help you meet these challenges and obstacles head on.

Financial Planning — very sad that it seems many  owners and hairdressers only talk about what is the best products, they get involved in all the glitter and hype of many of our hair shows, yet focus little on how to plan their financial security and future.

I was able to retire because I learned early in my career to save and invest my money, educating myself by attending educational classes on financial planning.

As we prepare to enter what I think is going to be a very difficult,yet promising 2012, adversity will always present fantastic opportunities.  I do hope that you start the New Year following these few tips. Please take a look at my educational programs ,I know they will be a big help. Click here

Owning your own business can be daunting especially after the holidays  during a slow economy.

Why is it that some salons thrive in a good and tough economy? Why is it that some salons are thriving while others are struggling just to survive?

There are many reasons, poor staff selection, poor planning, salon gossip and pettiness, lack of leadership skills, poor business management skills and the list goes on and on.

Unfortunately far too many salon owners are waiting for the economy to improve, while others are in denial, and refuse to develop their business management skills because it requires hard work and effort.

Nobody ever said owning your own business would be easy.

Here are a few tips that can help you overcome the after holiday slow downs:

Be innovative — put on your thinking cap and find ways to stand above the crowd to gain that all important competitive edge. What is your competitive edge? Why should I patronize your salon over all the others in the community? You may want to consider writing a blog post to increase visibility of your business.  Perhaps send a little personal message to your clients wishing them and their family a happy holiday season. Maybe renew your efforts at excelling at customer service.

Self-Improvement — a recent survey showed that 94% of all business failures were due to poor business skills on the part of the owner. Learn everything you can about the business aspect of salon ownership. Your probably a very good hairdresser, now learn how to be an astute business man or woman. Work hard to renew your passion to succeed. Make sure you attend Jon’s intensive business seminar when one is held near you.

Monitor Your Customer Return rate — all the adverting in the world will be useless if customers are unhappy and never come back. Losing just one customer and her family can be devastating to your salon’s growth and profitability. Negative word of mouth is the worst kind of advertising.

Get Help — learn from people who have experienced  the same struggles as you, but were able to survive and overcome the many challenges of salon ownership.

Learn the Power of Social Media — you spent much of your time developing your artistic skills. Now it’s time to learn how to increase salon traffic cost effectively. Just go to Google, type in facebook then tutorials, same for you tube, twitter etc. Learn the power of social media.

Educate Your Team — show your team how to double and triple their income. Educating your team will be the best investment you will make in growing your business. I will soon be releasing my schedule for my motivational personal growth success seminar for hairdressers.

Did You Make a Good Profit in 2011? — It is important that you review the customer return rate and referrals of your team. Review your profit and loss statement.  Did you know the easiest way to improve profits is by cutting expenses? Numbers don’t lie, that’s your real score card.

Renew Your Passion — develop a strong competitive spirit, and, never give up.

You’re not alone, help is available.

2012 will be a very challenging year for salon owners and hairdresser’s alike. I do hope that these few tips will be helpful especially during the slow period after the holidays.

I will be presenting my first all day business seminar in San Diego at the Town and Country Hotel Circle North on Monday,March 26,2012.Call me for for reservations and information. Make sure you follow me for ongoing information .Click here

Improving staff performance and productivity will always be a major challenge in taking your team and your salon to  higher levels of excellence.  As coach of your team you need to help them stay motivated as professionals . You must show them how to maximize their full learning and earning potential,by helping them learn self motivation guidelines. You must make them aware that they must take full responsibility for their own success or failure.  If you can’t motivate yourself, how can you expect to motivate your team? Excellence does start at the top.

The following tips will help you take your business and team to a higher level.

Leadership —one of the key components of leadership is to be able to create a team environment where everyone shares  the same vision and goals. As a salon owner work hard to inspire and motivate your team by always showing a caring and sensitive attitude toward their growth and development. As leader of your team you must develop powerful leadership skills if you want to earn the trust and loyalty of your team.

Make Their Jobs Fun — create a positive and professional salon environment based on trust and mutual respect, where it’s fun to go to work every day. Create incentives and contests that challenges team to higher levels of performance. Work hard at helping your team maximize their full learning and earning potential.

Earn their Trust and Loyalty — You get the best of others when you give the best of yourself. Work hard to earn the trust and loyalty of your team. Let your staff know your door is always open if they have a question or problem. Always let your staff know you invite feedback.

Provide a Positive and Professional Work Environment. — in order to create this environment,work hard to create conditions that foster loyalty and respect,not fear and intimidation.

Education— give your staff the educational tools to perform at higher levels of excellence.Invest in your salons greatest profit potential; invest in educating your team.

As coach of your team, the more you are able to provide quality education, the higher their confidence and self-esteem. It is your challenge to help your team achieve success.

Keep them Busy — too much down time will diminish their self-confidence. Work hard at marketing and promoting your business, making sure you monitor their referral and customer return rate

Give Praise —sometime a little pat on the back for a job well done will go a long way in motivating your team . Always give praise when warranted, show appreciation for their hard work and accomplishments. Make your staff feel like champions.

Incentives — keep challenging your team by providing targets and incentives.Team contests for the most referrals or individual rewards for selling the most retail are examples.

2012 will be  a challenging year for your business and your team. Please visit my web sites for information about my educational resources and special success seminars for your team.

Thanksgiving is always an appropriate time to give thanks for all our blessings.

In our hectic schedule; trying  to find time for our business, struggle with a difficult and volatile economy, and trying to find  quality time with our families, we sometime take for granted  the many gifts and opportunities that are available to us.

Personally I want to thank all my colleagues for the trust and support you have shown me throughout the year. I want to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks to your support our grass roots movement is growing, please pass the word. Together we will make this industry hear our voices, respect our educational needs, and respect us as professionals.

I formed Hairdresser Career Development Systems free of any special interest groups so that I can share my 43 years of hard won experiences as a working hairdresser/salon owner and  give you a voice and educational guidance that will help you raise your standard of living and improve the quality of your life.

I will continue to seek out and provide quality information and educational resources that will be focused on your educational and business needs.

It is my sincere hope that the following tips will make this Thanksgiving Holiday a very special holiday for you and your family:

Nine Tips on Giving Thanks:

Let Us Be Thankful For Our Opportunities — As professionals we have a wonderful opportunity to not only make our customers look good but, also make them feel good about themselves. Our customers give us the opportunity to earn a living as well as show case our skills and artistic talents as well. The sky’s the limit.

Let Us Be Thankful For Our Good Health -–all the money in the world is meaningless if you have poor health or are unhappy. Good health can be maintained with exercise, good eating habits, and overcoming stress and depression. Let us be thankful for our good health.

Let us Be Thankful For Our Family — Family is especially important. Let us give thanks that we are able to celebrate this special day with our family and loved ones. Let us not forget how fortunate we are that we have families that love us, and especially our parents who will love each of us unconditionally.

Let Us Be Thankful That Our Profession Does Not Require Hard Sacrifices — if you would go back to college with rising tuition costs ,you would have to spend over 4 years of hard work to get a college degree, and pay back a student loan as much as $100,000 and up before you even get a job. Sadly many college graduates are unemployed; a good hairdresser will never be out of a job. Our profession allows us to control our own destiny. A hairdressing career can be a short cut to financial independence.

Let Us Be Thankful We Can Help Others —we have a wonderful opportunity to impact the lives of others by helping our customers gain self-confidence and and self esteem in their appearance. A wonderful feeling when a client walks out of the salon with a smile. Helping people feel good about themselves is a great feeling.

Let Us Be Thankful As Citizens of U.S.A -– we in America sometimes take for granted our freedoms and opportunities in this beautiful country. Many people in other countries are fighting and dying to gain their freedom and democracy that we often take for granted. In America you control your own success or failure. Nobody can stop you from learning and growing. Our country allows you the opportunity to make a better life for you and yourself family. Your biggest obstacle to your own success and happiness will probably be you.

LetUs Be Thankful To Our Customers -– our customers have many choices on how and where they will spend their hard earned money. Our customers represent our livelihoods, by giving us an opportunity to enrich their lives and images ‘and provide us with jobs.

Let Us Give Thanks to Our Troops -–many of our troops are not able to be with their family on this Thanksgiving Day because their defending our freedom and liberty. Let us give thanks for their service and sacrifices so that we may enjoy time with our family on Thanksgiving Day.

Let Us Be Thankful We Have Jobs — we are very fortunate to control our own destiny. This is one of the few professions where you can literally get all the over time you want once you create value in your skills and create a demand for your services. A good hairdresser will never be unemployed.

Many of our  fellow salon owners and hairdressers are facing many challenges and obstacles in today’s tough economy.  When the going gets tough think about all  our blessings ,always stay positive,keep learning, and take the word “I can’t” out of your vocabulary and replace it with” I can.”

It is my wish that Thanksgiving will be one of many special days for you and your family.

For ongoing information,daily tweets,weekly blogs, and special announcements,please follow me on my business fan page here and click the “like” button.

During the Holiday season, most salons will be busy. Unfortunately, after the holidays, many salons will struggle to overcome the slow months of January, February, March and April. A tough economy doesn’t help matters.

If your one of the top well managed salons that are able to stay busy throughout the year, you’re to be congratulated. If your business is not as busy as you would like to be, please follow these tips’

Now is the time to start planning your marketing strategy to survive and prosper during this slow down period.

Planning -– develop your marketing and advertising campaign using social media ,flyers ,post cards, newsletters etc. Now is the time to start planning for the 2012 season

Old Clients — send a simple letter or card and simply say we miss you.  Make sure you also include an offer as a reward. It has been proven that lost customers are the easiest to get back.

Education — seek out education, my business seminar for salon owners and personal growth success seminar will be a great start. This is the time where you need to keep yourself and your team motivated and excited about the New Year. If you’re a salon owner, take the time to develop your business management skills.

Early Bird specials — This is a great time to offer incentives to your customers, especially during the early part of the week.

Group on — although I am not a fan of group on, especially if you want to attract an upscale clientele, this would be a great time to develop your junior stylist program at reduced rates for your young staff members.

Sell more services — educate your staff on how to sell more services.  Example, your client is scheduled for a haircut, but you explain the benefits of a new color,

Avoid Complacency — the greatest thief to success. This slow period will allow you to regain your passion to succeed.

Review your Profit and Loss Statement — Numbers don.t lie; did you really make a profit? If not, get help. Do you have a plan or strategy for the New Year? Are you prepared with your tax responsibility? Are your records all organized? Have you evaluated your staff and their referral rate and performance?

Although we all want our salons to stay busy throughout the year, but this slow period can present you with fantastic opportunities to plan and grow your business even during the slow season. For ongoing information join my facebook business fan page by clicking here and pushing the “like” button.

“I’m always asked the same questions by salon owners. How do I deal with a problem employee who refuses to be part of my team? How do I deal with salon gossip and pettiness? How do I avoid staff turnover? How do I improve staff performance and productivity? The list of questions goes on and on.

First of all I do not believe hairdressers perform poorly on purpose. Most of these challenges can be solved with a terms of employment section in your employee hand book. Many of our challenges as salon owners are caused because of poor training and education of many hairdressers during their formative years. Unfortunately many of our young people that enter the beauty profession do so with unrealistic earning and career expectations. They see all the glitter and hype and fail to learn basic salon skills for our everyday customers who want easy to manage hair styles; experience outstanding customer service, and hairdressers that are skilled at listening and committed to working hard to exceed client expectations. Without the proper education and mentoring, many of our young hairdressers soon become discouraged and eventually leave the profession. Many more go from salon to salon searching for that perfect salon.  Along the way they develop poor work habits and form negative attitudes. There are no perfect salons!

I think you will all agree that 9 months of beauty school is not enough time to teach them all the skills they need to work in an upscale salon.

In the absence of an apprenticeship program,I suggest you educate and develop your own. This starts with your terms of employment.

Assuming you already have developed  your own  staff development program and have chosen your new team member I suggest the following:

Probationary Period –- I suggest that you set a six month probation period. Make sure you state that your salon is an at-will salon which means that you can let them go at any time during their probationary period and they can quit at any time as well

Employee Hand book — How can you expect your staff to perform if they don’t know what is expected and how those expectations will be measured. Your employee hand book should be the foundation to developing your team and help you avoid being a baby sitter.

Salon Orientation— Make sure you cover everything from draping, customer handling procedures, telephone etiquette, quality control guidelines etc.

Quality Control — Before you allow them to work on payping customers, let them assist , observe other hairdressers, and when you feel they understand your high standards , elevate to junior stylist at reduced prices under your supervision.

Define Your Goals and Expectations — during their orientation period, make sure they share your goals, vision, and team culture.

These tips can and will help eliminate many of your internal challenges and help you take your business and team to the next level. For complete additional information. Click here.

The following recruitment  tips are geared to help you attract young talent, so you’ll have  more applicants to choose from when adding a  new member to your team. When I say recruitment, I do not mean recruiting or soliciting a hairdresser from another salon. Getting ahead at the expense of others is wrong and a tremendous mistake many owners fall into.

As I travel throughout the United States and Canada conducting my business seminars, the number one question I am asked over and over is how do I find and keep outstanding hairdressers?

As an owner I’ve always had great success hiring and developing young talent, they are much easier to train and mold into your team concept. I have found that young talented hairdressers are eager to learn,and excited about the opportunity to be part of your team. One thing for sure, they haven’t formed too many poor work habits and negative attitudes.

Do not rule out experienced hairdressers, as long as you feel they share your vision, and will follow your quality control standards. If you do hire experienced help I would suggest that  you do not encourage them to bring a clientele; you want customers that are loyal to your business not the hairdresser. Hiring hairdressers who taking phone numbers and addresses from a former employer without their permission should serve as a red flag. They will probably do the same to your business when a better deal comes around.

Honesty and a code of ethics is the only way to build a successful and profitable business and career.

There are many  candidates to choose from, but with the influx of booth rental, young talent are unable to find jobs, especially at upscale salons that attract upscale customers. Lack of experience and knowledge will prevent them from learning and earning a good income in a booth rental situation. This creates  a wonderful opportunity to find outstanding young talent, provided you have your training and junior stylist program in place.

The following 6 tips will help you attract more applicants for employment.

Recruitment Brochure — a recruitment brochure listing the benefits of working as a member of your team will be a valuable recruitment tool to pass out after you give a presentation at one of your local beauty schools.

If you accompany a letter of congratulations on your stationary to recent graduates, this will be have more impact. You can purchase a mailing list of recent graduates at your state board of cosmetology.

Guest Speaker at Beauty Schools — Offer your services as a guest speaker at your local beauty school sharing your thoughts and experiences in building your own career.

Make sure you have your recruitment brochures available and post on the schools bulletin board.

Web Site Presence — make sure you add your recruitment brochure under employment opportunities , as well as application form on your business fan page and web site.

Post Cards -– inviting applicants to join your championship team stating that you’re accepting applicants for employment,listing the educational benefits.

Advisory Board Member — offer your experiences as a salon owner/hairdresser on an advisory board at your local beauty school. Get to know all the teachers and supervisor offering your opinions and expertise

Booth at Local Hair Show — a booth at a local beauty show can be cost effective and allow you to meet hundreds and possibly thousands of young and experienced hairdressers, listing your salon name and passing out your recruitment brochure and salon brochure and answering their questions.

Building your championship team will be a key element in your salon’s success and profitability.  I urge you to visit my educational books page for many more guidelines. click here

Lack of time is a constant challenge facing salon owners. We all also know the keys to owning a successful and profitable business and still have a family life requires a lot of time and hard work. In today’s challenging economy time management will play a major role in your efforts in developing powerful business management skills and grow a successful and profitable business. Learning to work smarter,not harder will be a good start.

The question I am asked over and over by salon owners is how do I find time to develop my business skills and still work behind the chair 10-12 hours a day.

Unfortunately most salon owners must wear many hats. Everything from marketing and promoting their salons, training and educating their team, hiring the right people, combating staff turnover and the list goes on and on.

The following tips will help you in combating time restraints:

Organization and Structure – The easiest way to find more time is to get yourself and your salon organized.  Manage your business instead of your business managing you.  Make sure you develop a business plan of action so you can monitor the progress of your salon. My book Creating Your Salon will be extremely helpful. Click here

Time management — take some classes in time management. As they say time is money. Focus your attention on important tasks such as training your team, recruiting and training young talent etc.

Seek Out Help— seek out education from people that offer educational programs, especially from successful people who have a great amount of real world experiences. Help is available,learning by trial and error is just too costly.

Delegate — don’t try to do everything yourself.  Develop your salon coordinator who will be your right arm. A salon coordinator can be invaluable in helping you save time. Have one of your stylists serve as your director of education. You might want to add a graphic artist, copywriter, or a social media consultant that can manage your social media program. My book Growing Your Business has a chapter on how to select your salon coordinator.

Employee Handbook — how can you expect your staff to perform if they don’t know your expectations and how they will be measured? An employee hand book will help eliminate many of your time wasting efforts in managing people.

Resources — seek out educational resources that will help you find solutions to many of the challenges of salon ownership. There are plenty of resources available to help you run a successful business.

In these challenging times, you must learn to save time and use it wisely. I do hope these tips will help ease the heavy duties and responsibilities of owning a success and profitable business. Help is available; my educational programs will save you time and money. It took me 45 years to figure this all out, you may want to take the easy way out and make your journey easier than mine. Click Here

Although many of these tips are geared towards women’s financial retirement needs, they also apply for men as well.

As hairdressers and salon owners we invest most of our time developing our artistic skills, we seldom think of planning for our financial future.

In today’s tough economy, the cost of living will continue to escalate as evidenced by the rising cost of living  as an example. It’s really not how much you earn that will determine your financial future; it’s what you do with your money that will determine your financial future.

I’ve listed a few important guidelines that will help w0men in the area of financial planning and financial independence:

• Invest in Creating Value in Your Skills — if you want to stand above the crowd and gain that competitive edge, develop your communication and people skills, look and act like a professional, and develop your competitive spirit.  Challenge yourself every day towards self improvement.  Increased income will be your reward.
• Don’t Rely on Others — for your financial needs and development. Don’t put all your trust on your boy friend or husband for your financial security; you never know when you may have to go it alone. Work hard to invest in your skills and self confidence to create a demand for your services.

• Invest in Education — the more you learn, the more you earn. When you increase your earning potential, you’ll be able to save more. A top professional will never be out of a job. You control your own destiny.
• Set Financial Goals — clearly define your financial goals, then work hard to make your goals it a reality. Opening a Roth IRA account is a good start.
• Stay Out of Debt — don’t spend money just to make you feel good. Make sure you stay out of credit card debt.
• Learn about Money — you work hard for your money, make your money work hard for you. Learn the power of compounding. Learn how to invest your money, take classes on money management, and financial planning. www.vanguard .com has an excellent retirement and money management program. Suze Orman also has valuable information as well.

• Learn to Budget —monitor your spending habits, do you really need to spend that $7.00 for a glass of wine? Learn to save your money. Before you spend your money ; place a value on what you’re buying. You may want to start at saving some of your tip money as a start. I urge all women who are in the beauty profession to get out of the box and focus some of your time on planning for your financial future.sI have great respect for women who want a better life for themselves and family. Although this article is about money, don’t neglect your family and loved ones. Your challenge is to find that balance between working and family values

Sadly, as hairdressers, many of us have no pensions, medical insurance or other benefits such as other professions. Far too many of our colleagues are working pay check to pay check. Until changes are made, we must take full responsibility for our own financial future.

” There is no substitute for basic honesty and integrity in one’s life.”

Many hairdressers and salon owners are experiencing many challenges in trying to provide a better life for themselves and their families. In order to raise our standard of living and  make this a reality, we must join together as professionals and address a topic that is hurting our salons, our profession, and our livelihoods. The purpose of this message is to combat turnover and help bridge the gap between salon owners and hairdressers, so we can provide a better dialogue and better understanding between staff and management. It all starts with honesty and a code of ethics.

Getting ahead at the expense of others is just wrong. Are we all not on the same team? There is plenty of work for everyone.

Honesty and a code of ethics is the foundation to growing a successful business and hairdressing career for both staff and owner.

Honesty between management and staff will lead to a professional and positive salon environment for everyone and help combat turnover and business instability.

Sadly there are many hairdressers and salon owners who attempt to get ahead at the expense of others. When disruption of business occurs, everyone is affected.

Follow these three guidelines in building a solid foundation when building your career  or business, you’ll be a more happier and successful professional.

Gossip, Pettiness and Negativity — allowing yourself to be drawn into salon gossip and pettiness against the owner is just dishonest. You have a right to complain,  but do so with the owner in private, not with other hairdressers. Your boss will appreciate your honesty.

Taking Phone Numbers — of customers with out owner’s permission is just wrong, especially if you plan on quitting and going to another salon. Keep in mind, if another salon solicits your services and expects you to bring a clientele, let that serve as a red flag and warning that your new salon is depending on you to make their salon successful.

Unethical Salon Owners — most salon owners attempt to build their business in an ethical and honest manner the old fashion way by hard work, a strong code of ethics, and a determination to build a successful business that will benefit both owner and hairdresser.

Unfortunately many salon owners will attempt to recruit a competitor’s staff member after they have been trained and built a clientele by offering higher commissions or booth rental options.

Recruiting hairdressers who have been trained by another salon owner after they build a clientele by means of letters, flyers, post cards, and various other means in the hopes that they can build and grow their business is just wrong and unprofessional.

Now we are seeing a lot of commission and rent wars within the beauty profession. What you’re really doing is creating conditions that foster dishonesty within your business. Your  workers will not forget how you hired them when a better deal comes along. What goes around, comes around.

Your credibility and leadership abilities will also be questioned by your other staff members when you attempt to recruit a hairdresser from another salon.

Unfortunately when you recruit a hairdresser from another salon, your new hairdresser will be difficult to manage and be unwilling to adapt to your salon’s quality control guidelines and contribute to a team culture.

In addition, their clients will show loyalty to the hairdresser and not loyalty to your salon.

Unfortunately many salon owners are being forced into this cycle out of desperation just to survive

An equal playing field will benefit everyone. Honesty and a code of ethics is the only way to be successful in business and in building a successful hairdressing career.

Of course there will be times that a hairdresser needs to change jobs due to poor management and other legitimate factors, but do so in an honest and ethical manner.

Personally when ever someone applied for a job at my salon I never asked for a clientele, in my opinion that clientele belonged to the previous owner because I firmly believed in a code of ethics. I trusted myself in promoting and helping my new member of my team to build a clientele.

These are difficult times for both hairdressers and salon owners; we need each other now more than ever, it starts with honesty and a code of ethics.

There are more than enough customers for everyone. Let us build a profession that promotes honesty and a code of ethics.