This week’s blog posting is dedicated to all  Mother’s working in the beauty profession.

Trying to earn a living or owning your own business is a gigantic challenge for all women ; especially single mother’s  who want a better life for yourself and your family.

It is my wish that my blog from my new book I will be publishing soon, A Women’s Guide to Success and Happiness, will brighten your day, a day that should be special every day of the year.

A few thoughts on your special Mothers Day:

Excellence Begins Within: unleash the power within, you control your own destiny; always believe in yourself, take the word I can’t out of your vocabulary and replace it with I can.

Stop Worrying — stay positive,stop worrying over things you have no control over,when you’re a little down on yourself or are having a tough day,always remember other people may have bigger challenges than you.

Set High Standards — live up to your own expectations, not the expectations of others. You control your own happiness.Never accept mediocrity personally, professionally, and financially.

A Special Hug -– give your mother a special hug and let her know how much you appreciate all the sacrifices she’s made for you as your mother. Let her know you love her unconditionally.

Pamper Yourself — It’s okay to be a little selfish and pamper yourself once in awhile. Take a walk on the beach,or treat yourself to a relaxing massage or a special day at the spa. Appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds you,the bottom line is,enjoy life every moment.

Pride in Yourself — You are special,when you respond to yourself with compassion rather than anger,guilt,sadness,or disappointment,you will be evaluating yourself as the imperfect person you are. It’s okay to fail once in awhile, learn from your mistakes and move on.

Take pride in all that you do.

When working as a professional in the beauty industry, women must wear many hats when trying to be a good mother and add financial support to their families.

As a fellow professional, I have the utmost respect for all of you. It is my wish that these few comments will brighten your special day. Happy Mothers day.

Building a successful hairdressing career will require patience, perseverance, ongoing education and a fierce determination to succeed.

With over 40 years’ experience I certainly understand the many challenges of building a successful hairdressing career; I also know the rewards of success.

The following educational tips will help you overcome the many peaks and valleys to your growth and development, as you climb the ladder of success.

I urge you to follow these tips with an open mind:

Don’t Follow The Crowd — of glitter and hype. There are other skills you must develop such as people and communication skills, self-management, how to promote yourself through social media, to name a few. Focus your skills on understanding and exceeding client expectations

Keep An Open Mind — learn from people who are successful, they probably have experienced and overcome the same challenges as you

Be Patient – especially if you’re just starting your career. Building a hairdressing career is a journey, not a sprint. Develop a solid learning foundation for your long term growth and development.

Seek Out a Mentor — find someone you respect and ask for help. Check out my Hairdresser’s Guide to Excellence C.D. Click here.

Seek Out quality Education — make sure education is not a sales pitch for products. Find quality education that focuses on your educational needs.

Develop Personal Power Within – bring out your competitive spirit and believe in yourself always.

Take Personal Responsibility — for your own success or failure. Eliminate your excuses to fail. You can’t always blame your boss if you’re not busy.

Develop Powerful People and Communication Skills — developing powerful public speaking skills will open up fantastic opportunities for your growth and development.

Stay Focused — achieving success will be difficult because you will have to overcome many distractions for your time.

Our profession is going through many changes; those who are committed and truly develop a passion for excellence within will flourish, while others will just get by. Click here for educational resources.

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed? Do you sometimes lack the energy to perform at peak performance? Do you sometimes feel tired with no energy?

Do you sometimes feel all stressed out, and worry about your bills? Do you find yourself sometimes feeling bored at work?

Burnout is usually caused by physical and mental exhaustion caused by stress and worry, fatigue and other factors.

Signs or symptoms from burnout can be caused by many factors, either at work, your personal life, or financial difficulties.

First of all, most people experience some form of burnout from time to time, the difference is some people handle burnout better than others.

As hairdressers and salon owners, burnout can hinder our performance at work, can severely undermine our ability to perform and affect our standard of living.

The pressures of owning your own business or the challenges of building a successful hairdressing career  can also lead to burnout as well.

You can easily combat burnout by recognizing the warning signs by lack of motivation, stress, fatigue, complacency, and depression.

When you start experiencing these symptoms, your body is telling you to slow down.

Follow these tips:

Take a Break —start the day with a positive attitude by taking about ten minutes of meditation, making sure you tell yourself every day I can. learn self motivation techniques.

Do Something out of the ordinary — take your child to the zoo, visit your grandparents, or even go to a movie in the middle of the week.

Exercise and Rest — go for a walk, a little exercise, eat healthy ,or simply read a book. Maybe get a massage or facial.

Read a Motivational Book — read a book on self-motivation and personal growth.

Seek Out Help — ask your boss for help,perhaps ask your boss for a day off ,let them know how you feel,this will improve your productivity.

Regain Your Passion –- develop a competitive spirit, work to be a fierce competitor.

Seek Out Self-improvement —  ongoing education will help you renew your passion to succeed. The door to education and self-improvement is never closed and is an excellent way to overcome burnout.

Have Fun and Laugh a little — Get away and have some fun, count your blessings, like good health, family, etc. always look at the positives in life.

Everyone experiences burnout from time to time, your body and mind is simply telling you to take a break and enjoy your life. You can and you will overcome burnout if you follow the above tips. You may want to listen to my new CD on A Hairdresser’s Guide to Excellence. Check it out. Click here.

“We live in a difficult and uncertain economy. Every day the cost of business and living continues to rise, as evidenced by rising gasoline prices. Everyday you read  about people who are having financial worries because they did not plan for their future or save their money;many more  are struggling because of layoffs. Many seniors are  having to go back to work because they lost many of their retirement investments. We should learn from their misfortune, this  doesn’t have to happen to you when you get older, or are unable to stand on your feet long hours just to make a living.

Sadly, the beauty profession rarely talks about financial planning and financial security. I suppose this topic doesn’t sell tickets to many of our trade shows. Most hairdressers and salon owners follow the crowd of glitter and product hype and rarely think about their financial future.

How many of you can afford to miss work due to unforeseen illness or accidents.

Most salon owners and hairdressers have no pensions, retirement plans, or health insurance compared to other professions. The question is why? The lesson here is do not trust anyone with your financial future. You and you alone will have to take full responsibility for your own financial security. I was able to retire financially independent, because I followed the following guidelines. It worked for me, I know it will work for you.

Follow These Tips:

Create Value in Yourself — through education. The more education, the more income and opportunities will come your way. Work hard at self-improvement so you can create a demand for your services.The more you learn, the more you earn.

Financial Planning — learn how to work smarter, not harder, learn and read books on financial planning and money management. Suze Orman has great advice for women, go to her web site. She offers a wealth of information.

Avoid Wasting Your Money — before you spend your hard earned money, always ask yourself; do I really need this? Instead put your money where it will earn interest through compounding.

Ira or Roth I.R.A. — a great way to save on taxes or watch your money grow by compounding. Any financial planner will tell you to take advantage of these opportunities.

Stay Out Of Debt — causes stress and worry ,prevents you from taking advantage of the many opportunities that will  be available to you  as you gain experience and improve your money making opportunities.

Invest in a Home or Condo — great time to buy, your young, the housing market will grow again. Take advantage of low interest rates.

Save Your Money — get in the habit of saving money even if it’s just a little bit.

I do hope that these guidelines will get you started or at least get you thinking about your financial future. Start now, the sooner,the better.  I even put a chapter in my book about financial planning for hairdressers. Click here

I believe in the course of trying to grow a successful business we as salon owners, sometimes forget the personal and professional needs of the people that work in our salons.

We cannot expect our hairdressers to have the same motivation as ourselves. Not everyone has the same motivations and goals. Your challenge as a salon owner and leader of your team is to understand their needs and blend all these different needs into a team culture.

Many of our staff just want to do a great job and spend time with their family, others want to to work in a positive and professional environment,while others are are more ambitious ,committed to maximizing their full learning and earning potential.

Our business is such that we must rely heavily on our hairdresser’s ability to keep our customers coming back time and time again. We also must address the challenges of avoiding staff turnover and business interruption.

Why do many hairdressers keep changing jobs? There are many reasons, perception that they can earn more money elsewhere, unwillingness to contribute to a team culture,inability to communicate with the owner, salon gossip and negativity, poor hiring decisions on the part of the owner. and the list goes on.

Sometimes we as well meaning salon owners also must share in the blame in not understanding the needs of our staff. Are we not the leader of our team?

As a salon owner myself I have always tried to understand the educational needs of my team by investing in my salons greatest profit potential — educating my team.

I do hope the following tips will help us as salon owners, bridge the gap between staff and management, by being more sensitive and understanding to the personal and professional needs of our team.

Follow these tips with an open mind:

Recognition and Support – sometime a little pat on the back and praise for a job well done can be a great motivator. Perhaps a little note saying I appreciate your hard work.

Positive and Professional Salon Environment — create conditions that foster loyalty by working hard to create a working environment where it’s fun to go to work every day. Make sure when you add a new member to your team, they will be compatible with your other team members. Work hard to create a working environment based on trust not fear, make their jobs fun and fulfilling.

 Ongoing Education — invest in educating your team. As leader of your team, your responsibility is to give them the educational tools and support in helping  them   maximize their full learning and earning potential. Click here.

Mentor -– offer guidance and support by helping them improve their skills and self confidence. Show them how to be successful. You get the best of others when you give the best of yourself.

Sometimes it’s good to bring someone from the outside to show your team you care about their growth and development.  My Hairdresser’s Guide to Making Money seminar will be appreciated. Click here for sample flyer.

A Busy Salon — of course our hairdresser’s want to stay busy. As salon owners we need to work hard at promoting and marketing our business. Of course you must make sure you measure the customer return rate and referrals of your staff.

Invite Employee Feedback — let your staff know that your door is always open if they have concerns. Let your team know you value their suggestions and opinions. From time to time on a one to one basis,ask them, how am I doing as your boss?

Clearly Define Their Job duties —how can you expect your team to perform if they do not know your expectations and how they will be measured. Your employee handbook should be the foundation of training and educating your team. Click here.

Our profession is experiencing difficult times in today’s tough economy, as leaders of your team it will be your responsibility and challenge as their mentor to take your team to the next level and being more sensitive to the needs of your team.

It is getting more and more difficult to find quality education that meets job market and consumer demands. How do hairdressers and salon owners find unbiased education that focuses on their educational and business needs?

Innovation  in education is needed if we are to keep pace with other professions. Learning by trial and error is just unacceptable anymore. Tomorrow’s business minded professional will have to know more than how to cut and style hair if they want to compete ae higher levels of excellence.

As a concerned hairdresser, salon owner, I formed Hairdresser Career Development Systems to fill this educational void.

Unfortunately many of our hairdresser’s standards of living are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living. Equally disturbing is that many salon owners are finding it difficult to maintain and grow their business. Finding answers and quality education that is focused on your educational and business needs is hard to find.

If we are to raise the standard of living of hairdressers and salon owners, we must raise the standards of educational excellence.

Most well managed salons are now developing their own educational programs  in training and educating their team.

Far too many of my colleagues are  spending time and money on education that are nothing more than product hype disguised as education.

Before you invest your hard earned money on education, here are some tips to follow when seeking information

References — before you make a decision on paying your hard earned money for education, ask for references from other salon owners or colleague

Backgrounds of Educators — what are their backgrounds? How can someone tell you how to own a successful and profitable business, who never owned one? Is their background consists of just sales, and unrealistic promises. How much experience do they have in owning their own business? Is the education designed to make you feel good  a few days, or does this education present you with long term value and benefits.

Easy to Understand — most owners work long hours behind the chair, leaving very little time to practice what they have learned. Make sure you use common sense and seek out education that is practical and easy to understand.

Defining the Type of Education — before you spend money on education, write a list of your priorities, for example if you need more customers, them focus on marketing and advertising. If you want to improve staff performance, then focus on the educational needs of your staff. Do you want more artistic training? Do you want more product knowledge? Business management? Personal growth? Clearly define your educational needs.

Value for Your Money — are you measuring the results? Did your investment and time get you the results you wanted in growing your business? Have your sales gone up

Deep Rooted Obstacles — a education will not be effective if turnover is a continuing challenge. What are the causes of our challenges and obstacles? Turnover, poor leadership skills on the part of the owner, outdated education not responding to job market and consumer demands, too much bureaucracy and regulations, staff pirating, commission and price wars, and the list goes on and on. We must address theses challenges, if our education is going to be meaningful.

Outside Resources —don’t follow the crowd, sometimes you have to go outside our profession to find quality education. Social media could be a great start.

You tube offers great how to videos, and their free.

Avoid Glitter and Hype — clearly define your educational needs by working smarter, not harder. Seek out only quality education,education that you can take back to your salon for immediate benefits. Many of the hair styles we see at many of our trade shows are not realistic for the average consumer.

As you continue to grow, seek out the type of education that will help you make informed education decisions based on fact ,not hearsay.

Make sure you seek out education that will be focused on your educational and business needs.

For more information, click here.

Here’s a list of common hairdresser mistakes that we have probably all made at one time or another while working in a salon.  By avoiding these simple mistakes, you can improve your earning potential and grow your career. As professionals we must all do our part in raising the image of our profession to a higher level . The following simple guidelines will help us in our efforts at client retention.

Irregular Work Schedule — Far too many hairdressers cross off time on their appointment books, or show an inconsistent work schedule that limits your availability for customers. Set your schedule and stay in the salon. You never know when a customer will call for an appointment or just drop in.

Not Inviting Customer and Owner Feedback — Invite customer feedback as well as feedback from your boss.  If you receive criticism, consider it an invitation to perfecting your skills and  improve customer service. Let your boss and your clients know you value their input; they will appreciate your honesty and desire to exceed owner and client expectations.  Give them permission to offer constructive criticism without taking this criticism personally. I have yet meet a salon owner that wants to see their staff fail.

Unprofessional Appearance –. If you want to be respected and compensated like a professional, look and act like a professional. Hairdressers are in the business of improving appearances. Start with your own.

Involving Customers in Your Personal Problems —- At times there can be a fine line between being friendly and interactive with your clients, and pulling them in to your own personal drama.Customers have enough problems of their own, they don’t need to be part of yours.

Not Recognizing the Power of Customer Service —– Customer service is often measured not by meeting your clients’ expectations, but by exceeding them. Go the extra mile with customer service. The rewards of doing so can be beyond even your highest expectations.

Frequent Salon Changes –If at all possible, seek to find a solution to any work-related  differences with your boss in private before considering leaving your current job.  If you still believe a job change is in your best interest, do so in an ethical manner. Never burn the bridges behind you,  you may need references (or a chance to return at a future date).

Poor Work Habits — We are creatures of habit. Absenteeism and tardiness is a big problem in our profession. Work hard to value the time of your customers as well as your salon’s reputation. Respecting your client’s valuable time creates a sense of trust and projects professionalism for your clients and your salon.

Leaving Clients for Personal Calls — or talking on your cell phones when working on your client. Every client deserves your FULL attention.  Unless it’s an emergency, use your break to chat with friends, or to return phone calls.

Poor Customer Handling Procedures — Always greet your customer with a sincere and caring attitude. Develop powerful people and communication skills. You never get a second chance to form a positive first impression.

In today’s tough economy we can ill afford to making these mistakes in our salons, our clients have many choices and price options on where they will spend their money. Please read my book a Hairdressers Guide to Success-Personally,Professionally,Financially. Click here

I do hope that all of you enjoyed a Very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.

Now that the holiday season is behind us, let us plan and prepare for a new and successful year for your salon and team

2012 is expected to be a difficult and challenging year for both hairdressers and salon owners, due to an uncertain economy and rising business costs.

There will be a lot of doom and gloom, especially during the first 3 months of the year.

Despite the doom and gloom I feel 2012 can be a great year for those of you who are well informed and determined to take your team and your salon to a higher level. Adversity always always presents fantastic money making opportunities for well managed salons true entrepreneurs.

Your attitude towards adversity will determine your own success or failure. Tough times always present fantastic business opportunities because the majority of people will be in denial, always looking for excuses to fail because it requires hard work and effort. You will probably win by default.

Here are some business tips to follow:

Review Your Profit and Loss Statement — review your past year. Did you really make a profit in 2011, and did you reach and exceed your business goals? If not what is your plan to turn it around? The easiest way to improve profits is to review and cut your  overhead expenses. Numbers don’t lie. Your profit and loss statement is your score card.

Planning and Setting New Goals for 2012 — separate your goals into business goals, personal goals, and financial goals. Develop a plan of action on how to make your 2012 goals a reality.

Down Time — if your salon and staff are experiencing too much down time; use this time for education, designing your marketing strategy, improving your business skills, and learning from one another.

Review the Past Performance of Your Staff — Did your staff perform and exceed your expectations? Find ways to improve staff performance and productivity.

Measure Your Strengths and Weaknesses — read my salon owner’s quiz found in my book Developing Your Skills. Click here

Time Management — the easiest way to find more time is to organize your business so you can manage your business instead of your business managing you.

Plan Your Marketing Strategy for 2012 — how will you keep your loyal clientele and attract new customers cost effectively? Review my book on Growing Your Business. Click here

Staff Challenges? — is your team performing up to your expectations? If not identify and confront the problem or person before the situation gets out of control. Review your hiring practices and your educational training programs.

Staff Recruitment — develop a comprehensive staff development program so you have more choices when adding a new member to your team. My book Creating Your Salon offers a staff development model for you. Click here.

Training and Education — invest in your salon’s greatest profit potential —invest in educating your team. Education is a great deterrent to client retention

The year 2012 will be a very challenging year, take advantage of my all day business seminar schedule. First seminar will be in San Diego Click here

Please review my educational resources on my home page; they are designed to help you meet the growing challenges of salon ownership with confidence. Click here.

I personally want to wish all my friends and colleagues and your families a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

I do hope 2011 was a good year. I put together a little wish list in the hope of making the 2012 year, a year that will offer you a new beginning and a better quality of life you richly deserve. I do hope we can make the following guidelines a reality.

Bridge the Gap Between Hairdressers and Salon Owners —  that we can  develop a  better dialogue and understanding between staff and management. We need each other more than ever. Better communication between staff and management will help combat staff turnover and business instability.

A Higher Standard of Living — reward all the hard work and effort hairdressers exert in trying to earn a good living. I am committed to help hairdressers and salon owners raise their standard of living and improve the quality of their lives.

Salon Owners — it is my wish that I can help alleviate the stress , anxiety, and worry of salon ownership. I do hope 2012 will be an excellent and profitable year for you and your team.

Busy Salons -– that salons and their team are always busy every day of the week. When we can create a demand for our services, we can consider raising prices. It s my wish that 2012 will be a great year for everyone.

Unity Among Salon Owners — the only people that can demand change are salon owners. It is my hope that we can form a salon owners group and discuss and overcome the challenges of our salons and profession. There is power in numbers. We must create an equal playing field for all salon owners,and address many of the challenges salon owners face daily. Owners helping owners will be our theme.

Respect — urge the product companies  to show us the respect and the loyalty we deserve.

Balance Work with Family —  that I can help take the stress, worry, and frustration out of building a profitable business and help both hairdresser and salon owner form a better balance between work and family.

Reform our Educational System — we must reform our educational system to help better prepare our new generation of hairdressers meet job market and consumer demands. If we are to raise our standard of living,we must raise our standards of educational excellence.

Business Minded Salon Owners — help salon owners become astute business men and women and   improve profits and renew their passion to succeed.

A Positive and Professional Salon Environment —create a team culture within the salon so its a fun and fulfilling to go to work everyday.

Financial Planning — that all hairdressers and salon owners learn more about money management and financial planning and begin starting their own Roth I.R.A or Simplified I.R.A. accounts.

Professionalism Image –- I wish our profession and the consumer view our hairdressers and salon owners in a positive light. Let us start focusing on the impact we have every day to not only make our customers look good but make them feel good about themselves. Let us start show casing the top salons to the consumer instead of focusing on the negatives of our profession.

Benefit Package — that salons can improve profits and afford to offer incentives ,rewards , and a benefits package for their staff as a reward for their loyalty and hard work.

I am committed to seek out solutions to the many challenges hairdressers and salon owners face every day. Your voices will be heard. I do hope that 2012 will indeed be a very Prosperous and Happy New Year. Follow me on my business fan page for ongoing information,daily tweets, blogs, and special announcements. Click here. Please share with others.

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.