It’s Time for Unity Among Salon Owners

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I want to share some exciting news and proposals with you.

As I travel throughout the United States and Canada, it is apparent that it is time to unite as professionals and take back our profession and our salons. We must address the causes of many of the challenges and obstacles salon owners and hairdressers face daily.

For too long, salon owners have been isolated in having to battle the many deep-rooted challenges and obstacles of salon ownership. Staff turnover, price and commission wars, salon gossip, compensation guidelines, staff pirating, inability to find quality staff, lack of an apprentice on-the-job training program, rising business costs; the list goes on and on.

As a concerned hairdresser and salon owner, I formed Hairdresser Career Development Systems to upgrade and modernize our educational system as an alternative to our current education system which is biased towards the needs of product companies. With over 43 years of real world salon experience, I certainly understand your educational and business needs.

Unlike the product companies that have a vast amount of time, money, and other resources to serve their self interests, salon owners have little time and resources to express their business and educational needs.

I an inviting you to be a part of a new grass-roots movement in the form of a Salon Owners Summit Conference.

The purpose of this conference is to learn from each other and to form a united front in addressing the many deep-rooted challenges that are affecting our salons, our profession, our personal lives and the livelihoods and standard of living of hairdressers and salon owners.

My personal goal is to provide an open forum where salon owners can exchange business ideas, voice their concerns, maintain business growth and stability, learn from each other and seek proven solutions to the many obstacles and challenges affecting our businesses and our standard of living. The theme of the Summit Conference will be “Salon Owners Helping Salon Owners”.

The vast knowledge and experience from salon owners can be both powerful and over whelming. Who better understands our educational and business needs than those of us working daily in our salons?

In order to stay objective and focused on your needs, free of any product companies and special interest groups, only salon owners who share our goals and vision will be invited.

This will be your conference and your opportunity to share your business concerns and for you and fellow colleagues to share money-making ideas.

Utilizing round-table discussions, we can address issues and find solutions that will help you and your staff reach your full learning and earning potential – personally, professionally and financially.

I have enclosed topics that I feel we must address. If you have any suggestions, I welcome your comments! Click here to post your comments or questions on my Facebook business fan page. I created the Facebook business fan page to serve as an open forum for salon owners, where we can exchange ideas and promote this grass-roots movement. It will be our venue to share our thoughts and business needs.

In order to be objective to your business and educational needs, I have chosen to not represent any special interest groups or product companies. I need your support, please spread the word.

There is more than enough business for everyone; together our voices will be heard. There is power in numbers.

If there is enough interest in this proposed Summit Conference, I will move forward with more details and planning. We can have these Conferences on a local or regional basis to start with, and possibly schedule a National Salon Owner’s Summit Conference during a one-week Eastern Caribbean Cruise.

If you’re concerned with the future growth and development of your business and our profession in these difficult and challenging times of economic uncertainties, you have a unique opportunity to take back your salons and our profession.

There is power in numbers if we form a united front. Isn’t it time for change and new direction? Salon owners learning from salon owners will be powerful!

If there is enough interest, I will schedule a regional conference in your area. I will donate my time and only charge $50.00 to cover expenses. Please contact your fellow salon owners and spread the word.

I will need volunteers to help start this grass-roots movement in your local area. If you’re interested, please call me at 1-800-390-4237 or e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also leave comments at the end of this blog post or reach me through Facebook or Twitter.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Best Regards,
Jon Gonzales – President
Hairdresser Career Development Systems

P.S. – See below for sample topics of discussion. Please select the topics that interest you and email your choices to me at [email protected].

  • Combating Staff Turnover and Business Instability
  • Guidelines for Staff Recruitment and Staff Stability
  • Petitioning our State Agencies for an On-The-Job Apprenticeship or Internship Training Program
  • Combating Staff Pirating
  • Promoting Educational Reform to Better Meet Job Market and Consumer Demands
  • Bridging the Gap between Staff and Management
  • Creating Resources for Employment Opportunities
  • Cost-Effective Marketing and Promotions to increase Salon Traffic
  • Create a Social Network – Salon Owners Helping Salon Owners
  • Promoting Honesty and a Code of Ethics
  • Addressing Booth Rental Issues and Creating an Equal Playing Field
  • Sharing our Vast Experiences and Learning from one another
  • Forming a Better Partnership and Networking with our Beauty Schools
  • Creating a Hotline for Salon Owners in need of Support and Help
  • Finding Quality Educational Resources
  • Sharing Compensation and Benefits Guidelines
  • Establishing Group Buying Power to Reduce High Product Costs
  • Staff Retention Guidelines

Please select the topics above that interest you and email your choices to me at [email protected] or leave your comments below. Also feel free to include additional topics, comments or questions.