January Grab Bag!

Last week we talked about the Success Start small win Big challenge. Those of you interested in following along have your first action step. The first week of the challenge is to figure out your why. Why do you want to start a business or grow your current business. Forget the cliché’s like make more money, flexible schedule and get to what having these things would mean to you personally. What do you want more money for? A retirement account? Boat house? Helping your kids through college? What exactly is the root of your why? Maybe you are fulfilling a passion or sharing in a cause. Maybe you want to control your own destiny or fulfill what you think to be your purpose in life. Whatever the root cause of your why, spend some time fleshing it out. When you have written everything down spend some time distilling it into one sentence and post it somewhere you will see it every day. Having this mission statement helps keep you on track on those days you can’t seem to even get to the station. January is a good time to reevaluate your menu. Do you have too many services that just confuse your guests? Look at what your guests focused in on and let go of the rest. Look for new treatments and services to offer your guests. With spring coming you should be thinking about spring treatments, maybe adding a wellness service like reflexology or Reiki, a growing area in the industry. Think about hosting an anti-superbowl party at your salon with fluffy treatments, drinks and chick flicks. You should also have your Valentines specials in place offering Gift cards and special treatments for that special someone. Partner with florists, restaurants, massage studios and offer a special gift to anyone that returns your business card to your salon. Maybe offer a first time incentive or free gift, whatever works best for your market and your brand. With the start of show season this weekend what shows and classes are you going to attend this year? Keeping up with current trends is a fantastic tool to keep guests. January is a good time to budget out your educational investments for the year. Car pool, grab roommates and get yourself to these meccas of all things nails and beauty. Don’t get left in the nail dust. I also just joined Smart Brief from ISPA. This new service delivers newsworthy articles relevant to the salon and spa industry in one convenient daily email. Save time and be smarter. And last but not least, I saw an interesting newsfeed on Internetq’s website. A recent study found that consumers are spending more time surfing the web on their mobile devices than their pc’s. Mobile users spent 94 minutes a day browsing content through mobile apps compared to 72 minutes a day on mobile and traditional PC.s. Their advice?  “With consumers spending more time on the web via mobile devices, it grows increasingly imperative for businesses to optimize their websites for mobile viewers.” I took a look at my own website from my mobile phone and it works beautifully. Make sure your site is mobile friendly so potential new guests aren’t clicking off your site before they even get a chance to see how awesome you really are. Here’s to working smarter On our business and not just in it!.

Success Challenge

So here we are heading into the third week of the year. How many New years resolutions have you broken so far? This weeks tip is about shaping up your business. Trimming the fat, gaining more focus, being healthier, more profitability and enjoying more freedom. Sound good? When preparing for this segment I go to my trusty resources and this months issue of Success magazine’s theme is marketing. My favorite magazine on my favorite topic. I was drawn into the article called Start Small Win Big Challenge, wait did someone say challenge? This article written by Tory Johnson, Good Morning America’s workplace contributor and the owner of two businesses. Tory invites readers to quote  “take the small steps that will ultimately catapult your career to a new level of success.” Game on I say. One of Johnsons businesses is called Spark and Hustle, a company that provides consulting services to current and aspiring small businesses. Which by the way broke the million dollar revenue mark in under a year, in a recession. She challenges all small business owners and you are all small business owners remember, YOU incorporated. Success.com is launching her 12 week, 12 step program to help boost your business. She breaks it down into manageable, bite size pieces so its not overwhelming. I for one am signing up and I hope you do to. I will share my progress every week with you either in my whole segment or just a brief update. But I will be blogging about it for sure. Here are the first 4 steps to get started. Step number one is to commit to your why. Take some time and really think about your why. Why is it you do what you do? I know a big why of mine is transitioning to a career out from behind the nail table. Besides the challenges of contact dermatitis I want to share my journey, my struggles and triumphs with other professionals to help them grow their business and elevate their career. May passion lies in the education and training of business skills so overlooked in this industry. You will endure much more when you are clear about the goal, the why. Number two, Take responsibility, you are in control. If your business is not where you want it to be it’s the drivers fault. And who is driving your business? Your willingness to take ownership of exactly where you are, how you got there and what could you have done differently is liberating. Think outside your own business as if you were a consultant. The answers are right there, maybe you weren’t diligent in your execution. Or maybe it is time to address a weakness. Not good with numbers? Hire a coach or a good accountant to school you in what numbers you need to keep front and center in order to reach your goals. Read a book take a class, learn new ways of thinking to get different results. Three Know your numbers. When you are down, by how much and why. Are costs going up? Have you lost more clients than you are gaining? An honest look at numbers every week will alert you to changes before they become detrimental to your business. Creating solutions before they are big problems will position you for growth in 2012.  And last but not least. Own your destiny. What could you be if you refused to fail? Choose three things that if you could wave a magic wand and make happen in your business. Too long a list and you’re overwhelmed. Three things you can focus on and wrap your brain around. Make the items on your list specific, not vague like I want to make more money. How much more, by when? Next claim your expertise and define yourself with a nickname. You have to define what it is you want to be known for before you can put an effective plan into place.  So there it is, the challenge 2012. I know I am up for it, how about you? Follow my blog at NTR I will most likely be adding content besides the marketing segments. Success Challenge

The 30 Minute Secret

So many professionals ask me how I can possibly do a manicure in 30 minutes. I have written out the procedure that keeps me on target. The key is to have each step as perfected as possible, especially the polish. I can polish in 5 minutes, even a french. Maybe That trick will be the next blog post :)


Natural Beauty Manicure ~ Service Script



We specialize in natural nail services. Your nails will be evaluated for appropriate treatment and product usage. This service begins with steam towels, nail shaping (filing with an emery board). moisturizer is massaged into the nails and hands and cuticle softening product is applied. Hands are place in warm mitts to enhance hydration, product penetration. Cuticle work is performed and nails are polished to perfection with your choice of color or French manicure. This service takes 30-45 minutes.



Service Description

Tools Needed: clean workstation, towels, paper towels, sanitized nail implements, new disposable implements, Cuticle remover, Massage lotion, Cuticle Oil, Saran wrap, heated mitts, polish remover, polish.



1. Greet client. SMILE Approach physically (do not beckon from where you are). Make eye contact. Introduce yourself and shake hands if this is your first meeting. Offer beverage. For manicures, offer the option of prepaying to avoid marring polish after the service. Be sure to ask if they need any products. You can always retail after the service and offer to house charge the product.

2. Guide client to nail area. Make them comfortable and have them remove jewelry.

3. Cleanse hands with warm towel infused with cleansing product and essential oil, perform preliminary consultation.

4. Remove polish (one hand)

5. Shape nails with appropriate file with 240 for thin nails 180 otherwise.(one hand)

6. Perform hand/arm massage for 3-5 minutes(depending on cuticle work)

7. Apply Cuticle remover and wrap in saran, place in mitts.

8. Remove polish, shape nails and massage & wrap next hand. Place in warm mitts.

9. Unwrap first hand, push back and/or gently trim excess cuticle.

10. Apply Oil to cuticles and massage in.

11. Use cotton pad on nails to remove residue. Gently clean under the free edge.

12. Apply dehydrator if necessary, Polish nails.

13. Place client under nail dryer for 3 minutes. Apply quick dry drops or spray.

14. Offer to guide client back up front, get keys out, help pay if they haven’t prior the service.

15. Recommend appropriate products and follow up services.

16. Thank the client for coming before leaving them in the hands of the front desk or complete their sale.





Closing Procedures



*How was your service today? *Product Purchase *Salon Menu

*Rebooking time (other services?) *Salon Newsletter/Product Information

*Products in bag with info and tissue

*”Thank you and come again”

Don't Worry, Be Fabulous!

Tonight’s tip is about combating the Do-It Yourselfers. Every since Gelish showed up in Sally’s it seems every month there is a new company offering a consumer version of their professional product. Seems we have discussed this to death without gaining any more insight to the challenges than we started with. This past week I saw a post by my friend Jayne Morehouse president of Jayne and company, a full-service brand communications agency for beauty companies and salons. In her new column Beyond Your Chair in Stylist magazine she tackles this very issue of the do it yourself market segment that seems to be growing daily. Personally I have had several conversations with manufacturers behind the scenes and this problem is not going away soon. So what’s a beauty professional to do? Jayne is blunt and direct to the point. You simply cannot compete based only on your hands and your tools. “You must compete on how your hands and your heart use those products to create beauty in your clients lives.” Have you ever gone to an art fair and seen a beaded work of jewelry for an exorbitant price? Yes we all have, and I bet you thought just like me, well I could do that at home for a lot less. Do I? No. So what I’m paying for is the artists interpretation of how the gems are artfully displayed into a work of art. That my friends, is what we do. They may have the tools and maybe with some training can give themselves a decent polish job but will they have works of art? I don’t think so. Why not? Because they don’t bring the passion and the love of the craft to their work, to them it is a chore, to us it is a passion. As Jayne continues in her article, “What they cant’ find is someone who applies this color with caring, kindness and empathy. Someone that listens and focuses only on them for the entire service, you are “present and in the moment” where no one is more important than your client. That’s what we can do that no one else in her world can. Make it her special 30-60 minutes filled with positive and professional conversation and focused on what you have planned to make her feel special and alive for those minutes. Jayne’s recommendations are similar to what we have offered here on Nail Talk Radio with a few twists. Start with a conscious conversation each visit asking how their nail style, color and or art worked out and offering something new that you have been thinking of since their last visit just for them. Listen and make recommendations according to her wants. As you begin to offer new styles and trends they can’t just anywhere your clients begin to trust you more and more to the point where they will just say Whatever you recommend I always love. Be available and accessible and connect any way that is easy for your clients. Some want email, some like text, come still want a phone confirmation. Connect in a way that is convenient for your clients, not for you. Share information and don’t be afraid to educate your client. The more they know the better decisions they can make. Will you lose a few to these at home products? Yes, I personally have lost a few but I also have gained many more in return by always pushing myself to learn new techniques, have the latest products and tools and traveling for education or fashion week to show my clients I am on top of my game. Don’t let your thoughts focus on what you are losing or you will lose more. Focus your thoughts and efforts on gaining a more sophisticated client that understands your value and wants to treat herself to the professional that you are.

See Jayne's full article here
Beyond The Chair

Re-Tooling for 2012

Let’s Get this party started. Last January I went through a marketing calendar outlining specific items you should be working on every month. If you missed it you can look it up on my blog under Year planner part 1. Tonight I will break down the most important steps to get your 2012 marketing efforts in hyper drive to get the best traction.
Get your 2012 marketing started by  re-identifying  your target market. This is where the Guest profile really helps your efforts. Find it on my blog under Guest Profile. Now is the perfect time to start using this if you haven’t already. Tell your guests in order to serve them better you are reorganizing your business files. Make sure each and every guest fills out a new Guest profile, no exceptions. Chances are your records may be out of date. Make sure you include your facebook link and encourage all guests to like your page on Facebook and follow you on Twitter. Send out posts a few times per week w/ specials, new products, and education events. You can have special Facebook fans of the week or Twitter retweet contests to keep your guests engaged with your social media by rewarding them. Check out all the ways to use the guest profile in your marketing efforts on my blog. So have you identified what it is you are going to implement in your marketing strategies in 2012?  Before you get too ambitious I want to share some insight from Darren Hardy, publisher of Success magazine. In our efforts to really hit 2012 strong we may try and work on too many things at once. In this months CD he warns against trying to put too many things into the mix. If we have more than 3 goals, we might as well not have any. Every time you put too many things on your calendar you water down the effectiveness of each one. I know from personal experience all too well. So I am encouraging you to set 3 business goals. That’s right 3. Take the time to fully research , implement and track these three strategies and you will be amazed at the progress you can make. Which three do you choose? Well if you were listening last week I discussed reviewing 2011 and really evaluating what worked and what didn’t. Once you know what worked, wash, rinse and repeat. Does your referral program bring new guests in on a regular basis?  Ramp up your efforts. Gaining a lot of clients through Facebook? Commit to engaging even more with your guests on your fan page. The face of social media is in a constant state of flux and in order to stay ahead of the pack you have to adapt to these changes. Many of you may have followed the urge to purge your friends list these past few weeks. Don’t fall prey to being purged from your guests newsfeed. Look into social media tools that make engaging with your fans easier and more efficient. Tools like UberSocial, Tweetdeck, and Hootsuite can let you manage several social media accounts with one inclusive site. You can even schedule your updates, tweets and blog posts throughout the day or week so you can focus on other parts of your business. Technology is moving at the speed of light and only those willing to adapt to the changes will survive.

                                                                                                        Shanghai Web Designers.
I don’t know if any of you caught the news blurb What happens every 60 seconds on the web but to name just a few things. Search engine Google serves more that 694,445 queries, 6,600+ pictures are uploaded to Flickr, 600 videos are uploaded to YouTube, amounting to 25+ hours of content, 695,000 status updates, 79,364 wall posts and 510,040 comments are published on social networking site Facebook, 168,000,000+ emails are sent, 320 new accoonts  and 98,000 tweets are generated on social networking site Twitter, iPhone applications are downloaded more than 13,000 times, 20,000 new posts are published on micro-blogging platform Tumblr. Don’t get lost in this ocean of information. Target your market, choose your strategies, provide value in everything you do and keep moving forward.

The Year in Review

Are you further ahead this year than last year? Did your business grow? Did you step outside the bottle and try something new? Last year I brought you 52 tips on marketing your business with a few about success and attitude thrown in for good measure. But its more than just listening and reading. True change comes in the form of doing. When you review your past year think about what worked and what didn’t. Think about how much effort you put into your business and how much more it will take to get to your level of personal and professional success. One mans success is anothers starting point. Don’t compare yourself to others, measure yourself against the only person that matters. You. You define your success. No one else. But you are also responsible and accountable for the journey. What are you willing to do this year to make real change happen? Remember if we keep doing what we’ve always done we’ll keep getting what we’ve always gotten. Challenge yourself this year to learn something new. Are you an acrylic master? How about learning one stroke nail art? Gel perfectionist? Learn to bling. Opening yourself to new challenges shows you and your clients you are willing to do what it takes to keep current not only for yourself but for them. Sign up for a class, buy a dvd, invest in yourself and your talents will expand. We are only as valuable as our skill set, so increase your value by learning more skill sets. Come next week, actually this week for some of us, myself included, there will be plenty of time to reflect on this past year. Take a good hard look at your numbers and look for areas to improve. Do you need to work on your time to increase your value per hour? Do you need a better booking system? Use this down time to research, investigate and try new tools that can make your business more efficient. Everyones assignment this week is to set three new goals this year. Make them real goals, not vague like want to be a celebrity manicurist. Start with tools like maybe buying Crystal Wrights book. Look for opportunities and act on them. I want to increase my income by 20 percent by June 1st. What do you need to learn and do to make that happen? Come up with a few things that will propel your journey towards these new goals, keep a list and review it often. Look at the year in quarters, 1st, second etc and set goals for each quarter. We overestimate what can be done in a month but underestimate what we can do in a quarter. Reach out to find help in the nail community. Chances are there is someone doing what you want to do and would be willing to mentor you. Asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness. Most of all this year enjoy what you do. That is the real key for success. You will never find a successful pedicurist that hates toes. If there are areas of your world you hate, don’t include them on your menu. While we may be able to strengthen a weakness we may never love it, so let it go. I wish each and every one of our listeners a happy and prosperous New Year! And remember, help is only one Monday away.

Attitude of Gratitude

Today’s tip of the week is about gratitude. I don’t understand how folks in this business can complain about being busy this time of year. Come to think of it they complain when they are slow too. In all honesty, it is just a few short weeks of mayhem and then we are scrounging around for those same clients come January. The nail industry is a service business. At the heart of service is serve from the Latin root servire, to be a slave or servant. While that might conjure up some negatives emotions, if you don’t have a servants heart in this business, that may be at the root of your complaints. Maybe you are not charging what you think you are worth, after all we are not slaves, we work hard but we also get paid, some quite well.  Being underpaid and underappreciated can cause resentment. What is the answer? Lift yourself out of your shackles, educate yourself, make sure your surroundings are pristine, go above and beyond the clients wildest dreams and you are no longer a servant, you are the queen business woman. I understand the balance between serving and being taken advantage of is a fine line. Customers cancel, want to change appointments at the last minute or better yet want you to squeeze them in when they didn’t have the foresight to book ahead. These are all problems with solutions. Do you have a cancellation policy? No one will take you or your time seriously until you do. Are there a few flexible clients you can maneuver around to accommodate last minute clients? Are your clients on a standing appointment or at least rebooking before they leave, or booking online? All these strategies can curb even the worst client behavior. I never complain when I am busy, I am grateful because I know how many techs struggling out there would love to be in my shoes. If you are booked out 6 months in advance and no room on the books, guess what? Its time to raise your prices. Remember no matter where you are there is someone else struggling to get there. There is a student in nail school right now struggling to get her license. Sit back and appreciate the hectic holiday times and envision 2012 that busy year round. Clients are the heart and soul of our business and so many of them truly love us and appreciate us for the professional women we are. Did you know one of the top reasons clients leave a salon is because they didn’t feel valued? Yes there are a few that we wish would find another salon but for the most part we truly need to appreciate them. Especially this time of year when they come bearing gifts, cash and checks. Keep a gift log and make sure to send a hand written thank you to each and every one, make sure to add one thing about them that you appreciate, even if it is their trendy shoes. Living with gratitude in your heart is the best attitude to bring you more things to be grateful for. So don’t be a sourpuss. Smile, be grateful and be prosperous in 2012.