Latest Video from Gatlinburg Nailtech Networking event of the Smokies

Reflections of Gatlinburg

Where do I start? The Nail Tech Event of the Smokies certainly did not disappoint! One of the best parts of the weekend was the very start. I had the opportunity to drive down to the event with Cate, our Nail Talk Radio Instagrammer. She turned what should have been a boring long drive into a mini event in itself. It was so great to get to know this super cool gal better, even though we live in the same city! We talked about work and life...and of course nails.



Gatlinburg or bust :)



     We hit the ground running to get ready for the Bomb.com party at TGIFridays. It is always so great to get the team together in the same city at the same time. With a virtual show it is challenging to stay connected..quite literally..both technologically and personally. We met up with Athena and Braden and were off! We set up the Bomb.com party and got ready to stream live..no time for nerves, too much set up to do. People started arriving and soon the place was packed. Still surreal that we have so many loyal listeners that support our show.



Braden's view from our Bomb.com event

     So thankful to our many sponsors that made this event possible. We chatted it up with manufacturers, sponsors and listeners.

 

Queen Softie Kathy giving with the winner of her Soft Landings T-shirt

 It was a rewarding evening for all! Still kind of strange to me there were so many in line to take photos with us. I feel just like one of you, trying to work hard, make a difference, with a little radio show.

Alexandra Monique Goodson 

Happy Birthday to David From Valentino Beauty Pure

Bri from Famous Names

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

I gave away all three of my books.

 

 

 

Sunday it was off to the races bright and early for show set up. Nail Talk Radio set up our "lounge" with a soft comfy couch,  chaise..the works. We were ready to welcome everyone to the show and share all the happenings. So many stopped by our lounge for a quick interview or to share their story.
We honored Jill Wright, the event founder with a special award for her contribution to the industry and dedication to putting on such a stellar event. She works tirelessly to put together an event we can all be proud of and all call our own. Every year it just gets better!






Signing books

The day was pretty much a blur with over 5 hours of broadcasting. So many stopped by to say hello and share the love! A highlight for me was the presentation of the Aaamazing nail tech award given to Holly Schippers. Holly and I have been networking friends for several years now and I have such admiration for her. I honestly feel she is the epitome of a nail tech, educator, fem-tor and basically human being! She gives tirelessly to this industry, her fellow professionals and there is no question or person too big or small that she doesn't make time for. I actually had her at the booth for an interview right before the announcement and I was so excited for her my heart was just about jumping out of my chest. I though for sure she sensed something, but she was genuinely shocked. She told me that she thought we were going to give it to Jill. That's one of the things I love about Holly the most, she is so humble and unassuming. We really did surprise her.

The look on her face...priceless!

 

 

   And if that weren't enough excitement...we still had the regularly scheduled Nail Talk Radio show that evening! So after a quick bite to eat we geared back up for the show and did a Nail Tech Event wrap up broadcast. Whew. So much fun.



 

There were many classes going on Monday too! But for me...a little sightseeing was on my book :)

Athena & Medi-nails

Jess & Akzentz

Atwood Industries

Team OPI

Jayne & Light Elegance

Holly, Kim and CND

Masterworks

Erica's

Team Kupa

Ann and Yire



 

 

        And as far as the sightseeing?

 



 This one sums it up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power in Being Broken

 

     My personal development plan includes many areas of study. Worship is a large part. This week's area of study came in the form of a class at Grace Church. The theme of the class is Masterpiece, We are God's unique work of art and He has a specific plan for your life to have an impact on others. Today's lesson was entitled Leading with a Limp. About how even in our most devastating weakness and brokenness we gather out strength. Exposing and embracing our weakness breaks the chains of bondage over our life. So many times we focus on the mistakes, the failures and don't allow ourselves to heal past them, to use them as a springboard to conquering our fears. As an opportunity to move forward wiser and stronger. We all have our own brokenness, whether we choose to admit them or not. I wrote a segment a year ago, about my own brokenness. For one reason or another we decided to not use it, but after today's lesson it was a reminder that in sharing my weakness I may be able to impact another, in the same struggle that can see there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.  Many of you know I owned a salon for ten years. What you may not know is that I was forced to close it and declare bankruptcy. There it's out. My salon was very successful for the first 5 years. We were even named first runner up for AVA's  Salon of the year  2004 and I racked up a few other awards along the way. It grew very fast and I had a hard time keeping up with all the clients.

 

 

     My first location was 500 square feet, very efficient and very profitable. But I knew going in I would most likely not be able to renew my lease. So 4 years in I started looking for another location. I found a spot that had been a salon that could be resurrected with very little investment. So I jumped, maybe a little early, but any other space would have cost me 10 times that to build. The first year went really smooth and I put it on the market to sell. I wanted to get back to teaching and writing, my first loves. What my plan had not included was the economy to tank. So yes, Millie the marketing guru struggled. Getting clients was never a problem, getting the right staff was. 9 years in I had struck a deal with two women who were going into a  partnership to buy the salon. About 6 months later, one week before the sale was to close, one of the women pulled out. I also had my other half walk away from my life at this time as well. I had my own share of mistakes I made along the way. Through all the sleepless nights, stubborn pride issues and delusions of keeping going, I chose to close. It was heart wrenching.  I felt I had no choice but to cut my losses and move on. So many of us struggle and don't walk away from a situation when we should for so many reasons. Bankruptcies are a tool  in place to help a person or business restructure and restart. I have been given the chance to fail, and restart. Many business leaders have at least one bankruptcy under their belt and while I am in good company it still will resonate within me for many years to come. Will this change the way people view me as a business leader? Perhaps. I hope my transparency will encourage you to not view your business as your entire world, like I did. To try and fail was better than not trying at all. In this brokenness I have gathered strength. 

 

  I choose not to let this one aspect of my 37 year career define me.  Failing is an opportunity to learn how not to do something, what you should have done. Did I make all the right decisions? Heck no.  No one has a crystal ball and we make decisions to the best of our ability and knowledge at the time. I choose to look at my business as a successful one. I learned so much, about what I can do and what I can't do. That vision is worth millions. Many never discover their limits because they never push them. Success may not be the best teacher, don't we all know someone that is successful despite themselves? But ask someone that had failed, and they can tell you exactly what happened.   Would I do it again? For all the lessons and the strength I gained, in a heartbeat. So I urge you all to not let your brokenness keep you trapped in fear. Embrace it and grow through it.

Why Does Google+ Matter?

 

     Google+ Launched in June 2011 this multi-tasking social media site boasts over 500 million users, outpacing Twitter and second only to Facebook. Problem is out of those 500 Million accounts only 135 million were active users leaving it far behind Facebook 701 million active users and over a billion accounts. Despite many social media experts suggesting Google+ was too late to the party it has won over a core of devoted users. While Facebook connects friends Google+ is designed to connect common interests. Google + is also better designed for those people sharing interests to have more in-depth discussions around those passions. While it may never catch up to Facebook you do not want to ignore its impact. Remember, after all it is owned by Google which helps you get a higher ranking on its search engines and page rankings. One big benefit to Google+ is the hangouts feature enabling companies to interact with fans, prospects and clients through video conference calls. It's kind of like a MySpace/Skype mash up. You can get started easily on the Google home page and have a Google+ account for your business in minutes. then like any other social media outlet..let the content begin.

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So how do you get started?

Go to https://plus.google.com/ If you don't have a Gmail account it is pretty quick and easy to create one. Avoid using your personal or any old email address for your page. Set up a new exclusive email for your page, especially if you have more than one person on your team that you allow to post content. The Google+ website has a tutorial that walks  you through the process of starting a Google + page for your business. Much like Facebook you can add a cover photo and add a profile photo. You can link your website to your Google+ page as well. Customize your page's public profile.  Google+ lets you add a description of your business and a tag line, ten words or less describing your core business. Mine is Helping beauty professionals love their job again. I took it from a comment on a post so whoever said that I thank you. Whenever you post Google will give you the option to share your update on your Google network. Post fresh content regularly, engage with your followers and respond to comments, questions and suggestions in a timely manner. You can set up your account to notify you whenever there is engagement with your site. There is nothing worse than making a comment or asking a question and hearing... crickets. Google also has its own version of the share or tweet button.

       The +1 button can be embedded on your site and people can share your content along with destination addresses. This again helps others find out about you when your content is shared, I have several new followers per week since adding the +1 to my blog. Websites using the +1 button get 3.5 x the Google+ visits. These share buttons make it super easy for anyone to share your content plus it acts as a call to action on your page. Engagement is the goal here. People who see the +1 button are more likely to click through the link you are sharing. You can also set up a feature called Google+ direct. This feature allows a user to search any company name by simply putting the + in front of it enabling them to skip over the traditional Google engine search. Check out more about Google+ on their website and see if it might work for your business. Our clients and future clients are getting more tech savvy every day. We need to as well. because that's smart marketing.

Who's in Your Future?

Salon and Spa Marketing

     This week we pick up where we left off with more notes from my webinar with Mike Colosi from Salon and spa marketing. Are you missing an opportunity to fill your chairs by not reaching out to past clients? Past clients already know you, and trust you. It is much cheaper to try and lure them back as opposed to getting a brand new client. We all have clients that have fallen off our books. And it's not always what you think, they may not have been dissatisfied with our services but stopped coming because of some event totally non related. First thing is to identify these clients you haven't seen in a while. Next mail them a personal, hand written letter stating that you are sorry they haven't been in and you'd love to have them back. You will want to offer them an incentive, something special for coming back. Some people want to come back, they were sorry that they left but are just too embarrassed. They will be so glad you took the time to reach out to them in this personal note. Research has proven that up to 31% will come back. Now that was easy wasn't it? Increase your business by 31% with one simple letter? Search your records whether you have them saved in your phone or on your computer, take the time to reach out to these former clients, you'll be glad you did.

     The next category is new clients. Getting a good mailing list is essential to your new client attraction strategy. Mailing the right offer to the wrong person just doesn't work. You need to identify who your ideal client is. For example, working women from ages 30-60 who have a good income and live in a nice area of town close to your salon. Next identify all these ideal clients that have recently moved into your market area. Next you want to mail them an invitation type letter with an offer to visit your salon. This works really well because these people are prime candidates for your services. Why? They are brand new to the area and don't have loyalties to any other salon or spa yet. Plus they are looking for you. You offer must be compelling and  look like personal mail, no address labels or new homeowner tags. Your response will be much higher when you take these extra steps. You must be prepared to WOW them with your services and customer service and take the steps necessary to retain them as a client. I'm adding a few more of my own nuggets to really get great results. The other thing to remember is to send this offer more than once. Make sure you track your results and if you don't hear back from the first wave of letters to the monthly new client letters send another. This is a little known secret of direct mail marketing. The return rate increases dramatically when you send a second and third letter. Remember after the first letter they may have tossed your letter or forgotten all about you yet have still not formed an allegiance with a salon or spa yet. Experts say a client has to visit you three times in order to consider them yours. Taking the time to do this right is worth all the effort. Your return can be 20-25 percent instead of the average one percent most offers attract. And just for the cost of a stamp.

      Once these clients have come into the salon make sure you have a new client gift bag ready for them. This should include your service menu, any promotional salon items you may have like pens or emery boards, a few free samples and maybe some goodies like dark chocolate candies. Send out a thank you note right away. I have a post card I made up on my computer that offers 10% off future visits, like 10% off your next service and 10% off for a pedicure and free nail art and maybe 10% off a gift card purchase. Have these offers in boxes so you can x them out and hand the postcard offers back to the client to use again. Clients love to have a little something off to continue to try your services, plus it gets them to return to that magic number of visits to retain them as a loyal client. Marketing is a constant effort in your salon and hopefully you have carved out an hour on your calendar each week, like I suggested, to keep the marketing machine running at full speed. Keep working at it and keep track of your progress, because that's smart marketing.