Beauty Classic 2012

      Today's segment is a show report from Premiere Columbus. First stop was the Dashing Diva Booth to speak with Mary Jo Zwirowski about their new fall products. We got a look at the new wrap designs that were beautiful as well as the base and top gel system. Her clients are getting two week wear with the Design fx topped off with their base and top gel. It has superior flexibility and can be used with any other system, it also cures in both UV or LED lights. You can also layer other fx before the final top coat. Patti@Fashion week Their new colors fx are available November 1st. I posted a link on our Facebook page that features Patty Yankee and these awesome new appliqués she used at Fashion Week. Check out more here Dashing Diva

     Next I visited the OPI booth and talked to Kelly Hettesheimer a guest artist from Charleston South Carolina. She showed me the new Skyfall 007 Bond colors featuring The Man with the Golden Gun 18karat top coat. It has actual flakes of 18karat gold in it. They also have a Sky fall 007 Magnetic Lacquer and magnetizer for 3 different designs in IS that Silva? self explanatory, Bond James Bond gold obviously, and Morning money Penny, a rich burgundy red. To round out the promotion they are offering 4 new pure lacquer nail apps, which is their nail appliqué. And last but not least the 6 piece limited edition "Bond" gel color kit. Check out more here OPI

      I ran into Jaime Schrabeck at the Light Elegance booth who was teaching 5 classes at the show. She was thrilled her classes were standing room only. I did mention we were talking about feet all this month and asked her if she would like to come on and talk about her waterless pedicure, so hopefully we can make that happen. Check out her website here Precision Nails

      Darcy Olin educator extraordinaire from Orwell New York shared all the new and exciting things going on at Light Elegance. They have launched their new Poppy paints, small pots of highly pigmented gel that take your nail art to a whole new level. They have a slight 3 d effect and this introductory line is now available in 8 spectacular metallic colors. They also launched Pretties, loose powdered pigments to enhance any nail design that can be added to both gels and acrylics for one of a kind works of art. They have two packs, Primary Pretties with shimmers and mattes and Effect Pretties with out there shimmer and sparkles. Very cool stuff. They also launched their nail art brush collection with 6 new brushed and 4 new bling brushes. Check out more here Light Elegance

 

      I spoke with Gina Cella from CND for a few minutes before her sold out Flavor of the season class. I got to see up close and personal their new fall shades and a sneak peek at the two holiday shades Ruby Ritz and Tinsel toast , both shimmers. Check out more here CND

 

      I stopped at the Venique booth to see what that was about. It offers the newest technology called Sil-tek. It actually integrates silicone into the top coat allowing the polish to expand and contract, almost like saran wrap. It Their top coat also boasts added diamond dust for enhanced strength and superior shine. Their nail lacquer flexes with the nail for longer lasting wear. The base begins the process with a tacky film creating an anchor for polish preventing chips and peeling. Check out more here Venique Nails We also sat in on MaeLing Parrish's gelish class. Who knew in Ohio we would have the honor of a cover girl in our class, but MaeLing is actually from Columbus. She is getting ready to head out to Brea California for a national educator training. She shared her new House of Gelish colors, and don't you all be Gelish when I start posting these fabulous colors. Her class was jam packed with top tips from a true gel master.

      We also got to see how she created those fabulous cover nails. She is on this month's NAILS magazine and she will be on December too. Check it out here NAILS

She also said they are launching new colors at Premiere that are so fabulous she couldn't even talk about them...well she told me but I'm sworn to secrecy..just kidding, I told her I was going to say that. So that's it for the Premiere Beauty Classic.

Shake up Your Menu to Stir up Interest

So spring and summer season  are upon us, what have you chosen to bring in new and exciting to your business? I know we talk at length about brand and niche marketing but today I want to get specific. When I owned my salon we introduced new seasonal treatments every other month. After all,  we get bored, staff gets bored and the clients certainly get bored with the same old same old. I fashioned this after local restaurants that have the nightly specials. Why can't I offer something like this in my salon? Combine fresh new treatments and ingredients for the best in seasonal services?  Sometimes it was a new company or line I saw at a show or read about online or in the trades. What better way to test out the products without committing to the entire line?  Other times I resorted to my natural hand and foot care books to get inspired to create a new service with local ingredients. My salon focused on natural treatments so naturally, I designed my treatments accordingly. So here is the process of designing and developing your own treatments. A really simple one that I created was a Tea Tree mani/pedi. We carried Paul Mitchell products at the time and one of their educators shared the idea with me.  We developed the Lemon Drop Pedicure, manicure with products we already had in the salon. It was actually featured in Nails magazine, the link will be included online. We used Paul Mitchell Lemon Sage Energizing Body Wash with 3-4 drops of Tea Tree oil, lemon slices and sage leaves for the soak. Performed nail, cuticle and callous work. For the exfoliant  add a tablespoon of sugar to Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Hair and Scalp Treatment.  Finish cuticle and callous work. Massage with Paul Mitchell Lemon Sage Energizing Body Lotion. Wrap hands or feet in warm towels. Complete the service. You can serve a lemon beverage, lemon muffins, lemon drop candies, anything else that will add to the service experience.  The great thing about these seasonal treatments was that there were for a limited time only. My clients knew if they did not get them, they might not be offered again any time soon.  So that one was easy, using products you may already have. Something a bit more challenging would be, for example, before there were Margarita pedicure products we developed our own by adding essential oil of lime, actual margarita mix and lemon foot soak. We dipped two lemon halves in dead sea salts to exfoliate dry skin and rough heels. The massage portion we used a lemon lime massage cream followed my steamed towels for a steam treatment. Again, you can serve margarita's if you choose, or limeade, Sprite, you get the picture.  So whether you create your own or purchase a new line, clients are always on the lookout for what's new at your salon.  I scoured my natural and holistic books, researched online websites and spa magazines to keep current with the trends. When I got inspired by something it was easy enough to pattern into a treatment.  My new Facebook friend Danielle Quintanar has a business helping other nail techs learn about holistic treatments and products. Danielle found my beauty school visit video and messaged me on Facebook. When I went to her site I knew we would be networking soul sisters. She is the epitome of niche marketing, sharing her passion for her modality and helping other nail techs. Checking out her site there was no doubt she had a corner on her market for these types of services in her area.  So start researching and let your creativity flow. Bringing in new, trendy treatments is a good way to create interest from the press as well. They are always looking for what's new and by creating new services you really do have something newsworthy to share. Write a press release and include an invitation for the press to come into your salon and experience the treatment first hand, or foot. It will definitely make you the go to beauty pro.

Is it Time to Reinvent Yourself?

                                                                                            photo courtesy NAILS magazine

There comes a time in life, or maybe several times in life if you are older like me, that you find yourself stuck. Being stuck is an awful, frustrating feeling. We spoke last week briefly about an article I wrote for NAILS magazine about reinvention. I can't believe it was almost 4 years ago that I wrote it. What does this have to do with marketing? Everything. Marketing is about building your brand and spreading that message. Business is constantly changing, are you? I just read a great quote from Shirley Gordon NAHA winner. "People change and you need deep experience to satisfy every client who comes in the door." We must reinvent ourselves on a regular basis to stay relevant. Coincidentally this months issue of SUCCESS magazine is about resilience, how to bounce back after any setback, in other words getting UNstuck.  The moral of most all of the stories is to reinvent, rebrand. That most times success comes on the tail of the biggest disaster. So I thought I would share the key points on getting Unstuck and embracing your new and improved brand.

Reflection is key. This is so very important. Review what worked and why as well as what didn't work and why. Be brutally honest. It won’t do you any good to skim over the truth. Have you lost sight of what you entered this industry for? Are you too busy being who you are that you don’t have time to think about who you could be? Following your gut is crucial. Many say the gut is the second brain, alerting ones consciousness before the brain has even begun to digest information.

Get back to you and what challenges you. Have you gotten too far from your core strength or mission? Is your menu confusing? Are you spread too thin? What do you love? What have you wanted to do that you haven't yet made the time for? Is there an underlying passion that you tell yourself you will get to someday? Don't look to what others are doing, they are on their own career track. Stay on your own track and you will go farther by not getting derailed with the distraction of every move others make. Relieve yourself of things that are not working, not productive and not profitable, now.

Don't be afraid of feedback.  Robin Fisher Roffer, author of Make a Name for Yourself, recommends you assemble your own “board of directors” for building the brand that is YOU incorporated. It is impossible to see ourselves as others see us, try as we might. By assembling this team and asking them to describe your attributes as well as your faults, you will discover some hidden talents and truths that the world sees in you. Make a list of what your core values are and what you find to be intrinsically valuable. Ask family members what they remember about you as a child — what you loved, what you were always reading, what you said you wanted to be when you grew up. What did you like in school? What were your favorite subjects? What do others see in you or say is your best talent? Get back to your passion and amazing things happen.

Never stop learning. Become a life-long student. Keeping up with trends in all aspects of business is just a fact of business life. The good news is, keeping up has never been easier with the Internet, podcasts, and Nail Talk Radio.

Last but not least, Implementation is the key that unlocks the possibilities. Make sure once you have the lesson don't neglect to put it into action. It is the only thing that will move you forward. We have finished up the first quarter of 2012. Do you know where your business stands compared to last year? Are you ahead or behind last years numbers? Dust off that list of things to do in your business and get cracking on it. Even if it is one thing, just do it. Only then will you experience the growth potential in your brand.

Learn the Keys to Reinventing Yourself NAILS magazine

ABS Chicago 2012 Monday

I was up bright and early again to be a participate in the Beauty Changes Lives program Monday morning to share my journey with 2000+ students. There were eleven of us beauty professionals sharing the diversity of our beauty lives and the passion of our careers. What an honor! Thanks to Bonnie Bonadeo for including me! Then it was off to the CND Runway show with none other than Jan Arnold emcee.

Jan backsgtage moments before the show.

Pave crystals are all the rage and the design team shared several of these looks combining power polish and bling.

The new rock and roll nails have amped up colors in nearly neon hues. They are dangerously long with the heels getting higher, nails are getting longer to balance out the look. The tips are thinner pushing the pointed almond shape.

Some of the looks CND shared included Organitech, mixing organic nature shapes with futuristic flashes.Treasured antiquities with tribal and prescious textures. Here are the nail "story" boards from backstage.

Many of these looks combined glitters, crystals and metallic foils layered with sheer colors like Moonlight and Roses, Iced Coral, Gold Chrome and Silver Chrome. The Deconstruction nails were very cool layering several colors and once cured taking a buffer and lighlty exposing them in a random pattern on the nails. Another nail was layered with Asphalt and sliver chrome before a fan brush was dragger across creating a brushed metal finish. Matte and high shine finishes were also combined to create dimension and texture. Brushes and stylus tools were dragged through uncured layers to create an etched effect.

Bottom line, get yourself to one of these runway shows or Master Painter classes offered by CND to learn these amazing effects for yourself!!

Social Media Fail?

I took a webinar online last week featuring Albert Maruggi founder of Provident Partners, a public relations and social media consulting company. He had a tremendous amount of stats and data and impressive examples of successful social media campaigns. The 13 minutes I spent on the phone with him this afternoon was much more valuable. He took the time to answer a few of my questions and cut through all the social media hype and gave me some real advice. While many of the social media mongers are preaching it to be the second coming you really have to do your homework to find out if it's the best use of your marketing minutes. If you are a techie and online all the time, you think everyone else is right? Remember what Holly posted in the chat room last week? That out of a class of 40 plus attendees only a handful had pages for their business? You might think well they are behind the times and the technology train has left the station without them on board. The fact of the matter is that maybe you really don't need to be on social media if your clients or potential clients are not. A lot of the social media gurus would have you believe that the entire world is going social media, but Albert states there are certain parts of the world that are very heavy into social media and other parts that are not. He says they are not necessarily behind the times, they know what Facebook is and they have elected to not participate. Some people are just anti social. He also believes some of the hype of the Facebook frenzy is overblown and I can see that, especially now with the IPO on the horizon. So do your own research and find out if your community is active online. He shared a neat trick on how to find out if they are. On your page there is a link called create an ad in the sponsored ads on your feed. Create a "test" ad and follow all the instructions. In this ad you can choose country, state, city or by specific zip codes, you can add as many as you like. You pick the age, sex, and interests, I chose between 25 and 60 both male and female and in family status I chose baby boomers, away from hometown, parents all ages, there is an age range to choose from. I also chose health and well being and pop culture, all mobile. In retail shopping I selected Beauty products, fashion and Luxury goods. So my grand total of possibles is whopping 42,640 people. That's a pretty significant number to go ahead and run an ad. Your area may be different but just for kicks do it for yourself and see what your number is. You also have to have the right personality for social media and many people just aren't suited for its demands. Albert shares that a lot of people look at social media like you are placing an ad in the newspaper, it's not, it's about your personality. If you don't have an outgoing personality the question isn't should you be on social media more like should you be in this business? We also talked about Groupon and how the salon and spa business has been burned by this discounting mentality. Think about it, It's not rocket science to figure out you can fill your salon with 50% off deals. I asked him what would be the best bang for the buck in our industry. HIs recommendation is to create something unique about yourself, your service or your salon. Also some good old fashioned business 101 stuff like try and connect on another level with your client outside the beauty world, maybe a common interest in cooking, reading, bowling, something to cement your bond. Otherwise there is nothing else to base the relationship on other than the service. Clients will look around if you don't give them a real reason to stay. Maybe a new place opened up that is more convenient or has better hours. What's keeping your client from jumping ship to that salon? What it boils down to is marketing is marketing whether it is on or off line. You still have to put in the same due diligence you would with any other aspect of your business. Connect with your clients and create a dialog, not a monologue. Customers don't want to be talked at they want to be engaged in your business. So be engaging, both on and off line. For all my blog posts check out Nail Talk Radio To purchase marketing products go to milliehaynam.com

Update long overdue

Forgive me bloggers for I have sinned......it's been too long since I have posted. Been busy wth Sooooomany things that distract me from my blogging, I know excuses excuses... Well I have five minutes inbetween clients to catch up....and eat my lunch so here goes. I have been helping my friend Athena Elliott with her new Nail Talk Radio show for the past several months and it has been an amazing ride. I have met the coolest people, many that I would have never met had I not been connected with Nail Talk Radi0. I have a weekly Marketing/success tip that I share with listeners and I have been the producer for the last few shows. Join http://www.nailtalkradio.com/ to see all my posts. I actually helped co-host the show last night which was very cool. Jim McConnell from Light Elegance was our guest and he covered so much information about gels and gel polishes and UV vs LED lights. I have also been working on a screenplay about the business, almost finished with the 3rd rewrite....getting closer! Looking forward to upcoming events in Orlando, Tennessee and Buffalo to name a few. Hope to meet up with my fellow nail dorks so make sure you grab me and introduce yourself!

Breakthrough Success Training

The true gift we give

So Wednesday night, this week I gave my sister her last manicure. It was bittersweet. I think we overlook the true value in our jobs. While many may consider it a superficial, ditzy, airheaded profession I know it has a deeper value. I started cosmetology when I was 15 years old. Being the youngest of a family of 4 girls and the queen diva (a former model), beauty and fashion were part of my vocabulary at a very young age. I spent hours pouring over fashion magazines in my mini walk in closet as a kid. The four of us "Morgan" girls spent many hours at the kitchen table at our own mini cosmetic counter brimming with the latest beauty must haves. I enjoyed every aspect of cosmetololgy and studied each area and its many techniques. The area I didn't recognize at first as the most important became evident several years into the business. This business is about people, not beauty. It is about the connections we make with our clients, how we make them look and feel and help them grow in their own lives. I know we are not supposed to get too personal with clients but how can you not? Especially nail clients that are in every week or every other week. Thats more than I see some family members, actually more than I see a LOT of family members. Many clients tell me it is the first they have stopped all day and done ONE thing for themselves. It is their "therapy" their time away from the harried world they try and navigate each day. To be able to help them stop, and relax if only for a brief time and send them back out to the jungle refreshed, renewed and fabulous looking is our gift. To be lifters, that help lighten anothers load. As I reflect on the events at hand I realize that the connection with people was really what I was looking for all along. Beauty was just the pathway.

Nail Gurus Cont'd

Maisie Dunbar is a tech that had been on my radar for quite a few years. I have attended several of her classes, read her articles and caught up with her at industry shows. It has been so inspiring for me to watch her chart new territory in her career. Her accomplishments and awards are too numerous to even begin to list. A successful nail tech, salon owner including the honors of AVA Salon of the Year 2007 award, educator and celebrity stylist is just the beginning for this serial entrepreneur. Maisie developed Bluffajo, a trendy new make-up line and was awarded the make-up line of choice New York 2009 Spring fashion week. Founding MD Beauty Consultants is Maisie's latest venture. Sharing her years of experience and unparalleled industry knowledge is a natural progression for this beauty visionary. She is all about empowering the nail tech and giving back to the industry that has given her so much. I interviewed her for an article last year and her words ring true to her commitment to being the best and continuing to learn. Maisie says: "The best advice I have for newbies is to partner with a salon/people that are doing what you would like to do. remember success is not going to happen over night just stay consistent and practice perfectly every time, find a good mentor, and never stop learning. Be a green apple and strive to become a red apple. When you stop learning, you stop living." Maisie credits her success to dedication, hard work and persisting to be the best. "I am committed to excellence and part of that is my commitment to education and I will take any business, technique, etc. class to improve my skill or to equip me with knowledge. I am still taking classes. I take at least 10+ classes a year. nails, skin, and body classes. With me having my makeup line I have added another project I have keep learning about. I love to learn!" Maisie and I are trying to organize a VIP event for the Mid-America Classic. Stay tuned for this mighty duet of knowledge coming your way! Details to follow....

NAHA'S

I am ashamed to say in all my years as a beauty professional, I have never been to the NAHA'S (North American Hairstyling Awards). I have looked in on them, read about them, pulled up their photos online for inspriration, but never once attended the event.That all changed for me and I'm not sure I can ever miss another. I had the pleasure of attending with one of my mentors, Vicki Peters. The draw for me this year was to support another mentor of mine Geno Stampora, who was being inducted into the NAHA hall of leaders. The event was a who's who of industry legends, icons, visionaries and up and comers. There were also about 200 students in attendance this year which was so inspiring to see. Many of you that know me through the nails venue do not know that I am a full on cosmetologist, beauty dork. I study and perform services in hair, make-up, skin care, nails and even waxing. I love it ALL> It was almost surreal to see my hair heroes up close and personal, be able to snap photos, shake their hands and offer my thanks for the years of inspiration, motivation and dedication to this great business that we share that is beauty.I had the chance to tell Nicholas French that I was amazed by his work, just loved it and he thanked me sincerely and said, "You don't know how much that means to me, you know we are never completely satisfied with what we do ourselves." These artists and legends are just like us..Working with passion and commitment, often for little or no pay, labor of love with total devotion to their art and their audience. They have incredible teams around them and are so appreciative of every contribution. The Fashion Forward winner, Faatemah Ampey was so humbled and charming with her down to earth words of gratitude for the wonderful team that helped her fulfill her vision "on a 3 dollar budget". It must be an honor to share the journey with one of these amazingly talented individuals. I couldn't help but wonder as I sat there why are NAILS no longer a category in this amazing event? They used to be. The past winners were not even listed in the NAHA tribute journal. The past winners of what was the "Permanent Wave" category were listed, not offense Eric, you know I love you! How did we let this happen? We can no longer sit back on our perch of the red headed step child of the beauty industry.With so much amazing talent, passion and creativity in the wonderfully dedicated nail artists of the world, we need to band together and get back in the spotlight. Bonnie Bonadeo has done such an amazing job growing this event. The NAHA'S are going to be pushed further with more exposure to the fashion community at large and nails must get back on the platform. I am going to make it a mission of mine to get this category back in the NAHA'S... Who's with me???