Copyright: TX 6-180-770
Volume 4 Issue 14
July 24, 2008

Andrew Finkelstein, Editor
Published Bi-Weekly

In This Issue
Editor's Note
Tips and Techniques
Recommended Resources
Personal Reflection

When was the last time you just knew for sure you’d put your finger on a problem, only to discover, after you looked at things more closely, you were barking up the wrong tree?

If you’re like most owners/managers, you’d probably say, “Sure, that happens from time to time, at least in the beginning but not so much anymore. Now I have a much better ‘gut’ feel about what’s going on with my business.”

Sure you have a gut feel and it’s important to go with it at times. However, if the truth were told, the gut feeling of yours is coming after a heavy dose of doing duty in the trenches.

Aren’t you making important decisions after battling it out day to day with staff who aren’t doing what you’d like them to do, clients who aren’t buying as much as you’d like them to buy, and vendors who keep sticking it to you (e.g., fuel-charged price increases).

Coming from that place, it’s no wonder plenty of salon/day spa owners/managers think they have one problem and head down a particular road to solve it. Then, what they find is they’ve spent precious resources on the trip, only to discover a couple of things:

• not only what they thought was true wasn’t true at all, but
• they’ve managed to create new problems for themselves.

Instead of doing things this way, they would save themselves a ton of time and money if they’d stop and take a look at the bigger picture—the 10,000-foot helicopter view where they’d see their salon/day spa as a bunch of systems—all interconnected, and drill down on the problem.

This week’s feature gives you the secret used by some of the most successful companies in the world. It’s too simple to be true but it is. These secrets are exactly what the “big boys and girls” working in those “important” companies do and believe me; they don’t hold a candle next to you when it comes to entrepreneurship. They just have the benefit of a bit of “systems” thinking. Guess what. You can too.

PS: If you would like to get a head start on, or vastly improve, your salon/day spa marketing system, thereby attracting more clients, then I would highly encourage your enrolling in our upcoming Marketing Action Group program.

“Before you organize, you ought to analyze and see what the elements of the business are.” —Gerard Swope

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How to Get Down to the Bottom of Things

Just like every successful business, no matter what size, your salon/day spa not only needs systems, but counts on them every day. Let’s take the mystery out of systems development. After all, a system is just a string of subsystems connected together to get a result.

Simply put, everything in your salon/day spa connects to everything else. Just as real life is a complex world system, salon day/spa systems operate within systems and there is system overlap.

Too often owners/managers too often deal with a system or subsystem in isolation, as if it didn’t connect with anything else. What happens is that working this way usually backfires because the other systems/subsystems respond in ways you hadn’t anticipated.

Problems in the salon/day spa are a result of system failure and to fix the problem you’ll want to get to the root cause of it all.

Here’s a simple system to use that’ll help you find the root cause of whatever problem you have. It’s called the “5 Whys.”

This system, first developed by Sakichi Toyoda, then later adopted by Toyota, the automaker.

It revolves around the simple question, “Why is that?” Although it may take you more than 5 Whys to get to the root cause (see our example), sometimes it may take less.

Example (the problem): “Our salon is not productive enough.”

1. Why is that?: Not enough clients.
2. Why is that?: There are not enough new clients coming into the door.
3. Why is that?: The ones who are coming in are not recommending friends and family.
4. Why is that?: The stylists are not asking them to recommend friends and family.
5. Why is that?: The stylists don’t know how to ask for a referral.
6. Why is that?: We don’t have a referral system.
7. Root Cause: I don’t know how to build a referral system.

Remember, the easiest way out is the fastest way back in. So don’t just grab for a solution prematurely without considering the root cause underlying it. In other words, do a little digging with the 5 Whys tool.

Book Review: Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business; Danny Meyer

What does a guy who has built and runs a group of successful, upscale restaurants have to do with you and your salon/day spa? A lot…provided you’re interested in creating the type of business that would win an academy award if it were a movie!

Danny Meyer’s book gives you both a philosophical as well as practical approach to running your business. For example, here’s his take on hiring. He calls it “The 51% Solution.”

"Imagine if every business were a light bulb and that for each light bulb the primary goal was to attract the most moths possible. Now what if you learned that 49% of the moths were attracted to the bulb for the quality of its light (brightness being the TASK of the bulb) and that 51% of the attraction was the FEELING of the bulb. It is remarkable to me how many businesses shine brightly when it comes to acing the tasks but emanate all the warmth of a cool florescent light. That explains how a flawless four-star restaurant can actually attract far fewer loyal fans than a two-or three-star place with soul. In business, I want to be overcome with moths. Our staff must be like a scintillating string of one-hundred-watt light bulbs, whose product is the sum of 51% FEELING and 49% TASK."

You’re an enlightened owner who wants to attract more “moths” to your salon/spa. Danny Meyer shows you the way. So read this book. It’s sure to be an inspiration for you.

“Laboring toward distant aims sets the mind in a higher key and puts us at our best.” —C. H. Parkhurst, D.D.

Would you like the real scoop on hair color? Subscribe to Beth and Carmine Minardi’s Newsletter at www.minardieducation.com. Since they’re independent of any manufacturer, they simply recommend the best tools, products and techniques—not because they have to but because they want the best for their readers and clients. Again, check them out at www.minardieducation.com.

Just as quickly as the “for rent” sign went up on the window of one of my neighborhood’s last independent pharmacies, so it came down. Posted on the window was “Nail Salon Coming Soon.”

Lord, how many more nail salons could my neighborhood absorb? There seems to be one on every block. Although I couldn’t be sure because they all look the same. You know what I’m saying. Those simple tan and green interiors with a bunch of nail tables, pedicure thrones and nail techs in white t-shirts with brown aprons. Then there is always the inevitable plastic rack of nail polish and the mandatory plants in the windows.

These nail places seem to have it down. They catch the new client with a low manicure price and if the client wanted anything, and I mean anything extra, her bill started building up faster than the price of gas at your local station.

How in the world could someone be crazy enough to open up another nail salon, especially since they’d be competing on price, or so I thought.

So when the brown paper was finally off the window, there was another nail salon but this one, “Dashing Diva” was pink and white with the tag line, “re-inventing THE NAIL SALON Experience.”

Lo and behold, the place looked different. It was merchandised —yes, actually merchandised—with great looking signs in the window offering all sorts of events from “Girls Night Out” (drinks included with any service) to special birthday party events and tie-ins with national magazines like Bride’s and Elle.

However, how they really stand out from the crowd is this. They promote cleanliness and sanitation. All the tools are individually wrapped, something special is done with the water in the pedicure bowls, and the technicians go through a hand washing ritual in front of the client before they start any service.

It’s no wonder they’re able to command higher prices than the competition. Why? Because they’ve solved a problem, or a perceived problem for the client; namely, getting an infection from a nail service. Isn’t having that peace of mind worth twenty percent more to the client. You bet it is and the place has the business to prove it.

To Life!

PS: To see what I’m writing about, go to www.dashingdiva.com and take a look.

PPS: Want to amp up your marketing? Click here.

Andrew Finkelstein, President of the Beauty Resource, is a successful New York City-based entrepreneur, author, speaker, and coach who helps professional beauty businesses make a ton of money. Andrew's E-zine The Finkelstein Report is the beauty industry's #1 marketing resource with free articles, marketing tools, and valuable advice for salons and day spas owners. E-mail Andrew at Contact Andrew's Assistant, or call him at 212-831-2421 x202.

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