Archive for the ‘Eco & Green’ Category

So Many Systems, So Little Time . . . Well That’s Just A Crazy Thing To Say!

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

I am sure you all sit there racking your brains as to how you can increase the foot traffic through your salon/spa doors? I know what you are thinking, here’s that American guy in the shades, harping on with the same old story – stock more retail products, make the salon look nice and welcoming etc, etc. No, what I am talking about here are the actual systems you have available in your salon for your customers – do you actually meet their specific needs, do they have a choice of the system they can put on their nails?

I hear it all the time wherever I go, “We are a Gel salon, we are an Acrylic salon, we only do Fiberglass,” and to be perfectly honest with you, I find myself asking why, why, why?

Surely in this day and age you are (and yes, I appreciate those of you who are switched on, don’t have this issue) not so narrow minded as to only perform one artificial system in your salon.

You need to have all bases covered – you should be offering Hard Gels, Soft Gels, Acrylics, Fiberglass, Manicure, Pedicure, and Nail Art. Think about it, it would be like going into a restaurant and only being offered Steak, imagine that – what about the vegetarians???

You get my point surely and yes, I have an agenda, I want to sell more products, I want to make more money, but so should you – don’t limit yourselves to the basics, branch out, expand your mind and be prepared to ponder to the needs of your customers.

Just imagine how many more customers you could attract if you offered just one more service; for instance, those that actually do want Gel Nails and not Acrylic, those that do want Fiberglass – more money in your pocket, less in those of your competitors. Don’t go around thinking you can’t afford to get your staff trained in other systems; there are plenty of training courses available out there, some companies even offer conversion courses at reduced rates for this purpose – you just have to shop around.

For instance, I am hearing more and more about the new soak off gels and how popular they are, don’t miss out on new trends like this, don’t be afraid to try something new – call and ask suppliers for samples, if they want your business they will send them to you.

My European distributors are doing fantastically well with the new soak off gel products, their customers just can’t get enough. They are even marketing the services as a semi-permanent polish service – remember to be creative with your offerings as well.

Imagine if all those years ago, I had only stocked the Fiberglass system, I wouldn’t be here today relaying all of my pearls of wisdom to you now would I?

Until next time . . . . .

Thanks!

A Jill of All Trades

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

On my travels I’m asked many questions about the nail industry and I pride myself on always providing truthful answers even when this may annoy my competitors. This is just the way I am and if you see me in September at the Olympia Beauty Show in London, or attend one of my summer seminars, you will get the opportunity to put this to the test. Come up and ask me a question and if I can answer it, I will. One of the questions I’m asked over and over again is, which system is the best? People are always looking for the reassurance that what they are doing is the most attractive and best proposition. I am fortunate in that I know from talking to many of the trainer who work for me, that they are also asked this question. Is acrylic the choice of technician’s worldwide or is it gel? Well, having traveled to over 90 countries, I can tell you that the most popular systems are usually the ones that develop in that particular country first. In the United States it has been true that acrylic liquid & powder nails have been the most popular and the companies that provided the acrylic systems for many years have been the ones that experienced the most growth. In many cases these companies made a point in their marketing that anything other than acrylic was a real ‘no-no’.

Now, when I travel to Europe, and in particular the eastern countries, gel is with out a doubt the most popular system. In the UK, I’ve seen the rise of fiberglass, liquid & powder and now I can see the growth in the UV gels. Running a manufacturing company I’ve always made sure that I offered nail technicians every system available. I viewed this as an obvious decision to make – why would I want to have a group of nail technicians who could not buy products from me? This is a little bit like a restaurant that only service beef and not fish or chicken. For me, the best system has always been the one that the technician is most comfortable with. The truth, and I use that word as much as I can, is that the systems are very closely related and as a good technician striving to become a great technician, which I hope you all are… You need to be able to master all systems and there are very real business decisions as to why you should and must do this.

When you have a customer visit your salon who has already experienced nail extensions and is happy with the system that she has had applied, then you must be in a position to offer that system to the client. You, as a nail professional, also need as many competitive advantages over your competition as possible. You must have the ability to offer manicure, pedicure and all types of nail extensions systems, as this may just be the thing that either keeps your current customer or attracts new customers and we all need as many customers as possible with the current state of the economy.

So my team has decided to embrace the fact that there is a place for all systems. The launch of Star Nails new range is in it self a complete eco system for nails. You have a powder that can be used with a liquid or a gel; the gel can be used on its own or with a powder, it is proof positive that the nail systems are more interrelated than you might think and that there is with out a doubt a place for all!

When I’m asked which system I prefer, the only stipulation is that I would always favor the system with the lowest odor. Your salon environment, for your customers and colleagues, will be better with the low, or no-odor product option.

So next time you go to a restaurant and they tell you that you can only have a main course or that you can have dessert but no starter, just remember how many customers that restaurant will be turning away! It’s a simple thing, which can be related to your business… think on!
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Campaign of Positivity

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

I am pleased to announce that I’ve decided to start a campaign of positivity- I truly believe that especially in the United States, the media has talked up the misery and doom surrounding the current downturn in the economy. Has there been a downturn? Yes! Has the media’s focusing on closing shops and countless redundancies made everyone feel worse and made them hold onto their money for fear that if they spend it now they will regret it later? Of course it has! I’m not saying that the media creates news, but with out all of this bad news, the media would have nothing to harp on about.

When was the last time you saw a front page of any tabloid with a lead story about how great something was?

So here is the news…. I had a great Christmas. My daughter, who lives in New York, flew over to the West Coast with her husband and we had a fantastic time together. Then I got back to work and guess what? I am really, really busy–last year for us with increasing sale of our products, we took on new distributors all over the world and demand was strong right up until the end of the year. So I have decided that there is good news out there and I believe if we all focus on the positives, we can have a great year this year. Certainly, things are going to be tough and yes, of course we will have to work smarter and harder and sometimes even longer, but it is going to be a great year! Do your bit with your clients- don’t allow anyone to focus on downturns, recessions, money trouble, etc… The glass is half full not half empty. Your salon, and their experience with you, will be like an oasis for them, they can come in and escape the trials and tribulations of the outside world- keep the atmosphere/conversation upbeat and on a positive note-you will get more out of the client that way.

I will be traveling the world and delivering my motivational business seminars as usual this year. Over the next few months I will be traveling overseas to Ukraine, Croatia, Italy the Czech Republic, Holland and the UK- and as an owner of one of the largest nail product manufactures in the world, I get the opportunity to see not only what is happening in the USA but all over the world. I have seen and started many trends in the USA and watched as they have spread all over the world. This is one of the more fascinating aspects of my job. I know that the future for artificial nail business is a clean, breath of fresh air. I have seen the expansion of the nail service into more and more unusual and different types of locations such as airports, hair salons and even more surprisingly, some hospital locations. As I travel to new territories where they are experiencing nail extensions for the first time, I am asked more and more for low or no-odor products. No matter how we love some of our older more traditional methods of application, new students, new technicians and new customers do not like the smell of some of these older systems. I believe that we will see the development of more low odor and/or no-odor products in the near future. A huge trend I see for the future is products that are interrelated gel products that can be used on their own or with an acrylic powder to strengthen- the same powder used with liquid for traditional style liquid and powder product, but one, which is low-odor.

Nail Techs need to be able to offer new and exciting products to their customers. Let’s face it, we’re all curious about new things; so we must use this industry and consumer shift to stimulate the demand for services. Let’s make this the year that we are positive and embrace the new and exciting things that our industry can and does offer.

Featured in Scratch Magazine, February 2009