Salon owners get business tips at Serious Business

The Aveda Institute of Chicago, owned by Erik Knudsen, won the Edwin Neill II Full Potential Award. Also honored were three student winners: Maureen Horner, Sydney Malizia and Tyler Grupen.

Creative genius Robert Lobetta takes the stage.

THE EVENT: Neill Corporation’s Serious Business 2010 welcomed more than 1,000 salon and spa owners and managers to a two-day business summit in New Orleans on a weekend that just happened to coincide with the playoff game for the NFC Championship victory. With the theme “Soundbyte Wisdom: 4 a world moving@warp speed,” the conference focused on how to succeed in business in our fast-paced, interconnected information age.

THE LINE-UP: Best-selling author Daniel H. Pink delved into what drives top performance; Flip author Peter Sheahan showed attendees where to find opportunity where others can’t; generational expert Bruce Tulgan suggested strategies for managing Generation Y; creative guru Robert Lobetta walked through the steps of developing a personal brand; and top-rated speaker Tim Sanders showed attendees how to make a difference in a socially conscious world. Attendees had the chance to customize their Serious Business experience by choosing breakout sessions from other business and industry experts, including:Jeanine O’Neill-Blackwell, Karen Garrison and Earl Garrison; Miranda and Ryan Epp; Kathleen Turpel; Walter Claudio, Sylvia Lafair, David Sereda, Stacey Soble, William Edge, Rochelle Mucha and Brian Lee.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: In a soundbyte moment, event organizer Carol Augusto and hosts Edwin Neill and Debra Neill-Baker welcomed attendees and invited them to join them in using their phones to text a $10 donation to the American Red Cross Haitian Relief Fund. For the game between the Saints and the Minneapolis Vikings, a giant football party offered big-screen viewing and stadium-style food with all proceeds donated to Haiti’s earthquake victims.

SOUNDBYTE: “How creative a person feels when working on a project is the strongest motivation,” said Daniel H. Pink.