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Director of Brand Content Strategy
Stacey Soble has been involved in the conversation of salon business for more than two decades—as a reporter, a consultant and as the editor in chief of SALON TODAY. She has been responsible for growing the brand's celebrated recognition programs, SALON TODAY 200 and SALONS OF THE YEAR, and has launched two new competitions in recent years--STAMP (SALON TODAY's Annual Marketing Program) and the SALON TODAY Total Makeover Competition. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of salon business at industry events.
I was so excited when my 16-year-old daughter Rachel tried out for and made the high school diving team. But two weeks after practice started, and she could no longer pull a comb through her hair, I was rethinking that decision. Two hour, daily practice sessions in a chlorine-saturated pool left her blonde strands tangled, dry, dull, gummy and a little green.
I grew up in Tornado Alley, just 149 miles from Joplin, Missouri. Although I was fortunate to never have come too close to a tornado, I remember watching one from afar from my fourth-grade classroom as we assumed the 'position' long practiced in regular tornado drills. I remember many Spring nights spent in our basement listening for an all-clear announcement from the local radio station. And, I remember once touring a family friend's country home that was literally lifted off its foundation, rotated 180 degrees and set back down--leaving the back door where they front door used to be. Naturally, my thoughts are with the people of Joplin this week, and I'm not alone:
Edwin Neill III, CEO of Neill Corporation, encourages listeners to contribute to the The Salon and Spa Relief Fund, which was established to help salon and spa owners and their employees rebuild their lives and businesses following natural disasters.
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Keith Noonan Salon in New Orleans, the salon was only 18 months old. Owners Keith and Michele Noonan were overwhelmed and found they didn’t have the energy or resources to rebuild.
As the mid-year point rapidly approaches, Salon Today wondered how 2011 is shaping up in comparison to its predecessors, so we posed a round of forecasting questions to a sample of owners from our proview panel. All in all, it seems salons are planning for growth:
A chance meeting at an industry event leads the management of two salons to temporarily trade places to share strengths with one another.
Pureology's vice president of marketing lists the benefits of a green school and lets you know you how, a client or a staff member can enter your local school for a Green School Makeover.
With much fanfare, the Professional Beauty Association announced the much-anticipated finalists for the 2011 North American Hairstyling Awards! As of last year, NAHA, the most prestigious photo competition in North America, celebrates the business savvy of salon owners in addition to the artistry and skill of professional salon industry. PBA invites the entire industry to come together on July 31, at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas for the 2011 awards ceremony.
When it comes to supporting your local schools, there are a lot of ways you can help. You can offer complimentary services to teachers, offer gift cards for school fund-raising efforts, or talk to interested high school students about careers in cosmetology. Now, thanks to Pureology and Global Green USA, there’s a great new green way you can help your local school.
Colin Walsh, Matrix vice president and general manager, describes the new momentum at Matrix and how positive programs, such at Spread the Love, Chairs of Change and Matrix Mixers, are helping stylists connect with one another.
The Professional Beauty Association’s (PBA) government advocacy efforts helped to prevent passage of New Hampshire House Bill 466-FN, which would have deregulated the state’s cosmetology industry. By taking swift action to alert beauty professionals in New Hampshire and the industry at large, PBA’s government affairs department was able to organize supporters who sent a clear message to state legislators that deregulation was not in the best interest of consumers and licensed beauty professionals. By providing clear information on the matter, and the means to take action, PBA’s efforts helped prevent what would have been a severe blow to the livelihoods of many and jeopardize the integrity of the cosmetology and barbering profession.
As SALON TODAY follows the leading manufacturing companies in the professional beauty industry, we’ve picked up on a new energy at Matrix. I recently had the opportunity to get to the bottom of that new momentum through a podcast interview with Colin Walsh, Matrix’s vice president general manager.
AN INNOVATIVE, day-long business forum hosted by America’s Beauty Show (ABS), P&G Salon Professional and SALON TODAY at the 2011 ABS not only pumped up salon owners with new client thinking and business-building strategies, it provided a leadership foundation to support them as they went home to implement these inspired ideas.
This past November, SOS took their relationship to a whole new level, when one member, Lisa Cochran, owner of The Studio in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, donated a kidney to Domenic Cicala, owner of O’Hair Salon+Spa with locations in Gaithersburg and Frederick, Maryland.
From rhinestones to bling strands to fine feathers, the Spring beauty shows were rocking with specialty hair extensions. SALON TODAY wondered if clients are equally excited about the trend, so we asked salons what's hot in their own markets, how they are marketing specialty extensions and how clients are responding. While it seems the pending prom season is driving some interest in a little Spring bling, the majority of the momentum belongs to feathers:
Bert Jacobs is the co-founder and the chief executive optimist with the Life is Good company. After giving the keynote at Matrix's Imagination 2011 event, Jacobs shared his experiences about growing a company from the ground up and the importance of spreading a message of positivity with SALON TODAY.
When my daughter Rachel had her Bat Mitzvah a few years back, our party planner pushed us to come up with a theme. Rachel quickly rejected ideas the planner’s ideas of a disco, sports or 60s theme. Perplexed, we went to lunch with some friends. Filling them in on our quandary, the other mom looked at Rachel in her colorful T-shirt, and kiddingly suggested, “What about a ‘Life is Good’ theme? She’s a glass-always-full-kind-of girl.”
