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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.
When it comes to solid business education, financial gurus, motivating consultants, and even iconic stylists are great. But sometimes, the best business education comes from other owners just like you--those who fight the same daily struggle to continue to build and grow a successful salon business. Owners, who have developed their own little area of expertise along the way, simply by experimenting, sometimes failing, and eventually perfecting an idea.
As part of "National Small Business Week," Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced the Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act, which would allow the salon industry to enjoy the same tax rules on tips paid to employees as is ...
It's not just the hairstyles that are making waves at the Eric Alt Salon in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. A new interior design element has changed the salon experience for the clientele and has them really talking—to each ...
I had the opportunity to help kick off the recent International SalonSpa Business Network (ISBN) Conference by doing what I do everyday—asking industry thought leaders for their opinions on a variety of topics. But, this time I did it live and in front of an audience, as I was invited to moderate the conference's State of the Industry Panel.
This year the National American Hairstyling Awards introduces a totally new competition category, the Salon Master of Business Award. Designed to allow business-savvy salon owners show off their labors of love, the Salon MBA Award encouraged owners to submit information on their salon's demographics, existing and new business strategies, retail promotions and sales, marketing and community service strategies, and current financials and future plans.
A few weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, I interviewed about a dozen salon owners, service providers, and industry leaders who lived and worked in the region—many of whom had lost their businesses and their homes. The feature, which I wrote for MODERN SALON, focused on the positive—on how salon owners and stylists, who were typically competitors, were stepping in and helping one other out. I'll never forget any of those interviews—they were the most intense, passionate, and heartfelt conversations I've ever experienced, and I believe the resulting story exposed the true beauty of this caring industry.
Fueled by continued improvements in service and retail sales along with higher customer traffic levels, the Professional Beauty Association's (PBA) Salon/Spa Performance Index (SSPI) hit a record high in the first quarter of 2010. The SSPI—a quarterly composite index that tracks the health of, and outlook for, the U.S. salon/spa industry—stood at 10e.1 in the first quarter, up 0.5 percent from its fourth quarter level.
When was the last time you picked up the Yellow Pages to search for the number of a local business? OK, when was the last time one of your young staff members accessed the Yellow Pages? Do they even know what they are?
It's always a pleasure to interview the Doves. Their artistry is legendary, their work is sure to inspire, they always have a marketing tip handy, and yeah, I always get swept away by those great British accents. Now you can, too, as you listen to my audio interview with Sonya and Christopher Dove, owners of the Doves Studio in Santa Monica, California, and the creative directors for the North American division of Wella.
For years, I've watched Robert Cromeans educate and inspire stylists from the stage. With his fabulous artistry, sexy Scottish brogue, unique rockstar sense of fashion, and 'I walk your walk' attitude, he really rocks their worlds. But, each time I sit down with this JPMS global artistic director and owner of five salons and two schools, it's his intense passion for business that really rocks mine.
As we started gathering examples of how salon businesses should engage their customers in new and unique ways for the cover story of SALON TODAY, I started thinking about how the businesses I patronize engage with me. There's one business I feel strongly connected to and engaged by, and ironically, I've never set foot on their property, never met one of their employees, never even spoken to one of them on the phone.
The new rules for decade 2010 demand that you and your brand, not just your service providers, engage your client and your community audiences. While that may seem like one more daunting task on the management checklist, the information age and the popularity of social media make it easier than ever.
We ended the last decade in a deep recession funk—a funk that negatively impacted salons as much as other business segments. People still have to eat and drive. When an appliance breaks, it has to be fi xed or replaced. But in the world of fashion and beauty, consumers can delay, cut back and stretch.
Your staff members are artists by nature, yet the day-in, day-out conveyor belt of clients just wanting a ‘little off the top’ or ‘a few highlights for Spring’ can stifle creativity over time. Some wise owners are learning how to cultivate and celebrate that creativity, while harnessing its power for some great salon PR and marketing.
