What Kind of Work is Hairdressing?

From a recent post you’ll see my claim that everyone seems to want to raise the bar, increase the respect, or make the hair care “industry” somehow more professional. This is a great goal but I wonder why it comes up, year after year? Why is it still a topic? Hasn’t it become more professional enough? There is some amazing work being done out there but my perspective is that no, the industry isn’t professional enough. The first reason I cited was the role salon owners play as business managers.

Here’s my perspective on the second reason: Not enough stylists understand how get all the value out of their roles.

If a stylist were working out of his home, or in a one-person studio, the only thing that is rightly required of him is between him and his clients. His work, in its most basic form, is manual in nature. It’s like a skill or a trade. Just because a pair of shears is small and lightweight, the work is still skilled manual labor and not so different from a carpenter or a dental technician. That is, the work results from manual dexterity. His measures of success are efficiency, productivity, and cost.

If another stylist aspires to something more than manual labor, she may choose to see herself as an artist. Artists also use their hands, or even their whole bodies, to accomplish their work. However, by looking at her work as art the stylist sees her role as creating more than just a product or just a service. Her measures of success are beauty, truth, and imagination. To the extent that this perspective increases beauty and creativity in the world, I think it is a valid shift in her thinking. On the other hand, if she uses the title of artist to elevate herself above the clients she presumably serves, it’s certainly not valid; at least not from a business perspective.

Let’s say skilled workers and artists want to make a business out of their work. In other words, they want to rise above the low pay, uncertain demand, and long hours that go with their current jobs. What can they do to improve their situations? Should the skilled worker stop developing his technique? No. He needs to constantly improve his skills to stay relevant. Should the artist abandon her “vision”? No. She needs to nurture her creativity and to think of hairdressing as more than utilitarian.

To achieve more, to get the most out of their roles, they need to completely reimagine their work. They must learn what they can accomplish with their brains—not just their hands. They must transcend work that is rooted in manual labor and become knowledge workers.

In our society, knowledge workers are the most respected and professional. They are the doctors and lawyers and computer scientists. For our industry to achieve the level of professionalism it craves, being more skilled with our hands and more creative with our vision will not be enough. For us to achieve that, every stylist needs to become a knowledge worker.

If you are interested in learning how to become a knowledge worker and make the industry more professional one stylist at a time; please contact me.

Jim

Lucavia
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
www.lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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What Kind of Work is Salon Ownership?

Whether you’re listening to a salon owner, a rep from a hair care brand, or a speaker at an industry trade show, it’s hard to miss one message that gets repeated. Everyone seems to want to raise the bar, increase the respect, or make the “industry” somehow more professional. This is a great idea. But why does it come up, year after year? Why is it still a topic?

Here’s my perspective.

Up through the late 1800’s there were few if any organizations. There were very few large organizations except for governments and the like—and even those were very small by today’s standards. Most people made a subsistence living and those who did better were still doing so mostly related to family farming. If a person practiced a trade requiring manual labor, or if they were a professional such as a doctor or a lawyer, they did their work alone or maybe with an assistant or apprentice. These were not organizations as we know them today. They were just an expert and a helper producing a product or a service.

In the 1900’s larger organizations began to appear and the need to “manage” the business, and more than an assistant or two, became a reality. To address this new need a practice called management emerged. Management, or business management, was developed in the early days by companies such as Sears & Roebuck and universities like Harvard began teaching the tasks, responsibilities, and practices of management. In today’s world the vast majority of people in developed nations now work in some kind of organization rather than alone. Management is well developed as a subject and you can earn a degree in management from any one of thousands and thousands of universities. So, management can be learned.

So, where does owning a salon fit in?

Most salon owners I know have vision, enthusiasm, and perseverance. They do whatever it takes to keep their salons going—including subsidizing them with their earnings from behind their own chairs if need be. They take risks and responsibility. They lead by example. But why are so few, and I mean very few, of them profitable? Why can’t they generate money for their children’s college educations and their own retirement? Why don’t their salons “Run themselves?”

I believe the answer is this. What most salon owners have learned about running their businesses, they taught themselves or learned at the School of Hard Knocks. If you’re working 70 hour weeks it’s tough to study management or go to night school. You have to pick up what you can through observation, practice, or at seminars and trade shows. And, some of the knowledge that’s offered is not what it should be.

Salon owners need advisors who can help them learn the best practices of management. Until they do—and until their stylists learn their proper roles—I assert the industry will continue to yearn to be more professional and more respected. Salon owners don’t need inspirational quotes for their walls. They don’t need the-flavor-of-the-month “5 Steps to a Better You.” And they certainly don’t need books and programs promising that having faith in the Universe will solve their problems.

If you are interested in learning how to better manage your business, actually reach the next level, and make the industry more professional one salon at a time; please contact me.

Jim

Lucavia

gojimlucas@lucavia.com
www.lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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Salon Manifesto

Hi,

Every small business needs to know what they stand for—and to inspire others to join them as they fulfill their purpose and pursue their vision. This is at the very heart of my work around Branding Framework and Transformative Client Experience. Purpose, Mission, Vision, Promise, The Ideal Client, Functional Needs, Emotional Needs, etc., is the stuff we use to get at, “What does your business stand for?” Then we work to communicate it in ways that resonate with your customers, unify your staff, and organize your operations.

As Walter Isaacson wrote in his biography of Steve Jobs, one of Jobs’ fundamental principles throughout his work life was his desire to operate at the intersection of Liberal Arts and Technology. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OesY-denV8k. This allowed Apple to create incredible technical advancements that were also intuitive, easy, and fun to use. This thinking inspires what I call the Unifying Business Principle, that is, the idea that sums up in a few short words or sentences the most basic idea of how a small business will operate.

As I’ve worked with hair salons around the U.S., I believe we have discovered the Unifying Business Principle that is worth considering for those readers in the salon industry: Owners, stylists, other service staff, receptionists, and administration.

Operate at the intersection of Art and Business. This alone provides the opportunity to contribute at the highest possible level: To perfect our Art in the service of our clients, ourselves, and our organization. Without Art there is no beauty. Without clients there is no organization. Without organization we are alone.

Jim

Lucavia

gojimlucas@lucavia.com
www.lucavia.com
(925) 980-7871

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© Copyright Jim Lucas 2007-2013 All Rights Reserved

What is Value Added?

Hi,

When a veterinarian sets a dog's broken leg she's added value to a life. When an engineer designs a bridge to cross a river, she's added value by allowing people and goods to cross the river. When a small business owner creates jobs in her community, she's added value by helping her employees provide for themselves and their families. These are examples of value-added activities each of us can relate to and it's easy to see the improvements the vet, the engineer, and the entrepreneur bring to the table.

There are other ways value can be considered. For example, value can simply be delivered. Imagine the office assistant whose only job it is to do what she's told, "Get coffee for our guests," "Order lunch for our clients," "Run down to UPS and mail this package to our account in Omaha," "Call my 10:30 appointment and tell her I'll be 5 minutes early." The thinking and intention behind the action comes from someone else, probably the boss, and the assistant's only role is to deliver, not create value.

Value can also be destroyed. Can you remember a time when you were treated poorly at the Post Office, or in a retail store, or by someone in a call center supposedly helping you fix your computer? If you've ever been treated like a number, been taken for granted, or expected to spend an unreasonable amount of time on hold, the person you were working with was actually destroying value for their organization. The destruction occurs at the point you don't receive the service you require and it occurs again when you decide to never return.

In general, our jobs and careers tend to correlate to the amount of value we create, deliver, or destroy. Jobs that create a lot of value tend to be personally rewarding because they give us a sense of accomplishment and meaning--knowing that what we do is making a difference. In the private sector, they also tend to pay better. Jobs that simply deliver value don't tend to be as rewarding financially or emotionally. And, in our experience, any worker who destroys value has issues to work out whether they are personal or professional.

Professional hair stylists have the opportunity to add an enormous amount of value and the potential to be very satisfied emotionally and financially. If you are one of those, please share your thoughts. We'd love to learn how you create value and derive meaning from your work. If you are not one of those, please contact me. I'd love to help you on a path toward a richer career experience.

Jim

Lucavia

(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@lucavia.com
www.lucavia.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

You May Be a Professional Hair Stylist

Hi,

Creating value is at the core of every profession and every business—even at the core of every person. How fortunate stylists are to have the opportunity to create value on at least two levels. On a practical level, it is through their mastery each of us have access to better looking hair. On a deeper level, they have the potential to make us feel better about ourselves, improve our confidence and self-esteem, and even help us be more effective personally and professionally.

We believe hairdressing is a profession. We also believe that through ignorance, lack of role models, and inertia many stylists approach hairdressing as a trade rather than a profession. In this post we are talking to professionals and those who aspire to become professionals.

Let’s take a quick look at some characteristics stylists have in common with other professionals. Like teachers, business people, and pharmacists; stylists need specialized knowledge. Like lawyers and doctors; stylists must commit to lifelong continuing education. Like authors, playwrights, and artists; stylists need imagination. And, like counselors, entrepreneurs, and bankers; stylists must exercise judgment. Compared with tradesmen, who may well have rich and satisfying jobs, stylists enjoy the upside potential of creating extremely satisfying careers, lifelong learning, and a high degree of autonomy.

One of the wonderful consequences of being a professional is the relative degree of control you have over your work. Professionals tend to be mobile—they can earn their living almost anywhere they want to live. Professionals enjoy a certain regard from people in their communities and social circles. Professionals also have some say about their work environment. For example, authors, lawyers, and dentists have a high degree of control over whether they work within organizations or whether they work in solitude. Either is an effective way for them to do their jobs and the choice simply reflects who they are as people or the degree of socialization they require in their work environment.

Stylists have the same freedom of choice. In an earlier posting called, “What’s In It for Me?” stylists who prefer to work alone can see how they might prefer to open a little studio, or work in a Warehouse Model salon. Stylists who have relatively low needs for social interaction, or who simply want to focus on their individual practice, can thrive in those environments. For those stylists who enjoy being part of a team, who have a collaborative work style, who seek a balance between the collective interest and the individual interest, and who want to be part of something larger than themselves the Branded Model salon is a better choice. We’ll stop far short of saying one of these models is better than the other—but we admit that we not only prefer, but advocate, the Branded Model and actually seek out those stylists who prefer that kind of work environment.

If you have questions, or want to discuss the personal and professional benefits that stylists can enjoy by working in Branded Model salons, please contact me.

Jim

Lucavia

(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@lucavia.com


© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

What's In It for Me?

Hi,


Working with as many salon owners as we do it hasn’t taken long to get a general sense of the culture that exists in salons. In this case we’re using the word culture to mean: The knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors of a group of stylists.

At the highest level, what we’ve found are the two ends of the culture spectrum in salons. At one extreme salons are little more than common spaces where independent individuals have gathered to do hair to the best of their abilities. The salon owner provides little in the way of value-added services and tends to simply collect rent (in whatever form) in exchange for putting a roof over everyone’s head. We call this the salon Warehouse Model where the focus is on the individual stylist’s independence and autonomy. At the other end of the spectrum are salons which are run as integrated brands. We call this the Branded Model where the focus is on the client experience, team interdependence, and a collective interest in creating something meaningful and lasting—in addition to providing a place where stylists can do hair. Of course, most salons fall somewhere in between the extremes of this continuum.

We believe there are a few strategic options in the salon business that offer killer opportunities to salon owners interested in capitalizing on them. Integrating the client’s experience into every aspect of the salon’s brand is one. Selling retail in comparison to beauty supply shops is another. Creating an integrated brand is also an enormous opportunity for several reasons—chief among them the fact that so very few salons recognize it as an opportunity. This means that those salon owners who do see and act on the opportunity stand to gain such a distinct point of difference they will create a fundamental competitive advantage over their salon competitors—most of whom tend toward the Warehouse Model.

In short, the advantages of the Branded Model—strictly from the stylist’s point of view, not to mention those for the salon owner, are:

Better business education

Increased technical competence

Client growth and loyalty

Improved financial security

Personal enrichment and satisfaction

Better interpersonal skills and relationships

Greater self confidence and improved self image.

As Stephen R. Covey discusses in his book First Things First all human beings have a common need to, “To live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy.” We believe the Branded Model is the better way to satisfy these needs—and to ignore these needs is quite simply a shame.

If you have questions, or just want to discuss these ideas, please contact me.

Jim

Lucavia

(925) 980-7871

gojimlucas@lucavia.com


© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

Stylists Should be Selfish

Hi,

This isn’t what you’ve been taught.

Be selfish.

In order to meet someone else’s needs you have to meet your own needs first. If you’ve flown in a commercial aircraft, you heard, “In the event of a loss of cabin pressure place the oxygen mask firmly over your nose and mouth. Then, assist those around you.” It makes immediate sense doesn’t it? If you aren’t breathing, A) Well, you’re not breathing and that’s bad, and B) You aren’t able to help others. This is a great example of being selfish or meeting your own needs first.

In personal relationships it often works the same way. If your needs are not met then, sooner or later, you will develop resentment. In general, we’ve been taught to be people pleasers. To be good girls and boys. To be quiet. To be polite. To let others go first. But, if we’re always giving, giving in, and compromising, who is taking care of us and our needs? Probably no one. It’s from there our resentment surfaces usually manifesting itself in destructive or passive-aggressive ways. Learning to negotiate for your own needs is a great example of being selfish because it allows you to give of yourself freely and in a heartfelt way.

In business the same principle applies. As a stylist, first you need to understand your needs (see our post “A Stylist’s Competitive Advantage”) and then align yourself with a salon owner who can meet those needs. To succeed, salon owners must create a shared vision that mobilizes their staff to do certain things in the best interest of the salon. They know their staff will only support the salon’s needs if each individual’s needs are met by taking the action requested of them—otherwise stylists agree to do certain things but then don’t follow through. This is usually because they don’t see an immediate, tangible benefit or they don’t think the benefit outweighs their current behavior. Being clear and open about your needs is a great example of being selfish and reduces business frustration and misunderstanding.

In the meantime, salon owners will be hiring staff members based on their natural desire to help the salon meet its business objectives—and building a shared vision with their staff that makes it clear how the salon’s needs are also in each stylist’s best interest.

If these ideas appeal to you, please contact us to discuss how to implement them in your salon. We’d love to help you reach your business objectives, in fact, that’s all we do.

Jim Lucas

Séva Education

(925) 980-7871

gojimlucas@sevastyle.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved