Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Hi,

Not long ago there was a television commercial featuring a group of consultants in a meeting with their client. The consultants had just finished their recommendations and offered their advice as documented in their final report. At the end of their presentation the client said, “Great. Let’s get started!” causing raised eyebrows and a burst of laughter from the consultants. After they’d regained their composure they simply said, “Uh, these were our recommendations. We don’t actually do anything.”

Séva Education is different. We are compelled to take action.

Our offerings are comprehensive and based on strong branding and business management practices. But, we don’t stop there. Our Transformational Client Experience work will help you understand your clients better than ever before and create a Transformative Experience for them based on what’s important to them. Our Branding module will ensure that everything we want your brand to be, to do, and to say is well thought out, integrated, and consistent.

While perhaps not the most glamorous aspect, our Operational Excellence practice is how we help you get traction—how we actually get things done—basically, where the rubber meets the road. We are excited to share our insights and understanding about consumers and brands but we won’t be satisfied until we transform this knowledge into action and turn that action into business results for your salon.

If this kind of thinking gets your attention, we should talk. I’d love to explain what else is on our minds and I’d really enjoy hearing your story.

Jim Lucas
Séva Education
(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@sevastyle.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

Mad as Hell!

Hi,

Jonathan Guthrie wrote an interesting article for the Financial Times (10/15/09) about hairdressers in the United Kingdom. Concluding with some very upbeat comments about the industry, saying, “Hair cannot be cut over the internet, or automated without the risk that ears will be trimmed off along with the split ends. ...Hairdressers have something many big businesses would kill for: a defensible market position.” That is very positive and positively true.

On the way to his conclusion he explored some not-so-complimentary ideas, including his quoting the writer Douglas Adams “Who hypothesised that, given the chance, society would maroon those inessential snippers on a wilderness planet, where they would dopily use sticks to make curling tongs rather than fires for cooking.”

Rarely do we have a business conversation with salon owners or stylists when they don’t mention something about wanting to increase the professional image of stylists or the respect for stylists in our industry. For example, we often hear, “I really need to take my staff to the next level,” or “I don’t get it, I provide just as valuable a service as (fill in the blank) and their reputations are more professional than stylists’.”

As people, we sometimes take our motivation from an inspiring thought or from great examples of leadership; but in this case we don’t think it’s unreasonable to get “Mad as hell” and do something about it.

We believe that one of the most powerful actions stylists can take to improve their work life, professional standing, and increase their earnings is to do something that many find completely unreasonable:
1. Work with salon owners to build their salon into a powerful brand
2. Work together as a team with fellow stylists
3. Invest in their business education at the same rate as their hairdressing education.

Imagine what a salon could achieve with stylists able to create that kind of vision.

Now, if you would like to discuss the enormous benefits—to you as a stylist, or as an owner—and learn how to implement this kind of powerful change in your salon, please contact us. We’d love to show you how it’s in your own selfish best interest to improve yourself, your teamwork, and your brand.

Jim Lucas
Séva Education
(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@sevastyle.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

Reframing the Category

Hi,

One of the steps in the Branding Framework is called Reframing the Category. It has to do with looking at an opportunity, or a problem, in a new way with fresh eyes. It is an exercise that can define a competitive advantage for your brand simply by ignoring the usual constraints or “givens” in the marketplace and replacing them with an insight, or service, or product that is completely unexpected, new, or counter-intuitive. Successfully reframing your category can mean the difference between being just another salon or spa and being the salon or spa in your market.

At the risk of touching an invisible “third rail” Séva believes that somehow, for some reason, the industry has developed very low expectations of stylists—not as artists, but as business professionals. Time and time again we hear recurring themes from salon owners directly, at trade shows, and from online consultants and industry observers (btw, some of these comments are edited):
• Stylists are only concerned about their own chair
• Stylists won’t sell retail even though they would make more money
• Estheticians are great at selling product but my stylists refuse
• Stylists must be told daily what to do or they forget, or worse.

Let’s only look at these observations from the point of view of reframing the category and try to create a fundamental breakthrough that you can develop for your salon.

We know from business theory that businesses thrive under certain universal conditions:
• When the rules are well known and transparent
• When a common purpose exists
• When a shared understanding leads to teamwork and synergy
• When people mobilize toward a common goal
• When people are able to draw a direct line between a given behavior and their own self-interests
• When a specific capability exists that is not easily duplicated by competition.

Using these universal business conditions to turn popular opinion about stylists upside down, Séva argues the potential for competitive advantage exists for salon and spa owners who adopt this strategic imperative:

I will always be number one in my market because I own something no other competitor has been able to achieve—and isn’t likely to achieve anytime soon: My staff works together with a common purpose. Each and every one of them inspires me with their ability to deliver our brand promise every single day without fail.

If you could make this true for your salon, would it mean the difference between surviving and thriving? We are certain it will. If you would like to learn more about this powerful idea and be the only salon in your market to own this advantage, please contact me. I’d love to hear your story.

Jim Lucas
Séva Education
(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@sevastyle.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

New Clients or More Success?

Hi,

When we don’t have a relationship with a salon or spa and we ask, “What is the one thing you need most?” the answer we hear is, “More clients.” The message is clear, it’s simple, and it’s compelling. It’s something we respect and something we believe. As a result, our branding practice contains a new business development module that is entirely focused on bringing new clients into your salon or spa.

When we have a trusting relationship with a salon or spa we get a surprisingly different answer to the same question, “What is the one thing you need most?” When a salon or spa owner feels safe, and we have personal rapport, we often get an outpouring of disclosures that reveal the true state of their business. It often turns out that “More clients” is just the tip of the iceberg and many of our clients struggle with anything from “Getting my salon to the next level,” to “Creating better loyalty and teamwork with my staff,” to “I really need someone to help me get my business act together.”

MORE CLIENTS

So, if you are coming to this conversation from the “More clients” point of view we have something very direct and simple for you. We would like to share our Business Development Playbook and we would like to introduce you to the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology. It is a simple idea with zero overhead. It simply states that we make our plans, execute our actions, check to see if they worked, and then act accordingly when we repeat our plans. That is, we get constantly better by documenting and measuring our results and then systematically throwing out what doesn’t work in favor of improving the things that do work. (Please see earlier blog posts for more insight.)

MORE SUCCESS

If you’re coming to this conversation looking for something deeper—or simply open to it, we have something very concrete and powerful to offer. Séva Education believes that at the end of the day only one thing matters. That one thing is creating a transformative experience for clients—which in turn—transforms them from clients into advocates who actively look for ways to help you succeed. (See earlier posts for more detail.) Our practice consists of three pieces: client experiences, branding, and excellent operations. In the Transformative Client Experience component we show how simple client service is not enough for a spa to thrive. Even strong functional experiences (great services, great location, great attitude, great prices, etc.) are not enough to build powerful brands. It’s only when we tap into the multiplying effect of Functional X Emotional experiences that we can truly create something transformative for you. Once that is clearly defined we build your brand story, using our Branding Framework, to clearly and consistently tell the market who you are, what you stand for, and what you promise.

If these ideas pique your interest, and if you want to learn more about developing new clients, please contact us. We’d love to hear your story and, when you’re ready, learn about what’s truly keeping you up at night.

Jim Lucas
Séva Education
(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@sevastyle.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

Learn a New Language: Branding

Hi,

When my family and I lived in Italy we knew from the beginning we would have to learn Italian which was a new language for all of us. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the culture and in our new country and for us to do that learning the language was key. It wasn’t so much that we were interested in Italian for the pure joy of speaking it; what we really wanted were the benefits of speaking the language: The ability to make friends, have richer life experiences, perform better at work, and just live a normal life.

In the same way, branding can be thought of as a kind of language. It has structure, and logic, and vocabulary. For most people, learning the language of branding isn’t about the joy of learning; it too is about the benefits it brings. The ability to communicate with target clients, imagine richer client experiences, profitable growth, and just running a better salon.

Once we learned enough Italian to be dangerous we learned a very unexpected lesson. We were so proud that we could say simple phrases and ask a variety of questions. It didn’t take long to realize, however, that after we successfully communicated something like, “Good morning. How are you?” things would get very complicated. Why? Because the person we spoke to would respond! Once they started talking we realized we not only needed to learn the questions, we needed to be able to understand the answers—and then have something else to say, unless we wanted every conversation to last less than a minute.

That’s when we got serious about understanding the fundamentals of Italian. We knew that we couldn’t acquire a lifetime of knowledge in six months but we also knew that if we understood the fundamentals of Italian we could figure out how to keep a conversation going. Getting a stronger command of verbs, nouns, and syntax turned out to be far more helpful than just learning random words and speaking them without purpose.

Branding has its own vocabulary and you can learn and use the basics to help you have purposeful conversations with your clients and target audience. Without having to master the entire subject in six months you can still understand and practice the fundamentals that will allow your salon to thrive. We can teach you the fundamentals of branding and we can show you how to sustain your conversations.

If this kind of thinking appeals to you and you would like to learn more, please contact me. We’d love to hear your story and share more of ours.

Jim Lucas
Séva Education
(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@sevastyle.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

Voting with Your Feet

Hi,

What is the difference between satisfaction and loyalty?

Have you ever changed grocery stores, pharmacies, coffee shops, mechanics, hair salons or spas without complaining, or even saying a word to the owner or manager? I have too. Have you ever made a change even though you were actually pretty satisfied? So have I. As consumers, when we do this, we’re voting with our feet, that is, we don’t make a big fuss we simply walk away—often for good.

When this happens do you wonder why—especially when the client seemed perfectly happy? Other things being equal, the primary cause for clients changing salons is the difference between dissatisfaction, satisfaction, and loyalty. Dissatisfaction is easy: The goods or services don’t meet the client’s needs. The quality isn’t right, the value isn’t there, or the experience doesn’t meet expectations. Satisfaction is just as clear; most of the client’s expectations are being met: products, services, value, experience, etc.

But what makes a satisfied client loyal?

Here’s a personal story. Before they retired in old age I went to the same salon for 10 years. In that time they raised their prices several times, made it harder to get an appointment, and reduced the number of days they were open from six to four. During that time I had several bad hair cuts, a poked eye, a deep nick out of one ear, and I was never happy with their standard for cleanliness. As it turns out, I’ve been known to walk out of a restaurant that doesn’t greet my party promptly, or a shop that doesn’t offer a pleasant greeting—so what was it that made me loyal to my salon for so long?

An emotional connection is what made me a loyal client.

A Transformational Client Experience is what creates an emotional bond between you and your clients. It makes everything else possible, including:
• Profitable growth
• Building your brand
• Developing teamwork among your staff
• Smoother operations and lower costs.

If this thinking appeals to you, and you are committed to making your mark on the haircare business, please contact us to set up a few minutes to talk. We’re very interested in your story and your aspirations for the future. We’d like to explain our program and explore ways we can work together. Thanks for taking time to read this. We look forward to hearing from you.

Jim Lucas
Séva Education
(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@sevastyle.com

© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved

Don’t Be Just Another Pretty Space

Hi,

You’ve built up your clientele and your confidence. You’ve saved up some money, you’ve been studying other salons, and you know what you want to do when you open your own place. You spent a lot of time thinking about the look you want to create, the kind of vibe you want, and you even came up with a great name for your new salon.

After a couple years the word has gotten around. You’ve built a reputation and you’re proud of what you created. Even though it’s touch-and-go the salon is getting busier and recently you were even able to take a few days off. Things are going well but it’s ironic because with all the expenses you’ve had to cover, and all the time you spend working, you’re thinking maybe you used to make more money before the salon.

You’re on a roll! The salon is pretty much full and all your stylists are making more money than they ever have. If it weren’t for that big expense that came up last year you would’ve made more money too. The salon still looks great, for the most part, and you’re thinking you might just make a profit this year.

O.K., let’s jump in here: We hear these stories frequently. The details are different but the pattern is pretty consistent with any small business. You develop your talent, your momentum; you take a big risk and you take it one day at a time as you work to establish yourself and hope to do more.

No matter where you are in your progression Séva Education wants to make sure your story includes the words: Thriving Salon. You dreamed of doing things differently, creating something special, and actually making your mark on the business. To do that you need to look beyond creating just another pretty space and sink your teeth into some strong client experience expertise, branding knowledge, and operating know how. There are no guarantees in business—much less any assurance that you’ll get lucky. But with Séva Education you can improve the odds in your favor.

If you would like to develop your business education, much like you do your artistic skills, please contact me. I’d love to show you how we can develop Your Thriving Salon together.

Jim Lucas
Séva Education
(925) 980-7871
gojimlucas@sevastyle.com


© Copyright Jim Lucas 2009-2010 All Rights Reserved