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Trendsetter - By Erin Snyder Dixon

You may or may not have given much thought to your impact on the choices of others. As a salon professional, you are a trendsetter.

Take the lead in the salon by offering nail trends that are not just fashionable but can be completed quickly. Time is money. There are only so many hours in the day. The laws of physics prevent us from creating more. Lucky for us we can choose what to do with the time we have.Influence your time and income in a positive way by choosing which nail designs and services you promote. Instead of confounding your clients with endless nail designs choose a few to feature this month. Practice these designs so you can bang them out in the salon—over and over again.

Wear these designs on your own nails.Sure, you want to be flexible enough to do something different when you get a request. Of course, you will charge accordingly for special requests and deliver them with a smile.Do the math. A simple nail art design can be done without scheduling more appointment time. If you do only ONE design a day at $5, five days a week, fifty weeks a year (you can afford a vacation now), you will have added $1,250 to your service tickets! Complete 5 simple designs a day and you increase your income by $6,250. And think, you have done all of this without staying late, coming in early or working an extra day.

Your clients will become accustomed to checking out the nail board when they arrive to see featured designs. Get the word out by sharing photos of fingers and toes adorned with the designs in your salon newsletter, at each workstation (in and out of the nail area), in the waiting area, and on your website. As you exercise your trendsetting muscle, take inspiration from fashion, fabric, or season. Inspiration is only as far as your environment. So, go ahead, rock your salon with new designs you can pop out in an instant.

Bio: Erin Snyder Dixon is one of the leading professionals in the Beauty industry. She has a degree in business management and the lessons of more than 20 years of experience in business. She has consulted for a number of professional manufacturing companies, spas and salons, and is currently an educator for NSI. She is an award winning nail artist and educator. She is the best-selling author of Attractive Profits in Nail Art, coauthor of Seizing Your Success, Giving Gratitude, and Salon Success, Tweaks & Tips, http://tinyurl.com/4aseaj and has been regularly published in NAILS magazine, featured in several international trade magazines and continues to share her experience with others through conferences and speaking engagements as aprofessional member of the National Speakers Association and the South Eastern Assoc of training and Development.

For nail inspiration and to view trends, visit the following nail art galleries:
NSI Nail Art Gallery
Nails Nail Art Gallery
Nail Art Studio Email This Post

Value Added Services in the Salon or Spa

As conversations turn to economic woes and sudden uncertainty, the salon can hold enormous power in how they position services. Positioning services doesn't just pad the salon pockets, it helps the client get through tough times also.

So, what am I talking about? You think value added services is just about hyping the benefits of a service. Well, way off. Adding value gives clients another reason to choose us. Simple ways we add value are to absorb casts that the client would ordinarily have to pay for. Some of these costs are for things such as parking, snacks and beverages, trial sizes of products, use of additional facilities, or even the wonderful feeling they get when they leave.

For instance, try adding a simple complimentary coffee bar for clients. I hear clients complain that they are missing their favorite double grand latte because it just had to be cut from the budget. My clients come in and can partake of the grand Lavazza Coffee beverage center in the salon. They can have anything they want. Even take one for the road when they leave. I encourage it. Sure I have a tip center at the bar. The truth is that so far the tips have covered the entire cost of the coffee bar. You hear that? It pays for itself. But, there is more. The coffee bar gives a client a reason to rethink giving up her weekly manicure. 2 coffee drinks cost more than a manicure. In the client's mind, she is getting a deal. She gets to have her manicure and drink her coffee too.

I'm up front with my clients about my motives. I want to make the choice to come to my salon a easy one. Bored, just want to stop in and say "Hello"? I tell them to come on by. Stop, look around, have a cup of coffee. The increase in retail and appointments is worth every bit of effort. The coffee bar entices the clients to keep coming back for more.

So, what other ways do we add value to services. Be creative. Listen to what your clients say they are giving up in these hard times. Tucked into those dreaded budget cuts are opportunities for you to attract clients and keep them. Endear them by giving them back their standard of living.

October 6th, 2008

The world is a little more uncertain today. What happened while we slept last night? I'm not sure if the mechanics of economy fundamentally changed or if we woke up with a new, more critical perspective. I would like to say that much is as it was yesterday. The world is still the place we live and love. We are in flux though.

As a beauty professional, my job got harder. No, the activities are the same. I still service clients and pamper them. My job as the mental booster of the bad mood just got elevated. I'm in need. People want to feel better and they want to feel better now!

As I look to the holidays, I need to remain focused on meeting the small needs. A hug, smile or tube of lipstick may make all the difference in the world. I'm on a mission to create an oasis that will let clients escape from the world they don't want to see today--if only for a while.

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

It's a pleasure to meet you.
If you would like to chat or follow me online, just go to www.twitter.com/BeautyWriter and you find me tweeting away between appointments. You can also add me on facebook and myspace too. http://www.tinyurl.com/4cypjs or www.myspace.com/sandinmysuit
While you are at it, tuck away my name and and email address:
Erin Snyder Dixon iNails@hotmail.com
If you are in the beauty industry, I want to know you. If you just love anything to do with inside and outside beauty, I want to hear from you too!
My passion is uniting the professional beauty industry with the consumer in a way that lets us enjoy the pleasures in life. That means enjoying each other's company and taking the experience home.
Over time, I run into a lot of people who think that the spa experience is just out of their reach. It's surely not. Aside from the healing human touch, you can recreate the experience at home.
People will often say, "Doesn't hat hurt your spa and salon business?" and the resounding answer is "no".
The more people who learn how to destress in a healthy way, the better off we all are. Many of my clients were do-it-yourselfers for one reason or another. Busy Moms, workaholics who couldn't get out of the office, or men who thought they just didn't belong in the salons.
Well, I'm here to tell you- professionals and clients alike- that there is a big need out there. I would like to show you both how to find each other and get more out of that relationship over the years.
So, Don't be stranger. Email me, twitter me, or friend me on another space. If I'm not there, send me an invite to your network and I'll join in on the action.
Till I get to chat with you again, it's been fun,
Erin Snyder Dixon "BeautyWriter"
iNails@hotmail.com
BeautyJournalist@aol.com