My new video blog, originally posted on American Salon Magazine, on how to take control of your career by promoting yourself.

If you like this, please share.

It was 10 years ago that we opened our second location. We had been running a very successful salon called Statik and we had run out of chairs for our apprentices once they finished their training. Our growth had been organic, not planned. We did good hair, gave great service and had a loyal fan base that supported us through our evolution from a four chair salon operated by just my wife and I into a 12 chair salon bursting at the seams.

The salon across the street had turned off their lights and they never came back on. I heard some rumours about the owner doing a midnight move so I contacted the landlord to find out what was happening, eventually taking over the space, paying the other guy’s back-rent and splitting my team in half, my wife moving across the street to run the new salon. We called it Caramel. And it blew up.

Fast forward a decade and several locations later (I’m a recovering addict of designing and building hair salons) and we had our second location of Caramel, this one 45 minutes from the other in an upscale new outdoor shopping centre. The odds were against us from the beginning, as we were going into a new city without a single established stylist, but we pushed through and built an OK business. But the growth has been slow, even stagnant.

And after three years of not being profitable, we are closing this location.

It’s the first time we have downsized. Ever. I have decided I simply don’t have the energy to dedicate to taking that business to the point of profitability. Running multiple locations is very hard in any business, but the hair salon business is, well, special. A salon and it’s stylists require a lot more than policy and procedure, and with three salons and two academies, I had created a business that was suffering everywhere. Also at 46 years old with two children, my attention has become so divided that rather than dedicate renewed energy I don’t feel I have, it’s time to retreat a little and regroup.

So we are closing our beautiful South Surrey location next week. Luckily I have found a buyer for the lease and the furnishings and the salon will go on under a different and well-known brand. I have also been able to keep everyone employed who wishes to stay with me by moving them into our Vancouver Hairdressing Academy location less than 10 minutes away. If you’re a client, your stylist is going to take care of you in our Panorama location after June 25th. Same phone number.

I got out OK, a little bit lighter in the wallet but not broke. I’m lucky in that I stuck it out probably longer than I should have. I’ve seen a lot of people do a lot worse. Salon ownership can and most often does kick your ass at some point in your life and multiple salons are an entirely different ballgame. Most salon owners don’t have a realistic exit strategy. We invest more and expand when things are booming and we usually try to get out when things are declining, which is the exact opposite of what a business is supposed to do. And like many in our industry, my ego played a huge part in my company’s growth. It served me well for a while though.

But I’m a lot older and a little wiser now. The ego left the building a while back and my thinking is clearer. As much as I wish I was, I’m not Van Council or Ray Civello or Suki. I am a fighter and I have done some good things in this industry, but I haven’t continued to do the work needed in order to sustain the growth. Ultimately I’m a little too lazy to be where I am if I’m being honest.

Multiple locations can be wonderful but is a completely animal to the average salon owner. Hats off to those who do it well.

And for those of us who struggle and maybe have not done as well as we would have liked, there is no shame in having tried. Just know when to walk away.

A new video blog on the importance of a YES! Attitude
Enjoy!

My team and I are super excited to be a part of a very cool project. I have always wanted to put on a hairshow at the Vancouver Planetarium, so when my friend Ryan Teal called to say he wanted to come to Vancouver and do something, I knew this was the right time.

The Teals are Ryan and DeAnnalyn Teal are super talented stylists and educators based in Portland Oregon, but from we can tell they’ve not been home in years. The Teals won North American Salon Team of the Year a few years back for their amazing editorial work.hey are too busy educating all over North America.

The Teals are going to be showing cutting, colouring and wigmaking at this session and we will be hosting them in the salon the following day for a limited seating hands-on event. It’s going to be awesome.

Our team is going to do a short set to open for the Teals, with our brilliant Education Director Devon Plamondon and the prodigious Jaelyn Walker, (who happens to be the hottest colourist in Vancouver right now and is only a couple of years out of hair school) joining me on stage. We will be knocking out some cuts and styles for the crowd and be sharing some of our ideas on hairdressing and success in the business.

This is also the Canadian launch of:

Hattori Hanzo Shears- a badass, high-end scissor manufacturer based in California and manufacturing in Japan. They are making some absolutely brilliant cutting tools and are taking over the industry right now through the quality of their tools and their amazing education.

Product For Hair is a company my wife and I started about 11 years ago after a falling out with a certain large product company. Tired of the bullshit and the lies being told by big manufacturers, we started our own brand and are finally sharing it.

This is a small event, with only 85 seats, and it’s going to be the coolest thing you do this year.
For tickets, go to:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/theteals-hairshow-tickets-16810164655

I am proud to be a part of an incredible group of amazing industry experts and stylists sharing our views, techniques and ideas. Check in each week at American Salon Magazine for my latest blog posts and videos!

Here is a link to my latest video, this one is about Saying YES! I hope you like it.

http://www.americansalon.com/career-self-development/guest-blog-michael-levine-importance-yes-attitude

There are a lot of hairdressing schools out there. In fact, probably too many. But our program is different.

The Vancouver Hairdressing Academy is the shortest, most accelerated system anywhere. Our 6 month 3 day a week program allows you to train faster and enter the workforce sooner. You will get a jump start on your career because we won’t waste a minute of your time teaching you things that you don’t need to know.

And when you are thinking about where to go for hairdressing education, an important thing to consider is who is behind that education and what have they themselves accomplished in the hairdressing world.

Long before we opened our first academy, we built our reputation in the salon world. And we did that through apprenticeships. We trained our team from the ground up, whether they had gone to hairdressing school or not.
And we have helped launch the careers of some very well known and award-winning stylists.

You can get your hairdressing education from a lot of places. But when you have the choice, consider getting it from the people who are out there every day running salons and performing services at the absolute highest levels of the industry. From people who have done it.

Most importantly is our students’ and graduates’ perspective. Watch this video and hear what they have to say:

For information on how you can join the most progressive hair school anywhere, contact

info@vancouverhairacademy.com

I am kind of protective of the term “Fake it till you make it.” It gets a bad rap because people don’t really understand what it means, and it gets used a lot by cheesy people. But it is a simple term that describes a philosophy or mantra that can change our lives if we choose to adopt it or are forced into it.

To me, it means getting out of your comfort zone and forcing yourself to do the things you aren’t good at or maybe scare you. Eventually you evolve and realize that you can do anything you want to do. And that is the most powerful realization a person can have.

Watch this very interesting TED talks by Amy Cuddy about body language, power, confidence and much more. And a great story about faking it until she made it starts around 15:30.

Big thanks to Caramel Salon stylist Aimee Cox for sending this one my way.

Asking for referrals can be one of the most difficult and awkward things for a stylist to do. Part of the reason is scripting. But it’s through our existing and happy clientele that we have our most loyal and vocal “fans,” and no amount of advertising or social media investment beats a client leaving the salon looking incredible and feeling great. This is the client that will rave about you whenever someone in their circle complains about their hair.

There are lots of ways to ask for referrals, but I watch my most successful stylists for simpler, easier ideas.

I have a woman working for me and she makes a phenomenal living. She is a multi award-winning stylist named Alina Friesen. Part of the reason she is so successful is because she is always dialed in to her client’s experience. And because of this, she never misses an opportunity or a cue.

A client mentioned that her daughter was coming home from university for the summer. Every stylist I know, myself included would have done the small talk thing; “where is she going, does she like it, does she have a boyfriend…”

Instead, Alina immediately and excitedly asked, “Oh my God, do I get to do her hair?”

So simple and powerful. Mom ended up buying a gift certificate for not just that daughter but the other as well, and brought them both in and of course, bought new products and styling tools for them because that’s what Moms do.

Our education director Devon Plamondon is a great stylist, very successful, and he has a different approach. He very calmly says to his clients as they are leaving, “Send me your friends with bad hair.” Amazingly simple, not forced at all, and is a cute little farewell to his clients.

What I like about forcing yourself to ask for referrals, as well as all the other behaviour and scripting I discuss in Saturday Action series is that you can’t do any of it unless you are performing at your highest levels. Asking for referrals, retailing, giving styling lessons, pre-booking and every other action a successful stylist does is not possible if you are not totally and completely dedicated to doing your best work and making sure the client is thrilled.

By exceeding clients’ expectations, asking for what you need becomes very easy. But it’s impossible to do if you aren’t doing everything you can to do gorgeous hair and create for an awesome client experience.

Being a successful stylist and truly taking your career to the next level is actually easy. But it requires that you do a few very important things right. Today you are going to focus on giving styling lessons to your clients.

With each and every client today, you are going to bring the product over to your client and tell them why you’ve picked it and why you love it for them. Then show the client how much you put in your hands and how to emulsify it. You are going to teach them where to run their hands through their hair first so they don’t put the bulk of the product into the wrong area.. For example, dimethicone products should be started from underneath at the back so the front doesn’t get too much oil.

But don’t make the client apply it themselves unless this is something you already do. It can come off as very forced and maybe a bit cheesy if not done absolutely perfectly. I personally advise against it.

And do not layer and cocktail more than two products on one head. Try to find one product that can do it all for the client if possible. Your goal is to make things seem easy, not impossible as well as overly expensive for them to recreate at home.

You are going to leave the product you are using in front of the client and then show them how to blowdry. Rough dry first, then with a brush etc. And you are going to start your blowout at the front and work your way back. Why? Because your client can’t nor should they waste their time working the back first. They will run out of time and their shoulders will get sore long before they get to the important stuff; what hangs around their pretty face. So teach them to do what people see first. Everything else is less important.

I do believe in handing a wand and coaching the client in this way if they aren’t good with the tool. But just for a couple of sections, then you take over.

Make it sexy, and when your client says, “I’ll never be able to make it look like this,” they are right. If they can make it look just as good as you can, you aren’t working hard enough. But you should be able to teach them how in less than 10 minutes and with one or two products they can get it looking pretty close.

Our job is to solve our clients’ hair problems, and many of them are solved through finishing. So kill the small talk and empower your clients to make themselves look amazing. They will thank you for it, maybe buy a product or two, and they will definitely tell their friends.

Pre-booking is the most important and powerful action you will take when it comes to your success as a professional hairstylist. And it’s incredibly easy to do once your clientele starts gets used to it but it can be very difficult for some stylists at first. So here are some ideas:

At a few points during every service you do today, simply mention what the maintenance is going to be on that service. During Mary’s highlights, you are going to say,

“This is going to look amazing. And I think you should be able to go about 10, maybe even 12 weeks before we need to do it again.” And then get back to catching up with what is going on in Mary’s life.

During Mary’s cut, let her know that the cut will last her 6 weeks and that you will want to see her for a free bang trim in 3 weeks. And then get back to your conversation.

Do not be pushy and don’t get weird about it. Just mention it when it makes sense during her service. Then when you have finished making her look gorgeous, walk her to reception and tell the receptionist that Mary will be booking her next appointment for 6 weeks from now. Then walk away and let reception do their job.

Now here’s the catch: Mary probably won’t book in.
But you are doing this with every single client and a few of them will. And all it takes is a few people pre-booking to make this snowball very quickly. Mary will likely find it a little tougher to get in with you the next time, which is when you tell her “I know, I’m sorry. That’s why I wanted to get you pre-booked so you would have your ideal appointment time. I’m getting busier and I want to make sure you can get in when you need to.

This is actually doing a service for your clients, as it allows them to maintain a look rather than wait until they absolutely hate their hair. And they end up becoming much more loyal because they are always able to get in at their ideal time and always have an upcoming appointment.

Pre-booking is going to fast-track your career and allow you to start making a great living as a stylist much sooner. When you become fully booked a few weeks out, you get to control your pricing. It’s a simple law of economics that when demand exceeds supply, the price goes up. And you can easily control how quickly this happens simply by acting like a busy stylist from the moment you get on the floor.

Understand, you can’t possibly ask for a pre-book unless you do great work and give great service, so it forces more professional dialogue and behaviour from you. This starts to permeate every aspect of your involvement as a hairdresser, especially your creativity and passion for your work and your clients. Pre-booking, like all good salon systems, starts out as a scripted act but becomes a catalyst for an amazing and fulfilling career as a hairstylist.

HELPFUL TIP
– Holidays, vacations and Christmas are perfect times to use as a catalyst for pre-booking. 8-10 weeks before these things happen, make sure to talk to your clients about how busy things will be before the break.