http://salonforward.com Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:45:00 +0000 http://snappages.com en http://salonforward.com/blog/2011/01/10/your-story-in-hd http://salonforward.com/blog/2011/01/10/your-story-in-hd Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:45:00 +0000 Brandon Hensley http://salonforward.com/blog/2011/01/10/your-story-in-hd
What used to cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars can now be had on almost any budget. Salon Forward has a fantastic, creative team to [...]]]>
What used to cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars can now be had on almost any budget. Salon Forward has a fantastic, creative team to produce your video, highlighted on your website, Facebook or YouTube page.

Or even a novice with an iPhone 4 can take HD video, edit in iMovie and upload to YouTube. Whether you choose to have a professional company produce your video, or do it yourself, it is a must.

Check out the video below that we produced for our own salons, a 30 second spot that we aired via Jumbo-tron at "Celebrate Freedom" ,a concert festival with over 100,000 in attendance.



]]> http://salonforward.com/blog/2011/01/01/tigers-chickens http://salonforward.com/blog/2011/01/01/tigers-chickens Sat, 01 Jan 2011 21:02:00 +0000 Brandon Hensley http://salonforward.com/blog/2011/01/01/tigers-chickens poor bird feels...

But it is not as hopeless as what probably happened to the bird. You have to keep on moving forward, knowing the claws and teeth are behind you.

There will come a day when you outrun the [...]]]> poor bird feels...

But it is not as hopeless as what probably happened to the bird. You have to keep on moving forward, knowing the claws and teeth are behind you.

There will come a day when you outrun the tigers, but until that day comes, you must strategically navigate to avoid getting eaten!

By looking and planning ahead, you will be able to outrun whatever comes after you.

]]> http://salonforward.com/blog/2010/12/20/the-importance-of-the-reservation-center http://salonforward.com/blog/2010/12/20/the-importance-of-the-reservation-center Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:36:00 +0000 Brandon Hensley http://salonforward.com/blog/2010/12/20/the-importance-of-the-reservation-center
Let's look at what we created by doing this:

A guest walks in the door and they are greeted, not by a smiling face, but by a person on the phone, totally ignoring them. Or, a guest is trying to [...]]]>
Let's look at what we created by doing this:

A guest walks in the door and they are greeted, not by a smiling face, but by a person on the phone, totally ignoring them. Or, a guest is trying to check out and they have to wait until the front desk person gets off the phone.

I can't believe we even did this for as long as we did!

Hire the proper staff to answer phones and let the front line do their job: Making a great first impression to each person who walks in the door.

Tangerine now has a Reservation Center within our flagship salon where we have people making appointments for all three locations. We've made this an interesting part of the salon by putting a glass door and a visually appealing room where guests can see the hustle and bustle of busy phones.

If you don't have an area to take the phones from the front desk, then get two people to work there, so that chances are a guest is greeted with full attention.

]]> http://salonforward.com/blog/2010/08/15/staff-loyalty http://salonforward.com/blog/2010/08/15/staff-loyalty Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:04:00 +0000 Brandon Hensley http://salonforward.com/blog/2010/08/15/staff-loyalty
Be careful who you put in charge of what. I've learned the hard way, you should never put a service provider in charge of anything [...]]]>
Be careful who you put in charge of what. I've learned the hard way, you should never put a service provider in charge of anything outside of the education and/or creative departments.

Giving them the keys to the castle can be devestating for you in terms of what happens when they leave.

Case in point, I had a stylist that begged me for a job in the first place right out of school, then eventually wanted "more responsibility". I gave it to her along with extra compensation. She scheduled front desk people, helped with payroll, backbar ordering and other tasks alongside her full service schedule. She had full access to client data, financial data, etc.

Eventually she turned in her two weeks notice, not only for the supervisor position, but also giving up her lucerative stylist position. Do not let a service provider work that two weeks!

Unfortunately, this was before I was smart enough to have everyone sign non-competes (This is a must!) and she moved 4 miles down the road and discounted her service and took about $1,500 per week of business with her.

Even my #1 person, someone I gave the keys to the castle to, who was in charge of all 45+ hairstylists and managed one of our locations, slowly slacked on her management job about 6 months before she quit. I'm still finding out what all she dropped the ball on and it's a mess I will be cleaning up for a while.

The point is, there is no staff loyalty any longer. Everyone is out for themselves and has the potential to do your business harm if you don't have the proper systems in place.

I've learned a very valuable lesson with these people. Here are some non-negotiable's:

• Non-Competes that keep your client data, trade secrets and limits your employees from going down the street and directly competing with you
• Contracts and confidentiality agreements for management and supervisory positions
• Probationary clauses that makes new employees temporary ones for 90 days which let's you cut bait if you need to with no hassle

Salon Forward offers consultation on complete employment contracts, agreements and other HR packages. For more info, please contact us.

]]> http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/tangerine-creative-team http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/tangerine-creative-team Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:23:00 +0000 http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/tangerine-creative-team
Our creative team is always coming up with exciting ways to share our salon and our people. I highly recommend starting one in your salon to keep the creative juices flowing.

]]> http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/tethered-to-technology http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/tethered-to-technology Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:26:00 +0000 Brandon Hensley http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/tethered-to-technology Ed Young, of Fellowship Church uses a term, “tethered to technology”. I truly believe that business in the 2000’s cannot meet it’s potential unless it is “tethered to technology”. [...]]]> Ed Young, of Fellowship Church uses a term, “tethered to technology”. I truly believe that business in the 2000’s cannot meet it’s potential unless it is “tethered to technology”. Salons, which are supposed to be on the leading edge of things, fashion, the social economy, etc. are most of the time the last to utilize the latest technology to promote, streamline and make them more money.

At Tangerine, we utilize technology in every area. From marketing, to our client experience to our employee contact and human resources. This has made everything faster, better and allows us to manage day to day much better. The clients are better taken care of because of our technology integration and that only makes us more money.

To learn more about how Tangerine utilizes technology, join the Salon Forward network and get all of the great insights and resources of successful salons.

]]> http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/staff-will-make-or-break-you http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/staff-will-make-or-break-you Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:25:00 +0000 http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/staff-will-make-or-break-you
Yes, I do a majority of the hiring, even though I tend to make mistakes. Why? Our people are who makes us who we are and I want to make sure that every person that represents Tangerine is a person I approve of. So I do the initial interview and then turn them over to educators or managment for the next steps. However sometimes I just hire them on the spot (like the person my wife was talking about). That’s just plain dumb!

When we go through the proper steps, the hires turn out to be home runs, and sometimes the ones I hire on the spot are too. But it’s important to check references, have them do several interviews and come in and do a “non paid working interview” where they interact with other staff members and you can get great feedback.

If you don’t have 50 people to choose from, try and recruit people who stand out to you, whether it’s the person who waited on you at a restaurant or checked you out at Target, but try and get great people.

And check references…

]]> http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/its-the-little-things-that-matter http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/its-the-little-things-that-matter Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:24:00 +0000 Brandon Hensley http://salonforward.com/blog/2009/07/05/its-the-little-things-that-matter
I recall consulting for a salon in Texas and there were so many glaring [...]]]>
I recall consulting for a salon in Texas and there were so many glaring obstructions that there was no way they could go to the next level until they took care of the little things. For example, when you walked into the salon, you were greeted with a glob of wires coming out of the wall and snaking behind a tattered and out of place enormous homemade front desk. As I looked around, I saw that the sunscreen blinds were torn and desperately needed replaced.

I walked up to the front desk and was greeted by a printer reserved for major office use and junk everywhere. As the first thing clients see, the scenario i saw was catastrophic. I could go on and on about this particular salon, but it would take up this entire post.

As the overseer of your domain (salon) take notice of what the clients see. I often ask my front desk staff to sit with me in the client waiting areas and view the dust under shelves or the empty cups from the last client. I have the stylist sit in their own chairs and look at the mess they call a workstation.

If you put yourself in the perspective of the client, you will be able to control what the client sees and thus perceives about your salon. I challenge you to look at your place an entirely different way, as a client would see it and see if you approve.

Take care of the little things and the rest takes care of itself.

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