Smart Salon Owners Surround Themelves with Smarter Salon Owners

by Greg Milner on 26/03/09 at 12:07 am

“A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.” Henry Ford, founder, Ford Motor Company.

Being the owner of any business can be a lonely place. You’re not only responsible for the support of your family, you’re often responsible for the livelihood and security of your staff.

On top of that, you’re supposed to be the one who knows more than anybody else in your business, and better at doing the job than most of them. It is a heavy burden to bear on your own. (Fine for the staff, they get to rub shoulders with somebody more knowledgable, more experienced, and learn from it.)

Trouble with that is, you as the business owner get very little chance to benefit and learn from the knowledge and experience of others.

And that’s why more and more salons and spas are joining the Inner Circle program, this month no fewer than 40 of them, from Invercargill in the far south of New Zealand to Wigan in the depths of Lancashire, UK, and the backblocks of suburban Australia. One formula for success is to surround yourself with people smarter than you are.

Inner Circle member Bronwyn Moffatt of Hair Theatre – implemented two ideas she picked up at the Inner Circle Closed Door session and had her best week in 25 years in business.

Here’s how Bronwyn describes her experience after the closed door event….

For two hours after our recent Road to Riches salon marketing seminar in Melbourne, we locked the doors and brainstormed with more than 30 Inner Circle members. Some had only joined the program that morning, many had been Members for several years.

Among them was Bronwyn Moffat, of Hair Theatre in Albury, New South Wales.

Right after attending that two-hour brainstorming session, Bronwyn went back to her salon and immediately implemented just two ideas she’s been given during the meeting by other Members.

Those two ideas alone – a special mini-membership offer, and a great deal on foils – gave her salon the “best week I’ve ever had in 25 years in the industry”. Response to these offers was so good, in fact, that she had to knock people back.

Now that’s creating a buzz.

Since joining the IC program and receiving her Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit in June 2008, “our business is up by 40%“, says Bronwyn.

The point is this: one success formula – and there are many, many pieces that make up the jig-saw – is to surround yourself with smart people. Particularly in the beauty business, hundreds of thousands of salon owners all over the world go to the salon every day and work in a vacuum.

It is simply unreasonable to expect that you’ll learn anything valuable or profitable by doing the same thing, associating with the same people, day after day. And no matter what your experience or knowledge, there is nothing quite like associating, rubbing shoulders and brainstorming with smarter people. (Or, as Winston Churchill once said, even fools have good ideas from time to time.)

Being able to network with other, smart salon owners - through our Closed Door sessions, in our international Group Coaching Calls, in the Members Only ‘Sealed Section’ of this website – is THE real value of Inner Circle membership.

NOTICE TO ALL SALON & SPA OWNERS: our next Road to Riches salon marketing seminar is in Sydney on Monday, May 18. Right after that event, from 2pm to 4pm I will be facilitating another Closed Door event for Members. If you are an existing IC member or are considering joining the program at that event, ensure that you call the office on 08 9381 6621 to secure your seat at this closed door event.

Can’t wait to join the Inner Circle program? We accept only a handful of IC members on a free 30-day Test Drive each month. Go here to complete the Inner Circle Pre-Application Survey and you will be contacted immediately by phone by one of our representatives in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Ireland or the UK.

Upcoming Fee Rise:
As of May 19 – the day AFTER the Sydney event – Inner Circle membership fees will rise by more than 25%. This will NOT affected members joining before that date, however if you have dithered about joining the program, you have only 7 weeks to do so under the current fee structure.

Rating 3.00 out of 5

A post by Greg Milner

The odd idea, a bit of prodding, a nudge here and there, a little fun, and the occasional dose of brutal reality. Greg is co-founder and CEO of Worldwide Salon Marketing, a writer, direct response marketing consultant, specialist marketing systems adviser and coach. He (sometimes) accepts private consulting clients.