First Chair - Spring 2008 Success Guide - (Page 21)

model call together once a week on new ideas. Ask them to share their success strategies. When you’ve faced a difﬁcult situation in the salon, ﬁnd out how they would have handled it.” > RIGHT-HAND MAN. When you assist in a salon, you frequently shampoo, apply color and blowout the clients of experienced stylists. Milk the opportunity—use the time to observe how the successful stylist communicates with her clients, how she conducts a consultation, how she recommends retail, how she asks for referrals. “Our assistants are also responsible for getting our prescription pad and writing down the products their stylists use during a service,” says Thomas. “Not only is that information ready for a client upon checkout, but the assistants are developing a strong sense of retail.” > CHOOSE WISELY. Find someone whose success you want to emulate, advises Kevin Kravklis. “Choose a mentor who is proactive in moving their own career forward, and be careful not to get sucked into any negative salon culture. You want someone who will share with you, not complain to you,” he says. > NO LIMITS. You shouldn’t just have one mentor. “Don’t shut out everyone else around you—every single hairdresser has something to offer—if you close yourself off to that it can be crippling,” adds Raviglione. As you work your way through your training program, you will begin to test your newly earned skills on models. In most programs, it’s your burden to bring in the models. > RECRUIT NOW. “Be proactive about getting models while you are in school,” advises Raviglione. “Every hairdresser is plagued by friends and relatives who want a free hair cut. That’s ﬁne, but they need to understand for the free price, they’ll have no say. You have to practice your new skills and you can’t practice on clients. Plus, salons know that a student that can easily build up a model list, will be able to build up a book quickly.” internal education mentors When you choose a structured training program, you’ll often be paired with one or more experienced stylists whom you will assist. That arrangement often promotes a mentoring environment. But if that doesn’t happen naturally in your new job, strive to develop your own mentors. Their life experience can give you an important boost in your career. > GOOD FOR THE ASKING. While the prospect of asking a successful stylist to mentor you may sound daunting, it’s really not, suggests Raviglione. “Any reasonable, intelligent person would be ﬂattered to be asked. But it is a responsibility. Develop a relationship where you can work When a salon has chosen to invest its time and money into a structured apprenticeship training program, it tends to have a serious focus on education. “A salon that offers a training program says it’s committed to investing in you—an investment that will be there throughout your career,” says Tiffany Conway, one of the owners of Bei Capelli Salon and Retail Shop in Scarborough, Maine. Take advantage of all the internal education that comes your way, even if it’s not a mandatory component of your program. The more you learn, the faster you’ll grow. > WITH THE GOODS. Salons that are strong retailers or have close afﬁliations with manufacturers often can leverage that relationship to bring in sponsored educators. Not only will you learn more about the retail products, but gain new skills and techniques. > SHARED OPPORTUNITIES. Every ﬁrst Monday of the month, Bei Capelli holds an educational opportunity for staff members. When it’s not an outside educator, it’s an internal one. When the salon sponsors a staff member to attend an outside course, the returning stylist is encouraged to share her new knowledge with the rest of the staff. > CHECK IT OUT. Tom Rough, owner of Taglio Salon in Scottsdale, Arizona, houses an in-salon library of CDs, DVDs and books R Learn more @ ﬁrstchair.com MODERN SALON’S FIRSTCHAIR SPRING 2008 21 http://firstchair.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of First Chair - Spring 2008 Success Guide

First Chair - Spring 2008 Success Guide Contents First Word First View First Skills: Styles First Skills: Business First Skills: Design School of the Year 2008 Tools for Success First Tools First Products First Happenings

First Chair - Spring 2008 Success Guide

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