Tooting my own Horn?

“Madison Magazine is pleased to announce that Lily’s Head Space has been included in this year’s Best of Madison’s Readership Poll for the Best Hair Salon category. We have been conducting this survey for over 30 years and people anxiously await our March issue every year to view the results…”

I have a difficult time with self-promotion. In fact, I’m so bad at it that I’m uncomfortable when people pay me a compliment. It has held me back professionally for my entire career. And that is really sad because I know I’m a damn good hairdresser. I’m passionate about what I do and proud of the work I produce. I also know that I’m not the best fit as a hairdresser for everyone, and I’m actually okay with that. I don’t need all of the clients. I just need the ones who appreciate what I can bring to their lives once every 4-6 weeks.

I have some of the most amazing clients. And I’m not just saying that. I actually look forward to seeing them. I take my time with them. I work with them and I work for them. And it is due to their support that I am able to be my own boss. I started my own business during the worst part of the recession and I didn’t fail and I’ve been growing slowly but steadily since then. I’m coming up on my 4th anniversary of being in business for myself and I have to make some decisions about where I want to take my business.

Paying bills is a must. The cost of running a business goes up every year. I think I have a fairly good grasp on what my career means to me and what it means to be a professional hairdresser. Maybe I want to share that with others and create a job or two for young hairdressers. Maybe I just want to feel more secure financially. I want to be a little busier. I want to be able to give myself the exposure to the changing trends, which involves travel when you live in Wisconsin. I also know that Madison is a town of transients. I need to make sure that when a client moves away that there’s someone to fill that spot in my books. As much as I like where I am, I’m ready for more and it’s time to set goals, and then toot my own horn, even though I’m not inclined to do so.

The best way to get the income I need to grow in the direction I see myself being the happiest is to put butts in my chair and heads of hair in my hands. The only way to do that is to make my blip on the map glow a little brighter. What’s more visible in the Madison area than the Best of Madison awards? I’m not going to lie to you. It’s a voting contest. I’m a single person who does hair and I don’t have the staff or clientele that the salons who usually win have. And if I could run a business that didn’t need to make money I would not even play the game. But this year I think the boat needs a little rocking.

I’m asking everyone I know to help me and help other local businesses by voting. The distinction is kind of a big deal in spite of the politics involved. It’s possible to vote once/day. 25% of the categories must have a vote to validate your ballot. Only vote once/day and don’t use multiple e-mails to vote more than once. Spamming is a no-no and can get the votes disqualified. If you’re not in town or it’s been awhile since you’ve been here, let me know if you need suggestions or better yet ask another Madisonian for suggestions if you know one.

So…TOOT TOOT! Vote HERE. I don't know that I'll win, and I don't know if it's possible. But if I don't try, I'm accepting failure. And I'm done doing that.

Be the change you want to see

Did you know you don't have to be a business owner to be a job creator?  It's really about being invested in the community and therefore your local economy.  As a salon business owner, I joined Dane Buy Local.  Really it is about local businesses supporting other local businesses in order to see our local economy thrive for everyone.  I'm not talking about only spending all of your money at the corner store.  But consider the fact that if $100 is spent at a non-locally owned business, $57 of that money leaves our area and therefore our local economy while only $43 of that stays here.  That same $100 spent at a locally owned business retains $68 here within our local economy and only $32 goes elsewhere.  Now imagine if everyone consciously spent $10 more a week within our community than we already do.  $10 a week isn't much but multiply that by 495,959 people in Dane county.  If 68% of the money stays here, that's $3,372,521 a week that would be made available to support the local economy that we didn't have before.

We're not too small to make a difference, even half of that would be a huge boost.  And if people could see the change our $10 could make, imagine what might happen if this caught on in every county in the state?

Go...Run With Scissors!

My recently graduated daughter is taking a tour of the Aveda Institute here in Madison.  Though I would be absolutely proud of her had she chosen a different path to start out on, I'm pretty proud she wants to try out what I do.  I have an awesome career and am fortunate to still be as happy doing it as I was when choosing it to begin with.

But my advice to her is this:

Beauty school isn't easy.  It is fun...for school and is like any other obligation in the end.  It's like high school, as people rarely grow up all that much over the course of a summer.  But it doesn't take as long, and the classes are geared towards someone who has a creative and active mind rather one who would rather sit in lectures day after day. You are taking classes with a bunch of women primarily, women who are taught to judge everyone's appearance as a sum total of how they are put together.   Yet you are taught how to take what you have and accentuate your assets.  It is the industry of helping people feel good about the way they look, including yourself.  And there are so many things you can do with the skills you learn.  You are taught to see the world for its possibilities rather than its shortcomings.  You are taught how to communicate with people in a positive way even when life around you is a complete wreck.

You will learn to take pride in the small things you accomplish along the way, and then to be able to look back at where all of that lead, even if you decide this wasn't the perfect fit for you.   

The Business of Self-Promotion

There’s no doubt from my happy and loyal clientele that I know how to be a hairdresser.  In fact, as far as not spending more than I make at the salon, I can do that too.  As I feel that I'm growing into what my business identity means to me pretty well, growing my business is my new project this year. 

Oh I have a lot of clients, and really good ones.  But when my kids are all in school next fall, I’m going to be bonkers unless I can expand my client base a little bit and work more productive hours.  Financially I’m doing better than I ever did working for someone else.  But I would like to do all of those things like have a “just in case THAT happens” fund. 

My two largest sources of new clients come from the Web and from word of mouth.  Word of mouth seems to be going okay.  Let me give a shout out to those of you who brought a friend or family member to meet me in the past year.  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  But Web traffic can be hard unless you want to pay lots of money to Google to put you on the top of the page with an ad.

“Likes” on Facebook, and followers and re-tweeters on Twitter are a big way to promote the flow of traffic through my space.  I have my own domain, which is neat.  And also, since I had to leave my good reviews behind with my former employer, I have to rebuild that too.  In that, come check me out in the Social Networking world, and maybe, if you’re particularly inclined to do so, pop a review on Yelp or Google.  And don’t only do this for just me, do this for other small, local businesses you patronize and together we can watch our local economy flourish.     

Why do I want you to use salon quality products?

I was always told that I shouldn’t buy my shampoo where I buy my bread.  But I still get clients who will ask me my professional opinion on what the BEST grocery store shampoo is after they have just spent over a hundred dollars in my salon.  There is no best grocery store brand to use after I spent more than two hours of my time and talent transforming the hair that made you sigh, “ugh!” in the mirror this morning into the rich, chestnut-colored, glossy, silken fabric which you toss around with pride as you smile at yourself in my mirror.

But let’s cut the flowery language and really talk motivation.  Knowing that store bought shampoo is much harsher on my hair and then coats it with film forming agents to hide the fact that it is harsh, I won’t use it.  I won’t even use commercial baby shampoo on my kids.  It washes color out faster than a shampoo I would recommend to you.  So I would never recommend non-salon products. 

Now why do I sell salon products?  Well, for your convenience.  Oh yes, I do sell stuff for a small profit, I’m a small business owner.  But since I would not recommend something that will undo progress I make on your hair, I really have to have something available to help you keep your hair the way I make it look when you leave.  The price is more than the store brands, I agree.  But in this case you get exactly what you pay for.  My motivations are pretty unthreatening and I don’t push products on people as I will still care for your hair in your chair exactly as I always do.  However I do recommend TiGi Catwalk products and American Crew products because I am confident in their suitability and performance for my clients’ hair needs and are no less than what I use on my own hair.  Why buy shampoo from me?  Of course the choice is yours, the grocery store didn’t just put their heart and soul into making you feel beautiful, and they don’t care about how often you have to refresh your color.  They’re also not investing any of your money towards the value of the service you receive in my chair.      

What I'm not giving up for Lent

Honestly, I think this is good advice for today.  Just remember, stumbling along the way doesn't mean a failure.  You only fail if you stop trying.  We're human, we make mistakes.  Our friends will forgive us.  The ones who will roast you at your weakest point are not really your friends, as they secretly use you build themselves up this way.  But step number one is to not let something in the way be the end of your progress.

Your job today is to close your eyes, and remember someone who loves you unfailingly.  Even if you can only think of your pets at this point, use it.  Now place yourself in their shoes and "see" yourself with their eyes.  Feel your value in their lives.  Love the person they see in you as they would.  Now take that feeling with you  as you go through the next couple of days.  Let your purpose in that other person's life guide you towards doing things that are good for you.

Hit the ground running!

I've tried not to be irritated by the curious eyes and questions that break into my time in the mirror of the YMCA bathroom that follows my morning work outs.  I take my time, with music blasting in my ears, to do my skin care regimen, apply make up and do my hair.  That is my zone.  That is my time to feel my aching muscles, to feel alive and to make myself pretty.  To me, taking care of these things is a luxury that I wish I had more time to dedicate to.  This thing that people consider a bother, I consider a joy.  

But invariably, people watch with fascination and because I'm generally happy while doing this, I will watch lips start moving, in conversation that I can't hear due to noise cancelling headphones.  I always stop and answer questions.  My hairstyle is unusual, and people are charmed by the fact that I take time to style, and curl my hair.  "I wish I knew how to do my hair as well as you do."  

I have to wonder about that.  They're not surprised that I am a hairdresser when I tell them.  But what strikes me about this type of conversation, as well as others I have with people who wish they could do more to take care of themselves is wondering what is holding them back. 

When did we forget that we hold the keys to a successful life in our own hands?  What is it within us that makes  us build walls between ourselves and what we want to be?  Why are people so fascinated that I take time to do my hair, it's honestly 10 minutes worth of work.  What are you willing to do for yourself in order to live life on your own terms?  

Life was recently pretty difficult for me.  In fact, I've determined that life is going to have tough times regardless of whether or not I do anything to change my circumstances.  At least now I know that when life trips me up I'm going to hit the ground running.