T Gordon Salon Talks

High Performance Salon Academy co owner Jason Everett gives some free advice on social media marketing and salon operations while talking with Tony Gordon from Gordon Salon and T. Gordon Salon Talks. Jason is a new voice in the industry as un like other consultants he comes from outside the business. He is not a hair designer. And because of that, he has a special perspective. He sees our industry from the outside in. Many of his clients show some rather dramatic results. But after seeing his presentation at the Millennium conference and using and speaking with salon consulates for many years, I think his big take away is absolutely engaging way of handling people and an audience. Not to say his presentations aren't packed with great info, they are. But he is just super fun! Jason is one of those guys you sit to have a simple talk with and end up with belly rolls of laughter. He is a great personality and a new welcome fresh face for this industry. Tony GordonGordon SalonT. Gordon Salon Talksgordonsalon.comFrom his website description; Jason's infectious high energy and drive to make everyone he meets the best possible version of themselves, has landed him on center stage in the Salon Edu-tainment scene. Jason is one of the founders of the High Performance Salon Academy which specializes in taking salons that are already successful and cranking up their success to an 11! Their non-traditional and unconventional approach to learning uses the latest in technology and social media strategies to quickly train and equip the most attention-strained owners, leaders and service providers on how to rapidly implement what they learn. Even more important than the wealth of information they provide is the massive results they help their clients achieve, often raising the Average Ticket, Pre-book Rate, Guest Count and Take Home Income from 20-40% for everyone they work with.http://www.highperformancesalonacademy.com/  

My sister Kathrine Gordon is a champion among hair stylists, she votes for the academy award winners in hair and make-up and has been doing Hollywood hair for 40 years. Like many Gordon's before her, Kathrine Gordon chose the hair industry, but with an entirely different take than the rest of the family. She is a Hollywood Hairdresser. As her family, we are all so proud of her -- she has "made it" in an incredibly tough part of the industry. A specialty like no other: hair for film, television and theater. She has done it all and to a level that has made her a judge for the Academy Awards. She and I talked about doing a podcast for a long time and her own humble way, she said, "why?" What Kathrine does is what many young stylists want to do, but like many young people, they have no guidance on how to achieve their goals. What are the pitfalls? What is the job really like? In this amazing discussion we talk about what it is really like to work on superstars, A-list celebrities and the extras on a film set. What skills do you need? What is the focus and how does it all function? What is it like to be in a trailer or make up tent for 16 hours a day? Where does one get these skills and how do they take it to next level -- the level that gets them the dream job? I remember being back stage at the Horwich Jewish Community Center on Chicago's far north side, while my sister did hair and make-up for a production of Guys and Dolls. I distinctly remember my thoughts while watching her work, "How does she know how to do that? Why does she look so confident?" Yes, I am the braty little brother. After beauty school and tutelage from great hair stylist and grandmother Rose Gordon Greenberg (that's a story for another podcast), Kathrine went on to the San Francisco Opera company, where she learned wigs, characters, production pace and so much more. She ended up in New York at 30 Rock! -- that's the fourth floor of Rockefeller Center -- where she worked for Jane Pauley on the Today Show, soap operas, a local news cast and eventually Saturday Night Live.  At Saturday Night Live she created wigs and hair for some iconic characters: Garth and Wayne for Wayne's World and many many others. From New York, it was off to Los Angeles where she entered the movie and television business of Hollywood. She was tasked with creating the looks for many characters and movies from HBO's Dorothy Dandridge Story with Halle Berry to American Hustle with Christian Bale and Amy Adams. She continues to work with A list celebs. Right now she is deep into multiple projects with Anne Hathaway. In this fascinating podcast, she talks about what it takes to do this job: reading scripts, creating characters and maintaining the all-important continuity from scene to scene. If your interested in this type of hairstyling work or know someone who is, take a listen to this conversation with my amazing sister, Katrhine Gordon. Tony GordonGordonsalon.comT Gordon Salon TalksGordon Stylist Academy

Eufora: The Next GenerationHow do you find your own voice in an industry where your father had such a huge impact? It is something I deal with all the time, but think about the young Sam Bewley. Sam now works for the company his late father founded and doing it great justice. As you can hear in this fascinating conversation with an important new voice in the professional salon industry, Sam Bewley is deep into his business and making new things happen. Eufora has been around since the 90s, slowly gaining steam, focused on the benefits of aloe vera for hair and scalp. Sam grew up in this crazy world of products and beauty shows, but made his way in the tech world at first. After his father passed away he made his way back to the family business and is now full time, with his wonderful mother and CEO Beth Bewley. In our conversation we discuss a wide range of topics, including the threat of Amazon. I love Sam's take on it, "we are in chapter 2," but if I jump in with Amazon what happens in chapter 6, 7 & 8? We determine that Amazon is the silver back guerrilla destroying so many companies in its path. Sam goes through an in-depth discussion about how Amazon targets and the potential fall out for companies that follow their direction. It isn't good. Sam knows his stuff!In this conversation he describes Eufora. Sam talks about the different divisions of the company: products, hair color, education and some of the big events they put on. His favorite is, Global Connection. A massive fashion show, beauty education opportunity and salon party in San Diego. Sounds great even if your salons are not Eufora. Sam, clearly loves his company and is excited for the future of our industry. Take a listen to this podcast and/ or Youtube video from this new voice in our industry with a great beauty legacy and history. Tony GordonT Gordon Salon TalksGordon Salon

Salon & Retail Environments of the Future: A conversation with Leon AlexanderLeon Alexander from Eurisko Design is one of a hand full of people in the beauty business who has visualized the future. In this podcast he describes his background that has led to his current thinking on where the service industry and specifically the salon industry is heading. "People are social," he says. He is right, and yet the technology marches on. Leon and I have met up many times. Last time at the high tech Millenium Experience, a conference put on by one the top makers of salon industry software.  He gave a one hour talk to a packed room describing the future of retail and salon environments. Of course it had plenty of the scary discussions we see and hear in the business press: Artificial intelligence, robotic this and that, Amazon Go and all sorts of other wiz bang dire predictions. But Leon knows the salon business. He started with Sassoon at the beginning and reinvented himself many times over as a salon owner, product distributor, QVC salesman, etc. Salons need people, especially the types of salons that buy his furniture. These clients, "not Guests" need and want the contact, the interaction, that affirmation that comes with a root touch up and a trim. Of course they can use a little more entertainment in the salon.  Leon believes that retail will have a lot of crossover in the future. He envisions mixtures of business, like a salon and coffee shop. Leon thinks some of that, "entertainment" can be automated, all while selling more product and services. Is this the brave new world of salon operations? Take a listen.Tony GordonT Gordon Salon TalksGordonsalon.com

Throughout my time with Aveda and the beauty industry, I can't remeber a time we weren't going through enormous change. Who knew that we would end up in this place at this time? Aveda  has seen its big changes:  from Horst to Estee Lauder, from Dominque's group to a lot of new faces. April Anslinger is the new North American Senior Vice President for Aveda. We met as Aveda Congress was ending two weeks ago in Minneapolis. It truly amazes me how someone can come from the outside of a company as tight as Aveda is and learn its underpinnings and issues as fast as she has. In our conversation we talk about Aveda's view on booth rentals. Aveda's new e-commerce approach called "A-Commerce," is the first in the industry.  We discussed the containment of Amazon. The structure of the relationship and how decisions and reporting flows from Aveda and Estee Lauder. And of course we find out who April Anslinger really is: her background, her home life etc. 

Throughout my time with Aveda and the beauty industry, I can't remeber a time we weren't going through enormous change. Who knew that we would end up in this place at this time? Aveda  has seen its big changes:  from Horst to Estee Lauder, from Dominque's group to a lot of new faces. April Anslinger is the new North American Senior Vice President for Aveda. We met as Aveda Congress was ending two weeks ago in Minneapolis. It truly amazes me how someone can come from the outside of a company as tight as Aveda is and learn its underpinnings and issues as fast as she has. In our conversation we talk about Aveda's view on booth rentals. Aveda's new e-commerce approach called "A-Commerce," is the first in the industry.  We discussed the containment of Amazon. The structure of the relationship and how decisions and reporting flows from Aveda and Estee Lauder. And of course we find out who April Anslinger really is: her background, her home life etc. 

Are sales techniques the final frontier of service businesses? If you have tried  almost everything else to enhance your business, maybe it is time to dive into good old sales efforts. I have often thought about the idea of making sales training a bigger part of my company training, but I have relented. Not that we don't do some sales training, we do. Sales is often soundly rejected by so many stylists. Most stylists want to focus on artistic, design skills and definitely not sales. Even if the logic of sales techniques bringing more people to work on and more ways to make clients look and feel great. Why not then? Sales is simply uncomfortable for so many people. I asked one stylist on staff, she said "you risk rejection and worse it might make you unlikeable." God forbid any of us take the risk that we are deemed not "nice." "Nice" is one of those universal goods,  it is like a currency or an additional star are on some blanket rating system if yelp had one for individuals. She is so nice...., bless her heart. Oh gag me!Thank God for this latest podcast with Carol Phillips from Beautee Smarts a sales training company for the beauty industry. She talks about the success she has found. She tells us about salons and spas with 30% increases in sales and individuals seeing massive growth. Take a listen to this 30 years veteran of beauty industry sales with clients from Canyon Ranch to 5 chair mom and pops. Tony Gordon

Going into an Inspiring Champions seminar is like culture shock, a jolt to the system. People implore you to "wakey,wakey" as they slap these clapper devices back and forth. The energy and passion is like a rock concert mixed with a pep rally squared. And Lauren Gartland is leading the seeming riot and spectacle before your eyes. At first I remember ducking for cover, but now I get it. Lauren is right, if you want to be a champion a whole lot of people in our industry need to "wakey, wakey."  Honestly they need to wake up, shaken up a little and get on with life. Lauren Gartland does that for salons and salon professionals. Take a listen to an inspirational talk and introduction to one of my favorite people in the salon industry, Lauren Gartland from Inspiring Champions. 

How to be a Celebrity stylist-A conversation with Marco PelusiMarco Pelusi fits right in the Hollywood scene, effortless cool, velvety voice and loads of beauty cred. Marco does a lot of famous people's hair. He is especially focused  on hair color, he is what we call a celebrity colorist. He throws around names like James Brolin and George Clooney as if there all buddies, and he isn't kidding, they are. As a stylist you become quite familiar with your clients, as we all know.  I am a little familiar with this special world of celebrity hair styling. The celebrity world has its special considerations. Celebrity handling are stories of lore at Gordon Salon and in the Gordon household. Like when my father did Tipper Gore’s hair for the Democratic Convention in Chicago or my sister worked on this celebrity and that,  for various films, Walk the Line, American Hustle and many more. I like Marco’s philosophy when it comes to celebs, “ Just treat everyone like a celebrity.” The celebs do need some special consideration, there is no doubt. A Celeb has paparazzi, and an entourage and a current script they are working with. So Marco has a special salon space to keep out the prying eyes; on a second floor and in the back, a special entrance. More than anything, Marco knows how and when to stay quiet, an important attribute in this selectively secret town. Loose lips sink scrips.Now I know there are so many young stylists who want to break into this star studded world. What does it take? According to Marco Pelusi, no relation to Nancy the California congresswoman, he says-networking. Yep, good old networking, rubbing shoulders, follow up phone calls, who you know, etc. Now it helps to be a very accomplished practitioner in the art of hair. Marco teaches large classes at big hair shows and has a huge social media following, has a team of stylists, his own product line and a strong legacy of great hair. He is a top stylist. In regard to his salon, in California, all are hampered and he laments the state of salons in his adopted place.  Marco is one of those guys that if he was almost anywhere else in the country he would have a huge salon with lots of staff, yet not here. California has a group of laws that restrict or make it virtually impossible to run a traditional salon. 98% of all salons are booth rental, the bain of the industry. For those of you that aspire to be a superstar like Marco, a celebrity stylist in West Hollywood,  just subtract the mega salon you want to own from the equation. Tinsel town has its ups and downs. Since Donald Trump was a TV star before entering politics I couldn’t help but ask what he would do to the Prez’ hair. Marco advised changing his hair to wheat or beige, basically toning it down. Melania was safe as she fits his aesthetic and high taste level for the perfect locks. As he was saying that Trump's hair should be toned down, I couldn’t help but think “The Donald”  could be toned down  in all areas. Marco knows how to create what looks good on camera. A special skill. Marco can teach you, get in touch with him at marcopelusi.comTony GordonGordonsalon.comGordonstylistacademy,.com

Sales Expertise using NLPOne of things I love about Brian Gilbert is how he embraces the risk in every human interaction. He has this knowingness about him. The ability to convey that he knows the truth and is willing to share, but it is going to cost you! It will cost you effort, time and possibly money, but in the end you will be better off for it.I first met Brian when he was trying to do hypnosis on hairdressers that weren't confident enough, weren't creative enough and generally did not have enough of what it takes to be good behind the chair. I didn't buy it! A couple sessions to cure your career ills? Not possible!But I am always fascinated by the outrageous, the mystical, the short cut,  and so I jumped in with Brian. I bought a series of sessions for him to hypnotize me.  I wasn't interested in being a better hairdresser, I was already a great hairdresser,  but academics, that was a problem for me.I was always a C student. Yes I have a Liberal Arts BA, but I always struggled in school, even flunked 2nd grade after my parent's divorce. When I decided to get a Masters in Business, I went to Brian and he started to hypnotize me for better grades. It worked.  I got  all As and one B. Everything I had been reading about the mind being moldable was real. Brian will tell you that there is a close relationship between hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). He owned salons in Chicago, and was selling so much product he was investigated for diversion of Aveda products. Is it moral to hypnotize people into buying your product? Brian will tell you, he isn't selling anything they wouldn't normally buy or what they don't need, further he isn't using hypnosis, he is using NLP.NLP is what some of the best self-help gurus know and love. Tony Robbins is an early user, practitioner and expert.All the best salespeople use NLP whether they know it or not, Brian says. Great sales people are very intuitive about the process, the programming and more. Brian is now out of the salon business, but has an intimate knowledge of how salons function, how creative people behave and what it takes to crank up a sales engine in salons. I have heard this amazing statistic bantered about that most clients buy products within 48 hours after leaving the salon. Why didn't they buy it from the recommending stylist? Brian will say it is because the stylist didn't say and do the right things. The client needs shampoo, why didn't they save themselves the trip? Brian now teaches and entertains corporate sales people in many industries. He is one of those guys who will hypnotize the person who swears they cannot be hypnotized but then he gets them to quack like a duck in front of 500 people. This may be a cost I need to absorb, because I will be that guy quacking.  He is coming to my salon to teach all the staff his amazing NLP techniques. You can find Brian at focusbdg@sbcglobal.netTony Gordongordonsalon.comgordonstylistacademy.comtgordonsalontalks

Bennie Pollard NAHA Winner-Salon Owner-Cool Beauty ConsultingBennie Pollard from Louisville, Kentucky he is a 6 time nominated NAHA entrant and 2 time winner. He has had a wide ranging career: salons, photoshoots, fashion shows, consulting, distribution, and product manufacturing. Bennie gives advice on NAHA and how to get started in photoshoots. He talks about how to really find the right photographer and the make-up artists. What to look for during the shoot. How to behave and find your dynamic while doing the shoot. How do you budget for a shoot? He goes thru all of this in this talk. He says photography will transform a stylist quickly from beginner to master level very fast. He has also became a distributor of products and salon educator. He talks about this great marketing method that I just love. Basically a seminar focused on clients, a free education for customers. It sounds like it works very well. Bennie gives us these bits of wisdom in this video. For example: "If you chase two rabbits they both get away."It is amazing what I have learned doing these podcasts, the people I get to meet and the profound wisdom I get to experience first hand.  

It is really all about being cool! Hanging out with cool people and being part of a  cool scene. James Griffith describes his foray in the hairdressing world with one word-cool. Horst Reckelbacher from Aveda was the top of the mountain. Aveda was just getting started and James was there, along with many other greats of the time. James had a classic upbringing in the industry about to be disrupted. He met some important people while hanging out with Horst, that changed his life. He came across Lauoret, a French master of the Jacque Desaage hair cutting technique. James went on a haircutting journey that led him to Paris and continues on till today. In pursuit of craft, he is now opening his own training classes in the French Haircutting method starting in 2019. James reminds me of so many guys I have spoken to from this era. Obsessed with the movie "Shampoo" they thought that being a hair designer behind the chair was happening, a place to meet girls, and something akin to being in a rock band. The industry was certainly in transition at that time. Isn't hair and beauty always in transition? Maybe so, moving differently than it is today. Jame's time was one of extreme transition, and certainly accelerated by the founder of Aveda, a genius hairdresser, salon owner and mad product maker. In this podcast James also talks about his locations. I ask him about what it is like to rent or own, as he does both. I ask him about the competitive landscape of being in a relatively small town with so many other top level salons. The seasonality of a place like Sarasota, how do snowbirds effect their business? Florida too, is in transition in so many ways. Many people lament the transistions, but not James. He is moving forward. He is opening a school in 2019, with a big draw, learn a new technique and hang out with some pretty cool people steps from the beach. Time to hang out with the cool kids!

Salon Altering Technology a conversation with Millennium founder John HarmsInterviewing John Harms made me think about all the passionate people in the beauty industry. There are the people who create beautiful shapes with hair, people that love to be “day makers”, many who love to create products, run great salons, but software? Computers have left no business unturned, everything has been disrupted, salons have not been exempt.John Harms was one of the first to our industry, he loves creating software for the salon business. He owns Millennium Systems International, one of the leading computer programs for salons and spas in North America. In my podcast with John, he  talks about wide ranging subjects, but in so many ways technology has transformed our lives, his software has changed the lives of over 100,000 salons and spas. Yet, John is a very down to earth guy. The guy you would have a beer with at a barbeque. In the podcast he talks about his family that are in the business with him: Jennifer and Micah. John says, once at work though,  he is all work.It is interesting how John became focused on the hair business in the first place. He tells the story of this serendipitous meeting that led to creating software for salons. The wunderkind was making software when very few were. One thing led to another and he was making databases in DOS.John’s newest evolution is MEEVO(Millennium/Evolution). It isn't just software he says,  it is the next evolution of the salon business. They have inserted voice recognition and much much more. John loves the salon business, he gets the salon business. He is always thinking about what can help his customer’s businesses. He is thinking about automated marketing, internal and external sales funnels, his convo bar and many other software features.  He has thought thru a lot of my questions on a technological level. Some were resolved in Millennium while some have no solution. I talked to him about self-checkout, and chair side check out. Meevo is a very competitive product.I asked John the tough questions.  As great as Meevo 2 is, what happened with Meevo 1? He explains Meevo 2 will I have choice with credit card providers, how will 3rd party providers work, what is the The Millennium Experience going to be like, what is it like to run a single building with almost 200 people in it?As we get more and more high tech, there is this expectation that it should all just work. It makes me forget, that all these devices are just humming in the background. Tech is sometimes fragile, but if someone has the passion, it is amazing what can happen.Tony Gordongordonsalon.comgordonstylistacademy.com

The Secrets of Van CouncilI had the opportunity to interview one of the top salon owners and salon personalities in the world,  Van Council, owner of eight Van Michael Salons in Atlanta and 42 salons in Japan. He and his salons have won various awards including 4 times North American Hair Stylist of the Year awards, Best Salon in Atlanta from various publications and much more. He is the Artistic Director for Intercoiffure North America, considered one the 75 top educators by Modern Salon Magazine, Aveda Global Master and the list goes on. He is a tour de force, a hairdresser's hairdresser, a leader in business. I have seen Van speak many times and for full disclosure, I have been enamoured of his great success. So it truly was an honor to speak with him, yet he is humble and real. It is always interesting for me to observe how unassuming Van is. As an example,  he tells me how smart his kids are, and then says, “not sure where they got that from.” His voice is full and sure and he qualifies everything. Because there are so many ways to run salons, he says, this is the way we do it. Whether you are salon owner, stylist or fashion creative, there are big lessons in his message. His voice is full, compelling, positive, reasonable, his methods for running salons are logical. I remember being with some of my staff at one of his talks. He regularly speaks at Aveda events, that I go to. My young staff were with me. They were entranced by him, engaged, shaking their heads up and down, they were jumping on the Van bandwagon, lucky he hasn’t opened a salon in my town. During this podcast, we talked about Atlanta as a great place to do hair. He says, “Atlanta has a lot of good salons. Keeps us on our toes.” But it is more than that, with 400 employees you need to be a great leader. From my perspective it comes from various things Van does. 1st he thinks deeply about his business. He has a personal habit of reading a lot. He takes his cues from top business people. It gives him an enormous amount to draw on. In fact I have heard him speak on some of my favorite authors, like Seth Goodin and Edward Demming. 2nd While many business people will suggest that hanging with your staff is a bad idea, Van does the opposite. He goes out of his way to meet and get to know his people. Take them to dinner, ride bikes, etc. 3rd, he is very affable, easy to be around, creative but not weird. I think Van would be a leader in any endeavor. I do think Van Michael has a couple strong philosophies that he  articulates well. 1st the idea of specialization. This ideas goes all the way to the front desk. One person for check in another for check out, of course one for cut one for color. 2nd,  Quality is first and foremost. Van says the chair has to make money, and the stylist has a date by which they need to be making a certain amount, or they are out. Van Council, the tour de force a leader among stylists,  salon owners and the business world. Tony GordonT Gordon Salon TalksGordon Stylist AcademyGordon Salons

My first experience with Neil Ducoff was at a dinner on the corner of Clark and Fullerton in Chicago. My father says, "you gotta meet this guy." The three of us go to this tapas place, half a block from my father's salon, slightly elevated above the street, so you can see all the surrounding businesses. We are eating, drinking, and Neil is talking. Neil is always talking. He was talking about the philosophy of Team Based Pay and how screwed up the salon businesses are. It was in 1989, I was a new stylist, young, opinionated, know-it-all and there was only one way to run a salon, and that was the way I knew it-commission. Across the street from the restaurant was a Super Cuts and a Hair Cuttery. The two businesses were practically side by side with one non related business in-between them. When I think of the stupidity of that landlord, it makes me want to scream. Who would put two of the same businesses in the same small building. I saw a movie trailer where two guys had guns pointed at each others heads in a moment of extreme intensity! It was kind of like that. Over lots of food and drink, and as Neil is explaining Team Based Pay, he leans over with his big waggy finger, points at the two chain salons, clearly visible from our table, and says, you know who is paying properly, they are. With added emphasis the pointing lingered. At the time those places were all hourly, not sure if they did bonuses. I said, "No way!" And I told Neil, this old guy with loads more experience than I, that he was crazy, he was wrong and one thousand other thoughts that were going thru my head. After the dinner, I was talking to my father, an award winning salon owner and visionary in the salon world, that stylists would never go for a pay scheme like Team Based Pay. 10 Years later I found myself in Connecticut at one of Neil's seminars and my wife Pam and I now have 4 salons all on Neil's pay system that are Top 200 for 15 years!  And I read the other day, the Hair Cuttery opened it's 900th location. Go figure!In this podcast you can hear for yourself if Neil is worth listening to.