Tag: Empowering You

We all wish to constantly improve our work, our lives, and ourselves. At Salons by JC, we thrive as a salon suite community that supports and promotes self-empowerment and improvement. This mentality is one that Salons by JC was built upon – giving hard workers and dreamers the ability to run their own businesses. We empower and provide the tools beauty professionals need to become their own bosses. This mission is one that drove the Salons by JC team to the Premiere Orlando Hair Show for a weekend packed of empowering YOU.

On June 2, Salons by JC hosted its first ever national educational workshop at the OC Convention Center in sunny Orlando, Florida. In partnership with our good friends from Salon Centric, Salons by JC was thrilled to invite keynote speakers to communicate and share their stories with both the location and salon suite owners in attendance.

The three keynote speakers in attendance are industry movers and shakers in their own rights. The keynote speakers included: Daniel Mason Jones– Social Media Influencer and Owner and Creative Director of Muse Salon and Spa in Atlanta, Ryan Hanson- Digital Marketing Manager at Salon Centric, and Kim Becker– Founder and CEO of Hello Gorgeous! of Hope, Inc., a non-profit that provides makeovers of a lifetime to women battling cancer all over the nation.

The event kicked off with a note from Salons by JC President, Steve Griffey. “I’m grateful to the people in attendance and their commitment to improving their craft – business skills, social media, and leveraging technology,” Griffey said. “We plan on launching robust educational training across all markets.”

This was huge to share with salon suite owners. Salons by JC wants to continue to provide salon suite owners with the tools they need to be successful, while providing them with the knowledge needed to operate from the ground up. This includes empowering, training, and equipping salon suite owners with resources to help them manage salon finances, basic business principles, and plan for the future.

“The first major step toward this new training begins here – at Premiere Orlando,” Griffey said in his final statements. “We are thankful to Salon Centric for giving us this opportunity today. Today is not only about improving you, but improving your business.”

“WTF?”- Why the Fear?

Daniel Mason Jones of Muse Salon and Spa was the first keynote speaker to address salon suite owners in attendance. He began by asking, “WTF?- Why The Fear? Fear holds us back from the things we want to do and the goals we want to accomplish.”

Jones opened by sharing his background and his early desires to be an embalmer at a funeral home. Despite his initial goals, Jones explained that life has a funny way of placing you exactly where you’re meant to be. “You are each here today, because this is exactly where you’re supposed to be,” Jones said to the audience. “I’m here today because this is where I am supposed to be.”

What shifted Jones’ path toward the hair industry was a chance encounter. One day on the job, a client of his shared that she was in the midst of battling stage 4 breast cancer. After chatting with her for a while, she asked him if he was interested in cutting her long hair. He agreed and quickly realized that this was not going to be an ordinary haircut. This was going to be an experience that would change the course of his life, forever.

“That day, I gave more than just a haircut,” Jones recalled. “It was a confirmation of her illness.” As he cut and styled her hair that day, Jones realized the power he had to deliver happiness in the grim face of an often harsh reality. He had the power to make a positive impact in someone’s life who deserved it most. “My client tied everything into place for the rest of my career that day.” Hair became Jones’ calling, his life’s purpose – living for the growth and success of others.

Jones discussed the importance of time – and the essence that what we decide to do with the time we have been given while on Earth is imperative. He directed the audience towards a video of a contestant from X-Factor UK who was continuously told by colleagues that he would never make it – he was not good enough. At the end of the video, the contestant delivered a spectacular performance that blew everyone away.

“Don’t keep your talents hidden, no matter what people tell you,” Jones shared. “The talents you have are meant to shared with the world, and the world deserves to see them.”  Jones’ words of wisdom left everyone in attendance inspired and revitalized to keep pursuing and realizing their dreams.

Let’s Get Social

After a quick break, the group reconvened for the social media portion of the workshop where both Daniel Mason Jones and Ryan Hanson from Salon Centric demonstrated the importance of online branding.

“Social media is all about tactics and strategies,” Hanson shared. “At Salon Centric, we have over 100 brands, and we showcase them through brand ambassadors and UGC – user generated content. Instagram stories are a great way to showcase testimonials, products, and sharing incrementally about what you do in your suite space. ”

One of Hanson’s main points was that stylists often focus too much on the before and after images. While they are valuable in their own right, people are also interested in the process.  Sharing the story behind the business, employees, and clients are also of great importance. It is the human aspect of social media to which users respond the best. Allow the audience into your work space and make them feel immersed in your world.

Impacting Your Community Through Your Skills

The last keynote speaker of the day was Hello Gorgeous! of Hope Founder and CEO, Kim Becker. Her sister and Hello Gorgeous Coordinator/Trainer, Trisha Greenlee, and Hello Gorgeous Trainer, Julene Franz, were present in the audience for her presentation.  2018 beckoned the start of a wonderful relationship between Salons by JC and Hello Gorgeous! Hello Gorgeous! gifts women battling cancer a day to forget their hardships, doctors, and medications, and just feel beautiful for a day. Their goal to is to return some of the femininity that the battle with cancer too often strips away.

“We were so blessed when Steve reached out to us at the end of last year,” Kim shared. “We are excited about rolling out this program across the Salons by JC markets. The Salons by JC corporate team is truly passionate about the empowering you mission and bringing this program to women who really need it.”

Together, Salons by JC and Hello Gorgeous have put together two very successful and emotional Hello Gorgeous Makeover Days at two corporate locations in San Antonio and New Braunfels, for two very deserving women. The impact is best put in Kim’s own words: “This past April we had a makeover day in New Braunfels and the Gorgeous Lady recipient came back to give hugs to the salon suite owners a few weeks later.” Those kinds of relationship are what Hello Gorgeous! is all about. 

Even the smallest amount of time given to a charitable cause will have a significant impact in how you and your business are viewed. Kim’s mission is a reminder of how our actions, as individual businesses and as business owners, play a big role in our community’s success. Spreading positivity and goodwill into the world is a great thing and if your business can be a part of that, then seize every opportunity you get.

Future So Bright

It was a whirlwind weekend in the Sunshine State. The first ever Salons by JC Empowering YOU Workshop went off without a hitch and attendees walked away feeling even more empowered and motivated to take on the world.

“I really learned a lot today. This is all new to me, but I want to learn so that I can share what I know with my Salon Suite Owners and help them grow their business,” said Rita Carter, Owner of Salons by JC Mobile after the event. “When Daniel Mason Jones spoke about fears, it really hit the nail on the head and made you think, what is your fear?”

Salons by JC aims to continue to provide information to salon suite owners that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to learn from the most trusted industry professionals. This is the first step in a long process of becoming the nation’s premiere salon suite concept – not only in the realm of retail space, but of entrepreneurial education and development.

We thank all the inaugural Empower You Workshop speakers, attendees, and Salon Centric for partnering with us on this endeavor. We cannot wait to continue our mission of delivering quality to the Salons by JC community and empowering more individuals to come.

About Salons by JC: In 1997, Jack Griffey and Cecil Miller began their journey to transform the beauty industry one salon suite at a time. Like most young entrepreneurs, they started out with a big idea but had to learn how to start and run a business from scratch. After much perseverance and hard work, one year later, they opened Salons by JC in Dallas, TX in 1998, welcoming beauty and wellness specialists who were ready to break free from the traditional salon model. The company has since moved its headquarters from Dallas to San Antonio, where it continues to grow through franchising. Today, Salons by JC has over 87 locations in 24 states and Canada.  For more information, visit salonsbyjc.com or salonsbyjc.com/franchise

 

Blog written by:

Miranda Gonzales

Account Coordinator

Sammis & Ochoa