Eufora Global Team Educator, Tamra Segert, has been a barber/stylist for 37 years, a Eufora International Educator for ten years and a salon owner for eight.  She is passionate about helping to guide stylists and help direct them onto a successful path. MODERN SALON has the pleasure of sharing her top five suggestions for defining and determining career success:

1. Culture: Set standards for yourself. Others don’t have to follow you, but I guarantee they will if you are focused and have a clear vision of what you what. Culture pulls people together. I truly believe that our longevity is determined by the culture we are immersed. A good culture with great foundations drives us to be better. It supports us, holds us to a higher standard, allows us to be creative, provides education and is a place where we can fail and adjust. Make sure at the salon you end up at, you are immersed in a culture that appreciates your fundamentals. We are the sum of the five people closest to us. Make sure those five people understand and support your goals and your desire to create a successful culture.

2. Define your Goals: Define your goals clearly and make sure you are always measuring your success. Make your goals as detailed as possible. Your goal shouldn’t be to “make a lot of money.” That is too vague. Instead determine how much money, then break it down to the month, week and day. Decide how many people you need in your chair to achieve this goal. Decide which clients will be the best asset to achieve your goals. Is it the long haired teenage girls who comes in twice a year for a cut? Or is it the short haired professional who needs a cut and color every three to four weeks? If it’s the latter, then you must make sure you are great at short hair and color. We would have never decided what to focus on if the goal was to just make a lot of money. Once the goals are set, make sure you set aside time to check back in and measure your success. Are you getting the types of clients you want in your chair? Are the numbers where you want them to be? If not, reevaluate what you could be doing differently to reach those goals.

3. Find a Mentor: Having a mentor is essential to success. It sounds easy enough, but most of us are unsure of what they can do or where to find the perfect one. The definition of a mentor is “an experienced or trusted teacher who guides our goals.” We are five times more likely to succeed with a mentor. Mentoring will grow your confidence and hold you accountable. Your mentor can be anyone that inspires you. Everyone from presidents to Plato have had mentors. Understand you can have different mentors for different goals. Decide which characteristics you need guidance with and find someone who has those traits. Don’t be afraid to invest time in finding the right person. Talk to people you respect and assess their advice and whether or not you are on the same page. Remember, you don’t want someone who just listens to you, you want someone to give you guidance and hold you accountable. A good mentor is someone who challenges you and creates growth within you. You don’t need to know your mentor. You can follow them through books, quotes, or blogs.

4. Remember the two R’s - Retail and Referrals: Most clients don’t know you are building your business and are happy to help you if they do know. A referral is four times more likely to return than a walk in. Walk ins are a great supplement to a clientele, but they are not the same as a referral because a referral is already tuned in to your culture. A great time to ask clients for a referral is right after you finish their hair, not when they are at the desk or in the shampoo bowl. You set yourself up for success when you ask at the right time and reward the client for their effort. A referral is also more likely to use home care recommendations. Retail is an extension of your salon service. Clients can’t recreate their style if you haven’t showed them the importance of the tools you used. If a client doesn’t leave with product it’s because they don’t understand the value in them. Never sell a client something they don’t need, as that will compromise your integrity. Instead find a product you believe in and explain to your client the importance of the product. Retail is not just about making a couple of bucks, it is insurance and the key to retaining and building your clientele.

5. Professional Behavior: Being a great hairdresser isn’t just about doing a great haircut. Hairdressers have to conduct themselves professionally and understand the importance of customer service. Since a stylist's number one goal is to create repeat clients, we need to be an oasis from bad service. Ultimately we must exceed our clients’ expectation to ensure our success. Hair stylists aren’t just artists, we must remember to study business, marketing, etc. If we don’t have consistent high level customer service and professional behavior, our clients won’t come back. Professional communication will keep a strong clientele and using this professional conversation along with planning the type of clients you want in your chair, can help cement your success.

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