Sure, the show floor and shopping are great at America's Beauty Show. But this year, give your feet a break and exercise your brain at the 2011 ABS Business Forum for a few hours!

P&G Salon Professional (Wella Professionals, Sebastian Professional, Nioxin and Clairol Professional) is bringing together an extensive line-up of speakers and information at this one-day forum for all salon owners who want to grow their business.

Listen to the podcast with John Moroney >>

THE DETAILS
What: The 2011 ABS Business Forum, sponsored by P&G Salon Professional and ABS with SALON TODAY as the event's multi-media partner
Where: McCormick Place, Chicago
When: Sunday, March 13 from 10am – 3:30pm (includes a break for a networking lunch)
How: Sign up at americasbeautyshow.com
Cost: $50 for Cosmetologists Chicago members, $150 for non-members (includes 1-year salon owner membership) 4 CE hours
Virtual Location: For owners not able to attend the ABS Business Forum in person, an exclusive PGSP Webcast lets you be there via the internet! Join the four-hour live webcast sponsored by P&G Salon Professional. Visit www.pgsalonpro.com/ABS to register.
Fee: $49.95 for the four-hour live webcast and two months online access following the event.

This year's event is themed "Smart Thinking – Straight Talk," with forum topics on:
Taking Back Clients: Exploring the mindset and spending habits of today's beauty shopper.
Leadership Strategies: Why it's important for a good leader to have life/work balance.

"Salon owners want in-depth business learning," said Frank Gironda, president of Cosmetologists Chicago, the salon professional organization that owns and produces America's Beauty Show.

"Our Business Forum partnership with P&G Salon Professional," continues Gironda, "brings owners into direct contact, on a personal level, with the expansive resources of P&G. This is more than a business class-it's practical, professional, extensive and sophisticated management education. I urge all salon owners to take advantage of what the ABS Forum has to offer."

The "Smart Thinking-Straight Talk" dialogue will be divided into three integrated sections:

SECTION I
• Reuben Carranza, CEO of P&G Salon Professional kicks off the forum by explaining why customizing your approach to your target client is essential.

Reuben Carranza
"Most salon owners entered the business to do great hair, not run a business," says Carranza. "Today's economy leaves salon owners no choice but to become business masters. Understanding who your best clients are, and what they want, is the first step to winning in the new beauty economy. From there, owners can reverse the decline in retail and service revenue, re-energize the staff and cut through the clutter of competition."

• Mark Komanecky, P&G Shopper-Based Design Manager, will then dive deeply into P&G's vast consumer research to expose salon client types and explain Shopper-Based Design.

"The beauty shopper has changed," says Komanecky. "We see major changes that affect salons. Shoppers have more choices and they are far savvier than ever. But so many products confuse them. They research products with friends, online and look to magazines for editorial recommendations."

• The dialogue goes even deeper as four world-class salon owners talk about their target client segment and how they have structured their businesses to serve them. Beauty Editors of leading consumer magazines, who know their readers-your clients- will further help attendees get inside consumers' minds and spending habits.

The owners and editors on tap for this panel are:
• Janine Jarman, Salon Owner: Hairroin Salon in Hollywood, CA with Amy Keller Laird, Beauty Director,
Allure

• Larry Silvestri, COO: Mario Tricoci Salons & Day Spas in Chicago, IL with Sherren Leigh, Editor in Chief, TCW – Today's Chicago Woman

Marcy Cona, Salon Owner: MC Hair Consultants in Cuyahoga Falls, OH with Elaine D'Farley, Beauty Director, Self magazine

Ginger Boyle, Salon Owner: Planet Salon, Beverly Hills, CA with Erin Flaherty, Senior Beauty Editor,
Marie Claire

SECTION 2
The Learning and Networking Lunch offers a great chance for attendees to network and share their own client insights and clients' experiences. Bringing the client sessions all together with active audience participation will be John Moroney, P&G Salon Professional's VP of Salon Business Development and Stacey Soble, Editor-in-Chief, SALON TODAY.

John Moroney Stacey Soble

SECTION 3
Sustainable Leadership-Reuben Carranza returns to the stage to talk about what is the role of a working leader-whether of a salon or corporation and how to sustain those behaviors.

Next, Neil Ducoff, founder and CEO of Strategies, will explore his "No-Compromise Leadership." Well-known among savvy salon owners, Ducoff will offer the "Smart Thinking, and Straight Talk" necessary for the long-term, as well as day-to-day operations of a successful salon business.

Neil Ducoff
"The hardest thing salon owners must do," says Ducoff "is take ownership of what they've built-and that includes the problems. If the culture is toxic, the owner must acknowledge that it is so because of what he or she did or didn't do."

To close the ABS Forum, Jim Lafferty, now CEO of Coca-Cola, West Africa, and with 20 years in key management roles for P&G throughout the world, will share with salon owners his unique perspective on Life EquiLIVrium, Effective Work & Life Balance. You'll walk away a better leader and even better person.

"In today's global world, the competition for talent is a battlefield. People join people. They don't join companies. And people leave people. They don't leave companies. Hence leaders must go far beyond vision and inspiration. They must set an example of having a full and balanced life, and visibly demonstrate that it can be done. They must create an environment where their organization can pursue career fulfillment and personal satisfaction. They have to demonstrate they value work and life balance. After all, we work to live, we do not live to work."

For more information, visit americasbeautyshow.com or check out the 2011 ABS Business Forum brochure.

Listen to the podcast with John Moroney >>


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