
Where do you get your BIG IDEAS?
In the final hours of this year’s conference in Bonita Springs, a new concept was launched. Delegates streamed into the auditorium to be bombarded by BIG IDEAS – innovative concepts that had worked and had measurable impact for other members. It was like speed-dating but rather than cozying up on …

Thinking Innovatively is More Than New Ideas
Chicagoans, and many from further afield, have been flocking to Mario Tricoci for more than 40 years. You’d think we were pretty confident we know enough about hair and beauty to be able to sit back and relax. But we aren’t and we don’t. Instead we constantly look for ways …

Marketing at the Speed of Technology
Moderating a breakout session at the 2018 conference in Scottsdale, AZ gave the audience and myself an opportunity to discuss marketing with some real experts. Ann Latendresse, Director of Brand Marketing at Great Clips, brought all the gravitas of someone who runs marketing for a company with hundreds of thousands …

Would you do anything to avoid litigation?
Great Clips, Inc. will do anything within reason to avoid litigation. However, if all other efforts to resolve a dispute are exhausted and litigation becomes the only option, Great Clips’ strategy is to win. In the company’s 37-year history, it has litigated with franchisees just nine times and has been …

Business from the Heart: How Charity Helps Everyone
A business that actively supports charitable organizations gets payback way beyond any funds raised or time given. It creates customer goodwill, engagement and loyalty. But to consider it simply a PR exercise to make the company look good to customers, and possibly the press, means missing out on the true …

IoT, AI, AGI, WTF
Taylor Romero has a dream of how technology is going to organize his time in the near future, and he shared that dream at this year’s conference. It goes something like this: his wife, Beccy, who co-owns Spruce Barbers with Taylor in Denver, Co, will get a notification from their …

Re-Imagining Your Location to Appeal to Millennials
The relocation of the Gene Juarez Bellevue salon in 2017 was the opportunity the company had been waiting for to update and re-energize our long-established brand. Bellevue, sitting across the lake from Seattle, has become a magnet for Millennials, and that’s a demographic our group needed to attract if it …

Moving Boldly to Reinvent a 50 Year-Old Brand
PENZONE Salon + Spa. It’s safe to say that our new concept salon has been a key focus for us. Our new salon opened on May 9, 2018 and every element of the concept, the guest experience, and our communication was intentional. Before we get into the specifics, view a …

Digital versus Traditional – a Journey of Discovery
Two years ago our 100-salon group switched ad agencies, moving from a small boutique firm we’d been with for six years to a larger enterprise with offices in three Canadian cities. The new firm had all the polish and razzmatazz that can’t help but impress, and it has delivered, in …

Time is the ultimate luxury
We are witnessing a seismic shift in attitudes, leading to a new paradigm, according to a huge survey carried out by whom and when in Europe and North America. It questioned 5,000 participants and found the number one way to happiness was to buy back some time. We are all …