Back to School

Back to School is one of the most exciting times of the year! As a salon owner, it’s all about riding the wave of excitement and making your salon the destination for new and cool things. Here’s how to make it happen:

Create a Desire

People love things that they’re a part of, so help them realize what they want. My son Maddox watches “toy videos” on YouTube all the time. I never understood this new phenomenon of watching videos of other people playing with toys. That is, until we walked into Target after a dentist visit to redeem his award for being part of the No Cavity Club. Out of all of the toys that he could’ve chosen, he picked a board game called “Sneaky, Snacky, Squirrel.” I was dumbfounded that a 4-year-old would pick this game out of all of the choices he had. When I asked him how he knew about the game, he simply replied, “I saw it on toy videos, Dad.” My son had no desire for or knowledge of this game until he learned about it from his favorite source. This is our lesson.

Start educating your guests before the summer begins. Create a game plan that will crescendo as your guests return to school. For example, create a blonde, blonder, blondest plan just as you enter the summer months culminating with a big reveal for her return to school.

Supply the Desire

My daughter Makena wants a dog more than anything in this world, and after 2 1/2 years, we are finally breaking down to get one. Although, it’s not just the puppy that she’s excited about now—it’s the collar, the dog bowl, the bed, the clothes, and countless other dog essentials. We should look at a guest receiving a new look in the same way. This creates opportunity for new tools, new shampoo and conditioner, and new styling products that are essential to maintaining this new exciting look. And what better time for your guest to show off a fresh look than Back to School?

Maintain the Desire

My amazing wife Brooklyn wanted to live in a specific neighborhood when we moved to California, and after a year and a half, with help from the greatest neighbor in the world, she got her wish. My wife has always been great about keeping our house looking great, but she took it to a whole new level when we moved into her dream neighborhood. When we have something that we truly desire, the maintenance is never an issue. It is a given.

Once you have created the desire at the beginning of the summer and supplied the desire with the best tools and products, maintaining that desire will be as simple as pre-scheduling the guest for the week before they return to school. Back to School has always been one of my favorite times of the year, and now as a hairdresser, I can live vicariously through my guests!