Perfect Image Plus Salon Blog

Well I can almost breath again.  As I sit in the salon at the end of this Saturday afternoon I am feeling somewhat nostalgic and nervous with all that is about to happen over the next 10 days.  You see after 12 1/2 years in our current location we are moving the entire Salon next weekend.  Lock, Stock, and Curling Irons.  So over the next 7 days I get the joyful job of packing and discarding the existing location and then for three days move, install, and locate all of the furnishings, fixtures, and supplies into the new space.

Now some people may find this truly fun and exciting but to me the actual idea of all this is overwhelming and even downright scary.  So far the remodel/outfitting the space for use as a salon has had a few minor bumps (yeah, I guess there weren’t many minor ones really) and several major ones.  Lets take a moment to list them…

Had to install an A.D.A. Bathroom (Silly Government Codes don’t ya know)

Repair/Replace the sewer main line and water line; both were cracked.

Convince the contractor that the counter we call a back bar (where the   bottles of shampoo and conditioner sit behind the shampoo bowls) really was suppose to be 16″ wide like in the drawing, not 4 1/2″ wide like he decided.  Thus requiring him to rebuild the counter after playing with me and arguing with me too.  (I won by the way!)

Having to write the letter to my elderly Landlord giving my notice.  This was actually the most difficult and painful part of the move so far.  She has always been so sweet to me.  But you can’t make a building grow or Triple Net shrink I was told.

Last but not least finding the help we need for the actual physical move next week end.  when you mention moving I have discovered people tend to look away from you, whistle, and suddenly remember they need to be somewhere else, hmmmm?

I am sure that as I look over all of this through out the next several months I will find many ways to celebrate this journey as well as to curse the very notion of it all.  In the end though I am also sure my God is good and He will bring us all through this desert to a place filled with Milk and Honey (who knew it would be shampoo and conditioner by the way) to continue to serve this community and the wonderful families who rely on us every day.  Oh and I was just wondering one more thing…

Do you have a truck and are you busy Sat. morning??

Those of you that are not involved in the beauty biz may not realize that we stylists go to “Hair Shows”.  Now you may be wondering what exactly is a Hair Show and why would any one really want to go.  Well I’ll tell you, it is like an Auto or Boat show but with billions of Estrogen molecules floating around co-mingled with the heady scent of Hairspray.  It is frankly where all good little hairdressers go to get education and cocktails; sometimes at the same time.

This particular show happens to be in Seattle/Bellevue Washington and will be attended by about 5000 stylists over the next two days.  At this show you can experience everything the industry has to offer from the really relevant to the absurd, as an example you can go from standing behind a 75 year old beautician with the outdated up-do who just so happens to be discussing the latest razor cutting techniques with the young stylist with full sleeve tattoos,  body piercings, and a green Mohawk.  Then turn around and find yourself drawn into a demonstration of the hot new body waxing technique for intimate ares (OW!!).  In other words the Hair Show is the great equalizer of the Cosmetology universe.  AWESOME!!

Want to know what really makes our 50 something hearts beat a little faster and the tingle of excitement grow moment by moment as the weekend approaches.  No it is not the hot young male models for American Crew for Men that we will see expertly coiffed on stage, or the great sale prices on sundry items at the Bargain Center, what it really is is NO HUSBANDS!!!!  For 2 1/2 days of bliss we don’t have to cook, clean, listen to, or affirm anyone else but ourselves and just enjoy being girls.  Maybe not the youngsters we once were (that would explain why two of us have already gone to bed), but girls with out expectations and responsibilities.

Now I guess I will check in with my husband to see if he found the refrigerator and knew how to open it and feed himself dinner (this may not have went well, good thing he needs to loose a few pounds, just sayin) and then head to bed myself.  Tomorrow as exciting as it will be also promises to be long day.  So off to bed to dream of all things hairy, and yes this includes my husband.  good Night ;o)

When my son Reed was about 10 years old he began an almost nightly ritual of waking me from my contented slumber with the exclamation “Mom my legs hurt really bad!!”  Not only did this shatter my dreams and the coziness of a warm bed, but it was something I could do very little to provide any relief for him.  What he was suffering from was very simply growing pains.

Now as I sit at the front desk of the Salon I swear I can hear my business moaning and crying  from its cinder block walls that its proverbial legs are hurting.  I know every owner out there goes through times and feelings regarding their business’ that run the gambit of  each and every possible human emotion from indecision to fear, to elation, frustration, excitement, joy, confusion, and many more I haven’t even thought of yet to list. To put it bluntly I’m a mess!!!

You might wonder what brought about this crisis of commerce; well I’ll tell you.  We bought a building, well kind of bought a building.  We have secured a bigger location just 1 block south from my present Salon and have signed the papers with the current owner for an agreement to purchase the building, but for the first five years he will carry the contract.  One might think that this is where the champagne comes out and we congratulate all involved in growing our business (especially during these difficult economic times), but this is where the real pain begins.

I being the only women involved in this deal and I have on one side of me my husband and business partner who likes to believe he is the reincarnation of J.P. Morgan (he is very good at some parts of business, but does not see the weak spots in his skill set; this is my job to point these out to him) and the current/former building owner who likes to cut me of with a wave of his hand and a dismissive “yeah, yeah” (this includes a literal hand wave gesture by the way, can we say amputation!!).

Last time I checked it was 2012 and as a women who has run a business for the past 5 1/2 years with lots of support but not much help I DON’T LIKE being dismissed or bullied by anyone. Now we get to throw a crew of contractors (all men too) into the muddled mix and I truly do believe with all that is true that it was easier to give birth to a live human being than it is to move a business 1 block south.

I think for now I will just remember to breath (hee, hee, hoo, hee, hee, hoo) and when I get home mix a strong drink since it is difficult to give oneself an epidural.  More later, blessings Nin

It has been a long time since I have had the time, urge, or even a basic inkling of desire to write on this blog.  When the economy took a further downturn several months ago I was worried, no actually for the first time as a business owner I was truly frightened.  The demographic area we are located in is near the Portland Shipyards and the headquarters for companies like Freightliner etc…   As these large companies announce lay offs and let their employees go our client base dwindles. So in turn does the revenues in the door from client services.  You all know the drill Money in does not equal money out then the  business looses money and finally you can loose the business.  In other business terminology it sucks!

So with the weight of the world and local economy barring down on my shoulders and my needing to make a decision with regards to continuing or closing I did what every overworked business owner and hairdresser does I got a pedicure.  Yes a pedicure!!  I went to a salon I have never been in before and after being greeted by the standard “pick a color” I lowered my toes into the foaming swirling bowl and as I soaked I thought and prayed.

I know some business owners would not think of a pedicure spa as the most likely place to have a business epiphany or a face to face with God but this does work for me; besides when I’m done my toes look very nice too (BONUS!!).  Besides one does not need to enter a church to come into Gods presence you just need to call out.  So quietly and to myself (didn’t want to scare the little gal working on my toes with sharp tools) I asked God what were his plans for Perfect Image and in turn for me.  Was I going to continue along the same path, change directions but remain open, or close the shop and forge a new journey.  Which ever one He had planned I was/am willing to follow I just really need/ed to know.

I can’t say that the waters parted in that foot spa but I just know that I was told to first calm down, it will be OK.  No matter what the outcome is with the economy, the business, or even my own family as long as I seek His desire It will all be OK.  Secondly I was told that I had been in that desert place long enough and that help would soon arrive, but patience would be required a little longer.  I must confess here that my initial response was “REALLY! A LITTLE LONGER!!?”  Then I stopped took a breath and reminded myself that everything is perfect in Gods timing, so waiting for perfect is a whole lot better that rushing towards imperfection.  So I waited, and waited, and then…

Several weeks ago on a Friday evening a very tall red head with a great laugh walked in the door.  It turns out her name is BJ and she has been a hairdresser for 30+ years.  She had been working for a salon in the area for quite awhile and she told me she had come to the conclusion that she needed to move herself and clientele to a different salon and wanted to know if I had a station available for lease?  (OK, mind you at this point I forced myself to remain calm; FORCED MYSELF, and then I immediately asked God is this what I’ve been waiting for?  Is this one of the answers??)

So to get to the end of all the details she sat down and waited for me to finish my client and then we talked for awhile.  As we concluded the on-the-spot interview I encouraged her to go home and talk to her husband Vern and to pray about the choice/s she needed to make and then to please let me know her decision.  I too would be praying about the decision and we would talk on Monday.  Well after she left I can say only one thing about that meeting and that is I was left with a sense of peace and rightness.   I had a conversation right then with God about all this and He just told me that waiting on Him had rewards and that all will be OK as long as I let Him be in control of it.  By the way she called the next day.

Well it’s been a little over two weeks since BJ became a member of the Perfect Image family and so far it has been great.  She is helpful, sweet,  and funny with a great laugh,( did I mention that?), and she fits into our little family seamlessly. So with extra help, income, and company for now things are better and I can continue to seek Gods perfect plan for Perfect Image.  Now I just need …

Have you ever had a dream that maybe just maybe you think could work out if you just put enough labor into it?  Or do you tell yourself  if you only work a few more hours, service one more client even if you’re tired, don’t take time off and instead save the money so you can in the end do it better, that you’ll get there to the light at the end of the tunnel?  Well I am truly experiencing a crisis of “business” faith right now.  We are in the arena of dreaded Lease Renegotiation.  I hate my life at this moment and want to take my toys and just go home, maybe someone else can play in my sand box and do it better right now.

We have owned the Salon for five years and have managed even with the downturn in the economy (22% overall decrease for us in the past three years) to remain open; a little leaner than we were five years ago but we are still alive and kicking unlike many other business’s out there.  My landlords have decided that now is the time to increase our rent.  Mind you if the economy was stronger and the coins in our pockets heavier I would not like the idea of an increase but I could understand their desire for one.  What I just don’t get is why they want an empty space like all the other empty spaces out there.  How will that help them or anyone else.

It is a proven fact when you have empty retail spaces the neighborhoods adjacent to them suffer.  Property values go down, vandalism goes up, and growing vibrant neighborhoods die.  What they are thinking just eludes me.  So we have begun the despicable job of searching for other options for locating our Salon.

So just the other day we found a wonderful space that would actually allow us to expand services and grow the business and only a few blocks from our existing one, ah but the catch it is for sale not lease.  Sale, yes sale, so instead of finding another lease my husband has decided we need to buy a building.  Thus eliminating the triple net and someone else making financial decisions for us.  So how does this all come full cirle to frustration?  Money that is how.

It has become very apparent to me over the last four hours on line that it will not be so easy to secure the monies necessary to help us achieve our dream.  This is beginning to feel like an insurmountable hurdle to me, I realize that somewhere in the labyrinth of Development Commissions and Financial Institutions that there is an answer but right now at this moment in time I feel like a rat in a maze that has no real tangible reward at the end of it all.  Do we give up and give our landlords what they want or do we forge ahead into this new but frustrating territory?

I think the answer is there but today I might just be done.  The real answer might just come to me but I believe it will take professional intervention so I’m going to go get a Pedicure.  Won’t solve the problem but I’ll feel better and my toes will be very pretty to look at while I hang my head in frustration.  Oh and if anyone finds an extra $125,000.00 please let me know I would love to talk to you about a little dream I have.

It has been awhile since I have had time to post anything on this blog.  First my husband and I celebrated 13 years of marital bliss (for the most part yes it has been bless.  No really I mean that!!) and for the first time in 10 years we took some time off.  We actually did not work for 4 full days!!  Now I know to some of you that hardly sounds like much time off, but when you work 6 days a week 52 weeks a year that is an incredible amount of time away from the business.  The very idea of 4 days not having to answer phones, do salon laundry, listen to peoples problems, shampoo, blow dry, cut, etc…  I think you get the picture;  I truly love what I do but well being away was frankly heaven.

We found a wonderful place on the Oregon coast at the south end of Lincoln City called the “Looking Glass Inn”.  We were right on the bay and the ocean with a great view and very large jetted tub.  We got to sit in front of the fire, soak in the tub, sleep in late in a king size bed, and just be with each other.  Which as many of you other self employed beings out there know first hand is not always so simple.  Owning your own business sounds so great when work for someone else but the reality is often not as fun or as pretty as you imagine it to be.

We drove up and down the coast visiting antique shops, pottery craftsman’s and glass blowers.  Ate out every day at some great regional restaurants (so mama didn’t have to do no stink-in cooking or dishes except for breakfast!!).  My fantastic husband found me gorgeous bubble glass and silver earrings at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport and antique gold and turquoise earrings at a tiny antique store for a special present for our anniversary and reminded me why I agreed to go out with him after he was a (very Shaggy!!) walk-in haircut one day.  Overall a short but relaxing get away which we don’t get to do very often.

Then though because I choose to ignore these items when I was away the inevitable does occur though, that being the dreaded return to work.  When I returned there were over 30 saved messaged on my Qwest voice mail and many more e-mails waiting on my high speed connection.  Don’t get me wrong here I’m not complaining because I made a conscious choice to ignore these things while I was away.  The beauty of having the small business interface through Qwest though is I can access remotely all of the technology based business solutions the Qwest provides my business with; if I so choose.  I just choose not to.

So two days later with many e-mails, returned phone calls, shuffled appointments, and one or two irate people life was back to crazy normal.  Not that the life of a small business owner is ever truly “normal”.  Next we enter into negotiations with our landlords on our lease renewal.  Now that sounds like enough of a reason to not have come back, don’t you think.  Maybe I’ll go throw pots or blow glass somewhere along the Oregon Coast… yeah that’s what I’ll do.

Well it has truly been an amazing last few week at Perfect Image.  The salon has been busy (truly busy!) and I was graced with the presence of two fantastic hairstylist from a neighboring salon not far from us.  Golden’s Salon a beauty shop specializing in Ethnic hair was due to undergo a major gut remodel and the two sisters who own it needed a place to work for 2-3 weeks (at least that is what their contractor told them, LOL).  Well Mary and Emma ended up working out of my shop for 6 weeks (see what I meant by LOL).  While there I discovered what a truly heavenly time one could have while at work.  These women are amazing!!

Mary and Emma are such hard workers and have such lovely clients who really appreciated my shop.  They were helpful, considerate, kind, and charming.  Their clients likewise were just wonderful to get to know.  I was so sad when they had to leave to go back to their own location; but eventually they did get a bathroom door that fit so it was time to reopen.  Once they were gone it was so quiet and even though I remain busy somehow the shop seems empty without them all.

Several great things occurred while they were working out of my salon though.  First I have made two new friends who are a blessing to my life, second they have expressed a desire to talk with me when their lease expires in three years (does anyone have a 3 year calendar and a big red pen to cross off the days, please let me know), and finally they were there one day when a young stylist named Crystal walked in asking if I was hiring.  They talked to her for quite a while about me, the salon, and their own experiences working with me.  She left a resume and then called me a week later asking to meet with me and discuss coming to work for me.  I was able to schedule  an interview this past week; which I must say went very well and upon checking all of her references…

So does she or does she not have a job at Perfect Image Plus Salon?  Well the answer is yes as well as a position working two days a week for our supply side of the business, Dayspring Beauty Supply.  I am so excited that she is extremely motivated and eager to develop a clientele.  She understands that to do this she will have to put in the effort herself, she will be responsible for promoting herself and her skills and that first and foremost caring for the client is how she will retain them. This information just makes me as an owner giddy.

Will it all be sunshine and roses?  Probably not, we are a group of women working in 1200 square feet and we all have a little something called hormones that influence our moods from time to time (Don’t worry guys I’m a women so I can say that!), so eventually there will be conflict.  But I truly believe that with the proper attitude, incentive, and compromise we will gel into a great team ready to do incredible work.  So even if I don’t have a Crystal Ball I do have a new stylist named Crystal and as far as I can see the future at this moment looks very bright.

Finally I am forever thankful to Mary and Emma for the great experience, the hard work, and the very nice things they said to about my business and me that day that Crystal came in. By the way I’m also still looking for that 3 year calendar and red pen since I’m running out of fingers and toes to count down on.

Blessings, Nin

I seem to be getting old.  This statement to some may seem a tad bit premature; and to my almost 20 year old son a statement rooted deeply in the truth.  All I know is at least where technology is involved I sometimes find my self saying things like “when I was young our phones had cords and rotary dials” or “I remember when we had to use carbon paper and ribbons in our typewriters to make copies of papers for class assignments, with no spell check either!”.  So for the last few week I have been engaged in an epic battle of the web browser versus the 50 year old hairdresser, and with the help of Andrew from Social Media I may even begin to turn this battle around and come out the other side the victor and with a tiny bit more knowledge.

Owning a business was in many ways so much easier (despite what you youngsters may say) in years gone by.  You turned a sign on the door and you were open or closed.  You had a cash register and it actually had cash in it.  There were these great little machines that you put a charge card in wit multiple page receipts and pushed an imprinter across the card and pages to “process” the card for a customer purchase; and it made the best sound too.  Did you know that is why charge and debit cards have raised numbers on them by the way?  I did.

For all its sophistication modern business practices have not really made things easier for everyone involved in operating and staffing a business.  I happen to have a young stylist who works at my salon and I know if the power went out she would not know what to do to capture or process a clients information from their debit or credit card.  Nor would she be able to find her way to a remote location without her GPS on her smart phone, I still prefer a good old fashioned map you “try” to fold back up when done with.  So for all of its promises modern technology does not always deliver ease of operating for this salon owner.

As a business owner who has direct physical contact with my clients the technology side of things do not always directly make my job easier.  My computer, website, and smart phone are just a few of the tools I use to establish contact with my clients.  My shears, flat irons, hair color, blow dryer, and smile are some of the tools I uses to serve and please my customers with.  Which set of tools are more important? I think the answer lies somewhere in the merger of the two different sets.

Being able to bridge the gap successfully between the technological and the client service or the inorganic and organic is really the key to my hair salon surviving the modernization of the business arena.  Hopefully with a little help from those who have the needed skill set (Andrew my blogging coach) as well as my willingness to learn and grow (ouch!) I will be able to transition and place my salon on a pathway of growth and success.  If not I can always blame my computer.

Oh and I guess I am suppose to use a disclaimer here, so I have received help from Qwest and Social Media in return for my unpaid and unbiased opinions of the products and services I receive from Qwest for small business’.  Hope that covers it.

Blessings and Happy Easter, Nin

Well here I sit in the church office between worship team practice and the beginning of service and thought I’d finally have a moment to get this blog started.  What a wild week we had at the Salon.  Busy with clients, repair tasks, and just general up keep of the faciity.  If you think owning a business is all fun then you haven’t had to clean the restroom after a client’s four year old decided to play for awhile when he was finished.  Owning can indeed be glamorous. 

It is finally Sunday, a day each and every week I covet with a great amount of seriousness.  See we are Christians, not the “I’m an American so therefore Iam a Christian” Christians; but the fundamental kind.  The type of Christians who actually close their business on Sunday as a way to honor God (yes the day off is nice but there is more to it than not going to work).  See I actually need this time with my “other” family to be a good business owner and a great hair stylist.  This is how I am able to find the paitence to deal with, the desire to create for, and the need to serve others the rest of the week.

I see so many different types of people doing what I do.  Everyone has some sort of base line idea of what their self worth and value is and how they wish to express it with their “style”.  I am blessed to just be a condiut that in some sort of small way can help them to elevate the value of themself and to feel better about how that value is perceived by those  they interact with each and every day.  I said I am blessed and I truly mean that, it is a blessing to be allowed into peoples lives and to “touch” them in both a literal and a figurtive way. 

I really get to go to work do every day and  engage in the practice of “Edification”.  This is an old word/phrase that means to lift up,to make better than before.  How many of us get to really and truly do that every day at work?  Or do you just punch the clock and muddle through your day, just managing to get through it all?  If that is what you do then it is time to find something that allows you to engage your life in something beyond chasing success and to live a life or and strive for significane.  To edify yourself and those you come into contact with while punching that clock.

You would be amazed at how good it feels to finish your day tired but fullfilled; exhausted but satisfied.  Don’t forget to connect everyday with “someone” who can help you edify your own worth and to become better at the work thing the rest of the time.  So when you punch that clock it leaves a impression behind of value.  Oh and it does not hurt to look pretty while doing it either.  See you at the Salon, time to go lift my voice to the one who gives me value.  Blessings, Nin

I am very excited to begin the second part of the blogging adventure by linking all of this to the virtual world.  Be on the look out for more to come.