Interntional Beauty Show Jacob Javits

I just returned from the International Beauty Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. I have to say, I am a bit disappointed at the show this year. In the Esthetic Spa section, there were only 5 isles of vendors. There was nothing new and not much excitement. I think this may have been the smallest turn out in many years. In years past this has been huge! I walked through the entire esthetics section in less than an hour. I think it was practically a wasted trip.

I am going to attend the New York Spa Owners meeting in two weeks for the first time. I suspect that that will be a far more worthwhile endeavor.

Follow up to our LEED certification

Just checked the LEED on line web page and the status of our project looks really good. Right now we have enough points approved to reach Gold Level! We are in line to be certified for New Construction. I can’t tell you how happy I will be when this is officially awarded. As soon as it is made official, we will be the first NEW Construction Gold Level Spa in the Country! Wow! I know there are a few others that have also become LEED Certified.

There are different categories for which you can become certified and each category has several tiers of success. I would love to meet the other owners who went through this process. It is not an easy task for a small business. I know from my own experience, we almost didn’t go through with it because of all the detailed documentation and because of how difficult it was to retrieve the proper documentation or “proof” if you would to satisfy the requirements. It would be such a pleasure to share our stories and help the other spa owners in the country follow in our foot steps. Hopefully from our challenges, mistakes and triumphs, we can help more spas reach this goal. The wellness benefits of the services that we offer our guests, make this a natural next step for those owners who truly want to offer a total wellness experience. I had a conversation at my spa today with a guest who was there for the day having several services. Her comments to me were that “while she was having her services, she enjoyed knowing that she was also benefiting from the surroundings.” Our guests appreciate what we did and I would love to share our experience with others. So……If you are another owner who has a LEED certified spa, let’s talk! I would love to share our experiences.

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March Sparty Recap: Makeup was a Good Choice

Just wanted to quickly reflect on the terrific time all of us from Complexions had this past Thursday. Thanks to everyone who helped make our first “sparty” a smashing success. For those of you who weren’t able to attend, don’t worry – I think we’ll definitely do a variation on this season-inspired program again.

To recap: We started things off with a fresh herbal facial cleanse to exfoliate & moisturize the skin. It’s amazing what a wonderfully aromatic cleanse can do to ones mood after a long day. I also wanted everyone at the Sparty to have a happy, balanced & perfect base for the new spring make up colors that were set to go on later in the evening. Next, we spent some time brightening our smiles with a personal teeth whitening treatment from GoSMILE - there really is something to be said about products which produce meaningful results on the first application – a definitely crowd favorite. After that, individual hair consultations with our stylists educated us all on how best to brighten up our hair for the spring. And so, with our hair, skin & smiles recharged & ready for the warming weather, we headed over to the Make-Up counter and begun sampling a smorgasbord of fresh spring colors from the Complexions Essentials line. With most of the girls having home as their next destination (it was a quiet Thursday night after all!) delightful experimentation definitely won out over our more ‘tried & true’ shades and palettes. And just like the previous ’stations’, impromptu question & answer sessions broke out between Spartiers & staff prompting me to dream up plans for a more formal series on skincare Q&A. But I digress!

We closed the night out with a stroll through the Complexions Boutique and another interesting Q&A session about each of the product lines we carry. With so many brands offering so many skincare solutions these days, I find that focusing in on the specific ingredients (rather than individual programs and/or items) works best. It also didn’t hurt having the $25 dollar reservation fee be good towards any service or product purchased that night.

Our next Sparty is scheduled for April 16th and will feature a whole host of green-themed products & stations - expect email invites & an event post to our brand new Facebook Page within the week. I’m also happy to announce that Complexions will be hosting lots of little Earth Day celebrations throughout the month of April with special promotions on brands like Y’tsara, whose certified organic products help make each and every Thai inspired body wellness treatment as good for the earth as they are for our bodies. =)

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The Heart of John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success

Today we had another staff meeting. This time we discussed the three “blocks” of John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success that are in the center. He refers to them as the Heart of the Pyramid.

The first block refers to condition.  This goes well beyond physical condition.  He is referring to a good mental and moral condition.  “When you are lacking in good mental condition this disrupts the team.”  I agree with this.  It also reminds me of a book called “Fish”.  From the moment we wake up in the morning, we have the choice to either make it a great day or we can ‘choose’ to let our mood or events dictate our mood.  Sometimes this can be a difficult task but we are all ultimately responsible for our own attitudes.

The second block is skill.  “You have to know what you are doing, what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.”  When I apply this to my staff and operating the spa, I explained to my staff that it is one thing to go through the motions of a facial, a haircut, or a massage then there is really knowing the who, what, when, where, and how.  There is a huge difference in the quality and in our ability to fully provide the best service to our clients.  This also means, knowing the products, in side and out.  Being able to explain what everything is and why to our clients.   You must be able to perform all aspects of your job, not just part of it.  One without the other makes you a partial player.  You must master all aspects of your job.  “When I’m through learning, I am through.”

The third block is team spirit.  I especially enjoyed this block.  It refers to our attitude about our contribution to the “team”.  John Wooden explained that he changed the meaning of this. The original meaning was:  a willingness to sacrifice personal interest or glory for the welfare of all.  He felt there was something missing.  Then he finally got his answer and changed it to: An “eagerness” to sacrifice personal interests or glory for the welfare of all.  I see that with my own staff.  There are those who are always eager to help and those that are willing, however not always eager.  There is definitely a positive feeling from that eagerness!

Our next meeting will focus on the top of the pyramid.  I find this to be a very helpful management tool for me to share with my staff.  I think everyone enjoys our meetings because they inspired us all by his words and we can relate to them.  It isn’t a meeting where the typical “problems” are rehashed.  I think it makes us all do a little private self evaluation.  It gets everyone back on track until the next meeting.  We hold them the first Wednesday of every month.  It seems to be the right amount of time before everyone needs a little checking in.

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How I plan to spend the small-business tax break President Obama has proposed to Congress

Image by stevegarfield via Flickr

Recently, Paul Krugman wrote in response to President Elect Barack Obama’s planned tax-breaks for small businesses that

First, Mr. Obama should scrap his proposal for $150 billion in business tax cuts, which would do little to help the economy. Ideally he’d scrap the proposed $150 billion payroll tax cut as well, though I’m aware that it was a campaign promise.

Dr. Krugman thinks that I’ll just horde the money away – well guess what …

That’s just not true!

Here’s what I will spend all money generated from either tax breaks or energy savings: 

I would purchase new treatment tables for the remaining rooms that need them, I would purchase furniture for our relaxation lounge for our clients to have lunch or dinner at and I would send our department managers for additional advanced training.  That money would go directly back into business building tactics and because we would be using it to purchase equipment and necessary supplies, it would help stimulate the economy.  

So Mr. Krugman please think more clearly and consider what you are really recommending and how it will effect the small business owner and it’s employees……..

Obama’s Proposed Tax Cuts Total $300 Billion

• What to Worry About
• Krugman expressing doubts about Obama massive tax cut plan
• More About Obama’s Proposed ‘Paycheck Bonus’

2008 Year End Wrap Up

Calcuating year end revenue is kind of like solving a circle (given three points on it

After relaxing for the first day of the New Year, I went into work today, anxious to print out our month end numbers and our year end totals. I tell you, if you totally focus in on the negative tone of all the media, you would expext the year to have been a disaster. We had an amazing year! We had a 33% increase in our gift certificate sales alone for the month of December. Not bad for only being in our new location for six months. It pays off having Complexions located in an “A” location verses a “D” location. We spent a quarter of what we spent in previous years on advertising and still came out way ahead. We focused on our internal marketing and I feel strongly that worked really well for us.

I studied our yearly totals and have some thoughts and plans for the new year. I need to focus on our retail sales and I want to continue to work on our loyalty programs and new business. Annually you can expect a loss of about 20 % fewer customers for reasons out side of our control. Each month we need to focus on getting and keeping New Business. Getting more and more creative with our “word of mouth” advertising and strong referral programs, in my opinion, work the best.

Next week I want to re-evaluate all of our expenses and really tighten up our effeciancy and cost control. This way we might be able to pass along some of those savings to our guests for the new year. Over all we had appoximately a 27% increase in business over last year. I am very pleased with our growth during this economic time and I am excited for the new year. Next week I will also have my monthly goals done, budgets in place and I can work on our advertising and promotional calander for the year. I love what I do…….Happy New Year!!

The Value of Networking

Complexions has been open for 21 years.   During this time, I have tried every form of advertising from newsletters, television, radio, newspaper print, magazines, mailings, you name it, we’ve tried it.   When it comes right down to it, the most beneficial is the recommendation from a friend or word of mouth.  Since our move into our new location I have attended many charity events and fund raisers.  The exposure has been wonderful.  I can’t tell you how rewarding this has been for my business.  I think when I meet people and get to talk about my business, it’s like giving that personal referral to a friend.  It has really helped us to grow the business in our new location.  I have seen many of the people that I have talked to come in for services.  It has been great.   To solidify this type of referral business, I have taken it one step further and now we have a structured referral system with all of our employees.  Part of their business building monthly goals, they need to have “so many” referrals each month.  We’ve provided them with referral “spa dollars” for them to hand out to their guests, (we refer to clients as guests).  The spa dollars gives the new guest a discount off their introductory service and the referring guest receives a thank you for the referral card along with their own “spa dollar” to apply to their next service.  It is really working well. It brings new business through word of mouth, and the service providers take a little of the responsibility to build their business.  Try a little networking, it works!

The Power of Networking

Complexions has been open for just shy of 21 years. During this time, I have tried every form of advertising from newsletter, television, radio, newspaper print, magazines, mailings, you name it, we’ve tried it. When it comes right down to it, the most beneficial is the recommendation from a friend or word of mouth. Since our move into our new location I have attended many charity events and fund raisers. The exposure has been wonderful. I can’t tell you how rewarding this has been for my business. I think when I meet people and get to talk about my business, it’s like giving that personal referral to a friend. It has really helped us to grow the business in our new location. I have seen many of the people that I have talked to come in for services. It has been great. To solidify this type of referral business, I have taken it one step further and now we have a structured referral system with all of our employees. Part of their business building monthly goals, they need to have “so many” referrals each month. We’ve provided them with referral “spa dollars” for them to hand out to their guests, (we refer to clients as guests). The spa dollars gives the new guest a discount off their introductory service and the referring guest receives a thank you for the referral card along with their own “spa dollar” to apply to their next service. It is really working well. It brings new business through word of mouth, and the service providers take a little of the responsibility to build their business. Try a little networking, it works!

Introducing Complexions Blog

This is a very exciting time at Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness. We have just celebrated our 20th year in business this past November. With this milestone we are also embarking on a new adventure. We are in the process of building a new spa facility just down the road from our current location in Albany, New York. We are building our new spa “Green”! It is so fantastic….imagine having spa services that are literally “good for you” in a building that is “good for you” and the environment. This means attention to every detail from the way we excavate the land for construction and remove demolition waste to the very end finishing touches like paint choices, type of flooring, wall coverings and even lighting fixtures. Going Green is a process where you pay particular attention to energy use, efficiency and using recyclable, renewable materials.

As the owner of Complexions Spa, I would like to introduce my self. My name is Denise Dubois. I founded Complexions in 1987 and have enjoyed the experience every step of the way. I am an internationally certified CIDESCO esthtician with more than 25 years of experience in the spa and medical spa industry. It has always been my goal to stay in the forefront of the spa industry there fore it is only natural for the next step for us to be “GOING GREEN” . So watch us grow, each week I will up date our progress and share with you any exciting “SPA NEWS”. I’ll talk to you soon.

NYSERDA LOAN FUND

I had a meeting with NYSERDA last Wednesday to submit the application and supporting documentation for the Loan Fund. It was a tremendous amount of work. At the beginning of our project we submitted an introductory application along with our bank being approved and also filling out a section of the application. Basically there are two parts to our application. The first is in the energy savings and the second is our “greening” efforts. Basically all of the money we spent in an effort to become energy efficient and to “go green” qualifies under the loan fund. Every thing must be supported with documentation proving the energy savings and “green” materials as well as the costs associated with each and every item. It was a very time consuming and detailed process. When we are finally approved and this all goes through the Loan Fund will potentially save us thousand of dollars in interest by reducing our interest rate. Not only does “going green” do wonderful things for our planet, our environment, and future generations, there are wonderful rewards financially.