Category: Booth Rental Advice

This is dynamic Information for the Booth Renter, or Professional considering Booth Renting in the beauty industry.

Same Problem, Same Comments! Nothing will Change.

~ Joseph Kellner

All available under one roof! And at prices salons couldn’t even get it on the shelf for!! Well done

Its the same old same old story in the beauty industry. “DON’T’ buy these products in a store there tampered with. There bootlegged products, brouhaha. Get real people. Professionals keep on whining about how there products are on the internet, in a store. WA WA WA.  This story is written from a add on Facebook so I thought I would give the advertisement my 2 cents.

Why do all of you get excited over this. More than 70 percent use these products and sell them in there salons. You pay for a ticket at a hair show and you learn from these company’s. You join PBA and they support those companies. BTC supports those companies, yet you will like and copy and paste there literature in your walls. Actions speak louder than words my friends. There getting there’s and your getting yours. Why bother. But you will still support the shows, websites, and product lines. And join the organizations.

Reply’s to my comment!

I quit buying from products from supply houses and quit using a certain line when it came out with their own box color. I don’t support lines and companies that don’t support me. I make my retail even when I’m not standing behind the chair and I don’t have to watch my products/my money sit on the shelf and collect dust. I’m tired of giving my hard earned money to big companies that could give a crap if we are out be they want to make money.

All these products are bought directly from manufacturers and sold to supermarkets.. they are not out of date … just cheaper

When a distributor”s contract with a company like TIGI or Any of the other’s, is terminated they sell their inventory to discount stores. We get angry at that company when we need to hold distributors​ accountable for how they sell off products they legally can not sell.

The big companies ARE selling it. End of story

I don’t know why people get so shocked about this anymore. It’s nothing new. “Diversion” isn’t real.
Manufacturers sell to whoever they want.

If you stock product that shows up in a supermarkets. You should dump your supplier and find an exclusively salon one.

THIS WILL NEVER CHANGE MY FRIENDS, NEVER!

 

The Real Hair Truth

~ Joseph Kellner

 

Are you doing something about it in your business?

Yes you can go into these super stores of beauty and just about find anything you want inside of them.  Perfumes, cosmetics, makeup, hair care, even hair color. They have a salon to also get you hair styled and whatever else. But to the real professional who has some form of professionalism inside of them. It is merely a flea market like the hair shows.  So how could you work in a company who sell boxed hair color to the consumers coming into the store. And then at the same time work in their salon. I would love to know. That to me is a sign of being in competition with your employer.

But the days of loyalty are gone. That is from a manufacturer and as I might also say from the consumer also. Pity my profession. A lot of the profession has been sliced and diced. You have nail salons to go to, Spa’s to go to. And now Salons who go ahead and offer Blow-Drying and Makeup also. The day of the salon being the place to get your beauty needs done are over. This also increases a lot of competition with in the industry with the professionals. Too many stores create an over saturation of the industry.

Leaving many professionals with out jobs and too much competition.  Nothing wrong with that but from the studio I work at by myself there must be at least 20-30 booth rental and salon advertisements to compete with. Salons now are a dime a dozen. Every strip mall built-in Orlando has a dry cleaner, salon and liquor store in them. Too many salons and too many places to purchase my professional tools, products etc.  But within my industry there are a few factions who bestow the honor of calling themselves “Representatives Of Our Beauty Industry”.  They want you to think they are there for you, but they are merely representatives of the manufacturers.

These organizations who charge over $300.00 to join say they are the “Professional Beauty Association” To represent you on all and every issue governmental to state rulings and passing of laws concerning the Beauty Industry. Believe me everyone they are a scam also. especially when the are buying the hair shows up. I always thought that if you are an oversight committee that you should remain neutral in your preferences within the Beauty Industry. But sit back and investigate for yourself and you will find out they do nothing for you as a professional in the Beauty industry.  Other than giving you a discount to their hair shows.

So many in the industry are keen to my voice and other voices have raised up to take part in informing the professional what it is all about “NOW”. Many new independent company’s are forming and the  Independent social media has taken a HUGE chunk in the education and commentary aspects of the industry. Bravo!  Informing others who and what is really out there now in the industry and who is for the industry etc. A few years ago I seen this gentleman come out of the shadows and live off his daddy’s coat tails. Selling a new product for all in the industry. Claiming,” this will change the industry” my new shampoo and conditioner.. Take it from me when some one speaks of that nature they are merely a “Snake Oil Salesman”. He made a little money but what sold it was is daddy’s last name. This guy didn’t know the difference from a hair pin and a bobby pin. But since he USED his daddy’s name he sold a few bottles and made his money and “WALLAH” he took a boogie out of the industry. Never to be seen again. I can still hear him laughing.

Times change and so do people, this was a very important to me to say a few words. I don’t lose sleep over these action anymore within my industry. I take it for what it is and how it could have been stopped, but never was.  I hold my “CRAFT’ in high regards but when it comes down to the “ELITES” of my industry there words and praises me little to me.  I used to have mentors but that is a big word to me now, which holds a lot of respect but from what I see none can fill those shoes.. Now I just have one mentor and he is the greatest of them all.

Trust me he wont sell me out.

And that’s how I feel.   The Real Hair Truth

Wonderful Reviews For The Film, The Beautiful LieS

~ Joseph Kellner

I am proud to announce the completion of my newest film, The Beautiful Lies. “The Beautiful Lies” is a film that shines a revealing light on the cosmetic and beauty industry. It showcases the passion of entrepreneurs in the beauty/cosmetic industry. Dominated by major manufacturers. From there ups and downs, peaks and valleys this film will motivate you as a entrepreneur in any profession. Motivational and a realistic film. You can buy it at https://haircolorinorlando.com/beautiful-lies/

Reviews For the film.

Lisa O’Connor Boss ♡♡♡ watched it in its entirety and you have the ability to inspire all! I found it motivational with a message that truly does need to be understood. Thank you Joseph and to all involved in your documentary.

Michele E Magnuson You are awesome for helping those less fortunate, for always giving and caring. I plan to watch this afternoon. Love that you shared it with us.

Great documentary Joseph!! It was very informative, educational and inspiring about Entrepreneurship, marketing and the beauty business. I highly recommend it even if you aren’t working in the hair industry.

Lori Leonard Prescott Thank you Joseph Edward Kellner for inspiring me. You helped me so much.

Terrie A Simpkins Wonderful and inspiring .I enjoyed it very much and will use the positive messages and insight to implement into my own business. You’re a Gem Joseph. So happy for you.  Love your work.  Continued success and endless happiness always!

Lora Boyer I watched this am…so thankful that your God given talent is to help and inform in beauty industry!  I’ve been in industry for 25 years…it’s hard work but I love what I do and believe God bless me with talent to help and make others feel better 😊I will pray for success for this project and for u…thank u for the opportunity to watch!!!  Respect all the great advice and great to see J Christian…God bless.

Cynthia Oakley I am not in the beauty industry, I sit in the chair and watch the magic..  I absolutely loved it.  The message can be applied to all industries and personal life.  Great job.. I really liked the visuals, especially while you gave your commentary under the trees.  Your filled with the spirit my friend.  BRAVO

What California Bill 1513 Means for Salons and Spas on Commission

~ Joseph Kellner

The Real Hair Truth

About frigging time, say goodbye bye to free labor. People deserve to be paid. Especially for sitting there waiting for a customer. Time is money. The ol trick of hiring a professional and giving them a chair and telling them they have to build up there clientele when they answer a advertisement for employment will be gone. That old trick is history, and should teach salon owners labor is not free. Good for the industry this should keep the owners honest. The industry was built on free labor. Pay back time. How can a professional come to work worrying about rent, food, electric, transportation etc if they work on commission. Salon owners will say I can’t do that, then you shouldn’t have opened a salon. Now I will wait for all the know it all’s to reply. Please do I love debate. I have watch professionals I have worked with in my 33 years of this industry, ripped offed, taken advantaged of, and done so much wrong to they have gotten out of the profession. Its interesting how salon owners can come up and blame the professionals. And assume that with your words that all are alike. “Have to pay people to sit in the break room, on their cellphones, bitching about how they are not busy.” Well not everyone in this industry does what you say. I’m glad to see this, it should have happened along time ago. I love it! Boo Hoo for the salon owners, good for the employees. The employees are what make you. About time this happened, I love all the new ways and new roads the industry is changing. Be your own Boss everyone Don’t live other peoples dreams. You will have nothing in the end. Especially in the Beauty Industry!, Hah!

Note: Although CA employment attorneys were consulted when researching this article, we highly recommend that you contact a legal representative to discuss your rights and responsibilities on this topic. Strategies is not a legal counsel and the contents of this article should not be considered as such. We will be updating this post as more information is presented to us.

Commission salons and spas in California were just given the ultimate “Bad Hair Day”.

With the passage of California Bill 1513 “piece-rate legislation”, the rules have completely changed on how salon and spa owners can compensate their stylists and massage therapists.

For all intents and purposes, the traditional commission model is no longer compliant in California. Strict new laws now require salons and spas to drastically alter they way they compensate their commissioned employees.

And unfortunately, the potential financial impact of Bill 1513 on many salons and spas could be catastrophic. See the full bill here.

What you need to know

Piece-rate vs. commission compensation:

As per the Labor Code, compensation for salon/spa services is technically labeled as “piece-rate” work, and not commission. Confused? Let’s look at the Labor Code’s definition of each classification:

  • Piece-rate is defined as pay “based upon an ascertainable figure paid for completing a particular task or making a particular piece of goods.”
  • Commission employees are defined as anyone “involved principally in selling a product or service, not making the product or rendering the service, and their compensation must be a percent of the price of the product or service.”

Because stylists and massage therapist are rendering services and not just selling them, their work is considered “piece-rate.” Why does this labeling matter? Because Bill 1513 only applies to piece-rate work and not commission work. But again, the Labor Code’s definition of commission is not the same as the salon/spa industry’s.

Big game changer #1…

Effective January 2016, all “piece-rate” California salons and spas must track, report and pay their stylists or massage therapists for “non-productive” and “rest/recovery” time.

“Non-productive time” is defined as the time employees are required to be at work, but are not actively servicing clients. This includes time…

  • Waiting for the next client to arrive
  • Folding towels
  • Sweeping the floor
  • Assisting at the front desk
  • Attending meetings
  • Technical training’s

“Rest/recovery times” is defined as time…

  • On break and meals

In other words, every minute that services providers are in the salon/spa and are not either servicing a client or on break, needs to be tracked, reported and compensated for.

The “non-productive” and “rest/recovery” pay rates must be at least the California minimum wage.

Big game changer #2…

And it’s a biggie…

The law states compensation for “non-productive” and “rest/recovery” time must be a separate pay rate from the rate paid for when services are being produced.

This means you are no longer allowed to average the total dollars paid by the total hours worked and let that cover both “productive” and “non-productive/rest” hours.

Previously, as long as the averaged hourly rate equaled or surpassed minimum wage, all was good.

This is no longer the case.

Big game changer #3…

In addition to aforementioned restrictions, Bill 1513 also contains one final crippling blow for California-based commission salons and spas:

  • Employers are required to calculate and pay back wages for all “non-productive” and “rest/recovery” hours worked dating back to July 1, 2012. And yes, employees have started filing lawsuits demanding back wages for this time period.
  • Or… choose the Safe Harbor option: Valid until July 1, 2016, Employers may choose to pay each employee 4% of their total earnings dating back to July 1, 2012. The state must be notified by July 1, 2016 that this option is being pursued, and full payment would be due by December 15, 2016. Doing so will also make them immune from any future employee lawsuits specifically related to Bill 1513.

An Example…Salon Sacramento

  • Open since 2006
  • $800,000 in gross service sales every year
  • 10 full-time stylists, each paid 50% commission
  • Each stylist works 40 per week, and is 75% productive.
  • California minimum wage as of 1/1/16: $10.00 per hour

Now let’s do some math…

  • $800,000 / 10 stylists = $80,000/yr gross revenue generated per stylist
  • $80,000 @ 50% commission = $40,000/yr gross pay for each stylist
  • If each stylist works 40 hour per week and is 75% productive, this means that 30 hours are spent servicing clients, and 10 hours are “non-productive” or “rest/recovery” hours.
  • 10 “non-productive” hours per week for 52 weeks is 520 “non-productive” hours for per year, per stylist

How this scenario would look under Bill 1513…

  • In addition to the $40,000 paid to each stylist for their commissions on services, they would each be due an additional $5,200 in compensation for their 520 “non-productive” hours worked at the minimum wage rate of $10 per hour.
  • This brings each stylist’s pay to $45,200/yr, the equivalent of 56% commission.
  • Multiplied by 10 stylists, this is a $52,200 increase in total salon payroll.

Salon Sacramento’s back wages due on all “non-productive” hours since July 1, 2012

  • We’re going to round our numbers to 3 years for clarity-sake
  • $52,200 x 3 = $156,600 due to employees if paid in full without using the Safe Harbor Clause
  • Or, if Salon Sacramento chooses to use the Safe Harbor Clause and pay the 4% penalty on all wages paid since 7/1/12, the amount due by December 15, 2016 would be as follows:
    • $40,000/yr x 10 stylists x 3 years = 1,200,000 / .04 = $48,000

Compensation alternatives for California salons & spas

So where do commission-based California salons and spas go from here? One thing is clear, the days of easily calculating 50% for them and 50% for the house are gone.

Here are four employee-based compensation structures for California salons and spas moving forward:

  • Continue to pay commission/piece-work. The big challenge presented here is how will salons and spas be able to afford paying for “non-productive” and “rest/recovery” hours on top of the commission rates they are already paying? Yes, commission rates that fluctuate or are averaged based on weekly sales could be used, but these methods would also introduce substantial increases in bookkeeping responsibilities. They also may spawn confusion and resentment from service providers.
  • Hourly pay: Putting service providers on a fixed hourly rate is a sure-fire way to meet all California compensation requirements, as long as the hourly rate is at minimum wage or higher. However, if salons and spas don’t have the systems and leadership to drive sales and keep staff motivated, issues may arise.
  • Hourly plus commission: Keeping close to the current commission structure, employers could elect to pay service providers a set hourly wage (such as minimum wage), and then add a reduced-rate commission for each service rendered.
  • Team-Based Pay: Converting to a Team-Based Pay (TBP) structure not only meets all Bill 1513 requirements, but also offers growth and cultural benefits far beyond traditional salon/spa compensation models. TBP is an hourly and/or salary program with a team bonus that is tied the achievement of critical numbers (e.g., revenue, gross margin, client retention, productivity, pre-booking, retailing, net profit). Individual growth is tied to overall performance – not just the employee’s ability to generate revenue. A TBP system is designed to reward the right behaviors and performance – those that support the business’s goals and culture. RELATED: To learn more about the benefits and structure of Team-Based Pay, download Strategies’ free Team-Based Pay white paper report here.

As counter-intuitive and debilitating Bill 1513 is to the California salon/spa landscape, it is not something not to be taken lightly. If you are not pro-active in making the necessary changes now, you could be facing state fines, employee lawsuits for back wages or both.

Where can you get help?

Your first step should be to talk to a legal representative to learn what your legal rights and responsibilities are with Bill 1513. They will also have a very firm understanding of the bill as more details and cases are presented.

Your next step should be to restructure your pay structure to meet all compliance standards. If you would like one-on-one help from our team of Certified Strategies Coaches to quickly execute the restructuring of your compensation system to Team-Based Pay, click the link below. Not only will we ensure you meet all Bill 1513 guidelines, we will help you implement a pay program that can increases sales and profits, motivate your staff to grow the business, and provide world-class customer service.

Click here for hands-on help from a Strategies compensation expert.

Note: We highly recommend that you contact a legal representative to discuss your rights and responsibilities on this topic. Strategies is not a legal counsel and the contents of this article should not be considered as such. We will be updating this post as more information is presented to us.

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Chaz Dean Is In Trouble!

~ Joseph Kellner

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A celebrity hairstylist is at the center of a lawsuit involving people from all over the country who have come forward to claim that his hair-care products have caused them scalp irritation, hair loss and more.  Tanya Norman, who also specializes in brand development for a creative agency, is one of these people. Six months after trying the WEN hair product, Norman says she was alarmed at what happened.  “I had started to get a bald spot, and then I found another one in the back, and that’s when I kind of started to get worried,” Norman said. “I started bawling. I couldn’t stop crying.”  Now, attorney Amy Davis is representing nearly 200 plaintiffs from over 40 different states who are part of a mass-action lawsuit against WEN by Chaz Dean Inc.

“Some of the men and women that we represented, looks like they had a weed whacker taken to their head,” Davis described. “Just hair breaking all over.”  Dean, who developed the WEN hair-product line, has a hair-care studio in Hollywood, and celebrities such as Brooke Shields, Angie Harmon.  Davis, however, states that the product traps dirt, oil and debris in the hair follicle and causes scalp irritation.   Davis went on to claim that the celebrity endorsements made women, men and even children believe in the product.  “Their testimonials and Mr. Dean saying that he is the stylist to the who’s-who in Hollywood really made these men and women believe they could trust the product,” Davis said. “Kiddos, kiddos that we represent, have lost nearly all of their hair.”

While  Mr. Dean declined to be interviewed on camera, they released a statement that reads:

“We take great pride in the quality of our products and believe every product meets our high standards. We want all of our customers to have positive experiences with our products. With well over 10 million WEN products shipped since 2008, our customers’ overwhelmingly positive response to WEN is a testament to there benefits it can deliver for its users. These benefits are reflected in consistently high rankings from independent consumer product sites as well. Importantly, there is no scientific evidence to support any claim that our hair care products caused anyone to lose their hair. There are many reasons why individuals may lose their hair, all unrelated to WEN hair products. We intend to vigorously contest the allegations made against our products. And, we encourage any customer with any questions to contact us.”  Norman, meanwhile, now applies a topical medicine and has received 14 cortisone injections in her bald spots. She says that despite her embarrassment, she believes going public with her experience may help others.

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“The hair that’s regrowing is very, very fine and brittle. This is something that for me has been very, very embarrassing,” Norman said. “There are a lot of us out there that have been dealing with this issue. You’re not alone.”

The federal judge has issued a stay in the case, and the parties are proceeding to mediation.