HVA Coaching

HVA winners will receive much needed funding to aid in the production of future projects… thats right, cash prizes including a grand prize of $5,000 for the HVA Video of The Year! All videos posted this year, January 1st and through the end of 2013, are considered eligible for the 1st Annual HVA nomination. A panel of judges will choose from the nominees, a winner in each category, and an overall Grand Prize Winner. HVA Trophy Winners will be honored and prizes awarded in New York Join us at the HVA in NYC @ARENA on March 9 Tickets $55 , 4 hours of open bar included!

TICKETS HERE www.ibsnewyork.com

What inspired you to make a video about this particular issue?

My video is focused on the proper way to hold your scissors while cutting hair with a bonus tip on flipping your scissors at the end. Over the last 10 years educating in salons I’ve noticed one of the biggest challenges haircutters face is understanding how to properly use their scissors. I put together this video to share some quick tips on ways to practice using your scissors to become more consistent with your haircuts. – Matt Beck

Too often owners/managers think the students should find them, but with so many options, its the salons that need to get involved with the schools and showcase what the business is all about. Over the last 3 years We’ve done nearly 100 presentations in Paul Mitchell Schools and we’ve gotten the opportunity to recruit top talent from all over the country, but it was being involved in schools that we were able to learn what students were looking for in a salon and be able to build a business around the culture and education and the desire.-Benjamin Jay

YELP can be very empowering, one of my clients gets 2000+ referrals a year to their website from YELP, another client got two new clients within the first two weeks of being on the platform. I could go on and on with the successes I have seen. The beauty of the social + digital web is that word of mouth and referrals have been supercharged. Just like any platform, it’s not about the platform itself, but how we choose to engage and use it to build relationships and empower our business. However, if your experience sucks, the reverse will be true. But again, it gives you an opportunity to improve your experience and services. Isn’t it better to know you suck, then to sit around wondering why you have no clients? –Nina Kovner

I wanted to make more money in the salon, so I began doing what I could to offer a more valuable service. These changes meant that I was going to lose some clients who weren’t looking for the kind of service I was about to offer, in order for me to gain more of the clients who wanted to spend more on their hair. In an effort to help people make the move into or out of my chair, I spent a lot of time thinking about exactly what I was suggesting my clients spend on their hair.

During a run one day I thought about breaking it all down to a monthly cost, so I sat at the side of the trail with a calculator and figured it out- this is how I do all of my personal finances (but as weekly costs). After the run, I was going to go clean up then film it at the salon, but the idea to film it then and there crossed my mind as a way to make the video jump out in a search, since 99.9% of hair videos are filmed in the salon. –Andrew Does Hair

I made this video for my Vidal Sassoon Scholarship Contest Entry. My close friend Ashkan Memarian is an incredible film maker, so when I saw the opportunity to make a video for a chance at some free education, he was the first person I ran to for tips and advice. Everything he does is unbelievable, so when he told me he wanted to help me I was beyond stoked. We started bouncing ideas around and just tried to see what was logistically possible.

We knew we wanted to use the chair (his wife, my BFF, had bought it for me the year before as a birthday present from goodwill) so that became our focus. If we had realized what a pain it was to lug that chair all around Los Angeles, maybe we would have gone a different path, but I’m glad we didn’t.-Joy LaMay

What is the one thing you want people to take away from this video?

Above anything else I would like hairstylists to push themselves to be better everyday. Consistency in any profession is hard, but holding ourselves to high standards, and continuing to educate ourselves will only allow our industry to grow and produce more successful stylists.- Matt Beck

Get involved. I don’t expect everyone to want to travel and go to every school, but you should know what you local school is doing and how they teach so that when you’re hiring, you have a understanding and common language with them when they walk in the door.-Benjamin Jay

You can love YELP or hate it, the choice is yours. But whichever you choose, your business is on the web, and being reviewed. Whether its on YELP, Google Places, Foursquare, etc. –Nina Kovner

 The first thing that comes to mind has nothing to do with hair, but just for people to consider the actual costs of the things they’re buying, so they can be more responsible with their finances (and maybe have more money left over to give me). I see 9 out of 10 clients think that the answer to cheaper hair is to have bad hair, but what I’ve learned in my little life is that a tool or product (whether hair related or not) doesn’t cost less as the price goes down, it costs less as it’s lifespan increases, and it costs less as the time it requires to do the job decreases. –Andrew Does Hair

When it came time to do the voice over, I started by simply answering the prompt and writing down all the thoughts that came into my head when I thought of Vidal Sassoon, the craft of hair, my own passions, and why I do what I do. When I began to explore those thoughts, the script began to take shape and the rest is history. –Joy LaMay

Who are your mentors for business and personal development?

My Fiancé Christina. There’s no one that has pushed me harder to be a better person, and been involved in every part of the growth of my career more than her. She takes my ideas and makes them work better. Without her I would not have been able to grow my company to where is its and be able to do what I love everyday. – Matt Beck

There are really so many it’s hard to know where to start, but the most important are my parents. They’re successful, humble business owners that have always put the needs of the team first and always looked out for me.-Benjamin Jay

Oh, there are SO many. I would say my top mentors, the ones I have learned so much from are John Paul DeJoria, Luke Jacobellis, Howard Shultz of Starbucks, Gary Vaynerchuk and Brian Solis most recently. – Nina Kovner

I like Proverbs, from the bible, a lot. I also read a lot of Seth Godin, Jim Collins, Simon Sinek, and Malcom Gladwell. I have a few friends who are way better at hair than I am, so I regularly invite them to eat tacos with me, and then I show up with a notebook in hand. And I constantly bother Gordon Miller and Ivan Zoot with emails when I have big questions… –Andrew Does Hair

What role do you think education plays in the life of a hairstylist after they get their license?

Hairstylists should ask themselves this question. What life will I have as a hairstylist without education after I get my license? The only way to be a successful stylists behind the chair is to keep educating and learn from the people around you. No one becomes a professional at anything in 10 to 12 months. If you look at professional athletes, artists, even musicians spend years training and practicing before they are considered professional. The biggest mistake a hairstylist can make is thinking that education is done after cosmetology school. –Matt Beck

The only mind that stops learning is dead. That goes for knowledge, creativity, and business. Things are constantly changing so once you decide you’re done learning, you’re done growing. – Benjamin Jay

OMG, it’s everything! But only if you actually use it. One of the most popular blogs I wrote last year was So Much Education, So Little Change. You see, the issue at hand is not the amount of education that is available or how much education you choose to seek, the issue is putting it into action. There is a huge opportunity for us as an industry to take action and execute. Ideas are awesome, but mean nothing without actually launching or executing them. Tough love, my specialty. –Nina Kovner

I have never paid a dollar toward continued education, but I am not opposed to the idea of it for others. The stuff I want to know can’t be demonstrated on a mannequin head, but I’m huge on gaining understanding of the entirety of what it is that we offer in the salon (I don’t “do haircuts” but I offer solutions for cool people who care about their hair). I guess what I’m saying is that cutting and coloring classes can be fun and somewhat helpful, but I don’t believe that striving to be a more talented hairdresser and striving to be a busier hairdresser is the same thing at all. –Andrew Does Hair

From your perspective, how has Hairbrained changed the industry?

Hairbrained.me has given stylists an outlet to share their creativity within a huge community of fellow stylists. Some of the top hair magazines and websites for years have charged hairstylists hundreds to thousands of dollars to share their work in this way. I love that I can log on to hairbrained and share my love for this industry with like minded passionate people. –Matt Beck

I think Hb’s greatest contribution to the industry is that it’s given everyone the ability to have a platform and a voice. You don’t have to rep a product to educate, you just have to have passion, confidence, and an internet connection.-Benjamin Jay

Hairbrained has brought together some of the most passionate and smartest professionals I know. No bullshit, not much ego, just pure connections, sharing, and lots of love. If it were not for Hairbrained, I would not know The Hair Nerds, which I cannot imagine living a day without my Nerds. –Nina Kovner

I absolutely love the access to share ideas with people I’d never have met otherwise. I worked in Corona, in a small bubble, under a rock, in a dark cave, for nearly a decade before Hairbrained gave me an opportunity to learn from others. Now when anyone asks for hair industry advice I tell them the truth- “I don’t know, but someone on Hairbrained does!” –Andrew Does Hair