A Few Things of Note

The newest post is always on top. If you missed a post, click under the "Archives" heading in the lefthand column. Your comments are welcome, but they are moderated. Just click on the "Feedback" link under the post you want to talk about. If you want to ask Robbie a question, just e-mail him using the "Ask Robbie" link in the righthand column. He'll answer your question via the blog.

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New salon owner Robbie Schaeffer uses this space to blog about his experiences during his first year, from finding a location to hiring staff. Check back here weekly to read about — and comment on — his quest to open his first salon. He'll share his accomplishments and his frustrations with you. From the pre-planning stages to the grand opening, follow him on this exciting journey.

Waiting for (a Higher?) Power

We used a crane to hoist furniture onto the second floor. It took about two hours. Days later, we STILL don’t have power, and I don’t know when we will. The city ran out of electricity meters. According to the department supervisor, in the 20 years he’s been working for the city, they’ve never run out. This is just my luck.
 
I’ve been keeping myself busy dealing with the building. The computer system is going in now, and I’m trying to find an Internet provider. (The phone companies in the area don’t offer it.)
 
We’ve been training our employees every week. They’re very good at their (upcoming) jobs. The downside is that I’ve obviously started paying them already, even though we won’t have any clients for a while.
 
Once the meter is installed, the salon can pass the final city inspection; things like the elevator and AC won’t work with the temporary power that’s set up right now. I have to wait until the salon is totally connected to the city.

posted @ Monday, August 18, 2008 11:32 AM | Feedback (0)

Frustration Builds

The salon still doesn’t have power. For some reason, it took over four weeks for the salon to pass the major electrical inspection, and now we still have to wait for the city to install the meter. (I guess we should be thankful the earthquake earlier this week wasn’t any larger or we’d really be the bottom of the list.) Even after we get the meter, we still have to pass the final city inspection before we can open our doors.
 
If we don’t get power by next Wednesday, I’ve scheduled a crane to arrive and hoist everything (pedicure chairs, etc.) up to the second floor. That’s how desperate we’re getting.
 
We’re 98% there with the first floor. Our team is doing finish work, and touching up everything over the last few days.
 
I don’t know how long the final inspection will take, so we probably won’t open until September. For any of you out there who’re thinking of opening your own salons, I recommend NOT creating your building from scratch. Most salons go into a ready space and just do basic tenant improvements, which would have been a lot faster, easier, and cheaper. I tried to go to the extreme and build a spectacular, environmentally-friendly building, and this is what I get.

posted @ Thursday, July 31, 2008 3:59 PM | Feedback (0)

Vandalism, Seriously?!

Over the weekend the salon was vandalized. Someone(s) tried to steel the electrical panel in the back. They didn’t succeed in ripping it completely out, but they opened it up and ripped out all the copper. (Copper theft is a big problem on construction sites.) I think the damage is covered under the contractor’s insurance, but it’s pushed us back (again), although we were still a week away from getting the meters anyway. It’s very frustrating.
 
The vandals also managed to cut the phone line in half when they were trying to get to the breaker, so I’ve put in an order to have the phone line repaired.
 
On the plus side, the DirectTV has been installed and the alarm and camera equipment are in place and working now. Water’s running in all the faucets, and later this week all of the furniture pieces that needed fixing are coming back to the salon repaired. Training is going well; the staff is refining their skills and getting better every day.
 
The last things we need are power, and the touch-ups on the paint and plaster work (which start this week). By the end of the month, we’ll be operational. It’s tough.

posted @ Wednesday, July 09, 2008 3:43 PM | Feedback (0)

Q & A: Preparing for Bank Meetings

Regarding going to banks for financing, how do you go about your presentation if you are not experienced in that type of thing?
Trudy
 
Hi Trudy,
 
The first step is putting together a basic business plan. It needs to include the basic numbers, like projected sales and the number of employees you’ll have. In the meeting, you have to tell the story and sell that story.
 
I went to business school where a class taught me how to write a business plan. If you’re not experienced in this, I’d recommend taking a course on the subject at a community college. You can also find sample business plans online to model yours on. Take what you learn and go from there.
 
Regards,
Robbie
co-owner

posted @ Wednesday, July 02, 2008 3:46 PM | Feedback (0)

So Close, Yet So Far Away

All I have to say is, as you get closer to your salon opening, just hold on. This is such a tough time; just when I think I’ve got everything covered, I realize I don’t. It’s so close, yet so far away.
 
I can’t get electricity in the salon. We’ve been waiting three weeks now for the city to approve our application. The electrical inspector needed us to resubmit our plans because of some changes we’ve made. She also wants all the equipment in place before she signs off on it, but we can’t do that until the elevator (which obviously needs electricity) works, because we can’t move a Murano pedicure chair upstairs via the stairs. It’s a Catch-22. I’m really hoping that by the end of the week we’ll have power. It’s the main thing that’s holding us up.
 
The first floor is almost ready. The reception desk had to be redone as did the manicure tables, because the drawers were opening in the wrong direction, but at least all of the retail displays are in. My architect, Richard Best, is MIA; he gave us a week’s notice that he was leaving for Dubai to appear in a reality TV show. (I seriously couldn’t even make this stuff up.) Lee Stucker, my contractor, has been forced to pick up the missing architect’s slack. Co-owner Dan will be back shortly, but right now he’s in Northern California as part of a military assignment, so it’s down to Nadine and me.
 
The good news: The sign out front is in place. We’re up to 23 employees. Eight of them attended the Friday main stage presentation at the annual OPI Symposium. (I showed a few of the distributors the salon during the symposium, but unfortunately wasn’t able to do a tour for the whole group of attendees.)
 
The new opening date: July 15.

posted @ Wednesday, June 25, 2008 4:07 PM | Feedback (1)

Salon Uniforms are Here

Here's Salon M.O.M. Nadine modeling the salon uniform. The shirt and khaki pants are from Pure Bamboo, an environmentally-friendly fabric and apparel company (they are also our salon towel vendor). Pretty nice, huh?

posted @ Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:39 AM | Feedback (2)

A Small Setback

Well, we're missing our target opening date of June 15 because we had a snafu with the sign installation. Originally scheduled for May 15, it's been pushed back to mid-June because the permit to close down a lane of traffic didn't go through as expected. There's still a chance that we'll pull everything together at the last second for an opening this month.
 
Everything else is going well with the final installations in the building. The elevator's in place; as soon as we get electricity in the building, we'll be able to use it to move furniture onto the second floor. Most of the first floor furniture is inside the building. The partitions that go in between the manicure tables are in place. We're saving space in the back of the salon for two pedicure thrones (we originally thought we'd fit four in the first floor, but it would really be too tight, especially if a client wants a manicure and pedicure at the same time). We'll have portable tubs that can be pulled up to the manicure stations, as well as a third "VIP" pedicure station in a room upstairs. The waterwalls are installed, and our upstairs patio is full of thriving plants.
 
I started a "June 2008 Photo Gallery" to show off some of the latest construction photos.

posted @ Friday, June 06, 2008 4:27 PM | Feedback (0)

Tech Training Underway

May 19 was our first company orientation; we had 10 new employees (we've hired several more since then; we currently have 18 employees — 11 nail techs, one nail tech/esthetician, three estheticians, one massage therapist, and two client coordinators). This was an introduction to ROB|B Salon and a chance for the staff to get to know each other and take care of the required paperwork. We didn't do anything technical on that day, but everyone did receive an OPI Product Guide as well as an education workbook and tabletop instructions for each of the products. With these items they can become familiar with all OPI has to offer. We all had lunch together at OPI's "George's Place" cafeteria and Robbie gave everyone a tour of OPI.
 
Since then, I've been conducting ongoing training sessions about three days a week at various times to accommodate everyone's schedule. We have seasoned nail techs and newbies and most are still employed at other jobs, so having a set training schedule would be difficult. I've made a signup sheet for each day and time and they can choose when to attend and what service, product line (manicure, pedicure, acrylic, gel, wraps) they need to work on. I'm working on a training schedule for our estheticians with Murad. Our estheticians and client coordinators come in and act as models so they learn the product procedures and we can start building a team spirit.
 
I'm really happy with how everyone gets along and how excited we all are. Some of the employees share product experiences and techniques that we're taking into consideration and might adapt into our procedures. It is amazing how much you can learn from each other and how much better you can make your services when you keep an open mind and at least try new ideas and share experiences that have worked in different situations. One thing that did surprise me out of 18 people we have six born in September, I wonder what the odds are of that?
 
Regards,
Nadine
Salon M.O.M.

posted @ Tuesday, June 03, 2008 5:05 PM | Feedback (1)

Almost There!

There's a little bit of nerves mixed with a little bit of excitement as we're almost ready to open our doors. We got a permit to close down a lane of Ventura Boulevard on May 15 for the storefront signage installation. We have nail tech training scheduled for May 19, though we're still actively looking for techs. We have 11 nail techs lined up so far, and we're also interviewing for estheticians so we can round out our salon menu.
 
The waterwalls are in place downstairs and furniture is being installed on the second floor. As soon as the concrete floors on the first floor are stained, we'll be able to have the furniture put in. Nadine, Dan, and I are onsite pretty much every day now. We're pushing for a soft opening between June 3rd and June 15th. The dream is about to become reality.

posted @ Tuesday, May 13, 2008 5:01 PM | Feedback (1)

Q&A: Manicure Area Layout

Where are you getting your manicure tables from, and do they have a venting system? I like the idea of having a glass wall but it does seem a little like a cell. Do you think the clients will feel comfortable with the layout of the manicure tables?
Lilian
 
Hi Lilian,
 
The tables were custom made by Salon Equipment International. There’s no ventilation within the tables themselves, but a ventilation system has been built into the walls of the salon.
 
I think clients will be comfortable with the layout. The wood and glass privacy partitions are 5-ft. high, and since the salon has 14-ft. high ceilings I don’t think the partitions are overbearing. I wanted to get a little bit away from the traditional salon layout, where everything is open. I want to create a different experience where clients have more interaction with the nail tech, but are still able to easily talk to the friend seated next to them.
 
Regards,
Robbie
co-owner

posted @ Friday, May 02, 2008 11:09 AM | Feedback (0)
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