Whether you're a seasoned salon pro or a neophyte, knowing the very basics of business goes a long way toward keeping your goals and expectations on track.

Opening my salon 2½ years ago has been, by far, the biggest challenge of my career, and I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend and colleague Matthew Fairfax. He has made such a huge impact on me that I wouldn't have wanted to do this without him. Because of all that he has taught me and the systems he has helped me implement, I decided we should offer a class at RARE for people like me, who are either considering opening their own salon or who already have and are finding it challenging. Matthew owns the James Alan Salon in Seattle, and he's a consultant with Northern Touch Consulting. With his background in human resources and his unique teaching skills, this guy really knows his stuff!

Ruth Roche
Ruth Roche

We just completed the first class, inBusiness, with a mix of both brand new and seasoned salon owners sharing their own expectations and unique circumstances. For example: Valary Brown has been in business for 7½ years and needed to give her salon a boost. She's about to expand and needed direction and support to do that. "And I got it!" she said enthusiastically. A few weeks shy of opening his first salon, Brian Graham came to the class to find out how to run a successful salon and left ready to tackle his venture head-on. Rachel Flowers, in business for over three years, was feeling burned out with hair classes and wanted to focus more on the business side. She was excited at the prospect of communicating better with her staff and knowing that she was on track to reach her goals, recognizing how to stick to her values and building her business around that. Lisa Carlyon just opened her salon a few months ago and knew little about managing people and financial statements. I fully understand where she's coming from, and that's what the class was all about.

 FROM LEFT: Ruth with Brian Graham, Rachel Flowers, Valary Brown, Lisa Carlyon and Matthew Fairfax
FROM LEFT: Ruth with Brian Graham, Rachel Flowers, Valary Brown, Lisa Carlyon and Matthew Fairfax

From building your team to creating budgets to honing communication skills, this class was full of valuable information (and a disc to take home too!). At first we were concerned that it might be too basic, but the opposite was true. The information is a continuum you can jump on at any stage of your business growth. The same principles apply at any level, and will always keep you on track with your vision and goals. The only complaint was that the class wasn't long enough! We'll be holding our next inBusiness class February 19-20, 2006. Hope to see you there!

The first InBusiness session was a mix of brand-new and experienced salon owners.
The first InBusiness session was a mix of brand-new and experienced salon owners.

E-mail Ruth at [email protected]. To find out more about RARE education with Ruth Roche, visit www.rarenyc.com, or call (866) RARE-NYC.