Passion Squared Lighting blog

Daylight Savings Realness

November 15, 2015Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“If you don’t like how things are, change it. You are not a tree.” Jim Rohn

So many times in life, the solution is literally right around the corner or even better, right in front of our eyes. But our brains put up blocks, and we many times come up with excuses for why things won’t work, or fall into victim mode, or even worse, self sabotage.

With all the memes and jokes about daylight savings, and with my own search for light upon moving into my new loft, I began a search for light, literally. So naturally, I thought, lets ask my Instagram community, as 23,000 brains are for sure better than mine. And with that, I found the solution to lightening up our spaces, whether its for shooting video (me!) or capturing awesome before and after stories of your beautiful clients, there is a solution. There always has been.

A huge shout out to all the passionate + generous + awesome humans who stepped up with their ideas and solutions to help empower others. Here are just a few, along with the solution I chose to invest in…

@santabarbarabalayage
I bought the 12 inch Diva Light from Stellar Lighting Systems (in September) and I am already in love! I can see so much more detail than I did before. It was about $200 and totally worth it! Small and lightweight too!

@erika_jaggars
I just invested in Stellar Lighting Systems 12″ ring light for my studio and I am obsessed.

@ rebelnoel_hair
Daylight savings is awful! I’ve been asking clients to send me pictures of their hair, or possibly stopping by Saturday mornings so I can snap a quick pic.

@ prettycutanddry
I have a ring light – best investment yet. My next addition is more lights, and even a faux white backdrop just to have handy in case of ugly background lol.

@ daniellevaliente
This works on both your camera and iPhone iPad. I have this and like it. Ring lights provide the best light though. But this will definitely make a huge difference.

@andrewdoeshair
I made some cheap lights using a pair of $12 soft fluorescent light fixtures from Lowes, zip tied to some old microphone stands. I keep them in the trunk of my car all the time and pull them out when I know I have a content-worthy look coming in.

@jaywesleyolson
The struggle!!! Ha ha. I actually make them come back the next few days and @tannerjohnson34 will throw a fresh style in for pics. I’m absolutely insane about it being in sunlight.

@ thehairlabstl
My photog friends said ring lights are great but can be pricey and sometimes have too much glare. You might first try getting some high quality photo daylight bulbs, put them in a floor lamp and rig up a light diffusion sheet in front of it to soften it. (Google “photo light diffusion sheet”). As far as light bulbs, try ALZO.

ALZO light bulbs
Soft Box
Mini Ring Light
Ring Light

This is what I decided to invest in for the Passion Squared office…
Passion Squared office

Neewar 18″ Ring Light
Cowboy Studio Light Stand
Neewar Light Diffuser

Remember, there is always an answer. Always. When in doubt, ask. Grateful I chose to ask.

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

 

don't get mad get a system

Don’t Get Mad, Get A System

November 9, 2015Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” Jeff Bezos, Amazon

It never fails, each day I see a post on Facebook or Instagram about a professional being mad at a client for canceling, no-showing, etc. The fact that I just wrote that I am seeing this on a social platform should be enough to get your attention.

My great leader for over 25 years and forever mentor John Paul DeJoria taught me a simple concept. “Praise in public, coach in private.” So I ask, why in the world would we use a public platform to put our clients on blast, or better yet, why would we ever put a client on blast? I mean, they are our clients after all. Now I am not talking about abusive clients, I am speaking about clients in general.

If you find yourself in this cycle of never-ending angst, what it tells me is you simply have not found a system or process that works for you.

Here are some things to consider…

Get A Booking System
Do you have a system that works for the client and yourself? And you see, I put client first. As if it does not work for them, well, then, we have nothing to discuss, as you will have no clients.

A system could be as simple as…
1. Appointment Booking
2. Pre-booking
3. Online Booking
4. A dedicated phone line that has a human on the other end during business hours (which you get to set)

As a client, telling me you have 500 text messages and you are sorry I have not heard back is not the way to build and grow a business. It’s not my problem, it’s yours. So please don’t make it mine. I’m the client. Remember that. If the experience sucks, you’ve lost me. And the experience begins at discovery of your business. Before booking. Think about it.

Appointment Communications + Confirmations
1. Clear, easy to find and understand booking agreement
2. Text and/or email confirmations

Look, its 2015, almost 2016, so if you are not using an email and/or text confirmation and communication platform, it’s time for a wake up call. So lets consider this blog your wake up call. As an owner, its your job to make the clients experience seamless, not the other way around, and I want reminders, and I want communication, but I want it the way I want to consume it, text and/or email.

And as far as policies and agreements go, if I cannot read it, see it, and find it easily, then it’s on you as to why I did not know about it. So web design comes into play here, as does email communication and even good old-fashioned face-to-face verbal communication.

You see, as a business, it’s our responsibility to make the client journey with our business an awesome one. Not one of back and forth texts, ignored texts or emails, setting alarms to call you, or jumping through hoops to get an appointment. Nope, sorry, most will go elsewhere.

In the end, in order to create an awesome experience for our clients, we must focus on their journey. From discovering our biz, to reaching out, to booking, to confirming, to finding it, to parking, to paying, to pre-booking, all of it. So take the time to think about the journey, and do the work to make it awesome, for both you and your current and future clients. Oh, and one last thing, remember that we are on our mobile devices 24/7, so whichever system you choose to create, it must be mobile friendly, or you have lost me, again.

Change the system, change the result.

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

PS: One of my fave go to online booking platforms is Schedulicity as they have everything you need plus the best client care. My awesome haircutter @sugarskulls uses Schedulista, which I love the user experience as a client. And of course, if you are looking for a more intensive software package, there is always Mindbody, Millennium, STX and many more.

 

Jay Wesley Olson Passion Profile HD

Passion Profile: Jay Wesley Olson

November 1, 2015Nina KovnerPASSION PROFILE

“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.” Charles Bukowski

The first time I met Jay Wesley Olson, it was passion at first sight. Now, I know what you are thinking, but for reals, Jay and I just connected, on a soul level, right out of the gate. Part of it could be that our birthdays are one day apart, part of it could be that sometimes you just meet someone who you feel you have known a lifetime. Like a brother. And that is what Jay has become to me. Not only is he an incredibly talented colorist, but his gentle giant vibe and his approach to teaching is some of the best I have ever seen. So of course, I had to share a deeper look “behind the babe”, and into the mind, soul and heart of Jay Wesley Olson.

N: What does passion look & feel like to you?
J: My first thought was my wife and daughter. If I break it down, passion for me is a vibration inside. It’s soul. It’s what makes you breathe and gives you purpose. It’s your hunger that drives you. It can look and feel like almost anything. That’s for the individual. For me, it’s my personal growth. It’s making my family proud. It’s elevating “our” craft. It’s love, fear, fight and peace all wrapped in one. It is easily why I wake up.

N: Why did you become an owner?
J: The biggest reason I became an owner is so that no one could tell me what to do, but a very close second would be that every time, and situation that I have been apart of, I’ve drawn inspiration from. I’ve always wanted to take the very best, or what I felt was the very best from each environment that I’ve been a part of, and put that into establishing my own culture.

N: What is the biggest challenge you have had and how did you overcome it?
J: The biggest challenge that I have had would be finding that perfect balance between work and personal life. It was finally overcome by realizing that whatever it was, opportunity wise, that it would always be there the next day. The phone and Internet turn off as soon as I walk through the front door at my home.

N: What is the greatest lesson you have learned?
J: The greatest lesson that I have learned is to be patient and know that if you have questions, that they will be answered along the way. Also, always put your family first.

N: What is one skill you believe all successful owners need to have? Why that one?
J: As an owner you need to be a leader, but also be organized. You need to have the ability to uplift people and put them in a position to be the most successful they can be.

N: Why are you so passionate about hair color and education?
J: I am passionate about education because there isn’t a better feeling than somebody getting excited about knowledge you have. On a selfish note, I’m passionate about education because it breathes progress and motivates me to find my greatest version of myself!

N: Favorite quote?
J: “What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.” Charles Bukowski

N: Starbucks or Coffee Bean?
J: Starbucks

You can find Jay on Instagram @jaywesleyolson and on his salon page @thebespokecollective as well as on his education page @braidsandbalayage where he shares all the awesomeness he and @theconfessionsofahairstylist are creating!

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

passion squared getting to no header

Getting to No

October 24, 2015Nina KovnerGROW

Focusing is about saying no.  -Steve Jobs

 

As I observe small businesses and what makes one stand out from the other, I find myself almost always going back to a concept I learned long ago from one of my greatest biz mentors and all around awesome humans Luke Jacobellis.

So much of how we ultimately create awesome in business is about the daily decisions we make. What we say yes to, what we say no to. It has to do with focus, strategy, discipline, courage and clarity. The term that Luke taught me that is forever ingrained in my mind is “creeping elegance”. Now you may be thinking, what the heck does that mean? Well, let me explain.

Example #1
You Gotta Be Everywhere
Someone in your business, maybe even you, was told it’s important to be on every social platform. So you go ahead and just start running, spending time, money and energy, creating content, claiming your platforms, trying to get buy-in from the team, etc, etc. A few months down the road, you notice that you are spending more time and money than you intended, with little to no results. In fact, you may have already abandoned the platforms. What happened? Well, instead of saying no to some and yes to others, instead of sitting back and building a plan, instead of determining which platforms fit best with your strategy, you just dove in and said yes to everything.

Example #2
If It Worked For Me, It Will Work For You
Another small business owner calls you up and tells you you must try this marketing program that worked awesome for them. You get all excited and dive right in, spending time, money and energy to try and make it work for you. A few months down the road, the program is not getting the results you want, and is abandoned, just like the social platforms example.

Example #3
We Must Have Balloons
You decide it’s time to re-invent your service menu. A few others on the team suggest that you not only do menus, but that you also do brochures, cards, signs, pins and balloons (trying to make a point here with the balloons). You get busy, and excited, and next thing you know, you spend a gazillion dollars and blow through a million trees, all the while all you really wanted was a new menu and in fact, that was all you needed.

Example #4
I Cannot Live Without This Product
You get pitched a new product line to carry or use in your business. You love it, it fits with your brand and strategy, so you say yes. A few months later, you get pitched another one, or a team member gets all excited about something and instead of having the hard discussion of saying no, you say yes. Then another, then another. A few months down the road, you wake up to excess inventory, a multitude of vendors, money tied up and wonder, how did this happen?

These are just a few examples of “creeping elegance”. We all get so “busy” that we say yes instead of no. But what we do not realize at the time is that the yes we are saying turns into possibly months of time, money and energy wasted that could have been put towards systems, products, services and programs that fit the strategy and get results.

Yes I know, it’s tough to slow down and make mindful decisions, but that is part of what we signed up for when we chose to own a business. If you have a strategy, which is a gotta do for being awesome in business, it becomes easier to say no as well as yes. Getting to no may be one of the best things you can do for your sanity, your bank account, your team, your customers and your business. Give it a try.

Example #5
You Can’t Miss This
This is probably one of the most important ones for those who find themselves pulled in a gazillion directions and feeling burned out more often than you would like. We all know FOMO (fear of missing out), well let me introduce you to JOMO (joy of missing out). You see, there is no possible way we can be “everywhere” if we are going to keep our sanity. And as leaders and small biz owners, we must do our best to stay present, grounded, and yes, sane. When we are clear on our purpose, promise, and strategy, we begin to learn that while that event or that program or that party sounds like a ton of fun, I am going to pass this time. Read that, and let it sink in. I AM GOING TO PASS THIS TIME. Try it. And just feel your shoulders drop.

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

(this post was originally written in December 2013, had been updated and still rings true for so many)

Mentors + Models

Mentors + Models

October 16, 2015Nina KovnerENGAGE, GIVE BACK, GROW

“Mentors speed up the process of learning.” Gary Vaynerchuk

In my awesome career, I would never have gotten where I was without mentors and models. Sounds like such a simple statement, yet there are still so many that wander around, stumble over and over, and are generally lost. I hear so often of stories of professionals who are just not sure what to do with their careers.

What really blows my mind is there are mentors and models everywhere. So many awesome people, successful people, doing big things. With the social + digital web, there is NO excuse to not have a mentor or at least, models to observe and study.

So why does it seem so many are still lost? Here is my take…

1. Some people will always look for a short cut.
And there are no real short cuts to creating awesome. We all know this person. All the advice they have been given seems daunting, so they decide to just go it alone. Until they hit a big wall.

2. Some people are listening to the wrong people.
Facebook, Instagram and the web are all awesome for a gazillion reasons. It’s also one of the biggest places to find the WORST advice and recommendations. OMG, the stuff I see people talking about. Ugh. One of the most important things about finding mentors and models is to know their track record. What is their experience? Do they speak in facts or theories? We must all be very mindful of who we listen to and what we believe. I mean really, we are talking about people’s businesses and lives.

3. Some people are selfish.
Sad but true. One of my biggest mentors and all around awesome humans John Paul DeJoria says “Success unshared is failure.” Truer words have never been spoken. True leaders offer their hands, minds and hearts to those who need it.

Three ways to find mentors + models

1. Pay attention.
If you are looking for a business mentor or model, find successful businesses and who is leading them. With the social web, it is easier than ever to discover awesomeness. One of my go-to people for creating awesome as a salon owner is Keri Davis of Gila Rut Salons. In business over 20 years and a NAHA MBA Salon of the Year winner, Keri has managed to lead a happy, healthy and profitable business consistently over time. I did a Passion Profile on her which you can read here. It’s awesome, just like her.

2. Join Hairbrained
Hairbrained.me is a community of passionate artists and leaders who are more than happy to open their hearts and minds and help others. And anyone you want to reach out to is only a click away.

3. Engage On Instagram
There are so many awesome mentors + models who are caring, open, kind and passionate about empowering others. Take the time to engage with these awesome humans, and you will find they will engage back.

How can you be a mentor or model?

1. Show Up
If you have a passion for helping others and have a successful track record in your area of passion, then reach out and share your awesomeness with others, both online and off.

2. Respond
This is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. Seriously. If I had a dollar for every time I was told that a so called leader did not respond or reply when someone reached out for help I would be a gazillionaire. Look, you can ignore people if you choose, but if you do, please don’t call yourself a mentor or leader.

Our world can be so much more awesome when we realize we are one. And the more we help people, connect people, love people, empower people and support people, the better we all become. It does not get any simpler than that.

Are you looking for a mentor or model? Maybe I can help connect you. One thing I will promise you, I will show up, share, respond and reply.

Want more? Here is a little vid I did for my friends at American Salon Magazine. Enjoy!

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina