Few things rival a company’s commitment to excellence as the conversion of its database software to a new platform. In our case, the new platform is SAP, the same platform that powers more S&P 500 companies than anyone else.

For 8 months, our SAP core team has hammered away for thousands of hours to help make the conversion as smooth and easy as possible (then again, even the best root canal involves pain). I will honestly say our SAP core team rivals those of any company that has gone through this process. The fact that we are launching October 6 is a feat unto itself.

SAP defines best-practices of the world’s best companies. During this 8-month period, we have had to redefine the way we do business and adapt our model so we can drive the business forward. With that said, there will be many changes all of which will contribute to enhanced 100% Customer Success.

Each and every talent is being trained this week. The core team is still working feverishly working out kinks and making sure processes are spot on. Everyone will be here over the weekend entering data and getting ready for "GO LIVE" October 6.

This is a very exciting time for TNG. While the stock markets wobble and times are uncertain, we are prepared for the future. SAP gives us the tools to become a truly global company.

Please be patient October 6 and the days afterward. There will be mistakes, errors, downtimes, and plenty of stressful moments. We will be fully prepared but we know "stuff happens." Your patience will be well rewarded. TNG will be the only SAP company in the pro beauty industry and that along with our exclusive ISO9001 certification is proof positive that we are working hard to give all our customers the best there is.

2009 will bring significant changes. We are 6 days away and although 2009 is three months away, we will be ready. Thank you all!

Happy Tuesday!

You got to love the media. The media has perfected the concept of the "perfect storm" and knows exactly when to pounce and when to back off to attract our attention.

I was at Starbuck’s this morning when I bumped into Nicole who was ordering a soy latte. She asked me if I listened to the President on the radio.

Now don’t get me wrong, but no one woke up this morning knowing the President was going to speak at 7:30AM. As fate has it I saw him on CNN at the Sport’s Club getting dressed.

I can only guess millions watched or listened to Bush say absolutely nothing that made sense except that the issue is "urgent." We have been advertising and talking about Kemon Nights for six months and there are still thousands of our customers who don’t know about it. And yet Nicole is listening to Bush at 7:30AM!

Today the focus is on the economy and the bailout. But let’s stop for a minute and think about our previous focuses: Iraq war; $4 gas, Kwame; Hurricane Ike; $1000 gold; Freddy and Fannie; Kwame; 8.9% unemployment rate; Biden; Palin; whatever.

We know the bailout will pass in some version. The fourth largest bank, Wachovia, is history. The billionaires are buying the billionaires. In the meantime, we still have our lives to run and all this focus doesn’t solve any of our issues.

What do we focus on next? How about us! As day turns into night, the media will find the next big thing to get us angry all over again. As we get closer to the election, I am sure this will play into their hands.

So how about us? The media doesn’t care about us. The only ones who care about us are us! Now is the time to focus on 2009 and not only how we will survive, but how we will thrive. Now is the time to start thinking about our personal mission statement along with goals and objectives we want to accomplish.

That’s what I am focusing on. In fact, at our Sales Summit this week, I will talk about huge changes taking place in 2009.

Those that want to put their head in the sand be careful–there’s not much to focus on.

Happy Monday (unless you own Apple stock)!

When I was a kid, I loved getting "stuff" in the mail. Back then, oil companies had the coolest stickers and if you sent them a self-addressed stamped envelope, they would send them for free. I don’t even know why I loved the stickers since I didn’t even drive back then.

The Sunday newspapers are good for free samples of cereal and laundry detergent. I eat the cereal but can’t remember when I actually bought the cereal.

It’s a jungle at the department store when you walk through the cosmetic section. Everyone wants to spritz you with the latest fragrance. Better yet, when you do buy something, they give you all these samples of other fragrances. They come in handy but I can’t remember buying anything after sampling them.

Magazines are good for sampling too. There used to be real fragrance samples now they use fold over strips. Does anyone actually rip them open and smell the paper?

Sephora gives its customers up to five samples to select from when placing an order. Even we give out samples of Biofreeze and other items.

I think the most popular sampling is food. When I go to Costco, I use one of those orange carts and when I pass by the sampling stations, I have to dodge carts, people, strollers and who knows what else. These people are crazy! It’s like they haven’t eaten since 2007. I think if they sampled dog biscuits, people would eat them. The poor workers never have enough samples to hand out. But I do know that the stacks of food to buy stay intact.

So the $100 question of the day is: Does sampling work? And why do people love samples so much?

Happy Friday!

Nails boomed in the late 80’s. Everything was new, people wanted to learn, and the love affair with nails was endless.

I remember Creative Nail Design classes with more than 100 in attendance and we had to turn away some. I remember airbrushing classes so popular, there was standing room only and people actually stood for hours. I also remember holding nail competitions in several categories and having more than 200 entrants.

Fast forward twenty years and wow have things changed. Sure there are Asian salons on every corner but there are also $15 haircut chains on every corner too. People are willing to pay for service and value and those nail techs still around understand this well.

Nails are still an integral part of beauty and it’s time to re-energize the category. But first, we need to re-energize the participants! I know firsthand that education is a key component (both theory and hands-on) to get started. I also know participating in events is a key component and teaching others is key as well.

TNG has the capability to do anything. We already offer courses at TheAcademy. We already have the CND Roadshow coming next month-a brilliant two-day program for truly serious nail techs. The question is what else can we do so nail techs can differentiate themselves and be engaged in what they do?

Here are some thoughts. Please feel to respond to these and please feel free to add your own. If you know a nail tech, please direct her to my blog.

1. Half and full day exploratory segments including gels, acrylics, nail art, manicure and pedicure
2. Competitions for full-service nail techs only
3. Networking event to share information
4. Mentoring programs to teach beginners and intermediate nail techs
5. How to incorporate spa treatments into nail services

Companies such as Create Nail Design are behind us 100% in our efforts to stimulate the business. We look forward to your comments!

Happy Wednesday!

As promised, my headline has now repeated itself for the third time in three weeks. My thinking is that it is now possible for the Lions to go 0-16. But the Lions are still worth $914 Million (26th in the league), so there is no sweat coming from William Clay Ford. However, even son Bill Ford Jr. yesterday stated that he would fire Millen immediately.

What football and the Lions have to do with the beauty industry, I have no idea. Here is what I do know: There is a certain tension watching competition whether it’s football (4th down and goal); baseball (bottom of ninth, two outs, runner at third, tie scored); tennis (match point) or the Olympics (.01 second between gold and silver).

When our favored team or athlete wins, we feel good. We feel happier. We high-five. We celebrate. We spend. We have fun. We talk. We call others. We’re in a good mood. We want to read about, watch highlights and brag.

When our favored team or athlete loses, the opposite takes place.

When the Lions lose, Detroit isn’t happy. The fans are grumpy. They are yelling, booing and kicking tires. At my sole game at Ford Field, the Lions lost on a field goal with time expiring. There wasn’t a word said. Everyone left with a dumbfound expression on their face and walked miserably to their cars.

At the end, winning helps the economy. It brightens the day. People spend and tip more. People help each other out more and don’t take bad news as badly.

When the Wings won the Stanley Cup, over 1 million fans jammed downtown Detroit. Proof positive.

TNG is about winning and providing that winning attitude to its customers and talent. As we launch SAP October 6, I can’t help to think why we are where we are today. It’s all about attitude, engagement, leadership and vision. But most of all, it’s about people wanting to be inspired and being inspired.

both Ford and Millen need to step down and the inspiration will start.

Happy Tuesday!

The expression, "If you can dream it, you can make it happen" came to life last Saturday night at the Rock Financial Showplace.

DREAMS featuring Tiffany in its sixth year was perhaps the best hair event of the decade. OK, I might be a little biased but based on the comments from the over 600 in attendance, I’m pretty spot on.

The evening kicked off with a CW50 video featuring Gossip Girl. Both Kemon and be Professional are the exclusive sponsors of Gossip Girl Detroit and this is going to be a big deal.

Then the lights dimmed for the premier showing of the Kemon Artistic Team presentation. The ten models razzled and dazzled the audience into a frenzy. The hair styles, clothing, makeup and choreography were all over the top and it truly was a sight to be seen. Janan Delly made all the clothes for the second set and one would have thought they came from Italy or New York.

This was followed up with the main event: Michigan Hairdresser of the Year competition. Sarah Gaudio, Jenny Fournia, and Tomy Lugjuraj each presented three fabulous models. The salons went wild with each presentation and the guest judges had their work cut out.

Denisa Cita, 2007 Michigan Hairdresser of the Year, opened the second half with an outstanding show of dancers, fashion, hair and makeup. Once again the audience went crazy.

Voncille Brown-Miller from the American Cancer Society came on stage to talk. The 50/50 raffle was sold out and one winner won $2750. The lucky ticket was owned by Greg Dawson and he contributed the winnings back to ACS. Thanks again Greg!

The finalists and winners from each of the four categories of Tiffany were read and awards given to the top three places (see thetiffanyawards.com for the winners). More hoots and hollers!

Finally the moment everyone was waiting for: who would be 2008 Michigan Hairdresser of the Year? And the winner was……..Tomy Lugjuraj of 6 Salon! Tomy was almost speechless but managed to come around and revel in his accomplishment. The 40 plus salon staff carried him around and cameras were flashing.

I want to thank everyone involved from the sponsors, to the salons, to the entrants, to the TNG Rebels, and to Liz Mace who made it all happen behind the scenes.

It was our best DREAMS ever and the best part: We did it without L’Oreal, without Matrix, and did it with those that believe in DREAMS and TNG.

Happy Monday!

As I wrap up the final touches on our First Annual Supplier Summit Friday, there is one word that if everyone takes away with them and does something with it, I will be happy.

And all TNG Rebels know the word: Innovation

A competitor of ours recently had their own version of a Supplier Summit and their word had nothing to do with Innovation and therein lies part of the problem. I would much rather have my key suppliers give me innovative products that we can sell than more discounts on products we can’t sell.

One category that will be well represented is nails. TNG already sells the biggest brands and offers the biggest selection. Yet, innovation lacks. Do we need another style of nail tip? Another dozen polish colors? Another flavor of lotion? Another hand sanitizer?

What we need is product innovation at the core level. I remember way back when silk and linen were the big nail enhancement items. "China Silk" was hot! Linen Batiste was hot! Then came fiberglass and Backscratchers was hot!

Then IBD introduced gels and they were hot! Odorless acrylics came but never got hot. No Lite Gel was hot for a brief time period but died quickly.

The biggest enhancement category is powders and liquids. When Solar Nail came out, that was hot! Alpha 9 was hot! CND then brought out Retention and that was hot! CND then brought out Radical and that was hot!

But powders still come in 6 different size jars and liquids still come in 6 different size bottles. You still need a brush, dappen dish and a lot of time.

It’s time to put the Innovation Cap on and get to work. What ideas do you think would work for nail enhancements and stepping out into natural nails, what ideas do you have up your sleeve?

Happy Thursday!

One of the more trendier magazines around is sixdegrees. Published in Detroit, Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, the magazine is "purse" size with very cool graphics and images.

I perused the September issue yesterday and as the official magazine of Gossip Girl along with Kemon and be Pro makeup the official product sponsors, I couldn’t help to revel how one could sense  something big starting to happen.

I already have had 3 salons tell me how much they appreciated being listed in the Kemon locator ad. The editorial, sponsor ads, DREAMS ad and be Pro ad have generated a lot of buzz and Detroit Gossip Girl is still 5-6 weeks away from being launched.

Auditions will take place late October at the Fisher Theater. Visit cw50detroit.com. You can pre-register  and learn more about being the Detroit Gossip Girl.

If you know someone you think might make a great Gossip Girl, this is a great opportunity. Make it or not, the experience will be incredible and the networking will be memorable. And of course we’re proud to have Jeph Wright represent Kemon and use Kemon products on the finalists (that alone is worth the try-out!).

Be sure to pick up a free copy of sixdegrees today. Like DREAMS, Strides and Kemon Nights, it’s fun to be part of something special. Once auditions take place, we will update the back stage stuff on kemonacademyusa.com. Check it out!

Happy Wednesday!

Wall Street’s plunge yesterday shed $600 Billion from investors. Merrill Lynch is no more after 94 years bought by Bank of America (BofA bought LaSalle who bought Standard Federal who bought Michigan National who bought…..). Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is the biggest ever and we already know what happened to Bear Stearn, Freddie and Frannie.

Here is the irony. Oil is near $90 a barrel, a full $50 lower than just a couple of months ago. Gas futures have dropped below $2.60 and commodities in general have plunged. In fact, August might be the first month in two years that has negative price inflation.

So why did the market tank? Why is gas still over $4.00 a gallon? What financial institution is next?

The answer: Fear. Uncertainty.

As people, we despise fear and uncertainty. We want to feel safe and secure. Today, are you sure that the money you put into the bank is safe and secure? Well, all deposits up to $100,000 are safe and secure but over that amount, fear and uncertainty.

Since financial markets aren’t part of the beauty business as we know it, it’s easy to dismiss the news. Most of us don’t even know who Lehman, Bear, Freddie and Frannie are. But here’s the reason you need to be aware: History repeats itself. Remember the dot-com crash? That was only 8 years ago and it did effect most people. We could be headed to something worse. I don’t know.

But at the end of the day, how much is $600 Billion? Below is the approximate sales for select companies:

1. Wal-Mart:            $400 Billion
2. Proctor & Gamble: $70 Billion
3. Target:                $60 Billion
4. Kroger:                $30 Billion
5. L’Oreal:               $25 Billion

The entire annual sales for all of the above companies plus $15 Billion left over for dessert is what you could have bought with yesterday’s loss.

Do you think the economy is going to get better or worse in the next 12 months? And do you think the stock market affects the beauty industry?

Happy Tuesday!

If you thought you read that headline last Monday, you are spot on. And if you think you will be reading this headline next Monday, you are spot on.

Words cannot describe the Detroit Lions, so I will only write headlines and be done. Proof positive that you have all the words anyone needs to read or hear.

Today we are having fun in both TheAcademy and S.P.A. at the Pavilion. TheAcademy is hosting our third segment of Gallup for Salons and today’s focus is on customer engagement. We have done a ton of business courses in the past but nothing has been as "sticky" as these Gallup courses. Salon owners and managers are getting it and in a few short months, we have seen a huge change in the way they look at business, employees and customers-all for the best!

S.P.A. is holding yet another sold-out course featuring lash and brow tinting. September marks our one year anniversary of The Pavilion and S.P.A. and I am  amazed at how many people have come to take advantage of our course curriculum.

I was one of the 40,000+ true fans sitting in Spartan Stadium Saturday watching our team "slip" by Florida Atlantic. Non-stop pouring rain all day long but when you watched the football players they were on the field like the sun was shining. Which brings me to the quick point about today’s blog.

Fully engaged individuals and teams loaded with pride and passion are true professional’s whether on the field, behind the chair, or behind the desk. They pursue the game with vigor, play to win, and set out to get the job done no matter what the conditions. So it’s raining-big deal? So you have to work 7 days a week for a few weeks-big deal? Winners push and push hard. More important–they fully enjoy their spoils after victory.

One of my favorite expressions is "Give a fish to someone and they can eat for a day. Teach someone how to fish and they will eat forever." The easy way isn’t the winning way. Ask William Clay Ford why his team hasn’t won since I have been born.

Today is about winners. The 100 plus salon professionals who came to TNG today are winners. We love winners and those that want to win everyday, no matter what the conditions are. Are you a winner?

Happy Monday!