I was at the Premier show over the weekend. I bumped into plenty of business associates and its the kind of show that when you bump into people, you have to have the mandatory five minute chat. This year was the most unusual of all however.

"Larry, how are things in Michigan? I read the paper and are things as bad as the paper says it is? Or worse? What’s the unemployment rate up to? How’s business?"

I’m sorry.

"Larry, when are things going to turn around? What happened to the Big 3? Is Obama Motors going to make it? What are all the other businesses doing in the meantime?"

I’m sorry.

"Larry, I just read that your unemployment rate went past 13%? How are the salons doing? They got to be doing awful. Is the weather getting better, I heard you had the worst winter in recent history."

I’m sorry.

"Larry, how much of your business is in Michigan? It’s got to be terrible. When do you think it will turn around and who is going to come to your state to set up shop in the next few years? I heard Greektown casino is in bankruptcy and the MGM is up for sale. At least the Wings are doing well."

I’m sorry.

Truthfully, I’m sorry for all the sorry’s I have to put up with. And now we have the Wings. When we were up 2-0, I bet a buck the Wings would sweep or at least take the series in 5 or 6. But my friend bet me it would go to 7 games and the Penguins would win. I thought that was the safest best I ever made.

I’m sorry.

Detroit is banking on the Wings winning. We need another parade. We need excitement. And we need the 7th game because we need the business and the excitement Friday night’s game will bring to Detroit. The 7th game is the perfect elixir for one glorious day. But we need to win. Or else I will be getting more calls from my business associates and the one friend who wagered the buck. And all I am going to here is:

I’m sorry.

Happy Wednesday!

One top economist predicted yesterday that the recession will end in September. Imagine that. It’s not good enough to pick a quarter, let’s pick a month.

Obama says the economy is poised for a rebound later this year. The stock market is actually up for the year after being down nearly 2000 points. Consumer sentiment went up last month after seven down months.

The price of gas has gone up 55 cents and now inflation fears are in the news. Regardless of inflation, do you think the recession is coming to an end? And what month or time period do you see the economy turning around and getting back to the "good old days?"

How about Wings in six as a good prediction?

Happy Tuesday!

Hair For Success is only a week away and 30 participating Kemon salons are looking forward to this very inspiring event. It seems our sponsors are just as excited.

Hair For Success offers women looking for work to get a complimentary hair color at a participating salon. The event is Monday, June 15, 9am – 5pm and we anticipate well over 500 participants. Salons are donating their time and services and tng is donating Kemon color.

Jon Jordan, beauty and fashion reporter for Channel 4 will be on hand at Andrew Marke’s Rochester location reporting live. As one of our major sponsors, the entire list of 30 salons will be posted on their website, clickondetroit.com for their viewers to find a salon closest to them.

WNIC, 100.3, another major sponsor will be talking about Hair For Success all day long and will also post participating salons on their website. They were enthusiastic to help us promote this event and even stated it was one of the best ideas out there.

The Detroit Free Press, although not a sponsor, is scheduled to run a story on Monday.

All of this excitement is good news for the Kemon salon community and the women that will be participating. If you know of a friend or family member that is looking for work and can’t afford salon hair color, let her know about Hair For Success.

Happy Monday!

I’m really excited about July. Mind you, the month of June can take its time because Michigan summers are short enough. Running this morning in 43 degree weather confirms we need summer bad.

I’m really excited about July. We have lots of new products, a completely revamped CLUB1, a beautiful update to thebeautybook and the introduction of a new event.

I’m really excited about July. The new Kemon YO Mousse being introduced in July is already sold out. Finally a product for men that men are excited about. Which brings me to the point: What do we need that we don’t know we need?

A recent U-M graduate looking for work sent me a few ideas. Most of the ideas were for services and products that we didn’t know we need but ideally could work in the marketplace. I would share an idea of his but it would all over the net in seconds and he wouldn’t be too happy.

Steve Jobs is coming back to Apple. Good thing for Apple. A new iPhone will be launched for $99 or maybe it will be free with any iTunes download. One thing is for certain, Jobs will create yet another product we need that we didn’t know we did.

Let’s speak beauty. What do you need that hasn’t been created? What problem do you have that you are looking for a solution to? What ailment would you like relieved? When you walk out of the house in the morning, what is the one thing you wish you could do differently to yourself?

One of my friends hated turning gray (Yikes!). It happens. He was one of the first to try YO Mousse and his gray is magically gone without the hassle of hair color. He loves the look, the feel, and he loves when he walks outside in the morning. It’s magical products like this that we want to develop for you.

What’s on your mind?

Happy Friday!

P.S. Penguin fans, your smiles will be short-lived.

New ground-breaking research is in. This comes from extensive MRI tests involving different age groups and it is extremely revealing.

The data confirms that both "Right" and "Left" brain tests and IQ tests online are bogus.

Just kidding! The data confirms that ones short term memory enters a different part of the brain depending on how the information is transmitted to the brain.

The research clearly expounds on the fact that when you read a book, newspaper or magazine, your short term memory will be enhanced by 50-100% vs. reading electronic messages, listening to news on TV or listening to words on a phone.

This has huge implications on learning. Textbooks are not dead after all. Why? Because the researchers learned that people read in different ways but using books and tangible reading materials allows the person to review any previous words, sentences or chapters that were previously forgotten or need more attention. When the information is oral or electronic, there is no way to recollect the information and consequently, the brain stores it in very, very short term memory.

This research also confirms that Boomers have better memory than X’ers or Gen Y (those Boomers that read books and newspapers).

So since this is test week, how is your short term memory? Without cheating and without taking too much time out, here is a great test to check out your memory. I preferred the numbers test first and then the letters. I’ll let you know how far I got tomorrow. As far as the IQ test, looks like 139 was the high score (130 for me). But you know what they say, better to be smart than a genius!

Here you go: Memory test

Happy Wednesday!

When I write about important stuff, I get one, two maybe a handful of responses. When I write about fun stuff like food, brain tests and so forth, the responses go off the charts.

I am wondering if I’m better off writing about irrelevant stuff that people are instantly amused by and forget about business. But can I sell more beauty supplies doing so?

With the great response with the brain test, I figured that we love to know about ourselves and then use the social network to let everyone know the results. My question today is do video games, texting and networking make one smarter?

I am positive the Y generation thinks they are smarter than us Boomers. Now Einstein was pure genius as was Mozart, Michelangelo and many others before electricity was even invented. So I know today’s test is going to get a lot of responses.

IQ. That’s right, something the Y generation might not even know about. So I went online to find a pretty good IQ test. It will take about 10 minutes so if you are doing this during work hours, make sure you are taking a break and no cheating!

Once you get your score, here is the scale:

Over 140 – Genius or almost genius
120 – 140 – Very superior intelligence
110 – 119 – Superior intelligence
90 – 109 – Average or normal intelligence
80 – 89 – Dullness
70 – 79 – Borderline deficiency in intelligence
Under 70 – Feeble-mindedness

I’ll post my score tomorrow since I know certain individuals will want to know. You can take the test at iqtest.com. Enjoy!

Happy Tuesday!

Little did Durant know when he founded GM some 100+ years ago that this would happen. Or maybe he did. Durant was the guy who acquired many of GM’s brands and a few years later got fired from the board. He then went to work for a new company called Chevrolet. Three years later, GM wanted him back and when he agreed, he persuaded GM to buy a stake in his previous company.

Sloan took over from Durant and came up with the key marketing strategy that allowed GM to have half the market by the mid 50’s: a car for every income.

GM at one point was so large, that the second biggest company was less than half its size. Today, the difference in sales between ExxonMobil and WalMart is less than 20%.

As Obama Motors takes over today, we will own 60%, the UAW 17.5%, bond holders 10-25% and the Canadian taxpayers the rest. Obama will address the nation today while we are all at work (or trying to find work). Perhaps the weekend didn’t work out for Obama as he wanted to watch the Wings destroy the Penguins.

Then again, Obama hasn’t make it to Michigan since he took over the Oval office. But he sure has been busy dealing with Michigan’s future. And here’s the hope: The new GM can rebuild and claim its share of the auto game and keep its logo ablaze atop of the RenCen.

It’s a crap shoot for sure. 21,000 more workers gone today. 11 more plants mothballed and 3 idled. But like the poker play with one chip left, anything is possible. We need a lot of "double-ups" and we need them quickly and we them badly. While restaurants and bars are doing fine, salons and spas are struggling; three closed last week alone in Metro Detroit and those are the ones we know about.

What’s it going to take for GM to double-up? A product that people want to buy. A product that appeals to the 21-34 age group. The Volt? Perhaps. But until Detroit gets in touch with the 21-34 year olds, there is no future.

Perhaps what GM really needs is a new brand. Word on the street is that the GM name could disappear. Perhaps rightfully so: General Motors is no longer relevant in an era of customization and Sloan’s strategy has long been dead. How about CM?

The new Custom Motors only makes cars to order. No inventory, no cars on dealer lots, no obsolete crap to discount. Every buyer places an order exactly for the features wanted and the custom factory makes cars ready to go in less than a week. Models update quarterly.

Obama Motors will appease his voters but it certainly will not appease his buyers. Let’s see what the new era brings us.

Happy Monday!