Alayne Curtiss

Delegating as a Salon Owner

For salon owners, watching your business succeed is so rewarding. You’ve worked hard to get to this point, and you want to make sure your hard work continues to pay off. Since this is a familiar feeling among any salon or business owner, it’s easy to find yourself taking on a lot of responsibility; sometimes, too much. Delegating is an important skill for all salon owners to possess. Think about how many moving parts there are to the functionality of your salon; for things to run smoothly, delegation is critical.

Why Delegate?

There are so many benefits that come from delegating tasks and responsibilities to your team. Things like client management, product sales, scheduling, social media, and marketing, the list goes on and on. While you may want to dive headfirst into these tasks, so they’re done correctly, it’s better to efficiently delegate the tasks that you may not have time for, or find to be in your wheelhouse of expertise. Doing this will free up your time to focus on more significant tasks like networking and growth.

How To:

To properly delegate tasks and responsibilities, put a plan in place. Remember, delegation isn’t pushing things you don’t feel like doing onto your employees. It’s about improving your functionality and time management as a leader, getting your business to run efficiently, and working towards further developing the skills of your valued team.

Create a Process

Before you start delegating to your employees, make sure you build your process. Make a solid list of all of the responsibilities that don’t fit within your schedule, things that you know your team will handle well, and even enjoy doing. Your list can be compiled of different tasks that have both high and low priority levels; it doesn’t need to be limited…

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4 Noteworthy Makeup Tips for Your Wedding Day Photos

All brides have different styles and tastes when it comes to how they want to look on their wedding day. While some choose a heavier dramatic look, others prefer a lightweight, natural glow. Either way, you want to make sure your make up accentuates and enhances your features, capturing the bridal look you’ve always imagined. If you’re wondering what to do makeup-wise, consider a few of these tips to make sure your wedding glam turns out picture-perfect.

Prep and Prime

It’s safe to say that your wedding day is likely the most photographed day of your life. You want your make up to last, and you want it to highlight your elegant bridal beauty, so your base is really important. Keep in mind, you don’t need to cake it on for it to show up well in photographs, but you may want to be a little more generous when applying than you usually are. Prep the night before with your favorite exfoliator to even out the texture of your skin. On the big day, try Alayne Curtiss Bridal Beauty’s lightweight Perfectly Pink Poreless Primer, and set your base with a sheer luminous foundation and a light dewy setting spray.

Use That Contour Palette (Wisely)

Contouring is a controversial topic in the bridal makeup universe. When done correctly, it can really define and accentuate different areas of your face and bone structure, especially when you add a little highlight or blush to the right places. The key to a good contour is blending. While you still want to define specific features, you want to make sure you’re avoiding seeing any harsh contour lines in your photos. The same holds true for your highlight. Using highlighter with flash photography can be a little tricky, so it’s best to remember that a little goes a long way. Whether you want to use a cream, liquid, or powder is a personal preference. But, when it’s done correctly, it should give you a defined, yet still natural look (with a little extra glow.).

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A Guide to a Salon-Perfect Instagram

Social media and the beauty industry go hand-in-hand. As a salon owner, part of building your brand is using social media to market your business and connect with followers. Instagram is a fantastic tool for salon owners to showcase their work, team, and products with visual photo and video content. If you’re ready to build your salon’s page or revamp a current one, there are a few tips and tricks to help make it stand out:

Set Up a Business Account

When you create your salon’s Instagram, make sure you’re setting it up as a business account instead of a personal one. With a business page, you can promote content, add your salon’s contact information, and link to your website for booking new and existing clients. You’ll also find analytical data and insights that show you how much engagement each post is bringing to your page. It’s a great way to market your salon’s brand and showcase beautiful photos of your work.

Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a big part of the social media world. They’re used to direct users to content that’s relative to their personal interests. Choose popular hashtags for each of your posts to get them in front of the right audience. For business purposes, you should also focus on using localized hashtags regularly. If you post a bridal make up photo, for example, #NYMUA will connect your content with users that are searching from make-up artists based in New York…

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Coaching Your Team With Compassion

It happened in my salon, 6 people resigned all within a few weeks. My business coach at the time told me to “get in there and find out why!” As I started asking, the same name kept coming up. My staff was being bullied on my day off by the person I had left in charge to lead the team. I tried to talk to her. She soon quite too. It wasn’t entirely her fault. That was how she had grown up as a child, in an abusive home. She didn’t really see that she was bullying them. She thought she was protecting me and the business, it was her way of being strong and protective. I was sad, really sad about the whole situation. It was then and there that I decided that I had to set the tone for my business early and often. I never ever, wanted to own a business where people felt bullied. As a business owner, your customers and services are not your only two concerns. Your staff needs to be a top priority too.

Your staff will form relationships with customers and each other. How those relationships develop is up to your leadership and you have to set the example .The team will follow. Coaching with compassion at all times takes practice and patience. Who hasn’t rolled their eyes when someone didn’t fold the towels the night before. Or a team member shows up late to work and their client is waiting. And you have to control that urge to text other staff members about how annoyed you may be with one of your staff. It takes constant communication and extreme effort to try to understand each other. Our situation, our upbringing, how our parents handled frustrating situations at home all play a role in how we evaluate a situation. As much as we think our team should be mind readers to what we expect, they are not! It’s taken me years to develop this skill at work. Sitting with team members and trying to understand their situation or circumstances and helping them understand each other and how they perceive a situation and what may really be going on takes a leader CONSTANT communication without assumptions. It is time consuming but essential in developing a trusting team and reaching the companies goals.

I also help other team members find compassion for each other, another human being, who may be struggling or having a difficult time rather than reprimanding or writing them up. I think of my staff as I do my children. They are not perfect, but I love them all just the same and am here to help them grow in their lives and their careers. Without them, and each other your business can never reach it’s full potential. As your business grows, your staff needs will grow as well! And more of your time should be spent coaching them. Having a team that is willing to be open with you and each other takes time. They need to feel safe, heard and understood. To be able to come to you and other leaders in your company to express their concerns and have a safe place where they can be heard, feel better, move forward with resolution or atleast understanding. Let’s face it, we spend more time with our co-workers than we do with our families. We might as well be happy while we are at work, right? It’s true that your team is an integral part of your business who interact with the customers and each other. So how exactly do you coach them with compassion?

Coaching with compassion allows you to connect with your team and foster a work environment that is positive, safe, never judgmental. Never with harsh, angry words. Sometimes you need to get your point across, I get it. Using compassion helps people understand rather than just be told. Implementing this method of leadership helps you gain a better understanding of your team’s values and purpose. Not only are you able to connect on a deeper level, but coaching with compassion can make your team feel twice as motivated. Positivity can be infectious; once your team sees how you treat them, they will treat you and other team members that way. As my business coach always said when a team member was under performing – “Coach ’em up!

Simple Tips for Coaching With Compassion
Coaching with compassion is easy once you set the tone and make it known that this is how things work around here. But it starts with you getting to know your employees. Sit down with your staff and discuss their sense of purpose, values, and dreams. Prompt your employees with questions such as:

Why do we treat every team member with respect at work?
If your team member’s first response is “to make money,” explain that you can make money anywhere. Ask your staff member to explain specifically why they have chosen this job, out of every other job out there, what made them choose this business. What kind of place do they want to work in. A chaotic stressful one or a busy, growing, empowering one?

What kind of person do you wish to be?
This question will provide you insight into what kind of life they want to live and how they can benefit your business and how you can help them reach their goals.

After carefully listening to your team’s responses, help them see the larger picture. Explain just how vital their role is and how they fit into the overall purpose of your business. Be sure to emphasize how their role not only affects the business but how they have the power to influence their surroundings.

Show them how they can and will one day lead junior employees and how they can help them grow. How they can give back to their team members and industry. Think about the most favorite boss you ever had. Was he or she harsh and irritable or firm but kind and caring? Willing to teach and mentor you? My favorite boss, Ted, would take time every Friday and talk to me about my previous week at work, my prospects for next week and then we would each talk a little about ourselves. He was personable and also gave me tips on how to handle any challenging tasks I needed to tackle to grow my customer base or an upcoming meeting with a new prospect. I knew he was there to help me AND the business grow. I always felt like he listened. He always complimented me and my efforts- often! It was like a treat to be called into his office on Friday’s and I always looked forward to it.

And now you get to choose, what kind of culture do you want to have, how do you want to lead your team? It all starts with you. Need more tips on coaching a team with compassion. Email me at alayne@makemefab.com.

Originally published on AlayneCurtiss.net

The Pros & Cons of Airbrush Makeup on Your Wedding Day

When it comes to your wedding day, you want everything to be perfect, including your skin. Many brides decide to opt for airbrush application to receive the most flawless looking skin possible. When done correctly, airbrushing can give you the complexion you have always wanted, but there are a few drawbacks. Before you commit to this technique, there are a few pros and cons that you will want to consider.

PRO: Airbrush makeup has incredible staying power.

As a bride, you don’t have time to worry about touching up your makeup when it’s faded. With airbrush makeup, you won’t have that worry. You’ll find that most of airbrush makeup has a silicone base. Silicone-based makeup lasts longer and more water-resistant when compared to normal makeup. With this technique, your makeup will look great from the start of your ceremony until your grand exit from the reception.

CON: It can appear flaky.

On well-moisturized and hydrated skin, airbrush makeup looks terrific. However, if your skin is on the drier side, the product may not lay as nicely and begin to flake off. The consistency of traditional foundation is much creamier and is more forgiving on dry skin. If you describe your skin as dry, sit down with your makeup artist, and discuss if airbrush makeup is an option for you.

PRO: A lot goes a long way!

If you are someone who doesn’t like wearing a “mask” of foundation, airbrush may be perfect for you. Airbrush makeup uses less product, so it feels much lighter. Although it feels lighter, you won’t have to sacrifice coverage, and airbrush makeup will easily hide any blemishes without looking cakey.

CON: Once it’s ruined, it can be difficult to re-blend.

For those who find it hard to hold back the tears, you may be in some trouble. Crying typically results in makeup streaks. Normally, you can apply more makeup and blend the new face makeup with the old. With airbrush makeup, however, it’s a different story. Re-creating that flawless look you had at the beginning of your day, will be more challenging to achieve.

PRO: It’s relatively easy to layer.

Whether you want a light and natural look or a look that is full coverage, airbrush makeup is customizable to your preference. As airbrush makeup is applied to the skin, it goes on in thin layers. Each layer dries quite fast, and once a layer has dried, another layer can be applied with ease.

CON: To airbrush or not to airbrush.

Still can’t decide whether or not to do airbrush makeup for your wedding day? Try them both! At Make Me Fab when a bride is considering airbrush for her wedding we always try airbrush on one side and traditional foundation on the other at her trial session. We send her off to test it out for the day and decide which lays better, feels better, lasts better. Try it, then you’ll know which is right for you!

Originally published on AlayneCurtiss.com

Coaching Your Team With Compassion

Simple Tips for Coaching With Compassion

Coaching with compassion is easy once you set the tone and make it known that this is how things work around here. But it starts with you getting to know your employees. Sit down with your staff and discuss their sense of purpose, values, and dreams. Prompt your employees with questions such as:

Why do we treat every team member with respect at work?

If your team member’s first response is “to make money,” explain that you can make money anywhere. Ask your staff member to explain specifically why they have chosen this job, out of every other job out there, what made them choose this business. What kind of place do they want to work in. A chaotic stressful one or a busy, growing, empowering one?

What kind of person do you wish to be?

This question will provide you insight into what kind of life they want to live and how they can benefit your business and how you can help them reach their goals.

Originally published on AlayneCurtiss.net