10 Things I've Learned from the BLO/OUT Blow Dry Bar BLO/litas! It's Not Just Hair!

As we wrap up our fourth successful month in business I look back and realize that I've learned some awesome lessons from the BLO/OUT team. I'm sure we all think we know it all (at least in our own fields of expertise) but I've gotten the opportunity to learn from a team of remarkable individuals and some not so remarkable. 

Here is what I've picked up in the last 4 months of the Blow Dry Bar business:

1. Hair Technique

I'm probably the farthest thing away from a hair stylist or having any hair styling abilities. However, over the past 4 months I've learned what proper styling technique is. Although each stylist has their own methods, there are some basic foundations. Start from the front, that's a big one! Blow outs begin from the front and work backwards. That doesn't apply to all blow outs, but it is basic technique. 

Wet roots are a NO NO! If a client walks out of here with wet roots, the BLO/lita has failed! During auditions our chief stylist walks around and sticks her hand in the models hair to feel for dampness. 

Rough dry approximately 60%. Before grabbing a round brush the hair should be 60% dried. 

Don't be afraid of being rough with the hair! Although it looks painful to me, our clients love having their hair pulled and having someone who knows what they're doing work it. 

2. Team Work

Last week a client of ours went up to our chief BLO/lita and complimented her on the synergy at the shop and how everyone helps each other, works together and is super nice. 

You would think that in this industry stylists are typically selfish and afraid of losing clients to other stylists. AtBLO/OUT our team shows that it's bullshit. Our BLO/litas work together, with each other, each others clients and overall as a TEAM. With complete disregard for compensation, credit or client commitment our team treatsBLO/OUT as their own. I can't be any more proud of them than I already am! The team we built showed me that I'm not alone in caring for this business, it's quality and clientele. 

3. Self Control

I've never understood when people claimed to be anxious. "Chronic anxiety"? WTF? That was until I was manning the BLO/OUT "Hair Traffic Controller" position on a busy Saturday. I learned what anxiety is very quickly! When every chair is occupied, the couches are full of waiting clients and new clients continue to walk in, I learned. The girls noticed me visibly twitching, playing with my hands, tapping my foot, walking around, glaring at them with a desperate "hurry up!!" look. 

The BLO/litas taught me to control myself, to calm down, take a breath and realize that the world wont end. Nothing makes me more anxious than waiting clients and me not being able to do anything about it. The team sat me down and told me that my anxiety makes them nervous and it doesn't help them work faster. I took that to heart and realized that I need to control my reactions and that everything will be alright at the end. We even came up with a code word for "hurry up" but I then forgot the code word and was wondering why the girls are telling me that "someone's mother is calling!!", I was confused. 

4. Delegate Responsibility

Throughout all the businesses I've built, worked with or managed I've never been able to comfortably delegate responsibility. No one can do the work better than I can! That is until I realized I can't do what my co-workers can. BLO/OUT is the first example of me delegating responsibility in both title (promoted Meghan to Assistant Manager and Shannon to Chief BLO/lita) and in actual practice. Their titles are not just that, I can actually walk out of the shop and be comfortable that they are doing what is absolutely best for the business. 

This team has shown me that for once I can trust my co-workers and know that they care like I do! They work hard, make sacrifices and speak freely. 

5. Relax

When was the last time you woke up on a Saturday morning ready for a busy day at work only to find a text message from your co-workers saying "Don't come in today, go do something fun, we got this!". I'm getting emotional writing about this! It's unbelievable what these guys and girls have done to get me to chill and trust their abilities. When dealing with problems this team is first to tell me to relax, things will be ok and they are with me. 

They are also the first ones to notice when I'm having a crappy day, stressed out, angry or sad. They support each other and myself. This past week has been a relatively stressful one, the team noticed it and one by one they came by and would try to get me to crack a smile or to stop stressing even if just for a few minutes. 

6. Not Every Customer Can be Ecstatic

Although my main goal in any business is to provided a great product/service at a competitive price with great customer service, sometime you can give 100% and it's still not enough. When it comes to hair women are extremely particular and I've learned that you can't be on point every single time. The BLO/litas do their absolute best with each and every client, however you can't win them all. I think I'm slowly getting comfortable with the fact that as long as we give it 110% not every client will love everything about us as the next one would. It's difficult to accept that someone doesn't like you, it really is. 

7. Women

Although I always thought I knew women and how to read them due to having grown up with two sisters, I quickly realized that being surrounded by women all day long can teach you a thing or two. So supposedly women think that all guys that "know women and how to read them" are idiots and really don't know a thing. One day sitting in the shop I had to endure an hour long conversation about dick, no really, dick.

Women are emotional creatures, there have been days when some of the girls specifically asked me to not be an asshole to one of the girls because she was having a hard time dealing with outside issues. The girls take care of each other, they don't backstab, politic or disrespect each other, unless deserved. 

I'm pretty sure I've always had tighter relationships with women than men, maybe because my sisters and I have always been really close. Conversations with women are more interesting, have more depth and are more enlightening. Sitting around the shop with 5-6 girls has actually been a pleasure other than the occasional temperature or music selection change.

Don't get me wrong, my dream has always been to build a business where my boys can stop by, have a beer, shoot the shit and relax. I've done that now. 

8. Shampoo

Yes, the BLO/litas taught me how to shampoo women's women's hair. My first attempt was very similar to me shampooing my dog, rough and fast with the sole purpose of getting the hair clean. After numerous attempts and lessons I learned to be more gentle, more careful and ultimately better. My volunteers were less and less drenched with every attempt. 

9. Anger Management (still in progress)

I'm still learning to control my anger when I walk in to the shop and it feels like a sauna because one of the stylists set the thermostat to 85 degrees. Or when I'm in my office working and all I hear in the background is some sappy R&B music. I hate R&B music! My first response is to threaten with the breaking of fingers that touch the thermostat or the music choices. I'm learning to stay calm and explain the reason those things should not be happening rather than yell, curse and change them.

10. Trust

How can you trust a group of people you recently put together that take care of your baby? Well I was shown that it's pretty easy when you choose people like we chose. Most of the BLO/litas at BLO/OUT never knew each other before working together, now they are a tight knit group both inside and outside of the shop. They go out together, online date together, babysit each other's children, help each other out, car pool, and ultimately support each other unquestionably. That's crazy right? Well at least I thought it was. Over the past few weeks the stylists, assistant manager and chief stylists have made me pretty useless at the shop. I've had the great luxury of being able to take some time off and spend it with my amazing girlfriend. I have also learned to trust the BLO/litas to take care of my "baby", the business.

I'm writing this post from a balcony overlooking the ocean in Miami. I trust that things are going as they should, clients are being treated as they should be, schedules are being completed, and stylists are showing up to work. 

In summation, I have learned a lot from BLO/OUT Blow Dry Bar and its BLO/litas. These are some of the lessons that come to mind. I'm a lucky guy that works with a great team in a great industry with great clients! 

Yours,

Avi.

The Blo/Out Grand Opening Party Was Awesome...Someone Was Missing.

On Friday the 13th we celebrated our Grand opening (although we have been open since March 4th). We figured we deserve a big ass party with lots of drinks, music, funny pictures and all the people we love. Almost all. 

The party was also the venue for the first episode of BLO/OFF // A Stylist Elimination Reality Show. The show went great, not without hitches and errors, but was definitely fun, entertaining and productive since it yielded us an awesome new Blolita: Heather!

In the last minute we decided to bring in a ShutterBooth photo booth with all kinds of silly items to have fun with while being photographed, that thing was a total success! Everyone loved the pictures and as the drinks kept flowing, the pictures got better and better. 

The party was MC'd by our absolute favorite DJ Jonathan Silva (Resident DJ at Chelsea Hotel, Zee Bar, G Lounge, etc...). The music was unreal, the dancing was fun and funny at some point. The Blood Orange Blo/Me Mosas were being consumed quicker than we were making them. The food provided by Arugula Ristorante next door was absolutely delicious! The young male models we had serving the food were fun and handled all the mental undressings they were getting from all the women around very well. 

Our unbelievable team of Blolitas who worked their asses off were able to raise a total of $920 for The Healing Consciousness Foundation! The selflessness of every member of our team is beyond awesome! We stayed late cleaning, drinking and then went on to our seperate after parties. 

Everyone who I've spoken to said the party was great and they had an awesome time, that was all we wanted to do! 

Although I don't remember much about the later part of that night I do remember my anger. Throughout the party although having a great time, laughing, hosting the BLO/OFF episode and socializing, I was angry. Strange right? I'm not an angry person and never have been, I'm usually the leading spokesperson for the "I Don't Give a Fuck" club. 

Why was I angry? Let's get personal. 

On March 24th of this year, exactly a month ago yesterday, I lost my mother and best friend. My mother passed away abruptly without any prior notice. I'm very comfortable with the circle of life and the fact that we are born, live as much as we can, do as much good as we can, and finally die. My mom was cool as hell, she was Blo/Out's biggest fan and one of our most frequent client. She definitely was an awkward immigrant and it was visible in some of her actions and comments, but she was funny. 

On Friday the 13th I was angry that the woman that supported me from day one of every single venture I've ever endeavored on, was missing the best party yet. I finally built a business she can take advantage of and she is no longer here to enjoy it. 

I'm angry everyday that she no longer comes in to grab a cup coffee and have a cigarette outside or criticize the stylists auditioning for a position with Blo/Out on Monday nights. 

I know Anna Shenkar was excited to see women walking out of Blo/Out looking beautiful, hear women talking about it at dinner, and receive the random calls telling her about how great an idea it is and how awesome some woman's hair looked. She was proud. 

So the party was awesome, I was angry and that's that. I don't mean to be depressing, just figured I'll share with all of you.

I will continue to work my ass off to make sure we provide the best quality, best service and the best atmosphere at every Blo/Out location we operate. I know my mother would be pissed if I didn't. 

For pictures of the party check out the Gallery or our Facebook Album

Yours,

Avi Shenkar

Criticism should be embraced... sometimes.

Typically client criticism is brushed under the rug or hidden. I would like to expose it! I want to discuss the client criticism that we have received. 

So we've been open a month as of today and out of the 312 Blo/Out clients that have walked in (p.s. THANK YOU!!) and experienced our services, we've gotten two (2) complaints! I'm not sure how that statistic compares to other salons or other industries but based on my experience, that's awesome! 

I'm a customer service guy. Period. That's my forte, that's what I do! So I interrogate each and every customer and ask for their true and honest opinion. I embrace criticism! I love it! Tell me what to do to make you happier and I will! Tell me nothing, and nothing changes. If my need for the best customer service ever transferred from my professional life to my dating life, women would love it! 

If I order a meal at a restaurant and the result is complete crap, guess what, its going back! That is the same way I feel about every service or product. If for some reason a Blo/Out client is not satisfied with the service, we have the ability to correct the issue immediately or I will personally pay for your next Blo/Out. I never want anyone leaving my business unhappy! Ever! 

Having said all that, let me get into the 2 complaints we have received and why I cannot take them to heart. 

The first, a bitter woman came in for a blow dry prior to a "ball" she had to attend. She inquired about the length of time for a blow out and after telling her it was approximately 35-45 minutes she went back and forth for about 5 minutes on whether she'll make it or not. Once she decided to proceed, I offered her a Blo/Me Mosa, that day it was Mango Mimosa which is so far the crowd favorite. After tasting it she stated that it's disgusting and put it down.

I introduced her to one of our Blolita's Calvin. Calvin comes from some of the most prestigious salons in Cherry Hill, NJ and has been styling hair for over 8 years. Other than his talents, Calvin is an awesome guy (he has the transformers logos tattooed on his arms!) and a stand up comedian on the side. Calvin is probably what I would label a hipster. Calvin also happens to be black. Upon meeting Calvin, Client X proceeded to ask if there was anyone else available to style her hair. Maybe she hated the Transformers tats? Having no one else available at the time, she sat with Calvin and asked for straight hair. 

During this time another client was sitting right next to client X with her adorable ginger daughter. Attempting to entertain the child while her mother was being Blo'n Out I spun the daughter in her chair, let her chase me around the salon and finally let her sit at my desk drawing. Calvin asked client X if she had any children, her response: "Not like that!" What the hell does that mean?!? After her straight hair with volume Blo/Out was completed, client X asked Calvin to add curls. After adding curls, client X grabbed a brush and began brushing her hair out. When she finally got to the front desk to pay, her hair did not look like any of our offered styles or anything I would ever recommend to any client. During my customer service interrogation she kept shaking her head and repeating "Horrible", at one point nodding toward the child that was quietly sitting in the corner and repeated "Horrible!". After offering to have her hair re-done by a different Blolita waiving the price and offering the next one on me, she refused them all and stormed out only to send me an email later complaining that I did not follow up with her regarding her unhappiness. 

Complaint number two comes from client Z. A young lady with a whole bunch of hair that looked awesome when she walked out of here! Her hair was long, full and upon walking out she had loose sexy curls. However, during her Blo/Out client Z interrogated her Blolita asking how much he makes, how many people come in, why he doesn't get paid more and how can he be happy with the whole ordeal. I am proud to say our Blolitas love working with us, we offer a career not a job. Ever hear of a hair stylists with health benefits, paid vacation, 401K plan, guess what? We have! 

During that same Blo/Out client Z was criticizing the other stylists currently working on their clients and making faces at the other clients hinting that their hair was not being styled well. WTF? At one point she loudly asked her Blolita if another clients Blolita has ever done hair before. Wow!

I didn't think anything of it because I thought her hair looked great when she walked out and she didnt say a word to me when I inquired about her happiness with the Blo/Out. However, a few days later I was made aware of a social media post client Z made stating that Blo/Out hires unlicensed stylists off the streets and that the place is horrible and she would never come back nor recommend anyone to go. 

So... first of all every single stylist working at Blo/Out is licensed (even though we do not require it!) and has over 3 years of hair styling experience. Our place being horrible? Really? Designed by A&R Designs of New York, the Blo/Out location is nothing short of beautiful. Happiness is a very relative term, and I'm OK with that. 

The two complaints above are not meant to expose or insult client X and client Z. This post is about me staying true to my mantra of complete translucency, honesty and bluntness. I love criticism, given that it's constructive. Hating for the purpose of hating is just a waste of emotions that could be spent loving, laughing or being happy!

I ask everyone reading this to be honest with me when you're a Blo/Out client. I'm not giving out free Blo/Outs to everyone, but I will make sure we fix any major issues if they ever arise. 

Yours.

Avi.