Each morning, I like to take time just to sit and have a cup of coffee, and let my mind go. It’s one of my favorite times, and knowing that I have to be in the salon at 9AM, it is likely that I will be up at least 6AM so that I have time for my mind to wander before I have to get into the “getting ready” part of the day. The time is usually about 45 minutes that it takes. I don’t really have an agenda for the time, it’s just time available for me to think what I think. If there is a problem that I am dealing with, I usually use that time to allow some attention to that particular problem, but in no way is it time to figure things out. It’s just time to let my mind go where it wants to go whith that idea in the background….
Oh, I call it “sitting for….” So, this morning I was sitting for fashion! I was fascinated with that Fashion Week has just happened in NYC, and am astounded at the enormous talent that lurks in the fabric of the city. I was imagining how designers come up with their designs, and especially how they get the notariety that they need to take their designs down the runway. It’s so much like my business in a peculiar way. I was thinking about all the new products that I have in my head, and rather than go down the tunnel of “how can I get them produced quickly enough and into the market,” I paused for a moment to ask myself…..”Who would want them, and why?” There are sooooo many products on the market! I mean walk a block over and if you simply bought one of each shampoo, you’d have many years’ supply from just that store! AND they have something for every hair and skin care need. So, what makes me think that I can do anything that is of any need not already fulfilled by the marketplace?
The obvious answer to eliminate loads of the products on the market is simply a matter of preference, you know like, the smell of thim, the performance, or lack thereof, etc. Each has a quality that is either the consumer’s solution or desire. All that to say, it’s obvious that I need to be able to deliver a product that is unique and really satisfies our customer.
I remember when I worked for major manufacturers, it was hard to tell how a product was “created.” Was it the customers calling up the corporation, or was it the corporation that had an idea of a product they thought would be of value? And, if it was the corporation, who was the person they called?
Without going into my opinion of how it worked, I realized this morning how it works for us at Belegenza. We still work in the salon on real people in the cities we live. We get to hear directly from our people. Because we are still doing hair, we see the results. We get to feel the hair, the products and the results. We also hear the problems that people deal with in the real world. It’s from this interaction in the real salon world that we get our ideas, and develop them from ther! It’s really the only way, in my opinion, to really develop a company. I still love the salon, and doing hair. I love creating producst and all that entails and can’t imagine doing that without working in the salon, keeping my finger on the pulse of the industry….
Til tomorrow’s sitting for……….