Read This

Read This
The Ten Commandments for Business Failure
Donald R. Keough
I read this book. Maybe you should too. But be warned. Read this one at your own risk. This one can be a bit disturbing. You might see yourself or your company in these pages. The good news is there is time to make good decisions and make changes. The good news is that you also might se things you are not doing and that is a sign that you and your business are on the right track. Happy reading and continued success.

Ear pics

Ear Pictures
A beauty industry magazine saw and liked my YouTube vid about trimming ear areas. They wanted to run an article on it. How cool is that? An article being written about a video we did. Anyway, they wanted pictures to support the text. There I was at Birmingham shooting ear trimming pictures. Once I sent them to the publicist she emailed me back saying the mag wanted “text to go with the pictures”. Apparently they did not want to do an article. They wanted ME to do an article. Oh, well, no worries. At least the media wants something from me. I am not complaining. Most haircutters are calling the media begging. The media is calling me. I prefer it that way. So does Andis.

Printed Technicals

Printed Technicals
Have I sent you a printed technical via email? I am sure sending a lot of them these days. I mention the availability of these handy printed educational support tools at all my classes and shows. Sometimes the one I mention is the one for the technique I am sharing. Other times the sheets are mentioned in the context of an answer to a question from an audience member. Other times I am just offering them up because I know just how much clipper cutters like them. I know they are a big help to many. I have created quite a few of them and I am happy to email them to any who ask. The collection includes, but is not limited to flat topping, fading, revolution cutting and many more. If there is a clipper cutting concept that you want help with just let me know. I can create a technical for you for any educational need. We are happy to offer them up.

The T-24 blade

T-24 blade
Have you ever used an Andis T-24 Special Texturizing blade. This is an amazing tool. You can do things with this blade that you did not know you could do with a clipper. This amazing blade fits on all Andis BG series detachable blade clippers. Today that group includes, BGRc, Ceramic Advanced, Headlight, Excel 1 speed, Excel 2 speed, BGR+, MGX. This is a 5 tooth texture tool. There are 5 teeth on the inside cutting blade. With a rear (lower) blade like a 1 clipper blade you have wide, deep teeth and long extended teeth. This allows for some unique custom control of the cutting action. The Andis T-24 can be used like a scissors, a blending shear or even a razor. There is no limit to the amazing things you can do with this blade.
A few of my favorite tricks include:
Razor texturizing - creating soft, broken wispy effects in mid length and longer hair.
Transition blending - Used like a 44/20 blender to take out weight and blend off lines, easily.
Thinning/Debulking - A great way to take down volume and fullness in thick heavy hair.
Razor cutting. Length can be removed with amazing texture and movement.
I want you to play with a T-24 blade. Do you have an Andis detachable blade clipper? Shoot me an email. Tell me which Andis detachable blade clipper you have and why you like it. I will send the first 24 people who respond to this request a FREE Andis T-24 blade to try, enjoy and keep as my gift. I want to hear from you. I want to see the amazing styles you can create with this blade. I posted this offer last week. So far I have sent out 6 of the 24 blades. Did you get yours yet?

Podcasting

Podcasts
I subscribed to 2 great podcasts this week. Then I went back and downloaded a slew of “back issues”, so to speak, the ones on-line that I missed. You should get these too. The Quick and Dirty Tips series… The podcasts for salespeople and the one for public speakers are both ideally suited to anyone who is in sales or speaks in front of others. Working in the beauty industry demands that you are doing both all the time. Podcasts are a great way to listen on the go. Like books on tape, but in short snippets. Perfect for those of us who are hungry for information but short on time and attention.

Brio Academy newsletter

Brio Academy Newsletter
I made the cover. I made page 2. I do not think I have ever had 4 pics in one publication before. Way cool. This is a great group of schools in CT. It was an honor to be invited in to present classes and share Andis information. I am looking forward to my next visit.
Thank you to all my friends at Brio Academy.

Shout Out

Shout out
To all my new friends at Fade Barbershop & Lounge
615 Washington Ave.
Miami Beach, FL
Manager Ladonna Echols
Gvan Brown - Cuts by the pound
Manolo Rivera - Bori
Luis Bredeson - Nut Da Barber
Nice to meet you all. Nice to have the chance to share some of my clipper cutting passion with like-minded barbers. This is a new shop (less than 1 year old). Barbering up front, lounge in the middle, patio out back. Right on Washington Street in classic South Beach, FL. Go there to get a cut. Visit with the crew. When I shared my 4 min fade idea they were pumped up to try it out immediately. Get in there and get faded… tell ‘em Ivan sent you.

Read This

Read This
The Carrot principle
Adrian Gostick, Chester Elton
Wow! What a powerful book. There is gold in here for businesses and managers. If you manage anyone you need to read this… Then you need to live this. Simple to read. Easy to understand. Sometimes painful to realize the truths in a book like this. But it is never too late to implement this type if information and change your world, the world of your employees and the worlds of your customers. Solid stuff. Highly recommended.

The Amazing Andis Clipper Guard Chart

The Wildly famous clipper guard chart
One of the most popular videos we have posted on YouTube is a video on proper use of clipper guards. In the video I offer up a copy of a handy clipper guard conversion and cross reference chart. If you do not know all the sizes, the guards, the blades, inches, millimeters and all that stuff… this is the chart for you. The response has been amazing. I am emailing over dozens of these charts to interested and eager clipper cutters every week. If you want one shoot me an email request at expert@andisco.com . I will be happy to send you one too.

The Guinness World Record Buckle

The Guinness World record Belt Buckle

I got my new buckle. In 1998 when I broke the world haircutting records for the first time I had ordered a huge gold and silver belt buckle as a trophy and my souvenir to myself to recognize the accomplishment. Here we are in 2008 and I have done it again. Yes, both. I have broken the records and I have ordered another buckle. This one is a bit bigger, a bit gaudier, a bit tackier and was a bit more expensive. It looks great and as soon as it was in I went out to pick it up. I am now wearing it to shows and the response has been fun. People gawk. People laugh, people ask why… and when I explain, people think it is very cool… or, at least, that is what they tell me. I have a pic of me and the buckle posted on my myspace page. Go there to have a look myspace.com/clipperguy

Career Book

Career Book
I met the author and bought a copy of a great little book. If you are considering a career in the beauty business or are already in the business and interested in moving up this book is a great resource. Industry In:Site, 101 Top Beauty Careers By C. Jeanine Fulton. Was fun to read and reminded me of all the great choices out there. I was amazed as well as how many of the jobs I have had and how many others are interesting to me. Your next job is in here.

The Next Big Haircut

The next short haircut

The “Poxie”

It is a Posh Spice Pixie cut… so they call it the “Poxie” Huh? Are you kidding? I think they think they are serious. I was one of the first in our industry to blog about the Pob… The PoshSpice bob that, soon after, took our business by storm. It is just amazing how many of those (or variations thereof) you see out there. By the time you see this many, the trend is no longer hot and many of us have moved on.
The Poxie will be fun to cut. It is sooooo easy. Much of it makes for a great clipper cut as most short cuts do. It is a 1.5 inch overall layer cut with short, piecy bangs. W can all do this. Just as always is the case… this will not look good or work well on everyone… But that will not stop many form asking for it, many others from cutting it on them or many from looking just a bit goofy trying to pull it off. But, for those with the hair, the facial features and the look to carry it this will work very well. Happy “Poxieing” to all!

P.S. Get an Andis T-24 texture blade to make the most of this short, funky, spunky cut. This is the secret tool to make it happen. The first 24 people to send me an email I will send you a FREE T-24 clipper blade to help you get clippering.

Read This

Read this

Sway, The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
I got this from the library. I read it. You should read it too. Good book. Interesting ideas. Good stuff to think about. The title says it all. Why we do some of the things we do event though we really know we should not do them.

Permiere, Columbus, OH

Premiere Mid-America, Columbus, OH

So far, this is to be considered the best of the fall 2008 shows I have worked. Attendance was strong despite the challenges to our economy… not the hair economy… that is going strong… It is just the $4/gallon gas that worries me about it keeping the haircutters away. They came out in droves to see us. We had 7 SRO classes. I will be asking Premiere for a bigger room for 2009. Te best seller fo the event, far and away was the MLX Improved Master Clipper. Always an Andis fave… We ran out and started taking $ and orders to ship, post-show.

The 1 Hour Class

The 1 hour class

I had a busy day of fast classes. I am really digging the 1 hour class. At most shows the breakout classrooms are 1-hour long. In cases where the state is in a license renewal year the classes are almost always 2 hours long. At Mid-America this year the classes were all 1 hour. By the time I am done with my intro and by the time I have covered care & maint. of clippers I have just about 20 min for REAL technical content. Perfect. These classes were fast and fun. I had SRO crowds in every one. With just 1 hour of info many attendees cam beck for more and most brought a friend back to see what they missed. I had 7 classes over the 2 days. I shared 7 different, unique technical concepts over the days. One of the keys is that I was selling hard and fast the entire way through. In each class I told them what classes they had missed and what classes they had yet to come. Be on the lookout for more show schedules with more one hour classes. I am planning to run with this format ‘cuz it works.

Radio on Video

Radio on Video

They had invited me to be on the radio. They asked me to bring my tools. I asked, why? They wanted me to do a haircut on the radio. Think about that. Most haircutters who do shows and such do haircuts on video or television. I was being asked to do a haircut on radio. How cool is that. My haircutting abilities have transcended the need for visual representation. Just the sound was to be enough. They did video tape me on the radio as well. The live radio piece did play well and for listeners, seeing was not needed. Later they have posted the video on YouTube. The link is below. Have a look at what we believe to be the first radio haircut to be on video… or something like that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z3rak5y-Ic

On the air

On the air
I went downtown to the Tribune tower to do the spot on WGN radio. That was way fun. I did a haircut live on the radio. Some haircutters do video. I have transcended the need for visuals. I can cut hair on the radio. I am told it worked well. Just the sound alone was able to convey the message. Brian Noonan was the on-air host for the show and he was genuinely interested in the records and impressed with the feat(s). he gets his hair cut from a regular guy barber and was very much into the idea of a good haircut delivered quickly.

The 4 Min. Fade in Schaumburg, IL

The 4 min fade @ Schaumburg, IL

The recent show in Schaumburg, IL was a success in the classrooms. We had good models and of course the mannequins were up to the high standards we expect. The best of the classes and demos was the Andis 4 min. Fade program. We cut it on a mannequin to show the concept. Then we cut it on a live client to put it into real application. The head was perfect for the demo. The Improved master clipper was, as always the tool of choice for this kind of work. Many learned much on this demo. I will send you the technical print out of the 4 min fade just for the asking. Send an email if you want a copy of it. You have just got to try this idea. Save time, cut better hair. Get better results. Make more money. Aren’t those the goals?

Show time again

Show time again
Next up on my show calendar is the Premiere Show, Birmingham, AL. Next weekend. Be there. October 12, 13, 2008. At the convention center, downtown. We will not be in a classroom. Instead we will be debuting a new mini theatre right on the show floor. 16 seats. Up close to the cutting action. You can see. You can hear. You can ask questions on the spot. This will be fun. As usual, great deals on the latest and greatest from Andis will be there for you. Get what you want and need to rock the clipper world. From tools to techniques. Hardware and the software to make it all make more money for you.

Technology avail. Today

Technology available
The tools and opportunities available to you to grow your business blow my mind. Who would have thought just a few years ago that so much would be out there to just run with… just a few clicks away? And all for FREE! Do you want a TV commercial to promote your shop? I would have loved that back when I had my shop… but there was no way I had that kind of marketing budget. How about FREE? YouTube lets you have all that and more for zero $. How about a web site? Web sites were in their infancy when I had my shop. http://www.squidoo.com lets you build your own web site for FREE. How much? FREE! Networking with other professionals and friends, promoting yourself and reaching out the the entire world are all at your fingertips with today’s social networking sites and tools. Myspace and Facebook open up a world of business possibilities. Are you there? What are you missing out on? What are you making them most of? I want to hear. Email me Tell me your stories of successful utilization of these technologies.

Technology avail. Today

Technology available
The tools and opportunities available to you to grow your business blow my mind. Who would have thought just a few years ago that so much would be out there to just run with… just a few clicks away? And all for FREE! Do you want a TV commercial to promote your shop? I would have loved that back when I had my shop… but there was no way I had that kind of marketing budget. How about FREE? YouTube lets you have all that and more for zero $. How about a web site? Web sites were in their infancy when I had my shop. www.squidoo.com lets you build your own web site for FREE. How much? FREE! Networking with other professionals and friends, promoting yourself and reaching out the the entire world are all at your fingertips with today’s social networking sites and tools. Myspace and Facebook open up a world of business possibilities. Are you there? What are you missing out on? What are you making them most of? I want to hear. Email me Tell me your stories of successful utilization of these technologies.

Slam Dunkin'

Phat Master vs Attachment combs
The most common question that is asked of me in reference to the phat master is "does it work better than using my guards (attachment combs)?". My answer is if you want to save time and make more money, yes! The time that is required for you to switch back and forth is dramatically reduced. This means that you will have the ability to save time on each haircut, and have more time to service more customers. Also the quality of the blades on the phat master are much more durable, reliable, and versatile than attachment combs. With all these factors the phatmaster vs attachment comb debate is settled. Phatmaster wins in every category!!!!!