Tag: business

Roundup of 2019 Beauty Conferences & Tradeshows

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Yesterday, I realized that there are only 33 (now 32) days left in 2018. This realization was immediately followed by excitement for Christmas, full-on panic, pulling out my 9-grids and reviewing my 2018 goals, and an urgent need to start planning 2019.

A key part of planning 2019 involves deciding which tradeshows and conferences to attend. Thus, I started looking for dates and locations. After spending over an hour online, I realized there really should be a list, somewhere, that someone compiled – but I couldn’t find one.

So, for my (and hopefully your) benefit, here is my roundup of 2019 spa, salon, beauty conferences and tradeshows.

January

February

N/A

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

N/A

A few conferences are still finalizing their dates and locations. And I did limit this list to beauty conferences (and thus omitted some of my favorite “outside my industry conferences” such as Brigadoon – Sundance Utah, February 24-26).  And I am sure I missed a couple – so please help!

Also, I can’t decide if I am less or more stressed having compiled this list… maybe there is a reason it does not exist anywhere! You’re welcome.

The Email Newsletters That Make Me Smarter

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I spend time daily unsubscribing from email newsletters. I also spend time daily (or weekly) relishing email newsletters. Here are the ones that keep me thinking, questioning, learning.

WWD

This is the classis source of news for anyone in beauty or fashion. I enjoy the fashion aspect, but my favorite articles are not surprisingly the beauty pieces by Jenny Fine, Ellen Thomas, and Allison Collins. Also, the print issue of Beauty Inc. is a treasure. And yes, I pay for this content.

Business of Fashion

Imran Amed is a genius. He is on my list of five people I would like to have dinner with. I love everything about the Business of Fashion – the daily emails, the podcasts, the print issues (more treasures), and BOF Professional. And yes, I also pay for that content. The articles by Sarah Brown are just by themselves worth the price.

Retail Dive

I love this daily email because it keeps me updated with overall retail trends – not just beauty. It helps me learn from outside my industry – and influences the stores I visit during my travels to get a feel for the current reality of retail.

Beyond the articles, I love the ‘What We’re Reading” section of every email.

Racked

I love the blend of business and beauty, and Racked does it best. This article on Amazon beauty is an example of why I stay subscribed to their newsletters.

BeautyMatter

Kelly Kovack is my friend, so I am biased. But she does have one of the most beautiful brains in the beauty industry. So, when she started BeautyMatter a couple of years ago, I subscribed from Day 1 and have not missed a day. I love her quarterly beauty M&A recaps, her white papers, and the daily beauty news. Smart, short, on point.

Harvard Management Tip of the Day

I look forward to this email every single day. This is the daily email I forward the most. To my sisters, to my team, to my friends. The tips range from management advice (for example how to delegate), the importance of vacation time, and my all-time favorite, the need to put a “meeting-free day” on your calendar every week. That is top on my goal list!

Marc Ross

Brigadoon is Marc Ross’ brain-child. The best annual conference I have ever attended. He keeps me thinking beyond my “comfort and industry bubble” in between these conferences with his daily emails (Marc Ross Daily), but what I get the most out of are the Brigadoon Weekly emails. The Ross Rant is particularly delicious. Also, his reading lists are inspiring.

Shane Parrish

Weekly brain food. Literally, that is what he calls his Friday emails. I came across him because of a podcast I listened to from The Knowledge Project – an interview with Naval Ravikant. This is possibly my favorite podcast of all times, I have actually already listened to it twice. Shane’s weekly emails include articles, a note on the book he is currently reading, and a quote he is thinking about.

Scott Galloway

I must admit, I only like about one third of his No Mercy / No Malice emails, but I can’t bring myself to unsubscribe because when I like them, I love them. If you don’t know him, he is a Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business, and founder of the digital intelligence firm L2 (I also get their emails, but those feel more like homework). Try it.

Thomas Oppong, curator of Postanly

I can’t recall how I found Thomas – but I look forward to his Friday emails every week. I don’t always find the inspiration I crave, but when I do, it is quite amazing. This is one of my favorite articles shared.

I stopped watching the news a long time ago. My husband fills me in on the things I must know, I listen to NPR while driving, and I get The Skimm every day. A girlfriend of mine told me it makes her feel dumb when she reads it – like they are not taking their readers seriously. I have been thinking about this a lot, but I have not unsubscribed yet (also I love their Instagram account).

What I just subscribed to: The Cut. I just couldn’t resist, after the whole “Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t know about The Cut” saga. Also, I love Jane Larkworthy’s articles.

What I am thinking of subscribing to: Glossy. There is now a paid version, which I have committed to signing up for by the end of this month. I love their podcasts, and Jill Manoff, Editor-in-Chief of Glossy who is both smart and sassy.

What I am still trying to figure out: Beauty Independent. I get these emails daily. I enjoy them. I am still trying to understand the background, what the connection to IBE means, the agenda.

What I recently unsubscribed myself from: Tim Ferriss (I just can’t), Total Retail (Retail Dive is so much better).

What are your must-read email newsletters? What am I missing?

Flashback to Warren Buffet – and his great advice

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If you have seen me travel, you have seen me with a pile of magazines, going through them methodically, tearing out articles that seem relevant and of interest. Sometimes I read them immediately, sometimes I “save them for later when I have time.”

I brought such a pile of magazine tear-sheets with me to Tinos to read during my two weeks of R&R. And in the middle of them, somehow, I found very old notes (like from 11/14/2002 old!) about a speech I heard Warren Buffet give at the McDonough School of Business. I am not sure how these notes go into this pile, and I am not sure how they survived the last 16 years (!!) but they are timeless and still so very relevant today.

Buffet’s advice:

  • Do work you love and are passionate about.
  • Always follow the front-page test: if you don’t want your words or actions on the front page of the Washington Post, don’t say or do the thing.
  • Think about who your heroes are.
  • Don’t marry for money, especially if you’re already rich!
  • Don’t save sex for old age. (Yes, he did say that!)
  • Your life’s success is measured by who loves and respects you.
  • There is no such thing as “business ethics.” There’s just ethics.
  • Don’t pay attention to the economy. Focus on what is knowable and what is important.
  • Don’t be envious, it only makes you feel bad.
  • Run your business like it’s your only asset and you can’t sell it for 100 years.
  • Don’t be bought.
  • What you are later in life is determined today. Have good mind and body habits.
  • There are a lot of things you can’t control – but you can control the type of person you are.

 

2018 Goals 

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I am in Los Angeles today (well, technically, Manhattan Beach) for an all-day meeting that was just cancelled this past Friday morning. After initial frustration, I decided instead that sometimes, cancelled plans are a gift from the Universe. It is January 22, 2018, and I am already feeling overwhelmed and behind. Actually, if I am really honest, so far this month (this year) I have felt organized on January 3rd and 4th…

Somehow the year started so intensely that I am still figuring out my 2018 goals, 2018 budget, 2018 marketing plan. So today, the Universe gave me the gift of catch up. After a run by the ocean to clear my head, a Fast Eddy juice from Sunlife Organics, I am sitting outdoors in the sun thinking about my goals.

 My Alchimie Forever goals are focused on revenue growth, a new product launch (fabulous retinol serum in the making), and continued profitability. Also, I commit to redoing all of our Youtube videos which really need a lot of improvement (don’t watch them!). I will work to delegate more, which should be made easier by the arrival of our newest team member Emma, Sales & Marketing Project Manager.

 My personal goals involve both recurring resolutions and new commitments:

  • Drink more water (I think this has been on my list most years…).
  • Continue my one-day juice cleanser per month (and actually, today is January’s day… when in SoCal…).
  • Carry less paper around with me – if you know me, you know my Céline tote that goes anywhere I go, which weighs an average of about 22-25lbs. Apparently my back pain may be related to this…
  • Exercise three days per week – consistently. This week will be the first 2018 week where this actually happens.
  • Read more. Specifically, finish reading the stack of books on my bedroom floor that remain “pending” since I “Marie Kondoed” my book shelves over a year ago.
  • Clean out my closet. Apparently, the average woman wears only about 30% of her closet. This is probably my case, so I need to do something with at least 50% of the remaining 70%.
  • Be kinder. In particular to the TSA employees at the airport who sometimes get on my nerve. And maybe also to myself (reminding myself for example that finalizing 2018 goals on Jan 22 is not the worst possible thing in the world).

I like to have a word that defines each year for me – like a leitmotiv. I don’t have my word yet for 2018… I am hoping I will by the end of this day during which I will be catching up, but also letting my brain roam around freely in the California sunshine.

Happy 2018!

Vital verbals

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As I mentioned last week, one of my goals for 2014 is reduce the amount of paper in my life. Given the amount of paper I have collected over the years, the path to achieving this goal involves sifting through piles and piles of paper. Over the past week, this sifting process has yielded mostly irrelevant articles, outdated tear-sheets, useless records; tonight, however, I found notes from a class I took a few years ago (I can’t remember where) on how to use positive and effective words to offer excellent customer service. The lessons are worth rereading and remembering, even if I will be throwing away the pieces of paper imminently!

Rewarding words that everyone loves to hear:

  • Money-saving
  • Time-saving
  • New
  • Easy
  • Fast
  • Simple
  • Safe
  • Proven
  • Guarantee
  • Results
  • Benefit
  • Superior
  • Performance
  • Preferred
  • Recommended
  • Powerful
  • You

Annoying words that, well, annoy everyone:

  • Unacceptable
  • Unfair
  • Inefficient
  • Obvious
  • Intolerable
  • Impossible
  • Deny
  • Pointless
  • Exaggerate
  • Wrong
  • Useless
  • Inability
  • Negligence
  • Irresponsible
  • Wasteful
  • Biased
  • Failure
  • Weak
  • Impossible
  • Unfortunate
  • Worthless
  • Must
  • Must not
  • Should

The class also focused on “vital verbals” – transforming weak expressions that create poor perceptions into assertive statements that convey positivity.

“I don’t know” becomes “Let me find out for you”

“I just got here” becomes “How may I help you”

“I can’t help you” becomes “If I can’t help you, I’ll find the right person”

“I don’t think I can do that” becomes “I’ll do whatever it takes”

“I don’t have anything to do with your problem” becomes “Here’s what I will do to resolve your problem”

“We have a problem” becomes “To solve the problem…”

And finally, let’s remember who the customer is…

 

 

Building a cult brand…

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Today, I had the privilege of speaking on “The Business of Beauty” at the first Fashion 360 conference organized in DC. On a panel with other DC beauty experts, I was asked to discuss “building a niche beauty brand.”

Building a brand, creating a connection with consumers, establishing a unique selling proposition in what is an overcrowded marketplace is indeed the most challenging part of my job.  To be truthful, if I had the answer to “how to successfully build a niche beauty brand,” I probably would be spending time on my own private island instead of working on a Sunday. I am still learning.

As I continue to learn, I am lucky enough to surround myself with advisors and mentors. One such mentor successfully developed another Swiss beauty brand, La Prairie. And to him, I owe perhaps the most insightful discussion of how to build a nice brand, beauty or fashion. Today, as I prepared for the “Business of Beauty” panel, I turned back to my notes from that meeting.

In my pre-Evernote world of paper notebooks, I knew exactly where to look. That meeting happened early February 2010, and since I date my notebooks, it was no problem to identify the right one. Why do I remember the specific date, you might ask. Well, on Sunday, February 7, 2010, the Saints were playing in the Superbowl. And I could have gone, with my husband no less, a die-hard Saints fan. Instead, I boarded a plane to Geneva in order to attend a Board of Advisors meeting that had been scheduled for months for Monday, February 8. That meeting, I decided, was more important than the most important football game of the year.

During that meeting, I learned about building a cult brand. And while this was over three years ago, the lessons from that day continue to influence the marketing choices and strategies that I define for Alchimie Forever. The lessons of that day centered on the premise that the Catholic Church is one of the most successful brand builders. My advisor was very specific in his comparison, listing what a cult brand (whether fashion or beauty) needs to have, and what we can learn from the Catholic Church (I was raised and baptized Catholic, and mean no disrespect to this or any religion by drawing this comparison).

  1. A cult brand needs a cathedral, a physical place that believers can come visit. Aka a flagship store or showroom.
  2. Ideally, this cathedral is located in a sacred area, which in retail speak means Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, Madison Avenue in Manhattan, or Avenue Montaigne in Paris.
  3. Just like the Catholic Church has altars, physical manifestations of the sacred, brands need merchandised physical displays.
  4. Every brand needs its own “bible,” a brochure perhaps, a way to tell its story and weave its tale.
  5. The Pope is essential to the personal connection believers have to the Catholic Church. Just like the person behind a fashion or beauty brand (entrepreneur, brand founder, brand owner) is key to personalizing the brand’s story.
  6. Every brand needs Apostles. The founder cannot spread the gospel by his or herself, brand ambassadors are essential to creating buzz and reaching more consumers.
  7. Every brand needs a Holy Grail, namely, a hero product. Think of the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse (one of my favorite products of all time), or the Kiehl’s Crème de Corps.
  8. People crave rituals. With rituals come mystery, myth, and magic. In the skin care world, rituals represent the method of applying the product. Think of the Eve Lom cleanser and muslin cloth.
  9. The idea of Pilgrimages can be translated into a distribution strategy. The places consumers go to see or purchase a product are special, unique, and rare. Think exclusivity of place and quantity.
  10. And finally, we have religious holidays. Brand translation meaning products or collections created for a specific and special event.

Now, to take this theory and make it reality…