Nails Magazine

Nails Big Book 2013

Magazine for the professional nail industry.

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how to survive… When Your Devices Die 2UNWAY 2011 COSMO ALLURE GLAMOUR 2011 VOGUE ESSENCE MADEMOISELLE Your hard drive is fried, your phone is lost, or maybe you're unable to tap into your data stored on the cloud. Bottom line: You can't access your client files, financial data, or appointment schedules. Take steps now to make sure these potential catastrophes are survivable. "Technology is your best friend and an evil twin at the same time," says Debbie Doerrlamm, webmaster of beautytech.com and nailtech.com. "As a business owner you have a responsibility to keep that evil twin at bay to the best of your ability." Here are some scenarios and suggestions from Doerrlamm: > If you run a commercial scheduling system, check with the software manufacturer to make sure you are abiding by their best practices and backing up your data daily. At least weekly, the backup should be stored offsite. > If you use Outlook, back up daily to your PC. Again, weekly backups should be stored offsite. > If you use Google Calendar on an Android system or with Apple iCal, have your calendar sync with your cell phone. (An extra bonus: You can book appointments while in the grocery store!) Export/backup your calendar weekly onto a USB drive or portable hard drive and store it offsite. If you have a cell and tablet, sync your calendar with both. (Do not store a portable hard drive or USB drive in the car. The summer heat and freezing winter temperatures could make the device useless.) > Every day, or at least once a week, print the week's upcoming appointments. It may seem like a waste of paper, but if there is a power failure, your PC gets fried, or you drop your cell in the toilet, you have something to fall back on. You should export and possibly print your contacts list weekly as well. > Your weekly offsite backup can be to a USB drive, portable hard drive, or uploaded to a "cloud" storage like Google's drive — or all three places if you are particularly paranoid or prone to technology failures. If you have a Gmail account, you already have access to the drive's 15 GB of storage space. The simple task of saving the backup to a special folder on your PC copies them automatically to Google's drive. Other services, including Yahoo, offer free file storage for its users. One additional, easy-to-use, free service for offsite backup storage (2-18 GB) is www.DropBox.com. > If you are backing up to your PC, you should know what folder the backup is stored in so if you need to get to it in a hurry, you have everything under control. Have a practice run, and don't keep that information to yourself. If you have front desk staff, they need to know how to backup, retrieve, and restore it if needed. If you are a lone technician, write the information down somewhere or share with your husband or partner. 124 | NAILS MAGAZINE | 2013-2014 THE BIG BOOK 2011 ,OOKS Indecisive Clients We all know this customer well: Miss Indecision. Annie Hsu and Yana Mozhchil, nail techs at The Studio by Mika Does Makeup in Vancouver, share some tips for making her salon visit run a little smoother. Figure out her needs. If your client is having a difficult time deciding what she wants, get to the root of her salon visit. Is she going on vacation? Does she have an interview? A special event? Is it just for fun? Find a solution. Give her a recommendation based on what would suit her needs best. For example, if she's going on vacation, recommend a gel-polish manicure because it'll last longer and she won't have to worry about chipping. Help her pick a color by showing her the salon's color swatches and asking about her preferences. Light or dark? Bold or subtle? Next, recommend a few shades based on her skin tone and seasonal color trends. If she wants nail art, the ladies at The Studio will give her an iPhone to browse pictures on the salon's Pinterest or Instagram pages for inspiration and to see what the techs are capable of creating. Have her flip through nail magazines as well. Provide limited options. Bombarding your client with lots of choices will overwhelm her. Provide her with one to two solutions max. If she can envision an alternative, it's easier for her to see what will work best. Work quickly. The longer Miss Indecision flounders in her indecisiveness, the more fearful she'll become about making a mistake. Firmly push her toward a safe decision and then congratulate her on her wise purchase until the sale is closed. Some salons will reinforce this with a post-closing call. >>>

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