“I just finished comparing our 2007 Clinic and Retail numbers to our 2006 numbers. The results are amazing!”
Susie Carder, founder of the online salon and spa business support service Your Beauty Network (YBN), has grown accustomed to this kind of client praise and attributes such success to the growth and implementation of technology.
“In our industry, salon owners and operators are primarily stylists,
not necessarily savvy business people,” says Bert Carder, YBN’s CEO and
“Chief Technology Wiz,” as wife Susie likes to call him. “Providing our
clients with easy-to-use, cost-effective online tools like client
relationship management, e-marketing, online appointment booking and
business builder archives, we can help their businesses grow at
unprecedented rates.”
Building on her 15 years of experience as a professional speaker in
the salon and spa industry, Susie founded YBN in 1999 during the
infamous DOT.com craze. Out of dozens of competitors, YBN is the only
business of its kind still standing today. YBN credits its competitive
advantage to embracing technological and industry changes, like the
insight to change to a subscription-based service model. “We have to
always be two steps ahead of change that comes our way,” said Susie,
“to not only stay ahead in the industry, but also maintain our
technology knowledge base to successfully counsel our clients.”
In addition, with only 6 employees, YBN has learned how to act like
a big business to help other small-business salons and spas act and
look big too. “93% of the beauty industry is not profitable, but once
we consult our customers on what technology can do to increase
revenues, they are amazed, said Susie. “ They begin to see exactly why
they are not profitable and what changes they can make to see real
profit gains.” Especially when it comes to mom-and-pop type beauty
salons, YBN’s mission is to help them integrate technology to raise the
bar and better compete against larger, more technologically advanced
salon and spa chains.
“The beauty industry is a sleeping giant full of truly talented
individuals,” said Susie. “By helping our clients implement technology
they never thought they’d need, we are able to see many business owners
meet their full potential while enhancing the reputation and caliber of
the industry overall.”
If you are in the beauty salon or spa industry and have questions
regarding how to implement technology in your business, please comment
here or contact YBN directly. Dell also offers point-of-sale solutions you may want to check out.
