Clipper Guy Says . . .Nice To Meet You!

by Ivan Zoot/The Clipper Guy on Monday, March 15, 2010

Ivan Zoot is the director of education and customer engagement for the Andis Company and the founder of Zoot! Hair professional hair care products. Ivan identifies, recruits, trains and manages Andis’ team of professional beauty industry educators. Ivan continues to be a featured presenter at industry shows and events, sharing his unique blend of information, education and enthusiasm for clipper cutting and the entire professional beauty industry. Ivan’s background includes experiences ranging from salon ownership to achieving 3 Guinness World Haircutting records.

You put a lot of time, effort and energy into keeping up on your skills and education as a stylist. You try to be well-versed in the care of any and every type of hair. The prospect of cutting heavily textured and naturally curly hair stops you cold. There are way too many chances for this to go wrong. It can take forever for a curly client to recover from a bad haircut. Then again, maybe you are the queen (or king) of naturally curly hair care and cutting in your shop. Being a leader and staying at the front of the pack requires continuous effort and reinvestment in your craft.

It is nice to meet you. Welcome to my new blog here at CurlStylist.com.

I am Ivan Zoot, a licensed cosmetologist, barber and salon industry educator. I have cut a lot of hair. My salon in the Chicago suburbs does more 300 haircuts every day. I do not cut celebrity clients. I cut hair for real people who want celebrity style and glamour but do not have teams of professionals in the bathroom every morning as if life was a photo shoot or a movie premiere.

Let’s talk about cutting curly hair cuts. Let’s discuss taking control of this large, passionate and profitable market. I have looked online. I could not find a web site called naturallystraight.com. There is an opportunity and a reason we gather here.

I like to break things down and focus on individual elements of a challenge. Here are my Top Five Tips to overcome the fear of curly cutting.

1. Get over it True success as a commercial stylist can only come when you can stand at your chair, look to the door and know that whoever and whatever walks in, you can deliver a service and take their money. No exceptions. If there is a service you cannot perform or a type of client you fear, get over it. Period. Salon diversity and multi-culturalism is a salon reality.
2. Get skills Once you have identified a skills “opportunity” like curly cutting, get the education you need. Take a class. Attend a seminar. Watch a video. Buy a book. Our industry prides itself on the wealth of education and information available.
3. Get practice This is how you got started in our business. You are never too old or too experienced to offer services for FREE to learn and master a skill.
4. Get the word out Promote. Promote. Promote. Once you have committed to expand the volume of services you do in curly cutting you need to let the world know. The clients will flock to you if the skills, the value and the enthusiasm are in place.
5. Get busy Get busy curly cutting with passion. If you have spent a few minuets cruising NaturallyCurly.com or CurlStylist.com, you are well aware of the energy and enthusiasm this is segment is brimming with. By positioning yourself as an expert here you will be very busy being busy in no time.

I look forward to getting to know you and your curly cutting challenges, hopes and dreams. This blog is intended to serve as a forum for ideas, concerns and discussions specifically centered around curly hair cutting. Keep the cards and letters coming.

Ivan