Guest Blogger Willliam Williams
Recently I was asked if I was a hairdresser. I wasn’t sure how to answer the question, considering I was holding a comb in my right hand and a section of hair with my left hand at that very moment. She wasn’t even being sarcastic. In fact, after I spoke with her, I realized that it was a genuine question. And my reply? No. I am not a hairdresser. I am a hair artist. Allow me to explain…

Working with photographers has been an absolute blessing. In fact, it has transformed my work from craft, into an art form. In fact, working with a challenging photographer (let’s say, “picky”), is one of the best hair classes that a beauty artist can have. That is because the camera can see far more of the light spectrums than the human eye can. As a result, talented photographers have eyes that are trained to see exactly what the camera will see. In fact,some of the best photographers that I know are also some of the best hair artists that I know. So the ability to work on set relies on your ability to artistically empathize with the photographer. It also relies on your own ability to have vision and a voice. This skill also depends on your ability to work with other artists and visionaries. When it comes to editorial work, it is important for all talents, voices and artistry to be recognized in the results. So to make an amazing photo, your artistic relationship with everyone on set is important. Depending on the set, you might have several artistic voices to empathize with.

So seeing the world as an artist becomes crucial to the work. I remember the night before my first editorial job. I stayed up all night dreaming of what I would do the next day. I had amazing plans. But at the end of the day, my plans didn’t work. There I was, with a craftsperson’s head surrounded by artists. I had to make a decision. Can I do this job? Then, I (finally) understood what we were making and I realized that they just wanted me to make the hair pretty. They just needed a pretty fabric for the camera to appreciate. I realized that I was in the middle of an amazing transformation; I simply wasn’t smart enough to know what happened to me just yet. In retrospect, I believe that this is the moment that I became an artist… This is when I made a decision. My work MUST improve.

With that experience, my artistic journey had begun. At the end of the day, it was all about being myself and finding my voice on set. Learning to work on set takes time, but the goal is to be you and simply make beauty. Everyone has his or her own style on set. My style is simple. Bring a lot of enthusiasm, alongside a lot of humor. I find that humor can make these stressful situations more fun for others on set. I believe that one of the unwritten job descriptions of a beauty artist on set is to keep everyone feeling happy and beautiful. The photographer has too much to think about to pay attention to the various personalities on set. So it falls to us to make sure that the model arrives on set looking and feeling gorgeous. More often than not, the model is very young and needs a little help to stay in the right space all day to do an amazing job. How you make others feel on set goes a long way towards your success on sets. The important thing is to be yourself and love what you are doing. Most of all, be an artist…

An artist is never satisfied. A craftsperson has measurements and develops a formula. In that sense, art is nothing more than a decision. I love the way St. Francis of Assisi said it. “A laborer works with their hands. A craftsperson works with their head and their hands. An artist works with their heart, head and hands.” See? Just a decision. Like all beauty artists, I was taught as a craftsperson and I learned a beautiful craft. As a craftsperson, I did my very best to create a great plan and follow through successfully. As an editorial artist, I had to make a decision to constantly be creating. In order for me to get more from my art, I simply had to decide to put more love into it.

I am so proud of the work that I am doing with Bellus Academies right now. Lynelle and Diego have invested in
programs that will teach working on sets to the artists that aspire to an editorial/advertising career. We are working with amazing photographers and designers. In the last year we have had several student/artists published in fashion magazines, including 2 covers. We have even had artists working on prestigious red carpet events, including the Oscars, Emmy’s and the S.A.G. awards. All this, before these artists even got their license. We are now preparing to take this to the pros. We look forward to bringing new opportunities to our partner salons and helping them take full advantage of them. Imagery has become so important in today’s social media. People need to see your work, more than to hear about it. Contact Bellus for more information on how to build your portfolio and grow as an artist. w.w.w.

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Guest Blogger Kelly Straeter, Academy Director Poway Campus

Five star customer service is a standard that is known worldwide throughout the travel, entertainment, hospitality, and personal services industry as being the highest customer service standard achievable.
The outcome of Five star customer service is to “WOW” your customer with such delight that they can hardly believe how wonderfully you’ve treated them.

This “WOW” factor is far more than impeccable customer service. It’s about creating a feeling that the person giving the service has actually unobtrusively understood the needs of the customer on a personal and intimate level, to such a degree that they seamlessly adapt their level of service to mirror their understanding of the customer’s needs. It is an intuitive connection whereby the server “knows” the customer well enough to anticipate and fulfill their needs before the customer even has a chance to ask.

Exceptional customer service involves doing everything possible to delight the customer. It’s about exceeding customer expectations and providing genuine, personalized, non-intrusive service with extra attention to details. At the highest standards, the staff is anticipating the needs of the customer and fixing problems without any fuss.

In a Five Star environment, when a customer sees a staff member, they should be excited to see them, in expectation of being treated exceptionally well.

When a customer describes their overall customer service experience, these are words they will use:
Delightful, Amazing, Extraordinary, Blissful, Attentive, Remarkable, Respectful, Pleasing.

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Guest Blogger Stephanie Swinscoe, Lead Experience Coordinator Bellus Academy Poway

Do you find yourself inundated by the amount of projects you have that need to be accomplished at work or in your personal life each day? Do you continually feel that the days fly by and do not have the opportunity to devote your necessary attention to each task because other responsibilities keep coming up? With as busy and hectic as our lives can be it is hard to keep track of our daily assignments or allocating the proper time.  Effective time management will help you get more done each day and has important health benefits as well.

Time management is the ability to properly plan and exercise conscious control in the management of daily activities in order to increase efficiency and productivity.  Originally, time management referred to just business or work activities, but in time the term broadened to include personal activities as well. A time management system is a combination of processes, tools, techniques, and methods. Usually time management is essential in any plan as it determines the completion time and capacity.

But how do you get back on track when organizational skills don’t come naturally? To get started, select one of these approaches, try it for a couple of weeks and see if it helps. If it does, consider adding another one. If not, try a different one.

Plan each day. Planning your day can help you accomplish more and feel more in control of your life. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep an agenda of your daily activities to diminish conflicts and last-minute duties.

Task list. A task list is a list of duties to be completed, such as chores or a guide toward completing a project. Task lists are used in self-management, grocery lists, business management, project management and developments. It may entail more than one list.

Prioritize your tasks. Time consuming but relatively minor tasks can consume a lot of your day. Prioritizing your responsibilities will guarantee that you spend your time and energy on those that are actually vital to you.
ABC analysis. The ABC system has been used in business management for a long time in which it organizes responsibilities into categories. These categories are often marked A, B, and C; hence the name. Actions are ranked upon these general criteria:
A – Tasks that are professed as urgent or important.
B – Tasks that are important but not urgent,
C – Tasks that are neither urgent nor important.

Each group is then ranked in order of priority.

With good time management skills you are in control of your time, your life, your stress and energy levels, as well as an overall increase in time. You make advancement at work. You are able to sustain stability between your work, personal, and family lives. You have enough flexibility to take action with new opportunities. By managing your time more wisely, you can diminish stress and improve your quality of life.

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Guest Blogger Khris Pool

Bellus Academy National City hosted their Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Wednesday October 19, 2011.  More than 40 guests and Bellus Academy students cheered with Lynelle Lynch President, of Bellus Academies when the ribbon was cut.  National City Mayor Jim Morrison attended with Council Member Luis Natividad and support from the National City Chamber of Commerce.  Members of the chamber donated prizes to quests of the event ranging from a series of print services to movie tickets and more.

Lynelle spoke of all of the wonderful things that Bellus Academies have to offer including: Corporate Wellness, Inclusive Health Program, support for the Military and the Beauty Changes Lives non-profit.  Mayor Morrison supported all of the wonderful changes that have taken place with the upgrades of not only the campus/facility but with the education that is being offered from Bellus Academy.

Diego Raviglione, Bellus Artist Director and Nick Berardi, both Wella Master Stylist presented haircut demonstrations for guests.  Showing what the students learn from the Bellus STAR, online cutting program.

Michelle from Creative Nail Design did shellac demonstrations in the Spa Nail room with Spa Nail students who were very busy with mini manicure, reflexology, and paraffin treatments.

Sonia Tabor and Chandra Wood did Makeup Designory, MUD demonstrations on special effects makeup and glamour looks, while makeup students demonstrate what the MUD class taught them.

Wella educator Liz hosted a class on product knowledge from the new Wella Care and Styling line for students and guests in attendance.

William Lynch has owned the academy formerly known as Bay Vista College of Beauty for 26 years.  Lynelle Lynch has the vision to “educate the future leaders in the industry”, with this vision Lynelle has upgraded all three San Diego campuses and unified the schools under one brand Bellus Academy.

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Hello my name is Cathy Chavez and I am the Career Services Director for Bellus Academy.  I have been doing Career Services for over 5 years and I thoroughly enjoy it!

Have you ever found that looking for a job can sometimes feel like finding a needle in a hay stack? The key to being successful on the job hunt is structure.

Everyone knows that looking for employment is a full time job. Here’s the breakdown:

•    You spend 5 hours a week researching companies for at least an hour a day
•    You tailor your resume for at least 20 companies a day totaling 10 hours a week  while researching and customizing your resume
•    You spend 20 hours a week on telephone calls and e-mails trying to make contact with employers.
•    You spend the last 5 hours in a week following-up with each employer you have spoken to or made contact with.

Remember, if you follow the formula and perform a targeted job search for a full-time 40 hours a week, you should receive 2 job offers a month.

If you only search for 10 hours a week, it may take up to 3 months to get 1 job offer!!!

Remember it comes down to you and your desire to get a job.

Cheers!

Cathy

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