Six Business Lessons I Learned from “Beauty Shop”

I discover a lot of business and life lessons in movies. While I don’t get out much these days, and I rarely have occasion to kick back and watch them at home, I value the nuggets of wisdom that I take away from them.

One night I actually put my feet up and watched Queen Latifah’s movie “Beauty Shop”. I missed about 20 minutes of the movie, between her walking out on her old job and starting her own business. Still, I noticed lessons that we entrepreneurs can keep in mind as we build our own businesses and our brands.

1.       Be your Authentic Self.

          Queen Latifah’s character, “Gina” was an honest, down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is woman. And while her pretentious boss (“Jorge”, played by Kevin Bacon) did not appreciate this, her customers certainly did. So when Gina walked out the door, many of her customers went with her.

          This genuine nature carried through to her new business. Because it was not an act, because she was true to herself first, customers got exactly what they expected, their Gina. Had she tried to emulate ‘Jorge’, it’s doubtful that level of loyalty would have followed her out his door. Copy-catting doesn’t work. Be true to YOU.

2.       No one said this would be easy.

          When Gina walked out, she jumped without a net. She knew she had the skills, she just had no plan. By staying true to herself, she worked it out. She set up shop in an area where the rent was more affordable than the “uber-salon” she left. Even when the overhead and costs at times felt as though it would all bury her, support from friends and family helped her to soldier on.

          She never, never, never quit. And neither should you. If you believe in what you’re doing, then you can find a way to make it work.

3.       Hire good people, treat them well, and stand by them.

          In her old job, Gina wanted to give junior staff opportunities to grow, and they appreciated that. She brought one of these staffers (Alicia Silverstone’s character) with her to her own shop, because she knew this girl had what it took to be a good stylist. And when an abusive customer demanded Gina fire one her employees for defending a co-worker, Gina fired the customer instead!

          This ties back into Lesson #1 about being your authentic self. Gina knew that clients come and clients go, but her staff would stick by her through thick and thin, as long as she was prepared to do the same for them.

          If sticking to your personal values costs you a customer, then trust me… you are FAR better off without them.

4.       Don’t sweat the competition – just keep your radar on.

          Gina focused on her family and her business. She didn’t give a sniff as to what her old boss was up to, or how his business was doing. She didn’t call up his customers and “steal them” even though he accused her of doing so.

          Even so, Gina kept her radar tuned in. She took note of things that were said. She kept her ducks in a row and kept good records. It’s highly unlikely that your competition will vandalize your place of business as in the movie – surely they’re not THAT stupid! There will be those who resort to mudslinging, however. In those situations, do like Gina did: pick up the pieces, hold your head up and move on.

Put your focus on YOUR customers and YOUR business. Do not stoop to the accuser’s level. As the lovely and brilliant Sales Diva, Kim Duke says: “People who throw mud are the ones with the dirt on their hands.”

5.       Create products that serve your customers and fulfill their needs.

          Gina cooked up some homemade conditioner in her kitchen and quietly used it on her customers. She never made a fuss about her conditioner; she simply believed that her product would help her customers. THAT was what mattered to her. The ladies at her salon affectionately called it “Hair Crack” because customers kept coming back for more! They were addicted to it because they too believed in its ability to help their damaged hair.

          That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we strive for as entrepreneurs… having happy customers who keep coming back for more – because they LOVE it and BELIEVE it can help them. Creating your own products can go a long way to entrenching on-going customer loyalty and building your brand.

6.       Treat every customer like they are your saving angel.

          In this age of continuous bombardment of marketing messages, NOTHING is as effective as good word-of-mouth referrals. People put more credibility to a personal reference than they ever will in a big advertising campaign. And best of all, the cost to you is NOTHING. Zip. Nadda. Just be yourself, do good work, and create great products your customers love and want to buy again and again.

          If you treat every customer as through they were the most important person on earth (and they ARE in that moment), then they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on…

          (Sorry. I couldn’t help but reference an old hair care product commercial in this article!)

          Remember: You never know WHO others know, so be good to them ALL. As Gina learned, the benefits far exceed the effort required.