013 – How LinkedIn Led to Buying Her Business with Dani Noyes of Olgas Day Spa

Gift biz on wrapped episode 13.

Hi, This is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,

and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped,

and now it's time to light it up.

Welcome to gift biz,

unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop

and grow your business.

And now here's your host,

Sue Monheit.

Hi there.

I'm Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

Whether you own a brick and mortar store sell online or

are just getting started,

you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your

business. And today I am thrilled to have with us Danny

noise. Danny is the new owner of Olga's day spa.

I say new because she just purchased the prestigious spa last

year, and she comes prepared for that with 14 years in

the salon and spa industry.

She's had roles behind the chair in management and also training

others. She gives back by being active in the special needs

and at-risk communities,

and is a member of the national association of professional women.

Danny has been married for six years and has a Darlene

four year old son who is anticipating a new baby brother

in the fall.

You're having quite an exciting couple of years here,

Danny. Welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me.

Is there anything else you would like to add to your

introduction before we get started?

Nothing that I can think of.

Well, we like to align the conversation around the life of

a motivational candle.

The light shines on you while you share your stories and

experiences. So Danny,

shall we light it up?

So let's talk about your candle.

What color would your candle be?

I candle,

would it be green?

Ooh, green,

what shade of green?

I tend to prefer a bright grass or lion green and

What motivational quote would be on that candle.

One of My favorites is I think applicable both personally and

professionally, and it is a Maya Angelou quote that says,

I've learned that people will forget what you said.

People will forget what you do,

but people will never forget how you made them feel So

appropriate to your business as well.

Absolutely. Let's go back to the beginning of your journey and

I know that educationally your degree was in musical theater.

That's correct.

How did you make the jump and decide to get into

more of the spa pampering type industry?

Give us,

give us the story.

I think it's unrelated as they seem to sound.

There's definitely a creative aspect of both fields.

And as I realized what the lifestyle of a,

an actress and the person that professional and theater would entail,

which was constantly moving and employment and unemployment,

I found that I wasn't sure that that was the life

I really meant to coming from a long line of hairdressers.

My family,

both grandmother and mother,

I decided to try going to cosmetology school after I graduated

from college and completed that and worked in a salon where

I worked part time while I was in beauty school as

a front desk coordinator.

And I got to see the other side of the business,

not just the behind the chair side,

but the side that was more of the business end and

the customer service end.

And I really fell in love with it and found it

very interesting.

And I was rapidly promoted and found that while I enjoyed

my work behind the chair,

I really enjoyed the business end of it better.

And that's what I've been doing ever since and Working at

different salons or spas over the course of the last few

years, how did it come to be that you landed on?

Olga's tell us that story.

This was sort of a funny happenstance.

I can take a year off to be a stay at

home mom and try that out and see if I wanted

to spend all my time.

And my days with my little guy,

it turns out I love him a lot,

but I'm a working girl and I really missed my job.

And I really missed all of the things that came with

that. And it was my creative outlet and my motivation and

I needed to go back to it.

So as I began looking and really focusing on finding something

that I truly wanted to do and be,

or company or truly wanting to be with and not settling

August actually found me.

There was a gentleman who is an investor in the company

that was part of the transition from the original owner.

And he was able to source me out through LinkedIn and

they contacted me and we connected and found that we could

work together well and,

and it all came together from there.

Okay. So this is really interesting.

Let's talk about this a little bit in terms of LinkedIn,

because I think a lot of people understand that platform.

They see that it is for professional purposes,

but I think there's a big question out there as to

whether that platform actually brings results.

So you started on LinkedIn and talk about your profile.

Like, what did you put in your profile?

How did you fill everything out there?

Sure. I really made a point to take pieces of my

resume that I was very proud of.

And in placing my previous experience on the profile,

I embellished those different areas with the things that I was

proud of accomplishing so that those things were highlighted.

And that was the first part of what people saw about

my work history.

I also reached out to some of my former colleagues,

some of my coworkers and some of the technicians that worked

under me as a manager and ask them to endorse me

for certain skills or endorse me for any skills.

They felt that I deserved an endorsement for.

And I asked for recommendations,

asked people to write me recommendations.

It's a little strange to ask someone to do that,

but I surprised at the happy responses I got from many

people. And of course that always is a great way to

showcase how you work with others and how you work on

a team.

And that was a great thing to kind of fill out

that profile.

So you were focusing on just putting a very professional representation

of yourself on LinkedIn.

Were you looking for some type of a business acquisition opportunity?

Not Necessarily.

I just was really looking for someplace that was going to

be challenging and offer a lot of growth.

I had gotten to a point with my career where I

had been in a lot of different areas of the salon

and spa industry.

And I just wanted to,

to have something new that I hadn't done before.

And while the management aspect of my current job is,

you know,

something I already knew there's a whole nother level of responsibility

and business ownership.

And so it wasn't necessarily something I was seeking,

but I was certainly seeking a place to grow and a

place to learn.

So gift biz listeners,

a true endorsement of that LinkedIn profile.

So number one,

you're not up on LinkedIn at all,

or if you don't have your profile fully filled out,

I would advise you go back and look at that because

just like with Danny,

she had no idea she was going to be contacted for

a really great opportunity for her future.

So let's talk about that.

So then a gentleman made contact with you and was he

just reaching out to you to see,

to chat with you?

Or did he talk to you about the opportunity of possibly

purchasing all goes right away?

It was initially just sort of a,

feel you out situation.

I went to meet with him and his director of marketing

for his other company,

and we just sort of discussed what the state of the

business was,

the changes that needed to be made and sort of where

he had hoped to see it go and was just sort

of looking for a partner in that that had some experience

in this industry that could couple with his business experience.

So that was really in it.

And from there,

it turned out to be that we sort of put together

a plan and a vision.

Fabulous. Well,

he was an investor and he was looking for someone in

the industry who had expertise.

Exactly. Got it.

Okay. So you have that conversation now,

what do you do when you go home to tell your

husband that you want to do this?

Well, I did have a little great leverage because I had

gone through a later in life career change with him.

And that required a lot of extra hours of work on

his part,

which by the way,

required a lot of extra hours of care for a little

guy on my part and late evenings of work and weekends

of work.

So I got to go home and say,

now it's my turn.

You go all is fair,

right? Yeah.

Well, and now you've been up and active for a whole

year. And I know because the spa's right downstairs here from

my office,

which is how we know each other and it's beautiful and

it's thriving and clearly a success that's for,

thank you so much,

but I know,

and I want to focus just now on this first year.

I know that business,

isn't always fun.

It's not like you just got started and everything was rosy

and everything went smoothly.

There had to have been some bumps along the way.

Can you take us to a time over this past year,

where there was a struggle kind of like that flame that

you had that excitement for the business started to dwindle?

Sure, Absolutely.

I think the,

the whole idea of this business was a little tricky from

the beginning simply because it was a business that had quite

a legacy to it.

Oldest had been here for 31 years before I even walked

in the door.

So the biggest challenge was finding a balance of sort of

keeping the legacy and what was good of the legacy.

And also at the same time,

changing the perception of the business to a,

to a whole new set of customers and a whole new

demographic. And how do you do that?

We had technicians that had worked here for 13,

18, 20 years who have clients that had been,

had been coming here just as long.

And we had technicians that had worked here for a year

or two who had the newer clients.

So it was a struggle to really figure out how to

sort of rebrand the spa and not alienate the current customers.

And at the same time appeal to the younger demographic that

we were trying to capture coming in here,

I kind of tried to tailor our motto for the business

around it.

It was elegant to of a legacy with a contemporary twist

so that the people that were already here still felt like

they had a place and we're going to be treated the

same way and that things weren't going to change for them

so that they would remain loyal.

But so that the new clients we were trying to attract

also felt like there was something new to offer for them

that we were going to bring in some new services and

some fresh faces and simple things like even just a new

look and remodel of the actual physical building in order to

change that perception a little bit,

but it's taken a long time.

It's been a really tricky process And we have a fine

line because you want to,

for both employees and customers,

you want to have the good of the past,

but also pave the way for the future and try and

balance both of those at the same time.

Were there any other challenges with that transition that you could

chat with us about in terms of a specific issue and

how you overcame maybe a certain customer that was having concerns

or a certain situation,

or maybe a certain section in the salon?

I think one of the big things was as the market

of spas and salons were changing.

There's been a lot of nail specific shops that have popped

up around recently where there's just,

you know,

a little store and all they do is manicures and pedicures

and, and nail services.

And while that's one component of our business,

it's not the whole thing.

And, and we were trying to find a way to really

feel that piece of the business up again,

and find a way to compete with the meal specific shops

with still being good neighbors and good members of the business

community with those shops around us.

So that was one very specific challenge and it focused a

lot around pricing and around being competitive with that,

but also trying to keep us with the image of being

higher end and being luxury and still being cost-effective.

So that was one really specific challenge coupling together,

all of those things.

Can we,

can we charge the rates that are in the market right

now for the services?

Can I pay the technicians?

What I feel they should be paid?

Can we get the materials we need to add in cost

and still at the end of the day,

find a little profit in that.

So that was one really tricky piece of it.

And you've also done some creative things with your downstairs space.

We'd have,

we're trying to find a use for a large room that

I don't know if it ever had any specific purpose at

one point,

but it had to have mirrors on the walls.

And it was too big to be a treatment room,

a little too small to be a party room.

We ended up finding a great yoga instructor who teaches private

and small group classes.

And it seemed like a great fit to sort of add

an inner and outer beauty portion of our business.

And so that was a great little add on,

in a little new,

again, another new little twist to our business that was appealing

to a new demographic,

Really interesting,

because then you had this space and you've retrofitted the service

into the space.

And then also saw how that it could also merge then

the whole umbrella of a salon and spa interesting approach also

for our listeners to consider in terms of their workspace,

especially if they're in a retail situation,

you know,

what other kinds of things,

a little bit outside the box,

could you be using some of your space for,

to bring in some added revenue?

Absolutely. And it's turned out to be very mutually beneficial for

both our yoga instructor and for us because regardless of their

interest in either end of the services,

they're walking through the space and they're meeting our people and

we're meeting her people and,

you know,

naturally we end up helping each other,

grow those business,

a very Creative solution to,

I have to say,

Danny, can you share with us some type of a promotion

or an event that you've done this past year,

that's really made a difference like it's brought in new customers

or it's increased sales or somehow helped catapult the sales of

your services?

Sure, Absolutely.

One thing I always feel is a great way to build

business, especially when you've done a remodel on a space.

And you're trying to change perception of a place that maybe

area customers and Highland park and the in the north shore

area is very locally focused.

So a lot of these people had been in Olga's,

but hadn't been a pretend or 15 or 20 years.

And so how do we re re-introduce them?

So one of the big things that I focused on was

doing events and trying to get people,

just get them back in the door and let them see

how it's changed and let them feel how it's changed.

So we did a lot of partner events with other local

businesses. We did girls' night out.

We spent a lot of time really promoting that on our

website and prove some other digital media that,

you know,

if you wanna play on a little girl's night out or

a shower or something like that with girlfriends,

we're the place to call.

And we've been very successful with it.

We've had some really great groups.

We've had some corporate groups come in,

we've had some groups of girlfriends.

We've had bridal showers,

we've had a baby shower and it's really worked out very

nicely to get people in the door that might not have

otherwise walked in.

And it's almost always resulted in bookings of services from the

people that came in for the events.

We try to also always offer some kind of a booking

incentive for the guests of the events.

So for example,

if we had a group of girls coming in for a

little Vino and pampering night,

offer them 10% off any service that they booked that night

of the event.

So then it gives them an extra little reason to,

to, to become a customer and try us out further.

So that's really worked out well.

And it's a great way to open the doors and get

the word out and show people how it's Changed these events.

Are they always then after hours or before hours or when

you're closed,

it's not during regular service this time We've actually done both.

Typically they are after hours or on days that we're not

open. However,

we we've done a couple that have taken place,

right? We did,

we did a lunch just a couple of weeks ago,

the group of interns that were working for a marketing firm

and their boss wanted to treat them.

So we had a little lunch manicure party for them.

How nice is that?

Yeah, they loved that.

Well, yes.

So you've talked a little bit as you started,

you know,

rebranding all goes,

you've talked about how you needed to make sure to retain

existing customers and some of the services and the types of

things that you had to do during your transition,

you know,

as you were establishing into air quotes,

the new Olga's,

what other things are you looking at doing moving forward in

terms of the customer service and to make your customers feel

unique and value?

There's a couple components to that.

One of them is we really strive and focus to find

out what's important to each customer.

It's just not always the same and finding that out as

early on as possible so that we can sort of tailor

how we cater to them based on their needs.

I think that makes people feel like VIP.

So if we can focus what we're giving to them or

what we're suggesting to them to meet specifically what they,

examples might be clients that have been coming for a really

long time and that are loyal already.

We want to sort of say,

okay, we're not just going to always give the bonuses and

the rewards to those first time clients who those people walking

in the door for the very first time,

but we want to give you guys a little something too.

So we created a great loyalty program.

That's very simple to use and doesn't require them to carry

around a card or anything.

We do all the tracking and all they have to do

is punch their phone number into a kiosk when they arrive

for their appointment.

And so every third visit those clients get some kind of

little reward and it changes periodically and they seem to really

appreciate that and really like that.

So that,

that was sort of a focus for our already established,

already loyal customers with our new clients that are coming in

and that we're finding are satisfied with our services and leaving

happy. We created a new referral program for them to try

and get them to tell their friends,

of course,

about us,

by giving them credits for each client that they refer.

So I think the big piece of it is just focusing

on what,

what does each client want?

What's their value.

And if it's just that they want to be left alone

and read their book,

look at how to cure them.

So be it,

that's what we do,

but it's really just about finding out that,

that little thing that makes them happy and making sure that

we're catering exactly to what they want specifically.

So do you have like a file on each customer or

how does it work?

How does that information get retained over time?

Definitely carefully track everything and not,

not to sound big Brother-y,

but if there's a note made that James Smith's likes,

always likes a couple of black tea,

then that goes in her notes and it pops up every

time she comes in the door.

So when we check her in for a service,

our front desk coordinators,

as well as our technicians have that little visual reminder and

hopefully one between the two of them or someone else that

has got a moment,

we have that hot black tea for Jane Smith.

Every time she walks in the door and she no longer

has to ask for it,

if it means that another client always likes extra heat on

the table for their massage,

we take a moment to make sure that note goes in

so that regardless of which therapist they see,

we know that we've turned that table heater up to high.

And that that guest is going to come in and be

comfortable immediately again,

without having to say anything to us.

So we really try to make sure that we're capturing every

little detail.

So everyone feels like they're really cared for.

That's fabulous.

Now, is that a software package that's exclusive to your industry

or just a program that you use on the computer?

I mean,

it's an it program,

a POS system that has some CRM capabilities and does a

lot of reporting and accounting as well,

but it's something anyone can purchase.

It's called millennium.

It's a great system.

And the 14 years I've worked in this industry,

it's probably one of the best I've seen.

And I've seen a lot of them.

And essentially they all have the same core function for scheduling

and for point of sale and all that.

But this one is really robust with reporting.

You can get any piece of information you could ever possibly

want. It does allow you to track a lot of information.

Thank you for sharing that with us.

Sure. Okay.

We're going to roll right now into our reflection section.

This is a look at you and what's helped you be

successful along the way,

Danny, what would one natural trait of yours be that has

helped you to succeed For me?

It's, it's mostly that I have a genuine love of meeting

new people and getting to know new people and also to

learn from them.

I think this bodes well for both the customer service end

of my job,

as well as the manager on my job,

I get that both from technicians and from clients.

I love to get to know my staff and my technicians

and get to know their personalities.

And regardless of their level of experience versus my level of

experience, there's always something I can learn from each piece.

Each person,

they all have a little unique,

something to offer.

And ultimately that's a great game for me,

no matter what.

And I love to find out what motivates each technician that

I work with and what makes them happy.

And that translates the same way into the customers.

I love to get to know them and their lives and

their families and learn from them.

What's going to make them happy customer because ultimately that makes

me a better business owner.

It's definitely a business where you need personality and we've all

been in situations where someone tries,

but it just doesn't come naturally.

You know,

they're saying hello,

or they're chatting with you,

but they really don't take interest or they're just chatting because

they're supposed to,

but it's really not genuine.

And I know from you,

I mean,

we can just hear it in your voice right now,

how genuine that interest really is.

What tool do you use regularly to keep productive or to

help create balance in your,

I am a big believer in,

they sort of go together a calendar and a weekly business

plan. What do you use for your calendar?

I just use Google or you just use a basic Google

calendar. It's nothing fancy.

I like it because I can color code it.

And so I can,

I can keep track of the who's and the what's in

my life by color Have like a calendar for business and

then calendar personal and your family,

that type of thing.

I don't,

it's all in one big thing,

but that's,

that's where the colors come in.

So it's related to my son.

It's yellow,

it's rated related to my husband.

It's green,

if it's work-related it's purple.

And so I know,

you know,

just from the colors of everything,

that what the subject is so to speak,

and I'm a fan of the weekly business plan.

And what I mean by that is really a very simple

task, but just at the beginning of each week,

I'd put together sort of a,

maybe three to four big objectives that I want to accomplish

in the course of the week.

By big,

I don't mean change the world kind of big,

but just objectives that are going to take maybe more than

two to three tasks to complete with those objectives.

I break down into tasks and then I take the tasks

and put those over the course of the week.

So you seriously do that.

You seriously write all that.

Every, I seriously do that every week.

Wow. That is impressive.

While it sounds complicated,

it becomes easier over time.

And it really helps me to stay focused on what I

really need to get done and not to say that there

aren't weeks that go by,

that they don't get everything done.

I don't,

but at least I can then take the four tasks that

I didn't get done.

And I can say,

okay, those need to go to Monday.

The next week.

It helps keep me accountable to myself,

I suppose.

So it's something a boss,

former supervisor of mine taught me in my very,

very first job.

And it stuck with me.

There was,

I believe it was a Harvard study done years ago,

and I don't have all the details,

but the just is that they took a couple of graduating

classes and had one of the classes write down what specifically

their goals were for the future.

And then another class,

they didn't do that for,

and then they tracked them like 20 years later,

they went back to check up on everybody.

And the ones who had written down their goals were far

more successful than the others.

And it's incredible because they all have high quality education,

but they were contributing it to specifically writing things down.

You don't stay.

I think,

I think it has to do with exactly what you're saying.

Danny, staying focused,

keeping on track then throughout the whole week.

Because even if you don't get every single task done under

one of your objectives,

you don't lose it because it just goes on then to

the next one.

Right. Right.

Yeah. So yeah,

that's a good,

it's worked well for me.

Sure. Sounds like it has.

What book have you read lately that you think that our

listeners could find value?

I read recently a whole lot of non-fiction historical stuff,

which is probably irrelevant,

but not too terribly long ago.

I read a Malcolm Gladwell book called the outliers,

which was,

I think I read it after the hype a little bit,

but I know my husband had read it and he,

he really liked it and enjoyed it.

So I did go ahead and read it.

And I feel like while it's not necessarily a business book

or business self-help related kind of situation,

it is it unique way to challenge us,

to see other or perhaps not so obvious opportunities for success,

whether it's in ourselves or in others,

the book itself focuses on what the other reasons are that

people are successful beyond obvious things like maybe being really smart

or maybe being really ambitious.

So those are obvious sort of reasons for success,

but what are other things that factored in?

What are the other variables that factored in that maybe helped

make one person that graduated from Harvard successful versus another person

that graduated from Harvard?

I think it just,

it's just a great way to challenge us,

to kind of see things from a different perspective or a

more skewed perspective.

Interesting. It sounds like maybe there's some secrets in that book,

gift his listeners,

just as you're listening to the podcast today,

you can also listen to audio books with ease.

I've teamed up with audible for you to be able to

get an audio book just like Danny's recommending for all you

need to do is go to gift biz,

book.com and make a selection that's gift biz book.com.

Okay. We are entering into my favorite part of the interview,

and that is the dare to dream section.

Danny. I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.

It's a magical box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.

This is your dream or goal of almost unreachable Heights that

you'd wish to obtain.

Please accept this gift,

open it in our presence and tell us what's inside.

I would have the box contain the ability to time travel.

Oh, where are you going?

Where am I going?

I don't know that I'm going anywhere specific,

but certainly into the past.

And the reason I say this is very specific to my

industry with the focus on service,

because I feel as if there's so much to be learned

from how business owners treated people in the past and how

the level of service was so utterly important and profound to

them that it sort of superseded any and all other parts

of the business.

And it came from such a pure and honest place.

I think a little bit of that has been lost over

time. And I think that's a really unique way to go

back and look at how we can be great service providers,

whether it be in a retail atmosphere or in a service

atmosphere. It gives us that really unique ability to find out

how we can treat people with utmost respect and the utmost

level of service.

I've never thought about it that way,

but you're right.

I mean,

if you try and think back to,

I go,

I don't know,

I'll call it the olden days or whatever the communities were

smaller. So everybody knew everybody else.

And if you went into the main store,

you know,

people extended credit,

everybody knew everybody,

everyone knew preferences,

just like you're talking about,

you know,

with your CRM system.

And I think you're right.

We probably have lost that a little bit along the way.

Really some food for thought,

you know,

with your gift that's for sure.

Danny, how can our listeners get in touch with you or

come visit?

And if they're in the area,

The spa is located at 500 central avenue in Highland park,

Illinois. We are also very accessible online at www dot Olga's

day spa,

Highland park.com.

I have links to all of our other social media on

that website.

The phone number to the spot is 8 4 7 4

3 3 8 8 1 2.

You're welcome to give us a call as well And gift

business listeners.

As you know,

all of this information is all documented over on the show

notes page.

So if you're out walking your dog or working out or

doing something where you're not near pen and paper,

you can just go to gift biz,

unwrapped.com and you'll see Danny sh show notes page with all

the there.

Thank you so much,

Danny, for taking your time today and sharing your remarkable journey.

I really appreciate it.

And may your candle always burn bright?

Thank you too.

My pleasure.

How to work smarter while developing and growing your business.

Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your business

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by the ribbon print company,

looking for a new income source for your gift business.

Customization is more popular now than ever Grande your product from

your logo or print that happy birthday,

Jessica ribbon to add to your gift,

right at checkout,

it's almost done right in your shop,

full custody video in seconds,

checkout for rebid print company.com