Is your dream to become the best-known stylist in your town? You may be surprised to learn iconic celebrity stylist Garren wasn’t always at the head of NYC’s beauty pack; he actually started his career in far-off Niagara Falls! If you’ve always dreamed of being the star in your city, start with the basics. Here are three ways you can get on the path to superstardom:

Size Up Your Clients: Check out new clients that walk through the door: her shoes, her overall posture, etc. You can peg her immediately and get a clear sense of how far you can go with her hair.

Get Involved: If your salon is departmentalized, you still need to be present for every part of your client’s visit—cut, color, nails, makeup, everything! Clients appreciate your interest in all of their beauty needs.

Dress to Impress: The dress code at Garren Salon is solid black and white. “This puts the focus squarely on the clients where it belongs,” says Garren, “not on the people working here.” Want more advice from Garren and celebrity stylist Ken Paves on how to become a star? Register for their FREE Webinar Monday, May 21st!

Hellen Ward, Director of the “Royal Wedding Salon” Richard Ward Salon & Spa, sure knows how to treat her clients like royalty! But when it comes to offering incentives, she uses her keen business sense to decide which clients reap the rewards. Her sage advice: Never discount services for new customers. “My belief is that deals must only be for established and previously-loyal clients only, avoiding the “deal chasers.” If you want do some sort of incentive, try adding value rather than cutting prices. “For instance, offer a promotion where your client can receive a personalized color gloss to refresh her color at home (continuing a home-care, all-encompassing customer service ethos) when you book a color treatment. Promotions like that are proven to be more effective than reducing prices and decreasing perceived value,” says Hellen. Remember, adding value to your service menu is far less damaging to any salon brand long-term. The pros at Richard Ward salon know that good customers rarely mind missing out on such an offer, but from experience, cutting prices is a slippery slope to mediocrity and a damaging route which is almost impossible to recover from. Want to learn more from Hellen on becoming a star salon manager? Register for her webinar—Wednesday May 30!

Get with the times and use technology to your advantage! Matrix Artistic Director Patrick McIvor says that at McIvor Color Studio, team members use their iPhones or the computers at their stations to show clients up-to-date celebrity images for examples of great hair cuts and color. “We like to show our guests the most current images possible. We can easily jump on the internet to show them celeb pics from an event that happened just the night before, and you can’t get more recent than that!” he says. Better yet, you can use your own Facebook page to promote yourself. Create a photo album of your client-friendly cut, color and makeover images to browse through with your client when strategizing on a new look. Plus, every time you update the photo album, all of your Facebook friends will see it—and in many cases, friends of their friends will see it too, making it free advertising for your gorgeous work! Be sure to caption each photo with your salon contact info and the days and times you work so any potential clients will know exactly how to get in your chair. Want to learn more social media tips from Patrick? Register for the FREE Build Your Clientele With Facebook Webinar Monday, April 30th!

When it comes to cutting curly hair, Sam Villa, The 2012 Stylist Choice Awards Platform Artist of The Year, has a wealth of tips and tricks to make it an easy task. If you’re looking for a quick way to create natural deconstruction and minimize the texture in your cut, try zig-zag sections! To create a horizontal zig-zag section, comb the hair back by placing your comb vertically near the front of the face. Working with the wide teeth, keep the teeth flush against the head while moving the comb down toward the back. Once you’ve gone from front to back in one motion, take your finger and slice right where you want the section. Comb the section up and voilà – a perfect zig-zag pattern! For a vertical zig-zag, follow suit, but start in the opposite direction. Place your comb horizontally at the top of the head and simply move side to side down the scalp, once again never allowing the teeth to leave the head. Take your finger, pull up the section and you’re on your way to cutting gorgeous curls. Want to learn more curly cutting tips from Sam? Register for the FREE Natural Curls Webinar Tuesday, April 24th!

The hottest color trend for spring, according to Richy Kandasamy, TIGI Academy NYC Technical Director, is pastel! Richy says, “Think of yourself as a watercolor artist working with diluted pastels and washed, muted tones.” Richy uses a color blocking technique that adds the perfect amount of depth and movement to any long, layered style. Start by taking a section of any geometric shape through the crown area of the haircut. With the remaining hair underneath, apply any TIGI Copyright Colour Gloss and leave the natural haircolor on the roots only. Inside your geometric shape, apply the gloss from roots to ends—you can also leave it natural if you like the color as is. Through the midlengths in the bottom section, take random, thick sections and, using a slicing technique, alternate the following formulas: TIGI Copyright Colour lift 100\0 + TIGI Coyright Colour mixmaster \44 + TIGI Copyright Colour Activator 40-volume 12%. Leave some natural hair in-between your thick slices of pastel; this will create more movement and personality. Want to learn more color techniques from Richy? Register for the FREE TIGI Colour Webinar Tuesday, April 16th!

The trick to creating show-stopping ombré haircolor? A natural blend of color without harsh lines of demarcation. TIGI Academy Technical Director Richy Kandasamy offers up some easy tips to keep ombrés blending beautifully with his re-creation of starlet Lake Bell’s flawless blonde locks. To create Lake’s swimmingly gorgeous color, you’ll use two color formulas and blend them on each slice of hair: Formula A: TIGI Colour Ultra Lift Iridescent Ash Blonde 100/27 + 40-volume TIGI Colour Activator and Formula B: TIGI Colour Ultra Lift Beige Blonde 100/73 + 30-volume TIGI Colour Activator. Keep the base color natural and apply Formula B to midlengths and Formula A to ends, working in very thin slices. To avoid demarcation, Richy uses two clever tricks. First, apply conditioner from the root to about ¾ of the hair length, then apply color on the rest of the slice. He suggests “smudging” the colors together with your brush to create soft, blended color without the solid lines. One more tip from Richy: You can also use the same formula with different strengths of developer to create the same look. Want to learn more color techniques from Richy? Register for the FREE TIGI Colour Webinar Tuesday, April 16th!

With prom season just around the corner, your staff’s styling skills better be up to par! One look that’s on just about every prom-goers must-have list? The “sexy, loose curls” look, and the pros at Bio Ionic have a fool-proof technique for creating this sought-after style in a jiff! Begin by blow-drying hair with the Whisper Light Blow Dryer until the hair is 90 percent dry. Divide the hair into eight uniform sections and secure with styling clips. Starting at the lower neck area, dry the first section with a round brush from the new Bio: Blow Out Detachable Brush System until the styling barrel changes color from blue to white. Raise the brush to a higher elevation if more volume is desired. Wind the hair tightly around the barrel and roll close to the scalp, then detach the brush handle and lock it in place with a styling clip. Repeat in each section until the entire head is set on the detachable brush heads. Allow the barrel to change back to white, then remove. Brush the hair backwards with a Silver Classic Paddle Brush, then shake hair backwards with your fingers and push forward to build volume. Use a 1-inch StyleWinder® Styling Iron to add more definition to the curls. Want to learn more blow dry tips? Register for the FREE webinar “Learn How To Make Blow Outs Your Hottest Service” Wed April 4th!

The Stylist Choice Awards 2012 Educator of the Year, Sam Villa, knows how to give classic curls a modern “twist.” And with Sam’s advice, a few products and some trusty irons, your clients will be turning heads this prom and bridal season! Here’s how you get the look. First, section hair and spray both sides with Redken Spray Starch 15 to protect hair from heat and add hold. Use your Sam Villa TEXTUR™ iron to create impressions down the hair shaft, either overlapping down the entire shaft or randomly imprinting. Work your way around the entire head, imprinting sections as you go. Next, take small sections of the textured hair, twist it and wrap around a small marcel curling iron with the iron pointing down—make sure to tuck the ends in the spoon of the iron. Twist the iron upward, slip a pin in the curl and slip iron out. This will hold the curl in place and protect fingers from burns. Once the entire head is curled and cooled, remove the pins and rub a couple drops of Redken Glass 01 between hands to break up curls to soften the look. Want to learn more curly tips from Sam? Sign up for his “Natural Curls: Tips, Tricks and Solutions” Webinar Tues, April 10th!

Every conversation you have with a client provides an opportunity to grow your business. The key, according to updo guru Martin Parsons, is to engage your clients in worthwhile conversations that help you spot such opportunities. From introducing a new style or look, suggesting add-on services or simply expanding your reputation as a professional, having a directed focus during your time with each client can be very rewarding. “Making conversations with your clients more directed and meaningful will give you the information you need to keep them happy and to help boost business,” says Martin. “And a happy client is a loyal client!” Here are Martin’s tips on how to increase business through conversation:

· Listen for opportunities to recommend a special style service, like if your clients mentions an upcoming wedding, party or date.

· Learn about your client’s likes, dislikes, family, job and hobbies. Make sure to keep your facts straight!

· Sow the seeds by preparing a client for a recommendation you’re planning to make down the road.

Want more from Martin? Sign up for his “Latest Trends in Updo Techniques” Webinar on March 19th!

Updo and long hair guru Martin Parsons holds a wealth of knowledge in the fine art of creating flawless updos. In his first BTC webinar, he’ll reveal some of his top styling tips, like his sectioning strategy. “The larger the section, the less detail you’ll see in the final result,” Martin says. “A good rule of thumb is if you want less detail, work with 2 to 3 sections in the center/back; if you want more detail, increase the number of sections to 6 to 7. Work in smaller sections around the face to create more detail in the front. Determine your sectioning strategy during the consultation by asking the bride to elaborate on how much and what type of detail she would like to see.” For a no-fail updo, Martin always starts at the highest point of the head. He works down the center back, moving to the back and sides behind the ears, then to the front side sections and finally to the top. Don’t forget to always draw the hair away from the face, then lift it up. This ensures that the hair will be evenly distributed around the face. Want more updo lessons from Martin? Sign up for his “Enhance Your Updo Skills” webinar on March 19th!