The 411
With over 16 years of experience in the beauty industry, I have enjoyed a truly unique industry perspective.
In 2007 I partnered with celebrity stylist and author Dickey, along with supermodel Kara Young, to launch the Hair Rules brand, contributing my business acumen and sales skills to bring the products to market and sell the brand into top retailers including Beauty.com, HSN, Ricky’s, Target, and Ulta. In 2009 I helped to open the Hair Rules Salon in NY, furthering our brand development, education platform, and category expertise. As the business continued to grow, my role evolved into VP of Marketing and Digital where I lead the development and launch of new products, manage the e-commerce business, develop marketing and social media strategies, plan and execute online advertising programs, and retail partner promotions.
Prior to joining Hair Rules, I worked as a hair and makeup agent in New York City for 10 years, representing a broad range of accomplished artists and talented newcomers. I owned and operated my own agency, Independent NY, which I started in 2000. In 2004, I entered into a partnership with See Management, merging companies to create one of the largest hair and makeup agencies in New York City. I started the hair and makeup division at Art Department, building such trusting relationships with my artists that 100% of them joined along with me when I went out on my own.
I've worked with some of the world’s leading beauty companies including Chanel, Cover Girl, MAC Cosmetics, Estee Lauder, Revlon, Aveda, Bumble and bumble, L’Oreal and Christian Dior—as well as red carpet celebrities such as Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Scarlett Johansson. My client’s work also appeared in the fashion and beauty magazines Elle, Glamour, Vogue and Italian Vogue, Marie Claire and Numero. I collaborated extensively with fashion designers and retailers including Sephora, Bath & Body Works, H&M, Victoria’s Secret, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. I frequently called upon photographers, publicists, record companies, and management companies to build relationships with musicians, actors, celebrities and even royalty for my artists.
In 2007 I partnered with celebrity stylist and author Dickey, along with supermodel Kara Young, to launch the Hair Rules brand, contributing my business acumen and sales skills to bring the products to market and sell the brand into top retailers including Beauty.com, HSN, Ricky’s, Target, and Ulta. In 2009 I helped to open the Hair Rules Salon in NY, furthering our brand development, education platform, and category expertise. As the business continued to grow, my role evolved into VP of Marketing and Digital where I lead the development and launch of new products, manage the e-commerce business, develop marketing and social media strategies, plan and execute online advertising programs, and retail partner promotions.
Prior to joining Hair Rules, I worked as a hair and makeup agent in New York City for 10 years, representing a broad range of accomplished artists and talented newcomers. I owned and operated my own agency, Independent NY, which I started in 2000. In 2004, I entered into a partnership with See Management, merging companies to create one of the largest hair and makeup agencies in New York City. I started the hair and makeup division at Art Department, building such trusting relationships with my artists that 100% of them joined along with me when I went out on my own.
I've worked with some of the world’s leading beauty companies including Chanel, Cover Girl, MAC Cosmetics, Estee Lauder, Revlon, Aveda, Bumble and bumble, L’Oreal and Christian Dior—as well as red carpet celebrities such as Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Scarlett Johansson. My client’s work also appeared in the fashion and beauty magazines Elle, Glamour, Vogue and Italian Vogue, Marie Claire and Numero. I collaborated extensively with fashion designers and retailers including Sephora, Bath & Body Works, H&M, Victoria’s Secret, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. I frequently called upon photographers, publicists, record companies, and management companies to build relationships with musicians, actors, celebrities and even royalty for my artists.
Specialties
Leadership • Client Management • Business Development • Project Management • Social Media Strategy & Execution • Marketing • E-Commerce • Sales Generation • Sales Strategy Development • Online Advertising • P&L Management, Sales Forecasting & Cash Flow Analysis • SKU & Brand Forecasting • Client Relationships • Contract Negotiations • Content Creation • Technical proficiency including (but not limited to) Netsuite CRM; Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) & Apple Business Tools (Pages, Numbers & Keynote), Google - Apps, Adwords & Analytics, Google+, Basecamp, Capsule CRM; Facebook - ads and page management ; WordPress, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, TweetDeck, Twitter, HootSuite, Wildfire and AdRoll
Results.
Throughout my career, sales and marketing have been entwined. A good sales person must understand how to market to the end consumer, be it the client you are pitching to or the person you are hoping to buy your product.
I have continually produced $1m+ results for the businesses I have both run and been employed by. These numbers represent transactions ranging from small (an artist working for a magazine for $150/day) to large (selling through a product line to multi-chain retailers for 6 figure opening P.O.s).
I've prepared and delivered presentations to Target, Walgreens, HSN, Ulta, Sephora France, Beauty.com, and Ricky's. These presentations are prepared with a focus on how to bring products to market and sell them through in these environments.
Regardless of what your price point is, you must be able to prepare compelling presentations tailored to your audience, be an active listener, and a trust-worthy partner.
I have continually produced $1m+ results for the businesses I have both run and been employed by. These numbers represent transactions ranging from small (an artist working for a magazine for $150/day) to large (selling through a product line to multi-chain retailers for 6 figure opening P.O.s).
I've prepared and delivered presentations to Target, Walgreens, HSN, Ulta, Sephora France, Beauty.com, and Ricky's. These presentations are prepared with a focus on how to bring products to market and sell them through in these environments.
Regardless of what your price point is, you must be able to prepare compelling presentations tailored to your audience, be an active listener, and a trust-worthy partner.
Award Winning
WWD is the premiere retail and beauty industry publication. In 2012, Hair Rules was awarded the Newcomer of the Year Award by their Beauty Inc. publication. It was an honor to have all of our years of hard work recognized by our peers. We were thrilled to be among this prestigious group of winners which included Garnier, Pantene, Nars, Lancome, La Mer, Avon, L'Oreal, YSL, Revlon, Estee Lauder, Benefit, Ciate, and Shiseido.
Thinking Outside of the Box
I was struggling to get our brand noticed by a retailer. I paid a good bit of money at the last minute (okay - same day) to go to an industry event to get a chance to meet the head of the company face to face. Upon meeting her, I asked if she recalled seeing our product line. She confessed to me that her office had 3 closets stuffed with product submissions that had not been opened. I told her I was going to resend our products and would guarantee that she would open the package this time around.
I got back to my office and thought I really need to come up with something here. Literally thinking outside of the box led me to rethink the box. What box would any person be compelled to open? I thought of the iconic Tiffany box, perhaps I could package my samples and presentation inside of one. But I would still need to ship it, which would hide the box, leading me back to just another brown box. Light bulb moment! I went to the Tiffany store on 5th Ave. and bought a big crystal bowl for $100, which the staff were kind enough to let me pack with my samples and brand deck. I had it shipped straight from the store to the retailers offices, the only return address being the Tiffany store. Once it arrived at the office, her husband brought it home to open. It was opened in their kitchen, with all of the kids around excited by our colorful packaging. Long story short - we were in store for a test launch 6 weeks later!
I told this story to MSNBC Small Business, they liked it so much they included it in their book!
I got back to my office and thought I really need to come up with something here. Literally thinking outside of the box led me to rethink the box. What box would any person be compelled to open? I thought of the iconic Tiffany box, perhaps I could package my samples and presentation inside of one. But I would still need to ship it, which would hide the box, leading me back to just another brown box. Light bulb moment! I went to the Tiffany store on 5th Ave. and bought a big crystal bowl for $100, which the staff were kind enough to let me pack with my samples and brand deck. I had it shipped straight from the store to the retailers offices, the only return address being the Tiffany store. Once it arrived at the office, her husband brought it home to open. It was opened in their kitchen, with all of the kids around excited by our colorful packaging. Long story short - we were in store for a test launch 6 weeks later!
I told this story to MSNBC Small Business, they liked it so much they included it in their book!
Let's Give Them Something to Talk About
It's not often that I look back at how much our team at Hair Rules has accomplished in so little time. Based on our story and ability to form relationships with people we generated a huge amount of media coverage for our start up brand. I've put together some of our best placements in a deck you can view here.
Rock Stars Wanted
It seems as if everyone is looking for a "rock star" to join their team. But can you really staff a successful business by hiring nothing but rock stars?
Of course if you remember the best concerts you've been to, it comes down to the performance. But what about all of the elements that made the show a success? Think of all of the unsung heroes that made it appear effortless - the roadies, sound engineers, lighting designers, choreographers, glam squad, pr, management, etc.
Look at the credits for a film, it may have 1 or 2 "stars" in the acting credits, but it took an entire crew to bring the movie to the theater. Yes, you need star quality to fill the seats and recoup your investment, but you won't have an end product without the rest of the team.
It takes a well oiled machine to make a show a success, the same is true for a business. You need a few good rock stars front and center, but what you really need more than anything is an amazing team.
Of course if you remember the best concerts you've been to, it comes down to the performance. But what about all of the elements that made the show a success? Think of all of the unsung heroes that made it appear effortless - the roadies, sound engineers, lighting designers, choreographers, glam squad, pr, management, etc.
Look at the credits for a film, it may have 1 or 2 "stars" in the acting credits, but it took an entire crew to bring the movie to the theater. Yes, you need star quality to fill the seats and recoup your investment, but you won't have an end product without the rest of the team.
It takes a well oiled machine to make a show a success, the same is true for a business. You need a few good rock stars front and center, but what you really need more than anything is an amazing team.
