Be part of the process.
A famous quote by Henry Ford states:
Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice.
Somehow I don’t think Mr. Ford was suggesting that you go out and cut down a tree (especially if your house doesn’t even have a fireplace). I also don’t think he was suggesting that we do everything ourselves (at-home appendectomies are probably not a great idea). What I believe he was saying is that being an integral part of a process, using your innate creativity coupled with learned skills, will help you achieve the results you envision.
A friend of mine, John Lamia, is part-owner (along with his brother, Charles) of a high-end hair salon and day spa in Grosse Pointe Woods. Services include a wide range of hair and nail items, as well as various skin and body care techniques and procedures. The salon employs over 20 people, and is frequently booked to near capacity.
John’s background is anything but typical for this business. He started out as a machinist, became a draftsman, learned welding and various types of construction. He got into the hair business when another brother convinced him that it offered more long-term security than what he was then doing. He soon discovered that he not only liked it, but was really good at it.
They bought their current building several years ago, and had a vision of how a full-service salon/spa should function, as well as the kind of visual image they wanted to portray. Like most businesses, they also had a budget. Salon equipment and fixtures were expensive, especially at the level they envisioned, and the somewhat limited choices often required compromise – something they wanted to minimize.
In their quest for “a better mousetrap,” they employed some of their own skills to get what they envisioned. For example, traditional sinks and chairs used for shampooing weren’t exactly what they wanted, either aesthetically or functionally. Out of necessity, their attitude became: “if you can’t find it, build it.”
For the shampoo area, they made a prototype chair out of wood, and had people of all sizes sit/lay on it to check functionality. After several adjustments, they manufactured three permanent custom units. Instead of purchasing individual sinks, John designed a single unit that ran the length of the working area, servicing all the chairs simultaneously. He needed to farm out some of the unique metal-bending functions, but welding, finishing and installation was done in-house.
The mirrors at each of the workstations were purchased as individual units, and affixed to frames on wheels that they custom built. The units also have storage areas included behind the mirrors, minimizing clutter while taking advantage of unused open space. Power cords are retractable, and hung from the ceiling. The waiting area features custom couches, concrete table and a fireplace – all designed and fabricated by the brothers.
Not everything was able to be done in-house. Electrical, HVAC and plumbing was subcontracted, along with other specific items and procedures requiring specialty craftsmanship. In the end, the net result reflected their vision of what the facility should look like, and how it should function. By combining creativity, hard work and management skills, they got what they wanted and stayed within budget.
As I said in last week’s blog, quality does not just mean “expensive.”
