On Sunday, June 26^th,  amongst the hustle and bustle of the ISSE2022 show floor, stood 4 beauty entrepreneurs ready to make their pitch for a shot at $10,000 to take their business dreams to the next level.

WorthUp Alliance founders Ted Gibson and Jason Backe were inspired to establish the program based on their own careers as beauty entrepreneurs. As celebrity stylists, salon owners, and product innovators, they have seen and done it all! Worth Up is uniting a coalition of change agents, dream makers and expert advisors like Ted and Jason who are committed to nurturing and empowering emerging entrepreneurs through education, business coaching, mentoring, networking and start-up capital grants.  The Dream Capital program consists of a mentorship period where finalists meet for weekly sessions with Ted, Jason and guest mentors leading up to a business pitch where the winners are determined. This season’s guest mentors were Zan Ray and Tom Collins from Global Beauty Business Academy and Jenny Strebe, founder of Aiir Professional.

At the conclusion of the mentorship season, finalists of the grant competition traveled to Long Beach to present their business proposals in person to a panel of industry heavy hitters. This season’s judges included Founders Ted Gibson and Jason Backe along with:

Matty Conrad – Barber, Educator, and Founder of Victory Brand Products

Janine Jarman – Curl Cult Founder, Hairroin Salon Owner, Educator and BCL Mentor

Nina Tulio – Salon Business Educator, Former Salon Owner, BCL Mentor and OligoPro Ambassador

Dionne Phillips – Luxury Lash Expert, Pioneer of Lash Extensions, Educator, Esthetician and Salon Owner

As each finalist made their pitch, the judges asked probing questions about the beauty pro’s plans, finances, and vision for their business while scoring against a standardized rubric. After deliberations, the Dream Capital Grants were allocated awarding $10,000 to Erika Martin-Ware, $5,000 each to Misha Mills and Michelle Robertson, and $3,000 to Ebony Smith. The finalists were awarded live on the main stage Sunday afternoon, followed by a celebratory toast hosted by Beauty Changes Lives. 

Beauty Changes Lives is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and equipping the next generation of beauty professionals by providing valuable resources, scholarships, education, and mentorship opportunities. In a time when it’s never been more important to support the industry, all proceeds raised from the Beauty Changes Lives Experience will go to changing the lives of beauty professionals. In 2021, the organization raised over $700k in scholarships, and has awarded over 700 scholarships since it’s founding. Beauty Changes Lives is shaping the future of the industry.

To learn more about Worth Up Alliance please visit https://beautychangeslives.org/worth-up-alliance/.

Meet the winners of the Spring 2022 Dream Capital Grants here: https://beautychangeslives.org/dream-capital/

On Monday, June 27, 2022 at Medinah Country Club, Andis was a featured hole partner at the outing where funds benefitted Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.  In just one day, over $1.2 million was raised and will go directly to the hospital.

As well as raising an incredible amount for charity, celebrities in attendance received Andis products including: the At Home inCRED Clipper, inEDGE Trimmer, reSURGE professional shaver, and the inLINER Corded Trimmer. 

Celebrity guests included: Kerry Wood, John Brotherton, Roger Clemens, Jim McMahon, Fred McGriff, Kenny Lofton, Kevin Butler, James “Big Cat” Williams, Brian McCaskey, Dan Pasqua, among many others. 

In 1992, Dean Wada, founder and CEO of JATAI, the exclusive distributor of the Feather brand in the US and Canada, approached the Feather team in Japan with an idea for a new haircutting razor that used guarded, replaceable blades. That new tool, now known industry-wide as the Feather Styling Razor, opened a door to a whole new creative space for stylists, allowing them to razor cut without fear of cutting themselves or their clients. This summer, JATAI is celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the Feather Styling Razor with a new influencer driven social media campaign. 

Safety was the most important factor in the design of the razor. Featuring a non-folding razor handle for ease of use and to prevent accidental cuts from an exposed blade, the Feather Styling Razor can be held like a paintbrush, becoming an extension to the hand and making it easier for stylists to use the razor more creatively. Unlike folding haircutting razors, no special training is needed with the Feather Styling Razor which also includes a blade tray and disposal case that allows stylists to insert and dispose blades without having to touch them.  

When reflecting on the anniversary, Wada said, “Over the last 30 years, the success of our company and the Feather brand has been deeply rooted not only in our business strategy, but in the creativity of the hair professionals. It was our intention to design a safe haircutting tool for them that allowed them to freely create and showcase their artistry and skill. We are thrilled that all these years later, the Feather Styling Razor is still the number one haircutting razor on the market.”  

Since its debut in 1992, the Feather Styling Razor has forever changed the way hair professionals cut hair, allowing for unique and fun styles that can only be achieved by a razor. JATAI will be honoring that endless creativity with its summer campaign which will feature a host of stylist-led content including a collection of anniversary-themed videos in the JATAI Academy, JATAI’s free online education platform. The new Education CONNECT video tutorials will showcase modern day takes on iconic hairstyles from the past three decades including 1990s grunge-inspired French bob inspired by Winona Ryder and Drew Barrymore’s iconic ‘90s looks; a 2000s-inspired pixie made famous by Halle Berry; an ode to the sexy, long layered cut of the 2010s; and one of today’s hottest styles, the shullet. Filmed with Los Angeles-based stylists Janine Jarman (@janinejarman), Mikey Teeze (@mikey_teeze), Rae Steele (@raeikole) and Charli Boell (@shrunknheads), respectively, each video will highlight the versatility of the Feather Styling Razor, showing a complete haircut done using only the razor. 

In addition to the education-focused content, JATAI will also collaborate with influential razor-cut specialists for a social media campaign across Instagram and TikTok. These stylists, who know and love the Feather Styling Razor, will be sharing tutorials, finished looks and their own personal tips and tricks using the razor. JATAI will also be hosting giveaways and special offers on the razor handle and Styling Razor Blades exclusively on JATAI.net. 

JATAI’s Feather Styling Razor 30^th anniversary campaign launches July 5, 2022 on JATAI.net and @jataifeather. 

DESIGNED TO UPSELL AND INCREASE REVENUE FOR HAIR AND BEAUTY PROFESSIONALS 

Booksy, the leader in booking and business technology for the beauty industry, has just launched its new Add-ons feature to its award-winning app. This gives service providers yet another way to grow their businesses, and their revenues. During the booking process, the new Booksy Add-ons feature allows providers to showcase additional options to their customers. This helps them upsell services, increase revenue, and delivers added value to end customers.  

What are Add-ons? Add-ons are booked alongside an existing service to create a more unique experience. Examples include adding nail art or gel polish to a manicure, using premium products during a shampoo, using hot stones during a massage. Top sectors that use Add-ons to increase their overall profits are barbers, hair, and nails. Like many Booksy features, Add-ons are entirely customizable by the beauty professional and/or salon, barbershop, nail spa or other.  

As of today, more than 6,000 Booksy providers are using Add-ons to expand and upsell their service offerings. And it’s working. Booksy data shows, for example, all Providers using the Add-ons feature today, the revenue from Add-ons makes up about 20% of total Service value while revenue from existing Services makes up the other 80%. Since Add-ons became available to Booksy Providers and clients, the weekly average appointment value increased by over 70%.  

Currently, 56% of appointments booked with Add-ons are bookings made on the Boosky for Customers App – the easy-to-use consumer app that allows for simple booking for any beauty service. This indicates that customers are loving the newest feature too and are more likely to enhance their services when presented with a list of Add-ons upon booking. 

“I am so happy with the new Add-ons feature and my business has significantly grown since I started using it. I specialize in body waxing and in the past my clients would normally book one service through Booksy. I have experienced a huge increase with people booking additional services regularly and my revenue has absolutely increased as a result. People simply didn’t know all the options available to them and now those options and Add-ons are highlighted at the time of booking. The Add-ons feature has truly simplified the upsell process, saved me time, and benefited my business in so many ways. I highly recommend it,” commented Jess Oehler, owner of Ritual Wax Studio in San Antonio, TX. 

Get discovered and get booked using Booksy. Download the Booksy Biz mobile app for free or visit Booksy.com/biz to learn more. 

The industry is gearing up for one of the most anticipated shows on the east coast, BarberCon NYC, being held at East Rutherford, NJ on July 17, 2022.

BarberEVO is the proud media partner for BarberCon and tickets are now available for this not to be missed event in the barbering calendar. Be quick, it is selling out fast!

Barbercon is the premier global festival of the barbering community.  Launched in 2016 by Lee Resnick as the live networking event for Barbershopconnect, the first social site exclusively for barbers, Barbercon brings together thousands of high-profile and amateur barbers, cosmetologists, and brands from around the world. 2020 will be the biggest and most dynamic Barbercon to date, including three stages for live hair tutorials and product demonstrations, Barber Battle, an even larger indoor/outdoor Barbercon Marketplace, intimate education classes and workshops, an outdoor festival area, the prestigious Barbercon Awards, and so much more.

New educators are being added to the list to help you elevate your career to the next level by tuning into those in the know.

For more details: go to www.barbercon.com/nyc/home

Booksy, the leader in booking and business technology for the beauty industry, congratulates Ivan Zoot, its Brand Ambassador, on being honored with the Barber Lifetime Achievement Award at the Barber Grammy’s held at the Connecticut Barber Expo in May. 

In addition to working with Booksy, Zoot is President and CEO of Zootcuts, as well as a trainer, coach, mentor, and industry educator with 30+ years of experience. He is also the winner of three Guinness World haircutting records including World’s Fastest Haircut, Most Haircuts in One Hour, and Most Haircuts in 24 Hours. Zoot is also the author of 13 books including the “ClipperGuy Says” series, Be a $100,000 Haircutter and 100X100, 100 New Haircut Clients in 100 Days. Zoots has been an Ambassador for Boosky since 2016.  

“On behalf of the entire Booksy team, we congratulate and celebrate Ivan’s award and many accomplishments. He has been instrumental, through his passion and talent, in helping share our mission and educating savvy beauty pros about our App.  His skills as a barber, educator and leader allow him to engage with all levels of beauty professionals, and especially with the barber community. Well done and well-deserved on this award, Ivan!” commented Dee Hadley, Head of Marketing, Booksy.  

Book anytime, from anywhere, 24/7 with Booksy. Download the Booksy App for free, or visit Booksy.com.

Booksy, the leader in booking and business technology for the beauty industry, is delighted to announce that renowned international hairstylist, influencer and educator, Philip Wolf has joined as Brand Ambassador.

For over 25 years, Wolf has built an incredible career in the beauty industry thanks to his unique style and unconventional flair. With over 750,000 followers on Instagram alone, this LA-based stylist is one of the most sought-after names in professional beauty. Wolff has a serious passion for cutting hair and helping other hair artists develop, design and define their own unique style. His enthusiasm for the work he does shines bright and inspires his followers from all over the world.  

To kick off his partnership with Booksy, Philip Wolf will be making his debut for Booksy at the Premiere Orlando Beauty Show, June 5-6^th. He will be featured on the mainstage with industry veteran, Alfredo Lewis, and showcasing his unique cuts while educating the crowd about Booksy. 

“We are delighted to have Philip Wolf join the Booksy team and help share our mission to the professional beauty community. His skills as a hair artist, educator and businessperson are exceptional and I know our community will benefit significantly with him on board! His ability to connect with people around the world through social media and through education will help propel our growth in the years to come!” commented Dee Hadley, Head of Marketing, Booksy. “With the help of Philip, Booksy plans to take education to the next level!” 

Book anytime, from anywhere, 24/7 with Booksy. Download the Booksy App for free, or visit Booksy.com 

Build your network at the Sacramento Barbers Club Industry Mixer. Barbers, stylists, aestheticians, nail techs, braiders, make-up artists are invited to come party with the industry on June 4^th.  

It’s a free event, sponsored by The Lifestyle Barber and Beauty Supply so grab your party hat and head to Union Nightclub, 112 Pacific St, Roseville CA 95678. 

You can join the Sacramento Barbers club here.

For more details follow the club at @sacramentobarbersclub.

Why not share the love? Jay @realjaythebarber, founder and CEO of EZ-Blade Shaving Products takes his clippers to a NY park and cuts a stranger’s hair while striking up a great conversation with Lupmon. Exactly what barbers are doing all over the nation every day. Good work Jay! 

Booksy – the beauty industry’s leading booking and business app – has announced Jose Schnekenburger as its new Senior Creative Marketing Manager for the company! Schnekenburger will be responsible for the ideation and creation of the brand’s campaigns across market sectors and the overall vision for the brand look, feel, and tone for the U.S. market. With his extensive wealth of knowledge and experience, Jose hopes to help build the Booksy brand for those seeking a new, innovative way of growing their business and making it easier for clients to find them. 

As a licensed cosmetology educator and barber for the past 20 years, Schnekenburger hopes to bring the Booksy brand to the next level with his background and vision. Following his passion in the beauty and barber industry with a visionary standpoint for brands, he’s held roles in nearly every facet – from education and sales, to brand development and creative direction. Schnekenburger previously worked with Pivot Point International, Schwarzkopf, his own professional brand Lock & Loaded Men’s Grooming, and his latest project of creative director/curator for @unitedbyshorthair.  

Booksy is the leading scheduling and business app for the beauty industry that is designed to make lives simpler and much more efficient. The cloud-based app easily connects beauty industry service providers with customers. Booksy not only allows for convenient 24/7 online appointment booking for clients but is also a comprehensive business management tool for beauty businesses of all sizes.  

“I, and the entire Booksy team, is delighted to have Jose as our new Senior Creative Marketing Manager. He has been an important and pro-active member of the Booksy marketing team. I look forward to his ongoing contributions in his new role as the company continues to expand our brand presence within the professional beauty industry and with consumers,” commented Dee Hadley, Head of Marketing Booksy U.S.  

Download the Booksy App for free, or visit Booksy.com