Educator Spotlight: Maureen Fox-Meyer

Maureen Fox-Meyer

Changing Salons For The Better

As our tribe of passionate Holistic Hair Stylists continues to grow, we want you to get to know our educators! These are the leaders helping us pioneer the holistic hair revolution beyond the chair. As Educators, they help their fellow hair stylists gain knowledge and inspiration by teaching in-salon and online classes.

In the spotlight this month is Maureen Fox-Meyer. She owns The Change, an organic salon in Sartell, Minnesota.

What got you into the world of using healthier, holistic beauty products?

My journey into healthier products stems from my Dad passing away from pancreatic cancer. I was kind of lost and trying to find my path in life at that time. I got a Bachelor’s degree in vocal music and a minor in Psychology, but didn’t want to do music as my career anymore. So I had been cutting and coloring all my family and friend’s hair simply because I really enjoyed doing it as a hobby and seemed to have a knack for it. When my Dad got diagnosed, it really put things into perspective and I realized that the passionate career I was seeking was right there in front of me and all I needed to to was get my degree and get started.

Going through the process of my Dad’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, I started to realize just how important the things we use in and on our bodies really are. We did many natural treatments and dietary changes that really helped improved his quality of life and prolonged his time here with us. It wasn’t a fun or easy time in my life, but without it I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

I made a promise to myself before I even started beauty school that my goal was to start the most natural and non-toxic salon that I possibly could. At the time, I didn’t know if products like Oway even existed, but I was determined to find the best thing out there.

I graduated beauty school in the spring of 2008 and opened The Change, An Organic Hair Salon in the fall of 2013. I tried many product lines in my search of the best non-toxic color line and now am very happy with the results and healthy hair I now get with Oway!

Who has inspired you to be an educator?

There have been a number of great educators in my life that made me see how fulfilling it is to share your passion with others. My voice teacher, Mitra Sadeghpour, was really inspirational to me because she was always positive and motivating. She saw the potential in me and made me believe it for myself.

Cristina Hupe was my haircutting instructor and friend (we are about the same age but she did hair school first and I went to a 4 year college first). She taught me to be very exacting in my expectations for what students can achieve and to not settle for good enough, when you know they can do great things. Finally, my mother was always teaching me about everything around from rock formations to birds to how to make a million crafts and science experiments. She really taught me to love learning and that there is wonder and beauty in everything and everyone.

In addition to being paid to do what you love, how else has your hair life created value to you?

Through all the things I have tried to do for work (music, realtor, retail sales, flooring sales, educator, etc.) I find that the thing that gives me the most satisfaction is being able to use my creativity and talents to make people’s lives better. I get that everyday in this profession.

I get to use my knowledge, help other stylists, teach clients, be creative and get direct feedback about how I am making everyone feel better about themselves which can then lead them to making other people feel good, too.

Seeing the smile on my client’s face as they leave is one of the best compliments I could ever receive.

What is one of your favorite looks you have created with Oway and what products were used?

I have done a lot of transformations with Oway that really excite me. The latest work of love that I created was on a woman who came in for a color correction. She had never been in to our salon before and had 3 colors going on. Her base was a grown out 2 inches of a neutral level 9, the mid lengths were a level 7 gold that was so heavy it was practically copper, and her ombré ends were very golden level 10.

Her hair strength was good, but needing some serious moisture. We decided on a heavy highlight lowlight because she wanted dimension and depth for fall. My formula was 20 volume hbleach for the highlight that I painted down to where the ombré highlights started, the lowlight I used from root to tip; it was 28 grams 4.0+ 3 grams 0.7 9 volume htone. I used a heavy natural looking foil pattern and processed for 30 minutes.

I shampooed her with hbalance shampoo, rinsed and then I applied hmilk and left it on for 5 minutes while I mixed up a toner. I used 20g 11.17+ 20g 10.1 9 volume htone. After rinsing the hmilk from her hair it was a much better moisture content so the toner could take more evenly. I put the toner on towel dried hair and let it process for 6 minutes before rinsing, shampooed again with hbalance shampoo and finished with hbalance mask. To finish I styled her with glossy nectar and frozen glaze cocktailed together, blow dried and loosely curled.

Which styling tool/products are your best friends?

My number one product is Glossy Nectar. I use it on everybody! It gives me such shine and moisture while also protecting the hair from damage. I don’t really enjoy stickiness or overusing products on hair that I have just colored, so I tend to be a minimalist with products. Plus, clients get overwhelmed if you use more than 3 stylers on them!

I have naturally fine, curly hair and I like to wear it natural a lot- so for myself I can’t live without boho pomade. It gives you definition, takes down frizz, but adds volume all in one product. It’s great for second or even third day curls! At first the texture is a little odd, but just ignore that and scrunch it in- you can’t go wrong.

As far as tools go, at the salon, we have all recently fallen in love with the Epic Professional Wet brush-pro Quick Dry Brush. Its a vented detangling brush that cuts down your blow-dry time on those long haired clients that take forever to dry. It is curved to it grab more hair and is gentle to the scalp.

What is your favorite type of client?

My favorite kind of client is someone who has had trouble finding the right stylist, is possibly disheartened with our profession or needs a serious color correction.  I love the process of winning their trust and showing them that many of us do really know what we are doing and that they can have amazing hair again!  The transformation in their attitudes and self-esteem really give me a sense of how I  have an impact on a person’s life simply by showing them the beauty they already possess and enhancing that for them.

If you could makeover a celebrity, who would it be and how would you do it?

A celebrity I would love to make over is Miley Cyrus. She wants to be bold and edgy but it comes off harsh and unpolished. I like her blonde but would like to soften it with some peaches and pinks toward her base and give her a nice shadow root with a 8.1 brushed out over the blondes. The peach I would make with 9.43+ 9.0+ 0.6 and the pink 11.17+ 0.6. That would still give her a fun and bold image, but be more fitting to her skin tone.

Tell us what you love about educating others.

I love educating others because I believe that everyone should know the options available to them. I like to show other stylists what is possible and watch the process of discovery in them. Many people are so used to the ammonia-based systems that they are very wary about things that are new and different. I like to gently show them what can be and let them see it for themselves.

My salon’s name and motto is based on “Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Ghandi. I believe that by using products that hold the client, the stylist and nature in the highest regard, we really can change the world.

from Simply Organic Beauty http://ift.tt/2dBsyQu

Interview Tips for Freelancers and Clients

Online video makes collaborating and holding virtual client meetings a breeze, but it also comes with its own set of unique nuances to consider. With video and Skype interviews becoming a growing component of the courtship process between freelancers and clients, taking the time to sharpen your interview skills can make a big difference in locking down your next business venture.

Whether you’re a client looking for someone to get a big idea off the ground or a freelancer eager to find your next client, these articles from the Hiring Headquarters—Upwork’s resource for businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs—are packed with valuable tips to help people on both sides of the video feed.

Fine-tune Your Responses for Maximum Impact

For freelancers, the interview phase is often an important step in landing new clients, and it can be the deciding factor when you’re one of several pros being considered. Fumbling during a crucial moment won’t impress your prospect—and it could cost you a potential project.

That’s where being well prepared with a polished approach— so you can give informed, confident answers—can help you stand out in all the right ways.

“Interview Like a Pro: How to Tailor Your Answers & Impress Clients” offers tips to help you wow potential clients by offering targeted responses that show you’re a perfect fit for what they’re looking for. It covers ways to prepare for an interview, and explains which information you should scope out ahead of time.

Here are three things it recommends to help set yourself up to excel during interviews with potential clients.

1) Research your prospect and their brand. A little time spent going over the company’s website and reading up on their operation can go a long way toward showing your interviewers you’re familiar with their brand and well-prepared for the job at hand.

2) Showcase your expertise. It’s helpful to identify which of your core strengths will be most useful for the project you’re interviewing for. This also gives you an opportunity to prepare examples of past work you’ve done that align with the client’s needs. Anything that shows you’re a valuable asset is a good thing.

3) Ask the right questions. Beyond being a time to impress potential clients, interviews are a great opportunity to gain deeper insight into a client and determine whether they’re a good fit for you. Balance questions that show you’re forward thinking and prepared to deliver with other questions that can help you get the intel you need to decide how you’d like to proceed.

Know What to Look for in Freelance Interviewees

If you’re a client looking for support, finding high-quality freelancers can be a major step to help grow your operation or build out your distributed team. A freelancer’s skills might look great on paper, but you can’t always assess whether they’ll be a good match for your project until you’ve had a chance to connect live.

To get the most value and information from the interview process, it pays to know what types of questions to ask and which areas you should focus on.

“9 Interview Questions to Find the Perfect Freelancer Online” digs deep into the most important considerations to keep in mind when crafting questions for interviewees. From freelancer experience to project details and logistics, it covers key questions to ask, tips on what to look for in responses, and helpful follow-up questions to have handy.

Among the range of potential freelancer responses during an interview, here are three things to listen for.

1) Project management skills. Are they confident they can complete the project within your proposed scope within the target deadline? Do they seem comfortable juggling numerous moving pieces while staying on track and working independently?

2) A firm grasp of the project. Do they seem to understand the scope of what you’re asking them to do and what the project entails? What’s their approach, and how would they handle any unforeseen bumps in the road?

3) The necessary experience. Have they worked with similar clients in the past? What is the quality of their output, and what kind of feedback have they received from previous clients?

Looking for additional tips to get the most out of your interviews? The Hiring Headquarters has lots of insight-filled articles to help you out.

The post Interview Tips for Freelancers and Clients appeared first on Upwork Blog.

from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/2dxVtVo

How To Become Top Rated on Upwork: My Story, My Top Tips

Advice for New Freelancers

Thinking about freelancing but not sure what to expect? Freelancers on Upwork often say they love being their own boss because of the freedom it gives them.

And it isn’t just in the ability to choose when and where to work—it’s also the ability to chose to do exactly the kind of work they like doing the most.

If you want to afford yourself the same types of freedoms, but aren’t sure what to do to get there, there is a lot of help available! We asked the Upwork Facebook community what advice they would give new freelancers and received an outpouring of great tips. Here is a sample of what they had to say.

---

“Start thinking like an entrepreneur. Stop thinking like an employee.”
– Matt Keener

“Rejection may hurt for a while, but it can be considered an opportunity to learn further, strive harder, and be better.”
– Farrah Mandeeli

“Don’t give-up on finding the right client and project for you, and don’t stop learning new skills to develop yourself. Be open minded, and always have good communication with your clients. Success is in your hand and your perseverance.”
– Lynn Santiago

“Polish your profile, take and pass as many Upwork skills tests as you can, and write your proposals carefully, making sure that you let the client know that you understand their requirements and how you fit the bill.”
– Fara Dina Ku Aquino

“Keep organized lists for everything and prioritize: a list for tasks that need to be completed right now, another with tasks that can be performed later, reminders, client lists, etc.”
– Morissa Schwartz

“Take care of your health, because no matter how intelligent, creative, and diligent you may be, you will not get anything done if you get sick. That means eating the right kinds of food, drinking lots of water, resting once in a while, taking vitamins, and getting enough sleep.”
– Marianne Torres

“Set realistic goals and make sure you deliver the results you promised. Even if it means refusing a contract or two, make sure you always deliver the best work you’re capable of.”
– Roman Kashcheev

“Make sure your profile is complete, particularly the ‘overview.’ You should stand out by highlighting what you can do, even if you’re new.”
– Maria Marilyn Madrid

“Ensure that your profile does not have grammatical or spelling errors and use a professional photograph rather than a cute one. Also focus on providing services in an area you’re skilled in such that when clients hire you, they will be glad that they did.”
– Andrew Murimi

“Write those proposals like you mean them, but don’t exaggerate. Instead of telling the client how good you are, assess the job more closely and leave an impression that will make the client want to talk to you. While you have no [client] work, spend at least 2-3 hours each day improving your skills. Whether it’s going over tutorials or getting advice from other freelancers, everyday practice will keep you ready to take on work with an upper hand.”
– Gingko Ko Morač

“Never be over confident about your time, always keep a reasonable margin of time for [the unexpected].”
– Syed Waqar Haidar Shamsi

---

For more great tips on getting started at Upwork, check out Make a Great Impression Every Time with Your Freelancer Profile and A Freelancer’s Guide to Upwork.

What advice would you add to this list? Tell us in the comments!

Editor’s note: Responses edited for grammar, spelling, and clarity. The statements above are those of their authors and do not constitute the views or opinions of Upwork.

The post Advice for New Freelancers appeared first on Upwork Blog.

from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/2dgLAu2

Upwork Messages Gets New Communication and Productivity Features

Perspectives on the Future of Work: September 26

Upwork’s biweekly column brings you the latest news on the future of work, including trends, freelancing, and other shifts in the way we work.

This week’s roundup highlights:

• How your business can bring people in different locations together more effectively.
• What current collaboration tools are missing.
• How to deliver negative feedback when you’re concerned about an emotional reaction.

Here’s a look at some of the latest headlines.

Entrepreneur | Distributed Teams Are Disrupting Tech. Here’s How to Join Them.

Distributed teams are increasingly commonplace and, as Clevertech founder Kuty Shalev notes, that growth makes sense for business: “Distributed teams move faster to produce better results and are more self-motivated than their cubicle-tethered counterparts.”

The benefits can include faster speed to market and improve productivity, but if you’re new to remote work, establishing a process that runs smoothly can seem a challenge. Shalev says adopting best practices—like over-communicating, relying more on videoconferencing, and using tools that facilitate collaborations—can make the shift more effective.

“If you want to survive the next evolution of the tech industry, you’d be wise to join them,” he concluded.

Forbes | Social Collaboration, Team Messaging And The Future

Enterprise-level companies rely on collaboration as much as startups. But are the tools available as strong as they could be?

David Carr, author of “Social Collaboration for Dummies,” thinks current options don’t go deep enough. “One of my pet peeves is that the social user interface is often a thin veneer, where profile pictures are displayed but they are not tied back to a rich profile that allows me to understand who that person is, in context,” he said.

Beyond the lack of a comprehensive social graph, Carr says it’s tough to find the right way to communicate effectively with a team: While messaging tools like Slack have their place, they don’t meet all the communicating or knowledge management needs and organization may have.

So where should collaborative tools move next? Carr cites comments by Constellation Research analyst Alan Lepofsky: “The real potential, he argued, is for software to get smarter about integrating all those modes of planning, communicating, and collaborating, while doing more of the busywork for us and allowing us to focus on productive and fulfilling activities.”

HBR | How to Give Feedback to People Who Cry, Yell, or Get Defensive

Particularly when you have a working relationship that spans miles, it can be difficult to deliver critical feedback. When the work that’s been delivered isn’t great, how can you tell people what you think—especially when you’re worried about how they’ll react?

Amy Jen Su, co-founder and managing partner of an executive coaching and leadership development firm, offers insights into this potentially intimidating process:

• Remind yourself why providing this feedback is important, not just to you but to the person you’re speaking with.
• Prepare and organize yourself ahead of time, and be thoughtful about how you approach the conversation.
• If someone responds emotionally to your comments, stay calm.
• Shift the conversation from what went wrong to next steps.

“By focusing on good intentions, preparing with integrity, and calmly and effectively responding in the moment, we can move to the same side of the table and help the other person grow,” she said.

How has your business changed to accommodate changes in the way the world works? Share your experience in the comments below.

The post Perspectives on the Future of Work: September 26 appeared first on Upwork Blog.

from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/2ddFwSX

Cultivating Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty for Your Brand

Customers are the lifeblood of any healthy business. Whether you’re a freelance entrepreneur working independently or a larger company with a massive client base, keeping your clients and customers happy should be a top priority.

From offering next-level customer service to being strategic about how and when to engage with them, putting customers at the core of everything you do can make a positive impact in many important ways.

These articles from the Hiring Headquarters—Upwork’s resource for businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs—offer valuable insights into the minds of your customers and how to best serve them while getting the biggest benefit for your business.

Tailor Your Customer Service For Excellence

In today’s hyper-connected digital age, happy and satisfied customers are a powerful asset for your business. Leaving customers with a five-star experience can potentially turn them into brand ambassadors who can spread praise for your products and services.

Conversely, customers who have a bad experience with your brand won’t hesitate to share their woes with the world. As such, it pays to be proactive in building positive relationships with your clientele.

“6 Ways to Happier, More Loyal Customers (with Less Work)” offers useful tips to help shape your operations to create happy customers from the ground up. The piece explores what customers want—speedy and quality service are high on the list—and the value that comes from offering first-rate customer service.

If you’re eager to identify how you can best meet customers’ needs to help ensure they walk away from every interaction feeling satisfied, these four insights are a great starting point.

1) Make customer service a core pillar of your company’s brand identity. Making a commitment at the highest level of your business to put customers first and do what it takes to deliver a great product or service can sets a positive tone that trickles down through your organization. This also makes it easier to put standards and best practices in place to maximize all facets of your customer service efforts.

2) Give customers different ways to interact with you. From phone and email to social media and instant messaging, not all customers prefer the same method of contact. Consider offering numerous channels for them to use; this will encourage more customers to reach out when the need arises.

3) Boost your efficiency with CRM software and other tools. Quality customer service takes time, attention, and manpower to tackle effectively. Customer relationship management (CRM) software and other helpful tools can allow you to streamline the process and handle greater customer service capacity with fewer resources.

4) Go above and beyond whenever possible. Any opportunity to exceed your customers’ expectations can be a big win for your reputation. Aim to create a “wow factor” by over delivering in high-value areas your customers will appreciate.

Optimize How Customers Engage With Your Brand

Courting customers is an evolving process that changes as people transition from leads to new customers and beyond. Looking past traditional methods of attracting and retaining customers, many companies are turning to data-driven approaches to identify common trends and determine the most opportune time to connect with their target audience.

For many, customer lifecycle management (CLM) is the key to crafting an effective strategy.

“Understanding the Customer Lifecycle” explains the value of CLM as well as the different stages of the customer lifecycle—from potential customers all the way to lost business. The article looks at why CLM matters and positive the impact it can have on your customer base and reputation.

Here are a few of the ways CLM can benefit your business.

1) You can use real-world data to identify your most valuable customer profiles. Knowing your audience, and having information to drive key decisions about how you engage them, can be a powerful way to shape and improve your business marketing strategies.

2) It helps you connect with potential customers at the most opportune time in the cycle. Not only does CLM give you actionable insight into the ideal time to engage with customers, it can help you choose the best way to approach them with unique offers and targeted strategies.

3) It lets you get more value and loyalty from each customer. This long-term approach is designed to maximize customer value and retention over short-term tactics.

Looking for more resources to boost your customer base and satisfaction levels? The Hiring Headquarters is packed with articles to help you out.

The post Cultivating Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty for Your Brand appeared first on Upwork Blog.

from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/2cw5Wyg