At the Hilton, Embassy Suites in Honolulu, Hawaii, 40 people joined together for a 4 day conference to unpack, reset and refocus. Mocha joined the group as media partner to bring this special report. Hosted by Julie Piantadosi, guest speakers included Jaye Edwards, Donna Mee and Dr. Anh Nguyen, A few guests panels and masterclass workshop with Julie – What an exceptional experience.
Coaches Kerrie Di Mattia, Carly Knowles, Daphne Savage and Daniela Boerma were also on hand to share their industry and business wisdom with eager delegates who were all looking for inspiration and guidance after a challenging few years.
After an onsite opening cocktail arrival with the theme of Sleepwear, there was nothing sleepy about this first night!
Day one saw the opening with Julie, sharing what to expect followed by a one by one introduction of each delegate telling their story and talking about what they all wanted to achieve from conference. Julie expertly and individually unpacked each of the attendees commentary to identify everyone’s ‘Why’ and ‘What’ and with a few tears and shared laughter, it was a great way to get to know everyone seeing what could be achieved over the next few days.
Our First Speaker was one of Australian’s leading plastic surgeon, humanitarian, educator and changer of lives Dr Anh Nguyen, whose private practice in Perth boasts a national and international client list,
Dr Anh Nguyen offered unique insights into both the art and the science of plastic and reconstructive surgery showing how this Vietnamese-born mum-of-three witnesses the transformative power of plastic surgery to change not only bodies, but also confidence and self-esteem.
From rebuilding limbs injured in traumatic accidents, reconstructing faces after dog attacks and remedying congenital defects, to breast reductions and tummy tucks, Dr Anh is a rarity in the world of medicine, where around 85% of Australian plastic surgeons are male.
An on-call plastic surgeon and consultant at Fiona Stanley Hospital, where she also mentors the next generation of plastic surgeons, Dr Anh was introduced to the life-changing potential of plastic surgery almost 20 years ago after watching craniofacial and congenital hand surgeries as a young resident at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
She went on to complete a gruelling training programme at the hands of some of the nation’s finest plastic surgeons.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s as the eldest daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Dr Anh has completed her own transformative journey, from super-swot, tomboy and ‘ugly duckling’ to sought-after surgeon, speaker, educator, entrepreneur and philanthropist – who is finally comfortable in her own skin.
This enlightening and inspiring session highlighted how plastic surgery is just one way to feel good about yourself with a strong message to be of value to yourself always.
Next up was Donna Mee, flying in for the USA, a 40 year-veteran Makeup Artist, Educator and Beauty Entrepreneur. After honing her skills working in catwalk, print and television, she now specializes in beauty makeup for print and giving international educational tours. She is known for developing extremely advanced techniques and application skills known as ‘The Donna Mee Makeup Methods.’ She is considered the number one artist in corrective beauty makeup and one of the top beauty educators in the world. Donna is often referred to as the Beauty Prodigy due to her self-discovered methods and her extreme passion for generating successful artists through her training.
Donna is also responsible for discovering Make Up For Ever and bringing them to the United States which led to their abundant growth before being bought by Louis Vuitton/Moet Hennessy which also owns Sephora. She opened her makeup studio in 1995 followed by a makeup artist agency and a makeup brush line in in 1996, and launched her Academy in 1997 which had the highest success rate percentage of working graduates than any other makeup school in the USA through 2014. In 2014, MEE INC Industry Workshops was launched to bring Donna’s intensive training into 3-10 day workshops for those not able to spend five months at a time pursuing education.
With her commanding presence and her ability to articulate complex science and theory in a way that is easily understood, Donna has a gift for painting a picture with her words, analogies and stories in which she delivers with conviction and humour.
Interestingly enough she also spoke about her incredible sales ability, how important it is to always listen, not allowing our brains to rush ahead and always listening to clients, letting them be heard resulting in success.
Looking at the perceptions of selling and what staff could be fearful of, her 3 key tips to sales mastery were:-
- Increase services to clients
- Maximise product sales and serves for each client
- Bring in new clientele & repeat
After a full day attendees retired for Hawaiian theme night all walking to the famous Cheesecake Cake Factory for a delicious dinner and cocktails!
Next day was Free Day for delegates to sample the delights of HAWAII including trips to Peral Harbour for some, island tours, relaxing by the beach and some R&R.
The following day and we were back in the conference room, kicked off with a very personal intro again from Julie talking about the importance of mental health gleaning knowledge from her own family and personal experiences. Once again showing why she has an innate ability to relate to everyone she cross paths with when it comes to the industry and her coaching clients.
Guest Speaker of the day was Jaye Edwards, 33 years young, owner of 9 EdwardsAndCo salons and a social following of 80,000!
EdwardsAndCo is Australia’s leading Hair Agency, housing a mix of the country’s most innovative and forward-thinking hair colourists and stylists. Pioneering the movement is Jaye Edwards, known for his golden blondes and seamless blends, he brings a modern and new-age energy to the industry also leading the Education Team, made up of well-accomplished colourists, stylists and barbers, offering a wealth of knowledge and bringing a creative flair to each and every class.
On his own admission Jaye has never really been very good at following rules, or doing what was expected of him, hence his trailblazer nature when it comes to his salons, staff and business.
Jaye was totally candid in his session and was happy to share with the group who were all eagher to ask in depth questions about how he runs his business
He talked about his biggest challenge being how to balance personal and professional life, his health (both physical and mental) and was arefreshingly open book.
He spoke about contracts, work hours, leave structure, commissions, benefits and suppor; his link with the superbrand Mecca as well as the structured hierarchy in his salons. Team culture was high on the list and his end goal of financial freedom for himself and his staff
After lunch it was back with Julie Piantadosi workshopping a success wheel for all, un-packing levels of happiness, self-love, finance and more.
Sam Oraya was next up who took us on a meditation journey, speaking about mental health and exercises to do being a beautiful break and time to reset after a jam packed day.
Back to Julie for our final session and it was all about values looking at negotiables and non-negotiables in both personal and work life. Personal Resilience was the name of the game and being 100% accountable.
The day finished off with a panel of 3 young managers talking about kicking goals as well as wanting to do well for their employers; feeling gratitude for where they are. Fantastic attitude showing not all people are made to be salon owners, and then a Q&A with Agatha Villano owner of Epic Hair talking about exit plans and her absolute and complete love for her business.
Final night was a Beach Party…. What can I say….better leave that there!
Until next time
Mahalo!
