First Posted: 11/11/2014
MOSCOW — Providing a safe haven for beauty professionals to peek inside other salons for job opportunities without fear of being fired is the idea fueling StaffMySalon.com.
Imagine going on a job interview, to test the waters of what a company has to offer. When you return to your job — you are fired on the spot for just entertaining a notion of change and new opportunity.
This may seem extreme, but happens all too regularly in the beauty industry,
A new web service based in Northeastern Pennsylvania — StaffMySalon.com — will connect salon owners and beauty professions, said founder Karen Kaminski of Moscow.
“Salon owners are out to protect and maintain their customers,” she said.
Kaminski, a 12-year veteran of the beauty industry, said salon owners can become so protective of their clients that if they catch wind a beauty technician is even thinking about leaving, they fire them.
With social media, it is easy for customers to find out where a salon stylist or color technician moves to and follow them, she said.
Inspired after seeing friends and colleagues live through a similar situation, Kaminski, who doubles as a local beauty sales representative, saw an opportunity to marry technology of an interactive community website to solve an ongoing problem in a highly competitive industry.
Kaminski described the site as a mix of “CareerBuilder meets eHarmony.”
“CareerBuilder does not give enough resources to draw out people,” she said.
Other beauty employment websites are often run by students of cosmetology schools and are used as employment placement for those just starting out in the industry, Kaminski said. There is not much out there to help the seasoned professional looking for new employment opportunities.
Kaminski’s goal is to make Staff My Salon the industry standard to share knowledge, insights and job opportunities for beauty professionals in a discrete and confidential way.
Beauty professionals can stay anonymous by using a user name to conceal their identity while providing their experience, cosmetology license and what line of products they use. This ensures their current job security.
On the flip-side, salon owners can use the site to advertise permanent or freelance positions.
To maintain their confidentiality, salon owners only provide the city and state they are in, what kind of employment opportunities exist and what line of beauty products and hair color they use.
“Beauty professionals tend to follow a product line,” Kaminski said. “Some salons, especially in bigger metropolitan areas, may lease chair space. Others may be looking for a freelancer to help with the holiday rush.”
Site users do have the option to submit a private message to a salon, or vice-versa, to connect and discuss opportunities, she said.
Monthly fee
Participants must register and pay a monthly fee of $14.99 for professionals or $49.99 for salon owners. Users are required to agree to the site’s terms and conditions, which which includes an anti-malice clause.
The anti-malice clause stipulates, if anyone reveals the identity of a professional, resulting in them loosing their job, Kaminski will enlist her legal team to pursue consequences.
“We have not had any issues like this yet,” she said. “We are in the process of building trust through content.”
Kaminski originally launched StaffMySalon.com a year ago. The website generated so much interest, the platform it was built on could not handle the traffic.
“In one day there were about 3,000 hits,” she said.
This spring she had to pull the site down for a make-over.
Staff My Salon’s complementary Facebook site, with about 3,000 “Likes,” followed the reconstruction process informing followers on the gradual progress to the relaunch two weeks ago.
It’s debut is regaining its following.
As of last week, Kaminski said she has 40 beauty technicians and 70 salon owners registered from all over the country, including Texas, New York and Canada.
Having been interviewed by Salon Today and Nails magazines, Kaminski said she is looking forward to being highlighted in Beauty Launch Pad, a renowned industry magazine, in January.
