Meet Tia Williams, former beauty editor (Elle, Glamour, Lucky, Teen People, Essence), best selling best-selling author (It Chicks, The Color Of Beauty) and 1/3 of the team behind The Fly Cut, an innovate weekly deal website selling discounted vouchers to hair salons specializing in African-American and ethnic hair. Yes, you heard correctly: discounts to get your hair did.  Together with her sisters Devon and Laura Williams, the trio has been working overtime to launch the website, which will not only make it possible for consumers to experience 5-star salon services at some of the most sought-after Black and ethnic hair salons without paying full price, but also offer members of The Fly Cut exclusive information about their favorite salon as well as tips on finding a salon fitting for his/or her specific hair needs.

CB: So The Fly Cut is like Groupon meets The Daily Candy but with an emphasis on ethnic hair salons. It’s brilliant yet I am surprised that no one else has thought of this before? What inspired the concept behind The Fly Cut, particularly the name and why the focus on African American and ethnic hair salons?

Tia Williams: My sisters and I always talked about working together, and The Fly Cut seemed like the perfect business at the perfect time!  The economy sucks, no one has any money, but black and brown women need for their hair to look fierce. As a beauty editor, I have access to some of the top hair salons in the country — so we thought, why not share it with the masses by offering major discounts on top salon services?  Gorgeous hair at affordable prices!   The Groupons and Living Socials aren’t targeting black women and their hair, exclusively.  It seemed like a no-brainer. “The Fly Cut” refers to both a fabulous haircut and a “cut” or a discounted service.

CB: This is basically a family-owned business, founded by you and your sisters Devon and Lauren Williams. What roles has each sister played in establishing The Fly Cut and share with us how the experience has been of building a business and a brand with family?

Part of what makes this venture so exciting is that we each bring something unique to the table.  I’ve been a beauty editor for 15 years, so I know the hair industry inside and out.  Devon’s a corporate and entertainment lawyer, so she’s the legal genius of the operation.  And Lauren’s the deputy editor at TheRoot.com, and knows the online space like the back of her hand. It’s kind of a dream team moment!

By Rhonda Campbell

We all do it – size someone up without getting to know them. How do we do this? Generally, we take a sweeping glance of the person, making note of their breathing, eye gaze, posture, etc. It’s actually not a bad thing as most of us are said to be more honest in our nonverbal communications than we are in our verbal communications.

Videos Deepen the Business Customer Experience

There might be a bit of truth in your mama’s advice where she coached you to believe nothing you heard and only half of what you saw. The same concept may well apply to business marketing. People just might trust what they see more than what they hear alone.

This is where business videos come into play. By creating short 1 minute to 10 minute videos that introduce consumers to your business products and services you give people a chance to get a read on your body language. You also give consumers a chance to see your products and services up close. In fact, you can use videos to show your customers how products you sell work. If you’re thinking about the last great TV ad you saw, there’s a good reason that’s happening. Top firms around the globe have been using video to get you acquainted with their products and services for years.

Use Videos to Explode Your Business Sales

The fact that it works may very well be the only reason these companies continue to create and distribute business videos. Advancing technology (e.g. video recorders, digital cameras, digital camcorders, boom microphones) is making it easier for women business owners to create their own marketing videos.

Following are key ways you can use video to explode your business sales:

• Add customer testimonials to videos (this is a powerful marketing tool)
• Demonstrate how your products work (saves consumers the time and headache of trying to figure out how to put furniture, toys, etc. together by following confusing printed diagrams and written instructions)
• Share personal stories about your motivations for going into business and opening the particular company you own
• Create professional business ads, particularly before new product and/or service launches
• Design video press releases
• One more – If you’re in a Business-to-Business (B2B) industry, consider videotaping seminars and conferences you host and sharing the videos with your market audience

You can check out an online video or take a short videographer course at your local community college to learn the step-by-step basic on what’s required to create professional business marketing videos. After you create your business videos make sure you add the name of your business to the video URL, helps Internet surfers to find you online.

Upload all your videos to YouTube. Before Google bought YouTube, it (YouTube) was the second largest search engine in the world. That’s a platform you definitely want to get your business on. Also consider mentioning your videos in your company newsletters and archiving your business videos at your website so visitors can check them out with the click of a button.

Rhonda Campbell, an East Coast journalist, is the owner of Off The Shelf radio and publisher of Long Walk Up and the forthcoming Love Pour Over Me.