Peek Behind the Beauty Biz

Many people ask me what I do when I travel. This week I have 2 shows and over 25 meetings in NY. Follow me as I give you a "Peek Behind the Beauty Business."

Day 1

8am breakfast with the girls

9:30- Christie Brinkley wins Beauty Award at HBA Expo

10:30- First conference

12:30 - Lunch with Susan Posnick Cosmetics

2:30 Social Networking class and panel discussion @HBA Beauty Expo

‎4:00 back to the expo for more meetings on packaging and design

5:30 Early dinner with the girls at Blue Fin Restaurant @ the W Hotel. Lobster Bisque poorer over a Crab filled puff pastry. Yum!

7:00 When in NY it is a must you see a Broadway show. This time it was Memphis - Amazing!

Day 2 Begins!

9am: quick meetings at HBA before media tour

Note: HBA expo is where you go to find newest trends in ingredients, bottles, packaging, and promo items.....

11:30- Better Homes & Gardens

12:30- Family Circle

1:30- Health Magazine

2pm - InStyle Magazine

3:15- People Magazine

3:45- People StyleWatch

5:00- MASSAGE! I needed it!

Day 3

It's a stormy day in NY with a tornado watch under way. No time to worry about it. I have one class and two meetings at HBA then 10 stops on the media tour!

Cosmo's Fun Fearless Female promo takes off in Times Square this morning. Going over to offices at 4 to offer assistance. :)

8:30- HBA meetings/ Best of Beauty Packaging awards
10:30- MORE magazine
11:00 - Ladies Home Journal
11:30- Lunch! Need sustenance .....

12:45 - Shape Magazine
1:15- Star Magazine
2:00- Vogue Magazine
2:30- Self Magazine
3:00- Allure Magazine

4:00- Cosmopolitan

4:30- Town & Country Magazine

George Lopez 3rd Annual Golf Classic Gift Lounge by GBK Productions

The 10 P's of Business: PERCEPTION

"Perception: We judge ourselves by our intentions. Others judge us by our actions."

Perception is my FAVORITE P of all the P's of Business. Here lies the truth in life, whether you like it or not. Please read the following three true stories that have happened in my young life. They are all perfect examples of PERCEPTION...

Story #1

My very first job was when I was 14. I worked at a small Mexican Restaurant. One night while I was closing I was supposed to be cleaning the restaurant. I told the owner, Mario, that I was finished. He looked around and said - "what about this??? and look - you forgot that!" I said "Mario, but I did this, I did that, I did that, I did this!!!"

Mario then looked at me and told me something that I will never forget. "Hannah, it's not what you do, it's what you DON'T do."

Story #2

When I was 15 years old I wanted to work at BROADWAY (which is now Macys). At the time they only hired people who were 18 years or older. I knew this, but I thought I would take the chance anyway. I walked in with a green blazer, black skirt, black nylons, high heals, and my hair in a French bun (very Jay Jacobs circa 1992). When they asked what school I went to I told them "Ventura." They thought I meant Ventura College.

I walked in like I was supposed to work there and spoke like I was supposed to work there. The PERCEPTION was that I was 18 - the manager didn't pay attention to the job application. Two days later I got the job. Six months after that someone actually asked me about school and I told them that I went to Ventura HIGH school. But by that time I had already proved myself so no one worried about it.

Story #3

When I was 19 years old I moved to Phoenix for a very short time to help a friend start up a business. I made an appointment with a very successful building company in town and had spoken to them on the phone several times. Now it was time to meet the two owners for dinner. Oh crap! Here I was 19 years old and about to try to close a business deal, for hundreds of THOUSANDS of dollars, with two hard core real estate/construction owners.

I was scared out of my mind that I would not be taken seriously because I was so young. I remembered my experience with Story #2 and pulled the same kind of outfit together. Then I went over to the restaurant the night before and tipped the door man $20 and told him my name, where I was from, and what kind of business I was in. I did the same for the hostess. Then I rented a car and driver.

The next night I made sure my driver pulled up right after the two gentlemen who I was meeting. The door man greeted me "Hello Miss Murray. Wonderful to see you again." The Hostess greeted us "Hello Miss Murray. How is your family in California doing?" And so it went. This was one of the most expensive restaurants in Phoenix at the time so the business partners were impressed. They quickly got over my young appearance and we moved forward with the deal - which was closed the next week.

(You may call this deceptive - I call it Marketing).

The moral of the stories are ....

In story #1 - Mario taught me that it doesn't matter how good I do anything. People SEE what I am doing wrong FIRST and judge me first on that - PERCEPTION.

Story #2 and #3 - It is not about what I KNEW how to do - it's about what people THOUGHT I WAS CAPABLE OF. PERCEPTION.

I know so many people who are amazing at their jobs. They are the first to go in and the last to leave. They are the first to raise their hands to volunteer and they are the only ones who don't complain. Yet, they are at the bottom of the totem pole. I believe that these people, in particular, do not understand the GAME of Perception.

• You must carry yourself a certain way.


• You must demand respect silently.


• "Facts" are actually based on OPINIONS.


• You MUST be your own PR Agent (because no one else will)


• and you must throw all fears out the window

Some people get very angry with me when I talk about perception. "That isn't how people should do business. And if they do judge me this way they are not worth doing business WITH!" Yes, that's nice. However, I don't live in the "Should" world.

As long as you follow the rules listed above people will notice you. And as long as you have the STUFF to back up the perception that you are building for yourself - you will be very successful in business and in life.

**Perception Pyramid referenced from darmano.typepad.com

10 P's of Success - Performance

As you know - there are a whole lot of talkers out there. But when all is said and done it's the DOERS that make it happen. I know that you've seen them before - the guy in the next office who always talks about how great he is, how many people he knows, and always has a way to let you know that he knows more than you. Who cares...

The truly successful people - the people that stand out in the crowd - are those that actually get it done. It doesn't matter what that guy does or doesn't do. What matters is what YOU do. That guy lives in his own world and it doesn't matter how successful you are, he will always find a way to put you down to make himself better. In the end its important that you are continually becoming better at what YOU do.

I find that there are times when I get a little lazy and start forgetting the steps that it takes to make things happen. For instance, when I was in sales I would get into moods where I didn't want to make the cold calls that I needed to make and then wonder why my sales were dropping.

Now that I'm an Executive at my place of business I find that sometimes I get distracted by whats going on in the office and I am not focused on my work or what I need to do to take my company to the next level. When it really comes down to it I am responsible for helping the company move forward. What I do affects the direction of the company. So, I need to PERFORM. I need to make it happen.

The moral of the story is - check in with yourself every once in a while. Are you doing what you're supposed to be doing? (don't lie)

Challenge yourself to be better!