Learning all the business is key
By: Eric Pope - Detroit Free Press

Nadwa Yono is convinced she can do a better job of charting the course for Salone Nadwa and Day Spa now that she no longer has a partner.

Splitting up a business partnership is rarely easy, but in Yono's case it took a divorce because the partner was her ex-husband.

Yono is reluctant to discuss the details of disagreements she had with her ex-husband over running the business. But what she can say is that since the divorce was finalized in November she has become a better decision-maker because she has more information.

Her key advice: "Make sure you know everything that is going on in the business, not just what you are responsible for."

Yono moved from Iraq to Michigan when she was 7. Her family owned supermarkets and party stores, where she gained her first business experience. She became a cosmetologist at 18 and worked at several salons in Metro Detroit. She received training from some of the industry's top names and was an instructor at seminars around the country.

Yono opened her own salon and spa in the Novi Town Center in 1994. At the time she thought it made sense for her husband to handle the financial end of the business while she worked with customers and managed the staff.

"I stayed focused on keeping the customers and the staff happy," she said.

Billings exceeding a million dollars in the first year and climbed to $3.5 million. The staff grew to 50.

But there were disagreements about business decisions, and Yono said she was always at a disadvantage because she didn't know anything about the company's finances.

That changed four months ago when her divorce was finalized. She learned a lot about her own business when an accountant and an attorney reorganized the books. She has hired a bookkeeper, and the accountant goes over the company's finances with her every month.

Knowing how different sources of revenue are performing and what costs are climbing help her make more informed business decisions, according to Yono.

Now that she doesn't have a business partner, she is doing much more to keep up with the new industry trends that are introduced every spring and fall. "You won't do well in this business if you don't change," she said.

She has brought in new products, such as a body and face treatment line from Germany. She recently invested $10,000 in renovations and anticipates making changes to the salon and spa yearly.

She was brought in a doctor to work on medical skin treatments three days a week and forsees more opportunities for collaboration with the medical community. She is spending more on staff training and education, such as a four-day course for foot specialists.

She also plans to spend more on parties and social outings for her staff. "If everyone is happy, business grows," she said, noting that revenues are up 20 percent since November.

Gaining complete control of the business also has energized her. She has increased her own appointment schedule three to four days, and works on the business seven days a week. She has started making television appearances again to demonstrate the latest hairstyles.

"It makes me much more motivated to be successful," she said.