Have you noticed customer service has become extinct in the post-Covid world? Are you so wrapped up in work that you’ve lost your sense of self? Do you have more textured-hair guests than ever—but don’t know how to service them?

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Debra Neill Baker and Carol Augusto noticed all of these cultural shifts and much more. The duo have had their finger on the pulse of the cultural and industry zeitgeist for more than 20 years. Every January, their observations culminate at Serious Business with relevant content created to inspire industry professionals to push themselves into new directions of growth.

“When we create the Serious Business agenda, it’s with the idea that all business development is based on personal development,” said Neill. “Every year, we tune into the vibe, which shifts with advances in culture, technology, the economy, or in the past few years—a pandemic. This weekend, we’ll learn how to navigate our ever shifting vibes.”

Messages from the Main Stage

Serious Business main stage speakers are famous for leaving an impression and evoking new thinking. This year was no different, with speakers covering the topics dominating the conversation in 2024.

Customer Service: One of the biggest shifts the pandemic created was in customer service. Business owners went from survival mode to playing catch up in services and inventory. Customer service fell by the wayside and has never quite found its way back.

Enter Will Guidara. The bestselling author of Unreasonable Hospitality and former owner of world-renowned restaurant Eleven Madison Park, kicked off Serious Business with inspirational, innovative stories of customer service.

In his pursuit of becoming the number-one restaurant in the world, Guidara honed in on customer service to set his restaurant apart from the competition.

With every member of his team, Guidara dissected his guest’s journey down to the last minute detail, picking apart each touchpoint and how they could improve and/or differentiate Eleven Madison Park from other Michelin-starred restaurants.

Guidara detailed the ideas the team executed and how they evolved over seven years, eventually resulting in the title of number-one restaurant in the world. But the real reward was the service.

“You give people comfort, confidence, and community. Hospitality gives people a sense of belonging and memories that will last a lifetime. It will also make your business more profitable and make you feel so, so good.”

Work-Life Balance: After Guidara, the main stage shifted gears as Raj Sisodia, author of Awaken, took the stage.

“My purpose is to bring heart, healing, and soul to leaders,” he said. “Everything we do should be done with mindfulness and consciousness, not compulsiveness. Stay connected to the essence of who you are and how you connect to things.”

Simone Stolzoff, author of The Good Enough Job – Reclaiming Life from Work also connected with the audience on personal growth with a focus on separating your job and your identity.

Stolzoff challenged the audience to make work a source of meaning without it being the sole source and examined the risks of centering our lives around our jobs.

“We are all more than just workers,” he said. “We are friends, parents, neighbors, etc.—and each identity needs attention.”

Mental Health: A hallmark of the Serious Business conference is its wellness speakers, and the 2024 conference did not disappoint.

Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf researches the mind/brain/body connection and said:

“You can’t change the stories of your past, but you can change what they look like in your mind/body/brain connection and how they play out in the future. It’s ok to have a mental mess and manage that messiness. The key is to understand your mind. A messy mind is a messy body and messy life. A managed mind is a managed body and managed life.”

Dr. Barbara Polla, a research physician, addressed the role beauty plays in wellness and how beauty professionals affect the lives of others.

“What you do reveals people’s beauty with intelligence, love, care, creativity and emotion,” she said.

Inspirational: In the 26 years of Serious Business, there has only been an emergency speaker cancellation twice. Fortunately, Augusto is always ready to pivot (thanks, Serious Business 2018). Author Sebastian Terry stepped in for Dr. Rebecca Heiss, sharing his 15-year bucket list journey of 100 things, and immediately connected with the audience.

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“We get to choose how we show up and how we change,” he said. “Passion inspires passion. If we are able to integrate passion into the things we do in the workplace and personal life, we unlock creativity in ourselves and the people around us.”

In addition to Terry, a couple of Serious Business behind-the-scenes veterans took the stage to share their inspiring personal and professional stories.

Professional visual communicator William Warren has been graphically recording Serious Business in real time for years. This year, he shared the science of visual learning and its incredible impact.

“It’s the most powerful channel of human learning,” he said. “A powerful, relevant image can make complex ideas understandable and connect to us emotionally, too.”

The sounds of T-Ray the Violinist are also familiar to long-time Serious Business attendees. This year, he combined his talent with a message of inspiration, encouraging attendees to assess, acknowledge and execute goals for 2024.

“Make a plan of action to achieve personal and professional goals that’s realistic,” he said. “It’s about having a vision for your life and the direction you want to go—give yourself grace; it’s not an overnight process.”

Breaking Out and Breaking Through

Each year, Serious Business offers attendees breakout sessions on a wide range of current topics to help them evolve and grow throughout the year.

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Breakout sessions for 2024 included Diversity and Curls and How It Changes Your Business; Hair Loss and How to Talk to Your Clients About It; The Reluctant CFO, Redefining Culture; AI and How it Affects Your Business; and Combining Creativity and Business.

And this year, for the first time ever, Serious Business offered half-day workshops for a deeper dive into hot topics:

Succession Planning: Mark Wickman, founder of Family Business Counsel, facilitated the conversation around planning for the future.

Financial Wellness: Erin Kuhn Bhansali of Qnity Group gave owners strategies for a healthy relationship with their salon’s finances.

Customer Experience: The legendary John DiJulius shared his evolving customer-service strategies and how to deliver a world-class experience to guests and employees.

Employee Engagement and Experience: Dave Murray, The DiJulius Group’s Vice President of Consulting and co-author of the upcoming book The Employee Revolution, focused on employee engagement, developing leaders, and creating a recruitment and onboarding experience.

Mental/Emotional Wellness: Dr. Caroline Leaf expanded upon her mainstage presentation, taking attendees through her 5-step program to help relieve mental health problems like anxiety and depression.

Conscious Capitalism: Francisco Fernández González took owners on a journey through Conscious Capitalism to elevate humanity through capitalism.

Serious Business 2025

If you missed the 2024 conference, rest assured, Neill and Augusto are already working on a stellar line up for 2025. Take advantage of early bird pricing and sign up today.