solutions for everything from inventory and labor to payment processing and gift cards, all created to fit the needs of the salon industry. Always listening, Harms knew these digital solutions were only a piece of what a shop owner needed for success. At that time, the business model in the beauty industry focused on revenue, so he introduced five growth indicators, with reporting, to tracking numbers like new clients and new client retention, repeat clients, visit frequency and ticket averages. “When people started using our software, they started to grow, and that’s one thing I knew. We can have cool features, we could have the best appointment book, but the iron-clad way to lock us in as the industry leader was by guaranteeing we could grow their business,” he says. Hands-on leadership Harms also took to heart this commitment to enlighten the industry about the business of beauty. He created the Meevo Academy, where salon owners could get free education around growing their businesses. What started as a road show of events has grown into a community for the industry. Through a Meevo Facebook community group, members share tips about the software and their businesses, and ask questions that Harms himself often answers directly. “I want to lead by example, so I answer more than half the community site questions,” he says. “The truth is, you need to listen to your clients, and you need to understand the job they’re hiring your product to do, which is a different way of thinking.” That listening is a guide for MSI and Harms as
they continue to expand the Meevo platform based on emerging technologies and shifts in the beauty industry. Harms describes the patented Meevo Convo Bar as a feature he’s especially proud of. The voice recognition platform—coupled with AI—makes it possible to book appointments in seconds rather than minutes. Aiming high Looking ahead, other uses of AI are on the table, Harms says. But more immediate is expanding Meevo to meet the needs of salons as the businesses expand into spa and med spa services. Harms knows MSI and his team are up to the challenges presented by an industry that is now focused on growth, moving beyond beauty to a larger world of health and wellness. “I’m mostly proud of our grit,” he says. “You know, 38 years of just pounding away and building a company where I have a bunch of employees who have been here over 20 years and love to work here. You don’t see that as much anymore, you know. So I’m proud of that.” And Harms still has his ear to the ground, listening to what the needs are to find relevant solutions for an industry he is passionate to serve. “It might have been easier to do in 1986, when this was all starting to spawn, compared to today. But the key is to never forget where you came from,” he says. “It’s not easy being an entrepreneur. It’s a lot of hard work. But it’s something I really enjoy, and we make a difference for over 200,000 stylists around the world every day with what we do. So it’s meaningful.”
“The truth is, you need to listen to your clients, and you need to understand the job they’re hiring your product to do, which is a different way of thinking.” John Harms Founder, Millenium Systems International
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