Who are Terri and Steve Cowan? Innovation-Education-Commitment. These are often the words used by members of the haircare industry when asked to describe Terri and Steve Cowan. Their company, Professional Salon Concepts, was the first beauty industry distributor to earn a place among Inc. Magazine's list of the top 500 privately owned companies in America. They earned this honor not just once, but twice. They have been named Modern Salon's "Distributor of the Year" and have been given the Diamond Award for Excellence in Customer Service by American Salon Magazine.
As the proud distributor of John Paul Mitchell Systems, Brocato, BennieFactor, Davines North America, Gage and Eufora. Terri and Steve have applied their backgrounds in both business and training to build PSC into the industry leader that it is today.
A native of Illinois, Steve Cowan was introduced to the haircare industry early in life. At the age of nine, Steve was a stock boy for his family's business, Joliet Beauty and Barber Supply. It didn't take long for him to fall in love with the industry and decide that someday he would own his own company. His quick and insightful decision-making would later help him become the successful businessman that he is today.
Twenty-one years ago, when Steve founded PSC, the haircare industry was a fragmented entity. With fresh ideas, and a deep commitment to his clients, Steve embarked on a new philosophy that would one day turn into an industry model. It was, and still is, PSC's mission to grow this industry one hairdresser at a time, through a balance of technical skills, training, and business savvy. His goal is to make the salon business profitable and professional, an industry and career that people are drawn to and love. Utilizing his business savvy and unparalleled industry-specific dialogue he can change a business by changing just a few of the words and phrases that they use behind the chair.
While Steve was busy building a solid foundation in the beauty industry, Terri Klimko was doing the same in another industry. At the age of 12, she had an early introduction to the restaurant industry that would serve her well in the years to come. While at Pillsbury's, Steak 'n' Ale, Terri quickly rose through the ranks, becoming an expert in corporate training. She transferred these skills to the quick-growth franchise world of PWLC, believing and living the motto that "service is service" and "business is business." She was responsible for training new franchisees and certifying their service staff, as well as assuring compliance with corporate guidelines and policies.
Terri's dynamic style was brought to the attention of famed entrepreneur and author, John McCormack, and his then business partner, Sam Brocato. Brocato had recently launched his own line of haircare products, Brocato International, and before long Terri had joined the team to eventually become Executive Vice President. It was during her association with Brocato that she first met Steve Cowan.
Terri serves as one of the Salon Industry's leading and most respected speakers and trainers. Her topics of expertise include: Salon Merchandising, Front Desk Systems and Training, Customer Service, and a Train-the-Trainer program, all geared at training stylists in the arts of dialogue and guest services. Her direct, common sense approach, to measuring and quantifying extraordinary customer service, combined with her undeniable sense of humor is what her audiences enjoy the most. Steve is a powerful speaker in his own right with the ability to take everything that he has learned in his thirty plus years in this industry and break it down to share with those around him. He has the ability to engage a room and to lift them to a new personal expectation level.
Today, Terri and Steve Cowan oversee Professional Salon Concepts, as well as acting as consultants to the many salons they service. They currently are working as consultants for A Robert Cromeans Salons and are combining efforts with John Paul Mitchell Systems to spread their message. In addition, they strive to promote the PSC company philosophy through their team and their four luxury boutiques called The Space. The Space is a place where dedicated salon beauty professionals are nurtured and pampered by people who care about them and this industry. The Spaces are "living labs", technical and business academies that serve to inspire, enlighten, refresh and challenge the beauty professional. They are places that prove what PSC screams at the top of their voice, "It Matters" how salon products are presented and displayed to salon clients and "It Matters" who you allow to educate you. These luxury boutiques serve only licensed beauty professionals and salon owners and are located in Chicago, Joliet, and Springfield, Illinois and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Both Terri and Steve are dedicated to helping salon owners see their business through their customer' eyes. They are committed to upgrading the image of the haircare industry, and firmly believe that quality service is the key. It is because of this insight and dedication that they continue to lead the pack in changing the industry through the belief that in this industry, as in all professional industries -
"Today's Performance is Tomorrow's Traffic."