GRETTA MONAHAN: CELEBRITY STYLIST
Last Updated (Wednesday, 22 April 2009 16:40)
Gretta Monahan once offered up her business as a case study to a Harvard business management program. That meant opening up her business and herself to criticism. She put any pride aside at a time when her businesses were already successful and then utilized the feedback and the experience as an opportunity to become a better manager. Gretta Monahan is an individual who has clearly succeeded because of a desire to be the best as what she does. It’s not easy to hear criticism but who said being successful was supposed to be easy?
Grettacole, G Spa, Gretta Luxe, The Rachael Ray Show, Bravo, Celebrity Stylist…all part of what makes up a typical day for Gretta Monahan, CEO of Gretta Enterprises. Gretta Enterprises consists of salon and spas with multiple locations in Boston along with a spa at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Casino in CT, clothing boutiques and a private clothing studio in NYC. Gretta is also a Beauty & Style Expert and TV Personality and can be seen as a “buddy” on the Rachael Ray show and on Bravo as Tim Gunn’s fashion "accomplice" on Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style. Busy? Just a little. We spoke to Gretta about what her day is like and how she manages to stay focused and successful with so much going on.
“I don’t really have one standard day; they all tend to be quite unique”
When we asked Gretta what her typical day was like she began to laugh. “I don’t really have 1 standard day; they all tend to be quite unique. I would say it starts with checking out emails from the day before on the Boston businesses. Hearing from my managers and my home office on how things are going there.” She continues to run down what seems like a never ending list of things that she has to tackle on a daily basis including emails from Producers on segments that she’s working on or that are in progress; answering calls and emails from private clients regarding clothing and events; and answering text messages from her publicist (texts being the more immediate way to get a hold of the very busy Gretta). Meetings, traveling and being on location are also part of her day to day work but maintaining communication between clients, store managers and her publicists is how she spends most of her time. Multi-tasking is no doubt a necessity. “I’m actually putting on my makeup right now as I’m talking to you”.
“There’s no way, no how if you want to do this that you would do it without a network of people…”
Gretta relies on what she describes as “a lot of help” to help her manage all of her businesses. “There’s no way, no how if you want to do this that you would do it without a network of people that you very much rely on as the people who are your partners in executing and getting things done.” She stresses that her store managers and team members play such an important role in the success of her business and how crucial it is to work with people who are committed and passionate about what they do.
Gretta Monahan is the sole owner of her store fronts but relies on managers to run the day to day activity as she travels back and forth from Boston to New York. In order to find the right people, Gretta looks for individuals who truly enjoy making someone’s day. “Whether you’re in fashion or beauty…skin care…all of the categories that I represent in my service businesses, you really at your core have to love to service people.” Gretta’s theory is that not only loving what you do but also loving the feeling you get when you make someone happy is a key to success in this industry; but that love for services is not the only quality she looks for in her employees. “Definitely in the areas of hair, makeup and clothing you have to look for someone who has natural flare and an eye….someone who is studious, who knows the industry and knows the landscape of style and has an eye for design.” She goes on to say that she wants to offer people “careers” as opposed to “jobs”. Gretta emphasizes the importance of human interaction and knowing that on the store level every client has a good experience when coming in to one of her stores. Knowing you may be able to get the same piece of clothing for example elsewhere, it’s the customer service at her stores that has clients coming back for more.
“Makeovers will never go out of style”
With so many different elements to her career, what does Gretta enjoy doing the most? “Definitely the makeovers. The makeovers allow me to execute every little part that I like to do.” The “mental” makeover that happens after the external makeover is what Gretta gets the most joy out of with each experience and tells us the story of a woman she worked with who had lost 155 pounds but couldn’t make the switch psychologically. “Just to hear her story about living like someone who is whispered about…and always feeling like an outsider. She was still wearing her old clothing. It amazes me after 2 hours, no drugs, no therapy someone can feel that in touch.” As Gretta calls it “the final piece of the puzzle” of a life changing experience such as losing a lot of weight sometimes is the external makeover (hair, makeup, style) and allows an individual to truly make that transformation. “….for me makeovers will never go out of style, I love them because I get to see firsthand what they do to women’s self esteem and confidence.”
“I was entering business school and they just sent me a contract”
Gretta Monahan has been seen on many television programs and currently regularly on The Rachael Ray Show as well as Bravo. Ironically Gretta did not set out to be a TV Personality and you could say she somewhat fell into that part of her career. Gretta was called to do styling for a segment airing on TLC when her fashion store was just a few months in the making and the producers asked if she would go on camera. It wasn’t something she had planned but she agreed in trade for the advertising and she was a hit. TLC began hiring her for future segments and eventually sent her a contract to be a permanent figure on their makeover shows. “I was entering business school and they just sent me a contract in the mail to be a host. I remember opening it and thinking ‘what in the world is this?’” The casting folks at TLC acknowledged that while Gretta was not in the TV business so to speak, they found her compelling and thought she was the best choice. “At that point it was really a hard decision because I really was needed in the stores all the time but I just thought…this is free advertising and it’s never going to last so I should probably just do it.” From that point on the TV offers have obviously kept coming in and keeping with that same mentality of “you never know when it will end”, Gretta continues to accept the offers. She says that now she really enjoys doing it. “To me it’s the same when I dress people in the store as I do in front of the lens. There isn’t a big differential for me but the nice part is that my staff…they like seeing the stories.”
“…it was the best thing I ever did”
Once Gretta began to expand and open up several store fronts she realized that she needed to make some changes including putting a strong management team together. She needed to find people that could put in those long hours that are required of store managers but who also had a passion for what they do. Gretta heard about a management program at Harvard that focused on people who had started businesses but hadn’t gone to college for business management specifically. People like her, who loved what she was doing (hair, makeup, and fashion), started a business that was succeeding but needed some additional training as the business really grew. The program dealt with training and management by a team of experts. Harvard approached Gretta to use her business as a case study. “The trade off was that I could have that team come in…and dig through everything. They have to be allowed…to talk to the classes about what you have, what you don’t have, where you’re weak. And I said ‘Absolutely!’” Gretta saw the case study as a great opportunity to get some valuable feedback and criticism where needed and learned from it. “I could have never paid for that consulting, it was the best thing I ever did.” Harvard and Columbia still feature the Gretta Enterprises case study in classes. “I love all the critiques I get and sometimes I go in and sit in that class, in the back.” She laughs explaining that after the students have torn apart her business the professors announce that she’s been sitting in the class the whole time. “I go there and I learn something new every single time, I wish I could go more….when people ask me why did I stay in business, why did it work? That’s the reason why. It was Do or Die…I was really stretched.” Gretta says at the time that she began that program she was stretched too thin and wasn’t getting back to people on time. She credits some loyal team members for sticking with her during that time. Opening herself up for criticism and making those changes she says saved her businesses.
“You shouldn’t have to be excluded from fashion if you can’t drop $10,000 on an outfit”
With a recession virtually every business in this country has been forced to make some changes. Gretta’s businesses haven’t been as negatively affected as many others out there but as a business owner she has been forced to make decisions based on the economy. “There are things that I’m putting on hold and there are some things I’m going full steam ahead with.” Last year Gretta teamed up with QVC to create a line of footwear called Gretta Collection featuring chic, but inexpensive footwear. Shoes that combine comfort and chic designs but are all priced under $100. “That was sort of a dream of mine because I was doing a lot of save/splurge segments on Rachael Ray…I love my stores, I love carrying quality design stuff but you also shouldn’t have to be excluded from fashion if you can’t drop $10,000 on an outfit.” The Gretta Collection has been very successful and she now plans to launch accessories including handbags. On the flip side Gretta has decided to put some spa expansions on hold as to not push her luck so to speak, avoiding risky moves during a recession and uncertain times. “You get humble…I still have the responsibility of a hundred employees and I will not put them in jeopardy.” Gretta credits keeping clients happy as part of the reason why her businesses have been lucky enough to stay afloat during hard economic times. Gretta highly praises her staff and managers, saying that each position and every staff member at Gretta Enterprises plays an important role in its overall success.
Is Gretta Monahan busy? Yes. Too busy to take time to speak to us and share her story with you? No way. Add passion and a rare honesty with every question and answer, and that, we believe is a big part of the many reasons why Gretta Enterprises will continue to prosper.
For more information on Gretta Monahan: http://www.grettastyle.com
Gretta's Beauty Product Obsessions:
Trish McEvoy's Treatment Foundation SPF 15 http://www.trishmcevoy.com
Freeze 24/7 "Eye Icing" http://www.freeze247.com/
Lancome High Resolution Refill 3X (SPF) http://www.lancome-usa.com/
Written by Sandie Torres
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