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BUSINESS
5 TIPS TO BEAT THE OVERWHELM AS A SALON OWNER By Kara Lehmann, The Beauty Boss VA
Beauty salons work hard to make countless faces look refreshed and confident. Behind the cosy environment, lavish ambiance, and personalised services are business owners who have to balance the needs of their clients and employees daily. Beauty entrepreneurs also have to get creative in navigating through customer engagement and sales amid the regulations imposed under the new normal. I can remember days when I had my salon where I feel so overwhelmed, I wanted to just throw it all in and run away. Overwhelm can cause stress, it can steal away our passion and love for our business but there is a way to move through it. Business doesn’t have to be all hustle and grind. You can make your business work for you! And I’m going to so you how.
OVERWORK: ADDRESSING THE MAIN PAIN POINT
Personal time is one of the things that many business owners sacrifice to achieve success. This means giving up the 9-5 schedule and, to a certain extent, being flexible or spontaneous with plans. Competition can be fierce, pressuring entrepreneurs to pour plenty of hours building something they can be proud of. There will always seem to be one more thing to do: another client to attend to or another employee issue to address. Thus, entrepreneurs have to learn to seize every chance to relax, sleep, and spend time with their loved ones. Without an effective business and staffing plan, business owners might end up trying to do everything themselves. Physical and mental fatigue can negatively affect the quality of service. Being overwhelmed also leads to early burnout.
FACTORS FUELLING THE OVERWHELM So many things demand your attention as beauty business owners. Which of these factors get you caught up in the overwhelm?
Control Founder reliance can naturally result when you and a handful of people invest your all to see a business take off. As a fledgling business, you may fear the possible effects of mistakes on your brand reputation and overhead. But being afraid to delegate tasks deprives your enterprise of growth possibilities. Without trust 72
Beauty Biz Year 14 Issue 6
and training for your people, you might wear yourself out as everything depends on you most—if not all—of the time. Adopting a digital-first work environment Technology is helping businesses reach a wider section of their target market at a faster pace. But learning and mastering skills to manage e-commerce, customer relationship management systems, and social media can be an added burden to small business owners. What’s more, entrepreneurs can spread themselves too thin as they cope with the expectations of being “alwayson” for customers. Staff management Recruitment: Screening the people who’ll provide different types of services your salon offers can be time-consuming. Besides showing the right skill level for a specific type of service, your recruits need to share your values and vision. Training: Once they’re on board, employees need regular training so they can work according to your preferred methods and keep up with trends. They’ll have to be familiar with all the treatments and products across your brand to effectively upsell to customers. Staff engagement: Business owners need to constantly motivate their team and ensure work is equally distributed. Overburdened staff may resort to shortcuts to meet goals. You also have to make time to encourage, recognise, and reward your workers to keep them productive. Payroll: Managing your staff’s payroll independently takes up a lot of time as you need to keep track of other expenses such as rent, utility bills, taxes, products, and so on. Salon maintenance: You need to ensure your salon is clean, regularly sanitised, well-stocked with beauty supplies and working equipment.
Marketing Exceptional quality service can win you referrals besides sustaining your loyal customer base. But in today’s digital world, you may be left behind in retaining and attracting new clients if you don’t use online reviews, business directories, and marketing campaigns. Pricing Charging clients based on your and your team’s skillsets and training can be tricky, especially if other salons within your area offer services at lower prices. Your team has to consistently display professionalism and superior customer service to prove its worth. Maintaining a steady cash flow Long-term planning is a must when you need to cover energy and advertising costs amid low patronage and sales. You may have to look for or negotiate deals and perks with product distributors. You’ll also need to install appliances and implement procedures to help lower power use.
5 STEPS TO TAME THE OVERWHELM
Are you saddled with certain aspects of running a business mentioned above? Well, you don’t have to be. With a new year dawning, it’s about time to reflect on your current work processes to reduce the overwhelm. Here are some steps you can take:
