A recent study asked more than 200 health, beauty, hair salon, and spa owners across the world to list the biggest challenges they’d experienced while running a health and beauty salon. We know you’ve probably already read that article. For a while there, it went viral, and everyone was reposting it. But just in case you missed it, are new to the salon business, or prefer an “executive summary” of long articles, we’re here to talk over the highlights with you!
The results of the survey weren’t particularly surprising if you’ve worked in the health and beauty industry for any length of time. What’s surprising is that most of the problems listed in the survey are easily managed, if not completely eliminated, by considering the mini salon path instead of working in or trying to own and operate a big salon. We all know that owning and operating your own salon suite in Lawton allows you to keep more of the money you make while setting your own hours, but those are the topics of a different blog. For now, let’s focus on the five biggest challenges faced by health and beauty salon owners and discuss how they can easily be overcome!
Managing and motivating staff. Salon and beauty industry owners agree that staff issues are the number-one challenge faced by health and beauty salon owners. Nearly 50% of respondents said that managing and motivating staff was the hardest part of their jobs, a statistic that’s no surprise to anyone who has ever worked in a managerial position. We all know how hard it is to stay motivated for work, much less motivate others, especially when you’ve had a few long, hard days or you’re tired from your own responsibilities. The fact is, staff will rarely share the same enthusiasm for their workplace that an owner or manager does. And absentee workers are just a fact of life in business, causing both disruptions to your schedule and a hit to your establishment’s reputation. It’s also difficult to get your employees to sell products if there isn’t a benefit to them to doing so.
Of course, when you run your own mini salon suite in Lawton, you don’t need staff. You power your shop with your own dedication and enthusiasm. You won’t ever get a call that someone hasn’t shown up to work, that someone broke something, or whatever else. You won’t have to deal with payroll, and you keep your sizeable markup on product sales.
Finding New Clients. The second biggest difficulty that salon professionals experienced in their field was finding new clients. Now, finding new clients is a big challenge for anyone, from freelance writers to tattoo artists to salon professionals. Regular readers of this blog know we’ve written about this topic more than once, because there’s a great deal of value in using social media and other ways of promoting your business to get the word out about your salon, its services, and its products. In this interconnected world, we can easily reach out to others. Asking your clients to tell others is another great way to build your list. Nothing builds your client base better than positive word of mouth. Always remember, people love to share positive experiences and excellent resources! They’ll likely prioritize it, too, if you ask.
Retaining Your Clients. The flipside of that is that people also love to share negative experiences, maybe even more than they love to share the positive. Think about it this way: There are two important aspects to retaining clients. Positive experiences will keep your clients coming back; negative ones will drive them away. But even the best salon experience in the world may not result in a repeat client if you don’t stay in touch. Stay in contact with your clients via social media and individual messages, such as an emailed newsletter or text with an offer. There are a ton of great options when it comes to bulk messaging about appointments, specials, and products. A free moment spent contacting clients about a special or open appointments can really result in a big paycheck.
Salon Maintenance. Maintenance is a huge problem faced by all business owners. A shabby or dirty salon will drive away walk-in traffic and make regulars think things aren’t going too well. Broken equipment, old décor, unswept hair, or unclean bowls are signs of something going wrong. The good thing is, it’s so much easier to keep a mini salon suite tidy, bright, and fun than it is to manage that at a larger salon. A small space is clean and neat in a jiffy, and you’ll save on expenses by doing it yourself. You won’t need to hire a janitorial service for one of our mini salon suites, and given that it’s your space, you can decorate it to create any atmosphere you like.
Product Sales. The last of the big concerns for salon owners and managers was moving product. Product sales can be an easy way to generate revenue for salon owners. There’s a big markup on styling products and other items, but many people won’t be automatically interested in buying from you. Amazon exists, as do other stores, so it can be hard to get that sweet extra revenue. Employees often won’t step up to the plate when it comes to sales, especially if there’s nothing in it for them. But when you’re the boss of your mini salon suite, it’s in your best interest to always talk to your clients about your exciting, unique products.
It’s true that small-business ownership is no cakewalk—even if you run a bakery. There are pitfalls and sticking points, but here at Salons de Beauté we believe that education is empowerment. Now that you know the biggest challenges out there, you can meet them head-on as you run your mini salon suite!
Salons de Beauté is renting mini salon suites to stylists and other health and beauty industry workers who want to be their own boss. Contact us today and find out about our reasonable rates and other benefits!