As anyone who works in the service industry knows, setting boundaries is extremely important. The beauty industry is necessarily very personal and, as we all know, some clients can take that too far. They want to be treated like friends, but most of the time, clients aren’t friends. They’re customers, and no matter how intimate a service you might provide for them, there needs to be professional distance at all times.
Some boundaries are personal, in terms of what we’ll tell clients about our personal lives and histories, and what we choose to keep private. Other boundaries are professional in nature, and surprising as it might be, those can be harder to define. We’re all anxious to succeed in our business, which means it can be hard to define when we’re going too far to please our clients and when we’re just trying to offer the best service possible. While bending over backwards for someone can be a very good idea every once in a while, you’re in for a lot of trouble when that becomes a matter of habit. Burnout is real, and it can hit hard when you don’t set the firm boundaries we all need to thrive.
Not sure where to start? We’ve come up with some good places to begin thinking about your professional boundaries when it comes to your salon in Lawton. Read on, and then take a little time to think about what you can really and truly handle when it comes to a sustainable work/life balance. Style and beauty industry jobs are wonderful and rewarding, and it’s a great blessing to love what you do for a living, but trust us: You’ll be able to do it longer and more happily if you make sure you set appropriate boundaries.
Set Your Professional Limits. We mentioned bending over backwards for your clients, but don’t bend so hard you break. Accommodating one client can turn into accommodating all of them, and that can really wear you down.
This may seem like a really basic place to start, but think of it like a foundation. You might be new to running a mini salon suite, but you’re no stranger to the beauty business. You’ve been doing this for a while. You know what you can handle and what you can’t, what you like, and what makes you fly to pieces. It’s good to ask yourself not only what you can put up with, but what you want to put up with. There’s no use running yourself ragged. No one can work every moment of the day. Think about it like this: Whatever leads you to feeling stressed and uncomfortable is no good. Make sure you’re firm with yourself about not working too hard so you can work hard later!
Set Your Business Hours. This is probably the best piece of advice for any small-business owner, but it’s especially important for anyone with a salon in Lawton. Salon workers are often pushed to be too flexible in their hours to accommodate their clients’ busy schedules. Don’t fall victim to that! Your personal time is valuable. It’s when you recharge your batteries so your clients get you at your best!
Look, we get it. It can be tempting to make some extra cash by staying open late or arriving early to please a client, but what’s better for your personal mental health is to set hours and keep them. If your salon is open 10am-7pm Tuesday through Saturday, let it be known that those are the hours you’re prepared to work. That means all work, including answering calls, setting appointments, responding to texts or emails, and so on and so forth. Just because people want to talk to you doesn’t mean you owe it to them to answer them at that moment. You’re considerate of their time, and they need to be equally considerate of yours!
Protect Your Digits. These days, people want to be able to call you, text you, email you, and ping you on social media: whatever works best for them. But what’s best for you is a little privacy. Set up a work phone number, a work email address, and a set of work social media accounts. Keep your private life protected. While it can be tempting to give clients your personal accounts, the more you open up in that way, the more opportunities you risk with them pushing boundaries. It’s best to have work accounts and let it be known what your hours are. Let clients know that it could take a few days for you to respond to messages.
Set Your Designated Time Off. Now that you lease your own mini salon suite in Lawton, you get to choose when you have a day off, remember? It’s not like back in high school or early in your career when you had to check the schedule board at work to see when you worked and when you had time off. Now that you’re the boss, you get to set your days off. Stick to your guns about them. While it’s okay to give in every once in a while and work an extra day, treasure your time off.
Share With Your Clients. The above suggestions are merely that: suggestions. They’re starting points for conversations that eventually lead to decisions. But once you’ve figured out what you need, you’re not done. You have to communicate this to your clients. Post your hours on your door and on your website/social media. If you tell people your professional Facebook or Instagram, they won’t go looking for your personal one. Make business cards with only the information you want to be known. Do whatever it takes to make sure your clients understand how they can get in touch with you! Otherwise, you may find they take to hunting you down when you’re taking your much-needed rest time away from your mini salon in Lawton.
Salons de Beauté leases mini salon suites to beauty industry professionals. Contact us today and learn about our reasonable rates!