The Business of Beauty

Everyone is talking about the economic downturn, how could you avoid it? Pictures of doom and gloom for the retail sector fill our television screens. It has everyone worried. As small business owners many of us are concerned about the effects a recession would have on our income. That’s natural. But not many salon owners know exactly what they can do to “recession proof” their businesses.

Basically, the ideas I am going to provide here are the same tactics we should employing whether we are approaching a recession or not – It’s just more pertinent in difficult economic times. I teach that there are two major areas we need to concentrate on when times get a little tough. The first is to cut back on some of your costs. (I know what you are thinking – easier said than done!) But cutting back significantly on costs could simply mean doing things a bit smarter, not necessarily making wholesale changes to your business. It certainly means putting some time and effort into maintaining a healthy, loyal data base so that less money needs to be spent on attracting new clients through expensive advertising.

Click the ‘Read More’ link below to continue reading this article.

[Read more]

Everyone accepts that Christmas is the one true crazy season for the beauty industry. There aren’t enough hours in a day and even if there were staff are worked to maximum capacity. In years gone by I have written about marketing ideas, displaying Christmas stock and preparing your salon for this wonderfully busy and profitable period. But this year as we start to think about our Christmas planning, my thoughts have turned to how we can prepare our staff for the inevitably hectic weeks of December.

Every year salons contact me with problems concerning staff just before the Christmas rush. And every year I wonder if there had been more planning and concern for the staff member’s needs would the problems have occurred in the first place. Many of our team are just not well enough prepared for the deluge of customers, lack of breaks, no days off, longer hours, new stock lines, special deals, time constraints and greater demands placed on them. Consequently many find it difficult to cope, necessitating time off or not being able to maintain the high standards expected in the salon.

Click the ‘Read More’ link below to continue reading this article.

[Read more]

As I travel around the world speaking about beauty salons, I get to visit hundreds of different salons every year. One of the most common questions asked of me is, “how can I establish a point of difference over my opposition?” Owners discuss new equipment with me, they talk about different product brands, varying their services, changing their price menus and even redecorating the salon. Now all of these things may help you to achieve a point of difference in the short term, but sooner or later your opposition will follow and you will be searching again. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do all of these things regularly, it’s just that I have discovered a cheaper, easier and longer lasting way of being significantly different to everyone around you.

You see, nearly all of the salons that I visit perform a “good” service. On average I am satisfied that they served me well. But the point of difference I am talking about is when a salon is anything but average and they serve me with extraordinary excellence and expertise.

I believe that the greatest point of difference we can establish in this industry is being recognised as an expert. That’s right an expert – Someone who is perceived to have greater knowledge, experience or skill.

The best part is that it doesn’t take a lot of effort to walk and talk, act and sound like an expert. The primary difference between a salon of excellence and an average salon is their attitude. I firmly believe that the vast majority of our customers want to be directed in their skin care. They want their therapist to sound confident and be up to date with the latest treatments, technology and information. It’s our role as professionals to inform, educate, direct and nurture our clients, assisting them to improve the look and feel of their skin. So here’s how it can be done:

Click the ‘Read More’ link below to continue reading this article.

[Read more]

There are many varying opinions of what the word “professional” means in today’s modern salon environment. Certainly it is true that in the beauty industry there are ever increasing demands on therapists as the industry is in a constant state of change. But what are reasonable expectations for an employer of their professional staff in terms of adequately preparing for their day to day role.

In it’s purest sense the word professional simply means to be paid for services and knowledge. What I’d like to discuss is the contentious issue of what should salon owners and managers expect in return for this payment.

Click the ‘Read More’ link below to continue reading this article.

[Read more]

One of the biggest problems facing the Australian beauty industry at present is the lack of experienced staff available when salons advertise for new staff members. Currently, many salon owners are forced to take on graduates or inexperienced therapists to fill vacancies all over the country. Although we would all like to employ therapists that can hit the ground running with very little extra training and supervision, graduates can be wonderful staff members - It just takes a little planning.

Click the ‘Read More’ link below to continue reading this article.

[Read more]