You might think that your actions as a salon owner are geared toward success, but there are plenty of things owners do that actually hurt their progress. You might not realise you are doing these things, or you might not realise they are damaging your salon.
Many of these practices are the result of habit. Salon owners do it this way because they have always done it this way. Perhaps it’s the way you learned to do it and it has always worked for you? Or perhaps these practices have occurred out of a necessity for efficiency and you never thought to update them.
Whatever the reason, it’s time to stamp out these actions and attitudes. Read on to learn the things that salon owners do every day that actually hurt their business and could limit their ability to grow and scale.
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Perhaps the single biggest thing you can do to hurt your salon is to ignore your own policies. If a customer shows up 20 minutes late, do you squeeze them in and make it work? Or do you keep their deposit and ask them to reschedule for another time? If you set policies for cancellations, lateness and no-shows, you need to stick to them for them to be effective.
If you let a customer off for their lateness one time, and then charge them for it the next time, this will feel unfair. But if you have a zero-tolerance approach to handling lateness, then it will always feel fair. Respecting your own policies is an excellent way to maximise your time and profits. Using digital salon software makes it easy to share these policies every time a customer books an appointment.
Avoiding sending staff for training because you are worried they will leave you and take that knowledge elsewhere is just poor business sense. If workers with no training stick around, you’ll be left with unmotivated workers with stagnant skills staffing your salon.
Prioritise training for your staff and create a framework for continual reviews and rewards. This will help to motivate your staff to give their best every single day. Motivated staff will show up every day ready to give it their all, and they will make far better team members.
Reviews are the lifeblood of the salon industry, and every review should have a response from the salon. Responding to reviews lets your customers know that you really care what they think. And if you get a negative review for any reason, you’ll have a chance to respond. You might also learn new things and get some great ideas about how to improve your salon by listening to customer feedback.
Only responding to the negative reviews looks like you are only interested in defending yourself, so make it a habit to respond to all reviews. It doesn't have to be an essay response, just acknowledge that you appreciate the message, or that you’ll take their comments on board. This is also a great way to avoid letting bad reviews damage your business as you’ll be able to share your side of the story.
Ignoring the options available with marketing automation is just bad business. There’s no reason for automated messaging to feel robotic unless you let a robot write your content. You can make it feel warm and personable like you just dropped an old friend a message to remind them to book their next appointment.
Automation can also help to reduce no-shows by encouraging individuals to confirm, cancel or reschedule. This will ensure you and all of your staff can use their time more efficiently. In short, automation can upgrade your business for the better, and avoiding it is like throwing free money out of the window.
There are tax savings to be found in every corner of your business. Failing to understand the rules or failing to be thorough when filing your taxes can cost you money every single year. If you’re not sure what tax breaks you are entitled to, work with an accountant to optimise your position. You might discover potential savings that can then be reinvested back into your business.
Working more hours won’t make your business more efficient. In fact, there is a point at which your overworking could actually be hurting your business. Occasionally pulling double shifts might not be too damaging, but regular overworking will eventually have an impact on your mental and physical health.
Overworking makes you less efficient and more prone to making mistakes. And making mistakes is one thing a salon owner should avoid wherever possible. If you’re struggling to meet demand, consider hiring extra team members to enable you to take some time off. Or consider increasing your prices.
