13. What is a typical ‘day in the life’ of a spa or salon business owner like?
Even though no two days tend to be alike for salon owners because the needs of their clients (not to mention their employees) vary so widely, there are certain tasks you can expect to perform on a regular basis. To begin with, you’ll probably spend a lot of time on the telephone every day, helping to book appointments, ordering supplies, talking to salespeople, arranging for in-shop or offsite training, and so on.
You’ll also have to make up work schedules (then juggle them to accommodate employees’ scheduled time off and personal needs), track receivables, monitor costs, dream up new advertising and marketing strategies, and possibly create daily or weekly specials that can be emailed to your regular customers to lure them in for additional services.
On the personnel side, you’ll hire new employees, visit beauty schools on the lookout for hot prospects, conduct performance reviews, mentor young stylists and/or aesthetics technicians with minimal experience, consult with stylists or colourists whose efforts go awry, and mediate when tempers flare between staff members.
And of course, if you’re also a licensed practicing cosmetologist, you’ll be styling hair, applying colour and rolling perms.
Sounds like a lot for one person to do, doesn’t it? Well, it is – and that’s why many salon owners (even those whose salons are quite small) often hire a salon manager to take over some of the administrative duties.
This is a particularly good idea if you intend to continue to work behind the chair, since hairstyling chores alone can take up a lot of your time every day.
And while it’s possible to slip in some administrative work while you’re waiting for someone’s perm to process or a late client to arrive, it can be difficult to switch gears and give administrative tasks like balancing the books the full concentration they need. The main thing that will influence business in your salon will be economics.
After all, when the economy is riding high, people are willing and able to spend money on more expensive salon services, services that can easily be done at home, and luxury spa services like full-body massage and body wraps. But when the economy is slumping, those services may be considered a luxury rather than a necessity.
As a result, customers may cut back on the frequency of their salon visits, or they may opt only for the basic services provided by one of the budget-conscious national chains.
One way to avoid being caught up a creek without a paddle is to research your target market’s economic base carefully. If you’ve done your market research well so far, you already have some idea of the average income levels in your neighborhood.
Now you need to look at data like the percentage of people who are employed full time and the types of jobs they hold. If the local market is driven by a lot of blue-collar, heavy industry jobs, a downturn in the economy could make cash tight and affect your ability to keep customers.
Luckily, most people still use salon services, even if it’s just for a basic cut, when times are tough, but they may go longer between services.