Most of us didn’t realize when we went to cosmetology school that we were becoming entrepreneurs. We knew that we were doing it to gain creativity, freedom, flexibility and massive income potential, but for some reason that didn’t add up to “I am going to be a small business owner.”
We assume that title is reserved for salon owners, but every single person with a cosmetology license is a small business owner. You live or die by your business and marketing decisions.
But less than half of the businesses started this year will be open five years from now. Most entrepreneurs will fail to grow a business, based on stats from the Department of Labor Statistics:
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Of the small businesses that opened in March 2016, 79.8% made it to March 2017.
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About 50% of businesses with employees will survive to their fifth year in business.
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About 30% of businesses will survive to their 10th year in business.
Now of those entrepreneurs that do keep showing up to work, like the stylists who steps behind the chair day after day, 40% are profitable, 30% break even and 30% are continually losing money.
My guess is that for salon owners, those margins are even tighter, say that more like 20% are profitable.
And it’s not because this is an impossible industry to turn a profit. It’s because only 20% of success in this industry is your skills behind the chair. The other 80% is everything else you do; guest experience, marketing, education, and business knowledge.
So I want to share with you the skills and techniques the top 10% of stylists and salons using to have that sustainable success that the other 90% are not taking advantage of.
1. They are actively marketing themselves 365 days a year
You know those salons you admire? The dream salons with two hundred thousand followers and celebrity clientele? They don’t take social media breaks; they fight until they get it right.
They learn the skills they need to learn and seek out the resources they need to have. Instead of feeling defeated, they push through.
And they didn’t take a social media break eight years ago when they were lost on Instagram, didn’t understand how it worked, and couldn’t take a good picture to save their life. They worked hard every single day until they figured out their social media efforts and that consistency in marketing is what sets a successful business apart.
The top 10% also have multiple marketing channels pointing down their marketing funnel day after day. They aren’t getting clients from just one place.
Marketing 365 days a year is part of the equation if you want a long-term sustainable business.
2. They make the time
You know those top 10% of businesses who still turn a profit ten years later? Or that top 10% of stylists who work three days a week and make $200,000 a year? They make the time to work on their business every single week.
As a working mom, I totally understand the pressure of not enough time. I had to make the time. It was hard, there was sacrifice, but I have zero regrets about the foundations I put into building a sustainable business.
I’m inspired by working moms like Arianna Huffington, Rachel Hollis, and Alli Webb, all who made the time to build their successful businesses. They have so much to show for it because they carve out space and time to do it to be the top 10%.
Maybe you don’t want to have a celebrity clientele. But your goals probably include stability, comfort, and predictable income. To have all of those things, you have to make time to not just work in your business but truly work on it without excuses.
3. They are constantly evolving
“I’ve got a good thing going.”
That statement is the kiss of death. When big consumer brands like Toys “R” Us close down, and others like Sears and Barnes and Noble projected to disappear in the next year, we wonder where these multi-million dollar brands went wrong.
Real talk? They didn’t evolve. They found success, got comfortable and decided to cruise.
There will ALWAYS be a newer, more evolved model coming up five years behind. When I joined the industry in 2008, there was no social media, no websites, no video marketing or ring lights. Guess what? In five years, we’ll all be trying to play a new game, and we’ll have to evolve into that.
If you stop evolving as a stylist, your clients will go find somebody who is. Those who will be doing hair successfully and making good money long-term will always be growing and staying with the times. You’re driving your own future, and you need to be the one pushing the evolution.
4. They are constantly learning
Successful stylists and salon owners don’t think for one second that they know it all. Not even close. They are addicted to education and seek out opportunities every year because it’s the only way to stay ahead of the game.
Would you take more pictures for social media if you had the perfect photo spot and knew how to take great photos? Absolutely. Would your captions be better if you knew what to say? Of course. So why aren’t you getting the tools and education you need to do all those things?
Maybe you feel like you can’t afford it, so you’ll stick with the free education. That’s cool if you want a mediocre business because there isn’t an educator on the planet who gives the good stuff away for free. Think of education as an investment in yourself. The more you educate yourself, the faster your business grows. Period.
5. They’re smart about finances
A lot of stylists and salon owners are victims of their spending habits. They buy the color or pay the rent or get the commission check but don’t think about all the things that got them there.
Successful stylists sit down at the start of every year and figure out how much they need to make a month to reach their financial goals, how much they’re making now, and how to see more guests a month to make up the difference.
They budget out their profit, their color, and their rent. They figure out the cost of marketing and payroll. They know how much it costs to run their business and have a plan in place to get themselves where they want to go.
To be in the top 10%, you need to set financial goals and make a plan and budget to get you there. Nothing should happen by chance; everything should happen by choice.
6. They find the gaps
Successful entrepreneurs aren’t copy cats. They don’t do what someone else is doing. Yes, of course, you could, but because somebody else already is, it’s been done, and you’re too late.
Evolution is seeing what others are doing and wondering how to do it better or differently to create that whoa factor.
Because that factor is what entices today’s consumer. They’re not going to come to see you because you’re doing what everyone else is. It’s who is playing a bigger game, who is reaching for the next level?
Don’t just show up and do the job. Go above and beyond that to grab the consumer’s attention.
The top 10% of stylists and salon owners consistently market and evolve, make the time, commit to education, work on financial goals, and find the gap. They work to grab consumers’ attention because they know the other 90% is just white noise.
Entrepreneurship really is like playing a game 365 days a year. If you want to win, take the time, trust the process, and make the commitment to yourself.