If you have free time, the world is your oyster. There are some incredible things that you can do that have a direct correlation to the money in your bank account, how busy you are, and how fast you grow. Having that time can actually be a really great blessing.
The challenge is most stylists don’t know what to do with that time. They spin their wheels about why they’re not busier, what they should be doing, how to get and stay busy, and what kind of marketing to do. They spend a lot of time thinking about those things but not taking action on anything versus the stylists who are already busy and doing amazing things when they have the time.
Today I’m going to talk about the incredible things to do during that time and other insights as well.
How are you spending your resources?
I have this theory that for a business to grow, it has to have an infusion of two things: money and time. Those are our two greatest resources not just as hairstylists, salon owners, or entrepreneurs, but as human beings.
Health, faith, and love are essential, but not resources. Resources are finite:
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Time will run out at some point, and you can’t get it back.
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You can always make more money; however, you have to invest in it, generally speaking with time, for it to grow.
When we’re looking at the resources we have, we have time and money. So how are you spending your resources as a hairstylist?
You have plenty of free time but not enough money
Raise your hand if you have plenty of free time and not enough cash. You’re lacking direction. You need to focus on building a client base and using extra free time to decide and execute a marketing strategy. Embrace the fact that you have the time and, with small shifts, you can grow your clientele quickly and easily.
You have plenty of money but have no free time
There’s tons of cash coming in, but you’re exhausted, burnt out, overwhelmed, and feel like you’re at max capacity. You need to focus on raising prices, cutting back your schedule, maximizing each guest value, and getting clear on your priorities.
You have zero money and zero free time
If you have no money and no time, you need to go all-in building your clientele and embrace the idea of short-term sacrifice for long-term gain. Get clear on their priorities and make time to focus on the right marketing strategies.
You have plenty of money and free time
You are what I call the wealthy stylist. Continue to improve your marketing efforts, raise prices, and scale back your schedule. Your “what’s next” is to really embrace that wealthy lifestyle and think about how to make this lifetime the best it can possibly be by continually leveling up marketing, raising prices, scaling back schedules, and focusing on the inevitable wealth.
Today we’re going to focus on the stylist who has plenty of free time but is barely getting by. Your greatest gift and asset is that time. Don’t look at that extra time as a negative thing; shift your mindset to recognize the universe is giving you the gift of time to work on your business.
Why you should think like a startup
When we talk about startups, we think about a Silicon Valley tech company that’s inventing a smart shoe or something really crazy. But when we got our cosmetology license, we got a startup.
The problem is that nobody told us that. We just thought we were going to do cute cuts and color and missed the memo that we signed up to be a startup venture capitalist business owner. It all has to be worked for strategically, and I can teach you that strategy, but owning the fact that you are a startup is phase one.
Even if you’re an established startup, think about how you want to run your company. Even if it’s just you as a booth renter, you are the CEO and talent of your company. How do you want to run this company so you can retire successfully one day, have it reach its maximum potential, and be a business that we love forever? Really think of it that way as you read the definition of a startup:
“A startup is a company that is in its first stage of operations. These companies are often initially bankrolled by their entrepreneurial founders as they attempt to capitalize on developing a product or a service for which they believe there is a high demand that can ultimately produce profitability.”
Meaning you will have to invest time or money into this startup if you want to ultimately get some profit from it (aka the paycheck). It goes on to say,
“Due to limited revenue or high cost, most of these small scale operations are not sustainable long-term.”
That’s why 95% of those who get their cosmetology license will not renew it more than once. The churn rate in this industry is unbelievable. You need to invest more time or money into bankrolling your business to get it off the ground because, like the definition says, most small scale operations are not sustainable. The sustainable ones are done correctly and with a plan.
So let’s start creating that plan together so that your startup, no matter how far along the line you are, can succeed.
Focus on the administrative piece
I see our business as hairstylists and salon owners as two-sided: service and administrative. If I asked you which of those brings you money, what’s your answer?
Our initial reaction is service because we’re service providers. You do the haircut, they give you money. It’s a catch-22 because
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You feel like you’re not doing enough services,
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You’re doing tons of them, but not making enough money,
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You’re completely burnt out, or
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You feel you don’t have enough clients, so how can you make more money without the clients to do it?
It’s always going to be the admin piece. Administrative work has to come before the services because without marketing, correct pricing, and a consistently elevated guest experience, you’re not going to grow.
How to Stay Busy During Downtime
There are a few different things I want you to think about doing if you have the downtime.
Your website
You can work on either building or optimizing your website. Do it as much as you can because a lot of the stylists I coach are busier now thanks to their websites. If you have the time, definitely do it. To learn how to build up your website, head over to my Website Academy.
Social Media
Social media is the number one driver of your awareness. It’s your online portfolio and how people know you exist. Focus on posting consistently, writing engaging captions, taking gorgeous photos, and researching stylists you admire. When you scroll through your feed, actually be aware and have eyes wide open to notice how successful people market and grow their business.
Do a Business Analysis
Another thing that’s great to do during downtime is business analysis and forecasting. Review the past month and decide what you can shift to have a better month this month. Track and review things like:
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New guest retention
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Existing guest retention
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How many new clients you saw (volume)
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Retail sales
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Service dollars in-salon treatment sales.
When you’re looking at the health of the business, focus on those bigger pieces. The other stuff is great, but the vast majority of stylists and salon owners don’t need to know all the little ratios to know if their business is healthy or not.
When you are seeding for the month ahead, really think about giving yourself a focus for the month. Look at the past month and decide what you could have done better in (like retail), and then set a goal for the next month (to hit XYZ in retail).
There’s a lot of power in setting an intention for how you want your money to end up. You’ll get a whole lot closer than if you just fly blindly, hoping something cool will happen. I encourage you to set that intention and seed the month ahead.
Upgrade Your Guest Experience
Stylists who are busy and focused on the right things don’t just do the hair. That’s about 20% of what they do. The other 80% is learning to do excellent consultations. If your consultation isn’t making people say, “Whoa, I’ve never been spoken to like this before,” you’re not going to stand out.
Really look at the areas of guest experience that you can improve upon to be a standout, be somebody worth talking about, be referral worthy.
Realize that whatever you practice, you’ll be good at. So you can practice complacency, frustration, and excuses, or you can choose to practice a skill that will produce your desired outcome. So if you have the time, why aren’t you spending it practicing all these things you need to do once you build, grow and scale?
Guest Connections
Spend time on upgrading your guest connection efforts. Think email marketing, new guest intake forms, birthday gifts, welcome gifts. Every little thing you can do to make a guest’s experience better is huge in growing your business.
A startup is like an infant. It needs a lot of love, attention, snuggling, and feeding around the clock. That’s what your business needs if it is going to grow.
Is this huge laundry list a lot to do? Yes. Will it take time? Yes. Is it worth it? HECK YES. Put in the time. Love the startup that you made, make the commitment to give it all you got and you’ll get yours in the end.