Shortcuts creates the ultimate day using cloud technology

How many times a day do you check your mobile phone? Do you feel guilty about it? Do you tell yourself you should disconnect and never follow through? Like it or not, mobile technology is changing the way we work in the salon and how we play outside it, and the two are coming closer together than ever before. It’s not all information overload and Instagram OCD. Cloud technology can help you find the balance you need in your day. Salon software provider Shortcuts has created the perfect day for a salon owner to follow using cloud-based technology... 6:30am You wake up, feeling not so fresh if you’re honest with yourself. You had one champagne too many last night and all you really want to do is stay cocooned in your duvet. Can you afford to hit snooze one more time? You reach for the iPad on your bedside table and double check the time of your first appointment. Sure, you can nap for a while longer, and you might even be able to squeeze in a yoga class too. 6:50am It's twenty minutes later and you’re finally ready to face the day. OK, so you’re not exactly glowing but at least you are awake. A quick cup of coffee perks you up, and soon you’re ready to bounce into action. You grab a slice of toast, kiss your partner goodbye and run out the door. 7:30am It’s time for your daily dose of zen and you head to the yoga studio. After class, you bump into your friend. She’s having a hair crisis – her hairdresser has gone rogue and given her a disaster of a cut and you’ve got to get it fixed ASAP. She’s almost in tears and it’s up to you to save the day. You reach into your pocket for your mobile phone and open your Cloud Appointment Book. Your schedule is looking pretty packed, but you do have a slot free at 7pm. Your friend hugs you because she is over the moon that you’re able to help. 9:30am You arrive at the salon, it’s still nice and quiet before the chaos kicks in. You have a few moments to yourself, so you make another coffee and flick through your phone to see who will be in today and how busy the team will be. 10am Your first guest arrives and they are a new client so you want to impress them. You greet the client at the door, make sure she’s comfortably seated in the chair, and bring her a hot cup of peppermint tea. You make some general conversation as you hand her an iPad and ask her to fill out her details, knowing her information will synch straight to the main Shortcuts system without you having to do a thing. You transform her look and she’s so happy. You book her next appointment straightaway using the cloud  technology on your iPad, while she’s still admiring her reflection in the mirror. 12pm Your next guest is one of your oldest clients. She has followed you around from salon to salon ever since you were a junior stylist. You know her so well you hardly need to check her history, but last time she went for a lighter colour than usual so you take a look at the iPad to confirm that she’d like the same this time. 3pm One of your stylists has been feeling sick all day. She is as pale as a ghost and looks as though she could dissolve into a coughing fit at any moment. You send her home before she starts sneezing and spluttering all over her guests and infecting the whole salon. As she leaves, you take out your phone and move the rest of her day’s appointments to whichever team members have gaps available. 7pm It’s time to fix your friend’s disastrous cut. You use your phone to check her in, rather than making her wait at the front desk, and usher her straight through to the chair. You need to get this sorted ASAP! Luckily for her, you’re fantastic at what you do, and she leaves with a new style that’s absolutely to die for and a smile lights up her face. Moments like this is why you love your job so much! 10pm Finally, some downtime. You curl up on the couch with your laptop nestled in your lap so you can sneak in one episode of Orange is the New Black before bed. Before you get sucked in to another Netflix binge watch, you double check your revenue for the day and take a look at your team’s productivity. Everything is looking great – it’s shaping up to be a successful week! To find out more about how Shortcuts’ cloud technology solutions can help you achieve work/life balance visit shortcuts.co.uk/cloud-appointment-book. This is a sponsored post by Shortcuts.