Step away from the styling chair - and focus on business

Sometimes it pays for a salon owner to step away from the chair and focus on business, says Ian Egerton. For many salon owners working with clients is what the industry is all about, however some want to work on the business not necessarily in it. Making the transition from working salon owner to managing your business is a mighty leap and one that many salon owners do not want to make entirely; but many would love to split their workload with some days on the floor and time for admin and management. Whatever the ideal work life balance for you, having both the courage and skills to make that switch can be a monumental undertaking. Personally, I gave up working as a hairdresser after twenty five years behind the chair and decided that I wanted to grow my business around me. The question is... Salon owners often ask me “what would I do with all this free time”; or, “who will generate the revenue”? They even assume they’d be bored! OK I’m not suggesting you go from five days to none; but you could reduce the time spent on actively working with clients and gradually  fill your days with business-building tasks. How do I know? From personal experience I know it can work. Since managing my salon entirely from behind the scenes is has grown 255% over the past seven years, which means I’ve almost tripled my income! How? Well, I have had to pick projects (or fights) carefully and focus each day on specific areas of development. My primary suggestions are to work on:

• Systems – to understand what I expect and how I want my team to deliver it.
• Communication with my team – positive leadership, robust materials and open exchange of information
• Business modelling  - financial forecasting, and so on.
• Be confident that your salary and incentive program works for you and your team – structured to forecast growth and give team members a progression plan.
• Marketing,  internal and external
• PR, building brand identity and relationships
• Training for all team members at every level, l including me!
• Services – review both the physical services and prices
• Product brands – I expect good support from my product suppliers
• Client journey – improving where possible the physical plant and the client experience

If you were to ask me which elements I still work on today, all of the above. I arrive at work and schedule time for each project, or business that I am working on and when the time is up, I close that job and move on to the next. Be aware As creative people we have a tendency to gravitate towards projects we like, to keep things balanced, mix them up, and definitely focus on your business modelling, costs, incentives, income, breakeven, who’s contributing and who’s profitable (not always the same people). If you want to make it easier, as you progress, why not get help, find someone to work with, a mentor, or a business development company; there are several great companies out there that specialise in the hair and beauty industry.   Ian Egerton is salon owner & Director of Ico Management Services, offering leadership and communication strategies for salon owners  www.ico-management.com