Bella Style Salon's Ride or Die
At Bella Style Salon in Slidell, Louisiana, Director of Operations Angela Meyer tackles inventory, team management, and guest relations. Read all about her in our latest Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
SALON TODAY RECOMMENDS: 5 Salon Business Topics to Be Aware of in 2017
Business is always changing and salon owners need to know the next best practices if they don’t want to be left in the dust. Aveda Means Business has been sharing articles on the ways business is shifting between you and your staff, as well as you and your clients. These are the discussions to be involved in to stay ahead of the curve.
June 1, 2017
Sponsored by
4 min to read
Business is always changing and salon owners need to know the next best practices if they don’t want to be left in the dust. Aveda Means Business has been sharing articles on the ways business is shifting between you and your staff, as well as you and your clients. These are the discussions to be involved in to stay ahead of the curve.
1. The Solo Artist Decision
Many stylists are considering leaving the traditional salon setting and turning to a career as an independent contractor. They believe that by becoming a Solo Artist they will be able to make more money, have a more flexible schedule and be able to work with more creative freedom. However, in this article from Aveda Means Business, stylist Bebea Hanna tried the Solo Artist life and decided that it was not right for her. It was a learning experience that has now made her better understand the financial constraints that salon owners deal with, and also made her realize that the business side of beauty was not what she wanted to focus on. For more on making the Solo Artist decision, read the Aveda Means Business article “The Price of Independence: The Truth About Booth Rentals.”
2. Social Media is King
In an Aveda Means Business article on the importance of social media marketing, Gerard Scarpaci of Hairbrained breaks down the three simple but vital lessons of maximizing social media outreach. He stresses the importance of creating content as often as possible. “If you have a Facebook account, a mobile phone and a little charisma, you can reach huge amounts of people,” Scarpaci says. It’s also necessary to curate your content, ensuring that most posts are relevant and interesting to your target audience. Finally, engaging with clients and other business in the community are great ways to make sure that your business stays top of feed and top of mind. For more on being a social media marketing master, read the Aveda Means Business article “Social Studies: 3 Ways To Win At salon Social Media Marketing.
3. Experiential Shopping is the New Way to Retail
Gramercy Salon owner Kristin Nelson has found the secret to huge retail growth: creating hands-on experiences. Nelson brought on a new team member in her Boca Raton Aveda Lifestyle salon, an Aveda Advisory, who is an expert on products and Aveda rituals. She trained the whole team on implementing these rituals and now at least two out of a list of six rituals are offered to each client. They include a makeup touch-up, hair consultation, skin care consultation, sensory journey with chakra cards, hand ritual and scalp treatment/massage. In an article from Aveda Means Business, Nelson describes how these rituals have made guests feel well-cared for in the salon and has dramatically increased retail sales. For more on experiential shopping, read the Aveda Means Business article, “Want To Rock Your Retail Sales? Get Hands-On.”
4. Educate Staff on Numbers, Not Just Techniques
Aveda Means Business talked with Bonnie Conte and Shyla Samel-Kurnick, owners of Avalon Salon and Day Spa in Deer Park, Illinois, to learn more about how education has gotten their staff more engaged in salon goals. The whole salon team is privy to the salon’s stats (retail, prebooking, service), goals and retention rates, and this transparency has strengthened culture. Stylists are more engaged in retail because they know how to track it. When goals are announced, the staff is told where money will be going, such as to redo flooring, so they are motivated to achieve the objective as a part of the team. For more, read the Aveda Means Business article “Business Basics: Educating Your Staff.”
5. Maximize Productivity With Multiple Shifts and Extended Hours
Scott Buchanan, owner of four Scott J. Salons in Manhattan and Brooklyn, talked with Aveda Means Business on the ways that he has upped productivity in his salons. He analyzed his business, looking at the days and times when he was most busy, discovering that evenings and weekends were prime time for appointments and walk-ins. Rather than only giving them the option of one late night a week, Buchanan keeps his salons open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and keeps his chairs busy all week long. His clients love the flexibility these hours offer and his stylists are happy, too. Working shifts allows stylists to choose between three 12-hour days, four 10-hour days, or five 6-to-8-hour days per week. For more on this system, read the Aveda Means Business article “Shift Your Thinking: A Master Class In Productivity.”
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