Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Hi Pamelat23,

I hope you're having a great day today. I'm going to key in on a couple of things you placed in your question and hope that I can reflect on where you need to focus your energy for the next couple of hours, days, weeks and eventually years.

I've been so busy lately that I have not had an opportunity to answer many questions but yours deserves an answer.

The language we use about any situation determines the direction your life is traveling. and there are many contradictions in your statements which leads me to belive that there are deeper more buried struggles underneath the surface of your circumstances. We won't try to tackle them all here online but we do need to clarify what you need to be feeling if you are to go forth and be successful.

{I feel like my talent is going down the drain.} Why do you feel like your talent is going down the drain pamelat23?

{I work so hard to make people look great for nothing.} Why do you feell that your work is for nothing? Have your customers told you that the work that you do for them is for nothing? Are they happy when you complete your work on them? I wonder why you say this?

{I feel like I could work at McDonalds and make better money. It seems like the only way I can make money is if I have my own salon or booth rent.}

{We just recently moved away from my place of work. Now I have to rebuild my clintele. I almost feel like getting out of the hair business, but I haven't a clue what other career I would choose. I need help figuring out what to do. Do I stick with it and if so what do I do so that I can make some decent money?}

WE'RE HERE TO BE HAPPY!!!
Pamelat23, the goal of any human being should be to do the work that makes them most happy because the only reason why we should work that makes sense is for the enjoyment and pleasure that it brings to us and others when we do what we do.

{I really love doing hair, I just want to be able to make enough to be able to support my family.}

IN ALL THINGS WE NEED BALANCE...
This is a very beautiful response but also complex at the same time. I've found sometime supporting our family can be a problem in itself if our goals for our family are not managed well. One persons expectations for supporting their family would have them driving a Bentley and another a yugo but in between there are many types of lifestyles one can support. In this day and age supporting the familiy can be a huge struggle because of the expectations of our family, friends and relatives. Some would be fruggle and others lavish. So we must balance our lifestyles using balance. What we make must be balanced with how we live. If we balance them both well we can save, invest and ultimately grow. If we are not growing in the lifestlye we are living in we are not doing a good job of balancing our earnings with what we love to do. I have to go but I will return to add to this. REMEMBER... our only real problem in life is our failure to be "MORE Creative" than we’ve ever been. If you “Invent” your opportunity YOU WILL most definitely create your future. I'm only an email away from you if you need further guidance, direction or you'd just like to talk more about it. You see I love it when my customers are happy. Are you happy yet? Is this information helping you? Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant,

Lovingly Deremiah *CPE (Customer Passion Executive)

Don't start your own salon if you need money to support your family. Starting a new business takes a lot of time and money and energy.

If you still want to do hair, then figure out how you can uniquely help people in your community. For example: can you become a stylist for: your local theatre community, your local television station, a corporation that has a hair salon on-campus, or even co-market with a photographer that specializes in glamour photos.

Ah, the frustrations of a talented artist! I've sat in many a stylists chair and heard the same emotiuons expressed. Often, as I've sat having my coiffure coiffed, I've related what I'm about to relate to you.

I've had many a stylist in my lie because, frankly, they are too much into their art to be businesses people. Yes, every hair artist wants to make more than just a living. Too many ever stand back from their art to apply themselves for the hour a week it would take to be a better business person.

Let me rant.....

First off, EVERY STYLIST should have a list of all their clients. Look, don;t let the lack of technology or lack of cash hold you back from building the most basic customer relationship management tool you must have. As I've said to many a cash starved stylist, you don't have to have a computer to keep a customer list in, even someting as simple as a recipe box filled with index cards will do the trick.

The poor stylist's customer list: Take one receipe box and a stack of index cards (4 X 6 lined index cards). Record EVERY customer's name, full address, home, work and cell phone numbers on it. Email address too if you can. You must do this FOR EVERY CUSTOMER WHO YOU PROVIDE SERVICE TO! Also record what noted you can about each appointment on the card. This way you can refer back to your customer notes next time they come in and know what their personal preferences are. ALSO RECORD THE DATE Of LAST SERVICE for EACH CUSTOMER!!!

When you can, copy your customer list over into a computer system. Contact me via my profile and I can tell you how you can get your hands on a full customer relationship management program for free on your computer and automate much of the manual process.

ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR CUSTOMER LIST:

Here is where many hair artists drop the ball. So many of the artists I've had manage my mane have failed right here! THEY NEVER USED THEIR CUSTOMER LIST! Shocking, isn't it? What kind of effort does it take when your appointment calendar is empty and there is no walk in trade coming in to go through your recipie box of customer cards, and FIND WHICH CUSTOMERS HAVE NOT BEEN IN for a DOO in the past 120 days?!!

Yep, right there is where rubber meets the road. Hardly ONE stylist I've used has ever called me to say: 'Mr. Moen, it's been 120 days since I've last run my fingers through your hair! Surely after 120 days you hair could use a trim, if not the full meal deal. I've an opening tomorrow at 9:00 am if that's good. If not, I'll find something that suits both of us.'

So, here you sit. You want to be busier. So, let me ask you, can you turn around after reading this reply, lift a phone, and start calling inactive clients and ask them to plant their bum in your chair? I hope so, because you'll have to do this before moving onto phase two.

Phase Two:

Once you become very good at keeping a full schedule, you can raise your rates, or learn to sell more products.

A busy stylist is worth more. As you said, you are a talented stylist. A talented stylist who becomes busy, becomes hard to get into see. Being hard to see must mean you are good. Being good usually means 'worth more', so, charge more. If you are always full, raise your rates. Sure, a few customers might quit, but that frees up time for the folks who are dying to get into your chair and are willing to pay your price.

Of course, you have a customer 'captive' in your chair for at least 20 minutes. How about taking just five minutes and making a recommendation about the lovely shelves full of 'professional' grade shampoo and hair conditioners your salon sells? Look, Redken was started by a stylist who noticed that sales on Tuesday, Wednesday sucked, but if he sold just a couple bottles of shampoo to customers on slow days as well as on the other busier days, he could pick up an extra day's sales on the week. PUSH the PRODUCTS! The margins are pretty good, and it could mean an extra 50 PERCENT sale on a typical hair do. If one in ten bought, you'd be adding extra revenue without having to do extra cuts or styles. SELLING Product LEVERAGES your time/money ratio, and it's an easy AMPLIFICATION of your time and revenue potential for any stylist. Again, how many actually try to add extra income to their weekly pay? That's right, darn few!

There is not much difference between the neighborhood drycleaner and the local hair stylist (sorry, artist). All it takes is a mere TWO PERCENT additional effort by working smarter IN their business rather than ON their business to get a 10 to 100 percent increase in gross sales. All it takes is a concerted effort on the basics like collecting customer contact information, and a two percent additional weekly effort to use that information to DRIVE your sales. I've wanted to work with a hair stylist for years, and like I said, I've yet to meet one who was ready to DO the small amount of extra work it would take to become a talented stylist and successful business person. Will YOU be that one? I hope so.

Darcy Moen
Customer Loyalty Network <-- and letting my hair grow until my stylist calls me and asks me to come back for a hair cut (it's now been 5 months since my last hair cust BTW).

The first question to ask is: Do you enjoy what you're doing?

If you do, THEN and only then do you move forward and working for yourself is a great option. There are great suggestions above already.

If you HATE it (aside from the $$) then go to McDonalds or something else.

Michael

I worked for several Salon and Spas over a 5 year time spanned. I have watched people come and go, but the ones who make the most money take their customers with them. I don't know how far away you moved, but you would be amazed to know how many clients will call around trying to find you. Most clients don't care about the salon, they care about who they trust to color and cut their hair. If not they would just go to a barber shop. You really need to keep a list of all your customers info including their color formulas. There is nothing worse then having someone guess what they did last time. As for opening your own place I have seen so many of Dreams Crushed that way. I do say, do it out of your home if you have the space.
If it is time to step out of doing hair perhaps you would enjoy being a rep for a beauty line Aveda, Emiliani, Redken, etc. You would still be around the industry you once loved and be able to use your knowledge.
I would be interested to know what type of area you moved to. It would give a better idea what type of road to send you down.
Either way Good Luck on whatever path you choose....

Keep us posted and :-) Smile!
You make people Beautiful and that should give you a good feeling...

I, too worked in a salon/spa environment, and I agree with what many others have recommended.

The key... you said you love doing hair. Don't give up what you love before you have done whatever you can to make it work.

And starting a new business is not the solution, especially if you NEED money right now. If you need money, you are going to just end up being more stressed out and you will lose focus on what you truly want to do.

Keep in mind that it takes time to build a clientelle. Try to find a salon that will work with you in building a steady flow of clients. Also, make sure the salon is CLEAN & the staff has a professional manner.

A few things we have done are:

----A rebooking raffle every month. (If you rebook your appt. before leaving today, you get entered to win a free valentines day spa package valued at $120).

----Referral program. Give your friend my referral card and they will get 20% off their first hair service, and as a thank you I will give you 20% off your next hair service (after your referral comes in).

----Try to upsell. Promote the newest services you are currently offering. Know your products, and sell product (if the salon does commission on that, you can make quick money that way).

----Listen to your clients and read their body language. They are paying you for a service, so make sure that they are getting what they pay for.

----FOLLOW-UP... Send thank you cards to all your new clients 3-5 days after they have received their hair service. In that you should thank them for the opportunity to do their hair and you should also let them know that you look forward to seeing them again soon.

----Latest techniques - keep fresh and up to date with the newest techniques & also make sure you present yourself with the latest styles. I wouldn't go to a stylist that looks like she is stuck in the 80s.

----Go the extra mile. Where I worked, our stylists always got their clients a wine glass of lemon water. And throughout the year, they did little extra things for their clients. For example, at valentine's day, they would have a red rose on their booth to give to each of their regular clients. (Just an extra something to say that their regulars are appreciated).

Basically, I guess what it all comes down to is that you need to love what you do, have the talent, and lastly, have good customer service skills.

wow, and I thought I wrote some long posts...lol
I read through most of them but got board and just scrolled down...

Yes you can do hair, you are good at it too... but as you said you have to rebuild your client list... Most booth rental want you to bring your clients in there place... your not going to get a good commission rate if you have no followers...

On the other hand starting up a business is very costly and still you have no clients.

In order make enough to be able to support your family, you may need to keep working at that dead end job while you rebuild your client list. This time think of the work at a temp job and teat each client like they are your own...

That' my 2cents.

Stu