Salon Mastery: The 7 Key Pillars for Hair and Beauty Business Success

Sit down and see what's going on with the Queen of Salons. Hair, beauty, and more successful tips for business owners. All on Build Your Salon. Hello, hello, hello, my beautiful salon friend. How on earth are you? Here we are, 4th of April. Made it through March. Clocks have changed over here in the UK, so we're pouncing towards spring and hopefully a nice warm sunny summer as well. Actually, I'm cheating a little, my dear listener, because it's not the 4th of April when I'm recording this. I'm recording this ahead because right now I'm actually in Spain. So, some years ago, it had been one of my goals for a very long time to buy a holiday home in Spain because my children both have special educational needs needs and they struggle a bit with change. So, if we go on holiday for a fortnight, it takes them about 10 days to settle down and get into a new routine and figure out where everything is and relax. And so, it can be a bit stressful for us. So, having our own place means that they've got their own bedrooms and their own clothes in the drawers and they settle in a bit quicker. So, we get a bit more bang for our buck as far as time off and holiday is concerned. So, we bought this place in Spain, which sounds terribly glam, doesn't it? My second home in Spain. But, actually, it's a wreck. It's a bit of a ruin. But, I like it. Anyway, I haven't been out there for years, not since before Covid, to actually stay at the house. So, one of two things is happening right now, dear listener. I'm either having a glorious week away with no husband, no kiddies in my home in Spain and enjoying a little bit of spring Spanish sunshine on my back or the roof has caved in sometime in the last couple of years and I'm drinking warm cava straight out of the bottle while I'm surrounded by the wreckage and ruin of my devastated home in Spain. So, one of two things is happening. Either way, I hope this finds you terribly, terribly well. And I've used a bit of technology for this episode. I decided to jump in and start seeing what all the fuss about AI is all about. And so, I jumped in and I asked the chat bot to give me a title for this week's podcast. And it came up with a rubbish one. It was all about starting a small business. I didn't really want to talk to you about starting a small business because most of you are already in the trenches with me, aren't you, darlings?

But I thought we could use it as a little, as a springboard into a better topic. So, I'm titling this episode something around if I were to start again. So, if I was starting from scratch again, what are the things that I would do from the beginning? So, kind of a reflection on my 173 years in the hairdressing and beauty therapy industry. And if I was going to start again, I'd make sure I had these pillars in place. So, let's jump in. There are seven of these little hints and tips, but you know what I'm like, dear. If I get stuck on a point, we could be here for hours. So, I like to keep these episodes to about 25, 30 minutes. If it feels like it's dragging on a bit, we might do a part two. Also, incidentally, if you want an episode on technology and AI, then I'm a bit of a nerd, a bit of a geek. Please feel free. Phil at buildyoursalon.com. I would love to hear from you if that's an episode that would serve you well. Anywho, let's jump in, shall we? And a very special shout-out to our listeners in Columbus, in the USA, who were our most prolific listeners last week. Well, I always think it's a bit of a tragic idea to think of one person listening to, you know, 77 episodes in a week. So, I'm hoping there's more than one of you. Anyway, a big shout-out from the other side of the pond. And I hope life is treating you terribly well, too. So, let's jump in with tip number one. And the first one is all around identifying a market. And I know this sounds a little bit cliched and a bit tired. But I think if we do this properly, it saves a hell of a lot of hassle a bit later on. Because I would like to fast-forward a few years into people's experience. And these are the kind of conversations that I have a lot as a business coach. So, imagine that I come into your salon and we're looking at the reasons you're not making as much money as you want to. Or not taking as much profit as you want to. And let's imagine that we identify pricing as one of the stumbling blocks. Perhaps you haven't been as consistent with increasing your prices as your costs have gone up. Or maybe you priced things wrongly from the start. And let's face it, darlings, lots of us do. We stand in the high street, look at one end at Sweaty Betty, who never cleans her windows. And say, well, we're better than her. Let's charge more than she does. And then we look at the other end at this fantastic cream and chrome construction. Perhaps part of a franchise and go, oh, we can't quite charge what they do. And we pick a number in between. And sometimes that's as much as what goes into our pricing in those early days. So, perhaps you're carrying some legacy issues with your pricing. And perhaps being the strict, stern, bossy business coach that I am, I encourage you to put your prices up.

And I tell you, it must be done with haste and to a level which finally starts generating the profits that you deserve. And then you say something to me like, well, my customers would never pay that. And then we have a bit of an impasse because most markets have a level of tolerance. And actually, I would say most markets are more tolerant to pricing than you think. But there is a top limit in most areas. And sometimes that top limit is nowhere near where we need it to be in order to generate the profits that we want. So, what's gone wrong? Well, it's right at the beginning. And I'm afraid you have to take responsibility for that, my dear, because you chose to put the bloody salon there in the first place. So, if you've chosen an area where people don't have the disposable income that we need to generate the profits you want in the type of business that you want, well, we've got a big problem. So, if I were to start again, I would definitely look at where I'm locating my business. And lots of us take this for granted. We take it as a decision that's already made because we tend to open a business very close to where we live or where we've been working already. We've got some clients. But please cast your mind forward in that situation and say, OK, I've got a few clients here now. Is that going to be enough? Can I get enough of more of those clients? Can I get enough of their friends and family and people that spend in the same way? Are there enough profitable people in this area to make this a thriving, profitable business in the longer term? Oh, I ranted a bit there, didn't I, darlings? Sorry about that. Step two, I would definitely be much better at business planning and strategising a lot sooner. This is something that I didn't do probably for the first 10 years, if I'm really honest with you. And lots of us don't. We don't start looking at business plans and strategy very often until things start going wrong. As long as things are going well, we just keep spending the money and the money keeps rolling in. But when the wheels start to fall off the cart a little, that tends to be when we start strategising and planning. And I would certainly start that process a lot sooner. We tried to put a business plan together before we opened the salon, in fact, because we wanted an overdraft. We wanted to borrow some money from the bank. They said no. I threw the business plan out and didn't look at it again for 10 years.

But I would certainly start that a lot sooner. And it's not because I think a business plan changes your fortunes in any meaningful way. It's not because I think it necessarily alleviates any stress. In fact, creating that business plan can be a bit stressful in the first place. But the reason I think we need a really good, strong business plan and strategy is it makes you build a business that supports your bigger goals. Let me explain. Let's have some clarity, please, Uncle Phil. I think lots of business owners do the best that they feel their business can do and are dissatisfied. And that's because they're not building a business that supports their life goals. What we need to start with is what you want out of your business. How many hours do you want to be working? How much profit do you want to take out of the business? What kind of wage do you want to be drawing week in and week out? Then we know what the business has to deliver for you and that's where the business plan kicks in. So it's that bridge between your goals, your dreams, your aspirations and the goals that we're setting for the business. And I think the business plan bridges that gap terribly effectively. My Salon Owners Retreat is a unique event where you get to create the agenda. This isn't a retreat of boring presentations in conference rooms without windows. The entire program is a mix of group coaching, mastermind sessions and one-to-one coaching with me, your favorite salon coach. There's also time built in for implementation. Yes, you're going to leave the retreat having actually got some important work done on your business with our support. Our spring 2023 retreat is now sold out, but you can be the first to hear about the next Salon Owners Retreat and get the very best early bird pricing by heading to buildyoursalon.com and joining our wait list. I can't wait to see you on Salon Owners Retreat. Don't forget your speedos. So we've got our business plan in place. What next? Well, I want you to not really fall too desperately in love with the business plan. Let me explain what I mean. I think lots of people set things in stone far too quickly. And let me tell you, and it's a tired old phrase that your Uncle Phil keeps wheeling out again and again and again.

There are very few things chiseled in stone in your business. There are very few contracts written in blood. We have to have the mindset that we are continuously learning, continuously adapting. Lots of people call it a growth mindset. And I need you to be committed to the business, but not so in love with any part of it that you wouldn't change direction if the market tells you that's what we need to do. So please don't fall so in love with your business plan that nothing is adaptable and that we're going to keep persisting and keep pushing in a direction which is blatantly unproductive and not getting us anywhere close to where we need to be. So I want you to enjoy having the clarity that a business plan brings, but also review it, feel free to change it, feel free to alter it. Not so much that we're pivoting continually and not getting anywhere, but enough that we can adapt to what the marketplace is telling us. Next up, where are we up to, darlings? Is it tip three? No, tip four, Ron. Sorry, my notes. I've got little post-it notes all over my screen and they keep dropping off, so I don't know where I've got to. Tip number four, anyway, I would definitely get to grips with the money in the business a lot sooner. Now, I can see why this doesn't happen in businesses. It's because we do all right. Most of us, when we first start a business, we enjoy the first year or so and we do a little bit better than we thought we were going to and things are a bit easier. And we actually seem to be making money that we don't always feel that we deserve, do we? So we don't really get into the financial management side of things. And again, this is something I didn't look at for the first 10 years because I found it boring and overwhelming and a bit confusing. And I didn't really understand why I needed to be looking at forecasting and planning financially. I certainly didn't feel the need to budget because we were making good profits, driving nice cars, going on nice holidays. So I didn't really feel the pinch. I didn't really understand the need to get to grips with the money. But my goodness, if I find it confusing and I've got a degree in banking and finance, darlings, I probably have with a certificate and everything. But if I find it confusing, I can completely understand why other salon owners do. But trust me, it's something that you really need to get you get to grips with very quickly. And there are ways to make it easier. And one clears one's throat with humility because I have got a brilliant little financial planning tool called Get Paid Properly, which helps you make friends with the figures in your business. But I'm not here to pitch that today. I might actually. It might be the coming the ad that's coming up later. But I think that we do need to use the resources that are available to us, get the help, read the books, watch the videos, find some way that you can access financial information that makes sense to you.

And I'm going to shout out to my salon software friends. Again, you've got to help us get to grips with this, guys. These endless reports that you keep spewing that nobody looks at or nobody can make head nor bloody tail of. We've really got to simplify that and turn that into useful information that salon owners can use. So talk to your bloody customers, software people. Stop talking to each other. Stop talking to the finance department. Stop talking to the development team. We don't care what the software could do. What we care about is what we need it to do. And what we need it to do is to give us that information in a much more readily digestible format. Start thinking dashboards, please, guys. We want to know whether our figures are red, yellow or green and whether things are on track. Or reach out to me. Pay me a few grand and I will consult with you and help you figure out what salon owners need. Next up, I would create yourself a good, strong marketing strategy. Because marketing is how we build the bridge. Now, when we are looking forward at the coming week, the coming month, the coming year. This is essentially the marketing planning process that I take people through in my marketing program. And we go through this every quarter. Essentially, what I want you to do is figure out what is likely to happen in the business if you do nothing. So if all you do is rely on your regulars coming in and rebooking their appointments and picking up a few walk-ins along the way. And a couple of people moving away during the year. What's likely to happen? And you can look at your previous performance to figure out what that picture might look like. Then we want to go back to that business plan. And we need to figure out what we actually need the business to achieve in order for us to generate the profits that we want. And there will be a gap. And that gap is filled by marketing strategy. So what marketing do we need to do? How many new clients do we need through the door? How much frequency do we need from our existing clients? How many lost clients do we need to re-engage and get back through the door? All of this is covered in your marketing strategy. So the way we bridge the gap is with marketing. And you might have to do some recruitment along the way too. Keep your ears open, by the way, darlings, for my new team program called Salon Team Rocket Fuel.

More on that another day. Next up, please. Oh, this is a bit of a dull one. Sorry. Make sure you can navigate the legal stuff and the regulatory requirements and all the paperwork boring bits. Delegate it to someone who enjoys that kind of thing. Get the advice that you need. And don't be afraid to pay for that advice. Don't be afraid to make sure that you've got, as part of your bigger Salon Team, don't be afraid to make sure that you've got some decent legal advice. Sometimes we can jump in on a kind of group scheme. So over here, we have the National Federation of Hair and Beauty Professionals. And they have a legal helpline and some template contracts and things like that. There's the Federation of Small Businesses. People like this can help us keep the cost down while we're also complying with legal and regulatory stuff. I'm not here to give you legal advice. I'm not qualified or indemnified to give you legal advice. And if you're taking legal advice from a free podcast, darling, you've got bigger problems than this. But I do think that it's something that we need to keep on top of very, very early. We'll get things a bit more interesting. What would getting paid properly mean to you? A better lifestyle? Less financial worry? Being able to be present and improve your relationships with your loved ones? Maybe even a better night's sleep? I know these are scary times, but if you're continually living paycheck to paycheck, if you can't seem to get ahead financially, I feel your frustration. I have seen your pain. It's time to stop winging it. You know your salon business could be doing more. It's time to finally fix your fear of the figures, take control and charge what you're worth. To step into the shoes of the well-paid, professional salonpreneur you were always meant to be. And that's what my Get Paid Properly programme is all about. I'll help you improve your relationship with money, understand the finances in your business and I'll show you what you should be charging to the penny. All of that without overwhelm and without guesswork. For all of the details of Get Paid Properly and to sign up now, head to getpaidproperly.com. And with the exclusive discount code PODCAST, you can get an enormous £200 off your investment in the programme as well. Let's work together to make this the year you finally take control of the money in your salon business. And my final tip is to build a strong team.

And lots of salon owners close their ears right now because they say, well I don't need a team, I'm working on my own, it's just me. I've built myself a wonderful salon suite or I've built myself an extension at home where I'm going to convert one of those wonderful units that we plop in the back garden. I'm never going to have a team, never going to employ anybody, it's just me. Shut up Phil, don't need this piece of advice. Well you do actually, because there is a team beyond your payroll team as well. So yes, of course, we need to make excellent hiring decisions and we need to manage the performance of anyone that we're employing. And lots of salon owners turning a blind eye to poor performance at the moment. That's a story for another day. But there is a team beyond that. And we've already alluded to part of that team being someone who knows a bit about the regulatory side of things, who knows a bit about legal. Similarly, you need to build somebody into that team who knows about money. So you're going to need a decent bookkeeper or a decent accountant or both. I would go for both. I think a good bookkeeper can save you an absolute ton of time across the year. And who else? Who else do we need? You need a tribe. You need someone that you can hang out with and moan about work, who you're going to get some useful input from. Not your friends and family, but people who are in a similar boat to you. You need some kind of business coach who is going to be able to spur you on, encourage you into that growth mindset. Keep challenging your decision making for better and better results. And so there's a whole host of people outside the salon business, but they are vital parts of your team as well. And also, to be honest with you, they need managing in the same way. If you have a business networking tribe, and it's not actually contributing anything to your business for a period of time, well, we need to find a way to make those relationships work. Or we need to find a different business tribe to hang out with. If your business coach isn't actually doing the stuff that's helping your business grow and thrive, and for you to achieve more than you ever dreamt you could, well, maybe it's time to retire that business coach and look for somebody else. So we manage the performance of those external teams the same way we do our internal teams. But most of all, and this isn't one of my seven tips, this is kind of my final words of wisdom from the old crone of the salon industry world, your queen of salons. And my final bit of wisdom is to make sure you're enjoying yourself. And that sounds like a really glib comment. It sounds like something that's kind of a flip and throw away thing.

Oh, have fun in your business. But if you're going to make enjoying your business, if you're going to make having fun in your business a priority, it means you have to notice the times that you're enjoying yourself and the times that you're not. And what you're noticing is the energy that you're bringing to work, and the effect that work is having on your energy. You're starting to notice the things that are aligned with your true purpose, and with your own energetic nature, and the things that are out of alignment. So that very glib comment actually has a kernel of very important stuff that we need to consider. Because over time, you're obviously going to do better at the stuff that sparks joy in you, that encourages energy to flow through you. And the things that you're resistant to, the things that are out of alignment with you, you're always going to find a struggle. It's going to feel like shoveling shit up a hill. So notice your energy in work. Notice the things that make it feel like you're not actually working at all. And just put a pin in it. Just notice the energy. And then over time, start to build more of those things into your longer-term strategy. And let's start either delegating or deleting those things that we just don't like. So there we go. If I was starting again, my tips for starting my salon business, I hope that's been useful to you. Whether you are starting anew. Oh gosh, if you are, please reach out and let me know. So many salons closing over the last few years. I'd love to hear about a bit of new blood coming into the marketplace. If you've got an existing salon, I hope that has sparked a bit of joy in your day and given you a little bit of food for thought. As always, I'd love to hear about how you're implementing the knowledge and advice that I impart. In my little podcast, just seven short days until I'm coming in your ears again. Until then, take care. Sit down and see what's going on with the queen of salons. Hair, beauty and more successful tips for business owners. All on Build Your Salon.