July 10, 2019

From Stylist to Salon Owner- Now What?

Chances are this is your first time owning your own business- Congrats! Going from stylist to Salon Suite owner can feel overwhelming, but the team at MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza are here to help. The experienced colleagues at your location, your franchise leaders and the corporate team are here to help and may have any answers you are looking for. Taking your business to the next level as an owner allows you the freedom to create a client experience, set business and operating policies, make your own schedule and hours and sell the products you love. These are all some of the amazing benefits to being a Suite Elite member! With all of those benefits that comes, marketing, keeping track of your income and sales, continuing your education and keeping up with license requirements. Let’s focus on some of the most important aspects to focus on when first starting out.

1. Defining the client experience. 
If you’ve worked in another business previously (whether it was a salon environment or some other type of business) you have probably observed customer experiences that were great – or not so great – and made mental notes about the customer experience you would create in your own business. Now is the time for you to think through every aspect of the experience you will provide to clients from the moment they book an appointment and arrive at your Salon Suite through to the end of the appointment. Create that unique FLAIR in your Salon Suite that sets you apart.

In addition to “what” will happen during the client experience, as a Salon Suite owner you now have the pleasure of designing the environment where it will occur. You can infuse your own personality into your Salon Suite’s interior colors, décor and ambience in order to transform the environment to enhance the client experience.

2. Setting business standards and operating policies. 
Now that you’re in charge of your own business, it’s up to you to decide how things will work. What hours you will be open and how appointments will be booked. Have you seen our new partnership with Square? This is guaranteed to up your game as a salon owner and make booking appointments a breeze for you and your clients. Make sure you put this information on your website and social media!

3. Selling your products. 
No matter how much in demand your services are you can only sell your time once. But by setting your Salon Suite up for retail success you can increase revenues and drive up average sales-per-appointment. Since retail products also require a monetary investment on your part, think carefully about your client base and the types of professional retail products that many are likely to need. As you make retail sales, make sure you set aside a portion of your proceeds to replenish retail inventory, or even expand it with seasonal point-of-sale displays, professional tools, accessories and impulse buy items.

4. Keeping track of sales and income. 
Square is the best way to keep track of your service and retail sales. Keeping track of your income has never been easier! Fast check outs, tracking inventory, with email alerts when retail is low, AND clients can manage their payment information through their customer account which makes it easy for you.

5. Marketing your Salon Suite business. 
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of succeeding as a small business owner in any industry. To succeed, you need to have a good idea of the type of client you want to attract as well as a marketing plan that helps you reach them, engage them and motivates them to take action (booking an appointment with you!) MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza provides its Salon Suite owners with dozens of marketing tools and resources in its member-only website, including marketing calendars that offer daily ideas for promoting a Salon Suite.

6. Continuing your education. 
In some states continuing education is mandatory for every stylist to maintain their license. Whether or not this is true in the state where you live, you probably don’t need for this to be mandated – you probably love taking classes, perfecting and learning skills on a regular basis. Decide how much money you need to set aside from your Salon Suite’s proceeds so you can take the classes and/or attend the conferences and events you’re interested in every year.

One last tip: Set specific goals and measure your progress.
Without specific, measurable and achievable goals (S.M.A.R.T goals), many business owners fail to thrive. You can take advantage of the clear Path to Prosperity success that is laid out for MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza members. The tools are all here for you!

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