I often see salon owners who go into business believing that they are going to be financially successful because they are great therapists or technicians.
Their past clients, friends and family have all told them how talented they are and encouraged them to start up their own business based on this single talent.
The problem is that these skills alone are not enough to make you a business success.
Your technical skills may have made you a major asset for your last employer and the best student at beauty school, but now that you are a business owner, you need much more.
Being great at what you do won’t make you financially successful if it’s not combined with some really good business skills.
You need a whole new skill-set.
- One that will help you to work smarter and not just harder.
- One that will help you to have the financial freedom that you went into business to have in the first place.
- One that will give you the lifestyle you want for yourself and your family.
A skill-set will allow you to “do business in a business-like way”.
As a business owner you are responsible to:
- gain new clients regularly
- keep them returning
- increase the number of times they visit your salon
- have them spend more money at each visit
- get them to refer friends and family
- earn their respect, trust and loyalty
- employ talented staff, then manage them properly to keep them
- manage your expenses
- set great business goals
- manage your finances
……and much, much more.
Without these additional skills, chances are you will always remain a great, but struggling therapist, wondering why you ever went into business for yourself in the first place.
It will also mean stepping away from looking after your personal clients for a substantial part of your day to run your business properly.
You may even need to employ a coach or mentor who you can help you avoid the many pitfalls, and show you how goals are reached more easily.
Make it a goal to regularly read great business books – there are plenty to choose from.
Always remember why you went into business for yourself in the first place, don’t lose heart and continue to take small but steady steps towards a more prosperous future.