Run a Better Salon With These 9 Tips

As a salon owner or manager, keeping your staff happy and upbeat is part of your job. And because we know just how important your team’s morale is for business, we pulled some of our best tips to help you run an even better salon. Check out a few key things you can do every day to keep your staff happy and your business booming.

1. Praise Publicly, Coach Privately
Global Artistic Director for John Paul Mitchell Systems’ Robert Cromeans is all about bettering the biz! One huge takeaway? For healthy outcomes in the salon, he says to praise your stylists publicly and coach them privately. Acknowledging a job well done is a simple way to ignite passion and motivation for any stylist working behind the chair.

2. Instant Gratification
Giving a simple high five or nod of recognition for a stylist’s amazing cut or great sell can go a long way in the salon. That instant gratification can be a huge motivator in keeping your stylists upbeat, which can dramatically increase their sales and play into their client retention rates.

3. Know Your Goals, Then Reach Them
We know it sounds obvious, but try setting a realistic goal to hit every day, understand your process and then commit to it. Having a daily and achievable goal will teach you short-term discipline and long-term self-management even when the world is out of your control.

4. Take Care of Your Environment
Always make sure your environment is cared for. If you own a small salon with a very small number of employees, be conscious of who you have on your staff. One person in a salon of 10 or 12 people has the ability to erode the culture.

5. The Millennial Opportunity
Don’t be afraid of millennials. Instead, look to them for inspiration and creativity. Use the younger stylists to amp up your social media game—they know how to do it, and you need to jump on the bandwagon!

6. Build Morale and Sales
Being a successful manager happens when you take the time to develop your stylists. Set time to meet with every stylist once a week to check in and go over their performance. Know their goals and create an open environment so they feel comfortable coming to you. You can build your team morale and sales if you spend time growing your stylists individually. Some questions to ask in your one-on-ones:

• How are things going in the salon?
• Are there any training/education classes you’re interested in attending?
• How do you feel about the way you’re being managed?

7. Strive for Greatness
Aim to create a salon with character and culture. Create a place that would leave a gaping hole in your community if you shut your doors. “I can get a haircut anywhere,” said best-selling author Jim Collins, “But I could never replace my relationship with Dean (his stylist for over two decades).”

8. Give ‘Em What They Want
Get to know your stylists on a personal level. You might not realize that one of your stylists is working extra hours to go on a super anticipated vacation or to pay for braces for their kids. When you work to give your employee what they want, most likely they’ll return the favor and work harder for you, and then everyone wins.

9. Assistant Managers AKA Your Besties
As a manager, you need to be on the same page as your assistant managers. Train them and trust them. If they are trained to run the salon correctly, they can help you out with staff meetings, stylist one-on-ones and even hiring new stylists. You and your assistant managers need to work as a unified team.