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You followed your passion and opened up a salon. You love what you do and your clients love you. But as satisfying as it is to be a salon owner, no one ever said that being the captain of your own ship would be easy. Every small business owner has to worry about paying bills,minimizing salon costs, keeping up on taxes, and managing employees. And as a salon owner, you have the added challenge of keeping track of a whole lot of clients — as well as your ever-shifting appointments schedule.
We all know that stress can have harmful effects on our health, but few of us actually take the steps to address it. For small business owners, it’s extremely difficult to take a breath and be proactive, especially when it seems like you have an endless amount of things that need your immediate attention. But it’s important to take care of yourself. Stressed-out, type A personalities actually have a higher risk of health issues. And you certainly can’t run a successful salon if you’re sick. Luckily, there are several things you can do to help reduce your stress levels before they spiral out of control.
Here are some tips:
1. Hire smart
Spend the time to hire employees who are reliable, dedicated, and fit the company culture. As a salon owner, you can’t do everything yourself, so having the right team behind you makes it easier to delegate. To help, tap into Square’s employee management tools to track who’s clocking in and out on time, calculate tips and commissions at the end of the business day, and find out which employees are making clients happiest (so you can reward them!) or falling short on their hair-sweeping duties (so you can help them get back on track).
2. Keep track of customers
Let Square keep track of customers for you. Our customer relationship management software keeps customer information — including names, email addresses, phone numbers, preferences (Stacy likes a big blowout; Kim wants her hair sleek and straightened), and purchases — organized and in one place for you. A tidy database helps keep you on your toes without having to remember every detail about your clients.
3. Use appointments scheduling software
Creating an effcient scheduling strategy at a salon is crucial, and Square’s online appointments scheduling software is a lifesaver. Clients can book services 24/7 from anywhere, even when the salon is closed. That means less time on the phone (or playing phone tag) for you. In Square Appointments, you can detail your salon’s services and pricing, along with calendar capabilities and staff bios. All appointment scheduling syncs with Google calendars so you can check availability, confirm appointments, and send text or email confirmations from anywhere. Square Appointments also comes with client notifications, so if you happen to be running late or need to reschedule, you can quickly let your clients know. An efficient online scheduling tool will help you better manage walk-in appointments and do wonders for saving you time — and stress. Here are additional appointment scheduling tips to boost your business.
4. Be decisive
A simple rule (but easier said than done): Make decisions and stick to them. Weigh your options carefully and choose the best possible outcome, even if it isn’t the easiest one.
It’s important to automate and delegate as many tasks as you can. Write down all of your day-to-day responsibilities, and figure out what you could streamline with a new system or delegate to an employee. Things like managing your shampoo and conditioner stock, for example, can be taken care of with inventory management software (you can connect your Square account to several apps in Square App Marketplace). Things like managing employee schedules could be entrusted to one of your employees, whom you can set up with a higher permission level in Square’s employee management software.
5. Solve problems quickly
Address and solve problems as they arise. Whatever it is, if you don’t handle things right away, they’ll only get worse and cause you much more stress in the long run.
6. Stay organized with your accounting
Money is one of the leading causes of stress. So to help mitigate that, it’s important to strictly manage your budget and cash flow. If you’re not a numbers person, hire someone to take extra care of that side of your business. (You can read our tips on how to find an accountant here). Square’s tools can also be extremely helpful. You can manage invoices straight from your Dashboard, set up instant transfer, or integrate Square’s payroll software to help you take care of day-to-day finances. You can also sync your Square account with accounting tools like Intuit QuickBooks and Xero in Square App Marketplace.
Stress comes with running any business. Hopefully these tips will help you gain a little bit more balance.
