Continuous Improvement: Business Education in the Comfort of Your Own Salon

Below is a list of business articles written by some of the top educators in the salon industry


Continuous Improvement: Business Education in the Comfort of Your Own Salon-By Debbie Miller

It's a little known fact that only 15% of salon and spa revenue is attributed to technical expertise, a figure tiny enough to make you wonder what generates the other 85% of revenue. Business knowledge is what creates the massive divide between the 22% of American salons that are profitable and the overwhelming 78% of salons that operate at a deficit or, loss.

Fortunately our industry blesses us with many trade show opportunities to improve our technical skills and to learn of trends and fashions which affect business. While the “show and tell” makes for very exciting, highly entertaining experiences, perhaps the bright lights obscure the fact that you are in business for profit. Technical skills learned within beauty school are sufficient for a license, and have proven insufficient as a sole educational source for sustaining a profitable business. Continuous improvement, which involves technical skill development coupled with business education, is critical to sustain in any industry, and ours is no different. That is, unless you wish to remain among the ranks of the nearly 80% of American salons that pursue an inverse relationship between business and profit.

Planning a training-style education in your salon can seem daunting, and it is best to be certain this training is well planned with a goal in place, as well as a plan of action and milestones. When in doubt, call a salon business trainer. A good salon business trainer understands the importance of leading a salon to discovery and well as supporting its needs.

As a business trainer for Salon Training International and YBN (Your Beauty Network) I have been privileged and trusted to lead hundreds of in-salon business classes. Sure, the Fashion Week atmosphere and shopping of large trade shows are very exciting, but the actual transformational experience of learning the beauty of business is better accomplished in a private setting. In-salon trainings have higher business educational value than trade show events and offer opportunities to absorb information and ask questions through the comfort and convenience of your own salon. Additionally, it is often difficult for salon owners to provide travel and accommodations for the entire staff. Further, the intimacy of a small class allows the trainer to take learning to a deeper level, which is achieved through personal exercises, such as taking a close look at the salon's sales figures and initiating open discussions with team members.

Being in business, you already know what your goals are. As a primary goal, most salons wish to improve sales. With the above mentioned deficit/profitability figures, there is definite room for growth, and this is possible for any salon. Much like technical skill involved in knowledge of chemical reactions for hair, skin or nail treatments, business is also a science that produces reactions such as profitability or loss. A solid business trainer helps you determine which ingredients are necessary to produce desired results. It's that simple.

Business as a "science" is only a term. The goal of an effective business trainer is not to confuse you, rather to produce a greater understanding that which you already know by allowing you to envision your business and its goals in a different manner. The effects of salon business training are perpetual and serve to position salons for long-term growth and stable profitability over time. Through business training, salon owners and booth renters learn effective techniques for management, marketing, business development, client retention and leadership; lifelong business skills which allow you to never lose the momentum you will create.