Spring Clean For Salon Success

Ahhh…. Spring is here! Now is the perfect time to shake off the winter blahs and do some spring cleaning and declutter your salon. From time to time, getting rid of things that no longer help you achieve your goals or the things you want in life is necessary. Decluttering increases your ability to focus, reduces overwhelm, and help produce better results in your business.

Here are 5 areas to declutter for greater success in your salon.  

Salon Space. Physical clutter leads to mental clutter. When your environment is littered with paperwork, photos, knick-knacks, and other things, they distract you from the task at hand. Your brain’s ability to process information is blocked, causing you to lose focus and energy. All this clutter zaps your mental resources throughout the day, much like having a screaming toddler standing next to you while you try to get work done.

Start by clearing out things you don’t need in just one area. Once you are done completely with that area, then move on to the next area you feel can best use it. Consider how things are situated in your salon and the flow that’s created. Simply rearranging items within your space can greatly increase your efficiency and effectiveness, save you huge amounts of time and energy, and create a better experience for your clients. You may also be able to find more profitable uses for the space you free up, like to showcase your retail or add-on service menu.   

Goals. Besides salon space, your business goals should be examined and decluttered as well. What goals are you working to achieve by the end of year? What have you been working to achieve over the last few years or months? List them out. Ask, ideally, what do you want each area of your business and life to be like? What, if anything, should be put in its place? Where are you now in each area and what steps do you need to take to begin attaining these goals? What’s getting in the way of achieving your goals? Look at the difference between where you are now and where you want to be. Develop a set of more stream-lined and purposeful goals. Now you can move forward.  

Activities. Now that you have better goals to work towards, ask yourself these questions. Have you been doing the same things the same way for years or even decades in your salon or career? Success isn’t about having a bunch of activities or to-do’s on your schedule. We often confuse activity with achievement. You may be doing a lot but not really getting anything of importance done. It may be time to remove some things from your to do list and focusing more on the right things consistently. Now is the perfect time to revisit your daily, weekly and monthly activities. Examine your activities carefully and without mercy. Break them down into smaller, achievable steps. If these activities are not positively helping you reach your daily, weekly, or monthly goals, throw them out!

People. This may sound a little harsh, but it’s true. It might be time to disconnect from toxic people in your life, even from your appointment book. The great motivational speaker Jim Rohn said, “you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time around.” Let that sink in for a moment. Are the people you spend the majority of your time with a good reflection of where you want to be in life? This doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. It simply means that having a relationship with them may not have a positive effect on you, your business, or where you’re headed in life.

As service providers, we sometimes feel like we have to work with any and everyone willing to sit in our chair. But, not all clients are right for you and your business. Some clients actually cost you more to service in terms of time, money, and emotional turmoil than you receive in income. Get a sheet of paper and list your clients one by one. Put them in A, B, or C categories based on the attributes and characteristics you consider important for your business. Consider which, if any, in the “C” category you might need to prune in order to receive new clients and grow your business.

Expenses. Finally, examine how and where you spend money every month. When I worked as a Corporate Auditor for a Fortune 500 company, rent and certain expenses were called “burden”, “overhead”, or “carrying costs”. They were called that because they drag your profits down and limit your ability to grow your business.

Are you spending more than you should on certain monthly expenses? What are your rent, inventory, product usage and marketing expenses adding up to compared to your monthly income? Are you stocking more inventory than necessary? Are you spending enough or too much on marketing? Review your expenses and cut where possible. Be mindful not to cut expenses that interfere with your salon goals or client experience. You’ll increase your profitability and have more money to invest in other areas to grow your business. Take the first step forward today. It may be just what you need to put the zest back into your business and give you the freedom to think bigger and reach for the sky!

About the Blogger: Alex B. Jones, M.B.A. is owner of Revive Salon in Sola Charlotte and is a Salon Suite Coach who helps salon suite owners, booth renters and independent contractors get more clients, make more money so they can finally live their dreams.

For more from Alex B. Jones, The Salon Business Coach, please visit alexbjones.com.