Why Salons Fail

This past year has been a very difficult year for many salon owners. Sadly, far too many salons have failed while many more will continue to struggle.  Unfortunately, 2018 -2019 shapes up to be an even more challenging year as business costs and the high cost of living continues to rise.

new labor laws and minimum wage and overtime pay will also cause a lot of hardships as well .

It may seem out of your hands, but let me assure you ,there’s more than one reason why salons fail. If you review the following business tips, your salon can endure any economic crisis. I have listed some of the reasons salons fail in an effort to help you avoid the many mine fields that are hurting so many of our salons and their staff. Make sure you avoid the following mistakes:

Poor Business Planning — most of us opened our salons without a business plan. We sort of winged it through with little organization and planning. This may have worked in the past ;but now you must look to the future in a changing and competitive business climate. You can no longer afford a trial and error approach to owning a business in today’s competitive and challenging economy. It’s time to start planning and reviewing your strengths and weaknesses

Lack of Business Information — in my opinion there is too much glitter and hype as seen at many of our hair shows. The few business classes many of our shows are trying to present are ignored by far too many salon owners.Information is available, but it’s up to you to do the research.

sadly much of the information I share is from outside the beauty profession.

Failure to Get Help — there are many excellent educational resources you can turn to for help and ideas. Sometimes though, it’s hard to find help without someone demanding you pay them as well. As a salon owner/hairdresser I formed Hairdresser Career Development Systems free of any special interest groups to help you overcome the many challenges of salon ownership. If you’re struggling, remember this: always be willing to seek out help.

Apathy and Indifference — far too many salon owners are in denial and refuse to develop their business management skills because it requires commitment and effort; they would rather stay in their comfort zone. Far too many complain about staff, lack of profits and long hours behind the chair. They always complain but do nothing about it. Don’t fall into this trap.

Lack of Employee Training — many owners do not take the time to develop their own training program because it requires effort and time. Many more try to build their business by recruiting hairdressers with a clientele from a competitor. Getting ahead at the expense of others is just wrong,  how can you expect your team to perform well if you don’t train them? Excellence does start at the top.

Poor Business Management Skills — lack of business skills is one of the leading causes of salon failure.  A recent study showed only 5% of salons survive past 7 years. As leader of your team it is your responsibility to run your business as a business. I urge you to develop your business management skills, learning to work smarter, not harder.

Inability to Hire the Right People — without a comprehensive staff development program, you take a hit and miss approach to building your winning team. Develop your championship team as a team that shares your values, goals, and vision. This will be your major business challenge.  Hiring the wrong person will make it difficult to create a positive and professional salon work environment. My book Creating Your Salon will be very helpful.

Inability to Overcome Turnover — to avoid this headache, first you must define the causes of turnover and develop a preventative plan of action to avoid turnover. Unfortunately, many salon owners fail to seek out feedback from their staff, as well as providing a positive and professional salon environment in their salons.

Lack of Leadership Skills — as leader of your team, you must develop your leadership skills. Reward your staff for a job well done, a little pat on the back can do wonders, praise and recognition will always be appreciated. A busy salon are just some of the things you can do to improve staff performance and productivity.

Client Retention — the loss of even one customer and their family can be devastating to the stability and growth of your business. Negative word of mouth is the worst kind of advertising. It affects everyone in your salon. You must develop a client retention strategy.

Lack of Unity Among Salon Owners — all of us are battling these challenges of salon ownership in isolation. Why not unify into an organization that protects our business interests? Only when we unite together will we be able to address these challenges and make this industry more responsive to our needs. When times are tough, there’s no need to go at it alone. An association designed by salon owners for salon owners will help us take back our salons and profession.

Let us all unite together as professionals and take our salons to higher levels of excellence. We can endure and change our industry by forming good habits and business skills, and honest communication between employees and even fellow salon owners.

If you’re looking to learn more about why salons fail and how to prevent it, be sure to attend my 2-Day Las Vegas Business Seminar on July 9-10, 2018. Seating is limited—don’t miss out on over 40 years of experience I am ready to share with you.