We need to identify and address the dark side of the beauty profession many challenges of saif we are to find solutions to salon/spa ownership.
Jon Gonzales
With over 43 years as experience as a salon owner/hairdresser and now President of Hairdresser Career Development Systems and Creator of my University of Educational Excellence for Beauty Professionals, I want to thank everyone for your trust and support. To view my background, my real world experience as a working hairdresser & salon owner and now an educator, I invite you to Click Here.
As you are well aware, there are a lot of changes and uncertainty occurring within our profession; sadly the beauty profession has not adapted to changes needed to compete with other’ professions. Salon Owners are especially being hit hard. This is also affecting our workers standard of living as well.
Before we can find solutions to the many challenges owners and hairdressers face every day, we have to have the courage to identify the dark side of our profession, and ask the question “Why Is This Occurring”?
Our industry is expected to grow to a 55 billion dollar a year industry. However, the special interest groups are garnering the bulk of the industry dollars and hairdressers, salon owners and beauty professionals working daily in the trenches are not sharing enough in this growth.
Sadly, many salons are failing at an alarming rate:
- Studies tell us only 7% of salons make it beyond 7 years
- Many salon owners are entering into booth rental just to survive
- Hairdresser earnings are $20,000 to $25,000 per year
- 7 out of ten newcomers leave the profession within 3 years
- The price of our salon services keep falling
- Many beauty schools are closing
- The massive growth of low-cost hair cut franchises keep rising
- Should we not be raising prices to keep even with the rising cost of living?
- New complex labor laws are making owning a business more challenging.
Beauty Industry Challenges Continue To Grow & Here’s Why
In an effort to help find solutions to these challenges, I have listed some of the causes of the challenges below:
Rising Business Costs — As costs continue to rise, profits…if any…go down, affecting not only business, but also the standard of living for our staff. The answer is to raise prices.But before we can raise prices we must develop high end salons and high end professionals so we can create a demand for our services.
Profitability — How can we provide incentives,benefits mentoring,education,and cost effective advertising without profits.
Why is it so Difficult to Find Workers — It starts at the beauty school level. Low entrance requirements, poor teacher training, the need to attract more quality people into our profession, a curriculum that is outdated and does not meet job market and consumer demands.
Apathy and Indifference among Salon Owners — Far too many salon owners are indifferent and in denial. They resist change because it is easier to stay in the their comfort zone. There is a lack of business management skills, lack of leadership training and an unwillingness to change.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons hairdressers change jobs. Sometimes we as salon owners should look in the mirror.
No Unity Among Salon Owners — We have no opportunity to voice our educational and business needs.
- Most associations are run by product companies. I would like to see an Association for Salon Owners! Pleased to say I am working on our own Alliance Network for Salon Owners.
Minimum Wage and Overtime Mandates — Salon owners are being targeted by our state and federal agencies for violating the labor law rights of their workers. Minimum wage attorneys are coming out of the wood work encouraging workers to make sure employers are not violating the labor law rights of workers.
Lack of an Apprenticeship Program — Young hair stylists & beauty professionals need hands-on experience on real people. Allowing young salon staff to gain experience on customers at the same prices of your experienced hair stylists will compromise your client retention efforts.
- Refer to my Junior Stylist Training Program, click here.
The Danger of Misclassification of Workers — This is a very gray area of the law that needs to be clarified by our government taxing agencies. The penalties are severe if you lose an audit.
Staff Turnover — This is an area of concern due to booth rental. Training hair stylists and beauty professionals only to lose them to a booth rental environment can be devastating.
Frivolous Law Suits — In addition to being targeted by our taxing agencies, customers are filing lawsuits for toxic chemicals.
An Unequal Playing field — Many salon owners are victims of a growing underground economy. Most are being penalized for paying their taxes and following the rules of honesty and a code of ethics. Pirating of another salon owner’s staff must stop. If everyone played by the rules we all would prosper! I will probably offend some people; if honesty and and a code of ethics is wrong, I’m guilty.
- No business can grow with business instability.
Lack of Quality Education — Most of our beauty industry education is geared to the needs of product companies disguised as education.
Poor Business Management Skills — Excellence does start at the top and a lack of business management skills is one of the leading causes of turnover and business failure.
How To Turn The Beauty Industry Around
- I invite you to read my recent blog post on how to reform our beauty industry educational system with my suggestions on how we can turn our beauty professions & industry around. Click here to read the recent blog.
- If you are concerned with growing challenges in the beauty industry, I urge you to attend my two day Salon Owner Business Seminar in Las Vegas on September 11-12, 2016. I will unveil solutions to the above challenges. Just click here for complete business seminar details and registration info.
There Is A Bright Side To The Beauty Profession
Next week, I’ll blog about solutions to the growing challenges in the beauty industry and the bright side of our professions!