A successful salon or spa is seldom run by one individual …
April 15th, 2007 • Posted by Ana Loiselle-Donahue • Permalink
Developing a Winning Management Team: The key to a More Productive and Profitable Spa
Have you run the gamut on finding new ways to keep a handle on your business, only to be frustrated? Are you wearing all the hats and feel like you’re going crazy? Have you tried hiring a manager, coordinator or director and are disappointed by the outcome?
I know the feeling. After owning a salon and spa myself, I can relate. The demands on spa owners in this ever changing society are more intricate than ever. No longer is it possible for one person to effectively handle all the functions of a successful salon or spa business.
Well, imagine a highly motivated team who shares in your company vision, goals and objectives, who is committed to your organizational success! A team working together who is highly motivated to achieve your company's objectives! It all begins with a Management Team. A Management Team is the catalyst for your future business' success.
Your company is a reflection of those who manage and over see it. A Management Team provides your salon or spa with the developmental direction necessary to keep pace with the changing competition, environment and your organization's growth. Organizations are more effective when teams of people, with the right mix of skills, work together to achieve a common goal or set of goals. This team approach can help companies overcome the common stumbling blocks of misaligned goals, slow or no growth and lack of profitability.
Running a successful company in a Management Team structure is hardly a new concept and has been an industry standard for decades in large corporations. If you take a look at any Fortune 500 company you will see this system of duty distribution at work.
The fundamentals of building a successful salon or spa must address the five functions of a customer service business: Marketing, Finance, Education, Sales & Customer Service, and Human Resources. Making decisions by viewing topics from five different vantage points simultaneously increases the chances of making correct decisions.
The purpose of your Management Team is to facilitate on your vision. The owner’s job is to show them your destination; where you have been, where you think you are now and where you want to go. When everyone has the same goal (vision) and everyone has their “area of responsibility”, then a real sense of team is established. In a Management Team one person is responsible for a specific function of the business and “represents” the people who are affected by their area. The concept of “areas of responsibilities” is important because one person is not expected to have the know-how to carry out all the functions on their own. Instead, they have an innate interest in their area, and are committed to the company’s success and are better equipped to get things accomplished. Each team member needs to be exceptional at what they do, but not necessarily great at everything.
In well-run organizations, managers must understand that they are a piece of a puzzle that helps to complete a big picture. Only when people work together, seamlessly, can there be hope of accomplishing the company’s vision.
In short, a successful salon/spa is seldom run by one individual
To read more about this topic, please reference the complete article!
Ana Loiselle, President of the Secret Salon and Spa by Design in Royal Oak, Michigan. A former salon and spa owner, Ms. Loiselle can be reached at 248/546-4312 or at www.thesecretconsultant.com.
Posted in the SECRET, Spa Business Management, General • Share • Trackback
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Having been it the hairdressing and health and fitness industry all my working life, after a break of 3 years I find myself on the verge of embarking on a new and quite large venture. This time it's in what I feel is the growth area in the personal grooming business, that's the mens grooming and spa industry. In the past I have achieved moderate success but never the level I really wanted. I wanted to know if know if there's some basic advice/rules you could share with me on how to attain my future goals. I am based in Leeds England U.K.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Thank you, Geoff, for your comment. Don't feel discouraged, as many business owners end up not achieving the level of success they originally intended. Your comment didn't give me enough information to get into specifics, but I do have some general high-level suggestions that I recommend, with the assumption your goals are growth and profits:
Hope this gets you started. If I can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask!
To your success,
Ana Loiselle
July 7th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Thanks for that Ana. I will try and keep you updated when I can. For some reason I only got your reply today (7th July) and only because I Googled my own name on the search engine. So if you want to reply you could do so direct to my email address.
Regards Geoff Ankers
October 16th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Hi Ana
I just took over a salon in March, it was pretty run down blue hair salon. I came in and completely remodeled the salon. I brought with me several new services to the salon. Like hair extensions, eye lash extensions, facials, body waxing and a lot of extra pampering for my clients. They get scalp massages at the chair, they have the option to get a mini-exfoliating facial at the shampoo bowl, with a hand massage with a paraffin hand dip. The shop is in a great location, not to uppity and not to low income. We really have a mix of both, middle class to higher in with in a 5 mile radius.
The leasing staff that was here left with in 2 months of taking over, things really doubled after they left. Walk ins are good compared to most places I have worked at but it is still hard to keep my hairstylist busy. I am a sole owner, with limited funds, so my staff keep leaving. Do you have any suggestions on how to get them busier and making more money. I am doing everything I can think of to pamper our clients, and to give the opportunity to the hairstylist to have higher tickets.
Also how would I go about get a consultant?
Thanks,
Owner
Michelle
October 17th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Hi, Michelle.
Congrats on taking the entreprenurial leap! You will find your experience very difficult, but very rewarding. Buying an established business is a great way to get into the business, and a lot more cost effective!
Let me assure you your problem isn't unique. Employee turnover happens in a lot of businesses, and can stem from a variety of factors. One common factor seems to be that a lot of spa and salon owners set themselves up by over hiring staff. If they are commission-based, their staff will leave if they are not kept busy. If they are hourly, it will really hurt the salon owners pocketbook to keep underutilized employees around.
Fixing this problem is complex. I, unfortunately, don't have enough space here to write a full solution for you, but I can point you in a few directions.
First, look for your salon to have a general utilization of around 80%. One way of looking at this is, if all your staff is (on average) utilized 80%, it's time to look for another employee. In reverse, if you don't have that level of utilization, you may have too many employees. Cut back, or offset the lack of business with aggressive sales and marketing campaigns to get more people to walk through the door.
An experienced spa and salon consultant can really look at this problem for you, and give you a comprehensive approach to resolving this problem. My advice is to call up consultants and interview them. Word to the wise: A good consultant is going to tell you where you're falling short. Don't waste your money on a consultant if you're merely looking for validation of your existing approach.
I wish you the best of luck, and of course, if you want to chat further about this, please feel free to contact me directly!
Ana.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Hello, I am a hairstylist living in a growing city. I have 5 years. experience working in a booth-rent setting and even had my own salon suite. As a parent, I decided that a commission based salon would offer me perks such as training, better hours,and insurance. I assumed that working in a spa atmosphere would be beneficial to me because with higher prices and more foot-traffic I could make good money. I am an excellent colorist and weaving expert and upon coming here I realize that I have been sold a dream. This spa has yet to offer me any training, no insurance, and there are constant scheduling conflicts. I find myself working more hours. I am on a 50% commission and have the highest sales next to management. Before coming here I was just at the point where I needed an assistant on my busier days. During my interview I was told that I would be provided with an assistant and I notice that our assistant only caters to client of the owner and management and not to my clients. I don't know what to do. I made a major sacrifice moving to this salon and want to give it my all. Am I being taken advantage of? Are they keeping up their end of the deal? How do I break the silence without being pushed out the door?
Rhaquel
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I am a young lady that is wanting to own her own beauty salon and is working on my bussiness plan. I was trying to get some info on how much do a average salon charge for booth rent, how do i go about getting supplies at a good price, meaning salon chairs, dryers, and etc. Im just wanting basic info own how to get started.