Avoid The Burnout And Take Control Of Your Diary Management
It’s known as the “most wonderful time of year” but for many people including hair professionals like you, the next few months can also be known as “the busiest time of year”. Similarly to every topic we have discussed in “Boost Your Business” so far, we are here to support you and in this blog, we are going to look at avoiding burnout and how you can take control of your diary management for this peak period and beyond…
Tips To Avoid The Burnout
We have come up with our top five tips and tricks you can implement in your business; whether you rent a chair, have a home salon or own a salon, that can be beneficial to support you over this upcoming busy period…
Our Top 5 Recommendations:
2. Festive Fun In The Salon To Get In The Mood
For the end of the busy period have a treat in mind for you to look forward to. Keep it as big or as small as you want but have something that you find exciting to look forward to; whether it’s a solo day to yourself doing your favourite things to re-energise, a spa day with the girls, some family time or even a January holiday, have that time booked in for you to look forward to.
Are you a salon owner that has staff? Encourage them to do the same. You are all in this together, so encourage them to have something to look forward to once this peak time is over to help them through.
2. Festive Fun In The Salon To Get In The Mood
You name it; having some Christmas tunes playing, making the Christmas tree look beautiful, and wearing some silly Christmas outfits are some of the things you can do to really boost the spirits. It doesn’t matter if you are working solo or have a full team with you, these things can really make a difference.
It’s guaranteed, during this busy time you will have requests from your clients that are last minute and you’re going to be unsure how you are going to make it work. If you believe this isn’t going to work and is putting your welfare at risk, learn how to say no. In summary, your welfare is most important so it’s important you say no at the times you need it. Moreover, if you are overstretching yourself by meeting these last-minute requests, you are simply not going to perform your best which will put your work quality at risk and nobody wants that…so learn to say no.
In our recent discussion on Instagram where we asked our followers “Do you have any tips on diary management?” we received responses such as; “Stick to your boundaries” and “Before anything, you come first”. So, take it from your fellow stylists and do not be afraid to say no…
You will thank yourself for it.
In our recent poll, 11% of you are taking part in your local late-night shopping event. Could this be your opportunity to take part in yours? It not only helps you and your team get in the festive mood (relevant to our second point) but it also allows an evening to share some festive treats with your clients and maybe show them how to do a gorgeous up-do for the party season. It is also a fantastic opportunity to upsell to your clients… Why not show off the products you love with some demonstrations in the evening and offer exclusive discounts?
Do you have a home salon? This can work for you too. It doesn’t have to be part of your area’s late-night shopping event to work, this can be an evening that suits you to offer a number of your clients to visit your space for some festive treats and demonstrations with exclusive discounts… a great upselling strategy for you too.
Have you read our upselling and cross-selling blogs as part of our “Boost Your Business” series? If not, make sure you do for top tips that you can make note of to perfect your upselling, cross-selling strategies…
- How To Make More Money As A Hairstylist
- Top Tips On Upselling In Your Marketing
Whether it’s to your staff, your colleagues, your friends, your family or to us, if you are struggling, please reach out. It’s an extremely busy time of the year and nobody is going to blame you if you struggle, stylists like you are heroes to many and a lot is asked from you.
So, please know that there is support out there including from us, if you ever have some questions, are after some advice or just want a chat with some support, we are here for you and are just a phone call or a message away.
These two areas; avoiding burnout and taking control of your diary management work in sync. We believe that a big step you can make to avoid burnout is to look at your diary management, specifically, look to switching to an online diary system…
Going Online With Diary Management
The two areas; avoiding burnout and taking control of your diary management can work in sync. We believe that a step you can take to avoid burnout is to look at your diary management, specifically, looking at switching to an online diary system…
In our recent poll, 60% of you said you have gone online with your diary management. Were you one of these people? Or, are you someone who has not? If so, could this be an opportunity for you to move some time from this area to focus on other areas of your business in the future?
Not convinced? We have done some research and come up with five benefits of going online with your diary management no matter what you type of hairstylist you are…
2. Gives You/Your Team More Time To Focus On Clients
3. Eliminates Scheduling Errors
4. Minimises Last-Minute Cancellations And No-Shows
5. Allows You To Manage Your Business Anywhere 24/7
Online booking can be the first step to ensuring you are delivering an exceptional experience for your clients. This is specifically beneficial if they are first-time clients wanting to book in with you, this quick way of finding the information they want to know and booking in could be THE start of the exact exceptional experience they are looking for.
Allowing booking online not only streamlines the process for them (allows them to avoid waiting for your responses to get booked in over Instagram or trying to get through on the phone …especially over this peak period) it also helps your processes be streamlined for you. Online diary management automatically informs who is coming and when in one place with a lot less work for you to manage…
2. Gives You/Your Team More Time To Focus On Clients
A great follow-up to point one… less work for you to manage your diary in turn gives you or you and your team more time in other areas of the business. Whether you rent a chair, have a home salon or own a salon going online will create more time. Overall, there will be less time on the phone or on socials to book your clients in and more time allowed for what matters right now…creating an exceptional experience for your clients, staff (if applicable) and helping you boost your business.
3. Eliminates Scheduling Errors
If your diary is not regularly updated, it can lead to missed appointments, double booking, and general disorganisation. Every appointment matters, especially after the tough few years we all experienced in the hair sector. So, a mistake in your schedule will cost your business and impact you every time it happens. If bookings are entered by hand and you are relying on this to be done very regularly there is a chance that human errors will occur (especially over this peak period) therefore, an online booking system can help remove these errors for good.
4. Minimises Last-Minute Cancellations And No-Shows
Significant amounts of empty gaps in your schedule can be crippling for a business. A good online booking system will include automated reminder functionalities to drastically reduce the number of empty seats at your salon, if applicable or the number of gaps between your appointments. With automation, you or you and your staff don't have to worry about building time in your day for manual appointment reminders. This means less time spent on admin and more time creating memorable client experiences which will mean that they want to book their next appointment with you.
5. Allows You To Manage Your Business Anywhere 24/7
Whether you're working from home or are in and out of a salon, your online booking system can be as flexible as your lifestyle. With online booking, you can take your business on the go, wherever you are (if you want to of course!). Whether you want to review your upcoming appointments or see when you have some free time, it’s all available to you.
If online diary management still seems daunting to you don’t forget about these benefits. Also, do your research, there are so many tools out there available to you with different functionalities and capabilities that allow you to have as much/little control as you want so you are sure to find the perfect tool that works for you whilst reaping all of the benefits by going online.
In summary, “the most wonderful time of year” can often be overshadowed by “the busiest time of the year” but never forget why you do what you do. As mentioned, you are heroes to many and a lot is asked from you so make sure you take some of our tips on board to make this period and beyond as smooth sailing for you as possible. We really hope our tips help…simple changes can make such a big difference.
If you have any questions or require some further support, we are just a phone call or message away so feel free to contact us. Don’t forget to keep an eye on our socials and your inbox for further “Boost Your Business” tips and advice across a range of exciting topics. Next up is “Market Yourself And Your Business In The Right Way" dropping on Monday 6th November.
