The countdown has begun and its nearly time to reopen your doors to clients chomping at the bit to get their treatments done!
Have you put some thought into reopening yet? Now is the time to get your mind focused and put together a plan for opening your business again following the latest lockdown.
This article points out some of the things to evaluate within your business to ensure you are organised in readiness for the busy days ahead.
Workspace
Now is the best time to give your workspace a thorough deep clean. Whether you have a high street salon, home salon or you are a mobile business, make use of the next couple of weeks to get stuck in cleaning your workspace and equipment.
This includes your rooms, chairs, beds, tables, trolleys, machines and tools. Leave no implement unwashed!
You might find that some tools need replacing or equipment needs fixing, get it done now, so that you are confident in knowing that you are offering the best experience to your clients, whilst also obviously working within health and safety guidelines!
Ensure you have enough product stock to hand to carry out all of your upcoming treatments. You may need to replace some products that have gone past their open date whilst we have been in lockdown. Whilst this is frustrating ad feels as though you are wasting products, you need to ensure that your clients aren’t going to have a reaction to products that have been open too long.
Fill up your consumables on your trolley and take stock of any retail products that you can offer your clients.
If you have been considering rebranding, now is the time!This could be a product that you use in your services, or even the colour of your towels or couch covers. Some businesses have taken this opportunity to even rebrand themselves with a quirky new logo colour theme or even salon redesign!
Has your room space worked for you with your current set up, making it easy and accessible during working hours? If not, you may want to try moving your couch or table and find the best way to conduct your treatments.Sometimes the smallest change can make a big impact on accessibility!
Popping into your workspace now and then before opening allows you to see things with fresh eyes each time and you can make any necessary tweaks. Regular visits may also help you to settle some of the anxiety you may feel about going back to work.
Working Hours
If you have already opened your diaries to clients for bookings, you may already be fully booked for the first couple of weeks or so.With clients begging you to squeeze them in first chance you get, this could be putting you at risk of burning out too soon!
Think about the hours that you want to work and stay firm.Some of us need to learn how to say no (I find it hard too sometimes!). The most important part of your business is you. You need to be offering the best services you can and you can’t do that if you are too exhausted every day, fitting clients in until late at night. Set your boundaries and stick to them.
Whilst we all know that the first few weeks will be slightly manic and the money will be more than welcomed, make sure you make your physical and mental health priority.
Your Services
During your time off, you may have been reviewing your current treatment menu and considering if any changes are needed. This could be as simple as changing a facial routine or lash products. It could also include no longer offering some services that aren’t popular and no longer fit for your business. Adding a new treatment by training in something new to expand your portfolio may also be on the cards to bring in more revenue and keep clients interested.
Many brands have offered online up skilling courses if you use their products. Staying ahead of the game and developing your knowledge and skills will push your business forward.
We offer accredited diploma courses that are taught one to one if you are looking for training in the South East: www.bcbeautytraining.co.uk
We have also made our lash mapping course free throughout lockdown, so grab it now before time runs out! Lash Mapping Free Course
Guidelines
Whilst the latest reopening guidelines haven’t been issued yet, it’s worth keeping an eye and staying up to date to ensure your business is working within government requirements.
PPE will no doubt still need to be used for treatments, most hair and beauty suppliers now sell this, or various other companies online.
Guidelines surrounding patch testing for some products, including tints have changed, with some brands now advising a patch test is needed before each treatment. It’s worth checking your brand to see what the advice is. It is now advised that all clients patch testing is repeated when returning after lockdown. This is due to Covid 19 having an impact on the reaction to some products. Take note that you cannot patch test a client until we are allowed to reopen, so book these treatments accordingly to allow for sufficient time between the test and the treatment.
Lateral flow tests are available to businesses from the government to test themselves twice a week if the individual has no symptoms. These can be collected from local test sites, please check your local council website for details.
If you have symptoms, it is advised that you book a PCR test at a testing site and isolate until you have a negative result.
Now is also a great time to make sure your insurances and licenses are correct and up to date.
Are YOU ready?
So, you’ve cleaned everything that can be cleaned, restocked, trained in new services and your business is ready to go. But are you ready?
Many of us will be feeling some sense of anxiety surrounding returning to work after such a difficult year with so much of it closed for business. This is perfectly normal, we are all in the same boat!
Hopefully by ticking off the tasks already mentioned in this article, you will be feeling some sense of achievement and it will relieve some of your anxiety surrounding reopening.
Feelings of anxiety will be mixed with excitement about getting stuck back in to the industry that you love and seeing loyal clients that may have become like friends over the years.
There are lots of ways to help with your anxiety. Some methods may work better than others, but everyone can usually find something to ease the feelings.
Talking to others can help tenfold. This could be someone else in the industry or your salon team that are going through all the motions, just like you. Sharing ideas and managing techniques can be really supportive and you may learn something new. Sometimes, just offloading, putting the world to rights and having a good old chat is the best medicine.
You may want to try meditation, yoga or another hobby to help you relax and focus. Outdoor activities are allowed to resume now, so check out what’s available locally to you!
If you work as a team, or have employees, have you checked in on them? See how they are feeling and check they are ready. Talk to them about their working hours and make sure they feel supported and ready to go.Maybe meet up for staff training prior to opening up to clients to get focused and excited together.
Is your body clock ready? Are you getting enough sleep? Who hasn’t over indulged in Netflix with super late nights and lie in’s the next morning? We’ve all changed our daily routines slightly during lockdown, but we need to start adjusting back now to working hours so it doesn’t come to as much of a shock to our bodies when we return!
Is your body physically ready? Those of you that use your hands all day for massage, lashes or facials may find it beneficial to start doing some hand and wrist exercises to get those joints moving again so you don’t feel the burn after your first long day back! Yoga can also help to start stretching and limbering up your muscles that have been ever so relaxed on the couch for the past few months!