Following the latest advice that we are going into another national lockdown, this brings the devastating news that the Beauty industry has to close again until further notice. With beauty salons once again closing their doors across the country, you’re probably wondering how you can best make use of your time to benefit your business once we can re-open.
During this period of closure, you can use your time wisely to polish your skills, broaden your business and be at your best when we can swing those doors open again.
We have put together some advice that can ensure you stay engaged with the beauty industry and maximise your professional development during lockdown.
Training and Upskilling
Sadly, along with beauty salons, beauty training schools across the country are also closed for face to face teaching, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still learn. Most beauty training schools, BC Beauty Training included, are still taking course bookings and students are completing their theory learning at home. This gives you extra time to have a practice and do additional research into the new treatments you’re learning. Practical sessions and assessments can then be taken once we can all re-open and you will already be a step ahead with your knowledge and practiced skills!
If you are already qualified in something, there is always room for improvement and learning more. This is a great time to think about how you can upskill yourself by learning new techniques or researching new products.
BC Beauty Training offer a FREE Lash Mapping Course, which is a great tool to use if you are a lash technician. Also, watch this space for some of our live refresher and upskill sessions coming soon!
Many training centres offer online beauty courses for all treatments. Whilst this might be great for upskilling something you are already qualified in, do be careful about which you choose if you are looking to learn something new. Most online beauty courses cannot be widely insured other than from one company that the training provider recommend. This could result in you having to pay for training again face to face. You also need to decide if it is appropriate to learn a practical treatment online. Here at BC Beauty Training we have decided against converting our beauty courses to online as we feel it will dilute the quality of our training, leaving students lacking in confidence and worst case scenario something going wrong during treatment.
Practicing skills you already have is so important. This keeps you in the game and your techniques fresh. If you live with friends or family members, you may have models ready and waiting for you.
Don’t forget good old fashion books. There are some great books written by professionals about their trade that can give you a deeper understanding of knowledge . One of our favourites is ‘Face to Face’ by Doug Schoon for nail professionals.
Social Media Marketing
We all know how easy it is to fall behind with social media when we are in a busy salon. Use your time during lockdown to widen your online presence and grab people’s attention.
Look at your social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. Is all of your information up to date? Do you post often enough with quality content?
You can contact your clients during this time and ask them to kindly leave you reviews to boost your business . Take a look and make sure you can be found on Google, searching online for services has always been popular, but since the pandemic began it is really the only way people can now find what they need. Make yourself stand out from other beauty businesses by engaging your clients and potential new clients in your platforms.
Don’t forget to use other businesses for inspiration for this.Look at their social media and decide what you do or don’t like about it to help build or tweak your own.
We offer a Social Media Marketing for Beauty Businesses Course which will guide even the most technophobic of you how to make a successful online presence for your business.
Get Inspiration From Others
Creativity has to come from somewhere and we all need a stream of inspirational ideas to get those juices flowing.
Stay connected to the industry and connect with others through social media. Facebook has many chat and support groups for professionals that cover all topics. These groups are great sources of government information such as guidelines and financial help.
They are also a great place to discuss new products that you may have been considering bringing into your salon. We all love to watch tutorial videos on nail art, massage techniques or anything else you feel that passion for.
You can connect with other salons and some of the top professionals in the industry through social media channels. During the last lockdown we saw a lot of free webinars and tutorials online and we are sure this time there will be even more!
This maybe a great time to think about your salon too…… were you thinking about redecorating or buying new furniture? Get inspiration from other salons that may have a similar set up to you. Someone may have a great piece of space saving furniture for a small room that you have been searching all over for!
Get yourself ready to reopen with new ideas and make some great contacts along the way.
Mental Health and You Time
Now, more than ever, mental health is so important. We don’t often get time to have for ourselves when juggling work life and family life.
Some of you may feel you have to cram every hour of the day into making your business still visible and engaging, as anxieties may tell you that is the only way to keep going. Whilst others may feel totally demotivated and have no inspiration to do anything work related. We all need to find a balance that works for us.
It is acceptable to take time out and just do something for you. Let’s face it, when we re-open, we are going to be run off our feet again and may not get this opportunity for a while.
Allow yourself some time to chill. Everyone finds relaxation indifferent ways, whether this is meditation, exercise, a nice long bath, baking or having a glass or two of wine. You may even decide to take up a new hobby like art, knitting, DIY or crafts. Whatever it is, do something that makes you happy. If you have a family at home, this can bring its own challenges through lockdown, especially if you are home schooling! Bringing the family together and spending quality time can help ease frustrations. You might decide to go for a nice walk somewhere new or play a board game.
Most importantly, remember it is ok not to be ok. These are tough times that we have never experienced before and everyone deals with it differently. Keep talking to each other and support one another through this lockdown.
Our mental health is the most important thing. Your business cannot be successful long term without it.