Is it just because we're in a recession?

[nixnewcastle]

Ok geeks so years ago I remember working for salons and spas when you could hardly get moved for clients and clients had to book 3 months in advance at the last spa I worked at.

Things definitely don't seem to be this way now. I set up my business 2 years ago and I'm finding it's either feast of famine. All the clients seem to want the same appointment times and everyone just seems to get treatments done for...eurgh dare I say the dreaded saying 'special occasions'

The question I want your advise on is... Do you think it's just because of the recession that this is the case? And did there used to be huge amounts of money to be made in this business?

 

[persianista]

Yes the recession has hit this industry. You will always get geeks claiming to be "chocka"( I cringe at that word), but when people are truthfull, and working full time, they are mostly quieter than they used to be.

I don't know any salons that are doing the same level of profit as we were 3 or 4 years ago.
Also remember that the beauty industry in particular has changed in recent years with part time and mobile therapists able to undercut salons now that there are 1 day courses for most services.

 

[trulyscrump]

We are the same. Some weeks busy, some weeks not.

We have actually had people phoning to haggle on prices, comparing ours to mobile therapists, so we are also working hard on creating more of an experience and really concentrating on specific seasonal treatments - facials at the moment.

I think the current financial climate is a big factor (and could get worse into the new year) but I also think that it's about working harder to get (and keep) the clients.

 

[tigi]

we opened two years ago and are finding it hard. either we are dead busy and cant cope, or we are dead in the water. no two days are the same, there is no consistency (except thurs and fri are busier on the whole).

Its very tough but we are opening shop two and are going to keep putting 100% into it.

xxxxxxx

 

[bombini]

Also remember that the beauty industry in particular has changed in recent years with part time and mobile therapists able to undercut salons now that there are 1 day courses for most services.

Totally agree with this.

There are so many therapists working for themselves offering rock bottom prices that I think its cheapened the whole industry. The recession hasn't helped but there is so much choice now clients can afford to be picky.

 

[Blue Rose]

Also remember that the beauty industry in particular has changed in recent years with part time and mobile therapists able to undercut salons now that there are 1 day courses for most services.

Tell me about it!!! We notice it the most with our spray tans. We do clients, they love it & are really pleased with the results. They find out there's a mobile in our town doing them for £10 & we don't see them again :cry:

Fortunately for us, spray tanning has never been a massive part of our business & we still tick along with our core services. Could do with more peeps booking in for our offers though!

 

[Lynne Baker]

I can truthfully say that I'm pretty busy most of the time. I work damned hard for it though, in that I do a lot of marketing, and I do it all the time. Next week (half term in our area) is looking pretty quiet though.
I worry most days that I'll wake up tomorrow and my diary will be empty.

 

[geeg]

Just goes to show that no one is 'sitting pretty' and you have to work at marketing your services not just to sit there waiting for something to happen.

We are busy in the salon every day and we only offer nails .. we have a waiting list most days and are up on this time last year. The salon I am affiliated with keeps an entire family so yes, there is a living to be made and a good one.

WE do find that clients are pushing for that extra week on their service so we just needed to have a bigger client list. Minx and Shellac have seen to that. We don't buy products we don't need and we keep a tight reign on the salon budget. I think success has as much has to do with being a business person as well as being an excellent nail technician.

 

[persianista]

It isn't hard to be up on last year! It was the worst year I ever experienced in my entire career. It IS starting to ease for us hairdressers.
Last year salons got hammered by our clients being skint, our staff holiday pay bill being drastically increasd whilst lowering productivity, and our bills shooting up.
The increased vat will hurt us again next year.
Tough times.
Things WILL get easier. Recessions end, and the salons which survive this period will do extremely well in the future.
During the good times, mobiles and people working from home never even registered on my radar as it was all about salons. Mobile hairdressers don't seem to have made the same impact as mobile therapists, for which I am grateful.

 

[lauramakeupart]

********Quote -Mobile hairdressers don't seem to have made the same impact as mobile therapists, for which I am grateful.

I go to a friend to get my hair done at her house, I've got to say although she does a great job, the experience of being in a salon environment isn't quite as enjoyable. However I prefer to give her the money and she does a good job anyway. If I din't have a friend who worked from home etc, the salon would be my first choice xx

 

[missymish]

I think the recession has effected everybody and also their way of thinking.

From a customers point of view I used to have at least 1 body treatment a month, 1 facial, waxing and a pedicure. Last November my B/F lost his job and this ALL had to stop he was out of work for 6 months and although now he is back in work, I am always so scared of spending excessively. The only thing I commit to now is regular waxing.

IMO I love to go to the same salon and be a regular client there is nothing better than having your treatment done by a regular therapist and building up a relationship, but for most, beauty is a bit of a luxury at the moment :cry:

I think things will pick up (hopefully) and as a customer the first thing I will be doing is going back to my regular salon but at the moment it is near on impossible for normal people to afford luxuries :cry:

 

[Lynne Baker]

Last week I gave a presentation on e-marketing. Of an audience of 12 only THREE kept in touch with their clients. I was genuinely stunned. I mean, come on - you have people who've already done business with you; warm leads are SO much more valuable than cold ones, so use them!
As I said, it's half term next week and it's looking quiet so I'm ramping up the marketing and offering a Half Term-Half Price offer on microderms. The consumables cost pennies so it's really only my time we're talking about, and I'd rather be earning something than nothing.
I use a bulk emailing program to keep in touch - do NOT use Outlook/gmail/hotmail/etc for this; your ISP will think you're a spammer. I use Constant Contact and I'm very happy with the functionality it provides. If you want 2 months free let me know; they have a referral scheme in place.
Another thing that surprised me at the presentation was a lady who said "well, it's our quiet time now so we don't do much marketing" Er, hello!
When it's quiet use the time to think up offers, packages, marketing activity, to schedule in for when it's busy. Look at your margins and work out which services you can make look more attractive to your clients without impacting your bottom line too much.
Never Stop Marketing!

 

[Blue Rose]

Another thing that surprised me at the presentation was a lady who said "well, it's our quiet time now so we don't do much marketing" Er, hello!
When it's quiet use the time to think up offers, packages, marketing activity, to schedule in for when it's busy. Look at your margins and work out which services you can make look more attractive to your clients without impacting your bottom line too much.
Never Stop Marketing!

That bit did make me chuckle.... Some people just don't get the whole marketing your business/networking thing AT ALL.

No matter how busy (or quiet for that matter) you are, you should always find time to do some kind of marketing.

What can be more rewarding than spending an hour of your time putting something together that then gets the phone ringing with appointmnets

 

[makeupartistzoe]

Networking and being constantly salon focused is the only way to go.

In my 1st two weeks of opening my salon I've updated my website and the blog, joined facebook and started a group, text and emailed all my clients, called 200 clients directly -as they had giftvouchers they hadn't used everythin up on, did a launch party and invited local press and other local business owners, did a wedding fayre where i started at 8am and made over about 12 people-models and the fayre organisers, joined the chamber of commerce and will attend a networking thing on the 1st of nov, flyered shops and some bars-more to be done though, and arranged to go in one of 2 office blocks (saving the 2nd untl dec) to offer slightly discounted intro packages of treatments and products.

Tho the best thing i've done is text Zane Lowe on radio one as he was 'doing a spotlight on bournemouth-text in now if your in bournemouth and listening to the show' so i did 'mr zane im listening to you and have just opened up my own salon in bournemouth' and he read it out. one of my clients from my last salon heard and decided to text me and book some treatments up for the weekend! lol! loving Zane!

I carry my treatment menus everywhere, and leave them everywhere. I started in 2006, started renting space in 2008, so just as the recession started and I cannot wait until we are out of it!!!

 

[CathyBryant]

this is our 4th year of being open and this will be the first year we have made a profit. have worked very hard to build a good client base and i spend at least a day a week on marketing, investigating new treatments, reinvesting in the business, training etc. its been really hard work but is now paying off. unfortunatly it is survival of the fitest, there have been a few local salons near to us close but i was fortunate to have family backing fianancially to see me though first 3 years so i could reinvest all money back into the business.

a successfull and profitable business does not come easy and i believe most businesses take at least 5 years to fully establish themselves.

a positive thing is that being reminded constantly on the news etc that there is a recession keeps the mind focused on keeping costs to a minimum and to shop around more. and makes you work harder and smarter.

 

[glitz and glam]

im in my second year and am slowly building a client base! Word of mouth seems to have started to work , but the ladies in my area are so poorly educated about nails you honestly wouldnt believe what i hear i also have the problem that there are a few heavy handed nail techs and techs that throw out cheap and ugly nails... this has put alot of locals off having their nails done and so im on a mission to prove that nails dont have to be painful or ugly lol !!

I qualified whilst we were in the recession, however every time the news readers say the R word business slows down and after yesterdays announcement i dont think i'll see the clients spending more than they really need to, and are trying to go longer between appointments than they really should.

I did a leaflet drop last week and usually by now would have had a couple of phone calls at least, but so far nothing. Im launching pro polish this week with special offers and a few ladies who dont like manicure because they dont feel they get value for money(coz the polish doesnt last) but have nice nails that they dont want gel/acrylic seem really intrested so im hoping this is allowing me to have a whole new client base.

I think we have to adapt, make ourselfs different from other techs and be proffessional. Keep at the advertising and keep going.... surely a recession cant last forever??

Good luck

 

[hippy-chick]

yes the recession has definitely made an impact on this industry.

Seaham Hall have got amazing offers on now, they usually charge £120 for a spa day and its down to £75.

The Radisson has just opened in Durham and you can stay there, have a meal, breakfast, use the spa, have a 30 minute treatment, light lunch for £99 in December.

So, its not just us sole traders that are feeling the pinch.

I also think u tube have a lot to answer for with amateurs posting videos of themselves doing self taught nails, etc. I do believe people watching them assume they are qualified from the comments I've read underneath.

 

[essentia]

I also think u tube have a lot to answer for with amateurs posting videos of themselves doing self taught nails, etc. I do believe people watching them assume they are qualified from the comments I've read underneath.

Only this week I came across a forum where a poster stated that she uses Salon Geek to learn how to do her nails!!

 

[makeupartistzoe]

I spent what felt like ages on my you tube vids! I did them for a bit of a promotional thing to make my website stand out from other muas and then out them on you tube as its the most well known vid site. I did search you tube to intially see what the hype with minx was all about and watched a few american ones but if the quality is poor with shakey camera hands I never watch them to the end.

Poor amateurs doing a crappy job gave me the push for me to do mine and now when a bride enquires about wedding makeup, or a brand new client over the phone, I can direct them to my site and they can see me work. But yes again it was the recessions fault I pushed myself to do them too!! xx