No matter what your philosophy or mission as a hairstylist, we all have one thing in common - there’s only so much time in the day (and that goes for everyone) both ourselves and our clients.
For new stylists everything takes longer. Haircuts, colors, extension application, you name it, it takes longer. But I’ve known many stylists that are tenured in their career still struggling with time management.
For some stylists they think they’re doing their clients a favor by taking all day to process their hair. “It’s just how much I value my clients” “I want everything to be perfect”, but I have to tell you something, a client that has to spend all day in your chair to get a cut and color probably doesn’t see it the same way as you.
Today we’re talking about what it means to value your client’s time AND yours.
Can I ask you a favor? If you enjoy the show, will you follow us and leave a 5 star review? This helps our show move up in the charts to help more stylists. Thank you!
No matter what your philosophy or mission as a hairstylist, we all have one thing in common - there’s only so much time in the day (and that goes for everyone) both ourselves and our clients.
For new stylists everything takes longer. Haircuts, colors, extension application, you name it, it takes longer. But I’ve known many stylists that are tenured in their career still struggling with time management.
For some stylists they think they’re doing their clients a favor by taking all day to process their hair. “It’s just how much I value my clients” “I want everything to be perfect”, but I have to tell you something, a client that has to spend all day in your chair to get a cut and color probably doesn’t see it the same way as you.
Today we’re talking about what it means to value your client’s time AND yours.
Can I ask you a favor? If you enjoy the show, will you follow us and leave a 5 star review? This helps our show move up in the charts to help more stylists. Thank you!
Welcome to the Aspiring Stylists Podcast with Tracey Franklin. Where to begin, grow and aspire to become the best stylist you can be. Whether you're thinking about becoming a stylist opening a salon, or developing your skills as an experienced stylist the next step of your beauty career starts here. Each week we'll discuss strategic ways to design, plan and execute on becoming a stylist that excels behind the chair and above the bottom line. Here's your host, Tracey Franklin.
Tracey Franklin:
No matter what your philosophy or mission is, as a hairstylist, we all have one thing in common. There's only so much time in a day. And that goes for everyone, every profession, every person everywhere, both ourselves and our client. For new stylists, everything takes longer. That makes sense, right haircuts, colors, extension applications, you name it, it's just going to take a little bit longer. But I've known many stylists that are tenured in their career and are still really struggling with time management. For some stylists, they think they're doing their clients this huge favor by spending all day on their hair. I just really value my clients, I want everything to be so perfect for them. But I have to tell you something, a client that has to spend all day in your chair just to get a cotton color probably doesn't see it the same way you do. Today, we're going to be talking about what it means to value your clients time and yours. Now, you're not just a hairstylist for fun, right? You're here to make money. And don't get me wrong. The path that you've chosen is an absolute blast. Most days will be spent creating beautiful hair on people that you actually enjoy being around. But it is still your career and hopefully your main source of revenue. So time is money no matter how you spin it for you and for your client. It's possible that your clients have left work early to come in for their appointment with you. And if your speed requires them to cash in a whole vacation day, it's a problem. Now let me clarify and acknowledge that color corrections and extreme makeovers can absolutely eat up our day. But those should be the exception, not the rule. Everyone should be massively clear on this and plan and charge accordingly. At the peak of my career, I would see anywhere from three to five clients today. If it was back to back color and extensions, it was probably three. Some days I would have a couple of colors mixed in with some cut, so maybe it was more like five. I wouldn't call myself fast by any means I take my time with my guests, but I've learned to master the art of engaging with my clients while I'm working on them instead of getting sidetracked by it. Depending on the duration of the work day I would say your average stylist sees anywhere from five to eight clients today. Some stylists prefer to work longer days, but less of them while others may prefer an eight hour work day. Again, this is an average and there are lots of factors to consider as well. Some stylists stacked clients or work on blocks of time, meaning they are working on more than one client at once. A stylist that does this often works with an assistant, which is a great opportunity for a new graduate. Learning from a seasoned stylist that is much like the one you aspire to be one day will be an investment well worth your time. growing as a stylist doesn't just mean you're improving your skills, it also means you're becoming more efficient, it means you're adding value to the guest experience by doing solid work in a normal amount of time. It means staying on track and not running behind and being ready for each guest as they arrive. Running late or running over is also going to bring a ton of guilt and anxiety to the next appointment. It'll have you scrambling around trying to figure out how to make it up to them which most of the time will come in some form of a discount or even a freebie. Again, time is money literally. working behind the chair is this constant dance between quality and quantity and the balance can be found but it will take some effort. And if at times you have to choose one over the other always choose quality. I would rather someone call me a slow stylist than a bad one. My advice is to challenge yourself. Start by shaving five minutes off your application time make it a game maybe next time you try to shave off 10 minutes, then do some self reflection. did this affect the quality of your work? was the guest experience lessened in any way? If not keep working on it. You may find you're able to take a few more clients each week getting you closer to your goals and making your paychecks a lot sweeter too. So why are some stylists so slow? Like what is taking so long? Well, some stylists just work a little slower than others and that has to do with a couple things. First, I want to go back to multitasking. You have to be able to chat with your guests and work on the hair. If you're very animated like me this does take a little bit discipline but it can be done on, focus on getting to know the client better ask them questions and let them do most of the talking. If your guest is not feeling chatty, cool, throw something out there every once in a while just to keep the awkward silence at bay, and then you just get to stay focused on the work. The second one is a little trickier. And that's perfectionism. You have to have every section parted perfectly, every foil has to be perfectly folded, and you end up spending way too much time on the application. I'm not trying to sound unsympathetic to the OCD and all of us from time to time, I know it's very real, but I have seen it severely limit a stylist potential, so we have to let some of that go. And this can bleed into other areas of our work as well. That same stylists will spend so long on getting the perfect picker video that the client tired of it, they've been sitting for hours getting their hair done and they're ready to get out the door. They don't want to be your supermodel for 30 minutes. Please don't be too overly critical of your work the results or the content you're creating. And trying alone, you're doing more than some other stylists are willing to do and you need to be proud of that. Some clients will prefer a faster stylists and some will be glad you're taking your time everyone's different. Some days you'll have the client who has dinner plans or a kids game to get to and they want to get in get refreshed and get out another day you'll have a guest who's just so glad to socialize, relax with a glass of wine and enjoy their time out of the house and away from the kids. be intuitive to your clients need for each appointment. Each appointment can be different and we have to be willing to pivot when those needs change. If a client is used to a stylist that takes two hours to get the job done than a stylist that takes twice as long as going to raise some flags. As a slower stylist myself, I like to ask those questions and any other questions that lead me to their personal preferences for that appointment? having mastered clarity on your clients, time restraints, or even their beauty budget is Intel worth collecting. So make sure you're getting to know your clients so that they feel respected and appreciated during their time with you. So what about preparation? I mean, is there anything that you can do the day before or the morning of to better help you lay out your day, one of the most important parts of setting yourself up for success is planning ahead. Make sure you arrive early to set up for your first client of the day before you leave the salon the night before, planning ahead will make you feel prepared and competent for the day ahead. So let's stay ahead of the game. So what about guilt, right? We don't want our clients to feel like we're speeding through their service and that they're not getting a good experience with us. And we're not talking about speeding or rushing through a service. We're talking about efficiency, turning out good work in a standard amount of time. This is something the client shouldn't even notice. They should never feel rushed or hurried out the door and never skimp on the extras or at the shampoo bowl. A great shampoo is the best part. taking too long and your application will have you scurrying around through the finishing process forgetting all about the essential parts of the service like pre booking their next appointment and making sure they leave with the product that you know they're going to need at home. So we want to make sure that we are protecting the customer's experience and that we're working on them efficiently. So you need to set the pace and stay with it. If you have an hour for a partial highlight, then divide your time so that you know hey, I've got 15 minutes for each section, and where watch if you need to and do your best to stay on schedule. You need to keep the guests engaged and equipped. Do they need to refill a phone charger or maybe they just need a little bit of great conversation. Make sure they feel cared for and they'll have no idea that you're even watching the clock. Working at a salon with a front desk coordinator is a real asset for keeping the flow of the appointment running smoothly. Once you've finished the hair and collected the content they take over and handle the checkout the pre booking and finalizing any sales that you've made. This can be a 10 to 15 minute process that will put you behind even more. If you're handling all these details yourself. Working with a team especially a good one makes all the difference. They are there if you need a shampoo buddy or someone to help sweep the hair for you, then someday you get to return the favor and everyone's better for it. When working in a service based industry. It's important to look at the guest experience as a whole. It's multifaceted and each facet matters and respecting your client's time and making the most of yours behind the chair is no exception.
Morgan Franklin:
Thank you for joining us on this episode of anytime soon. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin. If you enjoyed listening and you want to hear more, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan Franklin Production. Today's episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin editing and post-production by Mike Franklin. Want to find out more about Tracey and the Aspiring Barber and Beauty Academy go to aspirebarberandbeauty.com