The Stylist’s Toolbox.com

Everyone’s business could use a tune-up every now and again, just to make sure that you are running as tight and lean as possible.

Even if the recession hasn’t ravaged your business like pre-schoolers in a candy store, it’s good idea to take stock and see where you can cut costs, save time, improve your income and add to your clientele.

Here are 5 easy tips that can make a huge difference in your bottom line. Implement one of them and you’ll see a bump in your income. Do all five and you’ll forget all about the recession.

1. Measure your haircolor.

I know that you can absolutely spot-on eyeball the correct amount of color and developer just by pouring it into the bowl, but humor me for a minute.

Any extra developer you are pouring into the bowl is sucking money out of your pocket. Why not spend a week measuring it with a scale, just to see how close you are? 

And if you really want an eye-opener, get an empty milk jug and for a week, dump all of your leftover haircolor into it. Whatever is in the jug at the end of the week is your weekly wasted color.

Now,  imagine the amount of color in the jug times 52. That’s how much color you are pouring down the drain every year. (How much is that per application? Between $3 and $8, depending on the color line.) Scary.

Bet you could have bought some wicked shoes with that money.

2.   Take advantage of a color tradeout program.

Manufactuers are always trying to convince you that you should tradeout all of your beloved color for some color line that you’ve never tried and probably don’t know anything about. And because of those two factors; many, many dollars of FREE color go unredeemed every year.

Consider this. I know that you have a bunch of junky color lying around somewhere (in your basement, the truck of your car, your closet – it’s somewhere). Tubes of level 1 color, discontinued shades, the tubes of Ronald McDonald red you stocked up on for that one client just before she moved out of state, maybe even remnants of color lines gone by.  Stuff you don’t need and aren’t going to use anytime soon.  Why not put them to good use?

 To take advantage of a color tradeout program, you don’t have to trade away the beloved standby color that you know and love.

Trade the junky stuff for something new and use it to grow your business. Maybe get a new semi-permanent line and start doing color glossings. Get some new hilift color and run a promotion on highlights. Fall will be here soon – why not promote lowlights?

By trading in your junk color, you are essentially getting free color in return for something you had just lying around. Find a fabulous way to use it to make some money! 

3. Contact your MIA clients

Because times are tight, a few of your clients may have had to leave you in favor of less expensive services. Some may even be coloring their own hair (AUGGGHHH!!!!)

It’s not your fault – people are just feeling a little pinched. But as the economy improves, why not get in touch with some of those MIA clients and see if you can get them back in your chair? 

Write them a note, telling them that you miss seeing them and offer them a great deal to come back – like half off their service.

Getting people back that you already have a relationship with is way easier that finding new bodies. Every client is worth between $200 and $1000 per year, so giving up a little bit now to get them back into the rotation will really pay off.

4. Get ready for fall

Fall is almost here and your clients are already thinking about cutting off their sun-damaged summer hair and going darker. It’s time for you to be thinking about it, too.

Spend some time going through the magazines and learn what the new trends for fall are. Cool haircolor and heavy bangs will be hot - make sure that you’re up on the techniques. You may want to put together a book of new looks so you can show your clients how they can incorporate up-to-date style elements into their look.

If you are uncomfortable starting a conversation, write a script about what you are going to say and practice a few times with another stylist, your kids, your cat  or even to yourself in the mirror. When your clients sit down and ask you, “What’s new?” You’ll be prepared with a great answer about how your clients hair should be changing with the season. 

5. Hug your clients.

Are you showing your clients the love? Give them some more of it. This week, hug every client – when they come in, when they leave or, for extra credit – do it both times. Everybody likes hugs and getting a surprise one when you didn’t expect it is a great way to spice up your day.

What’s more, hugging your clients shows them in a cool unspoken sort of way that you really value them and that they mean more to you than just being your “4:00″. They will leave with a smile and you’ll have made a great last impression as they’re headed out the door.   Hugs around!

Good Luck!

This is the second in a series about using social media to promote your salon

With more than 100 million active users, Facebook is THE way to stay connected with friends both near and far. But have you considered that Facebook can also be used to connect with potential and current clients, promote your salon, your services and to grow your fan base?

Your friends and clients are already on Facebook (or will be there soon), making it the perfect vehicle for you to keep them up to date with what’s new at the salon, in-salon promotions and events, sales on services or retail, even to help fill those holes in your day.

This is the first in a series of how to use social media to market your salon business.

Are you on Twitter? Twitter is suddenly HUGE, posting growth of nearly 1400% in February. Twitter attracts more than 6 million unique visitors and 55 million hits every month.

What does this mean to your salon? Your clients are on Twitter and you should be, too. Oh and BTW, Twitter is free to use.

What is a business card? At its core, a business card is just a way to avoid scribbling your name and number on a cocktail napkin.

But used to its maximum advantage, your business card can be the most powerful business building tool you’ve got. It can demonstrate your work, show your personality and give potential clients a taste of what a visit to you might be like.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

But you can always improve someone’s impression of you by offering them a great handshake.

We’ve all been on the receiving end of a terrible handshake. They come in several varieties – the floppy, “I’m supposed to shake your hand, but you look like you’ve got cooties” handshake, the used-car salesman’s hard press and pump, and the handshakes that make you wonder if they might ever stop.

Worse yet, is when you hold out your hand for a shake and it is ignored or not seen. Talk about awkward. What happens then? Uncomfortable silence while you try to pretend that you really just waving at someone else? Ick.

Have you thought about using email to stay in touch with  your clients, but  haven’t gotten started yet? Does putting it together seem too complicated? You are not alone. The vast majority of hair stylists are not emailing or texting to their clients, missing out on this great opportunity to market for free! But it’s not too late for you.  In fact, email could help you make a lot more money this year!

Here’s why –

How many businesses send you emails? A bunch, I bet.  A quick glance at my inbox would show you email from American Airlines, Off-Broadway Show Warehouse, Restaurants.com, ITunes, Pizza Hut and Gourmet Magazine as well as a number of newsletters from different groups I belong to. Why do they do this? It’s an inexpensive way to stay in touch with me with great offers and details of upcoming events. Even if I don’t read them all, I see their name every time I open my email. It’s useful information that is cheap for them to distribute and easy for me to read.

How can this work for you?

2008 is finally over. It was a tough year – fewer customers, spending less money, buying less retail and waiting longer between appointments. But now that it is finally gone, let’s look ahead to 2009. In the spirit of improvement and changes, I’ve got a few resolutions for the new year that can revolutionize your business:

Is your salon selling gift certificates? You should be. Gift certificates can be the biggest money making opportunity your salon has this holiday season. Easy to use and give, gift certificates can do wonders to grow your salon business.

Salon Marketing 101

Marketing, sales and promotion seems to have acquired a rather bad name in the last few years, conjuring up images of a pushy guy in an orange plaid suit coat, sporting a bad combover.

Are you running a back-to-school liter sale this year? If not, why?

Are you afraid that nobody wants to spend their money right now? Well, the chains and the big retail outlets are running sales on their liters and you should be, too.

You might think that big retailers and chain salons have an unfair advantage because they can buy stuff so much less expensively than you can, but let me show you how you can leverage your retail dollars to run sales just like they do. You can be retailing like the big dogs in no time.