7 essential time management lessons for salon owners

Do you constantly feel like you are doing too much - but apparently it is never enough? Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks you are supposed to do every day? Do you find yourself always working on fulfilling your to-do list but never reaching its end? If you sighed and answered “yes” to any (or all) of these questions, you are in the right place.

Time management is a difficult subject regardless of your profession, but when you are a business owner, things can truly go on a rampage. You have so many responsibilities that even if you had a 72 hour shift, you would still not be able to finish everything. If you can relate to that, sit down, relax, and take a lesson on how to manage a salon without going crazy.

Learn to be consistent

It is Wednesday morning. You planned to go through new CVs, then to look over advertising offers you got recently, next you want to become familiar with marketing materials concerning a new line of products from a brand you carry as retail. You start with CVs, but after approximately ten minutes you get distracted by the thought that the advertising offers arrived almost a week ago and maybe you should read them first. So you switch tasks - but you still cannot focus as you think about this new retail line. Will it be good? Should you buy it? You have heard it has great ingredients. Maybe just a quick peek into those marketing materials…

As a result, an hour later you still have not got anywhere and you are more absent-minded and distressed than ever.

What you need is more consistency. Yes, sometimes you have to switch your tasks, as something more important comes your way. But when the chores are equal in priority, take a minute to decide which one you want to do first - and then stick to it. The remaining will not run away, believe me.

Learn to log out

One of the most popular and relevant salon management tips lately is to strictly stay away from your smartphone, mailbox and social media accounts when you are working. Scrolling through your news feed every five minutes makes you horribly unproductive. It may seem like “just a minute”, but one minute of brainless scrolling every five minutes at work equals over one and a half hours of time wasted every single day! Not to even mention how off your rhythm you get.

If you cannot resist, do not take the phone to your workstation - hide it deep in your purse. Do not put it on the table, do not play with it, do not even look at it. First few times may be difficult, but you will see how much more productive you will get.

Learn to prioritise

“Easy said, all of my tasks are super important” - you think. But are they really? Not all vital tasks are urgent and not all urgent tasks are vital. Learn to distinguish them in your salon. There are vital tasks you may as well do in a week time and there are urgent tasks you may not even have to do at all. And what if you have colliding duties that are both urgent and vital? Then you have to learn to say “no”.

Learn to say “no”

Some salon owners would rather work after hours than openly refuse to take on a new task. But you have to fight that temptation. Unless it is an apocalypse, a visit from the Queen herself or a fiscal control, it can wait. Your free time is sanctity and you should not sacrifice it in order to please everyone. Moreover, you should not drop what you are doing at the moment just because someone wants something from you. Unless it is an urgent emergency, it can wait until you are done with the current task.

Learn to set barriers. Be polite and honest - say “no” to a task, not a person. Mentioning why you cannot do something right now and when you will be available is always a good idea - it is a very responsible and professional thing to do. However, do not feel guilty and do not apologise - there is no need for that.

Learn to delegate

It is a bitter lesson for business owners to learn, but you have to understand - your salon will not burst into flames if you delegate some of your duties to someone else. Of course, as a salon owner you know your business best - nevertheless, you should consider letting someone else do certain things. Swallow your pride and assign some of your chores to your beauty salon manager - you can always have supervision over it and you will not only get more time, but also an employee trained to deal with an additional duty, in case you are not around.

Nowadays, you can also count on technology to ease your work. There are solutions available that can take over some of your duties and greatly help you with others. Booksy is one of them - it allows you to generate precise, real-time statistics and reports, organise work and promotions, provide instant scheduling and editing of appointments, and so on. Such a digital helper is a great way to delegate even the most sensible of tasks (like those concerning finances and personal data), without having to share them with any of your employees.

Learn to question the unquestionable

You are always working and setting goals in accordance with well-worn schedules. It is a routine and at this point, it goes without saying. You set yourself an action plan and you do not question it - but maybe you should?

You change, and so does your salon. You get more clients, more employees, start using social media, add new services, you learn and thrive. Learn to challenge your ways of thinking and acting - maybe you do not need to do some tasks anymore? Maybe there is a way to do them faster? Perhaps there are other aspects of your job you should focus on right now?

Learn to let go

Sooner or later, you will encounter tasks you will not be able to do. They will not fit into your schedule, they will go over your head, or you will try and fail. You have to understand that it is an inherent part of your job - you did your best but it just did not work out. Cut yourself some slack, learn from your mistakes and accept that you just do not have power over some things. Also, learn to unwind after your working hours - being permanently stressed out will make you more prone to making mistakes.

Truth be told - your to-do list will probably always be full. It is a cat chasing its tail situation, you may gradually fulfill your tasks but new duties will keep coming. But guess what - it is totally fine. As long as you are efficiently working on your chores every day, there is nothing to worry about.

Working on all the lessons above, do not forget to get familiar with Booksy software and start managing your duties efficiently like never before!