The beauty field has evolved from a weekly visit to a local saloon on to a daily need to feel beautiful. As the demands rise, professionals of the field stand to increase revenues by an upward of 30%. Everyone places a gauge on success differently so it is only fair to speak from a service stand point. To be a success in the beauty world this will depend on one of four things quality of work, quantity of work, retention of guest, and how long you have been in business. While it may be fairly easy to gain anyone of these attributes it is just that easy to overlook what we may be failing in to help us grow, and become more successful. Taking a look at my journey I realized 5 areas that I needed to address to enter the next level of my career. Consistency, Appearance, Communication, Education. Customer experience. Within these 5 areas we will discover ways to be more successful in our career.

Make your guest top priority

This will be the main ingredient of your success! Without our customers we are officially out of business. With this in mind our focus should be giving an experience that can not help but to be talked about. Word of mouth is still the greatest from of advertisement. The customer experience goes a long way with setting yourself apart from the competition. Think of ways you can give your customers a more positive memorable experience. Keep in mind that good news travels fast while bad news travels faster! Keep a list of your clients names, birthdays, and address. This will help your marketing efforts by personalizing each experience. Find out what your customer prefers to be called is it the first name? MR. or MRS? Birthdays are a great way to send out promotions to make them feel special on a day that much may forget. You will show that you care, and take a serious approach to making them feel good. Addresses will help you locate your clients for future deals, specials, or rewards.

Become a master of communication

The best way to build trust in this business is to have the ability to communicate. Let your yes be your yes and your no be your no! Gain trust by backing your words. Don’t say yes to a 6am Saturday morning if you don’t get outta bed until 7am. Keeping your book appropriately scheduled will show professionalism, and give you that extra respect as a professional. Show your customers you care by explaining the process in which you maintain their hair. Stay firm, fair, and keep all conversations professional. Don’t cross talk in the salon with co-workers or other guest. No politics or religion should be topic of discussion as it is considered topics of passion. Keep your customers engaged, informed, and educated, and watch the referrals roll in.

Your appearance counts

When it comes to beauty people come to see us to feel get beautiful. As a pro you should be clean, neat, and not too flashy. You want your customer to feel like the star of the show. If your attire is flashy you may intimidate those who aren’t as fashion forward. Of course unless you decide to stick to a certain class of clientele then you wouldn’t care how others felt. Black and white is usually the standard uniform for the beauty field in any variation would it work. Uniform shows a purpose to the public when you visit the hospital you will find a doctor in a white coat. Any restaurant and a chef in a chef jacket. While your local police will be found in blues and a badge. Are you dressed professional or are you just dressing to impress.

The more you know

The more you will grow! As trends change so will fashion request, and the only way to keep up is by educating yourself on the latest styles, techniques, and products. Without education, you will find your career at a stand still when these changes come about! Attend trade shows, reach out to product lines for material, and at least you can tune in to YouTube. Treat your field like any other field with the more learning you do the more earning you can do. Think of yourself as a fine-tuned automobile that will cost more if you came with more features. Learn to style hair after you give it a stylish haircut. Add the ability to mix formulations for color to become a versatile barber/stylist.

Keep working

The most production comes from the action that doesn’t stop. To give a great example I would ask you to think of a horse that is beautiful, strong, and fast. The only problem is the horse only comes out the stall on Saturdays for a half day then back to the stalls. While on the other hand there is a horse that is not as beautiful, not as strong, and a tad bit slower. This horse will not stop working until his job is complete EVERYDAY he is called upon. Now I ask which would you rather have working your farm?

In completion

Becoming successful is every professional dream I mean no one studies a subject to not be successful. However, success is measured differently across the board. I believe success is when you are able to sustain a living on your every day efforts of working behind the chair. Remember that quantity is not always a great measure quality holds more weight when servicing the public. We all have ways we can go to the next level, but we all don’t have the drive to make it possible. Do you agree? Or do you have ways to be more successful? If so, please leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Stay sophisticated, stay social, and keep cutting!

Shannon Kamal