How to streamline your business

The national and localised lockdowns of 2020 prompted huge changes for most salon businesses with many owners having to pivot and adapt to survive. Congratulations on navigating your way through the challenges you faced in 2020 and your new priority must be to get back to business before salons reopen in 2021.

It is useful to reflect on what you learned during your personal lockdown experiences. The enforced changes improved how some teams operate and highlighted how salon processes can be streamlined. It is important to avoid returning to the status quo of work life pre-COVID-19. Now is the time to fix existing problems and make some future-proof adjustments.

1. What could you change in 2021? 

The main change for everyone in 2020 was the new (and compulsory) COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. However, there may be other changes you could still apply in 2021 if you did not apply them in 2020 such as:

• Choose to be more decisive amidst constant changes to COVID-19 rules
• Set clear priorities for you and your team
• Think about the strategic direction you want to take your business
• Take more time to connect with your team
• Change or improve how your work is planned.

2. What worked well after previous lockdowns? 

Hopefully, all of your employees were excited to get back on the salon floor following previous lockdowns and this had a positive impact on productivity and performance for your business. As a salon owner you will want to maintain this improvement so other areas to review include:

• Changes to the workflow
• Improved use of salon software
• Positive changes to how the team interact with each other.

3. What did you learn from previous lockdowns? 

Decide as a team which changes should be maintained going forward, such as:
• The benefits of clearer communication
• The power of uninterrupted time to get work done
• New ways to manage your workflow.

4. What are your ideas for the future? 

Take the learnings from previous lockdowns and be prepared to change how things were done in the past. Maintain the benefits, continue to trust and empower your team. A new way has emerged, so use your learnings to move forward strategically with a better version of your salon business.

5. Where do you want to be at the end of this pandemic? 

It is easy to get overwhelmed during periods of uncertainty. Think about revisiting your business plan as this can be a vital tool in maintaining a successful trajectory for the next 12 months. When it comes to market analysis and cash flow projections it is essential to reset and re-evaluate your business plan. After this clarify all your options and identify the best avenues for success. Take time to include a detailed plan of how you see this adjusting post-pandemic, and create scenarios specific to your salon business.