3 Things I Wish I Would Have Known Before Opening A Salon…
Owning a small business is something that many people dream of. It is an awesome dream to have and it is an amazing opportunity to embark on. It is easy to believe that all of your problems will disappear when you are your own boss…often times the opposite is actually true. The challenges and hardships are worth it…but there are indeed challenges and hardships!
Here are three of the hardest lessons that I never saw coming when I opened a small business…
#1 It will be hard to do hair AND own a salon in the long run.
The first time a business coach said to me, “so when are you going to stop doing hair?”, I was pissed. I thought to myself, “I opened a salon to have a place to do hair! I didn’t open a salon to be a business owner!”.
The words from my coach continued to replay in my mind over and over during the following months. I slowly started to see what she meant. During this time, I only had 12 employees and I had been in business for about five years. I started to zoom out and see that I could do “anything”…but I couldn’t do “everything”. I was working myself into exhaustion and overwhelm and I wasn’t able to really be a “jack of all trades”.
In order to run the business in the best way possible, I needed to start stepping back from being the “technician” and become part of the management/entrepreneur team. During this time, I was basically the only manager so I was very needed in areas outside of being behind the chair.
These days I am super happy with not being behind the chair now at 15 years into salon ownership. However, I know that many aspiring salon owners picture themselves doing hair for life. Some people can manage that and love it. I wasn’t built to do that and have a healthy existence. If you want to focus on hair in the long haul, it is possible that ownership isn’t for you unless you can find a way to empower a management team to support the business.
”The man who chases two rabbits will catch neither.” -Confucius
#2 Hiring friends hurts more than you think.
I always thought I was different. I would hear people say, “don’t hire your friends” or “don’t become friends with your employees”. I genuinely believed that didn’t pertain to me. I thought I was fun and knew how to have healthy relationships. I was wrong about being the exception to the rule. It just took me longer to see the truth than it takes some salon owners.
I have to say, this has been the hardest part of ownership for me. I am someone who loves to be part of a community, loves to be vulnerable,loves to make friends, loves to be part of people’s lives and loves to work with a group. These attributes are hard to possess as a leader of a team. I have to fight my natural tendencies to be the best leader that I can be. I have made scores of mistakes in this area that cost me many years of mental and emotional suffering.
It gets super messy and it hurts the people that work for you in addition to hurting you. It is tough to remain “work colleagues” with your team when you work closely. This is something I wish I would have understood sooner.
Much of the pain and suffering I have experienced is a direct result of me lacking boundaries in friendship with people that worked for me. I do believe this is true no matter what “type” of salon (or small business!) you own. Whether you are an employment salon or a rental, this applies.
Being the kindest leader often also involves being separate from the team’s relationships with one another (more on this in future Salon Snacks).
On the flip side, one of the things that brings me the MOST joy is watching my team become friends with one another in genuine ways. That is the coolest part for me :)
#3 Leaving work at work will never be the same.
I remember working at a salon before I was an owner. It was the most free-flowing life I can remember. I would go to work, arrive to a book of clients that the desk scheduled for me, finish the day, clean up and then walk out the door immediately disconnecting from work. I would turn up my music and drive away in my Buick Regal to hang with my friends without a care in the world and a purse full of cash tips (I know this isn’t the norm anymore with credit card culture!).
Sometimes there are days like this as an owner, but most of the time I have to work hard to stop thinking about work or pondering how I can improve the business. I never wanted to “bring work home” and I thought that it would be easy to separate and it can be difficult
Even when I go to a restaurant I notice everything about the host greeting, the light fixtures, the restrooms, EVERYTHING. I am constantly taking in information that could possibly improve how we run the business.
The hardest times are usually when I have to make a decision I know isn’t “popular” or I hear what someone said about me. It is a constant process to let that stuff roll off. My biggest fight is to find ways to not “make up stories” about myself and how people perceive me…this follows me right out the door of work into my personal life.
Even though I just listed a few things that I “wish I would have known”, I am deeply grateful for what I do everyday. Yesterday I spent the day on my computer in one of the salon locations. We had some downtime so we made a hilarious reel for Instagram and we laughed so hard. I cherish moments like this and I am constantly growing as a human. Being an owner is like a personal growth “pressure cooker” if you allow it to grow you.