How to Survive in the Salon Business During the Coronavirus Outbreak

The world is undergoing serious changes under the light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and this is a stressful time especially for small businesses.
Small businesses face it the hardest and beauty businesses are no exception. Beauty salons are classified as non-essential shops, and most of them were asked to shut their doors.
Shutting the beauty salons is a real disaster for so many people, who need beauty services as much as food and medications.
At the same time, most of them understand that safety and abiding the rules are essential and can save lives. Different countries have different limitations concerning the operations of the businesses.
There are some salons that have decided to show flexibility, take safety measures and continue working under the new circumstances.
We have decided to sum up useful information which could help salon owners who have decided to stay open and serve and for those who want to understand what is the next step after lockdown?

💰 First of all, take care of finances

• Minimize the payments as much as possible.
  Negotiate the rent and lower it dramatically for the lockdown period. Make inquiries about financial support from the government. In many countries, the authorities provide assistance for businesses affected by COVID-19. In the UK the Government has pledged to provide more support to UK businesses in light of the coronavirus. United States offers Low-interest loans up to $2 million through the Small Business Administration for states impacted by COVID-19. Other countries also have relief programs for small businesses, here is an updated list from Shopify.

• If your salon has any other monthly expenses place them on hold if possible.

👭 Support your team

Of course, it is a hard time for the salon owner, but the team members suffer not less. Support your team, explain the current situation to them. Be transparent, let them see that you care and that they are important for you. Tell them that their health is of utmost importance for you and that everything will be good again.

😷 Precautions, safety, more safety measures

Well, you have decided to continue serving the clients and want to undertake all the precautions to minimize the risk for the employees and the customers.

• Fresh air is essential, especially for these days. Make sure to always ventilate the room, some scientific research suggests that the virus can remain in the air for up to 3 hours. Ventilate the rooms in your salon 4–5 times a day.

• Cooperate with centers for disease control. Follow the rules and guidelines.

• Don’t serve several clients at a time, allow time gaps between the bookings.

• Clients should remain within 3 meters (10 feet) from each other. Remove some of your chairs if they are close to each other.

• Experts state that masks can be helpful in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, but only if worn properly and under the right conditions. All your staff should wear a mask (N95 or higher) and FFP2 or higher, regular surgical face masks are of little help.

• Measure the temperature of your staff three times a day. If any of them has temperature, let him go home immediately and inform the local medical disease center about it.

• Measure the temperature of your clients before letting them enter your salon, use contactless devices. If you can’t find them in the special shops, you can always order them online.

• Handover protective masks to each of your clients immediately after they arrive.

• Disinfect with alcohol or other special disinfectants the whole area every two hours. Pay special attention to the chair and the surrounding area.

• Don’t accept cash payments and ask for contactless credit cards if possible.

• Use digital loyalty programs instead of plastic or paper loyalty cards.

• Exclude makeup and any facial services from the services list during the outbreak. While doing make-up the artist can’t keep social distancing and will have to touch the face of the client.

• Ask your clients to wash their hands or sanitize before entering the salon. Provide disinfectants at the entrance, at the doors, and at the tables.

What if you had to close the salon and stay home? This is, of course, hard and stressful, but try to make some benefits of it. Use this time to your advantage.

Salon management is a very time-consuming job and as a rule, you never have time for important things because you have so many urgent things to do. Here are several topics to focus on and prepare your salon for better times.

📈 Focus on Marketing

Create a marketing strategy for your salon. Take online courses on marketing and improve your marketing skills. Decide on a budget and research for new and innovative ideas to level-up your salon. Create long-term planning and clearly outline your salon marketing goals.

💻 Go Innovative

Investigate new tools and technologies, make your salon business smarter. Search for more innovative and comprehensive booking programs, salon marketing automation tools, salon loyalty programs, procurement tools, etc.

📝 Have the Things Done

Pretty sure you have a long to-do list — “I will do it when I have time” things to do like to post those event photos on the Instagram account, find new product suppliers, read reviews, learn about new techniques and staff management tips, browse for salon renovation ideas,

👩‍🎓 Time to Learn

It’s a great time to learn — use online educational platforms to enhance your skills, either business management or professional skills. Find professional training materials also for your staff, motivate them to learn and improve skills.

📱 Team Time

Arrange video calls and virtual meetings with the staff, show them that you care for them and don’t panic. You are a leader, and the leader should be strong and motivate the team.

What’s the takeaway here?

Safety first. The Health and wellbeing of the employees are of the utmost importance. If you have decided to remain open and continue the work, undertake all the safety measurements to avoid the coronavirus. Follow your government guidelines and limitations and stay safe and healthy!
However, if your salon is among the ones that have closed their doors, use the time to your advantage. Invest in yourself and in your business. Prepare your salon for a new world and for better times. This virus outbreak is a perfect chance for all of us to start caring for our planet and be more cautious with mother nature. Consider going more eco-friendly and renovate your salon with new values and stand out as a business.