Salon: Organize 2017
It has been a busy holiday season. I am sure everyone was busy with clients and family events. I wanted to get the new year rolling with some quick organizational tips that might help you change the way you do things in 2017. ENJOY!
1. Save time with organization: When you are organized moving from client to client you look a lot more put together. Take some time at the end of each week to reorganize your station and have things in a working order. If you know where everything is then you know where everything should go and that may sound redundant but consistency is key. Having a seamless transition and a neat orderly transition throughout your day will save you time at the end of the day.
2. Clean As You Go: When you are finished with a color, do not leave the color bowls out on your station while your client processes. Take that extra time to grab your bowls and clean them out. While you are at it, clean everything thoroughly so that you do not have any residue for the next color and so that you do not have to take the time to do it twice. I know this will be foreign to all of my stylist friends but SLOW DOWN, if you just do this one thing then tasks will get done the correct way, the first time. Be in the moment and ultimately that will cause you to become more organized. I find that if I clean as I go and make sure duties do not pile up, then I can finish up my day by not rushing around and doing what really needs to be done. Take that extra second as your client walks back to your chair to wipe out the sink and keep it tidy for the next one. You will feel better about your day and more accomplished if you do take the time to clean as you go.
3. Client cards: Detailed notes are so important and could one day save your rear end if you are having a senior moment. I know, I know, you can formulate just by looking at what's on your clients grow out... but when those words, "whatever you did last time was perfect," comes out of your client's mouth and your heart sinks because you cannot remember to save your life what you did, you will wish you had notes. Turns out, had you made that detailed client card about their color, you would not have had that stressed out feel of panic pinging in your heart. I have been doing this consistently for the last few years, I write down every little detail and am I glad I did. Those detailed notes have made me jump for joy every time I hear that my client wants the exact same thing that I did on their last appointment. Take some stress out of your day to day life at work and that gives you more energy to put into your job!
4. Color cabinet organization: This might not apply to everyone but for those of you who have to supply your own color read on... As an artist, I already have some trouble with focusing when I have 100 things bouncing around in my head. I reorganize my color cabinet at least once a quarter. Personally I like to have everything in working order, in front of me, so I know what I have and what I need. I keep the top tabs of empty colors in a pile so when they are gone I will know what to reorder and I make sure to clearly label my developers so I always grab the correct one. I keep my developers stacked on their side with the lid facing me. I use a black sharpie on the lid to mark the level of developers. A really good habit to get into is, to always check the color when you pull it out of the box. Does the color match the one you are about to use? I have had my stomach fall out when I wasted color mixing the wrong one only because I did not take one second to double check it. However you decide to do your color cabinet just make sure it is done in a way that will save you time so that you are not in the back searching for a color for longer than 2 minutes. A more organized color cabinet will help create positive and less stressful work environment for yourself.
5. Accounting: I recommend to all of my stylists friends to hire an accountant rather than going to one of those cattle call places. In the past, in an effort to try and save money, I have lost out on money going to one of the tax places on the corner. It is so worth the extra cash to hire someone good than to save a few bucks and have your taxes not done correctly. If you are not good at keeping up on your own books, even if you are an employee I also would recommend hiring (or trading) with someone who can keep you organized. As stylists we have write offs that we did not even know existed. I owe half of my life to my tax accountant he has saved me more than once. Did you know that if you do any work out of your home, you can write off a portion of your mortgage??!!! What??? Well it is true and maybe a lot of you knew that, but I sure did not and for the fact that I blog at home, well that counts for work!
6: Set reminders: I am not talking about setting reminders for your appointments, although that is very important as well. I am talking about setting a yearly reminder for your important renewals and important tax times. I was notorious for forgetting to renew my city business license in a timely manner. When I forget I would owe more $$ so now I set a reminder. I have a reminder for my health insurance every December, my state and city business licenses every January and my business insurance that needs to be renewed yearly as well. If you are an employee and not self employed then you have less to remember. It is still nice whether you are self employed or an employee to keep important tasks on an alarm, it will take away one less thing to think about in your busy life.