Is Education Worth the Investment?

Is Education Worth the Investment for Hair and Beauty Salons?

Some will say they know all there is to know about their industry, regardless of how many years they have spent in it.

I believe this to not be true at all. If anything you are creating limitations for yourself and in turn your business will struggle to grow. Today more than ever the world is moving forward at 100mph, so keeping up to date and on top of everything there is to do in our daily working lives can certainly be a challenge. But what if you could be inspired and get that feeling back that you had when you first set out in your career, full of drive and motivation?  Education is key! Networking is key! Growing as an individual is key! Growing your business is key! 

I’m writing this post on the plane on the way back from The Hub Network weekend in Croatia. It was fab and not just because it was in the sunshine either ???? It was a 2 day seminar packed full of amazing, influential people giving their advice and knowledge on how they have got to where they are.  I find that even if you take one small nugget of information from it, it’s worth it, as that small nugget could have a butterfly effect and lead to a whole host of other projects and ideas for your business. The feeling these conferences create is like no other. Our industry is so tight and has such a strong community, we are reaching for the same thing – success in what we do. This does not mean you have to go abroad to get that inspiration back actually, as some of the best education and drive comes from within your salon and working closely with your team.

Excuses Hair and Beauty Salons Use Not to Train

Yes I am sure you remember hearing yourself or someone else say…

“We are too busy to book out training” “We just haven’t got the money to send people on courses”

Let’s not lie, training does cost money, it does cost time and sometimes we arrange for third parties to visit us and conduct the training for us. BUT not all training costs money and can at times completely stop our salon in it’s tracks.  So what’s the point of this post? Well it’s to shout out about education and how important it is not only for yourself but your employees as well. It allows you to reflect and look back at what you are doing in your business with a lot more clarity.

The Importance of Education in your Salon Business 

Employees need to be trained they need to be educated, they need new inspiration even more so in the hair and beauty industry as it is constantly changing. Don’t let your team get stuck in a rut and become complacent with their clients. 

Training Does Not Need to Be Expensive for your Salon Business

1. The Know How – Why don’t you pair your team together and ask them to share 2 methods they use to blow-dry a certain type of hair, curly – smooth – smooth – straight – wavy – long – short. This same scenario can be used with beauty therapists to present 2 methods on how they approach home care with their clients. 

2. Product Talk – In team meetings, ask your team to present 2 products that they love working with on their clients. Ask them to outline the features and benefits of each product and the benefits of the main ingredient on the hair and skin.

3. Brainstorm – I love this training platform. So much can come from brainstorming, things that you would not  even have thought on on a particular subject. If you do this with your team as a whole it can really turn not a team building session as well.  Your team will feel so inspired and motivated at the end, purely because you are including them within your ideas for the salon. It shows you care about what they think and value their opinion. 

4. Refresh on Education – At some point within their careers they have all attended some form of training. unfortunately they have lose written pages of notes the get lost and they forget about them. (We request all our team members to have their own training diary/ note book so all their notes are kept together) Why not ask your team to pull out notes form their last eduction session and share it with everyone. This could be concentrated across 4 – 8 weeks depending on how many employees you have, once a week. Think how much knowledge will be shared in such a short space of time. 

5. Keep on Topic – If you have a certain area of your business that needs some attention keep on topic. 

6. Budget – Many courses and education programs are announced at the beginning of the year or at each quarter.  These can come from a number of sources such as your suppliers, magazines, industry awards and social media. With this in mind you will have time to budget and save if there are particular courses you or your team would like to attend. Why not set up a competition with your team to help you fund the education? This could be a huge incentive for them and allow you to send them away on a very inspiring course. You could do this a number ways… 

1. Set a retail target, if they hit the target you set consecutively over a period of time they get to go (You also have the funds to pay and send them) 2. Set a Re-bookings target – If they are hitting their re-bookings target, they will be getting busier further ahead, which really only means they will be higher income producers over time. (Probably more of a 6 months – 1 year target)

7. Third Party Education – I am not aware of one hair or beauty salon that could not increase their retail sales. Your product suppliers should offer complimentary training as you are business for them.  Yes this will cost you in terms of time, however in the long run if it means an increase in product sales and your team talking more about the products they are using in the massage or blow-dry than their boyfriend/girlfriend surely it’s a win win situation?

8. You – How much knowledge do you have? Yes you. You are not where you are without going through ups and downs and numerous learning curves. Why not plan the next 4 weeks team meetings on certain topics that you can see a need for improvement with your team.  This can be just a 30 minute session meeting going through your knowledge. However make it interactive and engaging. Get your team involved instead of talking ‘At’ them for 30 minutes. Make it fun. Do role plays, play silly games that are focused around the topic in question.

In a nutshell YES education is worth the investment and is crucial to keep the team you have, make them feel valued, grow them as individuals and in turn grow your business.  What are you waiting for? Do it! If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting. 

Back to blog