Stephanie Belfi, stylist at De La Mer Salon (Bellmore, NY), realizes that being a great Salon Professional is not a 9-5 job. So, Belfi came up with 5 tips that help her manage her time, keep her motivated and create the success she wants as a stylist!
1. Plan For Success. Belfi always gets to the salon 30 minutes before her first client. “It’s at this time that I pull my formula cards, plan for retail support and see if a service can have an upgrade attached to it, plus this is also the time when I prepare my tools for the day,” says Belfi.
2. Don’t Cut On Consultations. “I often thought skipping the consultation and sending the guest straight to the bowl would save me time,” says Belfi. More often though the opposite ends up being true, from shampooing the guest with the wrong product, to trying to have a consultation while the guest’s hair is wet, things can just get worse. As the saying goes, “Haste makes waste.”
3. Check Ahead. Before Belfi leaves at night, she checks her schedule for the upcoming week to make sure her guests are scheduled properly. Adjusting the time or service for any of her appointments earlier in the week is a win and allows her to add new clients that are on a waiting list.
4. Understand Vacation Time. Belfi understands that 6-8 months out of the year are important times for her guests to get in for their services. She makes sure she is in the salon those months in order to maintain her guest’s hair and books her vacation on the months that are slower than normal.
5. Add 30 At The End. If you get fixated on leaving the salon at a certain time, it can make things worse. Another thing Belfi does to alleviate this stress, she doesn’t schedule anything right after work. She gives herself a 30 minute buffer to the end of everyday in the salon and found giving herself a buffer, she no longer had to cancel plans.