Valuing Your Client’s Time and Yours
Morgan Franklin: Welcome to the
Aspiring Stylists Podcast with
Tracey Franklin. Where to begin,
grow and aspire to become the
best stylist you can be. Whether
you're thinking about becoming a
stylist opening a salon, or
developing your skills as an
experienced stylist the next
step of your beauty career
starts here. Each week we'll
discuss strategic ways to
design, plan and execute on
becoming a stylist that excels
behind the chair and above the
bottom line. Here's your host,
Tracey Franklin.
Tracey Franklin: No matter what
your philosophy or mission is,
as a hairstylist, we all have
one thing in common. There's
only so much time in a day. And
that goes for everyone, every
profession, every person
everywhere, both ourselves and
our client. For new stylists,
everything takes longer. That
makes sense, right haircuts,
colors, extension applications,
you name it, it's just going to
take a little bit longer. But
I've known many stylists that
are tenured in their career and
are still really struggling with
time management. For some
stylists, they think they're
doing their clients this huge
favor by spending all day on
their hair. I just really value
my clients, I want everything to
be so perfect for them. But I
have to tell you something, a
client that has to spend all day
in your chair just to get a
cotton color probably doesn't
see it the same way you do.
Today, we're going to be talking
about what it means to value
your clients time and yours.
Now, you're not just a
hairstylist for fun, right?
You're here to make money. And
don't get me wrong. The path
that you've chosen is an
absolute blast. Most days will
be spent creating beautiful hair
on people that you actually
enjoy being around. But it is
still your career and hopefully
your main source of revenue. So
time is money no matter how you
spin it for you and for your
client. It's possible that your
clients have left work early to
come in for their appointment
with you. And if your speed
requires them to cash in a whole
vacation day, it's a problem.
Now let me clarify and
acknowledge that color
corrections and extreme
makeovers can absolutely eat up
our day. But those should be the
exception, not the rule.
Everyone should be massively
clear on this and plan and
charge accordingly. At the peak
of my career, I would see
anywhere from three to five
clients today. If it was back to
back color and extensions, it
was probably three. Some days I
would have a couple of colors
mixed in with some cut, so maybe
it was more like five. I
wouldn't call myself fast by any
means I take my time with my
guests, but I've learned to
master the art of engaging with
my clients while I'm working on
them instead of getting
sidetracked by it. Depending on
the duration of the work day I
would say your average stylist
sees anywhere from five to eight
clients today. Some stylists
prefer to work longer days, but
less of them while others may
prefer an eight hour work day.
Again, this is an average and
there are lots of factors to
consider as well. Some stylists
stacked clients or work on
blocks of time, meaning they are
working on more than one client
at once. A stylist that does
this often works with an
assistant, which is a great
opportunity for a new graduate.
Learning from a seasoned stylist
that is much like the one you
aspire to be one day will be an
investment well worth your time.
growing as a stylist doesn't
just mean you're improving your
skills, it also means you're
becoming more efficient, it
means you're adding value to the
guest experience by doing solid
work in a normal amount of time.
It means staying on track and
not running behind and being
ready for each guest as they
arrive. Running late or running
over is also going to bring a
ton of guilt and anxiety to the
next appointment. It'll have you
scrambling around trying to
figure out how to make it up to
them which most of the time will
come in some form of a discount
or even a freebie. Again, time
is money literally. working
behind the chair is this
constant dance between quality
and quantity and the balance can
be found but it will take some
effort. And if at times you have
to choose one over the other
always choose quality. I would
rather someone call me a slow
stylist than a bad one. My
advice is to challenge yourself.
Start by shaving five minutes
off your application time make
it a game maybe next time you
try to shave off 10 minutes,
then do some self reflection.
did this affect the quality of
your work? was the guest
experience lessened in any way?
If not keep working on it. You
may find you're able to take a
few more clients each week
getting you closer to your goals
and making your paychecks a lot
sweeter too. So why are some
stylists so slow? Like what is
taking so long? Well, some
stylists just work a little
slower than others and that has
to do with a couple things.
First, I want to go back to
multitasking. You have to be
able to chat with your guests
and work on the hair. If you're
very animated like me this does
take a little bit discipline but
it can be done on, focus on
getting to know the client
better ask them questions and
let them do most of the talking.
If your guest is not feeling
chatty, cool, throw something
out there every once in a while
just to keep the awkward silence
at bay, and then you just get to
stay focused on the work. The
second one is a little trickier.
And that's perfectionism. You
have to have every section
parted perfectly, every foil has
to be perfectly folded, and you
end up spending way too much
time on the application. I'm not
trying to sound unsympathetic to
the OCD and all of us from time
to time, I know it's very real,
but I have seen it severely
limit a stylist potential, so we
have to let some of that go. And
this can bleed into other areas
of our work as well. That same
stylists will spend so long on
getting the perfect picker video
that the client tired of it,
they've been sitting for hours
getting their hair done and
they're ready to get out the
door. They don't want to be your
supermodel for 30 minutes.
Please don't be too overly
critical of your work the
results or the content you're
creating. And trying alone,
you're doing more than some
other stylists are willing to do
and you need to be proud of
that. Some clients will prefer a
faster stylists and some will be
glad you're taking your time
everyone's different. Some days
you'll have the client who has
dinner plans or a kids game to
get to and they want to get in
get refreshed and get out
another day you'll have a guest
who's just so glad to socialize,
relax with a glass of wine and
enjoy their time out of the
house and away from the kids. be
intuitive to your clients need
for each appointment. Each
appointment can be different and
we have to be willing to pivot
when those needs change. If a
client is used to a stylist that
takes two hours to get the job
done than a stylist that takes
twice as long as going to raise
some flags. As a slower stylist
myself, I like to ask those
questions and any other
questions that lead me to their
personal preferences for that
appointment? having mastered
clarity on your clients, time
restraints, or even their beauty
budget is Intel worth
collecting. So make sure you're
getting to know your clients so
that they feel respected and
appreciated during their time
with you. So what about
preparation? I mean, is there
anything that you can do the day
before or the morning of to
better help you lay out your
day, one of the most important
parts of setting yourself up for
success is planning ahead. Make
sure you arrive early to set up
for your first client of the day
before you leave the salon the
night before, planning ahead
will make you feel prepared and
competent for the day ahead. So
let's stay ahead of the game. So
what about guilt, right? We
don't want our clients to feel
like we're speeding through
their service and that they're
not getting a good experience
with us. And we're not talking
about speeding or rushing
through a service. We're talking
about efficiency, turning out
good work in a standard amount
of time. This is something the
client shouldn't even notice.
They should never feel rushed or
hurried out the door and never
skimp on the extras or at the
shampoo bowl. A great shampoo is
the best part. taking too long
and your application will have
you scurrying around through the
finishing process forgetting all
about the essential parts of the
service like pre booking their
next appointment and making sure
they leave with the product that
you know they're going to need
at home. So we want to make sure
that we are protecting the
customer's experience and that
we're working on them
efficiently. So you need to set
the pace and stay with it. If
you have an hour for a partial
highlight, then divide your time
so that you know hey, I've got
15 minutes for each section, and
where watch if you need to and
do your best to stay on
schedule. You need to keep the
guests engaged and equipped. Do
they need to refill a phone
charger or maybe they just need
a little bit of great
conversation. Make sure they
feel cared for and they'll have
no idea that you're even
watching the clock. Working at a
salon with a front desk
coordinator is a real asset for
keeping the flow of the
appointment running smoothly.
Once you've finished the hair
and collected the content they
take over and handle the
checkout the pre booking and
finalizing any sales that you've
made. This can be a 10 to 15
minute process that will put you
behind even more. If you're
handling all these details
yourself. Working with a team
especially a good one makes all
the difference. They are there
if you need a shampoo buddy or
someone to help sweep the hair
for you, then someday you get to
return the favor and everyone's
better for it. When working in a
service based industry. It's
important to look at the guest
experience as a whole. It's
multifaceted and each facet
matters and respecting your
client's time and making the
most of yours behind the chair
is no exception.
Morgan Franklin: Thank you for
joining us on this episode of
anytime soon. The Aspiring
Stylist Podcast with Tracey
Franklin. If you enjoyed
listening and you want to hear
more, make sure you subscribe on
Apple Podcast, Spotify or
wherever you find your podcasts.
The Aspiring Stylist Podcast
with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan
Franklin Production. Today's
episode was written and produced
by Morgan Franklin editing and
post-production by Mike
Franklin. Want to find out more
about Tracey and the Aspiring
Barber and Beauty Academy go to
aspirebarberandbeauty.com
