It seems that workers – whether at the top of the corporate ladder or near the bottom rung – have noticed that they work very hard and haven’t been able to enjoy the fruits of their labor as much as they’d like. There have been plenty of studies that show Americans do not have as much leisure time as they used to and that the two-week vacation is as outdated as the rotary dial phone, but business trend forecasters are saying that workers have to learn to take their playtime as seriously as they take their work or their work will suffer.
Those who know me might say I’m not a very good one to talk. I haven’t taken a real vacation since my honeymoon five years ago, and I am writing this note while on maternity leave. But I think this trend is interesting to salon professionals because as you try to keep pace with the competition for women’s beauty dollars, you may overextend yourself. Nail technicians working 12-hour days are not unheard of, and customer service has come to mean being available whenever the client needs you. So many salon professionals have found that the only way to get more income out of their work is to put more time in. For a changes, I’m not going to extol the virtues of raising your prices or tell you how essential retailing is to your success; but I am reminding yon that you’ve got to take care of yourself before you can take care of others.