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SEARCHA salon owner has a lot on their plate that employees know nothing about. It's important that the owner is not so busy working IN their business, that they can't work ON their business. Here's how one owner started to free herself up.
Danielle Marx, owner of Beyond Nails
In today's "salon world" it's becoming tougher and tougher to get clients to agree to see other nail professionals within your salon. A salon owner, for instance, has a lot on their plate that employees know nothing about. It's important that the owner is not so busy working IN their business, that they can't work ON their business. At the same time, we find ourselves trying to keep peace between our clients and our staff--not wanting to rock the boat on either side. It's not an easy undertaking on the owner's part.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Danielle Marx, owner of Beyond Nails, in West Bend, WI. For the past few months, she's been working on passing on all of her pedicure clients to a new staff member, and I wanted to get her take on how she navigated this sensitive move.
Here are a few questions I posed for Danielle:
Please tell us how long you've been in the business?
I've been a Nail Professional for 29 years.
What was the reason for transitioning some of your clients to new staff?
I decided to transition some of my clients to my staff, as I need to do more business tasks for Beyond Nails, LLC. I found myself coming up short on time to take care of the business needs. I was working 40 hours a week behind the chair. I never intended to, but have taken on some professionals out of school, who I knew couldn't afford to pay rent in my building, as they didn't have a clientele.
A colorful display outside Beyond Nails
What are some methods you used to make a smooth transition for those clientele?
I slowly introduced my clientele to my staff and really talked up the services that the staff excelled at. I then explained that they would be taking over these services in the salon, as I would be retiring from them (pedicures). I did give them a few months to transition over, and I've had my clientele for many years.
How is that going now that you have a couple of months under your belt?
I'm so thankful for the wonderful clients I've acquired over the years, and thank goodness it's been a smooth transition.
What advice would you give other salon owners that are needing to get clientele off their plates?
The best advice I can give to any Salon Owner who needs to transition clientele over to other staff, is be super complimentary when talking about your staff to clients. Give the client enough time to wrap their heads around the fact that you won't be doing their services anymore. I also let them know that they'd still get to see me on a regular basis. I would be around to make sure things were running smoothly. It's possible that your staff could do a better job than the owner, as the services they would be getting done would be more specialized. I was wearing so many hats that in the end, I wasn't able to concentrate on just one service anymore.
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