July 2010

Liz McKeon Newsletter July 2010

June 2010

Liz McKeon Newsletter June 2010

Taking stock

If you want to manage your money, manage your stock, says Liz McKeon

Effective stock management is one of the main elements required in running a financially successful and profitable salon. If you want to mind your money, learn to manage your stock!

Stock control, otherwise known as inventory control, is used to show how much stock you have at any one time, and how you keep track of it. Effective stock control is necessary if the salon is to offer a full range of products and services.

It applies to every item you use to deliver a treatment and every product you retail. It covers stock at every stage of your service to clients, from purchase to delivery to using and re-ordering again.

Maintaining effective stock control is important in all kinds and sizes of retail operations, but is critical in small business. When stock becomes unbalanced the salon owner / manager is facing losing sales and clients.

A stock control system is necessary if the right merchandise is to be on the shelves when required. An effective stock control system will help to serve clients properly and prevent over or under buying. Stock can tie up a large slice of your business capital, so accurate information about stock levels is essential for your salon’s accounts.

Under stock will result in loss of sales; overstock will result in excessive amounts of money tied up in stock.

A stock control system involves four facts:

1. What is on hand
2. What is on order
3. What you have sold
4. What you need to order

The kinds and number of control records which an owner / manager uses depends on the amount of details that are needed. Stock control systems may be achieved either by counting stock or by counting sales, either on computer or by hand. Either way, a model stock list is required

Keeping track manually

Stocktaking involves making an inventory, or list of stock and noting its location and value. The simplest manual system is to use a stock book, which suits small salons with few stock items. It simply enables you to keep a log of stock received and stock issued.

Stock cards are used for more complex systems. Each brand of stock has an associated card, with information such as description, value, location, reorder levels, supplier details and information about past stock history.

Using computer software

Computerised stock control systems run on similar principals to manual ones, but are more flexible and information is easier to retrieve. You can quickly get a stock valuation or find out how well a particular item of stock is moving. A computerized system is a good option for salons dealing with a lot of brands.

Managing your stock

Identify a minimum stock level and reorder when stock reaches that level this is known as the re-order level, and remember your supplier’s lead times for deliveries. And always implement the ‘first in, first out’ system to ensure that all stock is used efficiently so that it doesn’t deteriorate.

What’s your USP?

Boost sales by positioning your salon as the best in the market, says Liz McKeon

What makes you personally, or your salon, more unique, more valuable, and more visible in the market?

Having a Unique Selling Proposition or ‘USP’ will dramatically improve the positioning and marketability of your salon and products by accomplishing three things:

Unique: It clearly sets you apart from your competition, positioning you as the more logical choice.

Selling: It persuades a client to buy from your salon.

Proposition: It is a proposal or offer suggested for acceptance.

Your USP is the force that drives your business and success. It can also be used as a ‘branding’ tool that is included with every tactical marketing effort you use, such as business cards, brochures or your website. This allows you to build a lasting reputation while making sales.

Develop your USP

Your USP is the very essence of what you are offering. It needs to be so compelling that it can be used as a headline that sells your product or service. Therefore, since you want to optimise all your marketing materials for maximum results, create it before any other advertising or marketing material.

Step 1: use your biggest benefits
Think in terms of what your salon does for your client and the end-result they desire from your service.

Step 2: be unique
Basically, your USP separates you from the competition, and illustrates your salon is the most logical choice. Write your USP so it creates desire and urgency.

Step 3: solve an industry ‘performance gap’
Identify which needs are going unfulfilled in your local market. The need that exists between the current situation and the desired objectives is termed a ‘performance gap’. Many salons that base their USP on industry performance gaps are very successful.

Step 4: be specific & offer proof
Clients are sceptical of advertising claims. Alleviate their scepticism by being specific and offering proof where possible.

Step 5: condense into one clear & concise sentence
The most powerful USPs are so perfectly written, you cannot change or move even a single word. Each word earns you money by selling your product or service. After you get your USP written, your advertising and marketing will practically write itself!

Step 6: integrate your USP into all marketing materials
Variations of your USP will be included in all your marketing materials such as:

• Advertisements
• Business cards,brochures,flyers and signs
• Phone and sales scripts
• Letterheads and postcards
• Website and internet marketing

Step 7: deliver on your USP promise
Be bold when developing your USP but be careful to ensure that you can deliver. Your USP should have promises and guarantees that capture your client’s attention and encourages them to book with you. Having a strong USP can make your business a big success, or a big failure if you don’t deliver on it, thereby risking your reputation.

Build your USP to optimise your marketing materials for maximum results. If your salon has a good, clear and honest USP there is an excellent chance that you will be able to compete on factors other than price. And, that means that your business will be more profitable!

Thank you Liz for giving us our piece of Heaven back!

Ruth & Fiona

Perfect performance?

Liz McKeon guides you through the power of constructive feedback

Knowing how to give feedback is one of the most important managerial skills.

Do you know how to give feedback so that the other person:

• Wants to hear it?
• Can understand it and act on it?
• Doesn’t get defensive, and
• Respects your opinion?

Unclear feedback fosters a sense of helplessness and hopelessness in the salon, because it offers no clues about how to improve and therapists become totally unmotivated.

Poorly thought through feedback diminishes your credibility as a supervisor and inaccurate feedback is guaranteed to lead to resentment.

Giving feedback can be given in two ways: through constructive feedback or through praise and criticism. Praise and criticism are both personal judgements about a performance effort, with praise being a favourable judgment and criticism, an unfavourable judgement. The guidelines for giving constructive feedback fall into four categories: content, manner, timing and frequency.

Content

Content is what you say in the constructive feedback:

1. In your first sentence, identify the topic or issue that the feedback will be about.
2. Provide specifics of what occurred.

Manner

Manner is how you say the constructive feedback – how you say something often carries more weight than what you have to say.

• Be direct in delivering your message.
• Be sincere and avoid giving mixed messages.
• Give clarity on what occurred.
• In positive feedback, express appreciation,in negative feedback, express concern.
• The nature of feedback is verbal and informal,and this can only be achieved by talking live to the employee, either face to face or by phone.
• State observations,not interpretations.

Timing

Feedback is meant to be given as close as possible to when the performance incident occurs so that the events are fresh in everyone’s minds.When feedback is given well after the fact, the value of the constructive feedback is lessened.

Frequency

Frequency answers the question, ”how often should your therapists receive constructive feedback on their performance?”

This last guideline is the most important because it makes all the other guidelines work. Don’t acknowledge how your staff are performing only once or twice a year.Use constructive feedback regularly to acknowledge real performance.Try to catch and respond to therapists doing the job right just as much as you catch and respond to them doing something not quite right.

The power of constructive feedback

Constructive feedback increases self-awareness, offers options and can motivate.Remember it does not mean only giving positive feedback – feedback about poor performance,given skilfully, can be equally useful and important as an aid to developing a great team. So, don’t just be a good boss,become a great boss.

Giving feedback is one of the most important and difficult moments of truth that determine your effectiveness as a manager.

Spruce up your salon

Liz McKeon’s guide to Spring cleaning your business!

Occasionally your salon needs a good Spring clean to improve your company’s performance and service to your clients. Here is my guide to sprucing up your salon…

Clean up your finances

The first place to tidy up a business is to get all your finances is order, making sure that you are managing your cash flow on a daily and weekly basis.

Clean up the web

Go on-line and objectively assess how fresh your salon’s website is. It doesn’t have to be an extreme makeover, but get rid of stale material. Determine the key goals for the site – is it to direct sales and enquiries to your salon?

Gather salon news, media articles and relevant links to upload immediately, based on your salon’s new priorities.

Clean up your database

Your salon database is one of your company’s most important assets.

Use it to your full advantage; record every single client’s details, keep it up to date and use it to stay in regular touch with your clients.

Keep your tax affairs in order

This is an unavoidable spring-cleaning chore. Lodge paperwork on time. If the business cannot meet its tax obligations, get in touch with Revenue quickly. Get much closer to your clients

Review your business through your clients’ eyes, priortise issues for improvement and gain competitive advantage by giving clients what they really want. Do this by running a ‘client survey report’ which:

• Provides feedback on how they see your salon;
• Highlights areas for improvement;
• Shows clients that you care about their opinions;
• Helps you to listen to your clients;
• Keeps you up to date with competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.

Create a clear vision for your salon

Vision is so much more than management jargon: it really does help to drive the salon forward because it provides energy and direction, a common understanding of where the business is going and enables all staff members to work out how they can personally add value to the salon.

Clean up your image

“You never get a second opportunity to make a first impression!” Take an objective look at your business: what image do you portray to both regular and potential new clients and is that image in keeping with your vision for your salon? If it is, great, and if not, then it’s time to raise the bar and improve your standards in every aspect of the business from the exterior, to the look of your treatment rooms, to the image of your therapists, to the layout of your reception and to the quality of each and every service you provide. Remember your long-term goals for your salon. All business is cyclical, use Springtime to spruce up all your business strategies and your salon, and get ready to capitalise on a fantastic Summer season.

The Art of Making Time for Yourself

Liz McKeon says, take a break!

Starting and running your own salon is all-consuming. Everything falls back on you, and, you are doing it for yourself – so there is no temptation to do too much.

An average working week for a salon owner is between 70 – 80 hours. As well as handling all aspects of the business, you must also know how to handle your time and how to maintain your entrepreneurial drive.

You, the entrepreneur, are the most important success factor in the business. It is vital that this success factor is maintained. An entrepreneur needs to know when to peak, when to rest and when to take it easy. It is impossible to go at full throttle all the time.

The truth is, making time for yourself is an art, and like every art, it requires practice. You may be worried that making time for yourself will affect your performance within the business. However, the reverse is true: when we take care of ourselves, we actually become much happier and more productive, so planning frequent breaks and regular downtime will actually bring more business to your door!

As the business owner you can choose your hours. Choose them to make the most of yourself.

Liz’s tips for time management

• Make a daily ‘to do’ list.
• Learn to say ‘NO’.
• Protect yourself by taking time off regularly.
• A healthy mind is a healthy body.
• Never handle documents more than once (no paper shuffling, deal with it and get it off the desk).
• Keep things simple.
• Do the things you hate first.
• Manage your stress levels.
• Delegate.
• To handle paperwork – TRAF: Toss, Refer, Act or File – only do one and only once!

Time for yourself

In order to make time for yourself consider the following. Write the answers down in your diary or workbook, so you can refer back to them:

• How would it be a gift to others to make time for yourself?
• What would it take to make time for yourself a priority?
• What activities make you feel happy and nurtured?
• What is keeping you from doing the things that energise and inspire you?
• How can you bring more of these simple treats into your day?
• Now take action. Commit to doing one activity from the list you created each day for the next month.

Smell the flowers

However pressurised your business, you need to take some out to unwind – to ‘smell the flowers’. Without it you will burn out: Put in plain terms, if you don’t take time to rest and rejuvenate, eventually you won’t have a salon to worry about! Add time to your diary – every day, every week, and every month – for yourself. Cut yourself free from the salon and the other demands on your life. Allow your batteries to recharge – and you will come back to your business better able to make it succeed.

Snowed Under

Liz McKeon on the art of delegating tasks

Delegation will help you manage your time and therefore reduce your stress. But it is often when we are most stressed that we delegate least. It is too easy to panic and cut yourself off from your colleagues,therapists and other staff members when you need their support most.

But delegation isn’t just about making your workload lighter by giving tasks to others,it is also about getting staff to take full responsibility for certain key functions. In order for a salon to grow and for therapists to find new areas of development, new staff must be employed to take over established functions,allowing others to develop different aspects of the business.

Step One:

Know when to delegate

• Delegation is fundamental to management, so look for opportunities to do it,for example:
• When you have too much work to do
• When you don’t have enough time to devote to all important salon tasks.
• When it is clear that certain staff members need to develop and when therapists have the skills needed to perform certain tasks.

Step Two:

Know what to delegate

• Delegate routine administrative tasks that take up too much of your time
• Delegate projects which it makes sense for one person to handle
• Delegate tasks for which an employee has a special aptitude or enthusiasm.

Step Three:

Know whom to delegate to

• Test your staff out with small tasks to help show you what they can do. For example, do they show good time management, keep a diary, make notes?
• Therapists who do effective work should not be overburdened
• Try to delegate tasks out among as many employees as possible.

Step Four:

Delegate interactively

• Think positive,it will not happen perfectly first time, your ability to delegate will improve with experience.
• Plan ahead. If there is no overall plan of what is going on,it will be hard to identify, schedule and evaluate the work you’ve asked others to do.
• Discuss the tasks and problems in depth with the person you are delegating to,and explain clearly what is expected of them.
• Set deadlines and schedule them into diaries. What has been agreed should be summarised and notes taken about what each employee is required to do.
• Support your therapists and employees. The degree of support you give will depend on the development of the person and your relationship with them.
• Monitor progress – deadlines and objectives may have to be altered as the situation changes.
• Review performance and reward achievement.
• Mastering the skill of delegation will mean that everyone benefits – it will help you manage your time and it will aid staff development,improving overall productivity.
• When you are under pressure,passing tasks on – to the right person – will save you time.
• Delegate interactively – get to know your team,listen to their worries and discover their strengths. Successfully passing responsibility down the line is key to salon growth.
• Delegate assertively. Your confidence will be transferred onto the person you’re delegating to.
• When you delegate,you remain ultimately responsible for the results of the work you have delegated.

Delegation is not an easy option,but it does make business more efficient and effective – it is essentially a more interactive way of working with a team of people,involving instruction,training and development. You’ll need to invest some time and effort to do it effectively, but the long-term benefits both to you and your salon will make it worth your while.

Feeling the effects

Liz McKeon tackles poor morale amongst a salon team

Poor morale undermines the commitment of employees,hurts the product and service they offer and can alienate the clients. It can arise for many reasons such as a difficult economic climate, a personality clash or poor management – all of which may result in a high stress environment and this is the last thing you want your clients to experience.

Poor morale can be so encompassing that,after a while, it is difficult to know how to find its source, and thus how to reverse it. What may start just as individual apathy can deteriorate into a generalised infectious problem that spreads throughout the entire salon or Spa.

In spite of the insidiousness of poor morale,the good news is, it is reversible! If your salon is suffering from poor morale and you are unsure why, start by asking your therapists. Assess the feelings and opinions of your team. Try to understand the resources people need to make their work and work environment more satisfying.

It is important to identify people’s expectations,their wages and benefits, how the internal communication system is working and whether your management style is effective.

Are you the centre of a morale problem?

Personal problems,work stresses,for example,will affect a team at all levels, including the manager. So, do you know how to get yourself back on track when your morale is the worst in your team? Don’t let paths of communication break down when you are feeling low.

Consider your options, such as:

1. If possible, explain your circumstances to another senior manager in order to build new understanding and make a fresh start.

2. Explain your morale problem to your team, but take a positive approach and tell them your plan for getting back on track, asking for their help.

3. Poor motivation often occurs as a result of a lack of salon structure or discipline. People need a framework so that they know where they are in the wider scheme of things. It provides them with a route for getting decisions made or making special requests.

4. Map out and publicise a clear salon structure. You need to structure a good balance between structure, flexibility and open communication in all aspects of running your business.

A salon’s most valuable resource

Managers can do so much to improve morale by getting to know the team, making yourself available when therapists need to talk or share a problem,valuing staff for their particular skills, passions and knowledge, and most importantly, helping your team members to develop their potential and supporting them in their ambitions.

Your staff are the salon’s most valuable resource. By creating an environment of open, constructive feedback, staff will feel inclined to co-operate with you as your drive your salon forward.

Tackling poor morale is not a once-in-a-lifetime activity; it needs to be sustained over a long period of time. Communicating in these ways will show that you are in charge of your salon,you care and value your team,and you are committed to providing a satisfying place to work.

Get your message across

Business expert Liz McKeon looks at communicating assertively in your business

Do you find that staff, clients and suppliers get the better of you at work,that you’re always the one who draws the short straw and ends up doing things that you would rather not do? Does this end up making you resentful or unhappy because you feel unable to confront the situation?

Excellent communication skills are the lifeblood of a successful salon or Spa. A good style of management, combined with a positive approach to communication,ensures that therapists and managers understand each other,are more effective, leading to greater productivity, a good working environment and most of all,happy clients.

Assertiveness is an approach to communication that honours your choices as well as those of the person you are communicating with. It is not about being aggressive and steamrollering your team into submission. Rather,it is about seeking and exchanging opinions, developing a full understanding of the issues,and negotiating a win-win situation.

Ask yourself these questions to determine your level of assertiveness:

• Do you feel‘put upon’or ignored in your exchanges with your staff?
• Are you unable to speak your mind and ask for what you want?
• Do you find it difficult to stand up for yourself during staff meetings?
• Are you grateful when a staff member seeks your opinion and takes it into account?

If you answer‘yes’to most of these questions,you may need to consider becoming more assertive.

Step One:

Recognise different communication styles

• Aggressive – where you win and everyone else loses.
• Passive – where you lose and everyone else wins.
• Passive / Aggressive – where you lose and do everything you can to make others lose too.
• Assertive – where everyone wins.

Step Two:

Condition others to take you seriously

• Always take responsibility for your communication. Use the‘I’word. ‘I would like…’,‘I don’t agree…’,‘I am uncomfortable with this…’
• Become aware of non-verbal communication signals,which can help you build rapport.
• If someone is talking over you,you can hold up your hand signalling ‘stop’ as you begin to speak. ‘I hear what you are saying,but I would like to put forward an alternative viewpoint…’

Step Three:

Use positive body language

• Stand tall,breathe deeply and look people in the eye when speaking.
• Instead of anticipating the negative outcome,expect something positive.
• Listen actively to the other party and try putting yourself in their shoes so that you have a better chance of seeking the solution that works for you both.
• Use open questions,allowing others to give you a full response rather than just‘yes’or‘no’.
• Don’t let people talk down to you when you’re sitting down. If they’re standing, stand up too.

Until you get used to being assertive, give yourself time and space to rehearse your responses. For example, you may find it hard to say ‘no’ to staff, so instead say ‘I’d like to think about this first. I’ll get back to you shortly’. An added bonus from learning assertive communication is your confidence levels will be dramatically boosted. Speaking positively and using positive body language will encourage others to take you seriously,allowing you to attend to the business of running a profitable salon.

Liz McKeon is a Business Consultant, Coach and Trainer, specialising in the beauty industry. For further information on upcoming seminars and programmes call 086 386 1243.

From stress to success

Business expert Liz McKeon looks at channelling your energies effectively.

Most people don’t mind stress, as long as it’s someone else’s and they don’t have to deal with it!

Of course you know that stress impacts on your work life, but what if you could turn that stress into success? What kind of life could you then lead and what sort of salon or Spa could you build? Let’s look at the common mistakes many people make when trying to deal with stress…

You think you can do it all alone

Salon owners and managers sometimes take on too much, thinking they can cope without additional support. Perhaps you think you are saving your salon money by covering
a number of responsibilities, but in reality you could be wasting money in missed opportunities and inefficiency. Often, under stress, the one thing we become incapable of doing well is delegating work appropriately.

Better communication and prioritising objectives are therefore essential. Identifying better resource management, prioritising the workload, anticipating pressure points, delegating and monitoring progress are all important in dealing with stress.

You don’t say ‘No’

Perhaps you are one of those managers who is capable of sustaining high levels of activity over a long period of time, and it has become expected that you always perform at that pitch. Your team are unlikely to be aware of the sacrifices being made. Worse again, there may be no reward for your sacrifice – in fact, you may even have additional work dumped on you! The solution is being assertive and saying ‘no’ when the pressure is too great.

You succumb to a ‘long hours culture’ at work

In some salons, stress creates status, where stress is interpreted as accomplishment. Many salon managers put in long hours in the hope that their hard work will be noticed and rewarded, but are secretly resentful that they have to do this. Better to be productive and happy than exhausted, stressed and sick of the salon and all that goes with it.

Watch your time management – make every moment effective by being truly focused and not dividing your energies by worrying. For fast acting relief, try slowing down.

You take it out on others

Stress is no respecter of boundaries. Stress from your role within the salon will eventually affect all other elements of your life too. Try not to transfer the work pressure to those who are not part of the problem, either in or out of the salon. Work on the causes of your work-related stress, and not the symptoms.

Steps to success

1. Recognising the symptoms and understanding the causes of workplace stress are vital in preventing it becoming an issue.

2. The changing nature of work makes stress more complex, varied and quite possibly more common. It is important to acknowledge that you are stressed and act upon that knowledge quickly – draw up a plan of action and follow it.

3. Remember that you have to work at reducing stress – it won’t happen by itself! The time you devote to managing stress will be repaid by increased efficiency and enjoyment of your time, both in the salon and at home.

4. Reward yourself for your accomplishments – go out of your way to acknowledge your everyday achievements. Give yourself some little reward for doing so well at work and for doing your best on all occasions: success in your salon demands self acknowledgement. Doing all of this will transform ‘stress to success’!

Liz McKeon is a Business Consultant, Coach and Trainer, specialising in the beauty industry. For further information on upcoming seminars and programmes call 086 386 1243.

This workshop was very informative and fun too! I have renewed energy and marketing is now in my grasp.

This workshop was brilliant, now marketing is not so scary. I had a great day – at no stage was it boring. Many thanks, Liz

This workshop was very enjoyable and interesting. It was a very productive and worthwhile day.

I enjoyed the day, it made me think about my marketing plans and motivated me!

2-3 years later, these employees have proved to be exactly as on the report, and continue to be assets within my business. Liz is always a pleasure to work with, always contactable, reliable and I would trust her judgement completely in the area of recruitment, allowing me to get on with other aspects of my business”

Join Ingage and me – Liz McKeon for this non-technical event in Dublin.
A few short talks will show how you can use the low-costs of the internet to market your business online and get more bookings!

• Websites. Do you have one? Do you need one?
• Un-Boggle Google – Search engines explained
• Use Email to keep in touch, build loyalty and get bookings.
• Facebook or Twitter… Do or don’t.
• Where does online marketing fit with the rest of your marketing mix.
• Marketing your salon during a recession.
  Guest Speaker: Liz McKeon

WHEN: 21st Sep 2009 at 10am
WHERE: Herbert Park Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 2

Click here to register for this event >>

Website: http://www.ingage.be/auty

Click on the image for the PDF version of this article.

One of the major sources of stress for managers today is the fact that jobs are no longer for life – job security is a thing of the past. Salons and spas expect employees to be more flexible, more accountable, to be more hardworking and committed. At the same time, employers offer increasingly limited (or no) assurances or expectations of employment security and career development opportunities.

Stress levels have increased due to various reasons, such as lost jobs, pay cuts, being at risk of losing jobs and
businesses diving into deeper debt. All these issues have one thing in common….increased stress!

It’s important to be able to distinguish between pressure and stress. Pressure is motivating, stimulating and energising. But when pressure exceeds our ability to cope, stress is produced. Continued high levels of stress can, at worst, result in illness, depression or even nervous breakdown. However, there are a number of signals that help you detect when your levels of stress are bordering on dangerous.

Take a good luck at your well-being. If you experience any number of stress symptoms such as, on-going irritability, suppressed anger, feeling unable to cope, insomnia, nausea on a frequent or constant basis, it is time to start looking for causes and to reassess your priorities. These symptoms are your body’s way of telling you that you have crossed the dividing line between healthy pressure and harmful stress.

Once you’ve admitted that you’re not coping with the current everyday pressures of work, the next step in the
process is to identify the sources of stress in your workplace / business. Once this is done, you can draw up a plan of action to minimise or eliminate the excess pressure.

Plan to deal with your own stress:
1. Understand what causes you stress, when you are likely to become stressed and how you can avoid these situations.
2. Take responsibility, it is you that is being affected and you that needs to resolve it, don’t be afraid, ashamed or uncertain to admit that stress is a problem, because the longer you deny it, the worse the effects of the downward cycle.
3. Identify the source of the stress, the solution is then to rationally consider how to take down the stress wall that
is encircling you, brick by brick.
4. Anticipate and plan for stressful periods.
5. Develop strategies for handling stress, consider reducing the cause of stress, or learning to accept it, if it can’t be removed.
6. Understand and use management techniques to prevent and reduce stress.
7. Relax! Easier said, than done….
8. Acknowledge stress in others.
9. Build a positive team environment.
It is possible to reduce stress for others by developing good communication systems, a supportive team approach, a blame-free environment and a clear sense of involvement and responsibility.

“In order that people may be happy
in their work, these three things are
needed:
They must be fit for it, they must not
do too much for it and they must
have a sense of success in it”
- John Ruskin, 1851

Liz McKeon is a Consultant, Business Coach and Trainer, specialising in the beauty industry. For further information telephone 086 386 1243 or visit www.lizmckeon.com