How Beauty Professionals and Salon Owners Are Navigating Tariffs – And What You Can Do to Protect Your Business
And let’s also add how clients’ job losses affect our daily operations.
If you haven’t already begun feeling THE EFFECTS from TARIFFS, you will eventually.
for some, if their business is not RUNning properly, it could lead to devastating loss, such as shutting down.
i panicked when I first heard of the changes and thought about how much money i may lose because of the increase IN manufacturing, product formula changes, and clients putting their hair on the back burner.
What can we do?
First, breathe!
hERE ARE SOME WAYS WE CAN SUSTAIN BUSINESS AND make it through:
cHECK YOUR spending: You may be purchasing things that aren’t NECESSARY. For example, you’re paying monthly for 5 streaming services and only use Prime video and netflix. cut out the other 3 and save yourself a few hundred dollars.
Product usage: I have been guilty of having 4 different backbar product lines, and every time I hit saloncentric or cosmoprof, i purchase 2 more. analyze what you are using regularly. I have cut the backbar to 2 product lines and one line for styling aids. Get rid of the products you’re not using - use them up, sell them on discount, or donate them.
price increase: You haven’t gone up on your prices since you started. For some of you, that could have been 20 years ago. we are not in the ‘99 and the early 2000’s (IYKYK) and can no longer charge $45 for a wet set! Up those prices!
customer retention: and speaking of pricing, Some of our customers are preventing the people who want to pay premium prices from sitting in our chair. let them go!
Niche your services Down: I know you may love offering a little bit of everything for your customers, but you’re losing money and wasting time. Figure out what is providing you the most income and stick to that. You can learn more about niching here.
unused MACHINERY, empty stations, hire or fire, oh my: I’m combining this all into one, because let’s be real - we all have some useless items collecting dust in the salon.
empty stations - HIRE some new people. remember, at the beginning of this post, I mentioned there are a lot of people who were laid off. and guess what, they are coming into trades. therefore, many of them WILL hit the ground running and want to start working right away to prevent a gap in pay.
unused machinery - sell it! you may not get as much as you may want for it, but it’s income and frees up space in your salon and makes it more inviting.
fire them - if you have a stylist/technician/barber/braider who is not putting in the work like they’re supposed to, put them on probation or get rid of them. you cannot afford to have people in the shop who will not pull their weight.
Last but not least, one of my favorite things to do to save and still operate my business, I take advantage of services such as Afterpay and affirm. They help me a ton, because I can get my products without paying the huge upfront cost. Once I get down to the final 2 payments, I pay my balance off, which also helps my credit!
If you are afraid to navigate these tough times, it may be time to get a mentor. Hi, I’m TOSHA, and I help beauty and grooming professionals grow their income with fewer services and smarter strategies.
Comment below ON the ways you are balancing your business through the tariffs.