There Comes The Time

      Not all stylists make it.  It is a cold fact, but a true one. The first 5 years can be torture, building a sustaining clientele takes time, effort, patience, and where you are hired. Effort is the one thing you have the most control over. Continuous effort when coupled with skill should equal a financially rewarding following.  

Bad days will happen. Difficult clients will happen. NO SHOWS WILL HAPPEN. It is your response to these situations that will decide how successful you will be. Do not treat your 10:00 badly because your 9:00 high-lite and cut blew you off, to be honest do not even mention it to your other clients. I have seen stylists loose clients by talking  ill of one to another, you never know who your clients know.  I have fielded complaints from one client hearing from another that their stylist was running them down. Stay positive. Always focus on the person in your chair.

Another mistake newer stylists make is treating their chair as a "job."  This is not your job, it is your career, and hopefully your passion. I can always tell the ones who perused styling as a career versus the ones who selected it as a easy job (sarcastic) . They are the ones with the fewest clients, the biggest mouths, and generally cause the most drama. Another mistake stylists, experienced and new make, is adding clients to their personal social media friend's list. Have 2 accounts, social media is your best friend and worst enemy. Keep your professional and social friend lists separate. The double edge of social media is simple, your client can rave about you too 500 people before they get home or bury you.

Where you apply. Do your homework, most salons have websites, reviews are easy to find online, and of course your professional connections are a good source. Salons with minimal new client traffic, no education, and have a reputation for poor working conditions need to be avoided. One thing you can do is call the owner, ask for a tour, and check everything out. The things you want to look for are, the environment, what is the decor style, how is everyone dressed, what do the front desk people look and act like. How does the owner or manager treat you, are they upbeat?  You want to work with someone who is a passionate as you are. There is nothing more draining than being stuck for 40 plus hours a week with negative people. I speak from experience.

But the one constant factor in all of this is you! Be your best, be humble, learn from those around you. Every one has something to teach, even its what "not" to do. Stylists sometimes let life happen to them, they feel they do not control their own destiny. We all do, set backs will happen. If they do that means there is something better for you to find. I firmly believe that any one who perfects their art and themselves will survive, then flourish.

Keep moving forward....

The Salon Guy Pittsburgh