To help you understand what you expenses are we’ve created this nifty expense calculator. Just enter your actual expenses to see what your daily, weekly and monthly break even is.
Author: Image Studios Franchise
Take a virtual tour of Image Studios Salt Lake
If you haven’t had the chance to see the beautiful Image Studios Salt Lake, you can now take a virtual tour from the comfort of your own computer or smartphone. In these virtual tours you can see the setup of several single and double studios, as well as our entryway, client lounge and hallways.
March 2014 Newsletter
It’s here! Check out our March 2014 Newsletter:
Take a virtual tour of Image Studios Sandy
If you haven’t had the chance to see the beautiful Image Studios Sandy, you can now take a virtual tour from the comfort of your own computer or smartphone. In these virtual tours you can see the setup of several single and double studios, as well as our entryway, client lounge and hallways.
Salon Client Intake Form Templates
Part of running your salon will include keeping track of your clients and where they came from. Understanding where your new clients come from will help you know how to focus your time and energy in attracting new clients to your salon. Having an intake form will help you gather some of the information, as well as their birthday, email address, their beauty goals, and who referred them. Be sure to take advantage of having their birthday information. For example, you could:
- Offer 10% off during your clients birthday month
- Send “Happy Birthday” cards with a special discount or offer
- Send a gift certificate for them to use for their birthday
In addition, this intake form we’ve created also has a cancellation policy section at the end of it. This states that your time and schedule is dedicated to them, and any cancellations under 24 hours would incur a $25 charge (FYI you can adjust your fee however you like). It also collects credit card information that authorizes you to charge their card in the event of a no-show or cancellation. The act of reading and filling out this form will most likely reduce or eliminate almost any no-shows or cancellations under 24 hours. Sometimes having clients read over something like this helps reinforce your policy as well, and if they actually fail to show up, you’ll be able to charge $25 to cover your time. Remember, your time as a service professional means that you only make money when you are working! When appointments fail to show up, you may have 1-2 hours of down time that you must kill while at your studio, and you’ve forfeited hundreds of dollars in lost income.
Feel free to edit your intake form as you see fit. The one you see here has been used by our professionals with great success.
Click here to download “Intake Form 1” generic PDF that you can print and use without any changes.
Click here to download “Intake Form 2” Word Doc so you can customize your form before printing.
10 Tips for Raising Prices
While the need to raise prices is usually good news for your growing salon, it’s not always music to your client’s ears, especially for those clients who have been with you for years (maybe even from the beginning of your career as a salon professional). We interviewed several industry professionals to see what best practices they’ve employed when raising prices successfully and compiled these top 10 steps. We also have a template letter you can display or mail to your clients to help get you started.
1. Be Honest. Don’t try to hide it. Explain to your clients upfront that you’re raising your prices. Be sure to tell them that you’re moving with the industry and increasing your level of expertise, which has improved dramatically since they first started coming to you. You should still try to offer some form of bulk discount so they can save more by purchasing several gift certificates at a discount. This not only gives them a discount up front, it also generates cash for you up front.
2. Thank Your Clients. The first thing you should do when you increase prices is to say thank you to clients. You should sincerely express your appreciation for the risk they took on you when they first came to you, and then be transparent with them about why you need to raise prices. Make sure they understand why you’re asking for more money and why your product(s) and services are worth more now than when they started coming to you. It doesn’t always work, but most clients tend to be understanding.
3. Explain Your Costs. Sometimes you just need to raise your prices. How many years has it been since your last price increase? Explain to your clients why you are raising your prices and how you are using the additional funds they will be paying each visit. If your own expenses are going up, then explain to your clients why that is happening. If you are spending more money on your products and services, then explain to your clients how the additional features will benefit them.
4. Add Features. When you add a value feature to your services, it gives you a reason to increase your prices with your clients. Early clients will understand that they joined you at the beginning stages of your career and that with your improvement and growing skill set, your prices may change.
5. Give a Lower-Priced Option. Let clients focus on value by giving them a second, lesser-priced option to their service. Then there’s a decision to be made, which focuses on the value that your service sets rather than the price increase. This is especially helpful if the lower plan is a little less expensive than what the client currently pays. For example, if you typically do a 5-minute scalp massage with every shampoo, you could offer it without the massage for a few dollars less than your current price.
6. Over-Deliver. First, be sure you can demonstrate that the value you provide is increasing more than the price. This way, clients know that they’re still getting a good deal. As a rule of thumb, over-deliver and really impress your clients for at least 100 days before communicating a price increase. Simple ways to do this would be to add new features to your studio: new furniture, mood lighting, soft drinks, snacks, wine, etc.
7. Add More Value. It’s important to add more value to sweeten the deal. Your services should always be improving, but it’s simply counterintuitive for somebody to pay more for the same thing they got for less before. Justify the price increase by adding features or providing some other type of added value. Some ways to add value include can include eyebrow waxing, eyelash tinting, scalp massages, shoulder massages, makeup touchup, etc.
8. Explain, But Don’t Apologize. As your salon grows, your products and services should be worth more. Briefly explain how the higher price is going to allow you to better serve them. Then move on. If you’ve proven your worth, then they won’t walk away.
9. Inform Your Customers Ahead of Time. Give clients a heads up about price increases at least a few appointments prior to it taking effect. Make sure your price increase notice is posted on your mirror around 2-3 months before the change takes place. There is nothing worse than a surprise price increase!
10. Send a Letter. To help communicate your price increases it may be useful to send a formal letter to your clients as a personal communication regarding the change. The letter should be carefully written so they understand what is changing as well as what they will get out of it. You could even hand them the letter as they are leaving your salon and explain to them that you have something for them regarding upcoming price changes and how it will affect them. And remember, smile and be positive when communicating price increases.
Even if you don’t need to increase prices, Norm Brodsky’s classic piece, “The Case for Higher Prices,” presents plenty of reasons to do so, such as maintaining your brand image. “By not raising prices on a regular basis,” he asserts, “…You’re gradually undermining the perceived value of your products and services. Like it or not, there’s a natural tendency to link quality and price. We’re not saying you always have to charge as much as the most expensive stylists out there, but if the gap between your prices and theirs gets too large, customers will start to regard you as the cheap alternative in the market.
BELOW IS A SAMPLE LETTER REGARDING A PRICE INCREASE:
To my wonderful clients:
I would like to take a moment to thank you for your loyalty to me as your hair stylist, beauty consultant, and friend. Some of you have been with me since the beginning of my career in this industry, but regardless of how long we’ve know each other we have all made lasting memories together at my salon.
As always, I am committed to constantly improving my skills and abilities as your hair stylist to ensure you are getting the best service, the best style, and the greatest experience possible at every appointment with me. And on top of that, I promise to always make you look beautiful J
In every industry prices rise year after year, and I do my best to operate my salon as efficiently as possible without compromising your experience with me. In addition, my skills as a hair stylist are being constantly improved with ongoing education to keep me at the top of my game so you get the very best service possible. As a result, some of my prices will be going up starting January 1, 2014. The following services will slightly increase as follows:
- Women’s Cuts : 40+
- Men’s Cuts: 27
- All Over Color: 115+
- Partial Weave: 75
- Color Correction: 125+
- All other services will remain the same price as before
To show my appreciation for your loyalty I am allowing my existing clients to purchase gift certificates 10% off until January 1, 2014. This will allow you to lock in an even lower rate on my services than you pay now if you choose to do so. To purchase these gift certificates, please call or text me at 801-555-5555 and I will be happy to help you.
Thank you!
Jane Doe
Owner, Studio 101 @ Image Studios
To download a Word Doc of this letter template, click here.
Image Studios 4-Week Online Marketing Plan
Online marketing can make your head spin. There are countless options, experts, trends and changes. That’s why we created this 4-week marketing plan with easy-to-use steps so you can start marketing your salon online (or step up your current efforts). By following one clear-cut action per day, you’re online marketing efforts will see huge results.
We’ve created a PDF of the 4-Week Online Marketing Plan that you can print off and use to keep your efforts on track. Download here.
Below is a breakdown of the plan:
Week 1
Monday: Create a Facebook Fan Page. This should take about 30 minutes to get everything setup. Upload lots of photos, info about your services, and most importantly, a way for people to reach you. If you have one already, post something!
Tuesday: Create your Google Places page. Put your business on the map for free with Google Places (places.google.com). Easily add photos, bio, hours, coupons, etc. This will also allow clients to leave Google reviews about your salon. Be sure to list your studio # in the address!
Wednesday: Survey Your Clients. Put together an online survey to find out what your clients think about your products, your service, and whatever else you’re curious about. Sometimes the biggest ideas will come from your clients! Use free sites like Wufoo.com to create surveys in minutes.
Thursday: Yelp Me Out! Create a Yelp account if you don’t already have one (takes about 10 min), add photos of you and your salon, and as many before & after pics as possible. Also write a detailed bio about you and your services. This will help people know exactly what you do just from viewing your profile.
Friday: Get Listed. Spend a few minutes online today making sure your business is listed on every website possible. Sites you want to be on include: Google+, Google Places, Yelp, CitySearch, YellowPages, KSL Local, Angie’s List, Foursquare, etc.
Saturday/Sunday: Create a Salon Menu. Your clients may know what services they like, but do they know everything you offer? A printed salon menu also looks professional and speaks volumes to your ability to market your business. And don’t forget to frame it!
Week 2
Monday: Create a YouTube Page. This should take about 15 minutes to get everything setup. Upload any videos you may have already, and start thinking of videos you can begin making in the future. Download the “Capture” app to easily create videos from your smartphone.
Tuesday: Re-post a review. Take a screen shot of a recent positive review on Yelp or Google and post to your FB/Insta/Pinterest pages. Remember, its not bragging when you’re good at what you do! If you have a really stellar review, also print it off and tape to the corner of your mirror for all to see.
Wednesday: Gather Emails. It will be very boring and tedious, but spend an hour today collecting all of your clients email addresses. This may require some creative thinking on your part if you don’t gather that info, but it is also acceptable to simply text or call them for it as well. Besides, they’ll receive better deals anyway.
Thursday: #Hashtagcrisis. Take some time today and decide on your hashtags, and use them religiously! Many people fail to use consistent hashtags, only to lessen the effect of their posts and photos online. To co-brand with Image Studios, be sure to use: #imagestudios & #lovewhereyouwork
Friday: Send an email. Use one of our pre-designed MailChimp header graphics to send an email to your clients. Schedule the email to send 30 minutes after you are done just in case you decide to change something after it is all said and done.
Saturday/Sunday: Write a Book. Just kidding! You’ve already written it if you’ve been taking photos of your work! For a truly stunning marketing piece in your studio, use iPhoto or artisianstate.com to print an actual picture book for clients to thumb through. It will also help them decide on what style they want.
Week 3
Monday: Schedule Ahead. Choose the holidays you want to market special offers to your clients, and set reminders 4 weeks prior to each one to start planning on what you will do. Some offers can be one-day only, others can be 2-3 weeks before. Plan your entire holiday marketing plan for the year…today!
Tuesday: Tell Your Story. Again. Its probably been a while since you have posted something on FB about your salon and what services you offer. A lot of times clients may only know a narrow scope of things you do. Post your bio on your page – it will serve as a reminder to all your clients (and potential ones) about your business.
Wednesday: Show the Benefits. Post a picture and explanation of a product or service you offer and describe the benefits. To help you think of this, ask yourself “What problem does this service solve for my clients?” Remember, people buy results, not products. What results do your clients see after a visit to your salon?
Thursday: Review your “About Me” info. Make sure all of your info online is updated and accurate on all 3rd party websites. Do you have an updated website, email, or phone number? Do you have a new service you offer? Do you have a service you need to take offline? Do you have an ongoing offer you want listed?
Friday: TXTMEPLZ. More and more clients prefer to text, but is the number listed for you online a cell phone? If so, be sure to indicate that they can text or call you (in that order) and you’ll see a guaranteed spike in text messages as clients message you instead of call. Don’t forget to update all your listings online.
Saturday/Sunday: Got Feedback? Now that you are handing out your “Thank You” notes asking clients for info on their experience, you should now have quite a bit of these. Hang these around your salon, create a “Wall of Fame” where you post them, and even scan them and post on FB, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
Week 4
Monday: Ask a Question. Post a question on FB to engage clients and attract new ones. Questions could range from “What do you think the hottest hair color is right now?” or “What did you think of Michelle Obama’s dress last night at the awards ceremony” to get people engaged.
Tuesday: Schedule Future Posts. FB allows you to schedule posts up to a year in advance. Spend some time gathering photos, articles, interesting style blogs, etc., and schedule 2-3 posts each week for the next 3 months. Then set a reminder to do this every 3 months so you stay on top of it.
Wednesday: Schedule Future Emails. You just finished your FB schedule, now schedule a few emails. It is recommended to send 1 email a month with updates and special offers to your client base. Schedule 3 months of emails today, and get creative with any of our pre- designed email headers.
Thursday: Happy Birthday. Spend a few minutes going over your client records and see who has a birthday coming up in the next month. You can send each one of them a handwritten card or one of the Image Studios birthday cards, and be sure to include something for them such as the birthday special offer certificate from Image Studios.
Friday: We Miss Your Face. Getting inactive clients back into your chair is 4X cheaper than aquiring a new one. Go through your client records today and mail each of them a “We Miss Your Face” mailer. Be sure to handwrite a little note on a sticky-note and put on it to add a personal touch.
Saturday/Sunday: Record a Video. No one wants to watch a blatent self-serving video – they’re boring, and people won’t engage. Instead, think of creative ways to show off your personality, sense of humor, a thought you have, or even an interview of a client. Post to FB, Insta, and YouTube when done.
Image Studios Business Cards
Do you have a business card for your salon? If not, we’ve made it easy to get started affordably with a pre-designed card that looks beautiful and is easy to read. We’ve designed these cards with you in mind – we even left room for you to write your clients next appointment on the front of it. You can print your cards online with Print Place – 500 cards starting at just $23.00! Below is a screen shot of what specifics you will need when ordering your business cards:
When ordering your cards: Be sure to select “4 Color Both Sides” and then select “Aqueous Coating” for the front and back of your card. This will ensure your cards will be printed the correct way (and also ensure that you’ll be able to write on them for your clients appt times).
HELPFUL TIP: Carry these with you at all times – our top salon professionals have a goal to give out at least one business card a day. If you do this consistently you will see results!
To get your free Image Studios business card PDF file with your info on it please fill out the form below and will send you back print-ready files that you can print online with PrintPlace.com:
[wufoo username=”imagestudios360″ formhash=”w8d0pwc1lfwz1e” autoresize=”true” height=”769″ header=”hide” ssl=”true”]
City Home Collective Blog on IMAGE STUDIOS 360
We introduced you to Jason Olsen — a dynamic, local business owner that I’ve worked with for the last 6 months. Jason owns Image Studios 360, an innovative studio space for salon professionals. I designed the retail space at his SLC location on 1850 South 300 West. A little Q&A to provide some insight on the savvy he’s adding to our top-notch city:
How did you come up with the idea for Image Studios 360? It was literally decided over dinner. I was imagewith Steve Petersen (a local hair stylist) discussing an idea I had. I wanted to take the concept of owning your own salon, and strip away the complex pieces of ownership to create a space that is affordable, beautiful, and ready for salon professionals to sign a lease, move in, and operate the next day, if need be. It would still allow people to be independent in their own business, but with virtually none of the headache and hassle that goes with the traditional route of salon ownership. The concept itself isn’t new, and can be seen all over the country, but no one was doing what I wanted to do, which is provide business support and training, on-site management, and most importantly, a space that shows well. After going through it all with Steve, he said, “Why not do it?”. Having never actually considered it would really happen, I sat and thought for a moment. I said, “I think I will.” Needless to say, I went home started sketching floor plans for what would become the Image Studios 360 location in Draper.
Then the fun part; I teamed up with my brother, Shaun Olsen, and my best friend, Megan Oviatt, a hair stylist in Draper. She was crucial in getting the infinite details worked out; there are so many different things to consider when building a shared salon space like this, and it wasn’t something we could do overnight. Countless hours of drawing, measuring, and erasing went to designing the studios so that each room was not only a functional space, but a beautiful space. Without the help from Shaun and Megan, it would never have gone through.
Heard you had a good design team…plans to grow with them in the future? Yes. We’ve worked with Rafael Alvaredo here in Salt Lake, who helped design the Image Studios 360, SLC. The talented Andrea Beecher [of theCOLLECTIVE] did the design for our Bumble & Bumble retail salon called “The Salon @ Image Studios 360”, which is located next door to Image Studios 360, SLC. The ever-so-wise Matthew Landis helped put everything in its place, ensuring that we all created something unique and incredible for Salt Lake.
What were you trying to accomplish with this as your business model? First and foremost, Shaun and I wanted stability – both for our business, and for our tenants. After dealing with the ups and downs that we all saw during the recession, I was enamored by the idea of having a stable business. Image Studios 360, at its very core, is a commercial leasing company — we take retail space, design and build it with 25-30 salon studios, and then lease them back to established hair stylists, nail techs, massage therapists, and estheticians. We also wanted to combine all aspects of the beauty industry and find a way for them to work together, but independently. If the entire space were just hair stylists, there would be little opportunity for cross-traffic to take place. In our Draper location, we have over 2,000 clients walking through the doors on a monthly basis; there, they have a mix of hair stylists, estheticians, nail and pedicure techs, spray tanning salons, and massage therapists. Clients can patronize others with a multitude of services offered in the same space.
How long ago did you open in Draper? Draper opened June 1, 2010; Salt Lake opened July 15, 2011; Sandy location (106th South State) just opened March 1, 2012.
What’s different about the Salt Lake location? Originally, we had about 4,400 sq. ft. of space in which we were going to build out 23 salon studios. Then, the landlord offered us the adjacent space, which was about 1,300 sq. ft. of extra space. With this, we created an open-air salon with 8 stations, a retail store, and 3 studios. This enabled us to invite hair stylists that weren’t fully-established an opportunity to come over to Image Studios 360…without having to sign a lease on a room. We hoped to be able to attract a large part of the cosmetologist community by having the salon side within Image Studios 360. When they’re able to move to a studio, we have something on the other side to suit their needs.
How did you start working with Matthew Landis, and what is he bringing to Image Studios 360? Had I known Matthew such an amazing consultant and coach, I would have hired him long ago. I’ve consulted with Matthew several times throughout the different phases of Image Studios 360. There have been many hours of picking his brain and making sure that, from his expert point of view, this was something that was needed in SLC and would be successful. In short, he told me over lunch that I’d be stupid not to do it. As he saw it, it had great potential to serve needs in the hair industry in our city that weren’t being met. I took his advice and here we are today. It was one of the only times I was excited to be called ‘stupid’.
Matthew’s filling several roles with Image Studios 360 — we’ve hired him as a consultant to help us in our growth phase, and we’ve made him our leasing agent for the SLC location. Another winning aspect of Image Studios 360 is training and education; and we offer industry-based training every quarter, which Matthew teaches. We also have business skills training every 6 months, taught by guest speakers.
In our Salt Lake location the stars aligned perfectly, to allow Matthew, Shaun and I to team up on the salon side [adjacent to the studios] to open a fun and unique hair salon that would look and feel like nothing else in Utah [with the help and sharp eye of Andrea Beecher and theCOLLECTIVE, I think we nailed it].
Note: We’ve also added our retail area to this space. Matthew has sourced and brought in some amazing lines, such as Bumble & Bumble, Davines, Orrojo, Ojavan Skin Care, Jane Iredale Makeup, and Darphin Skin Care.
Have there been any surprises, now that you’ve been in it for a few years? Yes…the incredibly low number of problems we’ve had amongst our professionals! I think it’s because they really are professionals; they come here to escape the drama that plagues a lot of salons. With 48 people working together in our Draper location, and over 35 in Salt Lake, I think that’s really saying something.
The original blog posted by CityHomeCollective can be found here.
Tips for Selling Gift Certificates
Selling gift certificates is surprisingly easy to do if you take the right approach. It gives you money up front, your client has it easy when it comes to shopping for friends and family (give a gift certificate!), and it is a guaranteed way to get new clients in your chair…which could land you many more appointments for years to come.
Below are four best practices when it comes to selling gift certificates to your clients:
1. “Buy 3, Get Yours FREE” Gift Certificate Offer: Keep in mind that we all love to give gifts, but a lot of us like to reward ourselves with a gift of our own during this stressful time of year. Offer your clients three (3) $25 gift certificates that they can purchase to give to friends or family, and if they purchase all three you will give them a fourth $25 gift certificate for free that is theirs to use. They are going to be buying gifts for these friends of theirs somewhere, it might as well be at your salon! Besides, you open the door to retain a new group of clients in January and February when they start calling to use their gift certificates.
2. Use it as an excuse to contact old clients: What better way to reconnect with inactive clients who have not been to you in several months (or even years) by calling them with your holiday gift certificate offer (Buy 3 Get Yours FREE) and see if they’d like to participate. It may also open the door to getting them back in your salon as a regular client. Remember the value of a lifetime client* is worth thousands of dollars. One phone call may help add one more to your books.
3. Stocking Stuffer Gifts: Travel size product, small denomination gift certificates ($5 – $10) and certificates for a FREE brow wax or makeup touchup with their next service, etc., are smaller size gifts you can give away for free to clients and encourage them to give them away as stocking stuffers. Be sure to include your business card with each and every gift certificate you sell or give away – you want your new clients to be able to find you easily.
4. Display Your Offer! When you’re offering gift certificates, don’t hesitate or be shy about it…you should be proudly displaying your offer on your Facebook page, website, and on the mirror or door of your salon. Think for a moment how long your clients sit in your chair on average during a regular visit. Typically this will exceed 60-90 minutes (and even more for some of you). Having something in front of your client during that visit makes it much more likely they will at least ask about it to find out more. If they don’t it makes for an easy way to bring it up during your checkout by saying “You may have seen the special I posted on my mirror during your appointment, here is how it works____________”
Make the most of selling gift certificates – it is another revenue generator many people miss out on.
To order your own set of Image Studios gift certificates, click here.
Contact us today for more information on Image Studios Salons and how it is changing the salon industry as we know it.
How to List Your Salon on Yelp
3 STEPS TO GET LISTED ON YELP
1. CREATE YOUR BUSINESS PAGE
Go to http://www.yelp.com/writeareview/newbiz and add your business info. Be sure to list as much info as possible to create a complete profile the first time.
If you are on a Mac you can unclick the “Leave Review” box and proceed.
If you are on a PC you will have to leave a review when you do this. Your name will be attached to the review so I wouldn’t leave a review per se, but I would leave a short snippet of what you’d like to say to your clients.
“Welcome to my salon, I am a hair stylist that specializes in __________ and promise that you’ll love every moment at my salon from the minute you walk in until you leave with your new look. Call me today to schedule an appointment” (change it up though or else all 100 of you at Image Studios will have the same introJ)
2. CLAIM YOUR BUSINESS PAGE 48 HOURS LATER – DON’T FORGET!
Yelp will have your business listing live within 48 hours. So you need to remember to go BACK to Yelp.com and search for your business listing. Under the business info is a link that says “Work Here? Unlock This Business Page”. From there it will walk you through these steps:
- Step 1: Confirm/Setup a business account.
- Step 2: Confirm your connection to the business.
- Step 3: Access your Yelp Business Account
3. FILL OUT YOUR BUSINESS INFORMATION
The first and most crucial step after you’ve unlocked your page is adding all the information customers might want to know about your business. It’s not just about keeping customers informed; the more information you put in, the more you’ll appear in searches. It’s easy to edit your info – just hit the “Business Information” link on the left-hand side of the Business Owners page, then click “Edit” next to any information you want to change or add.
Listing Your Salon on Google
5 Easy Steps to List Your Salon on Google Places
1. CREATE AN ACCOUNT: If you don’t have a Google account or Gmail account then go here to sign up: https://www.google.com/accounts/newaccount. If you do have a Google account then skip this step.
2. CREATE A GOOGLE PLACES REQUEST: Once you have created a Gmail account for your business, go to http://www.google.com/places, and click on “Add new business”. You will be directed to another page and asked for the phone number of your business. This is only to check if Google Maps has already some information about your company. You will be able to edit any existing information found.
3. ENTER THE INFORMATION OF YOUR COMPANY: You will be directed to another page to enter information of your business such as address, phone number, email address, description, category, hours of operation, payment options, photos, videos, and additional details. Click on “Submit”.
4. VERIFICATION: PIN Verification is required. You can either receive the PIN via phone or mail. It’s easier to do it over the phone, because it takes less than five minutes. Via mail, it takes one to three weeks. Please note that you should be ready to answer the phone. They will call you to the number that you provided.
5. LIST YOUR BUSINESS: Now you just need to enter the PIN and your listing will appear on Google Places.
Google Places will allow you to add information about promotions, coupons, photos, videos, and more. Encourage your clients to leave reviews and post their own photos of your salon when they are there. It would also be beneficial to have them upload photos of their hair (you take the pic with their phone) and they can upload them from their phone to your business listing.
Accepting Credit Cards
When starting your new salon it is a good idea to allow your clients to pay with a credit card. Cash is always appreciated, but in todays digital age more and more people prefer to pay with plastic instead of paper. We’ve found that the best way to do this is through Square (www.squareup.com).
Square offers a reasonable transaction fee of 2.75% on any credit card (even Amex). If you’ve accepted credit cards before you will know that certain SkyMiles, cash rewards or travel points cards charge a higher transaction fee than usual to cover the expense of those perks for the cardholder. With Square you pay just one flat rate across the board. No guessing, no surprises.
In addition, the Square app user interface is extremely user-friendly, and even the most technology-impaired salon professionals have no problem using the app to charge cards after 5 minutes of practice on the app.
Signup is easy – all you need is your checking account info, your business name and address, and you can be up and running within no time. Visit www.squareup.com to get started today.
The Story of IMAGE STUDIOS
By Matthew Landis – Consultant, Life Coach, Entrepreneur and Rockstar Hair Stylist.
Image Studios is kind of like a warehouse. . . well, more like a high-end mall of small businesses with everything beauty related. You can have your hair done, tan, get a pedicure and finish off with a massage. Brothers Jason and Shaun Olsen developed Image Studios when they saw that many established hair stylists and beauty professionals were interested in starting their own business but lacked the resources and business background to get started. They are also co-owners of Prestman Auto. Image Studios has three locations in Salt Lake City, Draper, and as of April 2012 – Sandy.
I sat down with these two hot, brilliant men awhile back to get more insight into this awesome business. I have now become a part of myself because I love them so much.
Matthew: So where did this idea for Image Studios come from?
Jason: I have a lot of friend in the salon business – hairstylists. Talking with them, it always seemed like something was missing. They were getting nothing for their work or they were booth renting and weren’t getting support. They were paying a lot and getting nothing in return. Megan Oviatt (Manager, Image Studios Draper) is one of my best friends.
Matthew: Why hair salons? Was this something you came up with over drinks?
Jason: I was having dinner with Steve (Steve Petersen, current manager at Image Studios Salt Lake) and I was telling him about my idea. He said, “Why don’t you do it?” I said, “Maybe I will.” The next day I went to Shaun.
Shaun: I get to work and he tells me he wants to talk to me about something big and I think, “Well, maybe he’s invented a Snuggy or something, and I’m already thinking infomercials. . . “ Then he told me about it and I’m thinking, “A salon?” What are we doing in the hair business? Then the more I thought about it. . . I remember when the car business was dead and people were falling asleep at their desk. . . but Megan was booked three months out. . . and right then and there it made sense. No matter what, people won’t sacrifice beauty. That’s the first priority for people – looking good.
Matthew: Its funny because I still think there’s a stigma attached to being a hairdresser, but in times of recession like this last time, we fare a lot better than most businesses. We felt a small blip, I think, but nothing like the rest of the country.
Jason: For the good hairdressers it was just a small blip, I think.
Matthew: Absolutely. We felt a drop in retail, but not in services.
Shaun: It just made sense after we talked about. As weird as it was to think about a hair salon, in the end, for us, it’s a landlord/tenant relationship. I don’t have to know how to cut hair. I wash my hair with bar soap.
Jason: (laughing) Don’t publish that.
Matthew: So what’s been the best part of opening Image Studios so far?
Shaun: The different personalities. You learn everyone has their own needs and wants. Everyone is different, unique, and extremely talented.
Jason: I have this vision of walking in to any of our salons and seeing everyone happy, busy and successful. On top of that the people we’ve met have been even more fun than I ever imagined.
Matthew: Hairdressers are fun, right? We throw a slumber party every day. Not a bad way to make money.
Jason: We thought there may be some drama going into this, but everyone is really professional and motivated so it’s amazing how that many people mesh so well together. I don’t think you’d find the same thing anywhere else.
Matthew: I think that’s also a testament to your leadership and the atmosphere you guys have created. People leave their jobs usually because the owner or the manager isn’t effective. If you watch Tabatha on Bravo, it’s always the owner or manager that is the problem. For example, I signed a lease for some stylists who were coming from a place where they had use a garden hose to wash their clients’ hair because the owner wouldn’t get the shampoo bowl fixed! On the flip side, being an owner is so stressful that it often takes the fun and creativity out of owning a business when you have to manage people. So what you’re creating is a way for people to own their business with minimal headache. That’s really cool. And the facility is out of this world.
Matthew Landis is a salon consultant, life coach, entrepreneur, and rockstar hair stylist to boot. Matthew can be reached here.
Salon Insurance 101
As a salon owner or an independent salon professional, what better place to run your business than from one of the fabulous suites at Image Studios. Your beauty salon may focus on providing hair styling services or it may offer additional luxuries such as manicures and pedicures, make-overs and tanning. As a salon professional, your customers trust your judgment, training and skills when they pay your salon for services. If your customers feel you made a mistake (or even if they just slip and fall), it is possible they could sue you for the actual or perceived damages. That’s why it’s important for you to carry liability insurance.
There are two basic types of liability insurance: business liability (also called general liability) and professional liability. Business liability protects you against bodily injury lawsuits. For example, a lawsuit claiming that a customer or visitor was injured while on your premises (most commonly a trip and fall). Business liability also provides protection against third party property damage claims; personal injury lawsuits involving libel or slander; claims arising from the physical eviction of a person while on your premises and/or claims of false arrest; and claims arising from false advertising.
The second type of coverage is professional liability. Unlike business liability, professional liability only covers your professional services. That is to say, professional liability might protect you against claims made by customers who suffer an injury arising out of services provided by your business as a beauty salon (hair coloring etc.). For example, if an up and coming model comes to your beauty salon for hair and makeup styling, she trusts you to make her look good enough to win the modeling job she is after. If she claims that she didn’t get the job because your makeup artist did not prepare her properly for a black and white photo shoot, she may sue your salon for the losses in income. Your beauty salon professional liability insurance can help pay for your litigation expenses and potentially reimburse you for the losses in work time while you’re defending yourself in the lawsuit. Your professional liability insurance policy is also structured to pay for legal awards and settlements when applicable.
If salon professionals do not properly manage their risk and buy the proper liability insurance, their personal assets could be at risk – including their car and home. The risks associated with running a beauty salon are great and only with the right insurance plan can salon professionals lessen and manage those risks. Jon Jepsen at SentryWest Insurance is an independent insurance broker who offers policies tailored specifically to the needs of the beauty industry and includes general liability and professional liability coverage within the custom package of insurance.
If you have questions for Jon Jepsen or would like to receive a competitive quote, please go to www.imagestudiosinsurance.com.
Other Beauty Salon Claims Examples:
The salon professional completely lost track of time as two chatty customers were drying their hair. The patrons stayed under the dryers for 2 hours and completely burned their scalps. They sued the insured for injuries.
In order to get ready for a wedding, an entire bridal party of 8 went to the beauty salon. The salon was not equipped to handle so many customers. Amid the chaos, one of the employees left a sink running overnight. The water caused both $14,000 in building damage and $6,000 in business personal property damage. In order to repair the damage, the beauty salon had to shut down for three weeks, causing a $14,000 loss in income and $10,000 extra expenses to get the store up and running again. This loss was included in the business income with extra expense coverage.
A customer of the nail salon sued the salon professional for cutting their toe while receiving a pedicure, recovering damages for $2,000.
A barbershop installed a bright neon sign above the front door in order to attract new customers. During a heavy windstorm, the sign cracked, and a portion of it fell to the ground smashing into pieces.
After a bad haircut, a recent high school graduate decided to vandalize the barber shop by throwing a rock through the front glass storefront window.
An employee of a beauty salon was going through tough financial times. They ‘forgot’ to turn on the alarm system when closing up for the night. No signs of break-in were evident. The owner noticed inventory levels were repeatedly lower when this employee closed the store. Cash in the register also was mysteriously low on these same nights. The insured notified the agent, and made an employee dishonesty claim, and a money and securities claim.
The piping within the hot water heater ruptured from over usage, causing the nail salon to have to shut down for 4 hours. An equipment breakdown claim was made.
If you have questions for Jon Jepsen or would like to receive a competitive quote, please go to www.imagestudiosinsurance.com.
