A Suite Salon Blog

Sometimes no matter how good you are your skin just has a freak-out. These are most common causes for a last minute panic call to your esthetician and some suggestions for how you can help make it better.

Hair extensions have become hugely popular! Maybe because they provide instant gratification with just one visit to the salon. So why are hair extensions so popular and how can they change your life for the better? Let's find out.

If you find yourself asking the question, do I need to start a blog for my salon suite business, we will tell you, yes, you do. Like many, the time needed or spats of writer’s block end the endeavor before it begins. But let’s start by looking at blogging from a practical side, specifically what benefits it could have on your business.

As a small business owner, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about how to get your name out, market your services and gain more salon clients. If you’re looking for a few quick and easy marketing ideas for your salon business, look no further. We have eight simple ideas that are effective, low cost and easy to put into action.

As you move into your new suite there are many opportunities that are now open to you; flexibility of schedule, offering of services, selling product, and more profit.  Even if you have been at A Suite Salon for several years you may be ready for a bit of a refresh.  Whatever your tenure as a suite owner your brand and branding is a major part of your business and the set up of this branding can be a very exciting process.  A big key is to remember that this process should be fun.  So in an effort to save you some stress, we broke down the branding process into some simple steps.

These days all the talk is about advertising online or through social media.  And while it is true those are very powerful tools, there are other ways to get your name and your service offerings out to potential clients. Discovering these ways will take some creativity and a bit of time, but then again anything good for your business usually does.  To get your wheels turning, we have listed a few ‘outside the box’ ideas to get you started:

A Suite Salon has some of the most talented beauty professionals in the business with expertise in hair, makeup, skin, massage, nails, eyelashes and more. We asked them to share their top beauty secrets with us, and here’s what they had to say:

It always starts with a sudden flash of inspiration. Something you see, do, or hear, and the next thing you know you dive head first into the waters of business ownership. Sometimes the water is warm and you enjoy the fruits of your labor. Other times it can be a cold hard venture that either makes you stronger and ready to try again or seemingly scares you to the point of immobility. Either way it can be scary.

You are the proud owner of an A Suite Salon studio.  The location is perfect, there are windows everywhere, the finishes and equipment are reminiscent of grand resorts and eateries in New York or LA, and now you have a chance to really let your businesses personality come to life through your own personal design. Over the years, we have compiled some of the best design and décor tips and hints from both our designers and professionals, so we must share.

Most of our Suite Salon professionals tell us they dreamed of owning their own businesses for a long time before they acted. So, how do you know when it’s the right time to make the leap? Here are 5 signs that you’re ready to be your own boss:

If you are like most small business owners, you know there is no shortage of reminders that tax season is just around the corner. While you are crunching numbers, we are here to help you keep as many dollars in your pocket as possible. We have complied a list of some of the most common tax-deductions for Salon Suite Owners.

Goals, if you want to have a strong and successful business, you need to set goals. Goals give you focus and direction. Goal setting allows you to take control of your business and provides you a benchmark for determining your success. Believe it or not, there is an art form to setting and achieving goals.  Professionals have shared six steps that have helped them and we want to share them with you. 

April 15^th is less than a month away, which means it’s crunch time for small business owners to review the past year and ensure their salon suite business has everything in place and submitted to Uncle Sam. Now is a great time to review tips and strategies on how to save money on your taxes and improve your bottom line for next year. We recommend five key strategies to ensure the process is as painless as possible:

Now that you are making money at A Suite Salon, it is time to start thinking about putting some money away for a rainy day.  You hear commercials every day from any number of companies promoting hundreds of different products to save for retirement, college, or medical emergencies.  Very quickly this process of saving for you and your family’s future can become so daunting, that inevitably you throw up your hands and go another several years without saving a dime.

When we ask current professionals how being their own Boss has changed their careers, almost every answer carries themes of freedom, making more money, being happy, and spending more time with family.

We all know the internet is a powerful tool and can drive business to your salon. Often we ask client’s to post pictures, videos, and reviews of the services we provide on social media or sites like Google and Yelp. But what happens when someone is not happy with your services and writes a negative review about you or your business online for everyone to see? To a small business owner, this may feel like the end of the world, but, if managed correctly, there are a number of ways you can minimize the influence of the negative review and turn the situation around to have a positive impact on your business.

Your talent, skills and relationship building skills with your clients have made you a successful salon suite owner and entrepreneur. Clients are coming to you because they know you are great at what you do. Now, you can turn your focus to growing your income. A great way to do this is selling retail products to your clients. Nobody likes pushy salespeople, so a lot of stylists can be uncomfortable when they start selling products. Here are a few ideas to help you get comfortable selling retail in your suite:

1. Celebrate your clients' milestones and accomplishments. As a beauty professional you are often a trusted adviser for clients. Knowing what events are happening in their lives gives you the chance to brag about them. Take this opportunity to send a congratulatory email or post about their accomplishment on your social media pages. Sharing your clients' happiness makes them feel valued and gives them a sense of pride in doing business with you.
2. Donate to a charity on your clients' behalf. People love to do business with businesses that are good to others. Select a holiday or month that has an event dedicated to a cause important to you and donate a percentage of the client's spend to the charity. Not only does the charity benefit but your clients will feel good about spending money with you. It may even urge them to spend a little more. Sound expensive? This is a tax write-off for your business. Bonus: Announce on your Social Media channels the details of your donation and use charity associated hashtags for added exposure.
3. Offer a surprise upgrade. What could be better than the feeling you get from receiving an unexpected upgrade? Make your loyal client's day by upgrading a part of your service such as adding on an extra 15-minutes to their massage or giving an extra long head massage when you are washing their hair.
4. Reward social media behavior. There is no better marketing for your business than a client posting great things about you and your services on Social Media. From client selfies to thank you texts/emails, these are important branding events that should be celebrated. Let a client know how much you appreciate their feedback by giving them a $5.00 gift card to a local coffee house or a percent off services at a noncompeting suite owners business.
5. Start a VIP experience. Red carpet treatment? Yes please! For your most loyal clients invite them to a VIP experience where they receive added value to their services on special occasions such as their Birthday, Valentines Day, Mother's Day, etc. Value add services could include a complimentary hair cut with color service, buy two products and receive the third free or a deep conditioning treatment with a haircut.
6. Offer a loyalty rewards program. Give your clients an incentive to visit you and at the same time make them feel special. Start a simple loyalty rewards program that your clients can appreciate and is easy for you to manage. An example would be clients can earn points for every dollar spent ($1.00 = 1 Point, simple). Create benchmarks the clients can achieve to earn gift cards and/or discounts toward products or services (500 Points = $15.00 Gift Card, 1,000 Points = $50.00 Gift Card). Be clear on the program with your clients ensuring they understand points are valid for services, products or gift cards. Make sure to include a referral incentive that will motivate your client to refer their friends and family (a referral = 200 Points). Bonus: Post your client's achievement on your social media pages.

As beauty professionals, we often know what our clients like and why they continue to make appointment after appointment. You have been in the industry for years and are very good at what you do. However, unless you are booked solid for months in advance, it might be worth taking a quick refresher and hear from clients on reasons why they stay loyal and book that next appointment.

As a visual platform with more engaged users than any other social channel, Instagram is a marketing must-do for salon professionals. It’s an easy way to create and share content – from salon selfies to those beloved before & afters. If you’re not marketing to new and current customers on Instagram yet, you should be. We asked marketing expert Andria Rosell to share her tips for using Instagram to grow your business.