Slow Days at the Office

All businesses (or most) have slow periods. When I first started my own business in 1994, these slow times used to really stress me out. Now I look forward to them and/or make sure I’m out of town doing something fun.

Following are some ideas of what to do during times when you aren’t heavily booked, like a simple slow day, or times that are notorious for being slow at your office. Two of these times for me still, after 21 years in business, are around tax time (April 15th and thereabouts) and the 4th of July holiday week. 

Look ahead. If you see you are slow for the upcoming week, start making calls now—even if it’s not slow now. Look ahead to keep yourself booked.

• Go through your client files—backwards. Why backwards? Because if you are filing the charts most recent in the front, the people who haven't had a facial in the longest period of time will be at the back of the folder. 

• Call all clients who haven’t been in for the past 4 to 8 weeks.* Keeping your files in chronological order, the most recent clients in the front of the file, will help you when it comes time to call those who haven’t been in recently. 

• *If you have clients you know only come in on a quarterly basis, don’t call them unless it’s been longer than 3 months since their last facial. Make calls to generate business not to push clients away by being pushy.

• If you keep your samples in bins, slow times are a good time to unpack them and put them in their proper place. (Yonka sends them in little plastic bags of 3 samples each. When I get a shipment in, I often don’t have the time to open up these little bags and put the samples in their perspective bins.) Slow days are a perfect opportunity for this mundane activity.

• Go through your appointment book and see who hasn’t been in for a while. Sometimes clients forget to call after they have had to cancel repeatedly. They just need a little reminder call sometimes. Going through the client chart files is another way to do this—and I think an easier one. But your appointment book will also have all the pertinent information you need to know if someone hasn’t been in for a while.

• Change out display products from stock at least quarterly. Rotating your products this way saves money.

• Go through the client chart files and take out clients who haven’t been in for over a year. Put these files in a box or folder, and paper clipped them with a note in case you don’t have time to followup with them just now.

• Send them a letter or a postcard with a discount or some incentive to get them back in. After that, you can 3-hole punch the files and put them in a 3-ring binder meant for “Old Clients"—clients who aren’t regular (more than once a year) clients anymore.

• Stuff first time client packets. This can save time when your new clients arrive. You’ll already have at least the written materials ready and waiting for them.

None of this is earth-shattering information. This list comprises just some of what I did or had my employees do when we found ourselves with idle time. There is always something to do inside your office when you have a slow day. Drumming up business is on the top of that list.

For more details, see:

• “I want you back!”—discounts and postcards 
• First-Time Client Information Packets 

Preparing for your client when you don’t work alone

For most of my career owning my business, I have worked in a private salon space—alone. Since moving to Boulder I have actually never had a space where I wasn’t sharing with others in an office suite. Because of this there are different personalities and different views on what is acceptable in terms of how the public areas are kept up and tended to—or not. For me, I like things a certain way before a client comes in so I know she will not be scrambling for a sheet of toilet paper or she’ll have plenty of soap to wash her hands with while in the bathroom.

If you find yourself in a group sharing situation and you are the type of person who pays attention to detail, you may run into others who have their sites set on other things. You might, therefore, find yourself taking more care in keeping things stocked in the public areas as well as cleaned and organized. I would recommend simply taking on these minor “chores” as part of your job so you don’t feel as though you shouldn’t always be doing them. You are in charge of what battles to pick in life, and this certainly shouldn’t be one of them.

One of the first things I do when entering my office area is look at all the places the client will be and be sure everything they will need is there. This is mainly the bathroom. Is there enough toilet paper on the roll? If not, is there a backup? Are paper towels plentiful, or in some of my own salons I used individual washcloths for clients to dry their hands—are there enough? Is the area clean? Any odd things that shouldn’t be there ought to be disposed of before your first client of the day arrives. And you’ll need to check these areas before every other client comes in for their treatment.

I have been to many establishments where this kind of detail was overlooked. Not having toilet paper in the bathroom certainly isn’t a reason to stop frequenting a particular business, but even the little things can add up. Keeping your space “user-friendly” and fully stocked is an important aspect to your daily life at the office. Get into good habits early on, then they don’t feel like chores but just part of your every day.

Also see:

• Preparing for your client’s arrival 
• Client Preparation: Part I 

Some of my philosophy

I posted this article, Trends & fads in skin care, on my layperson’s blog. For those of you who may not read articles over there (although I highly recommend you do!), click on the title to be taken to that page. This goes over the basics of my philosophy when it comes to skin care.

Not all aestheticians operate from the exact same knowledge base nor from the same general philosophy about skin and its care. If you’re just starting out, you probably have an inkling of your personal philosophy, but over time you will develop and grow as an aesthetician and your own beliefs and understanding about skin care will come shining through.

Starting your career in skin care

I posted this on my layperson’s blog and thought you’d like to read it as well so you can see what I have to say about starting a business straight out of skin care school. It’s not an impossibility, but proceed with caution. Read the article: Starting your career in skin care.

6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business

Asking yourself questions is an important step while you are contemplating opening a business. Asking questions will get you answers, even if they are not the ones you want to hear. Being honest with yourself is important. If you find you aren’t able to answer some of these basic and even the more detailed questions, you might want to sit back, relax, and take a breath before going forward.

I will say, however, that when I first started the rumblings of opening a business in 1993, I hit many roadblocks and had to overcome many obstacles. I doubt there are many entrepreneurs who could say they didn’t have a similar experience. Don’t let the fact that you don’t know the answers to all of your (or my) questions stop you from moving forward. But there is nothing but time ahead of you. Sometimes just waiting until the right moment to open is the right thing to do. Even though you want it now, now might need to wait a bit.

This is going to be a 6 article series asking many of the questions you’ll want to ask before you open your business. I hope that by presenting these to you, you will be able to get more information to build your case and move forward with your plans. This list of questions isn’t the end-all be-all, but it will give you a good start down the road to being a business owner.
  
The 6 questions to ask yourself before starting your business are:  

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• How?
• Why? 

I will go over each of the questions above individually in the six separate articles. Some of these only you can answer for your business, but I will help you get to your answers by asking more and more questions. Many of these will be questions that you must know the answers to before you get started and open your doors. 

It is reported that 80% of new businesses fail and close their doors within the first 2 years of being open. Don’t be one of those statistics, be one of the exceptional exceptions and succeed in your business. You’ll do this by being prepared—probably more so than you think you need to be. Part of your preparation will be answering questions, some of which will be posed in the first of this 6-part series: #1 of 6 Important Questions: Who?

Don’t keep silent in a facial—music-wise

I don’t recommend not playing some type of relaxing music during your facials. For anyone looking for good music to play in your treatment room, the following blog post at ageless beauty, timeless skin has a list of all the CDs I have in my facial music library. Just click on this title to be taken to the full article: De-stressing Quick Tip: Music IS the doctor!

Preparing for your client’s arrival

Here is a basic rundown of what I do on work days. It’s not anything out of the ordinary, just a day in the life. I am trying to give you some examples of things to think about when you open your business to the public.


As I enter the suite of offices, I put the proper lighting on—dim to create a relaxing environment vs. super bright light. I open my office door, put down my appointment book, take out my iPad and phone and tuck my keys away. I immediately start to get my place ready for the client. I like to be 100% prepared in case she is early. Quite often I have had a client who walked in 20 minutes before her allotted appointment time. Some may be only a few minutes early (or late), but always being prepared is a good habit to get into.

Next, I get the hot water started in my facial room and pour concentrated toner and my super sponge bowl elixir into their prospective bowls while the water heats up. I turn the electric blanket on to heat the bed so it will be nice and warmed up for my client’s arrival.

Then I go into the bathroom and make sure everything needed is in good supply. See Preparing for your client when you don’t work alone (link below) for information about this crucial and perhaps overlooked step.

Now I pull the charts for the day and read my first client’s last facial information. This is another very important step to get you prepared to greet your client. If she is a new client today, I’ll write what I know—name, phone number, and usually how she found me under the referral part of my client chart. See Client Information Charts—Part I and Part II for detailed information about this essential piece of paper.

During our initial phone call I made sure to get the correct spelling of her name, so I’ll write that down as well as her phone number. If she was referred by someone I will know that too (from the phone call) and I’ll write that information on her chart. If applicable, I’ll get out a referral appreciation postcard, pull the referring client’s chart, address the postcard and write on her chart the date that I sent the thank you discount (today) as well as the new client who she referred in. As you can read in Referral Appreciation Discount Takeaway & Postcard, I usually send the postcard when I leave the office that day.

Once my water is fully heated and everything in my room is in order, I’ll usually go out to the suite lobby and wait for my client to arrive. I always have my phone with me in case she calls or texts me about being late, or perhaps she is new and can’t find my office building. I’ll work on my iPad until I see her come through the front door. Now we are ready to get started.

These steps may all seem obvious (and many of them probably don’t or won’t correlate to how you start your day) but I include them here in case there are any tidbits of information that can help you as you start and manage your business and clientele.

When I was in Dallas and Chicago, I had my own, private office space. My routine was still very similar to what you just read. Making sure I am 100% ready for my client—in the facial room, the bathroom, and even the lobby area—is very important to me. A bad first impression is hard to change.

For more information, see:

• Preparing for your client when you don’t work alone
• Client Information Charts—Part I
• Client Information Charts—Part II 
• Referral Appreciation Discount Takeaway & Postcard 

Standing Facial Appointments

Standing appointments are appointments a client schedules in advance if they know that they will be coming in to have the same service done frequently. If you haven’t incorporated this service into your business, I encourage you to ask your clients if they want standing appointments the next time you see them.

Having a client on standing appointments does two things:

• First, it ensures that the client will get their preferred appointment day and time every month (or however frequently they come to see you). 
• These appointments will also help to ensure you will have a full schedule for the future, and you will know your schedule ahead of time.

Because I have so many clients on a standing appointment basis, I keep track of them not only in my daily appointment book but also on a separate sheet with a one month calendar. Here I arrange the clients who are coming in once per month on the day and time of day their standing appointment is on. This gives me a visual of how many standing openings I have as well as keeping these clients on their appointment continuum.

If Mary Smith is coming in on Tuesdays at 10am every 4 wks, I’ll write on one Tuesday of the one month calendar sheet:

• 10am Mary Smith—4wks

Whoever the other standing clients are who come in on the same week Mary Smith does, I’ll put them in the standing calendar on that same week.

Some clients who come in every 6 or 8 weeks want standing appointments. These clients will also go on my standing appointments calendar. Here, Jenny Jones wants to come in every 8 weeks on a Wednesday at 2pm:

• Wednesday, 2pm J Jones—8wks

Then, if I have another standing client who wants to come in every 8 weeks, I will try to get her into the every 8 weeks on the same Wednesday my other client comes in at 2pm. And if I can’t exactly coordinate everyone how I’d like them to come in, at least with my standing calendar I am aware of the days, time slots, and frequency I have available.

This is an example of how to start a standing schedule calendar.

In this example, Nancy Patson wants a 10:30am standing on a Tuesday. Since Mary Smith already has a standing 10am every 4wks on one of the Tuesdays in a month, Nancy has to start on a different Tuesday. Sometimes this will mean she will have to begin her standings closer or further away from the day we decide is her week of the month. Nevertheless, with a few adjustments, Nancy will have a 4 wk standing appointment time for as long as she wants it.

The highlighted yellow (on the 2nd Wednesday of the month) is to let me know I have an 8wk availability on that day (and week) at that time. Actually, if someone wants an 8wk standing around that time, for instance at 2:30 or 3pm, I will put them into that slot on that week.

I have to say it is somewhat intricate for me to write about standings and how I schedule them. Hopefully these examples along with the photos help to make things clear to you if and when you start your standing schedule.

Something to note: While I was working in Chicago, my schedule got so busy that many people decided to take standing appointments so they knew they could get in. Therefore, at a certain point, I had to close off my standing availability, or I’d run the risk of never having an opening unless it was a cancellation or a moved appointment. Just be sure to manage your standing calendar in a way that works best for you.

One last thing: Only use pencil when writing on your standing calendar! I recommend using pencils—only—to write in your appointment book as well. Otherwise you could have a big mess on your hands. Some days my appointments change completely from how they were the week before.

Changes happen, life happens, and many times—standing or not—a client needs to move her appointment with you. See More on Standing Appointments to find out how I handle this and other situations with regular, standing clients.

Offering volume discounts—or not

I am not a big believer in offering volume discounts, although it is sort of an industry standard in the skin care world. I also rarely discount my services as you can read about in Special Promotion discounts (see link below). If you are new to your business I don’t exactly recommend following my model unless you already have a healthy clientele.

If a client approaches me, which several have over the years, about offering a price reduction on a series of treatments or somehow lower the average price of the facial if they purchases several at once, I certainly will offer them some kind of discount. I want to work with my clients in ways that work for both of us. In scenarios where I am directly asked for something, most likely I will accommodate.

Although I don’t offer concrete volume discounts, I do “rewarded” my regular monthly clients with either a free end-of-the-year facial or I’ll surprise them with a no-charge birthday facial during their birthday month. This discount isn’t listed anywhere and it varies from year to year and from client to client. Just like having a policy for frequent short-notice cancelers and people who no-show, I also have “policies” in place for those clients who show up on a regular, long-term basis.

I have seen some salons that have a punchcard system of discounting, similar to what my local coffee shop offers—if I buy 10 coffees, I get one free. As a salon you could do what many skin care businesses do: With 5 punches, you get the 6th free; with 12 you’d be getting 2 free, essentially. Obviously you can set up your discounts however you choose.

There are companies who make these “loyalty cards" or you can make them yourself. If you do decide to have this type of discount system, be sure to let your clients know. At vistaprint you can have these cards made for very little money or you can use your local printer when you are having other business pieces printed.

If you are new to being in business, it might behoove you to put some discounts in place in order to attract more clients to your salon. Having a “first-time client” discount is a great idea to get people in the door. Once they experience and love your service, they will gladly pay full price in subsequent visits—and will be happy they found you in the first place.

However you set the promotion—if you decide to discount—be sure to let people know so they can partake in your discount program.

Also see:

• Special Promotion discounts 

MYTH: You have to change products

I recently posted this article from my layperson’s blogsite. As an aesthetician, I hear my clients regurgitating this myth a lot, and it’s mostly perpetuated by the skin care industry! In my practice I do the best I can to be completely honest and upfront with my clients. They have come to expect this from me and I certainly expect it from myself. Telling someone they need to completely change the individual products they’re using because their skin has “gotten used to it” is simply untrue. If you know how the skin functions this will sound as ridiculous to you as it always has to me. CLICK HERE to be taken to the article.

One facial experience—not a great one

Read this article on my layperson’s blogsite so you can get a bird’s eye view of how your clients may be experiencing your facials. Attention to detail is always important.

I highly recommend getting facials from several different people. I recommend this when you are first starting out because you will get a great education on what you like and what you don’t like in regard to a facial treatment. This will give you important information for your own facials. And going for facials throughout your career will continue to give you feedback on how you perform your services and how it makes you feel as a client.

Click here for my comments on one facial experience I had, unfortunately not a very good one.

The Importance of a Cancellation List

I cannot stress enough how important having a cancellation list is to your business. If you are not currently using one, I highly recommend you start using one now.

Maybe your business isn’t big enough to really have a “list” yet. But as soon as you have one client who wants to come in on a particular day at a specific time where you already have a facial booked, you need to put that client on a cancellation list. You never know, the already booked client may need to cancel last minute and now you have someone to potentially fill that vacancy.

When I was running both my Dallas and Chicago offices, I was very busy all of the time. If someone called to come in, they might have to wait as long as two months before I had any openings. Here there was an obvious need for a cancellation list and I used one frequently to get clients in who were on that list. Because it was hard to get in for a facial, most people on the list were thrilled when I called them with a cancellation spot to fill.

Sometimes I had as many as 10 or more people on my cancel list each week. When I had a cancellation, I would simply go down the list and call each person, one by one, and eventually—almost always—I could fill the hole in my schedule. Many times I would get an answering machine or voicemail. I would let the client know on my message to them that I was going down my list, so by the time they heard my message the spot might already be filled, but to call just in case.

Usually the first person who answered my call would be the one who took the appointment, but not always. These appointment fill-ins are first come, first served. Whoever was the first person to let me know they wanted to fill the slot was the person I booked. I would then cross them off my cancellation list since they would be coming in soon. If this was a last minute (or less than 24-hours notice) cancellation, I would also, out of courtesy, email or otherwise let the client who cancelled know that I was able to fill the slot and would not be charging them. (Always welcomed news.) Read further for more information on not charging a rebooked appointment.

I can’t tell you how vital this list has been in my business. If you are currently in business then you probably already know there are many cancellations—sometimes last minute—as well as clients who need to change and rearrange their appointments with you. Not everyone is a last-minute canceller; many clients (most actually) give you plenty of time to refill the openings they are creating. This is just part of the scheduling game. So having a list of people to fill empty slots can keep your business thriving and your schedule booked.

Once in a while when I get a cancellation I don’t fill it. I may take the afternoon off (if it was the last appointment of the day that cancelled) or have a late morning at home. This is of course up to you. And obviously, I am not always able to fill empty slots, even with more than 24 hours notice. That is just part of being in business. I will either leave the office and run errands or do things around the office that I haven’t had the opportunity to get to. 

As for my cancellation policy, I require at least 24 hours notice of a cancellation or the client runs the risk of being charged full appointment fee. There are exceptions, of course, as you can read in Website ideas: My Cancellation Policy as well as More on My Cancellation Policy (links below). Over the last few years I have purposely kept a slower pace in my business (since moving to Boulder), and I have also become more lenient with cancellations. In other words, I am more apt to let a client slide without charging them. But when business was booming, having an opening due to a last minute cancellation that I was unable to fill was not something I took lightly. Even with my slower pace nowadays, I still use a cancellation list. It truly is an asset.

PLEASE READ THIS: If I am able to rebook a less-than-24-hours-notice cancellation from my cancellation list, I never (never) charge the person who cancelled. When the client calls to cancel, I do let them know that if I can refill their time slot, I will not charge them. Yet another good reason for a cancellation list. It can save your existing clients who may need to cancel without a solid reason (like being sick or getting in an accident) a lot of money. The more time a client who cancels at the last minute gives you to rebook the appointment, the better for everyone. It will be easier to find someone to fill the opening and you won’t have to charge your last-minute canceller who then gets to save her money and perhaps feel like she dodged a bullet. Maybe next time she’ll give you more notice.

For more details, see:

• Website ideas: My Cancellation Policy
• More on My Cancellation Policy
• Slow Days at the Office for some helpful tips

Of course, I never charge a sick client for cancelling. Be well!

Using dry skin products on oily skin—STOP THE INSANITY!

Here is an article (one of many) I posted on my lay person’s blog site explaining the difference between dry skin (what I call true-dry) and dehydrated skin. This may seem simplistic or obvious to those of you in the skin care industry, but I can’t tell you how many clients have come in to see me after having facials elsewhere and never being counseled correctly on this most basic of skin conditions. Therefore it is my belief that many people in our own industry truly don’t understand this basic difference. 

Click on this title to be taken to Using dry skin products on oily skin—STOP THE INSANITY!