6 Important Questions: all links

• 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business

• #1 of 6 Important Questions: Who?

• #2 of 6 Important Questions: What?

• #3 of 6 Important Questions: Where?

• #4 of 6 Important Questions: When?

• #5 of 6 Important Questions: How?

• #6 of 6 Important Questions: Why?

#6 of 6 Important Questions: Why?

If you haven’t read the opening article to this 6-part series, please see 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business. The last installment in this 6-part series is: Why?

• Why do you want to own your own business?
• Why are you an aesthetician?
• Why not work for a company and be an employee?
• Why do you think this will work/succeed?

To me, these are almost all rhetorical questions. If you don’t know the answers, my next question is why not? Before you venture into something as risky as owning your own business, I recommend having a down and dirty chat with yourself (many times) to figure out the answers to these and all of the other questions in this 6-part series. Without the answers, you may find yourself out in the middle of the ocean without any oars. You certainly can succeed in business without knowing the answers to these questions, but again—my question is why not ask them? Why wouldn’t you—before you start your business—try and find out as many answers to as many questions as you can think of? 

I hope this series of articles has been helpful. I hope the questions posed and your personal answers to them helped to put things in perspective for you. I actually hope they scared you a little bit and made you stop for a moment and really dig deep to find the answers. The next step for you is to go out into the world and ask your own questions. Ask as many questions as you can as often as you can. If you aren’t asking, you aren’t getting answers. And you want all the answers you can find—even the answer to your prayers in the form of a busy and successful business.

To recap, here are the links to the precious articles in this series. Read them, reread them, and come up with more questions on your own. 

• 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business
• #1 of 6 Important Questions: Who?
• #2 of 6 Important Questions: What?
• #3 of 6 Important Questions: Where?
• #4 of 6 Important Questions: When?
• #5 of 6 Important Questions: How?

I wish you all the best of luck and good fortune. Owning a business can be a gratifying, satisfying adventure. I know it has been for me—21 years and counting.

#5 of 6 Important Questions: How?

6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business - See more at: http://helpforaestheticians.blogspot.com/2015/06/6-important-questions-to-ask-yourself.html#sthash.w4Bu7GiK.dpuf

If you haven’t read the opening article to this 6-part series, please see 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business. Part 5 in this 6-part series is: How

• How will you pay to get your new business up and running?
• How will you advertise? (How will people find you?)
• How will you open? With fanfare or quietly?
• How will you handle clients?
• How will you decorate?

How will you pay to get your new business up and running? (Loan, family, savings?) Will you get a loan from a bank? Do you know if a bank will loan you money? Better find out now in order to know if that avenue will work for you or not. Will family loan you (or give you) money? Do you have a stash of cash in your savings that you have been waiting to use to open your own business? Bank on more expenditures than you have anticipated. Anticipate the worst (no business) and plan for the best (success and profitability). 

How will you advertise? Will you be strictly word-of-mouth and referrals? Newspapers? TV? Coupon books? Flyers? Door-to-door? Internet? See How to find free advertising along with other articles on this blog to help you find ways to encourage new clients into your new business.

When I opened my storefront office in Chicago, I decided to join the Chamber of Commerce to get more exposure for my new salon. It wasn’t expensive and not only do they list you in their publications, they offer a ribbon cutting ceremony to announce your new business. In some ways this felt silly and over-the-top to me, but it did cause somewhat of a commotion on the day of the ribbon cutting, and I’m sure it did help to promote my new business there on the street. I couldn’t find a more clear photo, but here is the ceremony the day of the ribbon cutting:

How will you open? With fanfare or quietly? Will you have an opening party and invite all your family and friends (and clients if you have them)? Will you open quietly and quickly get to business? If you do have a party, will you advertise it in a paper or on the radio, somewhere perspective clients might see it and come by to catch a glimpse? 

How will you handle clients? This goes back to who are you as an aesthetician and business person. Anticipate client scenarios and how you as the business owner would handle them. Even if you don’t do this preparing, situations will arise and you want to be quick on your feet (and fair) about how you handle sensitive situations. Would you ever fire a client? See Letting go of clients for some information you may find helpful for the future.

How will you decorate? Who is the client? Who are you? Make the decor work for both of you. If you make it work for just you, believe it or not it could turn people away.

Don’t lose your personality trying to make your decor work for everybody—because you can’t please everyone. I recommend keeping things more middle of the road vs. having an all pink salon (or something like that). Although having an all pink salon might get you noticed by the media or local newspaper, men, for instance, probably wouldn’t be anxious to come into your salon for treatment (neither would I!).

An all pink salon is simply an example of going too far in one direction. But I think you understand what I’m getting at here. Making your salon welcoming and inviting to the majority of people (whoever your clients are) is the best scenario when you’re going to open a business. 


In any and all of my salons (now and when I first started out) I never have posters on the walls from the manufacturers of my products (Yonka-Paris). I prefer to have soothing framed pieces that evoked relaxation and an atmosphere of calm. Advertisements for products don’t give me that soothing feeling, but many salons I have visited have such advertisements on their walls. I prefer art over ads; you will figure out what is the best thing for you.

As I write about in Put your accomplishments up on the wall, when you eventually have magazine articles or other promotional pieces suitable for framing, do put those up on your walls for all to see. These may not evoke a sense of calm, as mentioned before, but they will most like give your clients or prospective clients an indication that you know what you’re doing and that the media thinks so too.

For the 6th and final article in this series, see #6 of 6 Important Questions: Why? 

#4 of 6 Important Questions: When?

If you haven’t read the opening article to this 6-part series, please see 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business. Part 4 in this series is: When?

• When will you open?
• When are your hours of operation?
• When will you take time off?
• When will you do backend paperwork and tasks, like taxes?

When will you open? What time of year will you choose for the initial opening? Will it coincide, for instance, with skin cancer awareness week or some other promotional time period? Will you open at the beginning of a calendar year, like January 2nd? Whenever you decide will be your opening, I have one (obvious) caveat: Don’t open until you are ready to open! (No matter what.)

When are your hours of operation? When will you be open day to day? What are your store hours? Tuesday - Saturday, off Sunday and Monday? Nine to five? Are there late-in-the-day hours available for those who work until 5pm or 6pm? This may adjust after you get started based on what your clients' needs are. Office workers need later appointments. Moms can come during the day when their kids are in school or in child care.

When will you take time off? Daily—during what hours? Lunchtime? Off hours so people can come see you during their lunch hour? Weekly—what days will you have off? Many salons are closed on Mondays, will you be open and take another day off during the week? Will you work on Sundays? Monthly and annually, will you take vacations? I am not saying you won’t be able to take vacations, but remember: when you aren’t there to give facials, you also aren’t there to make money. Vacations out of town cost money. You can do the math. Get those clients in to see you and start making money!

When will you do backend paperwork and tasks, like taxes? Schedule time to do these types of tasks. It’s all part of running a business and you’ll need time to get paperwork done. Don’t skip thinking about this step. 

The next article in this 6-part series is #5 of 6 Important Questions: How?

#3 of 6 Important Questions: Where?

If you haven’t read the opening article to this 6-part series, please see 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business. Part 3 in this 6-part series is: Where?

• Where will your location be?
• Where will you put storage and set up all in the space?
• Where will you do laundry? 
• Where will you go for supplies?

Where will your location be? This goes back to “who is your client?” Will your office be in a storefront, walk-in salon or a private office that is by appointment only? Will your location be visible to street traffic? Walking and driving traffic? Will you share a space with others or be independent? How much space do you need? Will you rent or own?

Because I’m a one-woman show, I can opt for smaller office spaces—and have. Currently I’m in the smallest (and least chic) salon space I’ve had in my entire career. The reasons are it is only a few blocks away from my home, it is centrally located so it’s easy for clients to find and access, there is plenty of parking (something there was none of when I officed in downtown Boulder), and it is inexpensive. All of those factors were important to me when I was once again looking for a place to put my business.

The Dallas office building I owned

In past years, I owned an entire building that my salon was located in. It was more space than I needed, but it was also a savvy business move. Years later when I was no longer living in Dallas, where this building was, I sold it at a considerable profit. I was also able to “fix it up” however I wanted to since I was the owner. Unless you find an amazing deal in a primo location and you are 100% confident in your skills and ability to succeed in your business, I don’t recommend purchasing your office space. Not right off the bat, anyway. Rent first, see where your business takes you, then go from there.

Here is my all time favorite office space: my storefront in Chicago's tony Lincoln Park. As you can see, I made it easy for all to see, whether they were in a car or on foot, what product I had available and what type of business I was. This was a high-traffic area in a gentrified neighborhood and I was the only skin care business in site. I paid high rent but I had a large business to cover the costs. (Although, this wasn’t the case at the beginning; see upcoming All of my skin care office locations for more tidbits about that.)

A smaller office space is usually going to be less expensive. Low overhead should be a mantra you say to yourself always. High overhead, as in high rent and expensive equipment, can—at least in the beginning—get you into hot water. Beware!

See Where in the world is your business? for more helpful information on finding the perfect location to set up shop.

Where will you put storage and set up all in the space? How will you arrange your everything from facial room and supplies to front office space? Is there storage space available for your supplies and incidentals? Back product stock? 

Where will you do laundry? I have always (thankfully) had laundry facilities inside or near my office spaces. In fact, prior to my Boulder offices, the only time the laundry wasn’t in the office itself was in Chicago. It was an apartment building on top and had storefronts on street level. I was one of the storefronts. Because the building was residential, it had a laundry facility in the basement—perfect for my business needs! 

You need to take this into consideration when looking for office space. Since moving to Colorado, I have always (in all my different offices) simply taken the laundry with me and done it at my home. This may sound like drudgery to some of you; in that case you’ll need to hire a laundry service if you can’t or won’t do it yourself. This is another expense that you can save on if you do it yourself. Keep your expenses, espeically at first, to an absolute minimum. Once you get on your feet and especially when your business takes off (starts bringing in serious money) then yo can decide whether or not doing the laundry makes sense to you.

Where will you go for supplies? Besides venders, where else will you need to find supplies such as toilet paper and Kleenex? These may seem like basic questions, but having the answers to as many questions as possible, no matter how complex they are, will make opening your business easier, smoother, and less stressful. Some venders will be more obvious and easy to find, other may take some research to locate.

Be sure to have a file with the names, contact information, pricing, and turn-around time for your suppliers. You don’t want to be scrambling to find things you need to do a facial or in any other way keep your business going day to day. Be prepared and be organized.

The next article in this 6-part series is #4 of 6 Important Questions: When?
 

#2 of 6 Important Questions: What?

If you haven’t already, please read the opener to this series, 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business, as well as #1 of 6 Important Questions: Who? The next question in this 6-part series is: What?

• What type of business will you open?
• What products will you use?
• What kind of product training is available or required?
• What is the product’s opening order requirement?
• What will you charge for your treatments?
• What forms of payment will your accept?
• What is your business plan?

What type of business will you open? Will it be a boutique salon with just you running the whole show? Will it be skin care only? What about other services? These are important questions to ask because this will determine what type of office space you will need and what your basic business model looks like.

I have always preferred to have a private, by appointment only, type of business. This is what I prefer when getting treatments, and it is what I offer to my clients. I have had facials in larger salons and spas where there is a locker room, a robe and slippers waiting for me, and perhaps even a steam or sauna room available to use while I’m there. I simply don’t enjoy this environment as much as being the only person in the office besides the aesthetician or massage therapist or acupuncturist. This is my preference, it might not be yours. No matter what you prefer, you still may go the opposite way and open a large salon when you prefer private appointments yourself, or vise versa. I touch on this in both Where to look for a great facial and What to expect in a facial treatment, which posted on my layperson’s blog, ageless beauty, timeless skin.

As far as what services to provide, I hope you already know what you want to do in this area. If not, you need to really think on this and come up with your initial plan. When I worked at a spa, I was required to provide waxing services; services I didn’t like performing and was totally uninterested in. Naturally when I opened my own business, waxing was never a part of it. Don’t get me wrong, waxing can be and is a lucrative service that I don’t recommend you leave out of your business plan necessarily. Unless of course you hate waxing! And that was the case with me. I not only didn’t like doing the actually service, I have always wanted to hone my skills in one area.

When I first started out as an aesthetician in 1985, I wanted to go to massage school, which I did. After I got my massage license I practiced both vocations for a few years. Then I decided I didn’t want to be jack-of-all-trades, master of none. And I wanted to master skin care. So I stopped massaging clients, put 100% of my effort into becoming the best aesthetician I could be, and now 30 years later I do believe I have achieved my goal. You can perform many different services, this was just not the course I chose to take.

I will say, going through massage school gave me skills I didn’t have after I graduated from skin care school. I have a much better understanding of the body, anatomy and physiology, and my hands are more sensitive to touch along with being strong in the facial department. Ask any of my clients and I’m sure they’ll tell you—I give a great facial massage. Along with massage school, I studied (back in the 80s) polarity therapy, acupressure, and took special courses that focused on facial massage in particular.

What products will you use? This goes back to who are you as an aesthetician? Do you know? You will have to do research if you aren’t set on a product line yet. And if you have to research, how will you do it and where will you go for it? Without knowing what product line you want to carry, you are basically walking on only one leg.

The product an aesthetician uses is something that is completely tied in with who the aesthetician is. That is the case for me, at least. Without Yonka products, I would basically have to find a product as identical to it as possible. Aromatherapy is what I have studied most of my career and Yonka, an aromatherapy skin care line, has always tied into my philosophy on how to treat skin. Take that away and I am still a skilled aesthetician, but I wouldn’t be able to recommend products if I don’t believe in them.

When you work for someone else, especially at the beginning of your career, you may have to settle for using a product you don’t love for the security of a paying job. Once you open your own business, that all changes and you can chart the course that you want. (See future post: My life at the Spa at the Crescent—start to finish.)

What kind of product training is available or required? That, of course, will be up to the product line you select, unless you decide to go the private label route. Get all the available training the company offers. Some companies require you to come to their headquarters to train for a few days so they are sure you will be a good representative for their product line. Sometimes a rep will come to your salon and train you there. If both situations are available, I would again recommend doing both; getting all the training on the product line you will be married to is imperative.

What is the product’s opening order requirement? The answer to this question can be the biggest deterrent to opening your business. Or at least for using a particular skin care product. Some companies have low dollar amount opening order requirements. I’m sure there are companies that don’t make you meet a certain order amount. However, most lines do. Knowing this information before you get your heart set on a particular product may be important for you.

I will say this, if cost is what is your determining factor for what skin care line you decide to use, I would have to question that. I think it should be the absolute love and devotion to a product that will determine which one you use. You might have to stretch yourself if the opening order requirement is high for the line you love, but without the product you believe in, your treatments simply won’t be as effective. It is the marriage of the aesthetician and the product she uses that are the main ingredients for a great facial.

What will you charge for your treatments? When I first opened my business I set my facial price just below the going rate that my clients had been paying at my former job. I didn’t undercut myself, but charged maybe $5-$10 less for the same facial. I could have opened and charged the same price—or more, but I wanted to do everything in my power to encourage people to visit me at my new office. Once I was established, I did raise my rates to reflect what I felt was right for the service I was providing. See Raising your prices for more details.

For almost my entire career, I had one facial at one price. As you can read in Website ideas: Services explained, after the economy tanked I began to offer a one hour facial at a reduced rate. Prior to that, however, it was always one facial for one price. My facial is all-inclusive, using all the products and procedures a client needs whenever she sees me. I am not a big believer in service menus, but I also am unique in how I run my business. And I don’t necessarily recommend you follow my lead.

As an aesthetician and a business owner I have always had a very clear vision for my work. Throughout the more than 21 years I’ve been in business, I have not really wavered. Some people might not be so clear or simply have a different vision for their business. Having a menu for the services you provide is the norm, and it is something that I actually recommend. But don’t make your offerings so complicated that a perspective client doesn’t have a clue as to what she wants.

This is where I veer away from what is normal in this business. I think that I should be deciding what facial procedure a client needs. I know skin, she knows her symptoms. I always roll my eyes when I go to a salon with a long list of services. If I was just a layperson, how am I supposed to know what is best for my skin? I’m coming to you the professional—aren’t you the best person to decide what my skin needs?  

The bottom line is you will want a list of your services, and you will need to do some research before you set a price for treatments. Call or look online at what other salons in your area are charging for similar services. I highly recommend getting facials around town to see what is being offered and at what price. If you keep getting bad facials at places that charge what you are thinking of charging, you might reconsider (now or later once you’ve opened) how much you will charge for your facials.

What forms of payment will your accept? Cash only? Cash and personal checks only? Credit cards? If so, which ones? As you can read in Forms of taking payment, I’m not a big believer in not accepting credit cards. In this world as it is today, most people prefer using plastic. Don’t make it hard for people to pay you—it may be a few dollars less you’ll earn due to merchant services charges, but in the long run it might pay off.

What is your business plan? Perhaps this question needs a separate article all to itself, but if you don’t have a business plan, you are not ready to open a business. A written plan, whether it is a “regulation” business plan or simply a plan you have on paper, is not only essential to moving forward, it is imperative.

Wikipedia describes a business plan as “a formal statement of business goals, reasons they are attainable, and plans for reaching them. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.” Without a plan (written down), you are going to lose your way. It’s as simple as that. Start now if you don’t have a plan in place and use that as another step forward on your way to becoming a legitimate business.

The next installment in this 6-part series is #3 of 6 Important Questions: Where?

#1 of 6 Important Questions: Who?

I will assume you have read the opening article in this blog series, 6 Important Questions to ask yourself before opening a business, so you are familiar with the 6 questions even though you may not have any idea what I’m talking about! 

Because this is going to be a 6-part series, I have a lot of room to get into the most important questions you’ll need to ask yourself before you start your own skin care business. The first question is: Who?

• Who is your client?
• Who are you as an aesthetician?
• Who are you as a business owner?
• Who are your vendors?
• Who will do your taxes?
• Who will be there if you get sick or incapacitated? 
• Who can you turn to for help and/or advice?

Who is your client? What is her income level? Where does she live? What services is she looking for? Does she work at an office? Does she stay home with children? Is she busy or bored? Is your typical client female—only? Or perhaps you are going after a mostly male clientele? Do they want a private boutique experience or a hustle and bustle salon? And the most important question: have you asked yourself these questions yet? Knowing the answers will help you in several areas of your business.

The question of income (your client’s) is an important aspect of knowing who your ideal client is. If she is not made of money, you don’t want to charge exorbitant prices for your services. Not everyone is catering to the well-off, so kudos to you. If you are looking for clients who live in the nicest part of town, that will be a determining factor when it comes to finding a location as well as pricing your services. You’d better know your stuff, however, because many times affluence means a client is used to upscale service providers.

Who are you as an aesthetician? Do you prefer giving private, highly personalized services or are you the get’em in, get’em out type? (Both do exist!) Are you the type who wants an individual practice or do you want to work in a busy salon environment? How long have you been working? What is your area of expertise—do you know? Are you good at what you do? There are many aestheticians who may not be the world’s greatest facialists but still run successful businesses. They can do this because they excel in some other facet of their business, be it sales, amazing customer service; there is something that creates trust with their clients and keeps the clients coming back.

Know who you are as an aesthetician so you can put emphasis on your strengths. We all have weaknesses, but when you’re opening and running a business you don’t want these lesser qualities to shine for all to see.

Who are you as a business owner? Are you organized or on the sloppy side? Do you have a clear vision for your venture? Who do you want to be as a business owner? And do you even want to be a business owner? That might sound like a ridiculous question, but perhaps in your heart of hearts you really don’t want to open a business on your own. Know this now so you don’t have to clean up a mess later on. Some people make better employees than they do business owners. It’s not easy having the responsibilities (all the responsibilities) of running a business. As an employee, you may not have a lot of freedom, but you have very little on the responsibility side. Be sure owning a business is truly want you want to do. Once you’re sure this is for you, think about the qualities you want to possess as a business owner then take those attributes and become them.

Who are your vendors? Figure out what supplies you’ll need—there will be many. Some of those will be listed in What you’ll need before you get started—Part III: odds & ends. Source out vendors for the supplies, and establish positive relationships with their customer service departments. In many cases you can buy supplies at Target or another big box store or even Sally Beauty Supply, but in some cases you’ll need to find vendors for certain items.

Who will do your taxes? This is the part of my business that I have never liked. Even so, when I first started out I used to do a lot of my taxes (not federal) myself. On the days I did this work, I was a frenzied emotional mess.

Eventually I incorporated, hired a payroll service (even though sometimes I was the only employee in my corporation), and I always have a CPA do my end-of-year state and federal income taxes. This is not my forte, and I gladly employ someone else to do this work for me, someone who is an expert in their field.

If you sell products, you will have sales tax (you need a license for this) and sales tax forms to fill out that are required by your state; then there are the quarterly reports (depending on how you are filing your taxes); and of course, end-of-year state and federal taxes. I highly recommend getting help with these—taxes are an area you don’t want to screw up!

Who will be there if you get sick or incapacitated? The answer to this question may be “no one.” Even if the answer is “I have someone in place to take over if something happens to me,” you need to plan and budget for unforeseen occurrences.

If you’ve read this blog, you have seen more than one mention of my dislike for a client who comes in sick to get her facial, something that happens a lot more than you would imagine. (See When a client comes in sick and Letting go of clients.) Perhaps now you can better understand why. If you are sick and can’t work and you own your business, there is no income on the days you are home recuperating. Zero. Ouch. Planning, by having savings put aside, is essential to running your business.

Have you thought about what would happen if you sliced your hand open while making dinner one night? I have! I’m not paranoid, but thoughts do cross my mind when I’m doing something that could have a potentially devastating effect on my business. If I break a leg or sprain an ankle, I can still work, but my hands are my money-makers. These may be areas of thinking you haven’t ventured into, but maybe they should be. Injuries are something you want to avoid at all costs, including getting sick. 

Who can you turn to for help and/or advice? Family members? Fellow business owners? Organizations? Start now to create a broad-spectrum support system. If your family isn’t in favor of your business venture (not all families are supportive), find people who are supportive and keep them in your corner. Ask fellow business owners if you can take them out for coffee or lunch and ask them questions about their businesses and how they run them. You don’t have to ask other salon owners per se; running any business has certain commonalities, and you can glean information from just about anyone.

There are organizations that help potential business owners iron out the details. Research groups in your area and go for an interview or attend a class or two or three. Here you may find people you can add to your core support system.

Don’t go it alone. You will need help, even if it’s just a sympathetic ear, all along your way to opening your business. Gather your support system. At some point you will need it!

The next question you want to ask yourself before opening a business that has its own series of questions is: #2 of 6 Important Questions: What?