The majority of people who get into the beauty industry do so because they have a passion for particular treatments or maybe they harbour a dream to one day run their own thriving beauty business. This can take many forms and often starts by working in someone else’s business or from a back bedroom or garden cabin. So, what happens when you dare to dream bigger?
Working in the beauty industry does not mean you are restricted to offering standard beauty treatments out of one location. These days, there are lots of opportunities to launch your own brand, expand into multiple salons, create your own product line, or become a thought leader in the industry – just like me. Here, we take a look at what it takes to build a successful beauty empire and what you need to get started.
Think about the client experience
Whatever type of business you are looking to build, you have to have loyal, happy clients at the centre of it. This means that delivering exceptional service results and relationships are likely to be your most powerful marketing tools. When you have a happy client, they are more likely to tell other people, which means you can bring new clients through your doors and you can hold on to the existing ones.
This might seem logical, but it can easily get forgotten in the pursuit of growth. These clients are the foundation on which you can build, so you need to think about their experience at every step of the way to ensure you are still offering what they want and enjoy.
Working ON the business, not IN it
When you start running your own business, you are very much in the thick of it and it can be difficult to tear yourself away from this role. If you want to build a beauty empire then you need to be able to step away from being the sole service provider and start delegating treatments, admin and marketing to other people. This gives you the time and freedom to focus on things like growth, leadership and planning that would otherwise fall by the wayside while you carry out the daily grind.
Remember, if you want to work ON the business, you need to stop working IN it if you are to gain the right perspective, mindset and time.
Make smart employee choices
Handing over the reins to someone else means you need to take on the right type of staff members. These are the people that will make or break your brand, so it is important to make some smart choices. We can get bogged down with looking for people who have the right skills, but you need to remember that these are things that can be added at a later date.
Training is always available, but you cannot educate people to have the right values, work ethic and attitude. If you pick people who have the right personality for your business, you can teach them the skills that they need later. Once you have a strong internal culture, you can then look at building consistency and trust, especially if you have more than one location or service line that you need to deal with.
Putting the right systems in place
As your team grows, it is essential that you have some watertight systems in place for them to follow. Without this, everyone will be working within chaos and that is something that is impossible to build on. It is for this reason that you need to build systems for your bookings, stock, staffing, customer service and marketing as early as possible.
You can set up automated email flows, social media planners or onboarding templates, as well as procedures for consultations, appointment bookings and payments. These are all things that can be changed and adapted as you grow, but if they are not there in the first place, you are unlikely to get this opportunity. Use automation, templates and policies to make it abundantly clear what you expect from your employees.
Personal branding is essential
If you look at the type of businesses that you follow, you will probably find that there is a lot of personal branding involved. This is because people are more interested in other people than any kind of corporate output. We are more interested in people who have opinions, insight and authenticity, so you need to build this into your own brand model.
That means using your voice on social media, blogs or video content and sharing your journey. People are more likely to be invested in what you do if they can see who is behind it and why you are undertaking this task. It also allows you to become a figure of authority where you can build trust, invite opportunity, and attract loyalty along the way.
Marketing is not an afterthought
The subjective personal branding leads us nicely into marketing. It is easy to concentrate on your services or product lines and deal with marketing later. However, it is important to keep in mind that if no one knows you exist, they cannot buy from you, so your marketing needs to be at the core of any growth strategy. You will need consistent strategic marketing across a variety of different platforms to help build awareness of your brand as well as establish trust and bring in new sales.
You shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to be an expert in everything, so don’t be afraid to outsource this if it is not your strength. People like me are here to help you, so feel free to drop me a message at ukbeautyonline@gmail.com if you’d like to know more about my social media and marketing packages.
Make resilience your superpower
As someone who runs her own business, I can tell you that there are often more downsides than positives. You will get knockbacks, rejections, difficult clients, staff issues and burnout which means you have to be incredibly resilient. Many people will paint a picture of their growth being linear, but this is rarely actually the case, and we will all experience dips from time to time.
One of the best things that you can do is ensure that you have a reliable support system behind you. This starts with friends and family who will allow you to vent, cry on their shoulder and celebrate with you. You might also want to consider building relationships with mentors, coaches and fellow beauty bosses to help keep you grounded and give you a new perspective from time to time. An empire is never built alone – you will need to find your tribe.
Success looks different to every single person, so you need to strive towards your own personal goals. Even if you are not aiming for multiple salons or your own skincare line, you can still think like an empire builder to help make your business flourish. This applies whether you are in your first year or your 21st, as the shift will always start with how you see yourself – as a business leader, not just a beauty therapist.
