What most don't understand is that managing a business is the same no matter what the industry. I feel barbershop owners; hair salon owners and braiding shop owners should put the same effort into running their shop like a regular business. Now that is not to say that most don't but I do receive many emails a week with the same script. It goes something like this "I've got different problems than most other types of businesses, because our industry is different." Well let me be the first to tell you that it really isn't. It's not any different than McDonalds, Sally's, GEICO, your neighborhood bank or any other business you want to mention. You see BUSINESS IS BUSINESS. What makes it run smooth is the way you run it, so
I'm going to share with you some strategies that will help streamline some of those problems you email me about week after week:

1) Find experts: If you struggle in fields that you don't have much expertise in, don't waste another minute doing it. For example, you cut hair, you braid, you can do a fade better than anybody in your town but what you can't do is accounting. So why are you trying to do your own taxes, hire an accountant. Spend your time doing the skill that you have the expertise in, and leave all other things outside of your expertise to people who do those things for a living. You need to focus on running your business not working in your business. So find an accountant, find someone to help you with marketing, find an attorney, don't waste any more time and just find an expert at whatever you struggle with.

2) Pay attention to your competition, if there is a new shop or salon that just opened, go visit. Send a friend to look at what they are doing differently. You have to stay ahead of the curve, so pay attention to their pricing, their customer service, and their marketing. Always notice if their customers are happy, loyal, and most importantly pay attention to why they are successful. It makes no sense being resentful of their success, copy it or beat it. Those are your only two options.

3) There's a lot of talk about USP's (Unique Selling Proposition). It's just a bunch of big words that basically mean, what makes you different than any other shop or salon in your town, city, or block. You must differentiate yourself, either with service, price, experience, longevity, styles, whatever it is make sure you advertise it. Let it be known, Jamar's Barber Shop... the only shop offering internet access! Jamar's Barber Shop... The home of $7 Monday Morning Cuts. Whatever you decide to use be creative, and scream it to all who come within screaming distance.

4) Handling employees, booth renters is never easy, but it's no different than handling any employee. This is the reason that you must have standards and procedures in writing and signed by employees at time of hire, with consistent reminders at annual reviews of those procedures. Yes I did say annual review... because you want to make sure that the relationship is good on an annual basis, and that both of you as the owner and they as employee are satisfied with the direction the working relationship is going. Without annual reviews a lot of ill feelings can grow if concerns are not being openly discussed. Take my advice have annual reviews.

5) I'm also a believer in weekly meetings preferably Monday mornings before the shop or salon is scheduled to open. It will give everyone a forum to openly discuss any issues going on within your business, so they can be handled. It is a perfect opportunity to share any new promotions, marketing, products that you plan on rolling out. More than anything else it brings everyone together and builds a team environment, and shows good leadership.

6) Training is so important, that it could be an article onto itself, but I'm not so much speaking of training of the different skills that may be of need in a salon or barbershop. The kind of training I'm thinking of is customer service. If you spend a few minutes during your meetings going over the basics of how to welcome customers, how to answer the phones, how to behave when there are customers in your business. It will help to build your reputation of a well run operation, not just a bunch of stylists or barbers with no sense of etiquette. If you don't feel comfortable putting on this kind of training there are all sorts of resources on the internet. Just do a search on Google, print it out and go over it in your weekly meetings. You control how your business will be perceived when a customer walks through your door, don't let it ruin your business.

7) Employee appreciation will round out our list today because it can mean the difference between employees that are satisfied in their surroundings or ones that whisper under their breath as you walk by their chair. In your weekly meetings I think you should give an award of some kind recognizing someone for a positive behavior or action they had in the preceding week. There is a saying that goes like this ""People will work for a living, but they'll die for recognition." So remember that next time you have one of these weekly meeting I keep going on about!