4 Reasons why you should stick to a regular schedule in your Suite

Today we want to talk about scheduling and what that can look like in a Suite Rental as an independent beauty professional.

Many of us join the industry for the flexibility that being an independent professional can offer.

When you transition to independent from an employee-based position, there are so many things you are trying to figure out and deciding how you want to navigate.

One area that is often overlooked when becoming a Suite renter is scheduling.

Scheduling can be a challenge for any beauty professional, regardless of how long they have been independent. We all evolve through different stages of our careers. Today, this message is for the beauty professionals who are newly trying to build a clientele or are new to suite rental and nervous about the retention of their clients.

Let’s first cover the beginning of growing a clientele.

There are several factors to take into account when trying to build a clientele.

You will want to think about

1. What do I want my lifestyle to look like? What would my dream schedule be?

2. What is the target market/ ideal clientel that I would like to serve?

You may be thinking, “What does my ideal client have to do with my schedule?”

The answer is, more than you might think.

First, define your lifestyle ideas and goals. This part should be fairly easy. Part of the desire to be independent is the flexibility it provides, so the chances are that you have already been thinking about this.  Maybe you have children in school that you want to be able to pick up from the bus stop or school; maybe they have sports practices and games in the evenings. Maybe you have pets that can't be left at home too long in the day. Maybe you just want to enjoy your life outside of work and have more time to attend social events in the evenings. There are a million factors that people take in to concideration when they choose their schedule based on lifestyle. And there is no wrong or right way. This is about building the lifestyle you desire.

Now that you have the personal part figured out. We need to consider your ideal clientele. This might be the most important part when deciding on a new schedule.

When thinking about your ideal client, here is an example of a few things you should consider.

Do they work? Do they work from home or outside the home? If they don’t work, how do they spend their days? Are they a stay-at-home mom or dad? If yes, their days may be busy dropping kids off and picking them up, homeschooling them, taking them to practice or games. If they work from home, can they work while they get their beauty service done? If they work out side of the home, what schedule do they work? Do they work 8am  to 5pm? Do they work evenings or weekends?

These factors play a major role in the schedule you choose. Let’s use Sally as an example.

Sally is a territory manager for a local bank. She spends the majority of her day running different locations in the area and is in the car a lot. On the weekends, she immerses herself in family time and activities.

Someone like Sally is not going to take off work to get her hair done, and she is not willing to sacrifice family time on the weekends to get her hair done. The only time she would be available is in the evening after her workday ends.

This is exactly why it is so important to understand what type of client you want to attract.

If you don’t want to work evenings or weekends, then you don’t want to build a clientele that can only come on the weekends or evenings.

If you are new to the industry and are trying to grow a clientele as quickly as possible. The easiest days to fill your books will be Sundays and Mondays, because most beauty professionals do not work on Sundays or Mondays. Fridays because people want to look good for the weekend or they take off work early on Fridays. Saturdays because people are off of work generally.

Once you have these days solid full for 3 to 4 months, then you can begin backing down your hours for those days in efforts to disperse some of those clients to come in other days of the week.  

Next, we should talk about setting a schedule and sticking to that. Also, why this is important.

Some newly independent beauty professionals just work whenever a client wants them to come in.

Here are a few reasons this is a terrible idea.

1. This trains your clients to believe that you are willing to drop everything to accommodate them or “squeeze” them in.  This leads to resentment of your clients over time because trust me, they will take full advantage of this! You have probably seen many posts in facebook groups of professionals saying “I don’t understand why my clients constantly ask me to squeeze them in”. This is a Huge problem for the beauty industry as a whole. Don’t give your clients that kind of power.

2. This doesn’t allow for structure and routine in your personal life or business life. How can you get anything done or enjoy time if you are at your clients beckon call.

3. It hinders your ability to grow a clientel because you are scattered, rather than having concentrated effort. Believe it or not, clients actually perfer to know that you have a regular set schedule. This sends the message that you are not flighty or spacey, you are dependable.

4. It doesn’t allow you to track your growth as easily. Think about it this way. If you only two days available in your schedule and they are fully booked. You will be able to tell if your clientele is growing week over week because you will know your days or full or not. Also, it is easier to add an additional day when needed. Another benefit is that having this restriction helps your clients believe that you are busy and in high demand, meaning they are much more likely to secure their next appointment before leaving.

There are many benefits to having a structured schedule. If you are struggling with feeling overwhelm or resentment towards your lifestyle, career, or clients. I am confident that making adjustments to your schedule will help you feel more fulfilled and energized about work again.

If you found this information helpful we would love to hear from you. We love connecting with our beauty professional community and we would love to know what other areas you struggle with as a beauty professional, or areas of your business that you could use support. Please reach out to us, we would love to connect!