Have you thought about a career in salon management?
Chances are if you’re reading this blog, you’re already considering a career as a licensed cosmetologist. But have you thought about all of the possibilities your cosmetology license will give you? Have you considered a career in salon management? Salon management is perfect for those who can think about how a salon or spa operates on a larger level, while still being able to relate to the hands-on experience of cosmetology. It also provides experience to those with an entrepreneurial spark and dreams of owning their own business some day.
Although no formal education is normally required for most of these positions, an individual with a cosmetology license will have more experience and knowledge of what drives the salon and spa. This looks great to employers. It shows that you can relate to the tasks with the rest of the staff and that they can trust you to know what you’re doing. That comfort and security is priceless and will help you excel to the job that you want.
Required Skills and Abilities
In addition to knowledge of the industry and business operations, salon and spa managers have a different set of skills that are required for their job. Here are the top five:
Time Management- You only have 40 hours a week (maybe even less) to run an entire spa. This includes booking appointments, dealing with client concerns, managing your employees, payroll, product inventory, and the list goes on and on. It’s important to make sure you can be quick and efficient with your time.
Coordination- This means adjusting your actions in response to other’s actions. Let’s say someone calls out sick only 30 minutes prior to their shift. It’s your responsbility to act quick and come up with a plan to accomodate.
Management of Personnel Resources- Not all cosmetologists are the same. There are different levels in the beauty industry and the field is constantly changing. That being said, it’s up to the salon manager to allocate resources effectively based on their employee’s specialties and knowledge. For example, it’s important to know of the top of your head who can do extensions that way you can book accordingly and not make a schedule mistake. This leads us into…
Instruction- At some point in your career in a leadership position, you will be responsible for helping another cosmetologist or employee grow. Salon managers have to be able to guide fresh-out-of-school newbies and help them become more knowledgeable and skilled cosmetologists. Last, but certainly not least…
Service Orientation- Cosmetology is a service oriented business. The main goal is to help others feel beautiful and well inside and out. You have to have a passion for helping others and making them happy. If not, you might find yourself rather unhappy in this career path.
If those descriptions sound like something you want to do, then a career in salon management might be the fit for you. There are a ton of possibilities out there that you can apply to within the cosmetolgoy field, like salon management or even education. You don’t have to work as a cosmetologist to make use of your cosmetology license.
