Chapter 1: Salon Management

Management of any business is much more than just determining the overall job to be done and then delegating duties to employees. While delegating duties is a major task, the actual task is much more involved.

Before knowing what has to be done, the manager first must determine the short- and long-term goals of the salon in order to formulate a clear idea of what is to be achieved. With the specific goals in mind, the manager can define the actions that will best achieve those goals. Next, the manager must clearly and effectively communicate to the employees what is expected of them and how their actions contribute to business' overall goals.

Effective delegation can be the hardest part of personnel management, especially if one is accustomed to doing the entire job oneself. It is not uncommon for a new manager to have difficulty adjusting to the new role and allowing employees to do the work they were hired to do. Such people must work to resist the temptation to continue to do the bulk of the job themselves simply because that way they know it will be done the way they like it. Teach your employees to do the job the way you like it and then let them do it.

The best way to train employees to handle specific jobs in a certain way is to explain what is to be done, how it is done and why, and then step back to allow the employee the room to accomplish the task. At the same time, a manager must stay involved enough in the process for the first few weeks to lend assistance and constructive advice when it is needed. To some, this process is instinctive and comes as naturally as walking or breathing; these rare people are born managers and a real asset to any business. Most people must work at it consciously, and develop the skill only after much trial and error.

To add to the difficulty, personnel management is only one part of the typical tanning salon manager's job. In a small business such as a salon, the position carries many responsibilities. On any given day, the manager may be called on to train a new employee, placate an angry customer, order a new supply of retail products, take the day's receipts to the bank, update payroll and many more of the dozens of recurring tasks involved in running a salon. In short, if there's something to be done, odds are the manager will have to do it at some point in time.

However, management should not be taken lightly, and it is not something that comes easily to everyone. Many professionals who are outstanding at their jobs have a difficult time branching into a management position, even when it's in the same field. As one such professional put it, "I like doing my job, I just don't like making other people do theirs." However, unless you're very fortunate during the hiring process, you'll probably have to spend some time doing just that. Look on it as an investment in the future. Once your employees are trained, and you're accustomed to the role of manager, things will run more smoothly.

Since there is a finite limit to the amount of work any one person can do effectively, salon operators must be effective managers in order to achieve maximum success in their businesses. The ideas in this section are intended to act as a guide in many aspects of salon management.