The ONLY reason to bother with salon retail

Is salon retail worth the effort?

We're told again and again that carrying and selling a range of salon retail is vital for our success.  And I'm calling 'bullshit'.

In fact, I'm giving you permission not to retail at all.  If you've tried all the training, had all the product knowledge and you're finding that salon retail is taking a disproportionate amount of time and energy and still not bringing you tangible business results - then don't.  There comes a point where your salon business training budget is simply better spent elsewhere.

I've coached a number of salons where I've recommended keeping professional products to carry out services - but not selling them.  Instead, making it a key benefit to the client that the salon doesn't stock retail products.  That way the therapist, aesthetician or stylist is recommending what is perfect for the client - not what just happens to be on the shelf.  And the recommendation is made genuinely without agenda.   

Why do we bother with salon retail at all?

I have a love-hate relationship with our salon manufacturers.  ON the one hand, I genuinely believe professional products generally deliver better results.  But I get a little nauseated.  My suspicion is the professional arm of these companies is paying for the research and development.  Then the technology and advancements we've funded end up in cheaper supermarket products over time.

We're told we're not carrying out a full service without retailing too.  That we simply must ensure our clients have the correct aftercare products in their bathrooms.  Maybe that's true.  But my argument is that we don';t have to stock retail products to do so.  We could provide that recommendation with an Amazon link and save ourselves a ton of cash tied up in stock.

But there is one huge, powerful reason that I do love retail.  And unsurprisingly it's because I believe it can bring a salon business benefit.

The ONLY reason salon retail matters

I hate limits.  Being told I can only reach a certain standard, or level of freedom, or threshold of profit is a quick way to motivate me.  Motivate me to prove you wrong, that is.

The biggest problem with the salon business is that it relies largely on swapping time for money.  We carry out service, then get paid.  The problem is, your earning potential is limited by column space.  Once you've set your prices, the only way to make more money is to see more clients and we can only reduce service timings so far.

The same happens with salon coaching.  When you are coaching 1:1, there are only so many clients you can help in a day or week - which puts a ceiling on your earnings.  That's why coaches love taking salon business training online.  It means you can help 100 salon owners with the same amount of time and effort as helping 1000.  The model is, largely, without limit.

How can we take the limits off our earning potential in salons?  We have to disconnect time from money.  We can make some strides in that direction with salon memberships.  Though there are limits on how many members you can retain we have at least started to erode the relationship between time and money.

But in most salons the only tool we have that truly disconnects time from money is retail.  We can sell to 10 clients, 100 clients or 1000 clients without taking up any column space.  And if you're really going for it and taking your shop online and having someone else take care of fulfilment you really do have unlimited earning potential.