Here’s the cold, hard truth: Being in beauty is tough... but at least it's not boring! You didn’t decide to get into this business because you thought it’d be easy. You did it because you know you have the power to create a bigger, better, and more beautiful life for yourself. For every roadblock you face, there’s a payoff that gets you one step closer to being the absolute best version of yourself. The journey is just as important as the destination, so sit back, buckle up, and get ready to crush these beauty business challenges like the boss you are. 

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Assembling a Support System

If you’re lucky, you already have a strong network of friends, family, and peers rooting for you, but even the most well-meaning people in your life can come up with something negative to say about the career path you’ve chosen. Not everyone will make the cut onto your personal cheerleading team and that’s ok. Whether you’re working toward creating a legacy that’ll build generational wealth or you’re striving to prove yourself to those who doubted (or even lovingly questioned) you, make sure you have a go-to list of trusted confidants you can count on to cheer you on. And if you ever feel alone, just know you always have the power of community behind you in the beauty biz. 

Getting Through Beauty School

It doesn’t matter if you’re straight out of high school or you’re starting up your second act, the concept of getting back to the books can be daunting. The good news? Everyone in your class likely feels the same way. Channel that first-day-of-school excitement you might have had as a child and get ready to tackle this chapter with curious enthusiasm and unbridled confidence. Buy yourself a shiny new notebook and get ready to slay your way to straight A’s.  

Taking Your Time While Training

Congrats! You’ve made it through school and into the “what now?” phase of the beauty professional’s journey. You might be champing at the bit to get behind the chair, but a bit of on-the-job training will go a long way in your entrepreneurial endeavor. Be patient, humble yourself, enjoy the learning process, and take full advantage of the opportunity to learn from others who’ve been doing this longer.

Navigating Commission Life

When you start working in a salon, you’ll find there are a few different ways to earn your paycheck: hourly, commission, or team-based are the most common. At the beginning of your career, working for a commission makes sense, even if only getting a fraction of the service fee doesn’t seem like it at the time. But consider this: you get the advantage of having someone else handle all the admin, the finances, and all the boring stuff, so you can focus on perfecting your craft, and building your book (more on that next). Even if you already have empire building on the brain, take the time to understand this process and take notes on what you do and don’t like so you can be a better boss when the time comes to shell out commission to those working for you. 

Building Your Book

Every day that you spend providing services, you’re not just working, you’re building a following. If you find yourself envious of your booth mate’s consistent rotation of regulars, remember that the early part of your beauty-preneur journey is all about trial and error and that includes refining your clientele. At this point, you should be focused largely on client acquisition. As you hone in on the services you want to offer the most, you’ll find the right clients will naturally gravitate toward you and you’ll have your own roster of MVPs in no time. 

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Going Independent

This might feel like the most intimidating challenge of all, but once you make the leap it’s bound to become the most exciting part of your career. Maybe you’ve known this is what you wanted all along or maybe you simply got tired of working for everyone else. No matter what fueled your decision to go independent just know that going solo doesn’t mean you’re alone. 

Finding a Space

Opening your first salon will likely be one of the most memorable and emotional moments of your career. Be prepared to spend days, weeks, or months agonizing over the perfect space. Your next challenge might be figuring out how to finance all the overhead that comes with being a shop owner (psst – there are plenty of options out there even if you don’t think you can afford it). But as hard as it gets, nothing beats the high of having a business that’s 100 percent yours. This is just the beginning of building your beauty empire. 

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Building Your Brand

Who are you? Why are you doing this? What makes you special? Sometimes building a brand feels more like an existential crisis than a business strategy. Luckily, by following a few systematic steps you can create the clarity you need to confidently step into your salon superpowers and embrace your new identity as an independent company. It’s as easy as one, two, three. 

Managing Your Business

When you follow your dreams and decide to take your future into your hands, it's easy to romanticize the moments where you’re creating, healing, and beautifying for your clients. But then there’s the business – the admin, the inventory, the accounting – that just isn’t as fun. You may never find joy in handling those tasks on your to-do list, but you can definitely find balance when you take advantage of the right tools and technology. 

Getting The Right Tech 

When you’re the boss, the employee, the receptionist, and the bookkeeper, it’s near impossible to do it all – especially if you plan to have any life outside of the salon. Until we figure out the science behind cloning ourselves, the next best thing is finding the salon software that feels like an extension of yourself. The best salon software can handle point-of-sale transactions, manage employee scheduling, make appointment bookings, and assist with marketing. As an all-in-one solution for small businesses in the beauty industry that includes all of the above features and more, we like to say GlossGenius works day and night so you don’t have to. 

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The right software can quickly become your best friend and the wrong one will be the bane of your business. Salon owners will quickly realize that using platforms that are not intuitive enough, are too expensive, or just don’t look good enough to align with their brand can impact your business and your bottom line. GlossGenius is the solution designed specifically for beauty and wellness professionals, so you can be your own boss, grow your business, maximize your income, and stay in control without losing your sanity. Running a salon is made easier with appointment scheduling, free same-business-day deposits, client management, and built-in marketing tools all at one low price and for as many staff members as you can hire. 

Finding the right tech is the final piece you need to find your rhythm, and once you get into your groove, you’ll be unstoppable.