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Thrive Post-COVID Lockdown. Boost Your Business Beyond Limits.
Stories and advice to help your hair & beauty business
COVID has devastated thousands of people’s lives and businesses and has brought many industries to their knees.
The hair and beauty industry was no exception to this.
In April 2020 hair salons and barbers were one of the first to shut their doors to their clients before the initial lockdown, making a good haircut for lockdown a rare commodity.
Amidst the challenges faced by the professional hairdressing industry, the government extended a lifeline through financial support in the form of grants, reaching up to £9,000. However, for a multitude of professionals, this assistance proved insufficient to weather the storm and ensure their survival.
Did you know about this study?
According to a study by Simply Business, a third of the 411 hair and beauty business owners they surveyed said that they were at risk of permanently closing during the pandemic (33%).
‘Before the pandemic, I had four staff working in my shop and then it was just me’, said Andrei.
‘We were all asking in the industry ‘How are we going to get through this and survive, do I need to sell the shop? Luckily, I didn’t have to go down that path, I’m still here but I know many colleagues who had to sell their business so it came down to how well-established you were to survive.
‘For my business, I felt the support from the government was good, luckily it was enough to survive and pay the bills, but it was harder for some barbers because if they don’t own their business and only rely on their clientele for a reliable income’.
As a result of the lockdown, millions of people have been cutting and styling their own hair.
Andrei has observed a noticeable shift in this pattern following the reopening, although he doesn’t perceive it as a significant concern. According to him, “People have taken to trimming their own hair, resulting in fewer customers visiting the salon. As a long-term strategy, we need to exercise patience and focus on attracting new clients since we no longer see as many familiar faces as we did before.”
Post the relaxation of lockdown measures, the hair and beauty industry faced the arduous task of rectifying the aftermath of people’s self-administered “lockdown haircuts.” Nonetheless, Andrei firmly believes that there are no genuinely disastrous haircuts as long as there is hair to work with, offering his assistance to salvage any situation.
‘I also think that a good haircut is so important to people’s mental health and confidence, it could be the difference between turning your camera on or off for a zoom call.
‘ I always encourage people to be proactive in their business, barbers selling the equipment to people to cut their own hair could be a natural thing and a good part of retail for shops, however, you need good knowledge about the equipment -but our priority will always be cutting hair for you.
“There are no bad haircuts, just happy accidents”
Andrei’s top tip:
‘My advice to others in the industry would be to get more efficient with your costs like online marketing, engage with free social media instead of flyers and advertising which costs huge amounts of money and try to keep your regulars with newsletters -cut costs, be efficient, be cautious, be humble and spend as little as you can!’.
Of course, the health and beauty industry isn’t just about skin fading and tidying up beards.
Source: Ivan Prothero