Whether you’re a student, running your own business as a booth renter (my bread and butter), or even a seasoned booth renter that may need a revamp — listen up, because this is for you.

8 years ago, I decided I could do things better than what was out there and made the decision to start my own business. Needless to say, I had a time management issue. I couldn’t find enough time in the day to do everything for my clients AND give my business the attention it not only deserved but badly needed. I didn’t have the money to hire everything out on a monthly basis for full time positions, but I knew I needed to put something in place for my business to run itself. At the very least, a few tasks taken off my plate (hello management automation….pure bliss, gah). After all, I’m not a robot! The time it gave back to me….well….one task after another, things were falling into place a lot like the blissful domino effect. So today, I’m talking about all the time killers that have held so many beauty artists back and 5 mistakes you can avoid in order to get your business soaring and off to the right start.

Mistake #1 – Running Your Business Without a Business Strategy

Not going to lie, when I worked in corporate America, I thought a business plan was just a plan for what we’re planning to do that year and what it was going to cost us. Now don’t laugh, as unfortunately after working with a few unfortunate past clients, this is all that was included in many business plans out there that advisors were actually selling! I couldn’t believe it. Now, I will say, RARELY do I have a client that has already paid for a business plan through someone else, but the few that I did have, sadly were given this plan and like anything that holds no meaning to you, it went into their filing cabinet and they didn’t pull it out for the rest of the year. Your business plan should be so much more than that though! Matter of fact, as an artist, you should have that plan automated on your day-to-day calendar!

Let me explain, no fluff, this is what it should include…

• Clear Business Goals (that hold so much value, you can’t stand to live without them)
• Your Ideal Client Identification
• Your Ideal Client Content Ideas for Social Marketing (content created around what problems you solve for your ideal client)
• Quarterly Business Strategy & Tactical Plan
• Financial Plan (with the real numbers and strategy of what it would take for you to hit your goals)
• Automated Time Blocked Calendar for every task you need to accomplish in your business (so you never feel lost or like things are slipping through the cracks ever again)

The importance of having this in place is in the time it would take to hit your goals within the duration of your entire career or within 3 short years. My clients have HUGE goals in the first year they’re with me and when they use my 1, 3, 5 method, they find it much easier to stay on track and not waste away the precious time we have on this planet. To live the life they imagined for themselves within such a short amount of time when it seemed like such a far-fetched dream. If you take anything away from this blog post, this is the one. Edit, for those of you asking to DIY yours, here is my Business Amplifier Blueprint Workbook.

Mistake #2 – Naming Your Business From Your Personal Interests

You’re a huge part in your business, I know that, you know that. But your ideal client will need a little more coaxing. For starters, consider your future client and build your mood board. Your business name is not for you, it’s for your ideal clientele. So many of us forget to align our business name with our ideal client. I have a blog post that will help you make your mark in this over-saturated market of talented artists. Just take away from this that you need to have your ideal clientele nailed down to a T (and no, not “everyone” is your ideal client). Here are a few items to help get you started:

• Where do you see yourself in 3 years? What clothes are you wearing? What do you smell? Where are you? What does your day to day look like? Be extremely detailed in this exercise.
• Now think of what you would need to get to that. Is there a specific large ticket service that you want to specialize in that would bring the income in faster to get there? What service would that be?
• Now think of who would want that service
• Where do they go to shop? What is the ideal age and gender of that person?
• What is the income class?
• What do they desire most in life?
• For more, head on over to that post (linked above) for the full exercise

Mistake #3 – Not Branding Your Business to Your Ideal Client

This one ties a lot into the above mistake. Again, your brand is not for you but for your ideal clients. Don’t get me wrong, definitely toss in a little of you but keep it focused on your ideal clientele description. I go into full blown geek mode on client ideology when I’m designing a branding suite, truly immersing myself into that person’s mind and building a brand around that. Know this though, a brand is so much more than a logo. With the right brand suite put in place, you can start attracting your ideal client and multiplying your ROI 4x over in just 3 short months. I promise. There are so many ways to use your brand suite for marketing content too.

Mistake #4 – Having an Outdated Website or Just a Landing Page

When you’re first starting out, having a landing page that’s integrated with your booking software will get you by. However, landing pages aren’t meant to be your forever solution. One of the many reasons they were created were to be a quick fix solution to get you by until you had the income to invest into your business to take it to that next step….a gorgeous website hub that works as a booking machine. Think about it…when you go to a site and you see a website instead of a landing page, you can see that the owner is serious about her/his goals in their business and they want to look as professional as possible by wowing their guests and attracting their ideal clientele. Out of the many many reasons to have a website that attracts your ideal client, here are my personal top 3:

1. Your website can speak to your Ideal Client directly. So often, we as business owners, think our website is a place to talk about ourselves, which although partly true, your website is actually a place to talk to your Ideal Client. How will your products or services benefit them? What problems do they face on a daily basis that you can solve? What result are you selling? As you can see, there is a lot that can be shared on your website beyond who you are and what you do.
2. Your website should be showcasing your best work and the work you want to book more of – to help you attract new ideal clientele. Sometimes we see that our books are steady and filled, which is great in theory but what if they’re filled with appointments that you don’t really enjoy doing? Or worse, you don’t enjoy doing them and they don’t make you that much income. This is where good photography can play a hand. Good copywriting can also help here, but if studies have shown that you only have 3-5 short seconds to capture a lead’s attention before they leave your website or your content. Sad really, because you have so much value to give! But a photo speaks a thousand words, and if you showcase a photo of a service or product that showcases what you want to book more of, that is who you will attract to book with you.
3. Your website should be able to showcase your personality in a soft but meaningful way to build a lasting connection. When I say soft, I mean in a not so “look at me” way and more so a voice that resonates with your Ideal Clientele in talking about how your passion and artistry skillset solves their desire in a way that no other person in the area could do for them. You want to position yourself to stand out but in a way that the reader doesn’t notice, but thinks “omg, it’s like she’s speaking right to me” which leads them to urgently booking with you. By showcasing your personality in fun, unique ways, you can build a meaningful and lasting connection with your Ideal Clientele!

Mistake #5 – Not Investing In a Branding Shoot

Gosh, this one is honestly huge in taking your business to that next level. Branding shoots don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. I’ve never worked with a client that has spent more than $500 on a shoot. Most of my clients can get 30 content photos and a hype video for less than $350. That’s only 1 semi-expensive service that you’d need to book in order to get 40x the amount of Ideal Clientele in your door. Umm, can we say #worthit?!?! Your branding shoot content should be much more than just headshots. I could honestly write an entire blog post about the importance of having one done on a yearly basis. In all reality though, not one of my clients leaves my VIP method without one and they have all said, if they could get the same results every time, they’d 100% invest in this on a yearly basis. Matter of fact, some of my clients invest in professionally shot content on a monthly subscription with a local photographer or videographer in their area! See, it’s worth it and can be used to benefit your business in SOOO many ways.

Bonus Mistake #6 – Not Investing In a Mentor

Even the industries largest coaches have mentors and you know what helped them get to where they are now? Mentors. No one got to where they are now on their own. I can promise you that. Whether it was an introduction or a small piece of advice, it helped them get to where they are now. If you have big goals no matter what stage of booth rent you’re in, mentorship should be in your top 5 goals to achieve this year. HattoriHanzo Shears did an amazing blog post on this not too long ago and it honestly could speak to anyone in the beauty industry. The benefits are endless in having one, but here are the 7 ways they listed to give you a little sneak peak…

1. Trade Knowledge
2. A Mentor Will Help You Learn New Skill
3. Accountability
4. Beauty Business Advice
5. Connections
6. Motivation
7. A Great Sounding Board

When you have all of these combined with one another, the results that you get not only in your pocketbook, but in your confidence, business, and life goals will benefit you for years to come.

Bonus Mistake #7 – Not Dressing To Attract Your Ideal Client

I couldn’t help it, had to throw this one in there even though it’s driving my type A personality insane right now to not have this post end on a clean “5 Mistakes”, but it’s just way too important to not have in this post. I know this is a sore subject because we like to show up to work in what feels comfortable to us. But showing up in sweats, hair not done, no makeup….@MaggiePhan just did a reel on this a couple days ago and I couldn’t agree with it more. In her reel, she said “What’s your dream job? Say your dream is to be a stylist on a runway show and a lead stylist for a runway show came into the salon today. Would you be happy with the way you look? Most of the time the answer is no.”

I honestly see this in so many salons within every industry and if you don’t look like what you’re selling, you normally come off acting the same way as you look…kind of lazy and down in the dumps. Sorry, I said it. Dress to impress every day you walk into the salon because not only does it build up your confidence, it shows in your work as well. You should be every day in a way that makes you feel powerful. You never know who’s going to walk into the door or what opportunities are going to come that day, so always dress to impress.

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