After everything you’ve dealt with over the course of 2020, you’re probably feeling more ready than ever to take those big, beautiful steps back into your salon, spa, suite, or shop and get back to normal as fast as you can.

And you know what? We’re right there with you. We couldn’t be more excited (and relieved) that the restrictions on our salons and shops are finally easing up, but it’s important to remember something vital—the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t in the rearview mirror. We’re opening our salons, we’re returning to our beloved clients, and we’re trying to find some semblance of a new normal—but we can’t just pretend that we’re not still dealing with a pandemic.

Don’t let that scare you. There are clear, actionable steps you can take to get back into your salon quickly, safely, and successfully.

What are those steps, you ask? We’re so glad you brought that up. We’ve created an entire article (right here!) to give you the top five things you need to get your salon, suite, or shop back in action (safely!).

Expanding Cleaning Procedures

It’s not enough to just settle for a clean space anymore—everything needs to be sterilized, sanitized, and more thoroughly cleaned than ever to ensure the health and safety or your clients, your staff, and yourself.

That means now’s the time to dramatically expand your cleaning procedures, create new policies, and even redefine what the word “clean” means to you.

Let’s start with a solid foundation and build up to help you get a better understanding of what we mean—in other words, let’s start with a vocab lesson.

Cleaning means that you’re removing dirt, grime, and germs from objects and surfaces. Disinfecting is the process of killing germs. And finally, sanitizing is the process of lowering the number of germs on surfaces and objects.

Now that you have a stronger grasp on what those mean, we can make our biggest point—you’ve got to go above and beyond just cleaning to keep your space safe and healthy. We’ve included three must-know steps below to ensure that you’re cleaning your space properly

Step 1: Prepare

Clean, clean, clean—clean your little heart out. Clean your space like you’ve never cleaned before. Get your staff on board and if necessary, hire a cleaning crew to help, too. Go cleaning crazy!

Step 2: Disinfect

Use EPA-registered disinfectants to sanitize every nook, cranny, and inch of your space—and focus especially hard on high-traffic areas. You might not do it perfectly, but the more energy and focus you put into this step, the more ground you’ll be able to cover and the better you’ll be able to ensure your space is safe

Step 3: Maintain

Don’t clean and sanitize your space once and then stop—this is a never-ending cycle of must-perform tasks. And while that sounds overwhelming, it can actually be incredibly manageable with a little elbow grease, a dedicated team, and a very clear plan or policy for your cleaning schedule.

Morale Boost

Even though there are actionable, tangible things you need to do to ensure that your salon suite is going to continue running smoothly, there are equally as important intangible things you need to do, too—boosting staff morale and creating a positive environment is one of them.

Try to be a constant source of support, resource, and help to your clients. Talk with them, explain policies, grieve with them, be normal with them, vent with them.

A positive environment is going to be the biggest boon to your salon suite’s atmosphere, and it’s what’s going to make the biggest difference in your clients’ level of comfort, too. Make them feel at home, make your staff feel like you have their back, and make your salon a haven away from the stressors of the world.

Liability Insurance

If ever there was a time for liability insurance, it’s now. None of us could have predicted a pandemic, and similarly, there are so many other situations we’ll never be able to predict. But we can prepare for the unlikely, the improbable, and the unfortunate with professional liability insurance. When you purchase liability insurance, you make sure that, no matter what happens, you’re covered, you’re cared for, and you’re never putting your career on the line.

Clear-Cut Policies and Regulations

Unfortunately, as much as we’d all like, we can’t just return to our version of normal. Instead, we need to implement clear-cut policies and regulations to help us navigate a new version of normal safely and effectively.

Not sure where to start? Read a few of our suggestions below, implement them, or use them as inspiration. The important thing is to remember that by implementing policies like these, you’re putting your clients and our staff first.

• Implement a PPE & Mask Policy—make your staff and your customers abide by this policy. Try to provide extra PPE for customers who might not have their own.
• Get Rid of Waiting Areas—even though you want your space to be welcoming, now’s the time to encourage people to stay out when they’re not receiving a service.
• Set an Occupancy Limit—even if your state or local government isn’t making you do this, it might be best to limit the number of people in your space at one time
• Require Appointments—nix walk-ins if you can. This can help you control the number of people in your space at one time.
• Be Firm on Social Distancing—and more importantly, make sure you’re providing the space for people to practice this effectively. Having a firm policy on occupancy limit is going to help make this happen, but also consider moving chairs at least six feet apart, marking appropriate distances, and encouraging your clients to abide by this rule.
• Make Sure Your Cleaning Policy is Set in Stone—don’t let this slack and don’t let your employees put it off. This policy needs to be firm, non-negotiable, and put into practice every day.

A Firm Grasp on Your Finances

We’ve all gone through a lot in the past few months. And because we’ve had to close our doors, there are probably many of us who are dealing with stressful finances. Even if it’s not something you’re thrilled to do, you need to take a good, hard look at your infancies and consider what your options are.

Should you raise your prices to help you cover the losses from the last few weeks? Should you implement a small COVID-19 fee for your services? Should you cut services that don’t bring you the profits you need right now?

Only you can decide these things, but taking a good, hard look at your finances and making a plan to help you be profitable (even during these crazy times) can help you ensure your doors stay open!

No amount of advice could ever fully prepare you for returning to the salon after something like this, but we hope that with some of these tips as inspiration, you’ll feel more prepared to tackle this new challenge head-on. Remember, we’re all in this together and we’ll all learn how to navigate this new normal in our own time.

Source: Elite Beauty Society