I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but here are the facts. The beauty schools in the US are at an all time low with enrollments, schools are closing, grants are cut and as a result fewer than 22,000 students graduated from beauty schools in the US last year. That's an average of 440 per state! So, the question is, what do you plan on doing about it?

As a Business Coach with Maly's I have worked with hundreds of salon owners and independent contractors over the past 3 years. One of the single greatest issues that face salon owners today is the low number of stylists looking for work. This issue cuts across all lines, regardless of whether you are a booth rental, commissioned or an hourly pay salon. In effort to counter this issue, it is imperative that we face it head on. I have recently conducted a random survey with 120 salon owners to find out their personal experiences. The results were not terribly surprising - many salons need to implement solutions, or face the consequences? how do you rate?

Is your salon rental/commissioned/hourly?

90 rentals, 28 commissioned, 2 hourly.

Are your stations full?

19 full, 101 have one or more empty stations.

How do you find new people?

2 newspapers, 32 beauty schools, 82 referrals, 2 other ways.

Do you have in writing: assistant training program, policy & procedures, handbook and operations manual?

101 no to all, 19 yes.

Does your staff work together as a team?

31 yes, 82 no, 4 other.

Is your salon what you originally envisioned?

24 yes, 96 no.

What would you change about your salon?

The answers varied, however, 50% would like to keep more money. Should the owner not be able to be behind the chair, the business would be forced to close.

Realizing the truth hurts, ouch! The survey reveals that most salon owners are booth rental, have empty chairs, have no training for new team members, do not have a team atmosphere, do not have the successful salon that they originally envisioned, and many of these owners are not getting paid. As you can see these problems are not simple and cannot be simply fixed by hanging a HELP WANTED sign in the window.

So, what do you have to offer a stylist? Training? Clients? Marketing skills? Is all that you are offering a chair and a place to cut hair? You may say in response, "I'm a booth rental salon and that is all I'm responsible for offering." Yes, that is fundamentally true, but in reality maybe that is why you have empty chairs. Think about it.

As the owner of two salons I have hired, fired and managed countless stylists, and eventually sold my business for a profit.

"Probably the biggest cause of failure is people are good at what they do but haven't learned to run a business," said Bill Deliman, director of services for Maly's. His advice, echoed by other business specialist, is this: Educate yourself on the essentials of starting and running a business, do market research and write a business plan. If you conclude that don't have the skill to pull it off, team up with someone who does.

To date, Maly's Business Coaching has graduated 58 salon owners and stylists. Due to these partnerships, salon owners and independent stylists across the country have been given the information necessary to fill their chairs, train their people,

write operations manuals, market their stylists, and most of all make money for themselves.

A recent graduate Kim Livermore of Red Carpet Salon has seen a 19.73% increase in total business. She joined Maly's Business Coaching because she needed help motivating and training her staff. John Maly incorporated this comprehensive business-coaching program because he understands that you need information that will make long-term changes for your business.

If you are concerned about your future, or just have questions about our program, don't be bashful. Call to learn how we can help you take your business to the next level.