New Year, New Beginning: How To Covid Proof Your Beauty Business In 2022

There’s no doubt that the last 12 months have been difficult for many beauty businesses across Australia. Big or small, new or established, the challenges have been monumental. 

With many of the uncertainties that the pandemic has brought about now seemingly behind us - and the prospect of a new and brighter year ahead - now is the perfect time to strategise and plan for a successful 2022.

However, according to HABA (Hair & Beauty Australia Industry Association), although we are starting to see some normality return to the beauty industry, the next 12 months will still present some issues for beauty salon owners. Moving forward, learning to live and work with an evolving pandemic and the fallout that the last two years has brought about for the beauty industry (such as labour shortages, supply issues and, of course, social distancing mandates) will require careful consideration for your beauty business to prosper.

Read the full HABA blog: The Top 4 Issues Facing Salon Owners In 2022 - And What You Can Do About it!

Covid-Proof Your 2022 Business Plan: 

Making your business ‘covid-safe’ goes beyond the physicality of reducing the health risk to you, your team and your clients. Although most states are reassuring us that future lockdowns are unlikely, ensuring you ‘covid-safe’ your business financially will help you endure any potential closures or restrictions should they arise:

• Take a look at your current business costs and cull unnecessary or redundant expenditures. Do you really need that ‘subscription’ right now? Can you eliminate that service for the time being? Can you negotiate a better phone plan, look for a cheaper internet service provider or negotiate with your bank for better merchant fees.

Saving even just a little, on several services, over the next 12 months will help your cash flow should closures or restrictions disrupt your business in 2022.

• Make sure to take advantage of any government rebates, financial support or business grants you may be entitled to. Be proactive in this area! Each state is a little different, but there is plenty on offer. Visit business.gov.au and refer to the COVID-19 Financial Support For Small Business to find the financial assistance available in your state.

• Have a rock-solid ‘covid-safe’ plan for your clinic and ensure you and your employees  maintain the high levels of hygiene, cleaning and vigilance needed to keep your local community safe. 

From the 17th December 2021, many Australian businesses will be restricted to servicing only fully vaccinated customers and visitors. At the time of writing this blog, no such restrictions have yet been put in place for the hair and beauty industry; however, in Queensland, the current mandate (Restrictions On Business, Activities and Undertaking Direction No.29) published on 8/10/21 does list beauty services as a restricted business that must follow occupant density restrictions and operate in accordance with the Covid Safe Checklist. Be sure to check government mandates for your state.

Be prepared for possible changes to vaccination requirements. Refer to the Fair Work Australia website to keep up with the latest developments. In the meantime, have an open, friendly and unbiased conversation with your staff to discuss how to move forward should vaccination become a requirement for employment. 

Finding And Managing Qualified Staff:

One of the biggest challenges facing salon owners right now - as we step towards some kind of ‘normal’ - is finding staff to fill those covid induced vacancies plaguing many businesses across Australia.

A collision between current training inadequacies and the effects of covid stand-downs, border closures and Job Seeker entitlements has created a vacuum of skilled workers and left the beauty industry with an unprecedented labour shortage like never experienced before.

While industry representatives such as HABA and APAN work tirelessly reviewing and recommending changes to our industry training programs, to develop salon-ready candidates for the beauty industry, these changes can take some time. 

However, in some recent good news for Queensland, and thanks to well-known industry expert and educator Gay Wardle and her team, the DESBT (Department of Employment, Small Business and Training) has given the green light to a funded apprenticeship for the Diploma Of Beauty. 

While, for now, there is no specific information available regarding this QLD Diploma of Beauty Therapy Apprenticeship, it does open up a glimmer of hope for the rest of Australia to follow suit. In the meantime, no matter what state your beauty business is located, you can build a professional and dedicated team by:

• Focusing firstly on the employees you already have. Identify any training gaps and consider enrolling them in some post-graduate training courses such as those offered online or face-to-face via the Skin & Beauty Training Centre. If that is not feasible for you right now, perhaps discuss the option of a pay rise on completion should your employee be happy to fund their own training. Ensuring your salon offers in-demand services will help you attract new clients, keep your employees engaged and keep your business moving in the right direction.

• Look to your suppliers for help with training. Many suppliers offer in-house or in-salon training but the training is often run by industry professionals highly skilled in using the particular product or piece of equipment they supply. 

Companies such as the Australian Skin Institute offer free online training for beauty professionals needing to learn or brush up on their knowledge of how cosmeceuticals work on the skin. 

 

Work With Industry Suppliers That Help You To Grow:

Now that the borders are reopening both locally and to some extent, internationally, it’s easy to think that those days of mask shortages and hard to find hand sanitisers are long behind us. However, the reality is that global supply chain issues will continue to affect the beauty industry for some more time to come, so regularly taking stock of what you need in your clinic is essential.

However, simply increasing your stock order quantities to cover any possible shortages due to delivery delays is only swapping one problem for another. If you are trying to reduce costs and manage cash flow - having cash sitting on your shelf in the form of excess stock may not be the best solution. 

Re-evaluate your stock and supply needs and consider working with home-grown, local suppliers willing to cater to your needs by offering smaller or no minimum orders and faster delivery times.

Companies such as ASI - Australian Skin Institute not only provide a range of Australian made cosmeceutical skincare exclusively developed for the Australian skin but are also happy to help you keep your stock levels under control by offering a hassle-free ordering system and no lock-in contracts or massive opening orders - their packages start at just $120.00!

The Skin and Beauty Training Centre Is Here To Support Your Beauty Business In 2022

The Skin and Beauty Training Centre was created with a mission to give everyone the opportunity and accessibility to professional, advanced industry training that's affordable and effective. 

The Skin and Beauty Training Centre is accredited by ASI - Australian Skin Institute and Brazilian Beauty; we train 100’s beauty therapists each year, who have performed professionally trained treatments on thousands of happy customers Australia-wide. 

 

At SBTC we believe in helping students become the best version of themselves by:

• Developing and educating our students to provide the best possible treatment experiences and results for their customers.

• Empowering students to feel confident in themselves and the treatments they are performing.

• Provide a clear focus on business growth and profitability to enable small businesses to thrive and grow.

All our specialised training courses are readily available for any level of experience; from aspiring home salon owners, to beauty therapists who are new to the industry, through to experienced therapists or salon owners looking to expand their knowledge and up-skill in a new treatment. 

We invite you to take a look at our website, join our student community or take advantage of our downloadable business resources and informative blogs.

If you have any questions, give the friendly SBTC team a call on 07 3357 4081, email info@skinandbeautytrainingcentre.com.au or simply chat online at www.skinandbeautytrainingcentre.com.au