Webinar: Liz McKeon’s 11 tips to help your beauty business through coronavirus
As part of Professional Beauty’s Virtual Beauty Week, we spoke with beauty business expert Liz McKeon about the crucial things you should be doing for your beauty or spa business right now, as well as answering your questions on starting up or relaunching a business after the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has passed.
“You now have time to work on your business, not just in it,” McKeon says, suggesting that this period of downtime should be seen as a great opportunity, not a detriment.
Below, we list her top 11 tips to help your business through coronavirus:
1. Don’t bury your head in the sand
“Entrepreneurs are viewing this as a huge time of opportunity. There’s a Chinese proverb that goes: ‘Great generals should issue commands in the morning, and then change them in the evening’. It’s a different world now and we need to accept this, make changes, and constantly reframe your understanding of what’s going to happen.”
2. Health is your number-one priority
“Don’t take any chances because you are the driving force of your business. Be sure that you are healthy physically, mentally and emotionally. You have got to be ready for a successful comeback, and to maintain your health you’ve got to manage your stress because, if you don’t, it’ll have too much of an impact on your immune system and you can’t afford to take that risk.”
3. Boost your team's morale
“Your team morale will likely be very low with this market uncertainty. Good or bad, you must be able to communicate with your team on a very regular basis. This is the time to look at your team, how your team is performing as an entity, how you’re performing as a manager.There’s lots of online courses available so, if you think now is the time to upscale, it’s time to organise that.”
4. Communicate with clients
“You’ve got to communicate with your clients, past and current, and reassure them of your business status via social media and newsletters, whatever it takes. If you stop all client communication, then you have no backlog of pent-up demand. Stay on their radar to show that the relationship isn’t purely transactional.”
5. Take time to reflect
“Rather than spending your time watching the news over and over, take some time thinking about that to-do list you have, the things you continually procrastinate with. We all have time to attend to these jobs now. This extra planning will accelerate your success.”
6. Shift your perspective
“Every time there are massive universal changes, there are also opportunities. What are the chances for you to do better? I have a phrase: ‘Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity,’ and that’s what we want to create for you now.”
7. Remain positive
“In the current climate, everyone is telling the same stories. People don’t need anymore negativity. They will naturally gravitate to the people and brands that are positive about what’s going on, so be that person. I suggest organising some sort of routine for yourself - don’t go to bed without having a plan for the following day, so everyday you have a reason to get up.”
8. Adopt a “now now” attitude
“Think about where you can reduce your costs right now- don’t put this off. I know it’s a scary time financially, but get to grips with your cash flow. If you need to book some time to speak to your accountant, do it. It’ll give you peace of mind over the next few weeks.”
9. Secure your credit
“Across the world, governments are putting billions into funding small businesses and if that cash is available. Even if you don’t need it right now, take it. In most countries you can also have a three month mortgage break, so take it for yourself and bear your staff in mind.”
10. Shift your marketing to showing support
“People are in a panic mode and thinking differently, so you have to be thinking about your marketing from that perspective. Taking this time to sort out your marketing will be one of the best things to happen to your business. The most important question to consider right now is, ‘How can we help our clients in this time?’ Be helpful, and people will always buy from you.
11. Keep the faith
“Keep the faith, and get ready for your ‘rise again’ moment, because there definitely will be one. Here’s another saying: ‘A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.’ When the recommended restrictions are lifted, you can look forward to an influx of business, but just make sure you’re ready for it.”
You can listen to Liz McKeon’s 14-day podcast series on her website. McKeown spoke with Professional Beauty as part of Virtual Beauty Week, which ran from March 29–April 3. Following the success of the initiative, Professional Beauty has outlined plans to continue to deliver regular webinar content on an ongoing basis.