Business Hours
Let’s talk BUSINESS HOURS. What hours do you want to be available to take clients? What hours do you want to dedicate to answering calls and scheduling? Setting clear business hours from the start will set boundaries and prevent clients from taking advantage of you. One of the greatest perks of the industry is that we have the control—so lets keep it that way! Here’s a few things to consider when thinking about business hours:
Clear Cut Working Hours clear cut hours leaves little room for being taken advantage of. Decide which days you work, what hour you begin, what hour you end, and any breaks in between. Let your clients know! I always tell any inquiring clients my business hours from the start and I remind clients when rebooking what my availability is. Another good idea would be to post your hours somewhere that can be physically seen ether in your space or online! To make things even easier, you can set up online booking and put the responsibility on your clients to schedule within your predetermined hours.
Out of the OfficeIn order to avoid working 24/7 we have to include more than just actively working on a client as business hours—specifically referring to answering messages and scheduling inquires. Nothing makes me roll my eyes harder than when a client texts me after 10pm and is upset when I don’t reply until the following day. This all comes down to BOUNDARIES. I don’t reply to messages after 9pm or before 9am and I don’t even acknowledge texts on my day off or during vacation. I know, I know it sounds harsh but it can get out of control quick. Isn’t there an app for everything these days? Yes, yes there is, including ways to send automated texts to your clients to enforce business hours! Win!
Don’t do Something Once that you Don’t Want to do AgainLet me paint you a picture—”Client X” gets a new work schedule and needs to move their appointment to 8:00am but your business hours start at 10:00am. Your day’s schedule isn’t full so you think getting an early start won’t be a big deal this time. SURPRISE your client wants to rebook and needs an appointment at 8:00am…and repeat. Lashes are a reoccurring service, frequently reoccurring, so if it’s not a schedule change you want to make every other week than don’t make the exception. If it is worth changing your availability and keeping the client, than do it! Again, that is the beauty in this industry. Something I’ve noticed over the years is that even the most stubborn clients will make the time if you don’t budge. My advice: think about the phrase, “Don’t do something once that you don’t want to do again.”
Rules Can be BrokenThis is going to sound contradicting to my last piece of advice, but isn’t their a saying about knowing the rules to break the rules? If you are going to break your own “rules” or business hours then make sure you are making the exceptions and not the client. I love my clients and have built trusting relationships with them so if they need an exception I am willing to work with them under certain circumstances. If a client has a last minute event come up, travel plans change, they had to reschedule for one reason or the other, or frankly if I’m overbooked I will offer them an appointment outside of my normal business hours. I have had a lot of days off this summer and it has created a bottle neck in my schedule so I have been more lenient when rebooking. The KEY to breaking he rules is to communicate that it is outside of your business hours, that you are making an exception, and that it is circumstantial—a one time thing to help them out. Am I going to cancel my personal plans to get a client with a schedule change in? No, probably not. But, if it is a change I am comfortable with and it fits in my personal schedule, yes. I’m going to stress this one more time—you are in control!
Don’t Forget to RelaxTake personal days, put your phone down, let go of toxic clients, and relax! This is so important when being your own boss and running your own business because without a forced break there will always be something to check off the to-do list. The best clients are the clients who understand we are also people with lives and their messages will be there when your ready.
