Training Bootcamp
01.06.06

Time and money seem to always factor into every decision for small business owners, but training as well as some sort of continuing education program is the cornerstone to any thriving business.

Training, much like marketing and advertising, is something all salon professionals would agree is vitally important to their business’ success, but many times a comprehensive training program is overlooked for many reasons. Too often a salon owner simply has no idea where to begin setting up or starting a training program which is further exasperated by the fact that they have no materials helping them in this area. However, the fact remains that a more educated salon owner as well as their staff will dramatically affect the success and bottom line of their business.

Sounds logical, but where is the best place to begin you ask and where do you get this help? I would suggest that software is the most logical starting point for any training program since salon software reaches across the entire operational spectrum at your tanning salon. Without having access to accurate data to analyze or security controls in place to eliminate employee and consumer theft it really doesn’t matter how pretty your salon is or even how spotless your staff keep it.

For many years software manufacturers have spent most of their time AND money developing and supporting their product while placing the onus of the responsibility on the user to “figure it out”. Our market research has shown that even the salon professionals who have used our product for many years find new ways to do things more efficiently after attending a training seminar.

Do yourself a favor and contact your current software provider and see what kind of training opportunities they offer. With the advances in distant learning capabilities there is no reason you can’t get the right curriculum of training opportunities that will empower your employees and give them a sense of pride and ownership in their jobs which will show dividends in your bottom line. Training needs to be looked at as an investment, but keep in mind that not all investments need to cost you money!

My experience at the retail level has also taught me that an investment in the development of our young people will go a long way in the betterment of society to come. Our culture for some reason has been producing a crop of workers who come to clock in with an entitlement mentality and the only way to turn that around is to take a hands-on approach to training them. If we as employers accomplish nothing more than instilling transferable business skills to the next generation of workers that benefit us now, hopefully society will reap a rich reward in the future.