Milady Training

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Career Stage: All Career Stages

Expert Career Advice ➜ Building a Future ➜ 7 Common Mistakes Beauty Pros Make (& How to Turn Them Around)

Let's face it: Everyone makes the occasional mistake at work or in their career, right? That's called being human. What you do after you've made the mistake is what matters. 

So let's discuss some common mistakes that beauty professionals make along with strategies for turning those mistakes around. 

Mistake #1: Thinking you'll be fully booked right out of the gate. 

Thinking new clients will simply show up is one of the biggest mistakes new beauty pros make. 

Kristina Santoro, a licensed Esthetician and one of our Milady account managers, says it takes time and dedication for beauty pros to build their clientele. She also says that rebooking clients is critical because "this is where the magic happens." 

You should also focus on getting your name out there on social media and thinking of creative ways to meet prospective clients. 

"Let people know what you do and how to find you," Santoro says. "If you have the good fortune of working for a spa or larger salon, check within other departments to see if anyone needs your services. While someone is waiting for their highlights to process, would they like a brow shaping? Time for a manicure? Maybe that customer who's getting their nails done would like a blowout for the evening. Be willing to help, bring someone a cup of coffee. You may strike up a conversation with that client which could turn into an appointment for you. Putting in the work early in your career will really pay off." 

Of course, new grads aren't the only ones who struggle with attracting new clients. Professionals who move to different states or who don't keep up with their own marketing can see dwindling bookings.

 Santoro points out that anyone at any time in their career can work on the skills she outlines above to keep them busy, fully booked, and making money. 

Mistake #2: Being too accommodating with clients. 

Say WHAT? How can you be too accommodating, especially when you're trying to build that all-important book of business? 

Ida McLean, a licensed cosmetologist and cosmetology instructor, says she understands the challenge new beauty pros face when booking appointments. The temptation is to offer up every available time slot and essentially say, "I'm free/open all week. You can have any day/time you would like!" 

But McLean says this sort of response makes for bad optics. 

McLean explains, "What message are they sending when they say that no one has booked an appointment with them? As a client, you might wonder why no one has booked with them. Is there something they should know that they don't? It does not build trust." 

Instead, McLean says to do this: "Always ask what day is best for the client and if they prefer morning or afternoon. Then, offer one appointment time based on that info. If that time doesn't work, then offer to 'squeeze them in'. That builds trust and makes them respect your time more because they know they need to be on time for their appointment because you're booked the rest of the day and you're doing them a favor 'squeezing them in' to accommodate their schedule. It also appears to them that you are in high demand. This builds their confidence in you and your skills." 

The same problem can happen when beauty pros use their personal cell phone for business, making it impossible to separate work from everything else. 

"Having everyone [especially clients] expect you to be available at all hours of all days can lead to you being overwhelmed, even angry/resentful, and eventually to burnout," McLean explains. 

She recommends that beauty pros have two phones—one for work and one for personal use. Turn the work phone off outside of business hours (no exceptions!). If you can't have two phones, then don't answer calls or texts from clients or unknown numbers outside of work hours. 

"You must have time off. And not just physically, but mentally," McLean says. "Walk away from it at the end of the day and spend time doing whatever it is that you enjoy. Time with friends/family, time alone, hobbies, etcetera." 

Mistake #3: Not managing your time wisely. 

Occasional bouts of procrastination are part of being human. Forgive yourself the occasional off day. 

But if you find you're always running late and feeling rushed or you're overextended or you're always procrastinating, you might have a bigger issue with your overall approach to time management. 

Don't worry—we got you! Below are some strategies you can implement to help manage your time better. 

• Create a daily schedule—and stick to it. The key? Make it reasonable. Don't overschedule yourself. (If you do, you'll be setting yourself up for failure.) 
• Seek a mentor or coach and make time management your main focus. Working with a caring, yet objective third party can help you see where you're faltering. Mentors and coaches can also cheer you on as you improve. 
• Set an alarm. Do you find yourself spending too much time on certain tasks that end up leaving you constantly behind? Set an alarm on your phone and stick to it when the alarm goes off. For example, are you spending too much time chit-chatting during client consultations? Set the alarm for a couple of minutes before you MUST start the service so you can refocus and double down. 
• Delegate. This applies whether you're a solo beauty pro or you're an employee. If you have employees, consider empowering them with more tasks. If you’re by yourself, figure out what you can reasonably outsource. For example, a virtual assistant might be able to help with bookkeeping. Remember, delegating works in all areas of life. If you're constantly late to work because of kid stuff (like making lunches), delegate. Have the kids make their own lunches. If they're not old enough, get in the habit of making the lunches the night before. 

Mistake #4: Allowing conflicts to fester. 

Who likes conflict? NO ONE. So we understand why it might seem easier to avoid conflict rather than address the elephant in the room. But here's the thing: The longer you avoid it, the bigger that elephant is going to get. 

Instead, learn strategies for addressing conflicts head-on—whether they're with clients, co-workers, managers, or employees. 

Check out our article on managing client conversations and conflicts—the tips can apply to conflicts with other people, too. 

Mistake #5: Becoming complacent with your skills and knowledge. 

Learning does not end with beauty school. Sure, beauty school is likely where you'll experience the biggest surge in knowledge and skills. But the most successful beauty pros are always learning—about the industry, about their niche, about trends, about business. You get the idea. 

Luckily, it's easy—and fun—to keep up with a lifelong learning. You don't need to take "formal" courses to learn something new, either. Watch tutorials on YouTube. Attend an interesting webinar. Attend an in-person conference or workshop. Or yes—take an online continuing education course at a time that's convenient for you. 

Santoro says, "Continuing education and knowing what the trends are—even if you're not a big fan—will help to keep you staying relevant and knowledgeable. There are so many ways to keep up to date. Read magazines, check out manufacturer websites, take advantage of any educational opportunities offered by your employer. Attend trade shows, sign up for webinars, read blogs. Invest in yourself and you'll truly shine." 

Mistake #6: Thinking you don't need to bother learning something. 

Alejandra Castilla, a Milady implementation and training specialist, has a unique perspective on this problem that plagues beauty school students and new grads. 

"During my time as a beauty school admissions representative," she says, "I often heard students say, 'I only want to specialize in X.' Or 'I only want to learn Y.'" 

This narrow-minded way of thinking won't do your long-term career any favors. 

"In my experience," Castilla continues, "the most successful up-and-coming beauty professionals are those that understand that this industry is always evolving, and it is important to never limit yourself." 

Castilla offers this example to illustrate her point: "You may have disliked short haircuts and perms throughout your time in school and were certain you wouldn't offer these services and therefore you only learned enough to pass. However, with opportunities and trends coming and going, it will benefit you to have the knowledge and skill set to get started if the opportunity presents itself, especially if you're new to this industry." 

(By the way, Castilla was quick to note that short hair perms are trending today with younger generations.)

Mistake #7: Ignoring the business side of being a beauty pro. 

Being an awesome stylist, barber, nail technician, or esthetician isn’t enough. If you want an amazing, long-term career in this industry, you must be an active participant in your own career growth . . . and that most definitely means learning the ins and outs of the beauty business. 

From social media marketing to website optimization, retail sales to finance fundamentals, being successful in this industry involves many things—and none of them "just happen" on their own. 

Whether you work for yourself or someone else, you need to understand business basics (for example, how many clients you need to see a day to meet your revenue goals). You need to understand your taxes. And how to save for retirement. 

The good news? These are all learnable things. To get started, check out Milady Training’s available courses that will help boost your business acumen. 

Remember, if you've made any of the above mistakes, it's OK! 

As McLean says, "We've all made mistakes, and I'm sure we will all make a few more before it's all over. Don't beat yourself up. Don't give up. Just decide what needs to be done and start moving in that direction." 

Sounds like great advice to us.