How To Avoid Holiday Burnout

 

I’ve been doing hair for over two decades, which means I’ve worked through a LOT of holiday seasons. Back in the day, everything about the way salons and stylists operated felt very different. Every client was booked out for their 4-5 week root touchups like clockwork, EVERYONE wanted super fresh hair for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and many clients wanted blowouts or updos for their holiday parties—especially for New Year’s Eve. The already double booked chaos was set to a frenzied level for the last seven weeks of each year. We worked Christmas Eve, the day after Christmas, New Year’s Eve…and extra days and hours throughout all of those weeks.

We wouldn’t dare turn away one of our clients who “needed” their hair done before the holidays!!! And we were supposed to be grateful for the “booked and busy” schedule. It meant money, and gave us the illusion of success.

It also meant that none of us were able to enjoy preparing for the holidays at home, nor did we have time to rest and relax with our families who had time off then. It also meant that most of us ended up nursing colds or worse since we were burned out and clients refused to stay home even if they were contagious. 

The other thing salons would inevitably see was a huge lull in January and early February. Why? I’ve observed some patterns over the years…one is the simple fact that when everyone got appointments smushed into the same two week period before the end of the year, they didn’t need their hair done until the end of January or early February. The other thing I realized is that while their hair was a priority before the festivities, many clients likely felt the financial squeeze of Christmas, and decided to push their appointments out by a couple of extra weeks. 

Stylists and salons were left feeling anxious and worried about their unfilled books, but back in those days we didn’t have the power of social media or really even email marketing that was easily accessible. We would use our business cards and try to drum up new business out in the wild, feeling desperate and worried. Lots of salons would start with the discounts and specials, even doing mailings announcing deals. The clients always started coming back, some for the deals, but mostly because they really needed their hair done again. 

The strange thing about the seasonality for salon business is that it doesn’t need to be that way. The “Back to School” rush,  The “Spring Break” refresh, The “Holiday Season” chaos, The “Summer Vacation” hair…I think we created such a pattern of panic because we may have just doubted our ability to attract and retain our target market clientele. That’s why I think we’re in a very different season in our salon industry and it makes us all a little uncomfortable.

I am all for salon business becoming more predictable. I’ve started making some changes in my business that have helped create more balance. For instance, I really enjoy summer time in my area, and many of our clients have lake houses or travel then. I have noticed a dip in demand during that time of year, so what I’ve done over the past two years is capitalize on it. Instead of booking my regular Monday-Thursday, I take Monday off and make the most of the rest of the week. I typically see fewer clients, but I have more quality time off regularly to enjoy my summer. 

I make sure to mark my schedule out ahead of time for summer and winter breaks. then I reverse engineer the days that I’m open. For instance, after summer is done, I usually go back to my four day week. I’m not cramming people in between other appointments, and I have very strict boundaries with my hours. My clients know ahead of time when I’m closed for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we plan ahead for their visits. It has helped immensely that I specialize in lived-in color and luxury extensions, so the average appointment lands at around eight to twelve weeks. That means I have October, November, and December for “Holiday Season” instead of a couple of weeks in November and December.

This also allows me to know that my clients will need maintenance visits throughout January and February. I know that if I’m seeing a gap in my books when I look ahead, it means I have room for my clients to get in when they are due for maintenance, I have availability for new guests, or I can schedule a time block for marketing or content creation. It has helped me feel like I can go to work, do my job, and go home without feeling burned out or panicked. All year long.

Has your experience with seasonal burnout changed over your career? Have you created changes within your business, or do you feel like you’re being held hostage to a cycle of ups and downs? I’d love to hear your experience! Oh, and I hope you have a really amazing holiday this year!

Xoxo,

Linds