Lashing can be physically and mentally exhausting, especially when you’re in the start-up phase of your business. During this time you’ll likely be doing EVERYTHING yourself — not just applying lashes!

In the beginning, running a lash business means wearing lots of hats. You’re learning on-the-go. You’re fine-tuning your skills. You’re setting up procedures, policies, organising stock, beautifying your space, promoting your services and probably also running a household..

If that’s how you’re feeling, know that it doesn’t mean your love for lashing is in question. More that now’s the time where you set some key boundaries for your personal life and work.

In the beginning, because you want to grow (and fast), you may compromise yourself. Compromising your boundaries, health, and mental wellbeing is not worth it. Trust me. Without your health, you’re of no service to anyone, and being in a stressed and overworked state doesn’t bring in more clients. Overwhelm, feeling rushed and tired is not the energy you want to use to grow your salon.

Working yourself into the ground, becoming sick and being forced into taking extended time off doesn’t equal business success — I promise. What’s worse, you could burn out completely and lose your passion for lashing. You may think that this would never happen to you, but trust me, it does.

 

Here are 2 tips (I’ve used) that will support you to create work-life balance and build a flourishing salon.

1. Have healthy boundaries

I know you want to do it all. Truth is, you can’t. Not without sacrificing yourself. I remember I used to work stupid hours to cater to demanding clients. I would end up finishing after 10pm on weeknights, after 8pm on Saturdays and ended up coming into the salon on Sundays just to fit in more clients! I always felt so guilty if I couldn’t fit someone in.

It may sound crazy, or maybe this is you, and you relate?

Instead, set firm start and end times for all your appointments, and the workday itself. Don’t negotiate with yourself or anyone else on this. It’s okay to take time for yourself — and if you want to run a profitable lash salon, it’s non-negotiable. Down-time needs to be regular, not every few months. Even 5-10minutes of mindful downtime, will transform your mindset, and give you more energy. You do have time. Stop telling yourself you don’t.

If you’re fully booked and can’t accommodate a client, that’s okay. Maybe it’s time to think about hiring someone to work with you and share the client load? Or even a VA or receptionist to help with administration work?

Setting clear boundaries from the start avoids getting yourself into tricky situations with clients down the line — it also prevents burnout.

 

2. Take a holiday

Going on holidays is essential! I like to have more than 10 days off at least twice a year. When you schedule time off for yourself — whether you go away, or don’t go into the salon, you’re valuing yourself. It means you’re honouring your health and wellbeing. You’re looking after you, your loved ones and your team. It also means your creating space for new inspiration, business ideas or new people to enter into your world.

In your downtime, do things you love to do that maybe you don’t get to during work time. Travel, eat at new places, spend time with people you care about. Pamper yourself, and most of all, relax! Don’t spend your holiday break, only thinking about work. Of course, I’m not saying don’t think about work at all, you likely will. But when you do, do it from a space of creativity.

Remember, you (myself included) are in charge of running your business. Your business should not be running you!