Fake News

While attempting to research this article, I came upon far too many opinion-based libertarian lobbying blogs, so I’m anticipating some severely misinformed questions in the comments—and I don’t blame anyone for them. The fear-mongering is ridiculous; I saw one writer lamenting the fact that “the new law” disallows workers from determining or waiving their status, but that has always been the case.

Workers can’t choose exploitative work arrangements that violate federal law any more than people can sign contracts agreeing to unlawful arrangements. 

Several writers argued that this is a “major change” that will bring disaster to workers, business owners, and the economy, but what they’re really telling you is how little they understand the world we’re all living in, where misclassification and wage theft are the default business strategy, not rare exceptions, and where business owners are not receiving the education, guidance, or support required to be both compliant and profitable. 

If you’ve been pushed to the brink of panic by these clowns, take a deep breath: at no time has the definition of the word “independent contractor” changed in this country. The rules provide guidance to help workers and employers understand the law (that is literally their entire purpose for existing), but the actual law in this area is very well-established. Only people who want to lean on ignorance as a defense for their bad behavior consider clarity a threat to their freedom. 

The DOL’s rule change simplifies classification, making it more accessible and comprehensive. This should make violations far less likely, which is a win for everyone involved.

The “new” method is more illustrative; it explains itself fairly well. The way each factor is broken down and clarified—with two examples for each—should make it easier for employers to recognize improper use of the independent contractor classification and avoid the consequences associated with misclassification. 

The Difference Between Laws and Rules

The first thing you need to understand is that laws and rules are not the same thing, and anyone attempting to conflate the two deserves serious side-eye.

Laws are codified by legislative bodies (state or federal) and must be adhered to by everyone who falls under that legislature’s jurisdiction.

Rules are detailed frameworks developed by various government agencies to provide guidance. They clarify the law so the public understands how to comply and so the judges who must enforce the law understand how they are applied in practical scenarios. Various agencies are required by law to enforce these rules. (A judge can’t decide not to apply these six factors, for example.) 

The core legal definition of an independent contractor under the FLSA hasn’t fundamentally changed.

The rules help to clarify the DOL’s position and provide insight into how the law should be interpreted and applied; the rule change doesn’t change the law itself. The statutory law and underlying regulations here are very much the same—only the analytical lens through which worker classification is determined has been changed.

Brief History of Worker Classification Guidelines

In 2021, the DOL moved from a five-factor “economic reality” test to a system weighing two core factors: the nature and degree of control the employer had over the work, and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss. 

The DOL believes this approach didn’t “fully comport” with the text and purpose of the FLSA as interpreted by the courts because the rule included provisions that conflicted with longstanding case law and the established guidance provided by the DOL. Overall, the rule narrowed the test by excising factors the DOL considers relevant when making a determination about a worker’s status. Plus, it departed from decades of case law, which could confuse workers and business owners. 

For those who know a thing or two about US labor and employment laws, the real problem was the prohibition against examining whether the work performed was “central or important” to the employer’s business. It’s a pretty critical element to consider. 

Ultimately, the tests are similar in the following ways, per the DOL’s FAQs:

Both rules identify economic dependence as the “ultimate inquiry” of the analysis; both rules provide a non-exhaustive list of factors to assess economic dependence; and both rules caution that no single factor is determinative. Both rules also clarify that economic dependence does not focus on the amount of income the worker earns, or whether the worker has other sources of income.

The important thing to know is that none of this is likely to negatively impact anyone who was in compliance to begin with.

Per the WHD’s guidance regarding the 2024 Worker Classification Rule:

The Department emphasized that “because this final rule is aligned with longstanding case law, the Department does not anticipate that independent contractors (who sometimes also self-identify as freelancers or small/micro business owners) who are correctly classified as independent contractors under current circuit case law would be reclassified applying the guidance provided in this rule.” 89 Fed. Reg. 1659. 

If your practices currently align more closely with the looser 2021 Rule, it’s time to reevaluate to ensure you’re still in compliance.

The Six-Factor Test for Determining Worker Classification

Factor 1: Opportunity for Profit or Loss Depending on Managerial Skill

Does the worker exercise managerial skill that affects their economic success or failure? Can the worker negotiate the pay, determine whether they accept or decline jobs, and choose the order and/or time in which the jobs are performed? Does the worker engage in marketing, pay for advertising, or take efforts to expand their business or secure more work? Does the worker have the authority to hire others, purchase materials and equipment, or rent space?

• Interpretation: This factor evaluates whether the worker actually exercises independent effort and decisionmaking, without the employer’s influence or an expectation to comply with the employer’s requirements or limitations.
• The Focus: Does the worker call the shots when it comes to their business, or is their independence theoretical at best?

Factor 2: Investments by the Worker and Employer 

Are any of the worker’s investments capital or entrepreneurial in nature?

• Interpretation: Costs borne by a worker to perform their duties are not considered evidence of capital or entrepreneurial investment. This factor examines the degree to which the worker makes investments in their own business’s growth. 
• The Focus: Does the worker make similar types of investments as the employer or investments of the type that would allow the worker to operate independently in the worker’s industry or field?

Factor 3: Degree of Permanence of the Work Relationship 

Is the work relationship indefinite or continuous in duration?

• Interpretation: This factor examines the nature and length of the work relationship.
• The Focus: How independent is the worker, as a matter of economic reality?

Factor 4: Nature and Degree of Control 

Who sets the worker’s schedule? Does the employer supervise or monitor the worker’s performance? Is the worker limited or prohibited from working for others? Who sets the service prices? Who controls the marketing?

• Interpretation: This factor aims to determine whether the worker has sufficient autonomy to be considered an independent contractor.
• The Focus: How much control does the employer have over the performance of the work and the economic aspects of the working relationship?

Factor 5: Extent to Which the Work Performed is an Integral Part of the Employer’s Business 

Is the work critical, necessary, or central to the employer’s business? 

• Interpretation: This factor does not depend on whether any individual worker in particular is an integral part of the business. 
• The Focus: Is the work they perform an integral part of the business?

Factor 6: Skill and Initiative 

Does the worker use specialized skills to perform the work? Do those skills contribute to business-like initiative? Is the worker dependent on training from the employer to perform the work? If the worker brings specialized skills to the work relationship, it indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.

• Interpretation: Any worker can be skilled, so the fact that the worker is skilled doesn’t indicate one status or the other.
• The Focus: Does the worker use their skills in a manner that evidences business-like initiative? 

The Totality of Circumstances

None of these factors alone are considered definitive. Instead, the DOL looks over the totality-of-circumstances, analyzing the entire working relationship before making a determination.

The primary question the test seeks to answer is this: As a matter of economic reality, is the worker dependent on the employer for work, or are they truly in business for themselves? (See: Fact Sheet 13.)

According to the DOL’s announcement (which I recommend reading in full), the March 2024 Rule returns to “an analysis that is more consistent with judicial precedent and the Act’s text and purpose.” Once again, these are not “new laws,” they merely clarify the application of existing laws. 

Regardless of your situation or position in the salon, it’s worthwhile to read every bit of guidance provided, whether the law itself is changing or not. (I say it a lot, but know your rights.) Once you understand the factors, you’ll know misclassification when you see it. 

Today, the salon owner charged my client’s services before the service was over. She refused to give me the money and told me she would put it towards rent, but I never agreed to this, nor did I agree to her taking a percentage from both the sale and my tip.

When I said that I wasn’t going to tolerate this, she claimed that it couldn’t be helped because the client paid with a gift card. I know the client didn’t pay with a gift card, but that’s beside the point, because the owner knows I don’t accept her salon’s gift cards. (Besides that, nowhere in my lease does it say anything about her stupid gift cards!)

After I caught her in the lie, the owner said I’m no longer allowed to receive any walk-ins. Is this legal? Can she seriously refuse me walk-in clients?

I’ve already addressed this topic, but your story provides important insight.

You did everything right. You took every step you could to prevent being taken advantage of. When your landlord pushed your boundaries, you responded immediately. Few have the confidence to do so, and I’m glad to hear you did. Her treatment of you is nothing more than childish, petty retaliation. I’m embarrassed for her.

However, unless your contract states otherwise, you aren’t owed walk-in clients. (More about that here.)

What can you do about it? Unfortunately, not much. You could bring her to small claims court, but the filing fee will likely cost more than the disputed amount, and unless you really want to make a point, it might not be worth your time to pursue.

In these situations, the only thing you really can do is tell her to make things right, or you’ll warn others, starting with your fellow renters.

If she refuses, make good on that promise. Only state what you can confirm—what you’re willing to swear to in court under threat of perjury. Don’t embellish or get creative. Stick to the facts, and keep your emotions in check.

If she threatens to bring you to court—good. Let her. Be sure to update us so we can hear how she rationalized the theft. 

I’m sorry this happened to you. Sometimes, even when you do everything right, you aren’t entirely safe, and even if you’ve clearly been wronged, you might never see justice.

Take a deep breath. Now read this handy list.

Dress conservatively and professionally. No sandals. No jeans. No tank tops. No t-shirts. Dress like you’re going for an interview at a law firm or to a congressman’s funeral. This is not the time to make a fashion statement. Dressing sexy will win you no points here. If you chose to wear a skirt, make sure it’s no shorter than two inches above your knee.

Courts are weirdly formal places. Prepare yourself accordingly.

Keep your makeup minimal and natural. Don’t get crazy with that eye shadow. You want to be taken seriously, so don’t walk into the courtroom with you eyelids covered in rainbow glitter. Remember, you’re entering a place where people tend to care a whole lot about presentation and decorum. Some judges read a little too deeply into fashion choices and what they say about people.

Remove the metal from your face. If you normally wear facial piercings, take them out. They aren’t appropriate to wear to court. I cannot reiterate this enough times:

As stupid as it is, appearances matter. A lot.

Don’t wear a belt or complicated shoes. You will have to remove your shoes and walk through a metal detector before you can enter the courthouse. Make it easy on yourself by leaving your belts and metal accessories at home and wearing flats you can slip into and out of easily. Don’t create unnecessary stress. You’ll likely be a hot mess of nerves to begin with.

When it’s your turn to sit in front of the judge, follow these rules.

Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. Never show emotion during your opponent’s testimony. You can be nervous, sad, and scared. You cannot be angry, loud, or disrespectful. Judges have zero patience or tolerance for belligerence.

Don’t roll your eyes, sigh, or draw attention to yourself.

Even if the other party lies through their teeth, keep your mouth shut and your attitude in check. Write down your objections and bring them up when it’s your turn to speak. Put on your best poker face and be patient.

Always address the judge with “Your Honor” or “Sir” or “Ma’am,” and never use slang or profanity. When you’re asked a question that requires a yes or no answer, always say “yes ma’am/sir/Your Honor” or “no ma’am/sir/Your Honor.” Never say, “yeah,” “nope,” or “I dunno.”

Don’t go in demanding justice. Do not bark orders at a judge or demand anything from them. Sure, your tax dollars pay their salary, but they don’t work for you. 

You’re at court to reach a peaceful, reasonable resolution, not to fight with your opponent.

Both of you believe you’re right. You can’t come to an agreement, so you are in court to ask the judge to come up with a fair solution based on the information and evidence that each of you collected. Approach it from that perspective–it’s not about winning or losing but having a neutral party evaluate each of your positions and make a decision for you.

You can think that your opponent’s actions were wrong. You can feel your opponent’s action were wrong. You don’t know they were wrong or not. The judge determines that. (Even if you really do know and you have fistfuls of statutes and evidence to support that argument, never go in with the arrogance of assurance.)

In small claims court, don’t be afraid to tell the judge that you’ve never been in court before and you may have questions during the proceedings. Small claims courts are generally pretty mellow. Nobody has attorneys and judges don’t expect you to be competent in court procedure. If you don’t understand what a judge asks of you or what they mean, politely ask for an explanation.

Keep your testimony brief and only testify to what you can prove. This is so, SO important. Do not pop off with a bunch of irrelevant, unverifiable testimony. If you cannot prove a claim, the judge will likely disregard it.

Bring evidence in triplicate. One for you, one for the judge, and one for your opponent.

A lot of professionals panic at the thought of going to court. Don’t be scared. The majority of the time, you’re going to end up in small claims, where the stakes are low and the process is pretty informal. You don’t need an attorney, the rules are relaxed, and if you’re the plaintiff, generally, the worst that can happen is that your case gets dismissed and you lose your filing fee. No biggie. In other proceedings, you’ll have an attorney representing you and doing all the heavy lifting, so relax and focus on controlling the one thing you can control—yourself.

Have you ever been to court? What for? Were you scared? What happened? Tell us about it in the comments!

I love my tenants, and I think we cohabitate well, but my resentment is building towards them, and it’s starting to create some tension. I don’t want things to be this way! What do you recommend?

Every salon landlord faces this issue at some point. Welcome to the club!

I’d like for you to think of this as your first real leadership exercise, because how you behave and how you treat the renters who are behind on their payments matters a lot and could impact your business significantly.

If you don’t already, start thinking of your renters as your customers, because they are. Your job, as their landlord, is to provide them with suitable workspace and collect their checks, but those are bare minimum requirements. If you hope to be the kind of salon landlord everyone wants to rent from, you’ll have to do better. You have the opportunity to demonstrate that right now.

Start with the assumption that the renters in arrears likely have good reasons, but also with the understanding that the salon’s welfare comes first.

If you’re willing to work with renters who are going through a slow patch, figure out how you’re going to accommodate them. Are you going to drop a great tenant over a bad month? Probably not.

You likely know which tenants deserve a payment plan for their overdue rent. Do the math and get your offer straight. Have the plan typed out and ready to present. Here’s an example of what those plans could look like:

• Lisa owes $400. She’s been with you two years and seems happy, so you don’t think she’s likely to leave any time soon. For her, you are willing to accept $50 each week ($200 each month) for the next two months, or until she terminates her lease.
• Glenn owes $400. He’s been with the salon for a little under a year, and he complains a lot…about everything. He has a history of job-hopping, so you can’t trust that he’ll stick around. For him, you are willing to accept $100 each week for the next month, or until he terminates his lease.
• Laura owes $800. She’s had it rough the last few months. She and her kids have been sick almost constantly since school started. But Laura has never missed a payment in the last five years she’s been renting from you. She’s responsible, professional, and the kind of tenant you definitely don’t want to lose. For her, you are willing to accept $25 each week ($100 each month) for the next eight months, or until she terminates her lease.

I recommend having the tenants pay in a separate transaction, rather than adding it on to their rent. Use Excel or Google Sheets to record their payments, so both of you have documentation, and only take traceable payments—no cash. (This isn’t up for debate; both of you should cover your asses.)

Meet with each renter privately, starting with those who are furthest behind. 

Tell them exactly what you’ve said here: their non-payment is affecting the business. You’ve been very patient and understanding, but you cannot subsidize their salon.

These conversations probably won’t be easy. Especially if you’ve developed close personal friendships with some of your tenants.

Too many people depend on the facility’s continuation to allow a few renters to jeopardize the whole operation.

Establish a firm due date for payment, and don’t be surprised if the meeting goes poorly from there.

If you were operating under the assumption that these renters were your friends, you’re about to learn whether or not that’s true. Unfortunately, more often than not, these meetings don’t end well. Don’t be surprised (or upset) if the renter gets nasty with you. Don’t be shocked if they seem apologetic during the meeting, then secretly pack up and disappear overnight. 

Remember that you’re dealing with people who shirked their only obligation to you and their colleagues. In doing so—assuming they’re not drowning in an unexpected personal financial crisis—they’ve demonstrated irresponsibility, unprofessionalism, and a severe lack of consideration. Keep your expectations realistic.

If you prefer not to offer payment plans, you can provide renters with a simple formal written notice that states the balance owed, the payment due date, and the consequences of nonpayment (eviction and small claims court, usually). A written lease isn’t necessarily required to hold renters accountable. By paying you a fee in exchange for your space, they’re establishing a common-law lease agreement. In many states, common-law leases are considered valid.

You know your situation better than I do, but I generally recommend saving this measure for the renters you’re eager to get rid of or implementing it as a last-resort option. Attorneys may advise you otherwise, but as someone who has been on your side of the desk during these talks, I certainly would not, except in dire circumstances. (The last thing you want is Glenn complaining about how “heartless” you are to every professional in town.)

Require all renters to sign written lease agreements. This is non-optional. Common-law leases are much harder to enforce than written ones. Contracts are critical, so every renter needs to sign an agreement showing that they understand your expectations and their obligations. These documents don’t have to be long, and they shouldn’t be written in legalese.

If your lease exceeds two pages, you’re doing it wrong.

Get a local real estate attorney to review and approve your lease, someone who knows your state’s commercial rental laws and understands that you’re subletting co-working space to beauty professionals. (I routinely consult with attorneys who are unfamiliar with the industry, and I often collaborate with them on rental and employment contracts. If you need help, request an appointment with me here.)

Once those leases are signed, you’ll have a system for keeping this from happening in the future, a document that neatly outlines everything—the payment amount, the due date, and the consequences for failing to adhere to the lease terms.

Don’t mourn the tenants you lose. You will very likely lose a few renters, and some of them might say some cruel, unfair things to you before they depart, but don’t cry over it. Anyone who leaves is doing you a favor. 

Good people get run over sometimes. 

You were very kind to allow the past-due rent to pile up. People may have taken advantage of that kindness, which is unfortunate, but of all the crimes a salon landlord could commit, it’s certainly the least offensive. 

Enough of these experiences can harden people over time, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Learn from this, but don’t let it change who you are. 

Good luck!

Don’t deduct questionable expenses.

A typical deduction is a recurring business expense, like your online booking service or your salon’s rent. Daily commuting to and from your work is not a legitimate deduction.

The general rule is that anything you have to spend money on to make money on is deductible.

For our industry, a trip to a trade show is understandable. An extravagant European cruise is not. Big deductions for meals, travel, and entertainment are inviting audit. To qualify for meal or entertainment deductions, you must keep detailed records that document for each expense the amount, the place, the people attending, the business purpose and the nature of the meeting. Without that documentation, you get no deduction.

If you can’t verify your deduction, don’t claim it.

Snap your receipts and save them on Dropbox (or whatever cloud-based storage system you prefer). Keep the originals in labeled monthly envelopes.

If you’re ever audited, you can correspond your deduction with the original receipt. Some places give really crappy receipts, so if you need to notate what the expenses were, do so on the back of the slip.

File your taxes online.

Sometimes, mistakes happen when IRS representatives manually enter your handwritten return information into the system. Numbers get omitted or added. This mistake (that is entirely out of your control) can result in an audit. Eliminate the middle man entirely and e-file.

According to the IRS, the error rate for a paper return is 21%. The error rate for electronically filed returns is 0.5%.

Eliminate cash from your business.

The IRS knows that those who receive primarily cash are less likely to accurately report all of their taxable income. So, eliminate cash from your business.

I don’t like cash. I don’t like that it’s impossible to track. I hated counting it every night. I hated filling out deposit slips every night. I hated depositing it every evening. When I’m done working and cleaning up, I just want to walk out of the building. (In addition, I often worked alone in the building and both my husband and the doctor I worked with worried about me getting robbed.)

I made the decision to quit accepting cash entirely. None of my clients routinely paid with cash anyways so this policy didn’t generate any complaints at all.

I implemented a new policy and only took traceable forms of payment. This included checks, gift certificates through SpaWeek, credit cards, and instant transfers from Paypal. Not only did this policy make me less likely to be audited (and robbed), it simplified my accounting, saved me daily trips to the bank, and gave me peace of mind.

I opened an account with Simple (an entirely online bank without branches that doesn’t take cash deposits unless they’re turned into money orders and submitted as checks) and never exchanged physical currency again. Checks were instantly photo deposited and destroyed once they cleared.

I think as a modern society, we’re all moving towards digital currency. For me, this was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself and my business, but it does have a downside.

Payment settlement entities have been required since 2012 to report all credit card transactions to the IRS on Form 1099-K.

This includes Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as online merchant processors. The IRS compares your credit card and cash receipts with your industry average. The IRS may send you a letter asking you to re-examine your books to make sure you didn’t omit any cash transactions if they feel your non-cash transactions make up too large a percentage of your annual revenue.

To protect yourself from this, make sure your refusal to accept cash is clearly stated on your website, your brochures, and posted in your business. Keep your appointment records and your daily sales records. It shouldn’t be difficult at all to compare each appointment from the book with the corresponding payment record, especially now that many merchant service companies provide and store digital signatures and digital receipts.

Hire an expert.

Managing your own business finances puts you at risk. Turn that responsibility over to a professional. It’s a small annual investment that can pay off big. If you’re going to be itemizing (which you most likely will), a tax professional can help keep you organized and maximize your deductions and credits.

Focus on making the money. Let someone else handle the paperwork.

Cross your T’s and dot your I’s.

Make sure your social security number is correct. Don’t round your numbers. Triple-check every figure. Leave nothing blank. For the love of God, this is 2014 2020. If you aren’t using software, get out of the stone age and start doing so now.

Incorporate or register an LLC if you’re self-employed.

Small businesses are a favorite target of the IRS…and for good reason. Self-employed people are most likely to underreport income and overstate deductions. The IRS doesn’t care whether your business is high-grossing or not. If you are self-employed (booth renters, I’m looking at you), consider incorporating or forming a limited liability company (LLC). Corporations and LLCs are audited less frequently than other small businesses. Incorporating or forming an LLC also allows for more deductions. You can learn more about the different types of business structures and the pros and cons of each here.

Watch your charitable deductions.

The IRS knows what the average charitable donation is at every income level. If your salon holds a charity event where services are rendered in exchange for donations to a particular charity, be sure to document everything. When I worked in management, we held cut-a-thons for charity twice a year. Each client filled out a form with their contact information, the services rendered, and the donation made. They received a receipt from us so they could also claim that charitable donation themselves.

Always consult with a tax professional when claiming charitable deductions to ensure that you have all the documentation necessary to justify that deduction.

Classify your staff appropriately.

By now, anyone who has read this blog should understand that the independent contractor classification absolutely DOES NOT apply to our business except in very specific, limited instances. If you aren’t yet aware of what misclassification could mean for you, I recommend reading this post and this post ASAP.

Expect it.

Expect to be audited and be prepared for it before it happens. That way, if/when it does happen, you’ll be ready for it. Keep yourself organized. Keep yourself honest.

Remember that even the most minor illegal, fraudulent activities are indefensible in the eyes of the IRS.

An accidental crime is still a crime, so run everything by your accountant/bookkeeper. Excessive preparation and organization will always be your best defense.

Don’t shoot for the moon.

Do you have any idea how far away the moon is? Or how expensive it will be to get there? Just thinking about the work required makes the task of getting there seem overwhelming and impossible. (Plus, “shooting” towards a natural satellite sounds like it has the potential to end pretty painfully.)

Instead of focusing intently on a major, long-term goal, devote your full attention to accomplishing a significant shorter-term goal.

What do you plan to achieve in the long-term? Do you want a twenty-location empire and a mansion on the beach? Write it out in detail on a piece of paper.

What part of that dream can you reasonably accomplish in the next three years? Maybe you can open your first location, or expand your existing business into a new area? Maybe you could also start renovating parts of your home to prepare it for sale? Write those things down on another piece of paper.

Now, you’re holding two pieces of paper, right? Tuck the major “short-term” goal page into your planner. (I don’t care what you do with your “long-term” goals written on it. Some recommend putting it in a visible place, where you can see it every day. I’d recommend keeping it at the back of a planner or journal and only looking at it when you need to reassess your short-term goals.)

Your short-term goals should only include tasks that are reasonable and attainable within the next 36 months.

Three years away seems like a lifetime (especially given the way some of us have had our perception of time thoroughly thrown off as of late), but it passes much quicker when you’re working in eager pursuit of something that matters deeply to you.

Create a timeline.

For each goal on your short-term page, list every step you’ll need to take to accomplish them. If you want to establish that empire, you’ll need to do some market research and scout locations. Then, you’ll need to negotiate a lease. Then, you’ll need to get started on the build. If you want to get that house ready to sell, you’ll need to deal with that green shag carpeting in your living room…for starters.

Now, estimate how much time each of those tasks will take. For example, how long will you take to scout locations and decide on a home for your new business? How many months will it take to get the rose tile replaced with something a little more modern in your dated ass bathroom? Be reasonable in your assessments, especially if you’re relying on third parties (like accountants, attorneys, state licensing departments, or contractors) for anything.

Keep your personal responsibilities in mind, too.

Think hard about how many hours per day you can realistically dedicate to your tasks. You may find that you have to make some sacrifices or delegate certain tasks to free up more time.

For me, that task was managing my social campaigns for this blog. By automating those tasks through the use of a social calendar software, I was able to free up five hours per week. I also sacrificed non-essential social interaction, for the most part.

You’ll also need to recognize and eliminate time-sucking distractions. For example, I had to severely limit my involvement in professional networking groups to an hour or less per day. In April of 2018, I left Facebook entirely. When I finished my taxes in January of this year, I found that my income had doubled. (I am positive that was not a coincidence.)

Now, you should have a rough outline of what your next 36 months will look like. Transfer all those dates and tasks to your calendar. Once you’re done, they won’t be goals any more; they’ll be plans.

Focus and Execute

Plan to make slow and steady progress. Don’t allow yourself to get distracted by other projects or opportunities. For many of you, this will mean learning how to say “no” more often. Anything that distracts from your goals, regardless of what it is, will push back your timeline.

Most of us are visual people, so maybe it’ll help you to think of these distractions this way:

You’re at the bottom of the ocean and you really want to get to the surface, take a deep breath of fresh air, and see the sun. So, you make a plan to get to the surface and you start executing that plan.

You start to swim upwards but an octopus stops you. He says, “Hey, can you help me with this thing? It’s a great opportunity for you and will only require a few days/weeks of your time.”

The octopus straps a weight to your ankle that’ll keep you at his depth until the task is done. Meanwhile, you can’t really do a lot of swimming, so your goal of reaching the surface is postponed.

You finish the octopus’s assignment, remove the weight, and start swimming again. You’ve made it another twenty feet closer to the surface when a dolphin approaches you. “Hello!” he says. “I have a great opportunity for you. It will only require a few days/weeks of your time…” He holds out another weight for you to strap to your ankle.

Always ask, “What’s in this for me?”

You’re allowed to be selfish, shrewd, and cynical. You’re allowed to expect a tangible return on your time and effort, especially when you’re being asked to put your goals on hold by someone else who’d rather you spend your time in pursuit of theirs. Many “opportunities” I’m presented with aren’t actually opportunities that would ever benefit me—at least not enough to make up for the loss of time I could have spent on my own goals. Be willing to say no to anything that doesn’t move you closer to your destination. Remember, you’re on a schedule.

Outside projects, in addition to robbing you of your valuable time, will tire you out. The longer you postpone your own goals, the easier it gets to postpone them further. Go long enough without working on your goals and they’ll eventually start to look like unattainable pipe dreams. You’ll get frustrated and resentful and will may never resume your work towards that goal again.

The only thing worse for your progress than the interference of others is your inability to commit to a singular focus.

Sometimes, we’re the ones strapping weights to our own ankles. We can set ourselves back when we start twenty different projects and never actually complete anything.

A few of my consulting clients are like this: eager, driven, motivated, but ultimately they’re too impulsive. They haven’t opened their first location before they’re asking to tour empty units in neighboring towns as part of a sudden expansion plan that materialized on a whim.

In this scenario, you’re swimming to the top, but you can only really use one arm (most of the time), because your other arm and your legs are preoccupied managing your other projects. Try not to think too hard about how that would work from a logistical standpoint—it’s a mediocre analogy, the point is…

Successful, productive people commit and follow through.

Don’t sabotage yourself by spreading yourself too thin or set yourself up for disappointment by taking on far too much. Your timeline serves as a guide but also a reminder that big goals sometimes require big time investments. You might get there sooner, but if not, you shouldn’t feel discouraged. Keep checking off tasks one day at a time. As long as you’re moving forward, it doesn’t matter how fast (or slow) you’re going.

Self-Assess

The lists, calendars, and detailed plans go a long way to curb those impulsive behaviors, but daily self-assessment is an absolute necessity.

When you start your day, do the following:

Check your calendar. Ask yourself:

• Am I on track to hit my deadlines?
• What do I need to be focusing on today to ensure that I will stay on schedule?

Check your to-do list. Ask yourself:

• What can I fully complete today?
• What extraneous tasks can I outsource or postpone?

Hold yourself accountable. If you can’t, have someone else hold you accountable.

Once you accomplish one of your short-term goals, revisit your long-term goal. Ask yourself:

• Do I still want this, or have I found a new long-term goal?
• Have new opportunities presented themselves that could get me closer to achieving this goal or help me progress more efficiently?
• Can I add a new short-term goal now or should I buckle down and clear the ones I’m working on first?

I hope you found this approach helpful. Personally, I had a hard time following most popular goal-setting techniques. This strategy works for me, but I encourage you to also be flexible. When something isn’t working, try something new until you find something that works, and don’t get too discouraged when you experience delays or setbacks.

Let’s start with the questions coming up most frequently in the comments and my inboxes:

Can my boss require us to rent space?

Nobody can “require” you to do anything. You are free to find another job elsewhere or even rent elsewhere. That said, your employer is not required to keep you on their payroll. Employment is “at-will” in all US states. This means your employment may be terminated for any reason, or for no reason at all. (There are unique exceptions to this, but generally, they tend not to apply to workers in our industry.) Should you refuse the offer to rent space in the facility, the owner would be within their rights to terminate your employment.

Is my salon owner trying to take advantage of me and my coworkers by suddenly switching us from employees to renters?

Unless your salon owner is proposing reclassifying you as an independent contractor while continuing to control you like an employee (read more about that here), I would consider it unlikely, given the situation.

The shutdowns caused by coronavirus outbreaks have severely impacted salon revenue. Many salon owners found themselves in a position where their only option was to accept a PPP loan, keep their fingers crossed that they’d qualify for forgiveness, and hope for things to improve before their payments came due. A good deal of them signed these loan agreements during the first round, before the terms were even finalized by the SBA. They found out after the fact that qualifying for forgiveness was going to be harder than they anticipated. Those who didn’t take loans have stretched their savings and their lines of credit to their absolute limits.

Until the widespread deployment of a vaccine, we cannot expect for things to go back to normal completely. Having employees during this time can be prohibitively expensive. Payroll, without question, constitutes our largest expense. While many of these salon owners would love nothing more than to keep their employees on payroll and retain control over their brand and their services, they understand that supporting their normal workforce may not be possible. Many of these salon owners are only turning to rental because they feel they have no choice.

If you were a salon owner, would you rather terminate your employees entirely or convert them to renters?

The salon owners I’ve consulted with who have had to make this choice have not done so without considerable trepidation. None of them had any desire to become landlords. None of them wanted to surrender control of the companies they had worked so hard to establish and grow. But when you find yourself between a rock and another rock, you do what you must.

So, let’s learn about what self employment is, how booth rental works, and what you need to do to lay the groundwork for success.

What does it mean to be a self-employed renter?

If you are a renter, you are self employed. That means you have full control over your business. This arrangement is no different than if you had rented your own storefront. The only thing separating you from a traditional salon owner is that you operate your business under the roof of another salon owner.

This means you:

• Set your own prices and schedule
• Create your own service protocols
• Select and purchase your own products
• Collect your own payments
• Manage your own appointments
• Pay your own taxes
• Have your own business entity, bank account, website, social profiles, booking software, and payment system
• Insure yourself with your own professional liability policy

The person you sign a lease with becomes your landlord, not your employer or manager.

There is no in-between here. You pay for a space to operate your business. The landlord does not get to tell you how to conduct business , what to charge, when to work, or what to wear. They can’t require you to use their branding in your promotional materials, attend mandatory meetings or training sessions, or use their booking or payment software. They also cannot require you to do salon chores or act as a “team player.” From this point forward, there is no team. You’re a business owner operating in direct competition with every professional you work alongside.

This also means that you no longer will be supplied by or managed by the salon owner. The owner does not have to provide you with product, clients, marketing, paid leave, free time for vacation, reception services, an assistant, or any of the other benefits that you may have become accustomed to as an employee.

You are a business owner in every sense of the word. I cannot stress that enough.

First, you may need to obtain a business license. Depending on your state laws you may be required to register either as a DBA, a sole proprietor, or LLC. In some situations, you may benefit from filing as a corporation, but that’s unusual for most booth renters. To learn which business structure is right for you, I recommend reading this article.

When it comes to taxes, you will pay quarterly estimated tax payments. This process is more straightforward than it sounds.

Estimated tax payments are due as follows:

• January 1 to March 31 – April 15
• April 1 to May 31 – June 15
• June 1 to August 31 – September 15
• September 1 to December 31 – January 15 of the following year

There are a few ways you can calculate the amount of each payment:

• Use IRS Form 1040-ES
• Divide the total taxes due for the prior year by four.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t see into the future (and despite loving tax law, I hate tax forms), so I take my prior year’s tax responsibility and divide it into quarterly payments. If you’re married filing jointly and really want to ensure that you won’t be stuck with a big tax bill, have your spouse increase their withholding. I also recommend saving aggressively. That way, no matter how unexpectedly well your business performed, you will always have enough money on hand to cover additional taxes.

As long as you pay at least 100% of what you owed the prior year in taxes (or 90% of what you will owe the current year), you will not be assigned any fines or penalties for underpayment.

You may send estimated tax payments with Form 1040-ES by mail, or you can pay online, by phone or from your mobile device using the IRS2Go app. (Corporations must deposit the payment using the EFTPS—the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.) 

At the end of the year, before January 31st, you will supply the salon owner you rent space from with a 1099 form if you have paid that salon owner in excess of $600 that year. This will allow the landlord to claim your rent as business income and you to deduct that rent as a business expense.

I highly recommend that every professional have a professional liability insurance policy, even if you aren’t required to. Professional liability insurance policies are incredibly affordable and provide a substantial deal of protection against lawsuits. You can get them from a variety of insurance companies or through one of the industry’s professional associations (usually at a discount).

How can I be successful as a new booth renter?

First, start treating your business like a business. You don’t need to put together a business plan, but it helps. Don’t be intimidated. Your business plan doesn’t need to conform to any special format.

Keep personal and professional separated in your dealings with your peers (who are now your competitors), your clients (who are now your customers), and your landlord (who is no longer your boss).

You can find more information in the following posts:

• Self-Employment: Pros and Cons
• Too Small to Fail
• Microsalon Math
• Know Your Rights
• What does booth rental cost?

Do not pull your prices out of thin air or you will doom your business to failure before it even starts.

You could follow the steps outlined in this post, but if you want a system that does all the math for you (and includes a wealth of information and tools for self-employed beauty professionals), I recommend checking out The Microsalon Owner’s Complete Business Toolkit.

The Microsalon Owner’s Success Toolkit includes:

• The Microsalon Owner’s Planning Checklist
• The Microsalon Owner’s Pricing Spreadsheet, a 7-page spreadsheet that calculates your service prices for you!
• The Microsalon Owner’s Pricing Guide, a 28-page instruction manual that will walk you through the process of using the Service Pricing Spreadsheet,
• The Microsalon Owner’s Business Plan Design Guide, a 2-page overview detailing the anatomy of a business plan. Simply answer the questions in each section and you’ll have a solid framework!
• The Microsalon Owner’s Lease Component Checklist, a 3-page document that simplifies lease terms to keep you from signing an incomplete (or unfair) rental agreement,
• The Microsalon Assessment Tool: Be Worth What You Charge, an 11-page checklist and salon evaluation resource
• The Microsalon Owner’s Website Design Guide, a practical 2-page reference detailing each page your site should have and what each page should contain.
• Employer Obligations for Microsalon Owners, a 9-page document that covers the basics of employment law for solo entrepreneurs. (If you plan to hire an assistant or receptionist at some point, you’re going to need to read this document.)
• Suggested Resources for Microsalon Owners, an 8-page reference guide where you can find every awesome thing I recommend—domain registrars, hosting companies, web designers and DIY website builders, mailing list management services, free fonts, free stock photos, salon management tools, accounting software for solo entrepreneurs, and so much more. Learn what each resource does, why they’re great, and why I recommend them.

Salon professionals are testing positive for COVID-19 and they will continue to for as long as COVID-19 exists.

Hence the title of this article. I’m using “when” (not “if”) intentionally. No matter what precautions you take in your salon, one of your employees will likely have a positive test at some point in the future. Consider it an inevitability and plan for it today.

What should my COVID-19 response plan include?

1.) A notification script.

How, exactly, will you notify customers? Which words will you use? What guidance will you give them? Which questions can you preemptively answer? What resources will you refer them to?

This message should be crafted long before you need it. The content of this message will be highly dependent on the individual salon, so by way of an example, I’ll share the one I’ve drafted for mine.

“We have just learned that our employee tested positive for COVID-19 and that you may have closely interacted with this employee in some capacity over the last two weeks. As we have been far exceeding both the state and federal pandemic guidelines, it is highly unlikely anyone else was exposed. However, in an abundance of caution, we are choosing to get tested and self-isolate, and are encouraging our clients to please do the same. We will keep you updated through the salon’s website and via email. If you have any questions, please contact Tina Alberino at mysecret@emailaddress.com.”

In our script, which is written to be read aloud, posted, and texted, our COVID-19 precautions are linked in the content, as is our site’s COVID-19 blog category URL (which displays any and all posts relating to COVID-19) and my actual company email address.

2.) A procedure for notifying the clients.

Does your salon software allow you to filter clients by the date they last visited? If so, can you also easily compose emails and text messages exclusively for them? How?

Figure it out today. Write down the steps if you don’t think you’ll remember them. Contact tracers with the CDC and/or your local health department may require that data, so learn how to easily export it now.

Once you’ve figured out how to quickly send communications to that subset of clients, create a plan for contacting them via phone as well. If your salon has been servicing a large number of clients (more than can be contacted by phone by a single person in a single day), I would recommend dividing the list among your employees to ensure they’re all notified as expeditiously as possible. If you suspect this measure will be necessary, inform and train the employees on how to conduct those calls in advance.

3.) A public statement.

As soon as the news breaks that one of your professionals tested positive, the public will look to you for an explanation. They’ll want to know what you did to protect your customers and what you’re doing moving forward. Will you stay open? Will you close the salon until all of the employees are tested?

Answer all of the questions reporters and the public are likely to ask and put those answers in writing.

Should I reveal the identity of an employee infected with COVID-19?

Absolutely not. First, you’re unlikely to know which employee tested positive to begin with unless they tell you. Should an employee test positive, you will be contacted by a health department official who will notify you. They are not permitted to share that employee’s name.

Employees have the right to a reasonably safe work environment and the right to privacy. (As a matter of fact, those rights are entrenched several in federal laws such as HIPAA, the FMLA, and the ADA.) So, how do we reconcile those things with our responsibility to our professionals and clients?

We comply with the laws and protect the employee’s identity to the very best of our abilities while providing the appropriate notice to those who may have come into contact with that employee.

The EEOC has clarified when employers can ask about travel or symptoms during the pandemic. I recommend reading the entirety of that page, but I’ve included the most relevant parts here.

Directly from the EEOC:

Generally, a disability-related inquiry or medical examination of an employee is job-related and consistent with business necessity when an employer has a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that:

• An employee’s ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by a medical condition; or
• An employee will pose a direct threat due to a medical condition.

This reasonable belief “must be based on objective evidence obtained, or reasonably available to the employer, prior to making a disability-related inquiry or requiring a medical examination.

All information about applicants or employees obtained through disability-related inquiries or medical examinations must be kept confidential.

And further down, they state in all bold:

Based on guidance of the CDC and public health authorities as of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic meets the direct threat standard.

Per the EEOC’s guidance, during a pandemic, employers may:

• send employees home if they display COVID-like symptoms
• ask sick employees if they are experiencing COVID-like symptoms
• ask why individuals were absent from work why they were absent if the employer suspects it was for a medical reason
• measure employee body temperature
• follow the CDC and state/local public health guidelines regarding information needed to permit an employee’s return to the workplace after traveling, including COVID-19 test results
• require employees to wear PPE and adopt infection control practices designed to reduce transmission of pandemic infection

Employers may be held legally responsible for purposeful concealment of a workplace danger.

Employers may not disclose the identity of an employee diagnosed with or presumed to have COVID-19, and are required by law to maintain the privacy of any employee-related health information they gather—including their COVID-19 status.

What should I do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19?

Regardless of the precautions you’ve taken, you will be in for an intensely stressful time. Even if the employee was unlikely to expose anyone else, you’re going to be in charge of damage control moving forward. Here are my recommendations for what to do after you’ve notified all of your employees, even if your local laws do not require business owners to alert customers.

1.) Contact the health department and/or OSHA (if they didn’t contact you first).

OSHA recently issued guidance on employers’ obligation to record COVID-19 cases in the workplace. (Read that article ASAP.)

Once you have notified the local health department, follow their guidelines and recommendations moving forward in addition to those recommended here. Cooperate with any contact tracing efforts they may require you to participate in.

2.) If your team has not been wearing masks or face coverings 100% of the time, send them all home immediately.

I’m not going to ask why you chose not to wear masks or face coverings. I’m not going to let you see the fatal levels of side-eye I’m shooting your way. All I’m going to say is this: we don’t have the luxury of isolation from the general public during our routine work day the way most office workers do.

Masks are non-negotiable for us.

Masks should always have been non-negotiable for us. Every working professional should have been taking every effort possible to protect their lungs—not just from the virus, but from all of the other contagions, airborne debris, and chemical fumes we’re routinely exposed to.

If—for whatever reason—you made the choice not to enforce rules requiring face coverings in your salon, you have made your situation far more complicated and prolonged than it would have otherwise been. I’m not just talking about how your cute little act of defiance or complacency potentially impacted your community (and most certainly impacted the public’s opinion of our industry), I’m talking about the immense damage you’ll have done to your personal brand and the revenue losses you’re likely to endure as a result.

If you have suddenly made the choice to start behaving more responsibly moving forward, those losses start now. Cancel the rest of the salon’s appointments. Everyone in the building should immediately be sent home until they meet the standards for returning to work. You’re effectively closed for business until the salon has been fully disinfected and you have enough confirmed negative employees to reopen.

Because everyone in your salon has been in close-contact and breathing all over each other for at least ten or more minutes each service, it’s pretty likely that your first positive employee won’t be the only one…and that you will have a number of clients who test positive also. Pray they (and the public at large) don’t decimate your salon’s online reputation.

But what if we have been complying with employee and customer mask requirements?

Keep on keeping on. Your lone infected employee could have gotten COVID-19 anywhere, but since they’ve been wearing a mask in your facility, it’s unlikely they infected anyone while under your roof. Unless your health department (or other local authority) requires you to close, stay open and proceed with the rest of the steps.

Also, take a few minutes of your day to read the overwhelming positive support for The Clip Joint, a Missouri salon where an employee recently tested positive. They took every possible precaution to protect their customers and their appreciation shows. While The Clip Joint took five full days to notify customers, a length of time I consider irresponsible and inexcusable, it’s noteworthy to mention they were not actually legally required to notify anyone.

We should also be rejoicing that the first 40+ clients exposed by the Great Clips employees in Missouri have all tested negative—so far—likely thanks to their adherence to social distancing protocols, including mask requirements. These early results are extremely promising for those in our industry who are enforcing mask requirements.

2.) Get your team to make the client notification calls immediately while you prepare text and email notifications.

If you have more numbers to call than one person can handle, every employee with a phone should be using it to call each client that visited the facility over the last two weeks. Have them read the script and instruct the clients to direct any questions they have to you.

If you have the software infrastructure to support sending electronic notifications to every client the salon serviced in the last two weeks, get those messages configured and sent out now. This shouldn’t take longer than a few minutes, since you wrote your notice in advance.

3.) Publish your statement to your socials and refer all media requests to that statement.

It can be easy to unintentionally say something damaging when confronted by the media. Throughout the years, I’ve seen salon owners admit to misclassification and wage theft on national television and in trade magazines. Throughout the pandemic, I’ve seen salon owners and professionals alike show how painfully ignorant they are about sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization—even while using our “superior knowledge of bacteriology” to make a case for a swift reopening.

Don’t risk a misstep. Instead, refer any press to your official statement.

4.) Disinfect the facility.

Follow the CDC’s Cleaning and Disinfection for Community Facilities with Suspected/Confirmed COVID-19. (Essentially, it boils down to “SCRUB ALL OF THE THINGS.”)

Here is where we have to make a distinction between what you’re required to do and what you’d be wise to do despite not being required to do it.

Whether or not the following are required by your local authorities, they are objectively responsible things to do. Therefore, I personally feel they should be done and have made these steps part of my own plan.

5.) Notify all vendors and delivery companies whose employees may have had contact with the employee.

If there is a possibility that the employee had close contact with a non-client while working in the salon, call those companies and inform them. (“Close contact” means being within six feet of the sick employee for a prolonged period, 10-30 minutes.)

6.) Keep COVID-19 positive employees home beyond the minimum period of time recommended.

Employers can utilize one or both of the following strategies recommended by the CDC when it comes to determining when an employee should return to work. These strategies are being referred to as “symptom-based” and “test-based.”

Symptomatic employees may discontinue isolation under the following conditions:

• At least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and,
• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

(Text emphasis comes directly from the CDC.)

If you have access to testing and sufficient laboratory capacity, the test-based strategy looks like this:

Persons who have COVID-19 who have symptoms and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation under the following conditions:

• Resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
• Improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath), and
• Negative results of an FDA Emergency Use Authorized COVID-19 molecular assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from at least two consecutive respiratory specimens collected ≥24 hours apart (total of two negative specimens).

(Again, text emphasis comes directly from the CDC.)

The CDC also notes that there have been reports of prolonged detection of RNA without direct correlation to viral culture (translated: detecting viral RNA via PCR does not necessarily mean that infectious virus is present), but I’d recommend against being influenced by this information and urge you instead to listen to the lawyers. Many public health announcements are advisory in nature. During the pandemic, it is unwise to act on unconfirmed data unless that data encourages taking further precautions.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

When can my employees come back to work?

Your local authorities will likely provide further guidance, but my recommendation—as always—is to listen to the lawyers and exercise the utmost caution.

Legal experts and human resource blogs are recommending a combined approach, advising that employers instruct infected employees to remain home for the longer of the period of time recommended by their health care provider or the applicable health department, or until:

• at least 72 hours have passed since the resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications AND improvement of respiratory symptoms, AND
• at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared, AND
• two consecutive negative tests collected ≥24 hours apart. (Assuming you have access to testing.)

Listen to your gut here. If it’s telling you not to allow employees back into the salon until they have two consecutive negative tests, you’d be wise to follow that instinct. Also keep in mind that immunocompromised employees may remain contagious for longer than those who are not.

If you want to stay open, stay cautious.

Here are the CDC’s Discontinuation of Isolations for Persons with COVID-19 Not in Healthcare Settings. Read them.

At a bare minimum, I would recommend requiring medical clearance confirmation directly from a physician or health clinic. This may come in the form of an official email or document—not merely an employee’s insistence that they’ve been cleared to return to work. For as long as people are capable of masking their symptoms, it falls to employers to conduct due diligence.

I recognize what an incredibly stressful time this is for all of us who interact closely with the public and am grateful for all of the diligent work professionals and salon owners are doing to keep their communities safe during the pandemic. If nobody has told you recently—your efforts are appreciated.

Our rights, freedoms, and political/personal agendas have no bearing on that fact.

Promising vaccine candidates are currently being tested, so we have hope that we will eventually return to normal. In the meantime, be aware that you cannot control the behaviors of others. Your policies can help teach customers how to act in your salon, but they won’t stop ignorant, defiant people who are hell-bent on endangering others from violating them. Regardless of the policies you write and the precautions you take, you will be putting yourself at risk daily.

In this article, we aren’t going to talk about which measures you can take to protect yourself and your clients. (I already talked about that a bit here, and I’m going to leave it up to you to decide what works for your salon and your specific situation.) Today, I’m walkink you through the process of creating, communicating, and enforcing your policies.

How to Create COVID-19 Policies

Start with your state requirements. At a bare minimum, you are required to comply with your state’s social distancing guidelines, whether you like it and agree with it, or not.

Take whatever additional measures you believe are best to protect public health, even if they go beyond what the state requires. If you feel your state is not taking sufficient measures to protect you or your customers, you’re allowed to design your own.

You are a business owner. So long as you are complying with state requirements, the government has no right to interfere in your operations.

For instance, if you decide to eliminate high-risk services (like facials, waxing, and lashing) until further notice, no state or federal authority can force you to reverse that decision.

Write the first draft of these policies alone, using the knowledge we currently have about how the virus spreads and how best to prevent infection in the workplace. You can run them by others if you’d like later, but ignore opinions that run counter to those facts.

Opinions based on feelings and theories with no basis in fact aren’t valid in the midst of a global pandemic.

If people don’t like or approve of your measures, too bad for them. A loud, obnoxious minority shouldn’t deter you from doing what you feel is necessary to protect yourself, your business, your family, and your community. In this respect, the “it’s a free country” argument works both ways. You’re free to take whatever precautions you feel are necessary. They’re free to keep their happy asses out of your salon if they disagree with them.

Until the day comes when we stop discovering new things about the virus, we should operate on the assumption that we aren’t as knowledgeable as we believe ourselves to be, and design our protocols and policies accordingly.

Consider enforcement. Whenever we write policies of any kind, we have to think about how we’ll enforce those policies effectively and consistently. For every policy you decide to introduce, make a detailed, step-by-step enforcement plan and run it by your friends, family, and colleagues. Outside opinions are important, as they may point out flaws in your enforcement plan that you hadn’t considered. (Just remind those you ask for feedback that their opinions should be limited to the feasibility of the enforcement plan only, not their opinions on the measures you’re taking or your approach to creating a safe working environment.)

The person bearing the risk also bears the responsibility. If they can’t be listed as a co-defendant in your salon’s legal proceedings, their opinions on your tactics don’t matter.

How to Communicate Your COVID-19 Policies

Once you have your policies written and your enforcement plan prepared, you have to figure out how to phrase them and where/how to present them.

Make the information visible everywhere. Your website should have a noticeable alert, as should you online booking system. Any emails that come from the salon should include the information for as long as the policies stand. Post notices inside the salon as well, starting with the front door.

Let clients know what to expect form your business, and how to behave while visiting.

The more places you share the information, the better. (I personally enjoy Todrick Hall’s method, but few of us can ever hope to be that fabulous.)

Be clear and concise. This isn’t the time to use nice words or flowery customer service verbiage. Your language should be sharp and effective at communicating your point.

Bad Policy: “We politely request that all customers wear face masks in accordance with CDC guidelines.”
Good Policy: “All customers and staff are required to wear face masks at all times.”

Bad Policy: “Please wait in your vehicle until your appointment time. We ask that you not bring friends or children with you.”
Good Policy: “Clients will not be permitted into the salon until their scheduled appointment time. No guests or children will be allowed inside.”

Bad Policy: “We would appreciate your cooperation with pre-entry temperature checks and handwashing upon arrival.”
Good Policy: “Every person seeking to enter the salon will be subject to a temperature scan upon arrival and will be required to wash their hands.”

Include enforcement measures. In any situation where policies are introduced, we try to also include enforcement information where it makes sense to do so. (For instance, with regards to late-cancellations and no-shows.) During the pandemic, it will be essential that you include enforcement information for each and every policy.

To illustrate this, let’s use our prior policy examples:

• “All customers and staff are required to wear face masks at all times. Refusal to cooperate will result in immediate dismissal.”
• “Clients will not be permitted into the salon until their scheduled appointment time. No guests or children will be allowed inside. Our doors will remain locked and any request to gain early entry will be denied.”
• “Every person seeking to enter the salon will be subject to a temperature scan upon arrival and will be required to wash their hands. Those who refuse will be turned away.”

Just as clients should understand your expectations of them, so too should we communicate what they can expect from us.

Whatever you say, don’t say, “Sorry.”

You might feel compelled to “apologize for the inconvenience” when you communicate your policies. Do not.

Protecting your community during a pandemic isn’t an “inconvenience.” It’s a necessity.

We don’t say sorry for things we aren’t truly sorry for. You can thank people for their cooperation, but don’t apologize for doing what you believe to be right during this unprecedented time. Furthermore, don’t give people the impression that they’re entitled to an apology for being expected to show consideration for others by complying with common-sense infection control procedures.

How to Enforce Your COVID-19 Policies

Hopefully, you won’t have a problem with compliance at all, but you need to have a plan, just in case you do. With a subset of people making social distancing compliance A Thing™, there’s a strong possibility you’ll encounter some kind of resistance.

Be cautious about making exceptions. Even pre-COVID, I didn’t recommend making policy exceptions of any kind, and I’m inclined to strongly discourage them during the pandemic. As we’ve seen, some people aren’t above exploiting the ADA to avoid compliance. The stakes during the pandemic are much higher than they’d be in normal circumstances, where an exception to a policy (for instance, waiving a late-cancellation fee) wouldn’t impact anything aside from the salon’s revenue. An exception to a safety protocol at this time has the potential to kill someone.

Think about which situations and people would warrant an exception and plan for how you’ll accommodate them.

If you plan to make exceptions, establish the criteria in advance. For instance, you may offer to exempt eligible clients with actual, verifiable breathing difficulties from wearing a face mask during their service by serving them at their home rather than in the salon (if that’s permissible in your state). Clients who don’t have reliable child care to speak of might be given an exception to the “no guests” rule if one of your employees is available to supervise the child outside or in an area of the salon the public doesn’t have access to, like a break room or office. (Before you scoff at that idea, remember that many parents–especially single parents–are likely desperate for a short break.)

Any exceptions you grant should go to those who meet your criteria and deserve to be exempted, not whomever complains the loudest.

Focus on your responsibility to your community as a guardian of public health. As an industry, we have always been responsible for ensuring the safety of others. Our business and professional licenses are contingent upon our willingness and ability to adhere to disinfection and sanitation protocols.

If you wouldn’t allow a client to bleed all over you, your customers, or your professionals on the off-chance that you may contract a bloodborne illness, why would you allow them to breathe in their faces during a pandemic?

When enforcing your policies or answering questions about them, draw focus to your role as a responsible licensee. You owe it to your community and your team to do whatever you believe is necessary to prevent the contagion from spreading. This is an objectively intelligent position to take and anyone who argues otherwise doesn’t deserve to be taken seriously in any respect, especially if they aren’t legally invested in your business.

If you alone retain the risks of business ownership, you retain the right to make and enforce your own rules.

Don’t allow anyone to politicize the issue. Everyone in this country has the fundamental, unalienable right to life. As Americans–and as a species, really–we agree that we have a profound responsibility to protect the lives of others as well, to the best of our abilities. You can try to argue this in the comments, but before you do, remember that involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide are considered criminal acts for a reason and that premature deaths (particularly those that were avoidable) are generally considered “tragedies”…also for good reason.

People have the right to live how they please. They do not have the right to force others to accept the same risks they’re comfortable taking. Customers who are willing to put themselves and others at risk will likely have a variety of non-compliant salons to choose from, just as before. Remind them of that fact as you show them out of yours.

COVID-19 doesn’t care about your ideology, and loud opinions aren’t an adequate defense against a viral pathogen.

Equating a business owner’s protective measures during a pandemic with a political stance is outright ignorant. Issues of public health (and frankly, potential liability) have absolutely nothing to do with what we personally believe the government’s role to be. Anyone who treats your cautionary procedures as a political issue should be immediately corrected and redirected to another topic of conversation. Your measures are about keeping the public safe and keeping your salon’s names out of the headlines. They aren’t political and they aren’t up for debate. That’s all there is to it.

As we navigate this weird new normal, remember that this will likely be a temporary period of our lives. There will be an “after,” and your behaviors and actions will be remembered. You get to decide whether you (and your business) are known for having exacerbated and extended the crisis or having done the utmost to curb it. I plan to be among those salon owners remembered for our integrity and dedication to protecting others, regardless of the financial cost or potential backlash from those who would prefer to see us all ignore the data and return to business as usual, with no consideration paid to the immunocompromised people who have to try to survive until we come through the other side of this, or the lives that will be needlessly ended prematurely.

I also plan to do everything I possibly can to avoid landing in court, attempting to defend my business against accusations that an outbreak originated in my facility. Our personal feelings about the media, the government, the WHO, and the CDC aside, I think we can all agree that from a liability perspective, extreme caution during this time is more than warranted. Do what you have to do, and don’t apologize.

A Note for the People Pleasers

So many of the professionals I know and work with are relentless people pleasers. They live to serve, which is why they’re such beloved and successful professionals and salon owners. However, these people are also the most likely to be run over repeatedly by both clients and colleagues.

Those of you who have a hard time asserting yourselves and saying no–now is the time to break that habit. Your professionals and customers need strong, decisive leadership right now.

You’ve been forced into an unenviable position, especially if you’re in a state that has lax (or nonexistent) social distancing orders. It falls to you to ensure your facility doesn’t become part of the problem, and that will likely require you to be more firm and insistent than is natural for your personality. Unfortunately, the only way to become comfortable asserting yourself is to practice by doing it repeatedly. It will get easier every time, I promise.

If you need a pep talk or to decompress after an incident, email me. Five kids ago, I was just like you. Growing out of that People Pleaser phase was the best thing for my business (and my sanity). I’m wiling to be your cheerleader, if you need one.

The pandemic has made evident existing imbalances in compensation and pricing that long went unnoticed.

Many salon owners are realizing that to survive the post-curve, pre-vaccine period they’ll need to both raise prices and lower employee pay—while having to contend with an extended downturn and potential forced closures due to local outbreaks. They’ll also have to find room in their already tapped budgets for PPE, scanning thermometers, and the cleaning supplies necessary to properly disinfect their facilities throughout the day.

[RELATED POST] If you aren’t prepared to handle the next two years in this industry, financially or psychologically, it’s okay to get out while you’re ahead. You do not owe this industry your unfaltering loyalty, and anyone who thinks you do should be told to take a seat, especially if they don’t know your business well enough to present an informed opinion.

Is it legal to reduce employee wages?

So long as the reason for the wage reduction doesn’t constitute unlawful discrimination (a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) or violate an existing contract that expressly prohibits wage reductions, it is legal to reduce employee pay, but there are some caveats.

For pay cuts to be legal, they must be announced in advance of any work being performed during that pay period.

The earlier you communicate the effective date of the pay reduction, the better. Employees deserve the time to consider whether they can afford to continue to work for you. If they can’t, they deserve the time to seek other employment. I recommend making announcements at least two weeks in advance.

How do I announce pay cuts?

The reason for the reduction will affect how you communicate it, but generally, it’s best to have these conversations one-on-one, rather than in a group setting, as each employee deserves the privacy to process the information and ask questions.

Unless you’re choosing to reduce the employee’s wages due to poor performance, the conversation often won’t be an easy one, but sticking to the facts that resulted in the pay cut can make it a more straightforward process. Take a “cause and affect” approach.

“Due to [cause], we’ve [chosen/been forced] to revisit compensation. Effective [date], [your/all employee] pay will be reduced by [amount].”

During the ongoing COVID-19 nightmare, I urge you to show compassion and empathy. As gut-wrenching as this will be for you, it will be exceptionally stressful for your professionals, who may react emotionally. However, when given a choice between pay cuts and layoffs, most employees facing the wealth of uncertainties we’re all sharing will be grateful to stay employed.

What if my employees don’t want to return to work because they make more on unemployment?

Unemployment currently functions the way it was designed to during the pandemic. It’s replacing people’s pre-COVID income to keep them spending money and giving them incentive to stay home. Unfortunately, that means that some of our professionals will earn more on unemployment than they would in the salon (particularly those who were considered low-wage employees prior to COVID-19). The PPP and EIDL programs are also working as intended by giving employers incentive to keep people employed.

It’s great that the programs are working, it’s just unfortunate that they’re working in opposition to one another.

However, employees were never entitled to a pay increase, nor should they expect to keep it simply because the government is willing to send the checks. It’s also important to note that, while this excess provides welcome relief for professionals who were barely making a livable wage previously, those who weren’t in that situation are now bringing in much less income, even with the extra $600 per week, and those people are struggling to pay their bills. As employers, we should be doing our part to make those employees whole again, as best we can.

Unemployment funds deserve to go to people who are legitimately unemployed, not professionals who are fortunate enough to have a workplace to return to.

However, we all know how industry compensation works and as some states prepare to enter Stage/Phase/Step/DEFCON 1 of their reopening, we’re beginning to see what the next two years will look like. Employees whose compensation relies to an appreciable degree on commission bonuses are unlikely to be able to match their pre-pandemic income, no matter how hard they work. It may be best to furlough these employees or let them go entirely, especially since you will likely have to reduce employee hours and/or your staff numbers due to social distancing requirements—just be aware that if you received a PPP loan, your forgiveness eligibility will be compromised.

Employees should also be reminded that the extra $600 per week payments will expire at the end of July, and there’s no guarantee that Congress will extend it at all, let alone in an expedient way.

It is hard to square our responsibilities as citizens who want to ensure taxpayer-funded public programs aren’t abused during a crisis with our responsibilities as employers to our employees to ensure their personal welfare while we also contend with our obligations to our businesses, but nobody said this would be easy for anyone.

I can only speak to my experience, but for all but a handful of my consulting clients (so far), many of these employees shouldn’t have been on the salon’s payroll to begin with, as the business wasn’t busy enough to provide them with an adequate income prior to COVID-19. In these situations, layoffs would have been in the salon’s best interest, with or without the pandemic.

How can I avoid laying people off?

There are alternatives to letting employees go entirely. You could furlough them, cut their hours, reduce all employee pay, and/or freeze hiring as employees leave voluntarily.

Without question, many of us will have to let go of a few employees, thanks to social distancing requirements that limit the amount of people permitted in our facilities simultaneously.

How do I decide who to lay off?

Start by establishing what the salon needs and identifying your key employees. From there, you can decide which objective metrics to use when evaluating each professional.

Objective metrics are solid numbers gleaned from your internal reports, like productivity, client retention rate, and sales.

Try to keep your focus on verifiable, performance-based data, not subjective qualities or personal affection. It can be difficult but try to strip the person from the metrics. You should be looking at positions and what each person brings to the salon, not their merits as individuals or the history you share. If you don’t think you can do that, have someone else provide the information to you with the employee’s identifying details blacked out.

If you’re ever asked to explain your reasoning for laying off certain workers and not others (for instance, by an attorney representing an aggrieved ex-employee), you should be able to show your work by explaining which metrics you used and why. These metrics and any other factors you consider are referred to as your “selection criteria.” Essentially, they form the guidelines you use to determine who stays and who goes.

Because we’re living in a freakish Bizarro world right now, you may want to consider handing the decision over to your employees first with a voluntary separation (or voluntary reduction in force), allowing employees to volunteer to be laid off in exchange for termination incentives.

Whatever you choose to do, be sure to check your state laws and layoff protections first.

How do I lay off an employee?

In some ways, preparing to lay off an employee is a little like preparing to fire one. Make sure to place a box of tissues in an accessible location. Schedule the conversation to occur in private, after the salon has closed for the day. Prepare for an emotional outburst that will be entirely justifiable under the current circumstances.

You know the drill.

Before we move on to the part about “what to say,” let’s talk about what not to do.

Do not lay your employees off via text, email, or DM.

Normally, the only appropriate venue for this conversation would be the salon owner’s office, but social distancing rules may preclude that, so here are your remaining options:

• You can meet via video chat.
• You can speak on the phone.

You can’t text message breakup. Not pre-COVID and most certainly not present-COVID. It might be easier for you to stomach, but your employees deserve better. Respect them enough to endure your discomfort. They need to hear it from you directly and be given the opportunity to ask questions.

Start by arranging a time to speak. I recommend sending an email that makes it clear you have bad news to share. This gives the employee time to consider the possibilities and brace for the news. When someone knows bad news is imminent, they tend to process it better.

If you’re meeting with the employee in-person, prepare an envelope containing—at the very least—a letter of recommendation, complete with an invitation to vouch for the professional as a reference. Whether you include anything else (a check, a list of salon owners who are currently hiring along with their contact information, a written commitment to rehire the professional as soon as the situation improves, etc.) is up to you, but be sure to compile all the information you want to share in advance of the meeting and get it to the employee however safest. If the employee storms out of the salon or the video conference, you want them to do so with all the things you couldn’t say in their possession.

Before you meet, prepare your message so you can deliver it concisely.

“Due to the pandemic, we have had to make some difficult decisions. I am sorry to say this, but we’ve been forced to immediately lay off a number of employees. As of today, your employment here has come to an end, but we want to help support you in your search for another job however we can.“

Then, you stop talking. You have said what you needed to say. Give the employee the silence to process and absorb the information. Let them speak, but don’t let yourself be baited into an argument. Don’t allow the conversation to become about you (your stresses, your responsibilities, etc.). Normally I’d also warn against apologizing for things that aren’t your fault but if apologizing makes you and the employee feel better, do it however many times you need to. Apologizing can be cathartic, even if we have no reason for a guilty conscience.

You’re allowed to cry, too.

Layoffs, once again, aren’t the same as terminations. Layoffs aren’t even the same as layoffs during the coronavirus pandemic. Under normal circumstances, you’d be expected to stay professional, stuff your feelings, keep your composure, and cry it out in your car later, but don’t do that now. It’s not healthy and the stress of COVID-19 is probably already shaving years from our lives. You’re allowed to be a human person through this. You don’t have to hold it all together right now. Nobody does.

How should I announce price increases?

Typically, I don’t believe it’s necessary to inform a salon’s entire client list of a price increase, as it gives them the impression that they’re entitled to comment about or debate it. Salon owners dread making pricing adjustments specifically because a fraction of clients will complain that they should be “grandfathered in” as compensation for their loyalty, but our costs are increasing as our dollars depreciate in value, so we can’t allow that loud minority to influence our business decisions. These clients act in their own best interests, not the salon’s.

Price increases are a necessary part of doing business that customers seem to understand and accept from nearly every establishment they patronize…aside from ours.

Normally, I prefer for salon owners to make their new pricing clear in their marketing materials and websites in advance of the effective date and allow their customers to decide for themselves whether it’s worth complaining about. Should they decide it is worth complaining about, employees should direct them to speak with the salon owner personally in a private meeting, so that customer will be forced to explain to that owner why they think they know what’s best for a business they don’t work at and aren’t legally or financially obligated to.

While you certainly could take that approach, I wouldn’t recommend it at this time. Clients will be expecting you to update them on the status of the salon before you reopen, so plan to include a brief notice of the price increase in your pre-opening communications. When I say “brief,” I mean it. Don’t fall into the trap of explaining yourself. Nobody is due a thorough explanation of your reasoning.

Only in this circumstance is it acceptable to express remorse for a price increase.

During times of economic strife, we all suffer. Clients who find they will no longer be able to afford to come to your salon may be genuinely saddened at this additional disruption to their normal lives. This sucks for everyone and it’s okay to say as much, but math doesn’t lie. If the math tells you that an immediate price increase will be necessary to keep the business operational, the decision is out of your control and has already been made for you. Don’t add to your anguish by lamenting the inevitable.

“The pandemic has necessitated an update to our pricing tables. You can see our new prices here [LINK]. We sincerely thank you for your understanding and support during this stressful time.“

Should problematic clients challenge your decision, keep to this response:

“The price increases were unfortunately necessary and aren’t open to debate, but let’s come up with a new care regimen that will fit into your budget.“

Often, retaining these clients is as simple as presenting alternatives. Those of us who were behind the chair during the recession know all too well what that means, but if you weren’t, here’s what that looks like:

• Sculpting haircuts that maintain their shape for 6-8 weeks instead of 4-6.
• Performing partial root retouches instead of full root retouches.
• Customizing removable hair extensions instead of installing and maintaining traditional extensions.

You get the picture: faster, more affordable services delivered less frequently. If your menu doesn’t currently have items like this on it, now would be the time to add them.

Will I lose clients after raising prices?

Absolutely. Everyone loses a small percentage of their clientele when they increase prices, but we’re all going to be losing clients through this—with or without a price increase.

Don’t feel pressured to maintain unsustainable pricing just to avoid upsetting some of the clients, especially since the alternative could result in the disappointment of every client and every employee when your salon ultimately closes for good.

As we’re all learning to navigate our new normal, I urge everyone to remember that this won’t last forever. There will be an “after.” One day, COVID-19 will be a dark memory, but you can be one of the bright spots in it by going the extra mile for others, volunteering to help wherever you can, accepting help when it’s offered, and rediscovering what it means to truly be part of a community. In doing so, you’ll be caring for yourself, as well.

Showing kindness and patience is the least we can do. Sometimes it’s all we can do. I hope each of you stays safe (and sane) as we each do our part to get through this.