Getting back to work after Covid 19

It was back in January when I first learned about covid 19 from a friend of mine who’s originally from China. He sent me a disturbing video of people packed in an emergency room and there was this man strapped to a gurney having convulsions. People were crying and screaming in Chinese and although I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, it looked really scary.

My friend helped to translate what the people in the video were saying and in so many words, there was a deadly virus killing a lot of people and the government was trying to hide it from the world. In my mind I thought it was horrible to know people were having that experience but admittedly, like a lot of things I see on the internet, I never thought it was something that would personally affect me.

Fast forward a few weeks and this same friend sends me a 12 second video of China and it’s a totally different scene. It’s quiet, no one is outside and it’s like a complete ghost town. He told me that everyone was shut in their homes to stop the spread of the virus. Again, I watched that video with empathy for the people but it seemed so out of touch to me and I didn’t make the connection that what was happening in China would have an impact on me here in the United States.

Then came the Governor of California (where I’m located) announcing a shelter in place order in March. Honestly, I had no idea of what a shelter in place was because in my 42 years of living, this is a term I’d never heard. But that was when I knew this virus that my friend told me about back in January was real and that it wasn’t just something that would impact China, but it would impact our entire world. It was just a matter of time.

So here we are today. In California, we’ve been on a shelter in place order for about 2 months now and while other states are reopening and many lash artists are back to work, I’m not completely sure of when I’ll be going back to work. And if your situation is similar to mine, you may have concerns about what your “new normal” will look once everything is back open. As of this article, there is no vaccine and very little information on how to avoid contracting this virus other than wearing a mask, keeping a distance of 6 feet and only going out for essential needs. So, if your state reopens or if it’s opened already, the question becomes, “how do you protect your health when returning to work and to your clients?”

You may also be concerned that when you are back to work, a lot of your clients won’t return because they may be a part of the many that have lost their jobs and are out of work.

So in this week’s article, I’m going to share some ideas to help you get back to work in a way that’s safer for you, safer for your clients and hopefully, profitable.

An important thing you should know is that you’re not alone. Many lash artists have concerns about the future and what their new normal will look like. Some are afraid that this may be the end of their business. And that’s a valid concern. Especially if your business was struggling to get a steady flow of clients before this virus spread throughout the world. But here’s what you should know.

In times of great challenge comes even greater opportunity.

Sure, it’s hard to see that when you’re personally in the thick of it all, not making the same level of income yet the bills keep coming. It’s hard to see the opportunity when you’re feeling the sting of circumstances that you didn’t create. But just hear me out. Many of the companies we’ve grown to know and love were born at a time of great challenge. In fact, all of these companies you see below were created during a recession and/or the great depression.

This means there’s hope for you as a lash artist. But in order to thrive in a challenging situation like this, it means you’re going to have to rethink how you do business. This is the time to make sure you have your business in order so that when the next recession or covid 19 comes, your business is prepared. And notice I said when and not if because although we don’t know when, eventually it will happen.

Back in 2008, I was pregnant with my daughter and working a corporate job. Its also the year the recession hit and my corporate job was at risk of being lost. If I can be honest, I hated doing that job. But I needed it because I wasn’t prepared financially to strike out on my own in business. Eventually, I was laid off and luckily I got another job within 30 days thanks to my old mentor and his connections. Although I was thankful for another job, I knew that I didn’t ever want to be in a position again where my future was in the hands of anyone else because for me, that meant uncertainty. I knew that I had to do something to make sure that no matter when I got laid off again or when another recession hit, I’d be better prepared for mine and my daughter’s sake.

So in 2008, I started my company. That’s right, pregnant, laid off and with limited resources, I started my lash business. And here we are today over 12 years later, my business has evolved over the years but the same business I started in a rough time is still kicking. I share that to say from personal experience that its possible to have a great business regardless of what’s happening in the world.

But it takes a completely different way of thinking. Moving forward, rather than just thinking of how to make money, you’ll also want to think about how to design your business in a way that allows you to still stand when the next challenge comes up.

Ok so let’s take a look into the future and what that looks like.

The first shift I strongly suggest is for you to treat your business as a business and not a hobby. Meaning, it’s not enough to just take a class and start offering mobile service going to people’s homes or working out of your house. Treat your business seriously and like a business. Go and get a business license and do the paperwork to legally run your business. Learn how to structure your business and separate your business and personal finances.

Part of the reason why many businesses, despite having to physically close their doors will still be able to thrive is because as a business there are so many benefits you become eligible for that you don’t qualify for if you don’t have a legitimate business.

Like writing off meals, supplies, your phone bill and tons of other stuff because of your business. There’s significant tax breaks you’re able to get for running a business that you aren’t able to get as a single person working without a business license.

Not to mention, when you have an actual business, you may be eligible for business loans, grants and financial assistance. During this pandemic, there are so many grants and loans that are available to legitimate businesses with appropriate licensing on a city and state level that it’s insane. So definitely, if you haven’t before, do everything you need to do to set up up your business properly so it’s viewed as a business. You can check with your local city and state to confirm the different business structures you can apply for and details on how the tax structure works. You have the extra time so instead of watching Netflix, use it to get your business affairs in order.

Now when it comes to how to work in your business, lets talk about the practices you’ll want to have in place when it’s time to reopen like how to handle your appointments. Of course, always follow guidelines set forth by your city, county, state and/or country to protect yourself and your clients. These tips I’m sharing here today should be in addition to what your local authorities suggest to put your clients at ease and to help further protect your health.

The first thing is to be ultra clean.

And I don’t know about you but I’ve been this way since the beginning of my career. I am constantly cleaning. I just feel that because we’re working on people’s eyes, and it’s so easy to get an infection, we have to be over and above clean for the sake of our clients health and for ours.

So I always wear gloves when working with clients and I suggest you wear them as well to protect yourself and your clients. Of course, you always want to wash your hands before putting on your gloves. Also, wear a mask and I would even go as far as suggesting your clients wear a mask as well while you’re working on them.

Keep in mind that if your clients wear a mask, they cannot talk during their appointments because a moving mask can interfere with eye pads and make your job harder. So it may work in your favor to have your client wear a mask and relax so you can work on their lashes and get them done faster.

Next you’ll want to change the linens or bedding for every client. Here in California, we’re required to change the towel under our client’s head but I change sheets between every client because personally if I were a client, I wouldn’t want to lay on the same bedding that a complete stranger that I know nothing about laid on. Honestly, I don’t even want to sit on the same bedding of people that I do know so think about your clients experience. And change the bedding for every client so that germs aren’t transferring from one person to another.

You’ll also want to clean frequently touched surfaces. So between clients, clean doorknobs, the door, your light and anything else that’s touched a lot so you’re not cross contaminating surfaces. You’ll also want to disinfect your tools daily using a steam or dry heat autoclave or disinfectant solution like Barbicide. This is something that I’ll have to put in place because before the pandemic, I would just sanitize all of my tools at the end of the day since I have a ton of tweezers. But its a good practice to get everything sanitized the same day and not let it sit.

If you weren’t doing these things before the virus, you’ll definitely want to put them into practice when you’re back to work to protect your health and the health of your clients. Putting these practices in place means you’ll also need to change how you structure your appointments so that you have enough time to thoroughly clean between each client.

You may also be wondering if you should offer discounts to your clients because of the virus. And this is tricky because it really depends on where you are in your business. On one hand, if you really need the cash and you know that your clients are price sensitive, go for it. Offer what you know will get your clients in the door. I recognize that there are many clients who won’t want to pay full price for a full set even though that’s what they’ll need. I would personally encourage you to restructure your business in a way that repels clients that are price sensitive and I teach you how to do that in my monthly program, the Lash Masters Monthly but for now if you need the cash flow and clients won’t pay full price for your services, offer what you think will get them in the door.

Now if you’re like me and you don’t desperately need the cash, charge full price. You’ve likely designed your business in a way that offers so much value that your clients don’t care about the price, they just want their lashes back. And they’ll pay whatever they need to in order to get what they want. I personally believe that charging full price is a good thing because if there are some price sensitive people you’ve managed to attract, they’ll drop off or they’ll level up to pay and the more people pay, the more they value what you do and the less headaches you’ll have.

So I’ve covered a lot in this week’s article I know. And if you don’t have a lot of what I’ve mentioned in place, you’ll likely need a little guidance on how to structure your business. I share a lot about building your business and mastering your lash application on this blog but I go into greater step by step detail within my monthly program, the Lash Masters Monthly. So, if you want to go deeper and learn all about how to master your lash application and build your lash business, make sure you get on the wait list so you’re notified when enrollment reopens by clicking the image on this article.

I hope this serves you and if you’ve gotten back to work and had to make some changes in how you work with clients, would you do me a favor and share those things in the comments below?