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April 16, 2024 17 mins

In this episode, we tackle one of the most pressing issues facing beauty business owners today: PAYROLL. We discuss the delicate balance owners must maintain between meeting employee expectations for higher pay and ensuring the financial health of their company.

You'll learn valuable insights on how to approach this challenge, including the importance of communication, career paths for employees, and creating a transparent financial plan. We dive into practical advice on understanding your payroll expenses in relation to overall sales, establishing clear paths for growth, and addressing team members' expectations. Whether you're an established business owner or just starting in the beauty industry, this episode offers actionable strategies to help navigate payroll challenges and build a stronger, more resilient business.

Conversation highlights:
00:54  Balancing payroll costs and team happiness
01:50  Where does your payroll stand?
03:30  Communication + financial transparency are key
06:00  The importance of mapping out career paths
06:40  Common payroll challenges in the beauty industry
09:08  Action steps to take if you're overwhelmed by payroll
12:40  The real meaning behind an employee's request for a raise

Watch the video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/Ne5V6MJdPmk

To learn more about how Strategies can help you create more profit, fun, and growth potential for you, your business, and your team, schedule a free 60-minute strategy session:

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The Beauty Business Strategies Podcast is designed to give salon, spa, medspa, barbershop, and lash studio owners, just like you, quick tips to make more money, inspire your team, and create world-class client experiences.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Beauty Business Strategies Podcast.
I'm Christy Hardy and today I'mhere with Michael Yost,
president of Strategies, and weare going to dive into one of
the biggest struggles that wehere owners have, and it comes
down to payroll challenges.
Exciting topic, michael, it'sso exciting.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
I can hardly wait to attack it, that's so exciting, I
can hardly wait to attack it.
Right, so what kind ofchallenges do you feel?

(00:48):
The beauty challenge, which is,people would like to get paid
more.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Right.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
But they also have to balance the financial health of
their company.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Right so.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
I mean, that's the challenge, right it's like
owners out there going.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
I have people that want more money and I don't have
any more money to give in asense, how do we help owners
find that money to be able togive it?

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, I mean, that's so this.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
I guess that's the challenge right.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, I think that you know.
I think the key thing is Ithink there's two key things
that when we really startlooking at this issue is you
know.
The first thing is this is Ithink the first thing is you
have to know where you stand isthe first thing I think you know
.
For business owners out therethat are struggling or just kind

(01:38):
of looking at this idea of apayroll challenge, which is I
have, you know, people thatwould like to have raises and
like to have more money, but I'mnot sure where I am.
You know, financial, I'm notsure that I can afford it.
First things first is you got toknow where you stand.
Right, and that's as simple asjust doing the simple idea of

(02:00):
where's my payroll as an expensein relation to my overall sales
.
And so at Strategies and manyof you might be familiar with
this, but if you're not, atStrategies, we have a guideline
for you that says this is wedon't want your service
providing payroll to be higherthan 35% in relation to your

(02:23):
total sales.
So the math is quite easy Takeyour service payroll number
whatever that number is,including the taxes in there
take that service payroll numberand divide that by your total
sales number, which is servicesand retail combined, and
whatever the math tells you,whatever percent is left, there

(02:44):
you go.
And we want to be.
35% or under tends to be ahealthy range 35% to 40% comes
up that way.
Yeah, you're starting to feelthat and over 40% you probably
have a real challenge.
You're feeling the pressure ofthat, and that's the first place

(03:10):
I think to is just to knowwhere are you on the journey,
because most businesses I don'tthink, really recognize where
they truly are in that area.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
I hear that a lot when I talk to owners.
They just are not even sure.
I'll ask the question andthey'll say I have no idea.
Like well, we can't make anychanges until we really
understand where you sit today.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Right.
Yeah, it's hard they don't knowwhat they don't know Right.
So I think that's the mostimportant thing.
I think, once you get past that, I think it really just starts
to come down to how are wecommunicating.
I think that's really how arewe communicating?

(03:43):
And to me, me, one of the mostimportant things is solving this
challenge.
Is, you know, people want togrow financially, but they don't
know how to grow yeah,financially and they hear out
there that they can.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
They can make a hundred thousand dollars, or
they can have this giant careerand make all this money, or
they're supposed to be making areally high percentage of
commission, but they don'treally have any context to that.
So how do we teach them thatcontext?

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Well, and I think that's it, I think we have to
make sure that we teach peoplenumber one, how they grow in our
companies, and the second thingis, you know, just financial
awareness and literacy aroundour company.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
Right.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
Because I think too many owners just don't share the
right amount of information anddon't communicate in these two
really key areas.
You know, if we looked at as anexample, whether you're hourly
which is what we advocate hereat Strategies from a pay
standpoint, or whether you'recommissioned we advocate here at
Strategies from a paystandpoint, or whether you're

(04:45):
commissioned In either scenario,do people really know how they
can grow, how they can earn moremoney, what would constitute a
raise of some sort?
How would that go into effect?
Most people don't know that.
Most team members and employeesdon't recognize that or don't
know that, and they don't knowthat because, again, it's not

(05:06):
shared with them.
And the second thing is, youknow, they also aren't aware of
what really is capable of, whatthe business is really, what's
really possible in the business,and that's what we and that's
what business owners and leadersneed to really focus on.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Communication is key.
It builds the culture, itbuilds the trust, it builds all
of that.
And I know personally, when Ihad strong culture, had strong
trust with team members, I wasable to communicate those times
where we could give a little bitmore and those times where we
just couldn't do it.
And most of the times when wecouldn't do it, I didn't even
have to have the conversation.

(05:42):
They just kind of knew becausethe trust was there and the
communication was there.
So that is the key it's notover sharing, but sharing the
right stuff.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Right, exactly so you know, if you know, if you're
sitting here and you'relistening and you're saying, all
right, I need to share howpeople grow in my business.
You know, do you have a careerpath for people?
Do you have something that'smapped out that shows them how,
uh what skills they need to begrowing?

(06:11):
Do we, do we under?
Do they understand the otherbehaviors and actions that need
to be engaged?
Do you understand the key?
Um, you know, I guess, some ofthe key metrics along the way to
measure are we growing or not?
And again, many, many, manyteam members just have no clue

(06:33):
what that looks like in theirworld and in their environment,
so I don't know what I mean.
What are some of the commonthings that I know?
In your role here at Strategies, you have a lot of
conversations with people thatare just calling us and just,
you know, directly connecting.
What are some of the challengesthat you most often hear?

Speaker 1 (06:55):
The primary challenge has been lately.
I pay a very high commissionrate and I am drowning and
they're not able to communicateto their team members that I
might be overpaying you for whatwe are able to do.
That's been a lot of them, youknow it's really about.
They don't have a career pathbut they want more.

(07:17):
They want more.
They hear what's happening outin the world and they can have
these giant percentages and it'sjust not reality.
We're working a lot with ownersto figure out not only what
their percentage is but otheropportunities for them to be
able to figure out where theycan build a little bit or
decrease expenses a little bit,to be able to build a little bit

(07:38):
of a cushion for their teammembers.
But it's really about notcommunicating, right?
You?

Speaker 2 (07:45):
know we have to always keep in mind that the
world around us is alwayscommunicating, so maybe team
members are seeing things onsocial media that are just
becoming the norm for theirthinking.
Yes, you know, if they'reconstantly here about how in
this industry you can earn Xamount of dollars or a payroll

(08:08):
or a commission rate should be Xcommission rate or things like
that, they're constantly beingcommunicated with.
But as a business, we need toconsistently communicate with
these team members and with yourteam members.
So, again, going back to whatdo we need to have in place?
Got to have that career path,map that out for them, talk to

(08:31):
them in a clear and transparentway about what the goals of the
business are in relation to howthat triggers growth for them.
So you know, pointing out,here's the, here's the realities
of our business from thestandpoint of you know.
Hey, here's a look at you knowbig picture, here's what we can

(08:56):
contribute and put towardpayroll to be a healthy company.
Giving people a sense ofunderstanding and communicating
is, again, just a critical pieceunderstanding and communicating
is again just a critical piece.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
Is there anything that youwould recommend to an owner who
is just feeling completelyoverwhelmed at the moment but
like what's the one startingpoint that they could, kind of
action item that they could use?

Speaker 2 (09:21):
I think the biggest action item around this is you
know.
First and foremost, you need tomake sure you have a plan.
You've built a cash flow planfor your company.
That's the first thing.
It's the only way you're goingto know what's happening in your
company and where you can giveand when it is affordable for

(09:44):
your company to be able to do so.
So being tuned into the bottomline and dollars and cents of
your business is absolutely thefirst thing.
Then it comes down to reallymaybe for many of us it's
looking at the payroll structurethat we are currently using and
does it fit the reality of whatwe want for our business?

Speaker 1 (10:06):
Right.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
You know, and is rewarding the things we'd like
to see rewarded.
Is it having the impact on ourcompany that we'd like to see.
In other words, giving peoplegrowth for their overall
performance in the company, notmaybe just one aspect of what
they do, which is really, youknow, the primary reason that a
strategy.
We advocate an hourly based paystructure for the simple reason

(10:31):
Number one it allows you betterto understand, dollars and
cents wise, what's happeningBottom line in your company.
Control that expense.
But to me the most importantthing is hourly enables you to
reward people for the overallperformance in the company, not
just one aspect.
I will you know myself myhistory is I was a commissioned

(10:53):
hairdresser for 16 years of myhairdressing career, totaling 25
total, but for my first, youknow, 16 years, that's what I
did and that's the environment Iworked in.
And with that in mind, you know, all I knew was I reached a
plateau and growth from therewas very stagnant.

Speaker 1 (11:16):
Right, you know, it was very you were like, if I
recall correctly, you were a I'mdriven, I'm going to do as much
as I can, but you can only dowith what you can do with your
two hands, right, right.
So how did you change that whenyou were able to be in a
team-based environment?

Speaker 2 (11:28):
Well, and that's why, when I opened then and I
started my own business, I gottired of that.
I knew there had to be a betterway to recognize someone on the
entirety of the person, not justone thing that they did.
For me it was, yeah, doing hairand standing behind the chair

(11:52):
and, ok, that was important.
But the people that work for us,and even myself then I had a
lot of other talents that Iwanted to give, and you have the
same thing in your owncompanies.
You know people that want to beinvolved in social media, people
that want to be involved ineducation, people that want to
be mentors, those that go theextra mile, maybe behind the
scenes as such, but they do somuch more.
So, again, this is where havinga clear career path for someone

(12:16):
and showing them the otheropportunities that can be
available to them is critical.
You put that with a clearunderstanding of how growth
happens and if you have a clearunderstanding of, financially,
what can be done, suddenly noweverything runs a whole lot
smoother.

(12:36):
Everything runs a whole lotsmoother.
I always kind of have to kindof laugh to myself when people
come to you and they ask you fora raise.
That really is kind of a badquestion.
That's really a bad question,not because we don't want to
give people raises or anythinglike that, but what it's really
saying is they just don'tunderstand how to grow.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
I haven't communicated well as a leader,
exactly.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
I just don't understand how I can grow.
I'll, you know, I'll go back.
I'll touch on on your history,which is as the general manager
of a you know, a larger salonand spa.
You know how many times.
I mean, you know really, howmany times did you hear that
question?
Probably a few.
And how did you, in your rolethat had to answer those

(13:24):
questions?
How did that evolve for youover your history?

Speaker 1 (13:29):
Great question.
You know, I think when I firsttook over my role as GM, I got
it a lot and I think it wasactually just a challenge
question to see if my team knewif I had their back or not.
You know, we worked a lot onmaking sure that everyone
understood where their careerpath was.
We did lots of check-ins.
It really came down to one word, you guys, and that word is

(13:52):
communication.
If I wasn't communicating withopportunities, with advancement,
with kudos for when they weredoing things right, then we
weren't going to grow as a team.
The more I could communicatewhere we were as a business,
where they were as a team memberin that business, then they
could understand where they weregoing to start to be able to

(14:12):
see the reward financially.
So it really comes down tocommunication.

Speaker 2 (14:16):
Yeah, exactly, absolutely, and you also have to
.
I think the other key with thisis well, this is a.
I think this is a challenge,but in a different way as well,
because I think oftentimes, whenwe start talking about payroll
and challenges, we often thinkbottom line and we often think
about the financial implicationsand, yes, all that needs to be

(14:37):
considered.
But I think the other challengethat lies here is the
opportunity to show just how canpeople continue to grow in your
business, and I think that'sanother big challenge, because
if people only feel that they're, if people feel as though their
growth is limited in some wayin your business, that's also a

(15:02):
challenge that can come up.
I mean, you can have extremelylisten.
We work with plenty of healthybusinesses, very healthy
companies that also have payrollchallenges.
Because I think it really comesdown more to maybe they're not
clearly.
Again, the theme of today is,obviously it's hard to believe
that we can talk about payrollchallenges, but the key theme is
communication, but it is.

(15:25):
But you can have a very healthycompany and still have payroll
challenges.
But the key theme iscommunication, but it is.
But you can have a very healthycompany and still have payroll
challenges, meaning peoplecoming to you and saying, hey,
listen, I'd like a raise, I'dlike a raise.
Another way that what that'sinterpreting to is I feel like
my growth here might be limited.
How can I continue to growbeyond this?
How can I continue to grow inthis area?

(15:46):
Financially as well Is, I think, another challenge.

Speaker 1 (15:51):
Sometimes it's not about the dollar and cents that
somebody's coming to ask for,but it's about what my future is
.
And that's exactly what youwere just saying.
It's not about the pennies,it's about what?
Can the pennies kind of evolveto.
It's about what can the pennieskind of evolve to?

Speaker 2 (16:05):
Right and I think that's a great point is
sometimes questions like thismanifest themselves when they
might be asking for what youperceive as financial growth,
but really, when they're askingfor a raise, could be something
completely different, which isyou know what is next for me, or

(16:26):
how do I relate in a differentway?

Speaker 1 (16:28):
Right, how do I get better?

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:29):
Yeah, that's huge.
That is huge, Michael.
Thank you.
This has been an interestingconversation.
We're going to continue thisconversation for years and years
and forever, because payrollchallenges seem to be something
that come up no matter what.
Like you said, healthy business, challenging business we all
have payroll challenges, but ifyou need to learn more about how
your business can really bestreamlined, affected, supported

(16:54):
with your payroll challenges,feel free to reach out to us.
We would love to be able tosupport you.
Go visit us at strategiescom,but thank you for joining us.
Joining us at the BeautyBusiness Strategies Podcast.

Speaker 3 (17:08):
Thanks again for listening to the Beauty Business
Strategies Podcast.
If you like this episode, besure to hit follow and please
share the episode link withanyone who you think could
benefit from today's content.
To learn more about howstrategies can help create more
fun, profit and growth potentialfor you, your company and your
team, we invite you to schedulea free 60 minute strategy

(17:29):
session by clicking the directlink in the description of this
episode.
There you also find links toour wide array of coaching,
seminar and learningopportunities, all of which can
be found at strategiescom.
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