While you have probably worked hard to future proof your business, there is little that could have prepared you for the Coronavirus lockdown. Financial uncertainty, business closures and salon teams suddenly finding themselves at home with nothing to focus on, can all add up to anxiety and low moods.

However, the biggest strength of the hair and beauty industry is the sense of community that can hold us together, even in the most worrying times. If you can pull together as a team, there is plenty you can do to help support each other, whether it’s through mental health, training or helping to support the business.

Take a look at some ways you can help support your salon staff – and yourself – through the Coronavirus outbreak…

Stay connected

Remember, you are still a team, even if you aren’t meeting at the salon every day. While some members of your team might be living with family and friends, others might be in lockdown alone. Try and ensure everyone stays in touch and has somebody to speak to if they need it.

If you haven’t already, set up a WhatsApp group so you can easily keep everyone updated on what’s going on – or even just have a chat. If your staff want to stay in touch, arrange video call catch ups to help keep spirits up.

Arrange team activities

It’s all too easy to feel bored and lethargic during isolation, so why not arrange some fun activities everyone can get involved in? You can set up a Zoom account for free, giving you an unlimited number of 40-minute group meetings – you can try anything, from group fitness classes, yoga, meditation, quizzes – anything you can think of!

It doesn’t just have to be online, either. While you can’t meet up with each other, you can join together in spirit to raise money for charity or achieve a new goal. Maybe you can all start doing weekly runs to get ready to run a half marathon next year? Or set up a salon fundraiser page to support one of your local charities or hospitals?

Provide learning opportunities

If you have the resources to be able to do this, encourage your team to take up any earning opportunities they would like to. If you can provide training tools for them, then all the better. There are plenty of training courses online, some of which or free, some of which have a fee. Here are just a few:

We have also put together a blog with some of our favourite nail art tutorials for beauty professionals, but it doesn’t end there – Youtube is full of videos with experts sharing their tips.

It doesn’t just have to be hair or beauty training, either. If your team wants to improve their social media or marketing skills, for example, why not see if you can find a course they can enroll in?

Related: What to Do When Working From Home as a Hair Stylist or Beautician

Remember the importance of mental health

While it’s important for us to stay safe at home, the downside of this is the effect it might have on our mental health. While you might already have mental health in the salon set up as priority, it can be intimidating for those who aren’t sure how to deal with it.

For some support, the mental health charity Mind have set up a help page on Coronavirus and your mental health. There are plenty of resources available to help you help your staff. You can always call them at any time if you are worried about anyone in your team.

Get financial support

When you care for your team, it can be hard to see them struggling financially – especially now, when the situation is so far beyond your control.

However, you can make sure that you make the most of all the financial support offered by the government to help keep your business and staff as secure as possible.

You can use the business support finder to help you easily find out what measures are available for you. Or, take a look for yourself at what financial support is available for businesses during the coronavirus here.

While you want to make sure you can take care of your staff, it’s important to look after yourself, too. Financial pressures can be extremely stressful, especially when others are relying on you too. You might feel as though you need to stay positive and not worry your staff, but don’t keep your concerns bottled up.

Your salon team will probably be more than happy to step in and do what they can to help support the business – whether they want to help create a marketing plan, promote gift cards and retail products or even improve your website!

Again, always reach out for help and advice from a mental health charity or even just a friend if you feel you can’t cope.

If you need any supplies during the Coronavirus lockdown, Salons Direct are still open for business online as usual.

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