How to downsize your salon and go back to working solo

More beauty business owners than ever are closing their commercial spaces, letting go of their teams and going back to working on their own. If that's the move you're considering, there's a right way to do it. Here's the exact game plan I'd follow if I were downsizing my salon and scaling back to solo.

First, get clear on why you're doing it

Downsizing works when you know what you want from it. Maybe you're over managing a team, maybe the overheads are eating your profit, or maybe you just want a simpler week. All legitimate reasons.

What matters is that you're moving towards something you actually want, and you understand that working solo comes with its own kind of hard. When it's just you, there's no one to cover you when you're sick and no income when you step away. The plan below exists to make that trade-off worth it.

Set hard boundaries around your trading hours

This is the first thing I'd lock in. No "I work these days but it depends what bookings come in" and no working till 6pm because someone rescheduled last minute. That's how you burn out, and burnout is probably part of what you're trying to escape.

Design your ideal week first, then build the business around it. Do you want a slow morning, the school drop-off and a gym class before starting at 11:30? Mornings only, done by 1pm? Saturday mornings or none at all? Pick the version you could happily repeat week after week, year after year, and hold the line.

Know your numbers and work backwards

Start with profit, the amount you want to pay yourself each week. Say it's $2,000. From there, work backwards through your costs to the total revenue you need, then set your pricing and hours to match.

Every hour you work should earn you a minimum amount, whether it's a lash fill, a tint or a facial. If your hourly earnings jump around depending on the service, your pricing needs attention before you make the move.

Niche your service menu right down

Moving into a smaller space means less storage, so this is the perfect time to strip the menu back. Keep the services you love delivering, with the strongest profit margins and products that are easy to source and order.

Resist the urge to add old services back in to fill the diary. A tight menu means simple ordering, minimal stock and a week you can predict. When it's just you working set hours seeing a set number of clients, you'll know exactly what you need ahead of time.

Outsource everything outside client hours

Your set trading hours are for clients. Don't fill the rest of your week with admin, cleaning and follow-up. Outsource your social media, bookkeeping and salon cleaning so the work you do yourself is the work you love.

Do the same at home. A cleaner, meal delivery, a gym membership that keeps you moving. Factor these costs into your pricing. The whole point of downsizing is a better life, so protect your time off properly.

Book your holidays before the clients get there

When I first worked on my own, I went about three years without a real break, and it fed straight into burnout. Learn from that. Lock in two blocks of two weeks a year before your diary fills.

If you book a holiday only two months out, you'll spend hours shuffling pre-booked clients and your boundaries will get murky either side of it. Holidays booked well in advance keep you organised and give you something to push towards.

Get your ducks in a row before you move

Boundaries, numbers, menu, outsourcing, holidays. Sort all of it before you start trading from your new space, and your solo business will be simpler, calmer and genuinely sustainable.

If you want support working through your numbers and pricing before you make the move, come and join us inside The Salon Goals Academy: https://www.laurenlappin.com.au/salon-goals-academy