6 Time Management Tips for Solo Estheticians and Wellness Pros

Are you a solo esthetician or wellness professional who struggles to find enough time in your day for everything on your plate? Do you feel overwhelmed with all you need to grow your practice, and like you can’t seem to get ahead because you’re busy serving your current clientele? If so, you’re not alone. It can be tough to manage all the moving parts in an aesthetics or wellness practice–especially if you’re the boss or a solopreneur. But don’t worry – we’ve got some great tips for you! In this blog post, we’ll share some of our favorite time management tips for skincare and wellness professionals. These tips will help you streamline your routine and make the most of your time. So read on – your sanity (and your business) will thank you!

Having your own practice can be one of the most freeing and empowering things you’ll do. However, all responsibility and accountability fall upon you. When you’re an employee and are told when to show up, when your appointments are, when to take breaks, and when to go home; time management skills aren’t always an issue–especially if your only responsibility is to show up on time and provide excellent service to your clients.

When you have your own practice, however, you’re responsible for everything on the front end AND everything behind the scenes. Finding the time to work on your business to help it grow and consistently attract new (and the right) clients, retain your current ones, and work in your business directly with your clients can be a challenge. Beyond client work and marketing, there also has to be time for things like bookkeeping, scheduling, preparing client protocols, client follow-up, transitioning your space and time from one client to the next, team training and management, networking, continuing education, etc.

To be successful as an entrepreneur, you need to spend as much time working on your business as it is working directly with clients–if not more. Excellent time management skills are a must to fit it all in.

Here are 6 time management strategies every solo esthetician or wellness entrepreneur should master:

1. Set daily working hours that include scheduled client appointments and time for behind-the-scenes tasks and projects.

Make sure to schedule time for things like administrative work, marketing, bookkeeping, etc. Just as you would schedule an appointment with a client, make sure to schedule these tasks into your day so that they actually get done. Break down large projects into smaller tasks that can be completed in shorter timeframes. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed by a project, and will help you to better see your progress as you complete each smaller task.

2. Plan ahead.

Quarterly business plans are often more effective and less overwhelming than annual ones. Use a daily or weekly planner to keep track of your appointments and tasks. This will help you to see everything you need to do in one place, and will help you to avoid double booking yourself or forgetting about important tasks.

3. Raise your prices.

Most solo estheticians and wellness professionals have no problem charging enough to cover concrete operating costs or tangible retail products, but few charge enough to cover time and labor behind-the-scenes. You need to be compensated for working on your business and in your business. Often feeling stressed about time means an imbalance between the output and the compensation. You may need to raise your prices to create more time to work on business growth tasks.

Try this test: calculate the amount of hours per week that you actually work. Include hours on all behind-the-scenes tasks and projects you do to attract new clients, operate the business itself, and follow-up with current clients in addition to the hours you spend working directly with clients. Then, divide that number into your total gross weekly revenue. That number is your actual hourly rate, before taxes, operating expenses, etc. How do you feel about that number? Does it make you feel fulfilled and adequately compensated for all your efforts? Or does it leave you wondering what the point of doing all this work if this is all you make is? If your answer is the latter, then it’s time to raise your prices or add a new revenue stream to your business.

4. Put systems and automations to work.

Programs that streamline project management, contact management, money management, and scheduling seriously save time. Automate where possible to make room in your day for more important tasks. For example, if you find yourself spending too much time on administrative tasks like scheduling and client follow-up, consider investing in quality scheduling software. This can automate many of these tasks for you, freeing up your time to work on other areas of your business.

5. Outsource.

Paying someone to do a task that takes you forever is more cost-effective than trying to do it yourself. When you feel you can’t keep up with the demand, it may be time to hire some help. This could be in the form of an assistant, a virtual assistant, or even just a part-time employee. Even if you don’t have any employees, you can still delegate tasks to independent contractors (even virtually) that specialize in tasks that aren’t strong suits or that you find yourself avoiding because they’re not your favorite things to do. This will free up your time to focus on other areas of your business that only you can do.

6. Track how you honestly spend your time.

If you’re unsure how you spend your time each week, try tracking it or keeping a detailed diary for a week. But have to be honest with yourself and prepare that the truth of how you really spend your time each week might not be what you actually thought. You might think you’re looking at social media sites for a few minutes each day, when in truth it’s hours a day. Once you have an accurate picture of where your time goes, finding ways to cut back and become more efficient will be easier. Eliminate distractions. This is easier said than done, but it’s important to try. Turn off your phone or put it in another room so you aren’t tempted to check it during every few minutes of downtime. And if you can’t resist the urge to check social media sites or play games, there are software programs that will block them for a set amount of time so you can get your work done.

These are just a few of the many time management strategies solo estheticians and wellness professionals can use to help them streamline their businesses.

By using even just a few of these tips, you’ll likely find yourself with more time to work on growing your business and attracting new clients. And best of all, you’ll feel less stressed and more fulfilled. And isn’t that what we all want?

Do you have any time management tips that have worked well for you and your business?

We’d love to hear from you in the comments below! ‘Til next time…