Charlotte Thornalley

The third Monday of January, or Blue Monday as it’s now called, has been identified as the most depressing day of the year. And as if that’s not concern enough, the usual triggers for feeling down in the dumps, such as miserable weather, dwindling bank balances, the festive fun comedown, and failed new year’s resolutions, have been intensified as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on salon businesses and their staff. But for anyone struggling with mental health issues, it’s just another day of the year. 

As a hair, men’s grooming, beauty, or spa business, it’s hard not to love Valentine’s Day and the business opportunity it presents. Although the popularity of Valentine’s Day has declined in recent years, comparison site Finder predicts that, in the UK alone, 91% of the population will celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2022, with an estimated spend of £1.37 billion. In the USA in 2021, Valentine’s Day pumped $21.8billion into the US economy, with men and women spending an average of $231 and $101 respectively.

Despite decades of training by brands and industry mentors, countless articles in the media, and resources provided by industry organisations, retailing professional salon products to clients remains an area of significant untapped and unresolved potential. 

Successful beauty and wellness businesses don’t become profitable overnight. Having a passion to succeed and deliver amazing experiences for your clients goes a long way, and as 2021 comes to a close, that determination needs to be underpinned by a strategy that will help you hit the ground running in 2022.

If (like us) you've been keeping a close eye on when the latest Australian lockdown restrictions will be coming to an end, some of you are likely to be as excited as we are - 'Freedom day' is nearly upon us 🙌.

Your clients are the most important weapon in your arsenal when it comes to promoting your business. In fact, about 95% of customers read reviews before making a purchase online (Spiegel). Delivering credible first-hand accounts of the services they have received, reviews are quickly replacing the traditional word-of-mouth for salons and spas. 

When clients are delayed, or, even worse, fail to make an appearance, it’s an irritating cost for any salon or spa that takes advance bookings. The good news is that with the right rules, regulations and tools in place, any loss of revenue from empty appointment slots can be reclaimed and even become a thing of the past!

The perceived quality of your services and the trustworthiness of your brand are often judged based on how you present yourself across all of your customer-facing touchpoints. This same brand recognition applies to your e-commerce store, and can often determine the likelihood of a customer making a purchase from you instead of one of your competitors. 

In just a few clicks, you can be sure you’re getting the most out of the features that rely on your appointments being checked out as soon as they’ve been completed. 

As the founder and CEO of the world’s largest beauty and wellness booking platform, Nick Miller and William Zeqiri know a thing or two about secure payment processing solutions. Since we first introduced our built-in Pay by link payment solution, Fresha’s payment processing offering has become increasingly responsive to the demands of running a modern-day salon.

While it might seem easier to stick to the salon and spa software that you know, picking the right tool to manage your business can be a gamechanger when looking to grow your business and increase your revenue. At Fresha, we believe that simple, easy-to-use salon and spa software is an important part of any business's success story, and the exclusive bundle features that are included with Fresha Plus mean you can manage your bookings, engage with your clients, and process payments all in one place. 

Since we first launched our consultation forms feature in November 2020, thousands of salons and spas who use Fresha's online booking software have been enjoying exclusive access to our built-in, fully customisable forms at no additional cost!

Following months of investor meetings and countless hours of reviewing and documenting our business model and growth plan, we’re excited to announce a massive $100 million Series C investment in Fresha led by New York-based General Atlantic, a major investor in some of the world's leading tech platforms. Strategic participation from Huda Kattan, the founder of the Huda Beauty cosmetics line, Michael Zeisser of FMZ Ventures, and Jonathan Green of Lugard Road Capital, along with past investors Partech, Target Global, and FJ Labs, brings the total investments in Fresha to $132 million to date.

Millions of bookings for beauty and wellness treatments are made online every month, and the quality and variety of your service list can be the difference between a potential client booking with you or one of your competitors.

Marketing is effective and it works, but like everything else in your business life, it needs to be well organised, clearly thought out, and managed properly, if it’s going to be effective and deliver a return on investment. 

Making sure you have the upper hand against competitors for quality of service and value for money is a surefire way of securing more bookings and boosting your revenue.

Fresha is excited to announce that from 17th March 2022, our Deposits feature is live! This will allow you to charge a percentage, or full price of an appointment at the time of booking, protecting you in the event of a no-show or late cancellation.

Fresha is already the world’s only subscription-free platform in beauty and wellness. Today, we are excited to announce that from 1st November 2021, Fresha is removing a whole range of fees for businesses using our platform! Why? You asked and we listened, so we’re making life more affordable for you – just in time for the busy holiday season.

It's been a difficult year for many businesses in the beauty and wellness industry and while recent lockdown restrictions have forced many businesses in Australia to close their doors once more, we remain optimistic that the industry will bounce back like never before!

After a difficult year for the beauty and wellness industry, equipping yourself with the right tools to promote your business and services has never been more important! The easing of lockdown restrictions may have seen your calendar looking busier than ever, but as we say goodbye to summer (we know, where did that go!?) and gradually make a return to pre-pandemic life, there’s never been a better time to rethink your marketing strategy and prepare your business for whatever lies ahead.

In a post-pandemic climate where uncertainty reigns supreme and the effects of the past 18 months are still impacting our daily lives, it’s no surprise that beauty and wellness professionals across the globe are well and truly burnt out.

The day-to-day responsibilities of running a successful salon or spa can often feel like a bit of a juggling act. In an age where a growing number of clients expect to be able to book services online in an instant, traditional pen and paper just doesn’t cut it anymore. Making the switch to salon software can seem like a bold move, but when you pick the right one, it can be a game-changing investment for your business! 

Can you remember that feeling when you first decided you wanted to be your own hair and beauty boss? Wasn’t it exciting thinking about the values that would make you stand out from your competitors; visualising your branding and décor; and picturing that constant stream of clients - not to mention the dream of getting to live your passion each and every day?

Believe it or not, the most powerful PR and marketing tool you have is your existing clients. 

With summer back in full swing and the holiday season (hopefully 🤞) back on track, it’s a great time to capitalise on clients looking for their pre-holiday pamper fix. Capturing the attention of new clients in your area can be tricky, and finding new and exciting ways to make sure they pick you over one of your competitors can be time-consuming.

With over 3.5 billion users (45% of the population!) and an average of 3 hours per day spent scrolling through stories and feeds, social media has revolutionised the way we live our lives. From the way we get our news to the way we interact with the people and brands we love, the power of social media is undeniable and it’s here to stay.

More often than not, clients will stick to what they know – but upselling is the perfect way to introduce them to something different. Inviting your clients to try new products and services is not only easier than winning a new client, it’s the best way to achieve sales growth whilst also helping your clients to look and feel their absolute best. After all, that’s why they come to you!  

Opening Bond in 2019 after perfecting her craft in Berlin, London, and the film industry, Ursula wanted her debut salon to be a celebration of creativity, individuality, and the unique personalities of the people who walk through their doors.

You’ll no doubt be aware that we’ve recently made some exciting changes to Fresha that give our partners even more free-to-use features. Removing online booking fees and improving the user experience with a new look and feel is among our latest enhancements - and we’ve included free reviews too!  

Ama Quashie has spent the past decade refining her craft and becoming one of the most in-demand session manicurists in the country. A firm favourite of celebrities and magazine editors alike, she continues to work with some of the biggest names in fashion, stage, and screen and has been using her fashion credentials and nail expertise to amplify and accentuate the natural nails of ordinary Londoners since 2018.

Since August 2019, Nina Yarotskaya and the team at Paulista Ladies Salon have been offering high-quality, affordable beauty services to the women of Dubai. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength and continues to set the highest standards possible for the services they provide, the technicians they employ, and the hygiene standards they practice.

No-shows and late cancellations are not only frustrating and disappointing, but the loss of income is also a real threat to your businesses. 

As a result of our ongoing expansion and growth in the UK and beyond, we’re excited to announce our recent move into a brand new office space at WeWork Waterloo - the world's largest co-working space on London’s iconic South Bank 🙌.

John Jones and the team at Offcut barbers made the decision to switch to Fresha as plans to ease lockdown restrictions were announced in May 2020. Since then, they have used Fresha's market-leading barber software to reconnect with their core values and refocus their energies on their clients. 

He only opened the doors to his eponymously named salon in July 2021, but Stuart Ross and his team of bespoke colouring professionals and stylists are quickly becoming one of the most sought-after salons in Peckham - and he couldn't have done it without Fresha.    

When you need to attract new clients or win clients back into the salon, is your first thought always to focus on which discount or promotion you should run?

With over 20 years of experience, 20,000+ successful treatments, and 10,000+ satisfied customers, Sean Jordan Baruch and the team at Baruch Hair Loss Clinic are quickly becoming one of the leading hair loss clinics in the UK.

With the arrival of a new season comes a new marketing opportunity. Lighter and brighter days are coming, so this is the ideal time to make Spring 2022 hair and beauty trends work for your business.

For many beauty and wellness professionals across the globe, the last few months of the calendar year can be the busiest of them all. Whether your clients like to keep it low-key with their usual self-care services or go all out to make sure their hair, beard, and everything in between is on point for those all-important party snaps, you can be the driving force behind helping them look and feel their best over the holiday season. 

If a hard sell feels uncomfortable for you and your staff – just imagine how your clients feel about it. Aggressive sales tactics can damage your reputation and scare clients away – so why take the risk when customer retention is so important to the success of your business?

Mother’s Day is just days away – so it’s time to launch your Mother’s Day marketing campaign. In addition to more traditional gifts such as flowers, chocolates, and meals out, hair beauty and spa treatments rank highly when it comes to the most popular Mother’s Day gifts. This makes Mother’s Day a great way to increase bookings and retail spending in your salon or spa, so don’t miss out.

We're all looking for ways we can spend less time fretting the small stuff and focus on what we do best - create amazing experiences for our clients! 

By listing your business on Fresha, you’ll be joining the world’s largest network of beauty and wellness professionals helping clients in over 120 countries to look and feel their best! Your online profile is the first thing new and returning clients are likely to see when discovering and booking your services online, and with over 40,000 clients making more than 1 million bookings every month, it's important that yours stands out from the other service providers in your area! 

Today is International Women’s Day, and we're celebrating the remarkable journey of salon owner and Fresha Partner Nejat Salih, and discovering how she is using Fresha’s free appointment scheduling software to safeguard her income.

As the world’s leading and fastest-growing free appointment scheduling software, Fresha predicts that 2022 will welcome an influx of clients returning to their pre-covid beauty rituals and grooming habits.