I am a strong person. I have been thru more than my share of hell in my life.  But since I have opened my salon, the fun stopped after the decorating. I opened this salon because I the salon I was in at the time was a living nightmare. Owner would not fix anything, we froze in the winter and sweltered in the summer, a real mizer! I had wanted to do something unique upscale and different in my area of 27,000 people. I did not have a business plan, in fact I laugh at myself at "WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN?" I thought I could do it all on two credit cards! My reasoning for NOT doing it slow, was that if you start out with a mediocre salon,it does not matter in four to five years, you could have gold toilet seats and everyone will still remember you as a mediocre salon!  So I decided to go "BALLZ OUT!" Deep in debt, way beyond two credit cards. I am "THE WORST" business person, because I am an ART-TEEST! I just started my fourth year, I do hair, and the rest consisted of three other FANTASTIC, women doing hair, and one FANTASTIC mani/pedi/facial gal. I was holding up o.k. with the booth rent I was bringing in. I could still use 2 fulltime stylists and 1 more manicurist. Everyone co-exisited just beautiful. I am a VERY easy going owner. But the UNTHINKABLE happened two weeks ago! The last thing I expected was that two of my beloved girls were leaving to open up (YET ANOTHER) 2 chair place in town! No reason, both were perfectly content= except someone brought it to one of the girls' attention that it was available, and after thinking she went for it!  Now, the mani/pedi/facial gal gave her 2 weeks! CHEAPER RENT somewhere else! I offered her lower rent, no go. So, NOW I am down $600.00 per week in rents to support the business. EXTREMELY substantial.  I am not even bringing in enough rent to even pay the lease, not to mention utilities, etc.  I want to puke, I am having meltdowns, and am going insane with worry. I have spread the word, to everyone and their brother. No response. WHAT IN THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO???  PLEASE I BEG OF SOMEONE FOR ADVICE!!!!!!

Send out cards and call if you can and personally invite clients.  Re-establishing a relationship works...

Increasing prices for those clients who you have difficulty with is also one way of opening up some space for new clients...

you go!!!

get creative ............offer product parties  (Free services for referals) to existing clients untill you get the stations filled.  Kids birthday parties ...serve pizza... can you sell accessories?  Make-up? when you do get the chairs filled. fill any part-time stations with other part-timers.

best of luck