Ep. 49 - {Step 5} The First Steps to Hiring Your First Esthetician

If you're answering the same questions over and over, if things keep getting done wrong, if you feel like you physically cannot leave your spa without something falling apart... you don't have a team problem. You have a system problem.

And today we're talking about the thing that changed everything for me. Standard operating procedures. SOPs.

I know. It sounds corporate. Stay with me.

What an SOP Actually Is

An SOP is simply a written step by step process for how something gets done in your spa. That's it. It's not a 50 page legal document. It's usually less than one page, clearly written, easy to follow. Detailed enough that someone could walk in off the street, read it, and know exactly what to do.

How to open the spa. How to close it. How to check a client in and out. How to turn over a room after a Brazilian versus a facial. How to have a retail conversation. How to handle a late cancel. These are the kinds of things that live in your head right now... and as long as they stay there, you are the bottleneck in your business.

SOPs Don't Create More Work. They Eliminate Repeated Work.

The reason most spa owners don't create SOPs is because they feel like it takes too long. They'll get to it later. Their team already knows how to do that.

But here's the truth. You are already spending time re-explaining things, fixing repeated mistakes, and answering the same questions over and over. The SOP just does that work for you, once, so you never have to do it again.

When everything is documented, your spa runs on standards and systems instead of your memory and your mood. And that is something you can actually scale.

Where Do You Even Start?

You do not need to sit down and write 50 SOPs this weekend. Start with your biggest friction point. Ask yourself... what do I get asked the most? What keeps getting done incorrectly? What feels like it only works when I'm there?

That's your first SOP.

If rebooking is inconsistent, start there. If closing procedures are different every night, start there. If retail conversations feel awkward for your team, start there. One at a time, at your own pace.

As for where to keep them... Google Docs, a binder with QR codes linking to videos, a project management tool, Teachable... there's no single right answer. What matters most is that there is one place everyone can always go to find what they need. Consistent and reliable. Boring, in the best way.

This Is Actually About Freedom

I want to shift how you think about SOPs because I think a lot of people see them as a way to control their team. It's the opposite. SOPs are how you free yourself.

When your team knows exactly what's expected, they need less from you. They make fewer mistakes. Training is faster. You stop micromanaging because you don't have to. And eventually... you can leave at 2pm and trust that everything is handled.

That feeling of freedom is real. And it is so worth the work it takes to get there.

If you're feeling overwhelmed in your business right now, it's most likely not because you're incapable. It's because the right things aren't documented yet. SOPs create clarity. Clarity creates consistency. And consistency creates freedom.

Start with one this week. Just one. And go from there.

Ready to build a spa that actually runs without you carrying everything?

Fill out this intake form to book a discovery call with me. I work with spa owners who are done being the bottleneck in their own business and are ready to build a team and systems that give them their time and peace back.