Magazine for the professional nail industry.
Issue link: http://nailsmag.epubxp.com/i/213903
how to survive… A Natural Disaster When Mother Nature walks in to your salon. > Be prepared. Make sure you have a first-aid kit, flashlight, bottled water, and emergency numbers. Include the phone numbers for all staff members along with their emergency contacts, police, fire department, electric company, public works, landlord, and insurance company, etc. Establish a chain of command for which order to contact people in. Show your employees where everything is located including the furnace, hot water tank, emergency keys, circuit breakers, fire extinguisher, flashlights, etc. > Develop a disaster recovery plan for your salon so you are always prepared and everyone knows the drill. Keep record of your plan and use different tabs to separate each possible problem and different solutions for each. > Consider investing in a backup generator in case of a power outage. > Make nice with other businesses in the neighborhood and maybe even another salon in town. It's important to have other businesses and owners to compare notes with and go to in case of emergency. Other salons might need to take your clients until you get back on your feet, so it's good to have a place to recommend to them. > Contact the PBA (probeauty.org/drf). The Professional Beauty Association has a Disaster Relief Fund that supplies aid to salon professionals affected by natural disasters. Even if your salon has not been affected by such a disaster, go to the site and consider donating to help others in need. > If you are lucky enough to have an advance warning for a disaster such as a hurricane, begin preparations immediately. Board up windows and move breakables into the back of the salon away from the windows. Grab any important files and your computer 114 | NAILS MAGAZINE | 2013-2014 THE BIG BOOK before heading out. Always keep a back-up record of important information off your salon premises as well. > Make sure you know your insurance policy and are purchasing the right policies for your salon. After a disaster remember to take pictures and video to document any damage for insurance purposes. > Know your support system. Regardless if it's calling your family and friends, keeping in touch with other nail professionals via social media, or texting with clients, know who you need to rely on to get through a potentially difficult time. > In order to prevent a fire in your salon, consider the following: store volatile substances in metal cabinets, don't allow smoking, make sure your electrical system meets the National Electric Code, know the hazards of every product in your salon, use electrical circuit protection, don't use extension cords, don't keep space heaters next to combustibles, install a fire protection system (sprinklers, smoke detectors, etc.), and use metal safety cans for rags with volatile substances. > Know where the safest places are in your salon to be during an earthquake. Having a drill or participating in events like the Great Shake Out (www.shakeout.org) can help you prepare for a quake. The Great Shake Out's site has additional resources for earthquake safety for businesses. > It sounds tough to imagine, but make the best of a bad situation. After Noel De Caprio lost her salon due to a fire, she rebuilt and learned a powerful lesson. "I believe everything happens for a reason. In our new salon, I am doing things that I've always wanted to do, such as opening an advanced training center and offering wellness programs. If something like this happens to you, you just have to keep your chin up and keep going," says De Caprio. >>>