2019 is just around the corner (can you believe it!). With the new year fast approaching, now is the time to get a handle on your figures if you want to make next year your best one yet. If over the past year, your takings seemed to be great, but your profits have been leaving you a bit bewildered, it’s time to take control and cast fresh eyes over the finances to establish where the issues lie.
Are you ready? Let’s look at how to get on top of your finances just in time for 2019!
Be Scrupulous
While it is that time of year, we’re not suggesting that being scrupulous means you need to channel Scrooge. You simply need to have a good grasp of your outgoings and incomings. After all, it’s your livelihood and should be managed with utmost importance.
It may seem a tad much, but in the long run, it helps to write down all your costs, not forgetting those small purchases that quickly add up. Once you’ve done this, you’ll have a much better understanding of where you can make savings and what is actually costing too much.
Are Your Employees Profitable?
If you do have employees, ensure they know how much their column needs to make in order for them to be profitable for your business. This amount is usually around three times their salary [ANNUALY/MONTHLY/WEEKLY/HOURLY?]. Set targets and goals for how they can improve this – simple steps can make a whole lot of change.
Check your columns
A great way to make change is to ask your therapists to look at their columns daily. This will allow them to be able to identify where they can upsell, cross-sell and bundle sell, as well as up their number of rebookings. If many clients are regulars, the number of rebookings should be a reasonably high percentage which saves time and provides an insight into where there are gaps in employees columns. If you know your client has fairly flexible availability, encourage them to take slots that are usually quieter, freeing up busy days and times for other clients. Doing it this way, you and your colleagues can manage your columns much more effectively.
What Do Your Customers Spend?
Understanding your takings is an excellent start to getting your finances under control. What is your average customer spend? How much is from treatments and how much from retail? Increasing your retail takings will have a significant impact on your profit. With this in mind, think about the kind of products you can retail and how you can encourage clients to spend more.
Take Charge of Your Finances
Enter into 2019, fresh and financially ready for the year ahead. The changes you make now will go a long way in securing the successful future of your salon while keeping your profits turning.
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