Do you need to make more profits in 2013?
If you do, you’re not alone. I was talking recently to an accountant who does the books for his wife’s salon. During our chat, we discussed their urgent need to improve profits, so I asked him;
“What’s the single most effective thing you could do to quickly grow your profits in 2013?”
Because of his profession I was sure he’d know the answer, but I was wrong because he said “we’ll have to find some new clients.”
THIS IS THE WRONG ANSWER … it’s also a ‘Big Mistake’ because I’ll tell you right now, the fastest route to growing your profits in 2013 is to spend less money running your salon …
BUT!!!!!!
AND IT IS A BIG BUT … You’ve got to be clever about how you spend less. You’ve got to avoid making inappropriate cuts that send out the wrong signals to your clients and staff, but the good news is I’ve yet to come across a salon that can’t easily make between £5,000 and £10,000 pounds’ worth of savings a year without affecting the quality of the service they provide. It’s one of the main ways I help my coaching clients and it’s also why I can confidently give them a guarantee that working with me doesn’t cost money … it makes money, simply because I know where to look for the savings.
In terms of making a BIG difference quickly, you’ve got to look at all your costs. I always start with wages and stock, because they are by far your biggest expenses and move on from there.
Now I know you’re probably thinking … “that’s easy for you to say Simon, but you don’t know my salon.” Well I accept that every salon is different and the potential savings vary from business to business, but the fact is, even the simple exercise of changing your utility or credit card suppliers can save you hundreds of pounds. I recently did a like-for-like comparison on my card processing charges (that I thought I was on a good deal for) and found that by switching my provider, I’ll be saving £700 in 2013 and that’s just one example! What savings could you find if you started looking?
By the way, here’s another very important point, it doesn’t make any sense to start chasing new clients in 2013 until your costs are well under control.
Why not
Because chasing extra turnover rather than cutting costs is like driving your car round in first or second gear all the time. It’s inefficient and stressful … it just sounds and feels wrong!
You get your salon into fourth fifth and sixth gear by getting your costs under control, so that every new client you attract makes you a healthy profit.
You may think as long as you’re taking more, or the same money as you were last year, you’re doing okay, but if your costs are out of control, you’re not … and you’d better do something about them, before it’s too late!
Simon Lotinga is one of the UK’s foremost business coaches for Salon Owners. If you want some help improving your salon profits in 2013 you can arrange a FREE 1 hour coaching session by clicking here.
