6 Ways to Successfully Manage Your Business
You’ve always dreamed of opening your own salon, and now your dream has become a reality. Great! But now the responsibility comes. And you’ve discovered that running a salon can be a bit overwhelming. The daunting number of tasks seems never ending, and the time it takes to manage all of them is even more demanding. But don’t stress! Stephanie Jennings, VP of Sales at MINDBODY has six tips all business owners should implement to save your business time and money.
1. Running reports eliminates the guessing game.
Know what’s going on in your business? You should! Try using an automated reporting system to keep track of sales by category, new memberships and revenue. The insights will help you determine which products and services are working best for you and the automation will save you countless hours. You can even create reports that track what your employees are doing. With MINDBODY’s business management software, everything is tracked and logged so owners can review reports on a daily basis to stay on track.
2. Steady your cash flow.
Most salon owners don’t collect membership dues each month like a gym, but wouldn’t it be great if you could. Consider a rewards program for clients that acts like a membership, where monthly or yearly dues are collection in return for services such as haircuts, touch-ups for updos. This can be a great way to keep income flowing into your salon and to keep clients loyal.
3. Offer online booking to capture clients 24/7.
Don’t miss out on making money because clients can’t book services when your business is closed. Forty-six percent of customers book classes and appointments after hours, and eighty-three percent of them use a mobile device to do so. Accommodate customers’ schedules with online booking, and give them the convenience of booking with an app.
4. Manage your business from your phone.
Remember when landlines weren’t cordless and you were stuck standing in one place if you wanted to talk on the phone? Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it! Now we have mobile phones and tablets so you’re no longer tethered to a corded phone—or a desktop computer that requires you to work from your desk or office. Make the most of your clients time—and yours by taking advantage of business management software that is integrated with a mobile application, allowing you to manage and access your business information from anywhere.
5. Reduce the number of no-shows.
Stop paying someone or spending hours yourself calling or emailing clients to remind them of their upcoming appointments. Let’s be honest, how often do they actually pick up? Save both money and time by using automated email reminders or text reminders.
“Because of MINDBODY’s automatic appointment confirmation emails, I have fewer no-shows,” says Kalysa Loren, owner of Kayos Studio. “My customers really enjoy the emails, too. Instead of having to keep track of appointment cards, they now have a digital copy that can be uploaded to their phone’s calendar.”
6. Streamline your marketing efforts.
Don’t market your business with little return. Save time and money by using marketing services that offer customizable templates. Templates require little time to set up and are more affordable than starting from scratch. The right templates can help you easily create marketing tools for your business: everything from a website and emails to key tags and gift cards.
