Having been born some years after the end of the second world war I have always been grateful to have not been born at a time when the World was at war. Life was unimaginably hard - basic, everyday things were considered a luxury and because food was rationed, people lived on food stamps. But life went on.
Over the years we have seen a complete separation of people - the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Religions, classes, skin colour, sexual preferences and ever gender are continually fighting each other. And yet life goes on.
Being a big sci-fi fan I always imagined an invasion by little green men as probably the best solution for bringing solidarity to the human race. If we wanted life to go on.
Instead of little green men we have been attacked by a virus, who would have thought? But life must go on.
It may be a few weeks or maybe longer, no one seems to know. But humans are very resilient and resourceful and we will beat this thing. Life will go on.
In the meantime, as John Lennon once said, "life is what happens while we are making other plans".
So what can we do to mitigate the impact on our lives and businesses?
Our businesses might be closed for a few weeks but that does not mean we have to lose three weeks business. So instead of working in, we need to work on our businesses.
Firstly believe that there will be an end to this nightmare. There will be a time when we will be able to open our businesses and start to live our normal lives. However, the things we do today, tomorrow and the next day will determine how quickly your business will recover.
Things we need to do:
Plan for the day you will reopen. Your clients will have been without their hairstylists for three weeks or more and will be desperate to get their hair done. Rather than wait for your doors to re-open, pre-book appointments for the first day you re-open.
Start with your top clients i.e. The 20% of your clients that represent 80% of your turnover. This type of planning is the same as a top styling going on leave for two weeks. By pre-booking her top clients right up to the day she goes on leave and then having the appointment book full from the day she returns from leave, she could do 75-80% of her monthly turnover in just two weeks.
Use this time to tidy up your admin. Most salons are computerised and every salon has duplicated clients on their data base. Now's the time to clean it up. If clients haven't been back for 12-18 months de-activate them (never delete). Your data base will become stronger by quality as opposed to quantity.
Spend time on your stock system to see if there are ways you can improve the way you manage your stock. Not every item in your salon has the same sales or use-up-rate. Reset your model and re-order levels based on historical usage. You could save up to 20% on your cost of sales.
Use the sms function to remain in contact with top clients. I guarantee you they are missing you as much as you are missing them. Using the sms function is so easy and...clients are able to sms back into your sms in-box.
Even though salons will not be trading the My Salon team remain available to assist and advise on issues regarding the use of our software. Your salon may be closed but your business is not.
Aletta - 0645046001
Terry - 0836500952
Bryan - 0614706359
We see a light at the end of the tunnel and share that light with you. Stay positive and stay safe.
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