Is your salon in a cash flow crisis? Does all your hard-earned money somehow slip through your fingers? On paper things look good – at least that’s what your accountant tells you – but you never seem to have any money when you need it.
You’ve poured all your funds, skills and efforts into building and operating your business, but instead of making healthy profits month after month, year after year, you’re treading water financially. Feeling overwhelmed by financial problems can often cause people to constrict their energy and go into panic mode, which makes you feel stressed, burnt out and a little helpless. Sound familiar?
Knowing Your Numbers Is The Way Forward
I talk to business owners in this position all the time and can tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way. Getting clear on your business financials is key to improving your cash position which is why I recommend that every business owner looks at their Profit & Loss statement at the end of every month. This will help you to identify areas of overspending or opportunities to increase revenue. If you are not currently looking at your financials every month (or at all) then this is the first thing I would change so that you can be in a position of strength around making financial decisions in your business.
More Clients For Your Salon or Spa May Not Be The Answer
When there is no cash in the business and we don’t know why, the first thing we tend to do is look at team. You want them to sell more, do more and be more! Unfortunately, this won’t actually work for you, unless you have a clear purpose going into the conversation and back that purpose up with the right tools or offers to support them in delivering for you and the business.
For example, most people when in this situation think marketing is the answer. Get new clients in the door. That will have the till overflowing, and everything will be hunky dory. The challenge is, it takes a huge amount of time and energy to attract new clients in today’s market. Social media and digital marketing generates so much noise for the average client these days, it makes it that much harder to grab their attention let alone get them to buy from you straight away.
One of the quickest and most effective ways to increase revenue into a business (and alleviate a cash flow problem) is to talk to your current clients, the ones waiting patiently on your database. Wouldn’t it make sense to focus on them to increase business? They already trust you and are already buying from you – your job is to focus on getting them to buy with you more often or spend a little more money with you each time they visit.
If this became your sole focus and you shut out all the other distracting noise on social media and other channels, you would free up time to work more closely with your team to develop solutions around client spend and visit frequency – who knows, maybe you could inspire your team to achieve some really amazing results!
Don’t Focus on the Problem. Make Focus the Solution
Cashflow is one of the most difficult things to manage. When you can’t find the answer to your cashflow woes, you may feel stuck – and your self-confidence can take a nosedive. You feel overwhelmed and anxious – I am a business owner myself and understand this feeling all too well. The good news is that with some focus and planning you can avoid this situation from happening again in the future.
At LOFT, we are dedicated to helping business owners decrease overwhelm, make more money, free up time and feel in control of their business and that’s why we have developed a bunch of tools and templates to help with this planning process so drop me a line if you want to learn more about them.
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