Time management is paramount to any successful business and business owner. Learning proper cost allocation, managing your time, and the time of your employees will save you a lot of money and stress.
Many business owners focus on getting better deals, getting more clients and better clients, all in an effort to make a profit. And of course, this makes total sense.
But what many don’t know, is that there are ways to make money that are much closer to home.
Some business owners decide to cut costs, remove things that make their employees lives easier and more fun. This is also a mistake. There are three simple “profit vampires” that you would never expect sap your energy and money.
Read on to find the three most costly and well-hidden profit vampires found in any salon or business.
#1 Flowers As Decoration
First on our list are fresh flowers. While this may not sound like much, you would be shocked at just how much fresh flowers cost. They are a total drain on money and resources since a good salon needs a lot of them. Just replacing dead ones, getting new flowers, watering them and all other tiny costs simply add up.
As a solution to this problem, consider fake flowers. They are maintenance-free and are fresh and bright throughout the whole year. Very durable and sturdy, these fake flowers will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Yes, folks! Fake flowers have come a long way in terms of making a great first impression on your clientele. The same as renting fresh, hygienic towels makes sense, you can now rent gorgeous, colorful, artificial flowers.
What’s more, they promise to beat prices on similar-sized fresh flowers from your local florist.
That’s why we love using fake flowers to beat our top 3 list of sneaky money and time wasters.
#2: Not Thinking Of Time As Money
As a salon owner, throughout the whole day you will find you have a lot of “spare change” as far as time is concerned. Fifteen minutes here, fifteen minutes there. You lose a lot of time in between appointments.
Perhaps you think you’re being efficient by using those 15 minutes slots for low-value tasks such as washing towels, doing the bank run or updating social media.
Check the timesheet of a busy technician in your business, and count how many 15 minute gaps there are in a day, week, and month. If you found four 15 minute gaps in a day, that’s 60 minutes or the time equivalent of one client.
If your average client bill is $100 for the hour, then that’s $500 a week in lost revenue, assuming that you run a 5 day week.
Taking this a step further, that can add up to $23,000 of lost revenue if the average stylist works 46 weeks per year.
Learn how to banish time gaps at this website and then outsource your laundering.
#3: Washing Your Own Laundry
Last, but certainly not least. This money drain refers to any day spa, beauty, nail, hair and therapeutic massage salons is the time and energy cost involved in maintaining towels and linen.
Not only is it a drain on expensive employee time, but the washing process costs a staggering $6.15 for each client.
Few would argue that linen washing is best outsourced to a professional laundry service. In fact, you can recover as much as 66% of this cost, and add to your profit column, by simply renting your linen.
Fluffy towels, soft face washers and luxurious bathrobes for your clientele cost as low as $2 per client* with a Day Spa Linen service from Alsco.
Not only is outsourcing your washing more cost-effective than you perhaps imagined, but it will save you and your staff time. Which leads us on to the next point.
Conclusion: Outsourcing is key
Now, many salon owners work very hard on running their business, getting clients, taking care of them, getting the latest technology and vetting employees. But, what they often forget, and simply don’t make time for, is the little things.
Simply put, it’s impossible to think of everything, to keep track of every little detail.
And so, these small costs and expenses creep in and drain and suck the life out of your profits. The hidden expenses, employee workloads, and wages, things of this nature, they all add up. And it’s simply impossible to keep track.
That’s why we advise that you start outsourcing. Simply get somebody else to deal with these tedious and simple tasks.
Save money by finding the hidden employee and service costs in your salon. Outsource the sneaky time and money wasters and get the profit back into your business.
Alsco offers luxurious day spa linens rentals from as low as $2 per customer. Get the free trial now!
Photo courtesy of Freepik Image by @yanalya
Don't forget to share this post!