It’s a long time since I started my first salon business in 1985. For me, it was about making the money. Yes, service was key but making money (profit not turnover) was the key. No money and my kids didn’t get fed. I was young, I was naïve but it worked and ran until today. Business has never been better or stronger.
But there’s is a repeat I have seen with my partners and clients and it is this.
There is an illusion-al trap that a salon business self-creates.
And it’s delusional.
It is this.
Start a business.
Get a great sign.
Paint the place.
Buy nice furniture.
Fill it with people.
Sell stuff or services.
Get a new car.
Take another holiday.
Move house.
Go bigger and better in all things.
Expect salon staff to run it for you when you are not there.
And then the reality of the salon illusion catches you up.
It is this and it is the moment when you speak with your accountant.
He or she says to you…
“You’re doing, turnover is good but you need to increase profit.”
SHIT! … what does that mean?
It means the illusion is everything is getting paid … only just but despite the size of your business it still feels like a real struggle.
Nothing makes sense.
There really is only one way to fix that.
- First, admit you have a real problem.
- Second, stop what you are repeating in your business and think.
- Third, get good advice and ideas to make changes.
- Fourth, just take action and get it done.
This is interesting.
I have had clients like this who have been in a family business over sixty years. Other over thirty years. Some at twenty and ten years. And there are those that get stuck and lost in the illusion of business after months.
Think of it like this.
An illusionist can create a picture in a person’s mind. That person can see maybe three items but the public watching can only see one. How? This is the illusion and when the mind is played with this is what can take place.
Are you ready to fix your illusion?
The past few years I have taken my business all the way back to my core.
That is
- Huge ideas
- Proven advice
- Bespoke advice
- Risk-free risk
- Momentous actions
- Smarter ways to build a real business
- Legacy thinking.
This has taken me down some very interesting paths and has revealed a lot of clients that have accepted their illusion.
But this is so much bigger.
Bigger because like the illusionist a click of the fingers can snap the illusion away just like one huge idea of or moment of action can fix the problems or illusions.
So you might have the above, car, house and cool brand but are you under the illusion that you are actually making money?
I met a client that turnovers £4.2 million a year in his salon chain yet … he had zero profit.
I also have another client that generates just £80,000 P.Y. and also has zero profit.
If you are not seeing profit you need to get advice from someone that can see through and break that illusion.
Your business can be saved.
Your profits can soar.
But you need to start waking up from the illusion that everything is fine because you have the stuff.
If you need more profits we should talk.
My specialist advisory fees, meeting fees and more can all be found here.
I hope this gets you thinking.
The Salon Punk, Alan