The awesome money saving thread!

[Lynne Baker]

We all know how hard it is out there at the moment, don’t we!
We’ve all learnt from one another how to draw new clients in and how to keep our existing ones happy and loyal.
But that’s only one side of the “how the heck do I keep my business float” equation!
The other side is (and the capitals are deliberate)

Keeping Your Costs Down!​

​

So, I thought I would start a thread where we can all share our favourite ideas for cutting costs not quality. This is not about compromising on our products, treatments or services; this is about saving money in those oft forgotten areas, where the only effect is on our bank balance.

Timers


Timers can save you a fortune!
Check out places like Maplin and B & Q for some fancy 7 day timers which allow you to have different settings for different days. I have mine set so that my 4 wax pots come on at 7 30 in the morning, and go off at 7pm Monday to Thursday, 7 30 to 6 on a Friday, 8 till 2 on a Saturday and orf all day Sunday. It also saves me from flapping about whether I’ve remembered to put the wax on!
I also use one for my heated bed too.
You can use them for heaters, fans, floor lamps, just about anything.
Here’s the one I have; it cost a fiver!


24-Hour, 7-Day Digital Mains Timer : Timers : Maplin Electronics

Cash and Carry Wholesale


We all buy our products from wholesalers and distributors but where do you buy your salon tea/coffee/biscuits/laundry stuff from? We registered with Booker and we save a lot of money by doing so! There are lots of other companies though; like Makro for instance. You have to provide proof that you’re a business, which won’t be a problem; we showed them our VAT certificate and a business bank statement and we were all good. It’s free to register too.
Booker Wholesale | Wholesale UK | Wholesaler | Foodservice | Food Wholesaler

Free Banking


I’m a member of the Federation of Small Businesses. I joined predominantly for two reasons. One, to get jury service cover (Could you survive for a fortnight without any money coming in if you’re called?), and two, for the free business banking with the Co-op. It costs me £120 pa for the FSB, and when I did the maths I found that I would spend that on bank charges in under 3 months with HSBC, so it was a no brainer!
Small Business Support

OK, there are a few ideas to get the ball rolling!


Over to you now! Remember, I’m not talking about cutting corners with quality; I don’t want to hear about how you’ve been decanting Sally’s own brand into branded bottles! :wink2:
We can all learn from this, we can all help each other to weather this particular perfect storm of economic nastiness!

 

[Petit Basque]

Over to you now! Remember, I’m not talking about cutting corners with quality; I don’t want to hear about how you’ve been decanting Sally’s own brand into branded bottles! :wink2:

Oh no.....caught out! :wink2:

Like the idea of timers, especially for hot towels, wax and heated couches!

PB
x

 

[pinkfairy]

As ever another excellent thread, unfortunately I am a bit rubbish at saving myself money so I haven't much to contribute, but I will be watching this thread with great interest.

I split my couch roll and cotton discs in half and use energy saving bulbs in my rooms. I buy in bulk where possible and try to take advantage of VAT free days in the wholesalers-but that's about it!

 

[tanfastic]

Dont want to read and run, just have to say what an excellent idea for a thread, I will be closely following so I can use these tips when I finally pack up the mobile kit and open the doors to my Beauty Rooms

 

[JoJo1980]

Ive changed all my salon spot lights for LED bulbs. Good light and save 85% in energy costs.
I also monitor wastage for tint and such so that there isnt a fortune going in the bin!
I buy all my coffee and biscuits and washing powder etc wholesale.
I have free banking with FSB and have also had my business rates reduced by around £1500 per year just by filling out a form from the council.
ummm....cant think of any more but I am a penny prudence so Im sure I will remember something else..
xxx

 

[cheekychick]

To save on shellac topcoat when doing rockstars, I use 1 coat of clearly pink over the glitter layer then 1 coat of topcoat (instead of 2 layers of topcoat) to get them nice and smooth.
It's a colour that came in my kit that never gets used. A few others work well too.

Read that tip on here ages ago from Geeg I think and it's really helped me so highlighted it again for others.

I probably didn't explain as well as she did though
Sam xx

 

[Dolci_Dolittle]

A potential money saver:

At the moment i dont have a water meter in the salon so am charged a set rate every month regardless of the amount of water i use (nearly £90 when i dont use water that much)

I've asked for a reassessment on the unit to see if a meter can be installed so i'd only be charged for what i actually use.
Xx

Sent from my GT-I8150 using SalonGeek

 

[MrsHBeauty]

To save on shellac topcoat when doing rockstars, I use 1 coat of clearly pink over the glitter layer then 1 coat of topcoat (instead of 2 layers of topcoat) to get them nice and smooth.
It's a colour that came in my kit that never gets used. A few others work well too.

Read that tip on here ages ago from Geeg I think and it's really helped me so highlighted it again for others.

I probably didn't explain as well as she did though
Sam xx

Good idea, thanks x

 

[Florry]

I always search for the best deals on insurance, gas & electric etc once my annual contract runs out - its AMAZING how much I have saved doing this rather than staying with the same company year on year.

 

[jiff!22]

Similar to what jojo1980 said, be careful with tints and other bits that are regularly mixed up. I think we're all guilty at one time or another mixing up a massive amount of tint then wasting it, you can always mix more but not put it back in the tube! Same goes for wax lotions and after wax, im always generous with it, prob too generous! Again you can always pump out a bit more if needed. Sounds so obvious but if you can use half of what youre currently using then is gonna last twice as long.
Also another really simple one, say for example you pop out on lunch or have a gap, turn off what is not being used, maybe just a couple of lamps, cd player or celing light in particular rooms perhaps? I'll be back if i think of anything else

 

[Lynne Baker]

Another idea is to get yourself a tesco/john lewis/sainsbury credit card and use it for your business purchases. That way you can manage your cash flow a little better and get all the reward points/vouchers/clubcard points too, which you can use for treats!
This is what we've done with the distribution business and it's amazing! We have it set up to take the full amount each month from our bank account so we're not carrying a balance, we just get the clubcard points!

 

[happyfeet]

To save on shellac topcoat when doing rockstars, I use 1 coat of clearly pink over the glitter layer then 1 coat of topcoat (instead of 2 layers of topcoat) to get them nice and smooth.
It's a colour that came in my kit that never gets used. A few others work well too.

Read that tip on here ages ago from Geeg I think and it's really helped me so highlighted it again for others.

I probably didn't explain as well as she did though
Sam xx

I do this too! Great topcoat saver, I dont need one bottle of topcoat for colour and one for rockstar, and as clearly pink isnt as thick as topcoat i find my rockstars are slightly thinner than if i had used two topcoats.

I use kitchen roll instead of other lint free wipes, at first when I read you could use this I was concerned it looked a little less professional, but that's just crazy talk! The professional side is that I apply Shellac, Minx and polish without any oil and contaminates on the nail plate to ensure a service with longevity and kitchen roll cut neatly into squares ensures no fuzzies and clients returning for a service that lasts. This in turn for me means I buy kitchen roll from my local supermarket for a few pounds, don't have to worry about cost of postage and packaging (or other products accidentally falling in to my virtual basket I don't really need lol) and have vastly more wipes/squares than I would if bought through a wholesaler. Of course the biggest thing for me is that they do the job brilliantly, but what an added bonus that I save a few pounds as well. Ok it's not bucket loads of cash, but as the saying goes, take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves

Great thread Lynne xx

 

[Alex-Lydia]

I have changed nearly all of my spotlights to low energy, which has saved a small fortune.

I am a big fan of Cocoon Micro fibre towels, 15 minutes in the tumble dryer compared to an hour for cotton, super obsorbant, stain resistant and anti-bacterial.

I use to leave my lights in salon window on from 8am till 11pm, now we do 8.30 am till an hour after we close which is 7pm or 10pm depending on day, over a year thats a lot of hours.

I really try to not over stock, which is really hard for me, I worry I will run out of everything! But it is not necessary to have 6 of every single thing, just in case.

I use a oil filled heater in salon and staff room when its cold, they are very economical to use.

I also ask my staff for ideas on how to save money, energy etc, they have come up with some good ideas.

Great thread.

 

[Divine h & b]

Instead of using electric heaters I've bought some calor gas heater warms up a lot quicker and looks cosy cheaper to run to!

 

[Lynne Baker]

Setting up a business is an eyewaterningly expensive enterprise so we're having to cut back on everything, both in the home and in the business.
I no longer wear perfume on a daily basis, saving it for special occasions.
I rarely set foot out of the office or salon so I send Alex down to the village with a list. He's a man so he's incapable of browsing in a shop, so he saves us money every day!
I buy my food shopping online with a delivery saver plan. It costs £60 for 6 months and we can have a delivery up to once a day as long as we spend £40. So, as soon as we reach £40 we hit the go button. It stops us from having food wastage!
We got a breadmaker from Freecycle so we make our own bread now. It tastes amazing and costs 89p versus £1.20 odd.
I've given up drinking too - saving us about £25 a WEEK!
We had cavity wall insulation done a couple of years ago which saves us a bit on heating the house.
We use the cat as a hot water bottle. She's not keen on the knitted cover but hey, needs must!

 

[happyfeet]

Lynne I love freecycle! Last year our printer packed up, I use this to print my consultation forms, desperately needed one but could have done without the added expense. Logged on to freecycle and picked up and old one someone no longer needed, worked perfectly until I had the funds the buy a new all singing all dancing one, but the old one sure saved me a few pennies in the intermin!

 

[squidgernetball]

After reading on Salon Geek this morning that i-chill CDs are license free, I've cancelled my payment (due tomorrow) to PPL for about £130. I've been chilling to and i-chill CD I've had for ages and will buy more, and clients have commented on how relaxing it is! Fab!!!

 

[Steph86]

B&M or home bargins for cleaning products- a lot of items are MUCH cheaper than the supermarkets!

39p for bleach-it is just to clean your toilet! Glass cleaner 99p for Mr muscle, they do a large kitchen roll for 89p-its like 3 rolls of the usual kitchen roll-again just for wiping mirrors/surfaces. Dettol surface spray 99p (£2-£3 in the supermarket same bottle!) Also drinks if you retail them (from 25p-39p) for Cans of coke. Pepsi, Dr pepper.

Another good buy from there or wilkinsons is their cotton wool.

Xx

 

[Rubytues]

Another great saving tip that I read on here a while back.
Cut your eye gel pads for eyelash extensions in half, the cost goes from £1 to 50p!

 

[BeautyQueen88]

Another great saving tip that I read on here a while back.
Cut your eye gel pads for eyelash extensions in half, the cost goes from £1 to 50p!

Ooh this sounds like a good idea! I'm not sure the ones I use are long enough though? Could you post a pic? X