Nice dilemma to have!

[J33XSS]

Hi guys,
I need some advice on what you would do in my situation. I've been established for almost four years now and have a home salon so not many overheads etc. It's got to the point where I'm fully booked a couple of weeks in advance, and my evening and weekend appointments are booked up around 3-4 weeks in advance. It's a nice problem to have but I don't know how to solve the issue of people not being able to get appointments with me! In the last year or so I've started offering more expensive treatments such as cryo lipo, rf skin tightening, SPMU, laser hair removal etc, but my nail clients which is one of my cheapest treatments are my bread and butter and still make up around 35% of my monthly takings. January's profits have doubled from last January, it's that busy! I have a few options that I've thought of so far, also willing to consider any other options that you guys can think of!

Option 1: increase prices on cheaper treatments such as nails, lash extensions (my last price increase was November 2013)
Option 2: stop taking on new clients for cheaper treatments but continue with existing clients for these treatments
Option 3: add an extra evening onto my working hours (I currently work Tuesday to Saturday with two late nights til 9pm, so a bit reluctant to do this one
Option 4: just put up with it and carry on as I am, just warn people they need to book in advance.

Which option would you choose? Or can anyone think of any other options? Thanks for reading x

 

[TanBird]

Option 1 + Option 2?

 

[RED STAR]

Option 2.....IMO.

 

[BannerPenguin]

Option 1 every time. On all treatments. Maybe less custom but means less hours but equal or more money. Win, Win.

 

[J33XSS]

Thanks for the replies, the other option was to drop the cheaper treatments and focus on the more expensive ones, but I don't really want to do that when the cheaper ones are still my bread & butter.

What percentage would you recommend putting prices up by? I was thinking around 10%, for example my Gelish is £22 at the moment so was going to put it up to £25? X

 

[Redduck]

Definitely option 1 and your clients will soon realise they need to book early to get the appointment times they want.

 

[hazelb]

Option one with a bit of option 2.
My only question is to look at the margin you get on each treatment ( also if you enjoy doing it)

If you are trying to fit in MORE treatments, something will have to give. So look at the current treatments you do that don't give you a good return ( £ per hr) / that you hate doing.

If you get a good return from nails ( time vs cost ) then carry on with them, if not maybe don't take on new nail clients and put the cost up for existing ones.

 

[J33XSS]

Option one with a bit of option 2.

My only question is to look at the margin you get on each treatment ( also if you enjoy doing it)



If you are trying to fit in MORE treatments, something will have to give. So look at the current treatments you do that don't give you a good return ( £ per hr) / that you hate doing.



If you get a good return from nails ( time vs cost ) then carry on with them, if not maybe don't take on new nail clients and put the cost up for existing ones.

Thank you, that is exactly what I was thinking. I'm not necessarily looking to fit in more treatments, just maximise my earning potential which may mean not taking on any new nail clients as the profit vs time is the lowest of all my treatments. I think the replies to my post have confirmed what I was thinking, it's nice to get further opinions though! Thank you all x

 

[Beauty4all]

I was in a similar position last year, so after a lot of thought, I made 2 decisions:
1) I raised the prices of my most popular 2 treatments by 8% (So for £24 Treatment, it went to £26). My logic was that I might lose a few clients but the increase would cover that.
2) I removed the treatments I'm not keen on doing - Spray Tanning and Lash/Brow Tinting, Cluster Lashes/Lash Perming

The result was that I lost no clients at all, but have continued to gain more!
I have opted not to work longer hours because you can't flog a dead horse, and that's what I would be if I worked any harder lol!
I hope that helps

 

[littlebear]

maybe expand the business and move to a premises with two rooms and employ someone to do the cheaper treatments and you do the expensive treatments?

 

[J33XSS]

maybe expand the business and move to a premises with two rooms and employ someone to do the cheaper treatments and you do the expensive treatments?

I don't want to move to a premises, I'm quite happy working from my home salon and I think with the overheads of a salon I would be going backwards in profit for the foreseeable future, I don't want the stress of employing someone either x

 

[2joanne]

Hi

It sounds like you are doing amazing! I'm just about to launch my nail and beauty business from home, I'm really nervous and I'd love to know what you would say have been the things that have really worked for you and given you this dilemma!

Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Many thanks

 

[Lilhen2t]

Great advice on this thread ladies!!
So my dilemma is I have a very successful beauty and nail salon trading almost 10years employing 3 staff at present! Due to personal circumstances I have been toying with the idea of moving my salon home and going solo!! No over heads or wages however I know I'll loose a lot of customers as I can't possibly do them all myself not to mention letting the girls I employ go as they've been with me a life time!!
Any advice greatly received

 

[RED STAR]

WHY!!???
Obviously, your circumstances are personal to you, but, unless your heart and soul are no longer in it...or your at retirement age.............why would you want to give up your empire!

I worked from a home studio for a few years before I got my shop,while my children were young.
It fitted in with the school run.
It was O.K.......but I didn't love it....
I resented the intrusion of my personal space, and didn't enjoy the isolation of working alone.
I will admit, I got stale.....I got a little lazy....
Once your out the loop, it's not easy to find your way back!
GOOD LUCK whatever you decide.

 

[squidgernetball]

Great advice on this thread ladies!!
So my dilemma is I have a very successful beauty and nail salon trading almost 10years employing 3 staff at present! Due to personal circumstances I have been toying with the idea of moving my salon home and going solo!! No over heads or wages however I know I'll loose a lot of customers as I can't possibly do them all myself not to mention letting the girls I employ go as they've been with me a life time!!
Any advice greatly received

Why not sell your business as a going concern or take a back seat and go part time. Many therapists do go to a home salon but if the business is successful I would sell it and take your clients with you x

 

[Lilhen2t]

Yes this has also been an option! Thanks for the response x

 

[solomarketinggeek]

Thanks for the replies, the other option was to drop the cheaper treatments and focus on the more expensive ones, but I don't really want to do that when the cheaper ones are still my bread & butter.

What percentage would you recommend putting prices up by? I was thinking around 10%, for example my Gelish is £22 at the moment so was going to put it up to £25? X

Hi J33XSS,

What option did you choose? How's it going so far?

This mostly sounds like a lifestyle decision, so it's important to reflect on what you want your day to look like from the moment you get out of bed to the moment you put your head on the pillow again at night. Do this for an ideal average weekday. Then an ideal average Saturday. And an ideal average Sunday. By "ideal average" I mean, when your life is the way you want it (ideal), your average day will look like <fill in the blank>.

The 80/20 principle really is a brilliant device to also employ here. Maybe even 90/10 or 95/5. Meaning, what do you enjoy doing the absolute most? Chances are, you could rebrand yourself as a specialist at that and raise your prices for that in the process. You could refer clients to some of your most trusted friends for the other services, and pre-negotiate to get paid 10% referral fees or something. Or maybe you choose not to get paid anything, but you negotiate that they're going to send all of their clients to you for X, which is what you enjoy most. Lots of ways to do it.

Sunni

 

[sam@tonic]

I don't want to move to a premises, I'm quite happy working from my home salon and I think with the overheads of a salon I would be going backwards in profit for the foreseeable future, I don't want the stress of employing someone either x

Hi J33XSS

I am in a similar situation to you, I own a small salon am fully booked for a couple of weeks in advance and evening/weekends full 3/4 weeks in advance. I don't want to employ anyone or work anymore hours than I already do 50+ a week. I made the decision last year to increase my pedicures by £10 - I know that's a lot, I'm well aware that it's a lot but they were the treatments I was doing that made me the least money in an hour. I figured, if people didn't want to pay it then they wouldn't. I obviously didn't want to loose clients but it if that happened then it would free up space for other treatments that made me more money in less time. If people did want to pay it, then great. I gave everyone advanced warning of the price increase and I think I've probably only lost one client from it.
I've also had to put a stop to taking new clients after 4pm on weekdays and all day Saturday's. It's a good position to be in and I get people saying all the time 'why don't you employ someone' but truthfully I just don't want the hassle.
You have to do what works for you in the end and clients will just have to be more organised and book in advance (there will always be the ones that don't and get a bit annoyed when you can't fit them in today!) but it shows that you are great at your job and obviously running a very successful business.
I hope that helps!

Sam x

 

[solomarketinggeek]

Great share, Sam. It takes courage to raise your prices and trust that things will work out. You also put tighter boundaries on your working days and hours, which is also great. It's amazing how people often respect us more when they see us valuing ourselves more first.

Sunni