Business Insights #11: What is Business Profiling?

In virtually everything in life there is an unwritten law that says, for every action there is a reaction. This certainly applies in business where success is directly related to the types and frequency of actions that you take e.g. promotions, attending training seminars.

Over a period of time you will understand which are the things that have the most positive impact on your business. This has given rise to the 80/20 principle. For example, 20% of your clients generate 80% of the turnover. Or which 20% of your retail products (top sellers) generate 80% of your sales or which 20% of in-salon products can not afford to be out of stock.

I recently attended an excellent business seminar at Twincare and one of the key principles was measurability - having a means to measure the results of every dynamic that makes up your business. For example promotions, training, incentives, and even growth of each of your staff members. Sounds like the perfect formula for success!

This is why it is essential to profile your business on an on-going basis to be able to measure growth.

The first challenge is recognising the signs of growth and the most obvious way is to understand the profile of your business. Your business profile is knowing how much each of your ‘offerings’ and ‘resources’ contributes to total turnover. When I say offerings I refer to the conventional range of services including cutting and styling, colour, in-salon treatments, perms & relaxers, hair extensions and retail. And your resources are your staff, stock etc.

This is the profile of a start-up business where most of your turnover comes from cutting hair with very little chemical work being done.

But as your business grows the profile starts to show increases in chemical services, in-salon treatments and of course retail sales. You will also notice an increase in new clients plus the average spend of your clients grows in line with the recommendation of additional services and of course retail.

Finally you end up with a strong, secure business where an ever growing number of clients buy into colour, treatments and retail. This profile shows a sustainable, money-in-the bank business.

You can also 'Profile' each of your stylists by using My Salon Software's KPI reports. This report gives a much more detailed 'profile' including new clients and client retention as well as average docket value.

And the final thing on setting and achieving goals - whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re probably right!

Please feel free to contact us about this or any other challenges you may be experiencing in your business.

This blog is one of a series of business insights which can be accessed on www.mysalonsoftware.co.za. If you have any questions or specific requests please email info@mysalonsoftware.co.za.