For salon businesses, actions taken and plans made during the last 3 months of the calendar year will determine how strong they will finish the current year — and how well they will start off the new one.
Here are the three major business moves a salon owner needs to make during this crucial final quarter!
1. Fine-Tune and Roll Out Your Holiday Sales Plan
The holiday season is usually the most lucrative for salon businesses, with clients spending more freely on services and tapping into holiday budgets to purchase retail, whether as gifts or for themselves. Salon owners need to ensure they are capitalizing on all available opportunities to make this their strongest sales period of the year (or ever).
Finalize your holiday plan, then meet with your team by the beginning of November to review it and tie up any loose ends.
Be clear about what you are going to accomplish, who is going to be involved, when important dates and deadlines are, and how you are going to pull everything off.
2. Review and Evaluate Your Year-End Business Goals
Before holiday season gets underway is when salon owners need to revisit year-end goals they have set for the business.
Now is the time to determine two things: one, the progress made so far in achieving those goals. What is specifically needed to meet them by Dec. 31?
If the business is farther along in achieving them than you had planned, pat yourself on the back — then set stretch goals for the year’s end.
The second item to review is whether those goals still make sense for the business. Do they need to be altered to accommodate events or issues that came up during the year? Do new goals need to be set? If there’s a time to course correct, it’s now — before the year is up.
3. Get Real With Your Numbers.
To help you with the above — and create the foundation for setting business goals for 2025 — here are useful reports to pull:
- Revenue so far for the year;
- Projections until the end of the year;
- Operating costs; and
- Productivity.
Check in with your accountant if you need help — and while you’re at it, ask if there’s anything important you need to know about your end-of-year taxes.
Sales and business growth start long before they hit your bottom line. If you want to finish strong, you need to start now!
Related Stories on Holiday Strategy for Salons
Effective Holiday Messaging for Salons, Shops, and Independents
Tips to Fire Up Your Salon's Holiday Sales
10 Questions for Salon Owners Heading Into the Holidays
Liz McKeon, a salon business coach and founder of The International Salon Business School, is currently conducting her best-selling Salon Business Owners Retreat for 2024.
Liz is the author of 30 Days to Beauty Business Success. She can be booked for customized, in-salon coaching visits for one, two, or three days by emailing [email protected].