If you’re the one paying the bills for your business, you are probably already painfully aware of the costs associated with running a salon. Expenses can include everything from staffing, rent/mortgage, utilities, and insurances to operational supplies to keep your salon humming along.
There are many ways you can take control of your business, and cutting waste is one of them. If you are looking for ways to cut expenses but still maintain the level of service that your clients expect, we have a few ideas to help eliminate waste.
One area of waste that most salons don’t think about is hair color. It’s one of the highest-grossing services in a salon, but it can also be one of the most wasteful on product use. With a color management system, you can learn how to better track and monitor your color and help your salon cut waste, manage inventory, and boost your profits.
If you’re curious how it works, a Bluetooth scale from the salon’s color room connects to the front desk and captures all services and product charges. Information is communicated to both the front desk for a seamless checkout and a smart dashboard for analysis.
A great color management system also provides in-depth analytics on employee performance, color service profitability, and real-time inventory reporting. In turn, the system measures color accurately and uses data and analytics to help you set exact prices, decrease inventory purchases by up to 40 percent, and eliminate waste.
Another valuable commodity in some areas is water, which can be quite expensive. Cutting back on water use is one way to help curb expenses. One idea is to install eco-efficient water nozzles for your shampoo bowls. That way, your salon uses less water to wash hair and rinse out the color on clients. There are also more efficient water heaters to help heat water quicker with a faster recovery time. And, if you have them on-site, look for water-wise dishwashers and washers for salon towels and smocks.
Electricity is another utility that can hemorrhage money. In addition to using less water, most newer dish and clothing washers and dryers are also more energy-efficient, which in the long run will save you money. Salons are also filled with hair appliances, and any appliance that heats up spins the electric meter that much faster. Consider looking into hairdryers and styling irons that use more energy-efficient technology.
Also, turn off lights when not using them, refrain from blasting the air conditioner if the salon is empty or has only a few clients, and unplug any appliance you do not use regularly. All of these little things can add up to savings at the end of the year.
Time is yet another valuable commodity. There are only so many hours in the day to provide services for your clients, so it’s best to make the most of them. Consider automating systems so that you can save time on repetitive tasks in the salon. That way, you can spend more of your time with your clients.
You can automate your salon by adding a salon booking system to make the most of your schedule, simplify checkout, and help handle your inventory. Be sure to turn on features for online client scheduling and automated confirmations and reminders to shave off even more time, plus easy marketing tools to help keep your chairs filled.
Implement some of these waste-busting tactics, and you’re sure to see a marked difference in your spending for the year. So, is 2022 the year your salon cuts the waste?
Images courtesy cottonbro and Burak Kebapci from Pexels
Leave a Reply