Honing and capitalising on your business assets

When you are running a busy salon it can be so frantic that there seems little time to stop and take a long, hard look at what aspects of the business you could really capitalise on -  your major business assets. This is exactly what Mark Mountney, managing director of bustling East End salon Zoology, did last year and as a result he is about to open a brand new Colour Lab to shine a spotlight on the lucrative colour business that Zoology excels at. “Zoology is always a really busy salon but I knew that I had to take a birds-eye view of  the business, almost as an outsider, to really see how we could take the business to the next level,” explains Mark. Mark took a strategic look at every aspect of his business; what made the most profit and the least, how the business was set out in terms of salon layout and how the team spent their time. “We had two separate sites close together and one was our men’s salon, which was successful but we found that the biggest potential for the business was what we do really well and that meant to hone in on our colour business and turn one site into a dedicated colour salon,” said Mark. The last six months have been a frenzy of planning, consultation and re-organisation which has resulted in the men’s salon being incorporated into the main salon and the old site being completely revamped into a fabulous new Colour Lab due to open in November 2015. For Zoology this means that, with a larger area and the presence of a dedicated colour salon, the business has a potential to grow its colour business significantly in the next two years. Not only will its male client base remain unaffected, but it will allow for further revenue through colour work.  It also means efficiencies in utilising the team’s skills. “We are lucky that we have a great deal of colour expertise on the team that we can make much better use of, so it was a natural progression.  With our Colour Lab we can really put ourselves out there as the colour experts; a destination salon,” says Mark. The Colour Lab concept is about offering the ultimate colour service. Consultations will be taken to a whole new level, with a dedicated team of experts available to offer a first class service. So what advice would Mark offer to other salon owners who want to boost their profits?

•  Take a look at every aspect of your business and see what is making money and what isn’t. Perhaps you have a beauty business that just hasn’t got off the ground, but nails and brows are doing well and overbooked. Instead of wasting your efforts on the services that aren’t selling, you could for example launch a brow and nail bar.
• Concentrate on the 20% of customers who will make up 80% of your profit.
• Invest in outside expertise. Consultants, PR and designers can all give you a new perspective of your business, highlight any blind spots and bring fresh ideas.
• Bring your manufacturer on board. Negotiate some financial back-up for your plans and make use of their business expertise.
• Look at each team member, their skills and how they are being used. It might be that talents – whether they are good sales skills or hairdressing skills – are being under-utilised.

Finally, Mark advises that moving a business forward means using your knowledge wisely. “I think taking your salon to the next phase means taking a risk, but a calculated risk. Knowing what you do well and what your clients really respect you for will inform you  where your business needs to go.”