Putting a business plan in place for 2017

Now is the perfect time to reflect on the year past and focus your energy and time on getting an impressive and streamlined plan in place for 2017 - one that both you and your team can feel excited about and collectively work towards, says Mary K Roberton. Let this be a time to look at the things that were successful, acknowledge those accomplishments, and look at any ways you can make a new improved model. This is also the time to let go of any bad habits, ineffective systems, and unnecessary expenses. The key areas to focus on are: Review your P&L for 2016 in great depth and look at all areas where costs can be reduced or cut, and what percentage of your margin those costs make up. 1 Start creating your revised P&L forecast for 2017. Spend a lot of time playing with the numbers and set yourself a clear target profit margin above breakeven. Once you have your end-of-year financial goal, you can then break this down by month and be clear on what you need from each team member on a daily and weekly basis to achieve this. 2 Get your team focused on their individual year view goals so they are on a journey with you. Also be really honest about the team’s weaker performances, and be sure they know they are going to need to make some changes and put in a lot of effort to keep up with you this year 3 Make sure you are on track every week. Yes, there will be quieter weeks, as that’s the nature of the business, but what will help is having this as a formulated rolling column on your P&L, so that you can always make up for it in the following weeks. Keeping a really close eye on this and not losing sight of the end goal will make it achievable. This is why having a plan is key. 4 Think about some of the new things you would like the business to achieve and streamline these by allocating enough time and budget to introduce them properly. Best to focus on one project at a time, then, when that is integrated in to your core values and business, you can move on to the next. 5 Be transparent, keep the team involved and focused on the end goal with you, hold quarterly salon review nights and ensure you make them fun! If you are on track, reward the team with a team-building activity and get them excited for the next quarter. You can budget team building in your forecast, on the basis that targets are being reached. 6 Start the year back with a big team meeting, where you introduce changes and make clear what part everyone needs to play. Follow up with a big spring clean of the salon, get everyone involved sorting color room, staffroom, stations, kit, etc. This will translate as a subliminal feeling of change and a fresh start, and it will also bump them out of any new year lethargic attitudes and start everyone off with the right energy. 7 Also think about things that can make a visual difference and feel for the clients, so that the salon feels progressive and ever changing for them. Everyone likes a new point of interest. To improve and grow you must always be prepared to both praise and constructively criticize your own practices and methods, and also be forever open to change and movement, which will allow your business to keep prospering. Mary K Roberton is founder of Successus professional salon consulting services, which she says  will take you and your team on a journey of learning and development. Together we will implement and maintain fresh ideas, revitalising your business and taking it to the next level.