When I went from 250 square feet to 2000 square foot salon I honestly thought I had it made.
I had opened my first salon. In the salon there was me, Kerry and sue that worked just 2 days a week so really 2.5 stylists. I did almost everything but from the start we were very busy. The salon was in a small mall and the shop itself was tiny. Not long after we opened though we had a huge problem, the salon was simply far too busy. Word had spread in the small village really fast that we were good and deliver great work. Without doing anything the salon was packed. In fact it got so busy we had to make clients wait outside the salon in the mall until we could fit them into the space inside. It was nuts, I loved it.
So I made a decision quite early to for the big salon. That meant a jump from 250 square feet to 2000 square feet. It felt like it would be easy. OK the cost and set up cost was high but ultimately I thought my existing clients from the past 18 months would follow us five miles up the road.
Creating the new salon quickly become a bit of a nightmare. The builder continually went over time, over cost and I had stated to break the lease rules about start dates. 8 weeks after the opened date passed we finally opened. On day one the water upstairs bust and flooded the salon so for the first week in the new 2000 salon not only had we taken under half of what we took in the old salon but I had increased my overheads by five-fold.
From 2.5 stylists to six stylists, four juniors and a receptionist that knew more about doing her nails than working reception. You guessed it was a real mess. The old clients failed to follow us just five miles up the road. New clients were very slow and frankly I was facing a fix it or bust situation. I had to go borrow more cash just to pay wages, I was getting behind on clearing bills and had to lay off staff.
Just 18 months later the salon was packed to the hilt with clients, all my team were packed out daily and we were breaking the bank.
How?
The answer is really easy.
I asked someone who had already done it what I should do. Easy right? Yet it is so easy I get salon owners emailing me DAILY for help but refuse to invest in any help.
When I ask them where they go for advice, I k now the answer but I want to hear them saying it.
Here’s where salon owners get their salon business advice.
REPS: Reps who (mostly) have zero salon experience and are there to sell and make money from the salon owner. In my experience most advice from REPS is based around selling more of their stock ( I know not all are like this)
Yet I wash I had known that little secret years ago when I opened my salons. In fact I would have walked over broken glass to find out what it took me years to find out.
FRIENDS AND FAMILY: Despite the fact they mostly have no experience of running salons fiends and family are one of the many advisors asked about salon business
BLOGS AND GOOGLE: Most of the advice online appears to be bad advice that is rehashed, regurgitated by people trying to make a little cash from selling advertising space online
BANK MANANGERS: well there’s a reason they are a bank manager in a grey suit living a pretty dull and boring life. Again; NO real business experience and absolutely no salon experience.
It does make me wonder, why ask when you can ask an expert? Yet experts cost money or do they?
I have one salon owner clients right now that is really low on funds. She has asked me to fill her salon with new clients despite having no marketing budget.
In one week she has gone from NO new clients to 17 new clients. The second week 17 new clients become 19 new clients. The third week 19 new clients became 27 new clients and now the new client rate is stable at 23 a week.
The average bill of her clients is £55. If she runs her new client program for 6 months that is a total NEW income from NEW clients of £30,360 yet she has invested just £2,000 for advice.
Let me repeat that.
552 new clients
Investment: £2,000
Return: £30,360
Is it worth consulting with me?
Let me give you some facts you might not know.
- I built a three salon mini empire in the thick of a recession.
- I built all three with no marketing budget
- I created success with no real experience
- All my salons were their town’s number one salons.
- We created specialists services that gave us an edge
- We charged three times more than any other salon
- I have been in the salon business since 1982
- I have owned salons since 1989
- I have trained and mentored salons since 1999
- I am the most ripped off salon owner on the web with my best selling Salon Column Builder being copy and pasted by dozens of pretend experts
- I have saved salons
- One salon went from almost bust to a 54% increase in business in 4 weeks
- Another salon owner created an $11,000 windfall from one of my templates
- Another salon owner generated £74,000 from one of the Adverts I created for him
- Recently one of my salon owners created a huge influx of over 400 new clients freedom a campaign I worked on with her
Do you think it’s worth me working on your salon business?
Do you think it’s worth exchanging £2,000 for £30,350?
Like I said at the start… I would have walked over broken glass to know what I now know in my salon days.
Working with me is no-risk guaranteed
Just ask for a consultation with no commitment to see what I can help you with.
Interested?
Hit reply and ask for your FREE consultation but only if you are serious about creating a brilliant salon business.
Serving your salon success.
Alan Forrest Smith
