Are Costs Killing You And What Can I Do About It?

In this episode Nathan Plumridge talks about the self-care industry, is it being killed by the costs that we’re now getting and, if so, what strategies and things can we put in place to survive 2022 and kill it in 2023?   KEY TAKEAWAYS It’s been a very hard few years. In 2019, the hairdressing, fitness and beauty industry was growing at its fastest rate for years, we were all crushing it with cash in the bank and making refurbishments and taking on staff. Then the pandemic happened. Two years later we’re all still feeling the effects with isolations, client frequency, debt, high rent, rates, product costs, delivery problems, staff leaving the industry, the list goes on. But, is this an opportunity?  If you have fewer salons and hairdressers leaving the industry, technically you’ve got less competition, but you’ve still got the same number of guests floating around looking for a salon. You can seize that opportunity. Also, the stylists that are looking for a new home to house their guests. You salon or fitness centre could be the new perfect place for them. Now is the time to look at your salon or business and get focussed. Because where you focus goes your energy flows. When you focus on something you will only start seeing those things, if you focus on your business and you’re business savvy, your business will get better. Start with your costs (landlords need you and so do your suppliers – negotiate), then your team (listen to them), your guests (listen to them), your salon (make it look fresh), your socials and website (does it show people how you are and what your business does? Keep it fresh) and your education (your team need to be fully educated and engaged to deliver the highest quality hairdressing each and every day). You need to have a profit margin that allows you to thrive. If you don’t have a good profit margin you have to act on this now because 2022 is going to be an expensive year. I’m feeling it right now. For a long time we’ve under-valued our industry. We’ve never really charged enough and now we’re realising we’re amazing and add so much value to people’s lives which we found out during the pandemic. The value of hairdressing has gone up and it’s good to see that salon owners are putting their prices up to reflect this   BEST MOMENTS ‘Over 8000 hair, barbering and beauty businesses have ceased trading in the UK alone since 2019. Nearly a quarter of the industry!’ ‘The forecasts for 2023 for the healthcare market shows potential for huge growth. This could be another 2019 and better.’ ‘Maybe this is an opportunity to change the way the industry employs?’ ‘Being an entrepreneur is bloody hard, but challenges encourage the best part of you to come out and do better. This is your opportunity to move and to grow.’   ABOUT THE HOST Welcome and thank you for reading this, I’m Nathan Plumridge salon owner and Hair Stylist. I’ve been in the industry for nearly 30 years and have been a salon owner for 23 of them. I have been fortunate enough to work and learn with some of the biggest names in the industry and this has given me the experience and drive to now be here with you sharing my experiences.   CONTACT DETAILS www.hairlifeshow.comInstagram is @nathan.hairlife Email me at [email protected] show was brought to you by Progressive Media