1 00:00:01,496 --> 00:00:04,344 Hey there and welcome back to another episode of Salon Swagger. 2 00:00:04,344 --> 00:00:08,926 I'm Brie and today I'm joined by the amazing Chandra C Hey girl, what's up? 3 00:00:09,264 --> 00:00:11,782 Hello, not a whole lot today. 4 00:00:12,076 --> 00:00:12,572 Yeah. 5 00:00:12,572 --> 00:00:14,111 How's your week been going? 6 00:00:14,596 --> 00:00:15,539 It's been good. 7 00:00:15,539 --> 00:00:20,451 It's been a little busy, but it's been much calmer than it has been, so it's been good. 8 00:00:21,455 --> 00:00:22,286 Yeah. 9 00:00:22,442 --> 00:00:33,522 Well, I was thinking with quarter four right around the corner that we could take some time on this episode to kind of share with our listeners how we plan for Q4 in our salons 10 00:00:33,522 --> 00:00:44,022 to make sure that we're not just maximizing the holiday season, but we're also setting ourselves up for a successful Q1 in 2025, really. 11 00:00:45,122 --> 00:00:49,562 So I think we'll just kind of get into a little bit of strategy and tell them what we do. 12 00:00:49,562 --> 00:00:50,750 How does that sound? 13 00:00:50,886 --> 00:00:52,601 Yeah, I think that'll be awesome. 14 00:00:52,896 --> 00:00:53,667 Awesome. 15 00:00:53,667 --> 00:00:58,310 Well, we all know that Q4 is usually the busiest time of year for salon and spot owners. 16 00:00:58,310 --> 00:00:59,531 It is what it is. 17 00:00:59,531 --> 00:01:03,834 It's, in my opinion, when the beauty industry really kind of comes to life. 18 00:01:03,834 --> 00:01:08,577 Everything just starts bustling and hustling and everybody's in good spirits. 19 00:01:08,577 --> 00:01:15,962 Clients are eager to look and feel their best for the holiday events from parties to family gatherings and everything else in between. 20 00:01:15,962 --> 00:01:20,565 And let's be honest, this is the time when they are ready to spend some money. 21 00:01:20,565 --> 00:01:21,752 It is what it is. 22 00:01:21,752 --> 00:01:33,885 They want to spend that money, which really makes it a season full of opportunity for every single salon owner out there if we know and understand how to make the most of it. 23 00:01:33,885 --> 00:01:36,966 And so that's what I really want to touch on today. 24 00:01:36,986 --> 00:01:38,067 Here's the thing. 25 00:01:38,067 --> 00:01:42,868 It's important to note that being busy isn't the same as being profitable. 26 00:01:42,868 --> 00:01:46,629 I'm going to repeat that really quickly because it's so important. 27 00:01:46,629 --> 00:01:50,290 Being busy is not the same as being profitable. 28 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:55,272 I've known many salon owners that will have like a record breaking Q4, right? 29 00:01:55,272 --> 00:02:06,017 Hit numbers they never thought possible only to find out that they completely overspent and they are left with zero to negative profitability when it's all said and done. 30 00:02:06,017 --> 00:02:08,863 Have you dealt with that before with salon owners? 31 00:02:08,863 --> 00:02:09,174 Yeah. 32 00:02:09,174 --> 00:02:10,618 And myself in the past. 33 00:02:10,618 --> 00:02:11,990 yeah, for sure. 34 00:02:12,678 --> 00:02:13,658 Yeah. 35 00:02:13,658 --> 00:02:17,248 This quarter isn't just about keeping up with the holiday rush. 36 00:02:17,248 --> 00:02:25,118 It's about making strategic moves that allow you to maximize every single opportunity that you're given. 37 00:02:25,118 --> 00:02:35,378 When you go at it with the right approach, you can turn this surge in demand into serious, serious revenue growth and positive profitability. 38 00:02:35,378 --> 00:02:40,440 So I want to talk about how to leverage this time of year, not to just meet 39 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,686 but exceed business goals that we've set for ourselves. 40 00:02:45,452 --> 00:02:48,743 So quarter four is packed with key dates, right? 41 00:02:48,743 --> 00:02:54,284 We've got Thanksgiving, we've got Black Friday, we've got Cyber Monday, we've got Christmas, we've got New Year's Eve. 42 00:02:54,284 --> 00:02:56,165 I don't know if Cyber Monday's in there, whatever. 43 00:02:56,165 --> 00:03:02,506 Anyways, there's a bunch of holidays, which means we have a lot of opportunity to offer special promotions. 44 00:03:02,607 --> 00:03:07,908 But here's the thing, just having these promotions is not going to be enough. 45 00:03:07,908 --> 00:03:15,374 If you don't have a solid plan to maximize them, you're gonna find yourself busy, but not necessarily reaping the 46 00:03:15,374 --> 00:03:19,234 rewards of your hard work or hitting your goals. 47 00:03:19,234 --> 00:03:23,994 In my opinion, what really makes a difference is that strategic planning aspect. 48 00:03:23,994 --> 00:03:37,254 It's what turns these promotions into real momentum, setting you and your studio up for success in the long term, not just for quarter four, but as you move into 2025, 2026 and 49 00:03:37,254 --> 00:03:38,974 every other year to come. 50 00:03:38,974 --> 00:03:41,666 If you don't have that plan in place, 51 00:03:41,666 --> 00:03:46,750 You're likely to feel stuck, missing out on the growth that could propel your business forward. 52 00:03:47,211 --> 00:03:51,716 Chandra, what are some of the promos that you run for the key dates that we talked about? 53 00:03:51,716 --> 00:03:54,798 Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. 54 00:03:55,856 --> 00:04:00,950 Yeah, we do a lot of product promos during that time of year because it's so much easier. 55 00:04:00,950 --> 00:04:03,503 feel like to move product during those months. 56 00:04:03,503 --> 00:04:05,304 Like you said, people want to spend money. 57 00:04:05,304 --> 00:04:13,571 And so I feel like with products, it's hard to move them all year long, but for some reason that time of year, everybody's game to buy stuff. 58 00:04:13,611 --> 00:04:16,333 And so we do a lot of product promotions. 59 00:04:16,774 --> 00:04:24,206 I would say in the past when we've done them before, we've lost a lot of money doing product promotions because we weren't careful. 60 00:04:24,206 --> 00:04:25,777 about what we were putting together. 61 00:04:25,777 --> 00:04:30,380 We were just kind of putting these crazy packages together and then losing money at the end of it. 62 00:04:30,380 --> 00:04:39,645 So I think one of the biggest things that I could lend to that would just be really knowing what you're putting into those promotions and knowing what your cost looks like 63 00:04:39,645 --> 00:04:43,747 and then understanding how much you can afford to offer on those promos. 64 00:04:43,747 --> 00:04:45,408 And the same thing with service promotions. 65 00:04:45,408 --> 00:04:52,451 We do offer some stuff like around glossing treatments, things that make your hair shinier for the holidays or something healthy. 66 00:04:53,222 --> 00:04:58,962 But it definitely is something that you have to be very careful on how you're structuring those. 67 00:04:59,470 --> 00:05:00,790 Yeah, 100%. 68 00:05:00,790 --> 00:05:08,230 And I think we can get into retail just a little bit later on in the episode because I think it is so important. 69 00:05:08,770 --> 00:05:17,730 Some things that people can think about are maybe like Halloween offer fun themed services like spooky makeup, bold nail designs, whatever that looks like for you. 70 00:05:17,730 --> 00:05:20,770 Thanksgiving, always do, we show gratitude. 71 00:05:20,770 --> 00:05:26,590 We do client appreciation events or even pre -holiday pampering packages. 72 00:05:26,970 --> 00:05:28,184 Black Friday, 73 00:05:28,184 --> 00:05:31,675 We boost retail, you know, that's always going to be a thing. 74 00:05:31,675 --> 00:05:39,619 You want to sell it online, especially bundle sets, flash sells always work really, really good. 75 00:05:39,619 --> 00:05:44,811 And then for Christmas, you want to do, you know, gift sets and service sets packaged together. 76 00:05:44,811 --> 00:05:52,504 And then always, always think about those gift cards because those are going to come into play very, very handy. 77 00:05:52,504 --> 00:05:57,036 So I usually start planning my Q4 promos in quarter two. 78 00:05:57,186 --> 00:06:00,702 When do you plan yours and what does that look like for you? 79 00:06:01,574 --> 00:06:04,476 We tend to start ours always a little too late. 80 00:06:04,476 --> 00:06:08,168 I'm not gonna lie, but it usually ends up being around Q3. 81 00:06:08,168 --> 00:06:13,452 Like we've already started going through some of the ideas and things that we're gonna have for the holidays. 82 00:06:13,452 --> 00:06:22,097 And we try to really plan out several different packages as far as the products go, several different promos for services. 83 00:06:22,097 --> 00:06:26,600 And then we also do like a guest appreciation event and... 84 00:06:27,184 --> 00:06:30,827 some fun things like what you're talking about, like hair tinsel or things like that. 85 00:06:30,827 --> 00:06:41,194 And so we start planning that out in Q3, we get our team together and we kind of ask them to like what they would like to put into those packages and promos because it's a lot 86 00:06:41,194 --> 00:06:45,197 easier to get them behind it when it's something that they're part of creating. 87 00:06:45,197 --> 00:06:49,700 And so I really recommend getting the team involved and having them help pick out. 88 00:06:49,743 --> 00:06:51,949 what you would like to create for those packages. 89 00:06:51,949 --> 00:06:53,352 But that's kind of what ours looks like. 90 00:06:53,352 --> 00:06:57,934 mean, we just started doing it about a month ago, so we're getting there. 91 00:06:57,934 --> 00:06:58,554 Yeah. 92 00:06:58,554 --> 00:07:01,914 Well, I think, I think that's the thing and everybody does it differently, right? 93 00:07:01,914 --> 00:07:07,474 And I, that's one reason that I love this podcast is because we can go back and forth on how you do things, how I do things. 94 00:07:07,474 --> 00:07:11,254 And even though it's a little different, we all want the same result. 95 00:07:11,594 --> 00:07:22,174 I used to be like you, I used to kind of push mine off and not even think about it until, you know, Q3 was well, until like right now I would be planning for Q4 right now, 10 years 96 00:07:22,174 --> 00:07:22,798 ago. 97 00:07:22,798 --> 00:07:26,278 Unfortunately, it didn't work out and it didn't work out well. 98 00:07:26,278 --> 00:07:36,198 And so I started pre -planning quite a bit and it's really, really benefited me going through this strategic process that we're talking about today. 99 00:07:36,198 --> 00:07:38,398 And we're not going to be able to get through all of it. 100 00:07:38,398 --> 00:07:39,968 It's just way too much. 101 00:07:39,968 --> 00:07:51,606 It's too in depth, but this is actually how I really, really upped my revenue from that $350 ,000 to the million dollar mark to the $2 .5 million mark. 102 00:07:51,606 --> 00:07:56,730 very, very easily was just by following this plan and repetition all the time. 103 00:07:57,431 --> 00:08:03,636 So unfortunately, many business owners, enter Q4 without a clear plan at all. 104 00:08:03,696 --> 00:08:07,069 many of them, salon and spa owners are no exception. 105 00:08:07,069 --> 00:08:09,101 It's in all the business world, right? 106 00:08:09,101 --> 00:08:14,566 We know it's a busy time and it's so easy just to get caught up in chasing those dollar signs. 107 00:08:14,566 --> 00:08:16,037 That's kind of all we think about. 108 00:08:16,037 --> 00:08:17,868 We know we're going to be busy. 109 00:08:17,969 --> 00:08:19,950 Without that strategy, 110 00:08:20,002 --> 00:08:24,124 I feel like it's so easy to get overwhelmed by the rush. 111 00:08:24,124 --> 00:08:36,041 Planning ahead really allows you to control the flow of your business, avoid any unexpected setbacks, and really most importantly, make sure that this busy season turns 112 00:08:36,041 --> 00:08:41,414 into, once again, actual profit, not just revenue. 113 00:08:41,534 --> 00:08:42,794 Here's the thing. 114 00:08:43,335 --> 00:08:44,476 I know you've seen it. 115 00:08:44,476 --> 00:08:46,076 I see it all the time. 116 00:08:46,797 --> 00:08:48,137 We will see... 117 00:08:49,014 --> 00:08:53,106 I salon and spa owners, they get so caught up in providing services. 118 00:08:53,106 --> 00:08:55,538 They really overlook the bigger picture. 119 00:08:55,538 --> 00:09:01,881 And I hate calling them out all the time, but it's the reality of the situation that we live in. 120 00:09:02,222 --> 00:09:09,366 The salon owner is booked, money's coming in, but are they really paying attention to how much is going out? 121 00:09:09,366 --> 00:09:14,828 Are they really tracking what's actually staying in the business as profit? 122 00:09:14,849 --> 00:09:16,309 No, right? 123 00:09:16,430 --> 00:09:17,480 They're not. 124 00:09:17,598 --> 00:09:19,279 I didn't for the longest time. 125 00:09:19,279 --> 00:09:21,560 You did it for the longest time. 126 00:09:21,861 --> 00:09:22,881 And I get it, right? 127 00:09:22,881 --> 00:09:24,172 We're behind the chair all day. 128 00:09:24,172 --> 00:09:25,152 We're managing clients. 129 00:09:25,152 --> 00:09:26,583 We're managing a team. 130 00:09:26,583 --> 00:09:31,246 It's tough to step back and actually assess what is going on. 131 00:09:31,246 --> 00:09:44,434 But the truth is when you have a role as a salon owner and that is to take advantage of this holiday rush, not just be busy, but to maximize on everything, including that 132 00:09:44,434 --> 00:09:45,664 profitability. 133 00:09:45,696 --> 00:09:50,191 And this is where that strategic planning really comes into place. 134 00:09:50,252 --> 00:09:59,244 So I want to kind of break down what strategic planning looks like for our listeners, because so many people don't understand what steps those are. 135 00:09:59,244 --> 00:10:04,840 The first thing in my opinion, and you can tell me if you disagree, is knowing your cash flow. 136 00:10:06,074 --> 00:10:07,959 Yeah, a hundred percent. 137 00:10:08,146 --> 00:10:12,948 So everybody needs to have a very clear picture of what's coming in and what's going out. 138 00:10:12,948 --> 00:10:15,418 You can't just get caught up in that fully booked, right? 139 00:10:15,418 --> 00:10:20,590 If you're not managing your expenses, increasing your revenue isn't going to mean a thing. 140 00:10:20,590 --> 00:10:24,531 The real goal is maintaining healthy profit margins. 141 00:10:24,531 --> 00:10:28,472 So I want you to ask yourself, are you overordering on your retail? 142 00:10:28,472 --> 00:10:30,382 Are you overordering on your back bar? 143 00:10:30,382 --> 00:10:32,333 Are you over staffing? 144 00:10:32,333 --> 00:10:34,814 Is your staff wasting too much product? 145 00:10:34,814 --> 00:10:36,436 You have to stay on top of 146 00:10:36,436 --> 00:10:42,571 every dollar to ensure your hard earned revenue is actually turning into profit. 147 00:10:42,571 --> 00:10:46,364 So what do you do to know your cash flow? 148 00:10:47,398 --> 00:10:49,490 I mean, I really monitor all of it. 149 00:10:49,490 --> 00:10:54,154 We use a lot of different things to make sure that we are staying on top of it. 150 00:10:54,235 --> 00:10:55,686 And I create budgets, right? 151 00:10:55,686 --> 00:11:02,773 So I know exactly how much money I have to spend on purchasing, like, holiday packages and things like that. 152 00:11:02,773 --> 00:11:08,147 We've got ourselves into trouble many times over the years by over -ordering. 153 00:11:08,348 --> 00:11:15,401 Because all of our manufacturers, our distributors, they all have all these holiday sets and all of these things that you can buy. 154 00:11:15,401 --> 00:11:18,022 And you get caught up in that. 155 00:11:18,022 --> 00:11:21,324 And like you said, when you're working behind the chair, you're like, yeah, this all looks great. 156 00:11:21,324 --> 00:11:22,424 And you spend all this money. 157 00:11:22,424 --> 00:11:26,726 And you have no clue that you didn't have even that much money to spend. 158 00:11:26,726 --> 00:11:35,120 And so for me, creating those budgets, knowing exactly how much I have to spend on holiday packages, knowing exactly how much I have to spend. 159 00:11:35,182 --> 00:11:44,361 or how much I can discount as well if I'm creating something that's discounted and just paying attention to all of those numbers and going, okay, if we discount this, then I know 160 00:11:44,361 --> 00:11:47,344 we're gonna lose a little bit of money over here. 161 00:11:47,418 --> 00:11:48,858 What does that look like at the end of that? 162 00:11:48,858 --> 00:11:50,319 we still making a profit? 163 00:11:50,319 --> 00:11:59,571 And so you've got to pay attention to that stuff and create a spreadsheet or create something where you can really define that budget and know exactly how much money you have 164 00:11:59,571 --> 00:12:01,612 to spend or on a client appreciation event. 165 00:12:01,612 --> 00:12:04,233 We've way spent too much money on those before too. 166 00:12:04,233 --> 00:12:07,834 And so it's knowing exactly what you can allocate to that. 167 00:12:07,834 --> 00:12:16,596 And maybe you can't even do that this year or, you know, being firm too, I think is something, you know, we've, we've done that and we had to really put the. 168 00:12:16,784 --> 00:12:22,072 kibosh on the manufacturers and say, we're not gonna order that this time. 169 00:12:22,072 --> 00:12:26,299 And it's hard, because they can be pushy and their stuff looks so amazing you want it. 170 00:12:26,299 --> 00:12:30,024 But if you don't have the budget for it, then you can't buy it. 171 00:12:30,024 --> 00:12:32,227 And you've got to know those numbers. 172 00:12:33,390 --> 00:12:34,490 I think that's great. 173 00:12:34,490 --> 00:12:42,170 I think something else that people overlook is they set revenue goals, but they don't set profit goals. 174 00:12:42,170 --> 00:12:52,850 And that is really when my vision started to change completely and my mindset, because once again, it's not just about how much you're making, it's about how much you're 175 00:12:52,850 --> 00:12:53,180 keeping. 176 00:12:53,180 --> 00:12:56,130 At the end of the day, that is what matters. 177 00:12:56,130 --> 00:12:59,200 You can make $150 ,000 a month. 178 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,030 If you're keeping zero of that, what good does it do? 179 00:13:02,030 --> 00:13:11,070 If I'm making $35 ,000 a month and I'm keeping 20K of that, I'm in a much better spot, even though you out hit me revenue wise, right? 180 00:13:11,070 --> 00:13:13,770 So you have to look at last year's numbers. 181 00:13:13,770 --> 00:13:24,550 You want to set profit targets for the quarter specifically, break it down by month, then by week and figure out what you need to bring in each and every day in order to hit those 182 00:13:24,550 --> 00:13:25,630 goals. 183 00:13:25,750 --> 00:13:28,608 You can, you know, think about raising your prices. 184 00:13:28,608 --> 00:13:37,682 You really, really have to think about pushing those high margin services though, because that's going to help boost profits without increasing your workload. 185 00:13:37,682 --> 00:13:38,802 I say this all the time. 186 00:13:38,802 --> 00:13:40,223 Chandra says it all the time. 187 00:13:40,223 --> 00:13:43,104 Work smarter, not harder. 188 00:13:43,104 --> 00:13:44,375 Very, very important. 189 00:13:44,375 --> 00:13:47,566 So not all services are created equal. 190 00:13:47,566 --> 00:13:49,637 Some bring in more profit than others. 191 00:13:49,637 --> 00:13:57,472 And if you aren't sure about that, please get in touch with us because this is one of the most crucial aspects of your business. 192 00:13:57,472 --> 00:14:01,524 And Chandra is a guru when it comes to this stuff. 193 00:14:01,524 --> 00:14:09,247 So you want to focus on your highest margin services and promote them very, very heavily, especially during quarter four. 194 00:14:09,748 --> 00:14:14,299 What are some of your highest profit margin services in your salon? 195 00:14:15,660 --> 00:14:21,884 Believe it or not, some of our highest profit margin services are our Bolliages and our bigger ticket items. 196 00:14:22,365 --> 00:14:30,610 Sometimes you feel like those are the most costly, but because of the way you usually price them, they actually end up being a higher profit margin. 197 00:14:30,610 --> 00:14:34,413 And some of our lower profit services are as simple as like a tent retouch. 198 00:14:34,413 --> 00:14:39,674 Like some of those do not make the amount of money that those higher tickets do offer. 199 00:14:39,674 --> 00:14:48,850 And I wanted to touch a little bit on that point of what you were saying with that profitability, because if you're just focusing on revenue numbers and not profitability, 200 00:14:48,850 --> 00:14:54,253 especially for those types of services, you don't really know exactly how much money is coming or going. 201 00:14:54,253 --> 00:15:04,499 But when you reverse engineer that and focus on profit first, then you automatically know how much revenue has to be coming in in order to hit that profit instead of just pulling 202 00:15:04,499 --> 00:15:06,260 those numbers out of the sky. 203 00:15:06,286 --> 00:15:15,350 And so really breaking down those services and knowing that profitability for each service, I think is going to be a huge, huge component in knowing that, knowing how much 204 00:15:15,350 --> 00:15:16,171 money you're making. 205 00:15:16,171 --> 00:15:24,265 And for us, it's eye -opening because the things you think are making a ton of money aren't always the things that are making that much money at the end of the day. 206 00:15:24,265 --> 00:15:28,417 And the things that are, you think are costing you aren't actually costing you. 207 00:15:28,417 --> 00:15:31,868 So it's very eye -opening for sure if you do it that way. 208 00:15:32,450 --> 00:15:44,085 Yeah, I know for a lot of our members, when we're going through our pricing for profit method, they are sometimes astounded at what they thought, you know, they were trying to 209 00:15:44,085 --> 00:15:54,889 upsell, upsell, upsell some of these services, and they were losing money on them, instead of focusing on upselling the services that had just that huge profit margin in there. 210 00:15:54,889 --> 00:16:01,630 So make sure that you offer value added packages or bundles that are going to attract clients 211 00:16:01,630 --> 00:16:04,232 while keeping your bottom line healthy. 212 00:16:04,232 --> 00:16:06,054 Very, very important. 213 00:16:06,054 --> 00:16:07,155 Very important. 214 00:16:07,155 --> 00:16:12,589 Something else that you probably want to think about doing is creating a promotions calendar. 215 00:16:12,589 --> 00:16:15,682 So plan your holiday promotions in advance. 216 00:16:15,682 --> 00:16:25,249 Focus on driving, you know, the high value services, the retail sales that support those profit goals that you set for yourself. 217 00:16:25,249 --> 00:16:26,169 But 218 00:16:26,542 --> 00:16:29,224 I have found this to be extremely beneficial. 219 00:16:29,224 --> 00:16:38,391 So I know every day, every week, what we are going to be promoting exactly without having to just come up with something on the fly. 220 00:16:38,531 --> 00:16:43,045 What steps do you take to make sure that you're capitalizing on Q4? 221 00:16:43,045 --> 00:16:46,056 Do you do this type of calendar? 222 00:16:46,197 --> 00:16:47,998 What do you do exactly? 223 00:16:48,346 --> 00:16:49,797 Yeah, we do have the same thing. 224 00:16:49,797 --> 00:16:53,568 call it our marketing calendar and we usually plan it out every three months. 225 00:16:53,568 --> 00:16:57,870 So that's why we hit that Q4 a little bit late, but we could plan that sooner. 226 00:16:57,870 --> 00:17:05,304 But we definitely get on that for the whole year, every quarter where we have the next three months always, you know, on that calendar. 227 00:17:05,304 --> 00:17:10,456 And, you know, we have a big team, so I have somebody that helps with product and I have somebody that helps with marketing. 228 00:17:10,456 --> 00:17:17,620 And so the calendar that we utilize, we all share and each person plugs in all of the different things that they are responsible for. 229 00:17:17,620 --> 00:17:18,730 if we're doing 230 00:17:18,822 --> 00:17:27,346 say a holiday promotion or a holiday party, then they plug in what the dates are and then the marketing person knows she's got to do social media posts for that. 231 00:17:27,346 --> 00:17:30,764 Our product person needs to put together what packages we're going to. 232 00:17:30,764 --> 00:17:39,453 have and you know things like that and then I kind of do the final say make sure the financial part's good make sure all of those things make sense and set budgets for them or 233 00:17:39,453 --> 00:17:48,191 things that they can do and so our calendar it's pretty extensive like we show like all of the things like what the social media has to look like how much money is it going to cost 234 00:17:48,191 --> 00:17:51,450 what the package is going to look like how we're going to market it 235 00:17:51,450 --> 00:17:54,414 And then also any product knowledge we need to give to the stylist. 236 00:17:54,414 --> 00:18:02,994 So if it's a particular promotion, we make sure we have all that product knowledge there so that we can make sure they're armed with what they need to know in order to promote it 237 00:18:02,994 --> 00:18:03,615 too. 238 00:18:03,615 --> 00:18:08,019 So really having that organized calendar makes it so seamless. 239 00:18:08,238 --> 00:18:09,578 Yeah, 100%. 240 00:18:09,578 --> 00:18:11,838 So we kind of talked about the strategic plan. 241 00:18:11,838 --> 00:18:13,568 You've got to know your cashflow, right? 242 00:18:13,568 --> 00:18:16,958 You want to set profit goals, not just revenue goals. 243 00:18:16,958 --> 00:18:21,018 You want to track those expenses diligently because that's important. 244 00:18:21,018 --> 00:18:25,898 Create those promotions calendars and not just simple calendars. 245 00:18:25,898 --> 00:18:31,888 Like Chandra said, they need to be very, very in depth according to this strategic planning. 246 00:18:31,888 --> 00:18:34,118 That's going to be very, very important. 247 00:18:34,118 --> 00:18:37,062 Now, another part that you have to think of 248 00:18:37,312 --> 00:18:38,643 is the finances. 249 00:18:38,643 --> 00:18:44,288 And Chandra has brought it up just a little bit, but this is something that is very, very important. 250 00:18:44,288 --> 00:18:55,297 It's easy to get swept up in the excitement of the holiday, but without tight financial management, you could end up working hard without seeing anything at all, anything that 251 00:18:55,297 --> 00:19:01,402 you want, anything that you need, anything that you deserve, and nobody wants to do that. 252 00:19:01,402 --> 00:19:06,666 So Chandra said it earlier, that Q4 budget, create it. 253 00:19:06,786 --> 00:19:11,827 Fix it, stick to it, and it needs to be a realistic budget. 254 00:19:11,827 --> 00:19:16,109 It's so tempting to overspend on things like even extra decor. 255 00:19:16,109 --> 00:19:17,479 I see people do this, right? 256 00:19:17,479 --> 00:19:19,830 New product lines, you brought that up. 257 00:19:19,830 --> 00:19:27,872 If you don't have a clear budget, it's hard to know where you're crossing the line between investing in your business and overdoing it. 258 00:19:27,872 --> 00:19:29,342 So you have to break it down. 259 00:19:29,342 --> 00:19:34,994 You need to look at staffing, you need to look at inventory, you need to look at marketing, and you have to track it all. 260 00:19:35,020 --> 00:19:44,573 You want to review your budget weekly because this is going to help you stay on top of any surprise expenses and ensure once again, those profit margins stay healthy. 261 00:19:44,593 --> 00:19:50,194 Now, when it comes to inventory, don't overstock in one big order. 262 00:19:50,194 --> 00:19:57,517 And it's so funny that I have Chandra here with me today because she was so guilty of this when we started working together. 263 00:19:57,517 --> 00:20:00,147 And that's the thing about this podcast, guys. 264 00:20:00,147 --> 00:20:02,742 We share strategies, insights, tips. 265 00:20:02,742 --> 00:20:05,884 because we've done everything wrong in the past. 266 00:20:05,884 --> 00:20:11,066 And so we really, really want you guys to not make the same mistakes that we've made. 267 00:20:11,347 --> 00:20:18,171 One thing that helped me was staggering my purchases so that I could adjust based on the demand. 268 00:20:18,171 --> 00:20:26,295 Just because Redken comes out with all of these cool things doesn't mean you have to buy everything that's in the package, right? 269 00:20:26,295 --> 00:20:30,677 You can always, always, always reorder and, and 270 00:20:31,958 --> 00:20:34,169 If you can't reorder it, can create it. 271 00:20:34,169 --> 00:20:39,360 You can buy individually and create the same exact, the same exact thing. 272 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:41,921 So this is going to keep your cashflow steady. 273 00:20:41,921 --> 00:20:44,762 It's going to prevent you from sitting on extra stock. 274 00:20:44,762 --> 00:20:58,726 Once the holiday rush ends, how many times Chandra have you walked into your own salon or a salon that somebody else owns and you've seen holiday promotion kits available in March. 275 00:20:59,834 --> 00:21:01,468 Yeah, all the time. 276 00:21:01,468 --> 00:21:03,232 We always had them left over. 277 00:21:03,232 --> 00:21:06,217 Sometimes we even had them by the end of the year. 278 00:21:06,319 --> 00:21:09,825 And so it's not always worth it, 279 00:21:10,766 --> 00:21:11,806 100%. 280 00:21:11,806 --> 00:21:21,356 So I know that I am always extremely aware of my finances during Q4 because I really, it's not just about Q4 to me. 281 00:21:21,356 --> 00:21:22,826 It's about something so much bigger. 282 00:21:22,826 --> 00:21:26,745 I want that momentum moving into the new year. 283 00:21:26,745 --> 00:21:30,906 That's really, that mindset shift for me was everything. 284 00:21:30,906 --> 00:21:34,026 Thinking about the new year, not just the holiday season. 285 00:21:34,026 --> 00:21:40,708 I'm practically glued to my Beauty Biz Agency profit tracker at this time during Q4. 286 00:21:40,726 --> 00:21:43,548 So you are too. 287 00:21:43,569 --> 00:21:49,375 How much time do you spend tracking your sales, your expenses, and your profits during quarter four? 288 00:21:49,375 --> 00:21:57,482 Because for me, I track them all year long, but quarter four, I am pinpointed on every little thing. 289 00:21:58,436 --> 00:22:01,630 Yeah, I mean, I definitely do it weekly for sure. 290 00:22:01,630 --> 00:22:09,150 And sometimes if there's something that comes up that I want to purchase, I'll just dive into that really quick and just see where I'm at. 291 00:22:09,150 --> 00:22:12,824 You know, even if it's only been a couple of days just to kind of reevaluate. 292 00:22:12,824 --> 00:22:14,596 So, but weekly for sure. 293 00:22:15,192 --> 00:22:16,713 Yeah, it's important. 294 00:22:16,713 --> 00:22:18,023 It's important. 295 00:22:18,103 --> 00:22:20,264 I even do mine every other day. 296 00:22:20,264 --> 00:22:25,046 So I will go through and just make sure that we are right on track, right where I need to be. 297 00:22:25,046 --> 00:22:36,511 And I'm going to be honest with you, I'm so anal that if I don't see things a little above in revenue and profitability, I start making changes immediately so that I can see that. 298 00:22:37,051 --> 00:22:38,972 It's very important, right? 299 00:22:39,032 --> 00:22:42,794 Now I want to talk about retail, people are going to roll their eyes, but 300 00:22:43,148 --> 00:22:44,168 We have to talk about it. 301 00:22:44,168 --> 00:22:45,320 You brought it up earlier. 302 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,984 This is where so many salon and spa owners leave serious money on the table. 303 00:22:49,984 --> 00:22:53,306 Q4 is a perfect time to ramp up that retail game. 304 00:22:53,306 --> 00:23:01,973 And if you have the right approach, it can make a huge difference to your bottom line and to the paychecks of your employees. 305 00:23:02,114 --> 00:23:04,376 That's what you have to think about. 306 00:23:04,376 --> 00:23:09,219 One of the easiest ways in my opinion to boost retail sales is by creating holiday bundles. 307 00:23:09,219 --> 00:23:12,564 So something that I've actually found 308 00:23:12,564 --> 00:23:18,558 is that I don't even purchase them very often from the companies anymore. 309 00:23:18,558 --> 00:23:22,600 For the last eight years, I think I've been creating my own. 310 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:30,205 And the reason for this is I can buy them cheaper and create them and make them look the way that I want them to. 311 00:23:30,205 --> 00:23:38,139 So they're going to be more brand related to my studio instead of to the retail manufacturer's studio, right? 312 00:23:38,139 --> 00:23:39,660 Or to their business. 313 00:23:39,886 --> 00:23:43,208 Clients love the convenience of grab and go gift sets. 314 00:23:43,208 --> 00:23:51,152 They love them, especially when they're filled with high margin products and they're wrapped with your brand on there. 315 00:23:51,152 --> 00:23:53,653 So make it easier for them. 316 00:23:53,673 --> 00:23:56,314 And what do you do for retail? 317 00:23:56,314 --> 00:23:59,226 Do you guys create your own or do you buy them from the manufacturer? 318 00:23:59,226 --> 00:24:03,538 I don't think I've ever asked you that now that we've kind of gotten your inventory in line. 319 00:24:04,048 --> 00:24:07,589 I mean, we used to always buy them from the manufacturer, always. 320 00:24:07,870 --> 00:24:16,022 Now I might buy one or two if there's something that I know is going to fly off the shelf, but we just create our own. 321 00:24:16,022 --> 00:24:25,755 And something that we've done the last couple of years that's worked really well is we make a table in the salon and we have like, you know, certain products on this table and 322 00:24:25,755 --> 00:24:28,506 we let people create their own packages. 323 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:33,667 And so there's like some wrapping stuff and they can pick what they want and then they can pick. 324 00:24:35,872 --> 00:24:36,160 yeah. 325 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:36,380 though. 326 00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:42,252 People can grab and go and choose and pick and, they can really just kind of create their own. 327 00:24:42,252 --> 00:24:45,004 You know, we have certain things that cost a certain amount. 328 00:24:45,004 --> 00:24:48,105 We know exactly what that is and then it'll add up to the certain things. 329 00:24:48,105 --> 00:24:49,716 So sorry, I lost you for just a second. 330 00:24:49,716 --> 00:24:51,246 You disappeared. 331 00:24:52,747 --> 00:24:56,268 Something, something else is upselling, right? 332 00:24:56,268 --> 00:25:00,330 Your team has more client interactions than ever in quarter four. 333 00:25:00,344 --> 00:25:01,855 for majority of us out there. 334 00:25:01,855 --> 00:25:06,877 So you wanna train them to recommend products during every single service. 335 00:25:06,877 --> 00:25:17,032 As the owner, this is why it's so important that you are aware and that you are not so bogged down with services because you need to be on top of them making sure that this is 336 00:25:17,032 --> 00:25:17,722 happening. 337 00:25:17,722 --> 00:25:27,166 I don't care if it's a treatment, a product, a finishing spray, any type of suggestion can quickly turn into extra revenue during quarter four. 338 00:25:27,554 --> 00:25:34,804 What do you do to train your team and get them pumped up and hyped up for Q4 when it comes to their retail game? 339 00:25:35,558 --> 00:25:38,190 We run a lot of contests this time of year with them. 340 00:25:38,190 --> 00:25:44,055 So we'll do different things where they can get a bonus or, you know, even they can get free product. 341 00:25:44,055 --> 00:25:48,930 We've done that and that seems to work really good with our team, but that really gets them kind of pumped up. 342 00:25:48,930 --> 00:25:55,385 think they're excited this time of year because it's easier for them to sell retail because people are in a more purchasing mood. 343 00:25:55,385 --> 00:26:03,612 So it kind of gives them that extra little confidence boost too, which also just sort of motivates them to do it more and to try a little harder. 344 00:26:03,757 --> 00:26:07,965 And then having that contest on the back end really seems to get them going. 345 00:26:07,965 --> 00:26:09,067 They love contests. 346 00:26:09,067 --> 00:26:10,108 I don't know. 347 00:26:10,670 --> 00:26:11,644 They really do. 348 00:26:11,644 --> 00:26:17,979 because as we're coaching salon and spa owners, so many of them come to us and they're like, my team hates contest. 349 00:26:17,979 --> 00:26:19,219 They won't do it. 350 00:26:19,219 --> 00:26:23,923 And we've come to find out that it's just because they haven't been created correctly. 351 00:26:23,923 --> 00:26:32,148 I think most people when, when these contests and these challenges are created correctly, people really kind of get into it and they have fun with it. 352 00:26:32,148 --> 00:26:35,500 And it's a, you know, it's, it's competitive. 353 00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:39,412 to an extent, but at the same time, we're all working towards the same goal. 354 00:26:39,412 --> 00:26:42,014 So it really brings the team together. 355 00:26:42,014 --> 00:26:52,820 Something that we do, and I know I brought this up earlier, but I want to kind of go over it again, is we do some flash sales or some limited time retail discounts or service 356 00:26:52,820 --> 00:26:53,620 discounts. 357 00:26:53,620 --> 00:26:55,842 Now, we're always really careful. 358 00:26:55,842 --> 00:27:00,084 We don't discount them too deeply because it'll cut into that profit, right? 359 00:27:00,084 --> 00:27:02,956 But we do things for just a limited time. 360 00:27:02,956 --> 00:27:03,566 For the next 361 00:27:03,566 --> 00:27:06,766 hour you can get this for the next hour you can get that. 362 00:27:06,766 --> 00:27:16,986 And so if you're looking at trying to hit your daily goal or your weekly goal and you're not quite there yet, but you just need that little push, try something like a flash sale 363 00:27:16,986 --> 00:27:20,466 or that limited time for the next 30 minutes. 364 00:27:20,606 --> 00:27:23,466 it goes over really, really well in our studios. 365 00:27:23,466 --> 00:27:33,286 So can you kind of give me an example of a retail bundle that you offer and break down the way that you would 366 00:27:33,461 --> 00:27:36,109 just for people out there to understand. 367 00:27:36,450 --> 00:27:37,261 Yeah. 368 00:27:37,261 --> 00:27:42,143 So what we usually will do is we'll usually pick about three products. 369 00:27:42,143 --> 00:27:45,375 That's kind of where I feel like it's kind of that sweet spot. 370 00:27:45,375 --> 00:27:48,026 So anything too much can be a little overwhelming. 371 00:27:48,026 --> 00:27:50,528 Anything too little doesn't seem like a great enough deal. 372 00:27:50,528 --> 00:27:54,010 So for us, we find that three products works really well. 373 00:27:54,010 --> 00:28:00,823 So what we'll always try to do is pick three and two of the higher cost items that we put in there. 374 00:28:00,823 --> 00:28:03,605 And then one, let's like a little bit of a lower cost item. 375 00:28:03,605 --> 00:28:06,266 So we can either discount 376 00:28:06,268 --> 00:28:10,608 you know, the whole just a little bit, like maybe 10 % or 15%. 377 00:28:10,608 --> 00:28:16,888 Or if we pick a lower cost item when we put two higher ones in there, we can sometimes do that product free. 378 00:28:16,888 --> 00:28:20,028 And so I think it depends on what your margins look like. 379 00:28:20,028 --> 00:28:23,408 I mean, we try to always do 120 % markup. 380 00:28:23,408 --> 00:28:27,048 Sometimes you don't always have that luxury, so you really have to pay attention. 381 00:28:27,048 --> 00:28:34,074 But as long as you're balancing that out, and then we do talk to our team first and they know, you know, 382 00:28:34,074 --> 00:28:38,189 whatever goes on their retail total is going to be that discounted rate. 383 00:28:38,189 --> 00:28:44,817 it does, they're not getting necessarily paid on the full amount, but they wouldn't have probably sold that product anyways. 384 00:28:44,817 --> 00:28:46,619 So it's still a win -win. 385 00:28:46,619 --> 00:28:50,083 And so you just have to make sure you're presenting it in that way. 386 00:28:50,864 --> 00:28:52,615 But that's kind of what we try to do. 387 00:28:52,615 --> 00:28:56,948 So you always want to have something a little higher so it offsets that discounted cost. 388 00:28:56,948 --> 00:29:05,553 And then reach out to your manufacturers too, because if you're going to do a flash sale or if you want to do a product bundle, sometimes they'll give you some free product for 389 00:29:05,553 --> 00:29:05,783 that. 390 00:29:05,783 --> 00:29:11,516 I know ours have done that quite a bit, where they'll give us some of that product free that we can give away for free. 391 00:29:11,516 --> 00:29:13,487 And then it doesn't eat into your margins at all. 392 00:29:13,487 --> 00:29:14,918 So get a little creative with that. 393 00:29:14,918 --> 00:29:16,259 That's what we do. 394 00:29:16,519 --> 00:29:18,200 And that's how we price it. 395 00:29:18,894 --> 00:29:19,494 Perfect. 396 00:29:19,494 --> 00:29:26,498 I think that was great insight and I think we've given some really good nuggets for people throughout this episode. 397 00:29:26,498 --> 00:29:30,699 At the end of the day, Q4 isn't just a sprint to the finish line. 398 00:29:30,699 --> 00:29:35,382 You have to look at it as the launch pad for long -term success. 399 00:29:35,382 --> 00:29:43,485 It's not only about ending the year strong, but about building momentum that sets the tone for the year ahead and beyond. 400 00:29:43,545 --> 00:29:45,706 Here's why it's so powerful. 401 00:29:46,914 --> 00:29:50,197 We know that Q1 can be so unpredictable. 402 00:29:50,197 --> 00:29:51,037 You know what I mean? 403 00:29:51,037 --> 00:30:02,457 Like so many of us struggle during Q1, even some of the members that we coach, you know, they're not looking forward to the holiday season being over because they know what Q1 404 00:30:02,457 --> 00:30:03,608 brings. 405 00:30:04,009 --> 00:30:12,326 If you maximize your efforts in Q4 though, you aren't just going to survive, you're going to be thriving coming out of that. 406 00:30:12,326 --> 00:30:15,180 And by leveraging Q4 to its fullest, 407 00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:22,413 you're going to create a financial cushion that allows you to start the new year with confidence and with stability. 408 00:30:22,413 --> 00:30:28,135 Instead of scrambling, you're going to have peace of mind knowing you and your team are set up for success. 409 00:30:28,135 --> 00:30:37,439 That's going to give you a better attitude, a better temperament as the owner, as the leader, and your team is going to feel the same way when they have ended the year with 410 00:30:37,439 --> 00:30:38,900 huge checks, right? 411 00:30:38,900 --> 00:30:40,690 And they're excited. 412 00:30:40,690 --> 00:30:44,824 That's going to be really, really good for January. 413 00:30:44,824 --> 00:30:46,054 for Q1. 414 00:30:46,054 --> 00:30:54,787 However, you've got to make sure that you, you know, stay on them and make sure that that momentum keeps and stays where it needs to be. 415 00:30:54,787 --> 00:31:04,680 Because when your team's morale is boosted and they're seeing their hard work pay off, whether it's through, you know, just bigger paychecks, whether you give incentives or 416 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:12,812 bonuses, or even just simple recognition, it reignites their passion for this industry. 417 00:31:12,950 --> 00:31:15,592 and it really reignites their energy. 418 00:31:15,772 --> 00:31:18,615 I think it's so important that we make our teams feel valued. 419 00:31:18,615 --> 00:31:20,436 They'll start the new year motivated. 420 00:31:20,436 --> 00:31:24,979 They're gonna be ready to just go for it as they come back from the holidays. 421 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,002 And it'll help avoid that dreaded Q1 slump. 422 00:31:29,283 --> 00:31:38,290 What do you do to ensure that your team is energized and motivated moving into January of the following year? 423 00:31:39,088 --> 00:31:45,943 Yeah, I mean, we try to really recognize when they are doing really, really well, and that seems to help a lot. 424 00:31:45,943 --> 00:31:48,127 We also try to keep their... 425 00:31:48,730 --> 00:31:57,323 benchmarks and goals, we start talking about that a little bit more at the end of Q4 when they're really high and that seems to help keep them a little bit motivated as we start 426 00:31:57,323 --> 00:32:02,004 getting into that slump because they're kind of coming off of really doing really well. 427 00:32:02,025 --> 00:32:06,987 And so that doesn't quite discourage them too bad when it does slow down a little bit. 428 00:32:06,987 --> 00:32:11,068 And then we plan any kind of holiday event for our team in Q1. 429 00:32:11,736 --> 00:32:15,088 And so that also kind of gives a little bit of extra motivation. 430 00:32:15,088 --> 00:32:16,178 It's like celebration. 431 00:32:16,178 --> 00:32:25,383 got through Q4 and it's like really exciting and we'll recognize, you know, things that when people that went above and beyond and things that they did, you know, in that Q4. 432 00:32:25,383 --> 00:32:33,567 And I think that keeps them energized and excited a little bit too, because otherwise, you know, you're so busy and crazy in Q4 and then that it does happen. 433 00:32:33,567 --> 00:32:36,548 You slow down and you're kind of lose your momentum or. 434 00:32:36,688 --> 00:32:38,439 you know, you get a little bit demotivated. 435 00:32:38,439 --> 00:32:41,391 So I think keeping doing little things like that. 436 00:32:41,391 --> 00:32:43,822 And I think the recognition piece is huge. 437 00:32:43,822 --> 00:32:47,194 More than anything doesn't even cost you any money. 438 00:32:47,194 --> 00:32:56,200 Just really recognizing how amazing they're doing and giving them just that little extra boost, that confidence that that's what we find works better than anything else. 439 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:57,390 So pay attention. 440 00:32:57,390 --> 00:33:01,133 I know if you're working behind the chair, you're not paying attention to your team. 441 00:33:01,133 --> 00:33:03,674 You just want them to crank, crank, crank and 442 00:33:03,674 --> 00:33:10,111 You've got to pay attention to that because they're the ones that are really, really pulling the weight too during this time of year. 443 00:33:10,510 --> 00:33:12,810 Yeah, 100 % and watch for burnout. 444 00:33:12,810 --> 00:33:15,030 Please watch for burnout with your team. 445 00:33:15,030 --> 00:33:19,390 And if you start noticing things of that nature, handle it, handle it quickly. 446 00:33:19,390 --> 00:33:22,120 It's your role as the owner to do that. 447 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:24,130 Very, very important to watch out for. 448 00:33:24,130 --> 00:33:34,430 I have seen so many artists or stylists or technicians kind of give up after Q4 because especially if it's like their first or second year in the industry and they are just not 449 00:33:34,430 --> 00:33:38,250 prepared for it and the owners are just like crank, crank, crank, crank, crank. 450 00:33:38,250 --> 00:33:39,692 They just lose. 451 00:33:39,692 --> 00:33:43,754 all passion, all momentum, and they just really don't want to do it. 452 00:33:43,754 --> 00:33:47,628 So please be aware of that if you aren't. 453 00:33:47,628 --> 00:33:57,304 It is, I'm going to be honest, one thing that I didn't pay really close attention to in my early years of ownership, and I really, really regret not doing it. 454 00:33:57,304 --> 00:34:00,596 It's not like I was treating my employees poorly. 455 00:34:00,596 --> 00:34:07,694 There are just signs that I should have seen in some of them, and I should have been aware of that, and I should have handled it in a better... 456 00:34:07,694 --> 00:34:08,614 in better way. 457 00:34:08,614 --> 00:34:12,054 So I think burnout is something that we really, really have to watch. 458 00:34:12,054 --> 00:34:20,074 One of the best things about Q4 is that it helps you build habits for that long -term success. 459 00:34:20,074 --> 00:34:28,554 So it's really the season to solidify the habits that are going to carry your business forward in 2025. 460 00:34:28,554 --> 00:34:37,118 The financial discipline, the strategic planning, the attention to detail that you put in, it's now going to continue to serve you 461 00:34:37,118 --> 00:34:38,399 all year long. 462 00:34:38,399 --> 00:34:42,500 So track that revenue, manage that cash flow, stay on top of expenses. 463 00:34:42,500 --> 00:34:46,702 These are really the building blocks of sustained profitability. 464 00:34:46,702 --> 00:34:52,044 Chandra can tell you, I can tell you this is what keeps us profitable in our businesses. 465 00:34:52,044 --> 00:34:56,106 These are the things that we look at every single day. 466 00:34:56,106 --> 00:34:58,667 So it's going to be very, very important. 467 00:34:58,667 --> 00:35:06,530 Q4 is really everybody's chance to set the stage for a powerful new year, to maximize it and to watch your business soar 468 00:35:06,530 --> 00:35:08,792 well beyond the holiday season? 469 00:35:09,873 --> 00:35:12,506 Well, I think we've covered some really key points today. 470 00:35:12,506 --> 00:35:17,020 I think people understand why Q4 is so critical. 471 00:35:17,441 --> 00:35:24,046 It's just such a critical time for your business and it can literally be a game changer if it's done right. 472 00:35:24,568 --> 00:35:31,293 What advice would you give to people who have not ever really planned for Q4 before? 473 00:35:31,458 --> 00:35:35,882 I mean, yeah, maybe they did some retail packages or things like that. 474 00:35:35,882 --> 00:35:45,470 Maybe they had a little bit of a social media content calendar, but they never really sat down and strategically planned and paid attention to these finances and everything like 475 00:35:45,470 --> 00:35:46,131 that. 476 00:35:46,131 --> 00:35:50,024 What advice would you give to them if they're listening to this right now? 477 00:35:50,554 --> 00:35:54,377 Yeah, I mean, I think start planning now ASAP as much as you can. 478 00:35:54,377 --> 00:36:05,707 And I think really pay attention to those finances because the biggest thing, the biggest piece of advice that I could give would really be what feels really good when you hit that 479 00:36:05,707 --> 00:36:10,220 Q1 is when you come out of that Q4 and you have money in your bank account. 480 00:36:10,222 --> 00:36:21,141 And I can say that so many years of owning my salon, especially in the beginning, I always thought that last quarter was going to be so amazing and we're going to make so much 481 00:36:21,141 --> 00:36:21,742 money. 482 00:36:21,742 --> 00:36:24,524 And every single year we came out in the negative. 483 00:36:24,524 --> 00:36:26,365 And so you don't want to do that. 484 00:36:26,365 --> 00:36:32,361 And I'm sure, you know, many of you are experiencing that now because it's very common for a lot of this industry. 485 00:36:32,361 --> 00:36:38,692 And so if you play your cards right, and you start doing that planning and start figuring that out right away. 486 00:36:38,692 --> 00:36:44,846 you could come out of this with a really good cushion on the end that's going to get you through the next year. 487 00:36:45,742 --> 00:36:47,803 There's nothing like that feeling either. 488 00:36:47,803 --> 00:36:55,905 The first, you know, if you were to sit down and look back over the past Q4s that you've had, go back five years, six years or whatever. 489 00:36:55,905 --> 00:37:07,329 I mean, I've done the same thing and I've seen so much revenue being brought in, so much hard work being put in only to end up with nothing, right? 490 00:37:07,329 --> 00:37:11,394 It is so deflating, but I'm telling you that first year. 491 00:37:11,394 --> 00:37:22,079 that you go in and you're reconciling everything and you see that safety net, you see that money, you see that profitability in there, there's no feeling like it. 492 00:37:22,079 --> 00:37:24,200 It's literally the best feeling in the world. 493 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:28,602 And so we want that for every single one of you out there listening. 494 00:37:28,602 --> 00:37:33,204 And so if we can give you any advice, it's to just start doing it now. 495 00:37:33,264 --> 00:37:37,026 We didn't have time to go over every step, obviously, in this episode. 496 00:37:37,026 --> 00:37:38,306 I said that earlier. 497 00:37:38,306 --> 00:37:47,213 But if you're out there and you're listening and you want to see the entire Q4 playbook that we created with the step -by -step process, you can reach out to us. 498 00:37:47,213 --> 00:37:48,904 Chandra, how can they do that? 499 00:37:48,976 --> 00:37:54,260 Yeah, reach out to us on social media, Instagram, Facebook at the Beauty Biz Agency. 500 00:37:54,260 --> 00:37:59,923 You can also send us an email at admin at the beauty biz agency .com and visit the website. 501 00:37:59,923 --> 00:38:01,704 We've got tons of stuff on there for you. 502 00:38:01,704 --> 00:38:09,399 So if you just let us know you'd like to get this playbook, it is really step by step and call, you know, it it's so easy to follow. 503 00:38:09,399 --> 00:38:13,742 telling you, you definitely if you need help, definitely let us know. 504 00:38:14,851 --> 00:38:16,193 Well, that's a wrap, guys. 505 00:38:16,193 --> 00:38:18,036 Be sure to tune into our next episode. 506 00:38:18,036 --> 00:38:21,622 Don't forget to follow us, like Chandra said, social media platforms. 507 00:38:21,622 --> 00:38:23,744 We want you to follow us on all of them. 508 00:38:24,006 --> 00:38:27,220 What is, how do they follow us on social media, Chandra? 509 00:38:27,965 --> 00:38:38,099 Yeah, we're at the well at Beauty Biz Agency on Instagram and on Facebook and then on tik -tok as well at Beauty Biz Agency so start following it 510 00:38:38,268 --> 00:38:39,179 yes, please. 511 00:38:39,179 --> 00:38:44,522 And if you haven't already, make sure to visit our website, www .thebeautybusagency .com. 512 00:38:44,522 --> 00:38:49,376 We've got some amazing resources that will help you take your studio to the next level. 513 00:38:49,376 --> 00:38:57,261 We also just launched a free course on our website with some amazing strategies, insights, and tips. 514 00:38:57,261 --> 00:38:59,062 So take advantage of that. 515 00:38:59,062 --> 00:39:04,780 If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with other salon and spa owners. 516 00:39:04,780 --> 00:39:10,215 Now go out there, start planning for a killer Q4 and make some boss moves. 517 00:39:10,215 --> 00:39:14,259 Until next time, keep slaying those business goals with a whole lot of swagger.