Successful small business owners are constantly exploring ways to improve their business and increase their earnings. In order to run an efficient business and grow an overall profit, it is important to routinely analyze operations and brainstorm ways to improve your current systems. Focus should be on making your business more efficient, so that you can offer the best possible waxing service every time.

Understanding your overall business and how it operates is the first step in determining where and how you can improve your business. Here are some strategies to consider that will help determine what you can change in order to grow your bottom line.

LISTEN TO EMPLOYEES

Your employees are crucial to your success as a business. They are the first people clients see when they walk into your spa. They work in the trenches and have a great understanding of how the business operates day in and day out. As a result, the information and feedback they provide is important when analyzing your business. There are various approaches when asking for suggestions and feedback from your team. One method is to have your team complete a questionnaire. This questionnaire can be anonymous or open and would cover all aspects of the operations. It can be completed once a month or quarterly and will give your team an outlet to communicate to you. Keeping these types of questionnaires anonymous can prove more effective, as it relieves any negative pressure of being completely open and honest. An alternative option would be to hire an external consultant. This person should be an industry expert who will have the capacity and experience to analyze your current systems and provide recommendations to improve operations. Although hiring a consultant is an investment, the benefits of increasing your business efficiencies should far outweigh the cost of the consultant’s fee. However, before deciding to go down this path, do your research and truly understand how your business will benefit.

OUTSOURCE AND AUTOMATE

Time is money. Your time is a very valuable resource and you should consider how to make the most of it. Consider outsourcing the projects that are not within your scope or focus. This will save time, so that your time can then be spent on what you do well and what your business needs to grow. Automating the tasks that you can will not only help you to save time, but will reduce, if not eliminate, human error – building a strong foundation for your business to grow. Tasks that can easily be automated would include sending pay stubs to employees or reminder e-mails to clients. There are many technologies available to help with the automation and engaging with an expert who can advise what would work best can be beneficial. As waxing is a specialized service, it is important to be aware of the balance between automation and staying engaged with a client. Client loyalty is built through a personal relationship with your client, so ensuring you remain connected with them is important. Try not to lose sight of the personal touches.

FOCUS MARKETING EFFORTS

It can be challenging to truly understand the return on your investment when it comes to marketing. Taking the time to know who your target demographic is and how you can effectively reach them will streamline marketing and provide the most impact per dollar spent. Include a code with promotions that clients must reference in order to redeem so that at the end of the promotion you can see the results. Routinely performing an overall analysis on your client database to break out key demographics, most popular services, and products sold will help develop effective marketing campaigns and focus the budget effectively.

CREATE ACHIEVABLE GOALS

Once you have performed an analysis, gained an understanding of areas you can improve in, and implemented new systems, it is important to define the level of improvement you are hoping to attain. This will allow you to understand whether the changes you have made have had any impact on the overall productivity and efficiency of your business. It will also give you and your team a goal to work towards.

Focus on making small changes in your business, as these will often have the most impact on overall performance. Understanding the ins and outs of your business will allow you to make educated decisions on how you can improve operations and grow your bottom line. Remember to focus on efficiency, but don’t let it take away from the primary goal of operating a successful business and providing the best possible services every time.

Lindsay Miller is the president of LYCON Wax North America. Having first discovered LYCON Wax in the United Kingdom 10 years ago, she has dedicated her time to growing the brand across North America, including introducing LYCON to Canada. Training and product quality are extremely important to Miller and she prides herself on building a strong team around her that can offer the best customer experience possible. LYCON continues to be a market leader in hair removal wax and is used in top spas and salons around the world.