You’re an enlightened manager who knows that creating a salon/day spa operating plan increases your odds of business success. Admittedly, there are success stories you come across where a person admits they didn’t have a plan or at least what you think of as a formal written plan, yet the business turned out to be successful. Now I’m sure there’s an amount of truth to some of those stories, yet I’d be willing to say those folks are the rare exception to the rules or natural order of things.

Most owners/managers complain they don’t have the time to create their salon/day spa roadmap. They say they’re too busy, and they usually are, fighting fires. It’s only when they’re so exhausted from all the fire-fighting work that they finally decide to do something about it.

If you want to avoid owner/manager meltdown, here’s what to do.

Go on a retreat for a couple of days. Take stock of what it is that’s most important to you. Pre-book and make it an annual event.

Write your personal mission statement if you don’t already have one. If you do, review it and if need be, revise it. For a template, check out Dr. Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Decide how much money you want/need to make. Be specific with the “must have money for” numbers (for example, rent/mortgage and insurance). Calculate how much money you are making and figure out the gap between that figure and the desired number.

Map out your day spa’s plan in a one-page outline, including your vision for the company. The vision gives you and your team a target to aim at and helps reestablish you as your organization’s leader.

Review your salon/day spa’s financials for the previous year. Create a budget (calculate how much business you must do to cover your expenses).

Determine the best route to bridge the gap between what your business currently does and what it must do to give you what you want/need. Incorporate these things in the action plan section of your plan

Create an outline to discuss the plan and outline with your team when you return. You’ll want to include your team because it’s impossible to do everything yourself. Getting your team involved in the execution of the plan is critical. It simply won’t work without them.
Plan your time using a 90-day time horizon.

Measure your progress, weekly, monthly, and quarterly (90 days). Make sure to plan individual and all-team meetings to review individual and team progress. Reward yourself and the team for that progress.

Like an able captain, you’re going to continually trim the sails and tack. In other words, make adjustments along the way because there are usually plenty of wind and waves that will take you off course on your journey towards day spa success.

Remember, the ablest of captains uses the winds and waves to help get to the destination. Follow the outlined steps above to get to yours.

By Andrew Finkelstein, The Beauty Resource www.thebeautyresource.com