When you first opened your business, you may have concentrated your energy on doing one thing extremely well. You likely started with one location, and centered your offerings around one type of service. If this is the case, and you haven’t already begun to do so, now may be the perfect time to begin incorporating some form of diversification! Even with the opportunity for greater profitability, everyone can be a bit reluctant to embrace change within their lives, especially when it comes to your business – your livelihood and that of the people you employ. If you consider expanding your menu to include new products and services that are already in line with your current offerings, there is less risk involved and it can minimize your uncertainty.
As you plan to diversify, an important item to consider is the software program required to accommodate your new services and/or products.
Before pursuing diversification, it is imperative that you create a solid and strategic plan for doing so. Conducting research ahead of time is important and there are surely many valuable resources at your disposal. You might consider attending an industry trade event or meeting with different product and service vendors.
If your plans include service offerings similar to your existing industry, the skills and knowledge required may already be somewhat in line with the skillset that you and your staff already possess. As a result, there may not be a need for extensive training or a requirement to learn new techniques that are completely outside your comfort zone. Perhaps your salon offering has been exclusive to UV tanning equipment and related products? Extending into the sunless market with custom spray-tans or spray-booths may be an attractive choice. Doing so will allow you to appeal to a different customer base. And as an added bonus, these same tan-seekers might just end up using your UV equipment, even if it’s something that they may not have previously considered!
As you plan to diversify, an important item to take into account is the software program required to accommodate your new services and/or products. You’ll need to determine if your existing program will meet your new business needs, and if not, what would be the process and costs involved with implementing a new one? Using the example above, if you are contemplating adding custom airbrushing, does your current system offer necessary features such as an electronic appointment book, a customer check-in option, or a staff scheduling module? Do you have the ability to mark non-regulated services as exempt from the Tan Tax?
For you, diversification may be part of a growth strategy such as opening another location, and not incorporating different products or services. Again, you need to make sure that you have a software solution in place that will accommodate this type of growth. Once you expand to a multi-location environment, it is crucial that your system is easily scalable, networkable and that it updates in real-time. You’ll want to also confirm that your software has a utility that allows you to continue operating seamlessly in the event of an unfortunate situation, such as an Internet outage.
Whether it’s incorporating a new service or increasing your location size, any business big or small should consider diversification! Times are changing – and having salon software in place that will help you grow will prove to be a key factor in your success.
