Recession Proofing Your Spa or Beauty Business: Know When to Expand and When To Take it Nice and Slow

Knowing when to grow a business and when to take is slow is a skill that some managers have naturally, but that most have to learn. Some business managers try to grow too fast and this can lead to increased expenses that might not be justified in the rate of growth they expect cannot be maintained or continued.

It is true that there are no hard and fast rules – so not all theories or strategies will work for all businesses and their owners. However, the common way of thinking is that slow and steady growth that is well planned makes a business much stronger, especially over the long term.

Rapid growth in spurts can lead to increased hires followed by layoffs, and can also result in signing long term advertising contracts and other standing expenses that might not be justified in the rate of growth persists.

Setting a goal for the increase in revenue that you wish to have during each fiscal period, be it monthly, quarterly or yearly, making that goal moderate and reasonable and taking advantage of all of the expertise you have available can help you achieve this goal. Many aesthetics businesses believe ten percent per year in growth is the best goal to shoot for.

Others are more aggressive and look towards twenty percent. Many factors affect the speed of growth. Your location for example. Some businesses have taken on new expenses and then been hit by changes in traffic patters, new shopping centers that became faddish, or road construction. Others have suffered from negative factors in their local economy. For instance, if a factory in your city closes, or a major business has layoffs, this might affect your available client base. Always listen to what your customer base is telling you. Read more about that topic here…

Money might become tighter for the people in your area and they may have less to spend on spa services. The same can happen nationally when the economy hits bumps. These are cyclical and don’t last, but they can cause short term pain.Some business owners however pay too much attention to the economy. When naysayers say a recession is coming they jump the gun and stop advertising, when naturally slows business down. Then they think it is a result of the economy when it is really lack of effort and commitment to marketing.

Make sure that you use common sense when developing a long term business development plan. Pay attention to the news, but filter it through your local area and conditions. And remember that slow and sure can pay off in the long run.