Recession Proof Your Business
I'm Tiffny Nadolny, your host of the Spa Business Building Podcast. I'm a licensed esthetician, massage therapist, and solopreneur in my day spa. With nearly two decades of experience in the beauty and wellness industry, I've learned a few things about building a career and maintaining longevity.
Outside of the treatment room, I'm a wife, mom, to the human and fluffy kind, plant enthusiast, and book lover. Join me while I share my experiences and insight on attracting clients, maintaining and building a thriving business while achieving work-life balance. So whether you're a new solo spa boss or season, this podcast is for you.
Welcome back Solo Spa Bosses to the Spa Business Building Podcast. I'm Tiffany, your host, and I am delivering you bite-size bits of information to help you run your business like a true spa boss. This episode is brought to you by The Solo Spa Bosses Society, the membership exclusively for solo beauty and wellness professionals who are looking for a space where they can find education, guidance and support from others who are like them.
This is more than just a course. It's a community. So I recently received a question in my DMs on Instagram, and I thought that it would be the perfect episode.
So here's the message. Hey, love your podcast. I just listened to the latest episode on social media and it was really helpful.
I was wondering if you have any tips or thoughts on running a business during a recession or when things feel financially uncertain. First off, thank you so much for listening to the podcast. It really means a lot to me.
My goal is to help others in the solo beauty and wellness industry, and you're listening and sending me a message. It feels really great. Secondly, this is a really great question.
I am seeing this a lot in the groups that I'm in asking the same questions. And I'm feeling like many beauty and wellness professionals are really starting to feel the pinch. Clients are no showing their sessions, they're pushing their sessions out, they're canceling more, they're not buying products, and they're not, they're just not coming in as often.
Your business is starting to slow down. So what can we do when we're facing a recession, when our finances feel uncertain? It can be stressful, but it's also an opportunity to take stock, make smart choices, and build a more resilient business.
So I've got a few tips to help you keep your business afloat when we are facing this economic uncertainty. So number one is strengthening your relationship with your current loyal clients, the guests that are on repeat, who are buying your products, they are leaving the reviews, and they are referring your friends. These are the true VIPs of your business, and they should be treated as such.
Because these are already happy clients. They're spreading the gospel about your business. They love what you do.
They respect and appreciate you and your business. And you really need to show these clients who have kept your business afloat for so long. They are the ones who are going to continue to be your loyal clients.
If they've stuck with you this far, they're going to keep on visiting. So focus on delivering even more exceptional value and experiences for these clients, because that return on investment, that ROI is higher when you focus on keeping those clients happy versus trying to find new clients. Now, if these clients are referring to their friends and you have those new clients, then you treat their referrals like the VIPs, because you want them to become your VIPs.
So what can you do to strengthen those relationships? How can you go above and beyond for those clients? Number two kind of relates to the strengthening the relationships, and it's all about raising that perceived value of your services, because you want to create more loyal clients.
Like I said, that return on investment is higher when you're spending it on return clients versus new clients. So how can you go above and beyond for your current clients? What unique touches, solutions, benefits can you offer?
That make you indispensable. This could be just adding extra touches or providing that ongoing support. You're doing the follow ups.
You're personally messaging them after their services and asking how they're feeling if they have any questions. All of my new guests, I make sure that I message them and ask them if they have any questions, how their skin is feeling, how they're feeling after their massage, all of those things. But you want to reach out personally.
And I've had coaching clients who have said, but I feel like it's a little intrusive. It is not. We live in the day and age of text messaging.
And if you are reaching out to make sure that your clients are doing okay, you're building that relationship with them. And if they don't like it and they seem a little turned off, then just don't do it anymore. But reaching out and making sure that they're okay, if they don't respond back, then that's fine.
You get the hint. But typically, they will respond. And if they have questions, sometimes they're afraid to reach out if they do have a question.
So if you are reaching out, you're making it easier for them to get in touch with you. You could send an email and the direct the message to them. I wouldn't go through social media.
I would make sure that you were texting them and asking how they're feeling. But your clients aren't just paying for that service. They are paying for the experience.
And that includes the little touches, your education and expertise, and that ongoing support. I have clients who will message me here and there, and they have a question with their scan or something will pop up. Or I have that professional relationship, and I know that they trust me.
And they respect me and my business, and they want that ongoing support. So how can you give that to them? It's by following up and connecting with them.
When your clients feel like they are well taken care of, they are less likely to look elsewhere, even when their budgets are tight. So keep that in mind, build that relationship with them, keep it strong and add the perceived value. Now, when I say perceived value, what little things can you add to your ?
It doesn't have to cost any money. Hot towels. I do a hot towel around the neck for every service, facial and massage.
And when I have a massage client, I use a hot towel on their back. They love it. I use hot stones on every service.
It's the little touches. It's the chocolates. It's the mints.
It's the follow ups. It's the samples, always giving samples. It's remembering their birthdays and remembering the little things that they said and making notes about their treatments, what they really liked, what they didn't like.
Remembering their essential oil scent that they absolutely love. I remember each client, which one that they love. I write it down and I ask them, Oh, this is the one that you used last time.
Would you like to use it now? Incorporating essential oils without charging. That's the perceived value.
You can charge more when your clients feel like they're getting the full experience. It's not just one and done. There's no follow up.
You're not checking in. Clients don't want to come back to that. They can get that elsewhere.
So what can you do to really love on your client? That's number two. Number three is maybe thinking about adding budget-friendly options to your service offerings.
Now, this option might not be for everyone, but it can help keep you afloat during difficult times. And here's what I mean. Offering express services or focusing on promoting more of your lower-ticket options.
It's not about discounting your service or creating like a budget menu or anything like that. It's maybe offering shortened versions of popular services, maybe a 45-minute massage, like that quick focus session. Maybe they just want the back neck shoulders.
Maybe they want scalp, arms, and feet, whatever that is. Or maybe it's a 45-minute facial. Maybe it's just a polish change if you're a nail tech instead of a full manicure.
But it is offering those shortened services. Now, I offer express services for most of my treatments. I have an express facial.
It's called the refresh facial. You can get that in a derma plane. You can get that in microderma.
It's been a popular service of mine this past year. And it's not about creating a discount. You're still charging what you need for that service, but you're just offering a shortened time.
Think of this as like the lunchtime express. People just have smaller windows of time and they want to get in and get out. They still want to relax.
And this just gives clients that opportunity on something that they can afford. So focus on selling like the smaller ticket items. Maybe it's like a lash and brow tent, brow wax, facial wax.
You've created like shortened services that aren't discounted. It's just within that time frame. 45 minutes.
What do you need to charge for 45 minutes? I still charge $105 for a 45 minute session. It's not about discounting your services.
But think about what your guests would want. Maybe create a poll and asking them specifically, but just give it a try. Sometimes business is trial and error.
See how it works out for you. If it doesn't work out for you, if it doesn't feel right on your service menu, then you can take it off. You could start it out as something like, hey, this is something that I'm offering.
Maybe it's a promotion, a special without the discount. Promotion doesn't have to be discounted. You're just promoting that service.
So put it out there as promotion. This is something that I'm offering for the summer. I didn't have it on my menu.
If you do have it on your menu, start promoting it. Those quick in and out services that guests can afford right now. If they are seeking kind of budget services, here is an option for them.
Number four, maybe try offering a membership program or package pricing. Guests are looking for those savings. And if you want to sustain your business, this could be a good option.
It's not for everyone. I did an episode about having memberships and packages and what all that entails. But you can think of it as rewarding your guests for those repeat visits and automated payments or the upfront price of the packaging.
So you could offer a $10 a month discount. And this can help you get more clients on your books and keep cash flowing. So you're creating a program where guests are coming in monthly.
It's automated sales. They get $10 off their service, whatever that is, or you're doing a package bundle. For me, I am planning on adding my packages back in.
I stopped doing packages as I was shifting my business. And when I initially did my packages, it was more of rewarding clients who were repeat clients because I didn't have a new guest discount. Guests were coming in, usually from referrals, my Google reviews, and they really loved the service.
So then I said, I do have a package offering when you purchase and prepay, then you get this discount. And it's rewarding those clients for coming in. It's a wellness program.
That was my loyalty program. And my clients loved it. And they have been with me for 10 years because I offered those packages.
Now, I stopped offering packages. My clients did not drop off. They still bought packages at full price without the discount.
They liked the ease of just having it paid for. They didn't have to take out their credit cards at the service. They tipped in advance.
It was done. It was in and out. And guests love it.
But now I have decided to go back to this kind of loyalty discounted, a very small discount, if they purchase a package. And it's a win-win for everybody, in my opinion. And this is what works for my business.
But that could be something that you consider offering. Number five, talking up the retailer, offering some sort of retail. Retail can be easier to sell if you're an esthetician or maybe a nail tech.
It can be a little harder if you're a massage therapist. But I, as a massage therapist, have had really great luck with retail. I offer essential oils, hand creams, heated neck wraps, candles, like those gift items.
And my clients really love it. It's all about the pampering items. I have them out, I'll light a candle, I'll use the lotion during their service.
And the guests are like, oh, that smells really great. Can I buy that from you? I let them choose their essential oil during their sessions and then they want to buy the oil.
It's about incorporating the products that you have for retail into your services so guests can try them out. I started sampling like body scrubs and hand lotions and I would give them to all of my guests and then they would come back and purchase them. So you have to have a plan behind your retail and really know what your clients want.
I've had retail that did not hit it all. But if you know what your clients are looking for or what they like, it's likely that they're going to purchase those things from you. Now, as an esthetician selling retail, selling those products that you use in your treatment room is a must.
It really is. It will boost your bottom line. You can make really good money when you have retail.
Now, if you can't afford to keep those products on hand for retail, because it can be a big initial startup to get that in stock. But you could also offer drop shipping. And if you don't know what drop shipping is, a lot of skincare companies are starting to offer this.
You purchase the products from them, and you will let them know that it is drop shipping, and they will ship the products directly from their company to your client. Now, you pay the wholesale price, but it's a good way to be able to get it to your clients without keeping the products in stock. Now, your clients will absolutely purchase from you.
They view you as the expert, and they want your recommendations. I came across a video the other day from another esthetician that said that talking about the recession and hard times right now, and her thought was that you should start really becoming knowledgeable in all the products that are sold in Target, Ulta, Sephora, because your clients are going to purchase there anyways, especially now when things are getting a little tough. And I see where she's coming from, but here's my take on that.
Yes, you will have some clients who will be shopping there, and I do have clients who ask me about products at Sephora and Target and blah, blah, blah. But if your clients truly respect you and you're educating them, they will buy from you. You just have to make it easy for them to buy from you.
So having samples, letting them test out the products. I give samples to all of my new guests. Every single one of them, they get three or four samples.
And 99% of the time, they will buy those products from me. My current guests, if they aren't loving something, if I get something new, I sample it out to them. So if you have those samples, having retail on hand makes it super easy.
When you say, sure, I have that in stock, schedule a time to pick up, they have it right away, then they aren't going to go to Target, Alta, Sephora. Now you will have clients who don't value the products that you have, and that may just be because you're not educating them enough on why it's important. Like I always tell my guys, yes, there are some products, make sure that if you're looking for something that it doesn't have this ingredient in it, but I just let them know.
I'm not an expert on those products. I'm an expert in what I have, and this is what I know works. This is why it works.
Now, I have several different lines that my clients can choose from. So I have Skinscript, I sell Retail Sorella, Glymede, Circadia, Halen Hush, because there's no one size fits all, and some of my clients don't, they don't like all the moisturizers from a certain line, then I have another line, and I mix and match per the preferences of my clients. Now, I never push retail on my clients.
If someone is happy with what they're using at home, and it seems to be working for them, I'm okay with that. I ask them what they like, what they don't like, what their concerns are, and if I see that it's the products that's not helping them, then I will educate them on that. This is what I'm seeing in your skin, and these products that you're using are helping.
Those clients who are coming in, and they don't want to use the retail, they just want to come in for relaxation, that's okay. Now, if they ask for those recommendations, I'm still going to send them home with samples. If they ask for recommendations, I'm going to be honest with them about what I have.
But my clients who are coming in for corrective services, they're using my skincare. I'm not going to be doing microchanneling, chemical peels, any of those advanced treatments if you're not using my products. And if you're working towards a goal, you better be using my products, because I can't guarantee anything if you aren't using the routine and doing it at home.
And that's how you should be educating your clients. Now, if you have clients that are on a budget, then you ask them, are you coming in for relaxation? Because then keep coming in for the services.
Are you coming in to better your skin? Then you want to focus on the skincare, because it's that 80-20, right? 80% is what you do at home, 20% is in the treatment room.
So, buying the good products, and they should be lasting 3 months. And show them how to use the products, how much to use so they can stretch it out and really get the results that they want. If they just want relaxation, then they can come in for the services.
But if they want more, then they should get the retail. And then that's where you let them know that you have these express services. You have these shortened versions of services that may fit their budget better than the 60, 75, 90 minute services.
But you're doing your clients an injustice if you're not educating them and not explaining them. So I absolutely see where that esthetician was coming from. But if you think that they're just going to go purchase those things anywhere anyways, then maybe you're not educating them enough.
And it's really about stepping up your game when it comes to retail. Now, you have to make that decision on your own. This is what works for me.
But I really think that having retail and stock and talking more about retail is going to benefit your business and your clients. Next is understanding your numbers. And this might sound really basic, but it's honestly the foundation of any solid financial plan, especially when times feel tough.
So I'm talking about really knowing where your money is going. And I want you to take a look at your expenses. Are you charging enough for your services to cover the cost of your products and like your overhead expenses?
You also need to factor in like the time of the service, your expertise, the little extras, like the samples that you're providing. You want to factor the laundry. You want to factor all of those things in when creating your pricing for your services.
But you could create a simple spreadsheet, or there are like budgeting apps that you can use. But this can be really helpful in understanding your cash flow. So when you are able to identify your cash flow and know what you're spending on your expenses, what you should be bringing in to cover, what you need to pay yourself, your overhead, all those things, then you're able to identify where you're able to make those cutbacks and free up more of your resources.
So really knowing those numbers is going to help you essentially make more money in your business. What can you bring home? What do you need to keep for your expenses?
Where can you make cutbacks? And really knowing those numbers in your business and your personal life, because if you can make cutbacks in your personal life, then you're not having to pay yourself as much. And you could put that in your business as needed.
And that follows into number seven, which is creating a savings account for your business. Having that financial cushion can literally save your business. I created a savings account years ago, many years ago in my business, and it helped me get through COVID, because we were shut down for months, and things were uncertain.
And when I was shut down, we weren't getting any bailouts from the government. And I didn't want to take any bailouts, because I didn't know if I was going to have to pay that back, or what the stipulations were. It was a little scary.
But I had a savings that got me through months of COVID. So what happened is I moved into a 1,700 square foot facility from like 700 square foot facility, and I was going to have treatment rooms and hire employees. And I had one employee at the time, and I wanted to.
I was busy. We were solid. We were booked, and it was time to go.
I signed a lease on this space. COVID hit. We were shut down.
Things were slow. I had this space with five treatment rooms. My employee decided to not come back.
She wanted to stay home with her daughter, and she did other things. But I had this big space that I had to pay for on my own, and I had doubled my rent and my utilities and all those things. But I was able to sustain by, I worked my ass off.
I can did the services myself, but I had a savings to get me through. And I had to remodel that entire space. I didn't just move into something that was already there.
I had to put in new carpets. I had to build the walls. I had to paint.
I had to put in new lighting. I did a whole build out, essentially, in the space and had no idea that COVID was happening, but I saved for it. And it got me through those tough times and I could open my business and get back into making money and making that cash flow.
And I sustained that way for a long time. And I didn't hire any more employees and I ended up renting out those rooms and it got me through, but the savings literally saved me. So if you don't have that in place, now is the time to make building your savings a priority.
Because even if it means starting small and just contributing small amounts, every little bit helps to provide that peace of mind. So for me, I built a system. I read the book, Profit First, and I created my own profit system on what I learned from this book.
And it helps me to pay myself, put away for expenses, put into savings, and it has helped me get through some pretty tough times. So if you maybe need some guidance on how to create that savings for yourself, how to set up your own profit system, I am happy to help. Just head over to my website, spabusinessbuilding.com.
You can book a 30-minute session, a 60-minute session to talk about your finances and set up that system for you. But if you set up a 60-minute session, the first 30 minutes are free because I offer free 30-minute sessions. So if you set up that 60-minute session, you're only paying for 30 minutes for your first time.
Just a little bit of a recap of what I talked about when it comes to helping your business stay afloat during some economic uncertainties. First, you're going to focus on strengthening your relationships. Then you're going to elevate your perceived value to create more loyal clients.
Next, you're going to look into either creating more budget-friendly services like the Express Services, or promoting more of your smaller ticket items that guests can afford at this time. They still want to feel beautiful. They still want to be pampered and taken care of.
So what services can you promote more that you already have on your services? It's not about creating discounts. It's about promoting what you have that aligns with the budgets of your guests during this time.
Number four is about maybe creating a membership program or package deals for your clients to create that repeat cash flow for yourself. Really talking about retail, providing retail, pumping up the retail for your clients, understanding your numbers and creating a savings account. So I hope that you found this episode helpful.
If you want to talk more in depth, you can direct message me over on Instagram. I love it when my listeners message me. I am always happy to help.
I will respond. I am pretty quick to responding unless your time zone is a little different. It may take me a little bit of time to respond, but I always respond.
I want to connect with you. You can find me on Instagram at solo.spa.bosses. That's where I mainly hang out.
I am on TikTok as Solo Spa Bosses. I'm on Facebook as Spa Business Building. I will respond there as well, but I really like to hang out in Instagram.
So if you want to direct message me there, I'd love to chat with you. But let me know what you thought of this episode. And if you have any questions and if you have any suggestions on future episodes, let me know.
That is it for today, my friend. Stay fabulous, stay inspired, and happy business building.
Thank you for joining me on this episode of The Spa Business Building Podcast. If you enjoyed today's show and don't want to miss another episode, you can follow on Spotify or subscribe wherever you usually listen. If you haven't done so already, I would really appreciate it if you leave a rating and review to let me know what you think and to help others find The Spa Business Building Podcast.
If you have a specific question that you would like answered on the next episode, send an email to Thrive, that's T-H-R-I-V-E at spabusinessbuilding.com. And if you want to learn more about my offerings, head to my website at spabusinessbuilding.com or check me out on Instagram at solo.spa.bosses. Until next time, friend.
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