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When To Hire A Consultant
When starting a business most people have an idea
of how they want to run their business, and a goal they
would like to reach. This goal can be economical or social
depending on the nature of the person and type of business.
Nobody sets up an establishment with the goal of
failing. That would be ludicrous. Why would anyone invest
money into a project that was sure would fail. According
to the U.S. Small Business Administration, over 50% of
small businesses fail in the first year and 95% fail within
the first five years.” (“Are You Ready?” United States
Small
Business Association:
http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/startup/areyouready.html).
Having a consultant can curb this statistic in the
business owners favor. Many of the world’s wealthiest
entrepreneurs have consultants. This is due to the fact
that they know they can’t handle every decision by
themselves with accuracy. There are many factors that go
into owning and operating a business. When it comes to
owning a business new situations arrive daily; some you may
not be prepared for. Don’t let yourself become one of the
95% that fail within the first five years of operation. Be
smart and take advantage of the opportunities that surround
you by speaking with a consultant.
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KNOWING WHEN YOU NEED A BUSINESS CONSULTANT
Spa ownership. A wonderful vision that began with
the desire to create a haven of peace and rejuvenation for
world weary clients. The picture is filled with images of
water gently falling into fountain pools, aromatic essences
and soothing the senses, luxuriously appointed rooms
providing calming treatments by a cooperative and caring
staff. This beautiful idea which persuaded you to invest
time and money to make it a reality. How close have you
come to achieving your goal now that the spa is open for
business? Have you discovered that there are a few more
details to add to the picture you started with? Is spa
ownership now what you thought it would be then?
For many if not most new owners, the opening of a
day spa is a surprising introduction to the complexities of
business. Suddenly the harsh business realities descend
upon the once optimistic spa owner. Personnel challenges,
cash shortfalls, accounting headaches, and facility
management rapidly replace the idyllic experience our spa
promised to deliver. Profit, often more of a euphemism for
success rather than a concrete numeric goal, is elusive.
The workload is expansive and draining. Our spa experience
has become a series of worried evenings in the back office
attempting to settle past due accounts payable with a slim
checkbook. Not quite the vision we had in mind! It may be
time to consider contacting a spa business consultant.
When prospective spa and salon owners plan their
businesses, there is frequently a serious, and potentially
fatal, disparity between capital devoted to fixtures and
that invested in operations—those systems and processes
which allow a business to run smoothly and efficiently. A
sophisticated hydrotub and marble appointments cannot
determine compensation strategy, understand profit margins,
or solve personnel issues.
Clients may come, even in astonishing numbers, but
the relationship between what they spend and what you keep
is a complex and fragile formula. Profitability requires
careful planning and protection from reversals. And while
this may not sound like your idea of spa ownership, neither
are sleepless nights due to financial worry. Overlook one
and you get the other, it's that simple.
The eventual goal is to develop business courage,
skill and independence while moving steadily towards
profitability. This may be achieved in either a short– or
long–term relationship with a consultant, depending on your
willingness and ability to initiate meaningful change in
your business. You have to be prepared to become a business
person, and to learn what you may consider to be dull or
complicated tasks. The spa owner must recognize that she or
he is engaged in the work of business and, like it or not,
there is never a time where business doesn't matter in an
operating day.
One of the greatest frustrations facing business
consultants is in watching desperate spa and salon owners
neglect management improvement tools after their delivery.
The consultant wants to help you, they want to see you
achieve personal relief and lasting success. They feel
deeply for your dilemma and will work hard to assist in
turning your operation around. But they cannot make you do
what needs to be done. Consultants find it stressful having
to push business owners into saving themselves as is often
the case. This being said, when you decide to bring in the
skills of a consultant you should be absolutely committed
to implementing the systems and tools you are paying for.
Spa consultants may charge anywhere from $500.00 to
$5,000.00 per day depending on the project or their
experience; this is not money you can afford to waste. The
fees of a spa consultant, even at the top end of the scale,
may pale when compared to the cost efficiency and revenue
generating benefits of successfully integrated programs or
systems. Remember, the consultant's fee is short term
expense while the benefits of their work may be in effect
for the lifetime of your company. A $10,000.00 consultant
fee may translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in
otherwise undiscovered revenue or gross profit. It's
important not to focus on the up–front cost of the
consultant but rather on the long term benefits (unless of
course you have no means to pay those fees to start with).
You must think of your consulting relationship as a
business investment, one probably of more critical value
than any other feature of your spa or salon. Some of us
spend more time selecting the style of our personal checks
than learning to balance the register. This leads to
trouble with our account and returned check fees. Better to
spend a little time learning a valuable skill than working
harder to pay unproductive bank charges.
Overall, the most important indicator of the need
to bring in a business consultant is in the realization
that your goals are not being met. Suppose your profit
picture is on track but only with you putting in those 80
hour weeks. Maybe you're still the default recipient of
every emergency that happens in the spa or are constantly
forced to fill in for absent employees. If you've had a
vacation in the last few years was it punctuated by salon
crises and daily check-in calls? In other words, if the
ownership of your business has not yet improved the
condition of your life it may be an ideal time to consider
a resource that can help achieve this basic motive for
exposure to the risks of private enterprise. You don't have
to do it all by yourself, and if you've read anything here
which feels gnawingly familiar, you probably shouldn't.
Thinking about hiring a consultant? Call us for your FREE
45 minute phone consultation. 248.546.4312
theSECRET Salon & Spa by Design Royal Oak, MI 866.288.7353
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