Your Salon Q3 Plan: 3 Things to Do Before September

It's the end of July and that means you've got two whole months left to save your third quarter. If Q3 is drifting or you haven't even made your plans yet, here are three things you can do before September that will change how the rest of your year goes. You salon. Hello. My salon friends, Phil Jackson here, your Queen of Salons coming all over the internet with a big fat dose of my Wise Owl Wisdom. How on earth are you as we reach the end of July, the end of the month, and the end of the first month of a new quarter. And this is the episode where we're gonna pull it together a little bit and get Q3 back on track. How's the month been for you? Patchy results in my group coaching programme. Some salons do really well over the summer months. Some really struggle to get people through the door. Kids have just broken up. Perhaps you are looking at six weeks, a daunting six weeks of trying to entertain your children myself. Well, I don't know how I feel about this summer. I wish it was just a little bit more stable, but I guess it's a reflection of what's going on in the world at large. But here's what lots of salon owners do. They look at a quiet July. They decide that Q3 is a write off, a mentally checkout until the end of September. And I think that's a mistake 'cause you've got two full months of Q3 left and that's enough time to close the gap and walk into Autumn Ready instead of drifting into September. And then Q4 being the only one where you make any money. So what are we gonna do first? Well, the first thing we need to do is know your numbers. You've got to understand what it is that you want out of Q3 and importantly what July has contributed so far. And that means taking a really good hard look at the numbers. And I know you don't like numbers. I know that you'd much rather be carrying out beauty or hair services for your wonderful, beautiful clients. I know you'd rather be doing 150 other things instead of looking at your numbers. But an honest look at where you are standing in the quarter is so important. And a few Mondays ago I did a whole episode on setting targets working back from the profit you want. If you did that, brilliant, go and take a look at that now. Where are you against those numbers if you didn't do the exercise well, today is the day. Pull your figures for the quarter so far. Have a look at what's come in, what's gone out, what's the split between service and retail. Which services are actually making you money once you account for your product and time. Yes, I know it's a big job, but it's a big job that's definitely worth doing. And then name the gap. Honestly, look at where you are and what the rest of this quarter needs to bring in in order to deliver a Q3 that you are happy with. Write the number down. That's the difference between vaguely hoping that things are gonna get better, my love and knowing exactly what the next few weeks need to deliver. Just doing that puts you ahead of most salon owners and it gives you a destination for the rest of the quarter. Next we're gonna get ahead on the autumn rush. Start planning your autumn while you've still got the head space. If you are in a quiet time in your salon, this is an opportunity. A couple of weeks back when I said the quiet of summer is when planning season should be happening. Not panic season. This is exactly what I meant you to do with it. September for a lot of salon businesses is a peak summer's over routines are starting to come back. People want sorting out while undoing all the damage they did to themselves over the summer months. The run up to the kids, going back to school and then that long slope towards Christmas. And the owners who are gonna win in autumn are the ones who planned it in the quiet times, not the ones that are doing that panicked discounting when it gets to September. So use this time to start mapping out your autumn, get the key dates in place, the campaigns that you want to do. The end of summer recovery work. Clients come back from holidays with sun damaged hair, burnt skin, too much sun anyway, nails that need rescuing, whatever your world is. There is a, let's get you sorted for Autumn offer in there. We used to call it skin in recovery or hair in recovery. Don't just plan it though. Prepare it. Write the emails, make the posts, get them scheduled. So when September lands, you're not just creating from scratch and while the phone's ringing, you are actually executing on the plan. That's how the target from move number one becomes realistic instead of aspirational. And then finally move number three is I want you to really get to grips of getting some recurring income in. And I know I keep harping on about this, but you still haven't bloody done it yet, have you, my loves. And this is going to change the shape of your business rather than just one quarter or one month. So I want you to use the rest of this quarter to come up with one stream of recurring income. So when September lands, it doesn't depend entirely on getting bums on seats. I talked on Friday about holidays. Your team's holidays or your own holidays only hurt because your salon income is tied to someone physically being there. Recurring income is the fix to that. And the simplest form is of course a salon membership as your queen of salons, your queen of memberships. Well, I would say that, wouldn't I? Now you don't need anything elaborate. Something built on something your clients already come in for regularly. That nice maintenance appointment every few weeks or that monthly treatment that they have anyway. Name it, package it, get it paid for monthly. The income's then gonna arrive whether the diary's full or not. And the point isn't to build a perfect membership this week. I just want you to get started so that some of September's money is already banked before the month begins. If you put this in place, reach out and let me know. I want to hear your success story as far as memberships are concerned, because even a small recurring stream of income changes you into something steadier. And if you are a solo, and I used to say that memberships weren't for solo businesses, but I actually think now that it matters more than anything for solo businesses because the only way your income keeps moving on the days that things are quieter. So there's your plan for the rest of this quarter. For the run up to September, take a look at your real numbers, name the gap map, and prepare your autumn campaigns now where you've got time and start getting that bit of recurring income in ready for September three moves, one month and a quarter that is gonna finish strong instead of fizzling and slipping away from you. Let's get back in the driving seat, back behind the steering wheel, shall I? And if you've listened to that and you are nodding along, but you are struggling a bit to turn it into strategy, well that's exactly what my strategy calls are for. We take a look at your numbers, we take a look at your plans, your recurring income ideas, and turn them into a proper plan built around your salon, not just a generic one. If that sounds like something you could use, reach out to me, Phil Jackson, meet Phil jackson.me/strategy call. I know that's a hell of a lot to remember, so I'm gonna put that in the description for you as well. Also, reach out if you'd like me to be sharing your story of success here on the Build Your Salon podcast. You know, I love having salon owners as guests on the podcast. I don't always want the experts. Sometimes I just need my wonderful, wonderful salon owner friends to back up what I'm saying or challenge what I'm saying. You don't have to agree with everything that comes outta your Uncle Phil's mouth. So reach out if you'd like a strategy. Call my email address, scrolling at the bottom of the screen. Reach out if you'd like to be a guest on a future episode. Here we are at the end of July. Just a few short days until my first episode of August. Whatever you're up to this weekend. Have a wonderful one until we speak again. Take care.