Why August Isn’t the Problem—Your Strategy Might Be

Sun's out, client's out, or are they? If you're looking ahead to a scary, quiet August, I've got your back with strategies to help you thrive through a slow summer. I'll spill the secrets to a sizzling season, even when the weather isn't. All on Build Your Salon How is it looking for you? Because for a lot of salon business owners, August can feel especially quiet because lots of our customers jet off on holiday, or maybe, as it was in my own salon, where you've got lots and lots of parents who are customers, they struggle with childcare, so they struggle to come into the salon. Or maybe you've got staff team members who want their breaks too. And added to that, we've got certain popular treatments that we can normally rely on for decent money, which lose some of their appeal during the summer. So I'm thinking of things like laser hair removal, which have restrictions around sun exposure, and that doesn't always combine terribly well with our customers taking their vacations. So how do we navigate what can be a traditionally quiet month effectively? Well, stick around because we'll discuss some strategic planning, and I'll give you some insights to not just survive, but thrive through August. But I am acknowledging that this isn't the same for everybody. I know I have coached myself over the years, a number of businesses where actually the summer season is their busiest time. Lots and lots of people having waxing services, and certainly in some holiday towns, it can be a very popular time indeed. But for some of us, things are a little bit tougher. For some of us, August in the salon industry spells lower footfall. And we've all seen it. Appointment books looking unusually sparse, regular clients disappearing to summer destinations, staff planning their much-deserved annual leave. And then to add to the challenge, those services that can bring good revenue becoming less appealing because we've got those restrictions.

So when faced with these realities, I think, or I've always taught, that you've essentially got two options. You can either resist and struggle against that natural rhythm, which can feel a bit like trying to sell ice cream in the winter, or you can strategically plan around it. Now, if you're going to push against that, if you're going to come up against a seasonal rhythm, that can be really exhausting. It can absolutely demoralize your team, exhaust your financial resources, your energetic resources. But if you can understand the pattern, if you can embrace the patterns that are true in your business, that can actually become a huge opportunity. Because sometimes accepting a quiet time is not a sign of retreat. It's a powerful strategic choice. And accepting that August might be naturally quieter for you allows you to reframe your approach. It kind of brings a sense of release and relief to this month. First, you could use this quieter period proactively. So if we know that August is going to be quiet, well, wouldn't it be sensible to actually encourage your team members to take their annual leave now, rather than trying to give them time off, when actually we could be turning money away during those peak times? And that helps prevent those staffing headaches later in the year when demand surges. Because we know once we get the kids back at school in September, October, November and December can be very, very busy times in our businesses. Those special promotional seasons can be very taxing if we're also going to try and juggle people using their last minute time off. We can also maximize the quiet time in our appointment books. So we could be using this quieter month as an opportunity to invest in our training and education. And in my own business, this was something we did a lot. So we really looked around for external training, which was falling during the August month. Because sending team members to workshops or seminars that they've been eyeing up, or even hosting internal training sessions to sharpen everyone's skills. Well, it took less time off the salon floor that was actually valuable. We weren't going to be turning customers away. It meant that not only were we motivating staff, but we were ensuring that they were primed and ready for those busier months. Even on top of that, if that wasn't enough to whet your appetite, my darlings, you'll find lots of your training providers offer special deals and discounts across the summer months as well.

We used to use, for example, the Vidal Sassoon Academy in London, and very often they had discounts and deals where you could either send more attendees for the same money or there was a discount on any external training. So you get more bang for your buck and you're turning less clients away. So I think August is a prime time to be investing in your team. Or third, we could be making internal salon improvements. So maybe it's time to finally give your salon that bit of a refresh that it needs. Maybe that's just deep cleaning or perhaps it's refurbishing some furniture or updating equipment. These are jobs that can get neglected during busier months. And I've said before that our salon spaces work extremely hard and just freshening things up can really significantly enhance both your client and your staff experience. And lastly, I'm going to make a blatant pitch in favour of salon memberships. So I know I've banged this drum lots and lots of times and I make no excuses for it because salon membership models are fantastic for smoothing out those seasonal variations in your income. Just having that regular subscription based income can really reduce the impact of those quieter months because your core client base is consistently engaged with those recurring payments. So a monthly membership that includes certain services and maybe offers a small discount doesn't only stabilise income, but it also keeps your clients loyal all year round. If they're already paying for a visit, they're much more likely to actually come in and use your services. So get those memberships dusted off and in place. Perhaps use a few of those quiet hours that you have in August to plan out your first salon membership. I would love to hear how you're doing with that. Please reach out and let me know, phil at buildyoursalon.com. You know, I love hearing your success stories anyway. And we've got a triumphant success story which involves salon memberships coming up at the end of this month on the Build Your Salon podcast.

So look out for my episode with Noel Halligan, who is a big advocate for membership income. If you do decide that you want to push against the trend and you want to market your way through the quiet times or perhaps you haven't done your adequate planning and you just need the money in in August. Well, what kinds of things could we be doing to boost footfall? So while I do honestly believe that strategic acceptance is really valuable, I appreciate some of you simply can't afford to take a significant drop in your footfall or income. So proactive marketing, we're going to use that to fill the gaps. And the first one that I want to talk about is actually not a big money spinner, but it can be a very good space filler. And that is my recommend a friend campaign. And it really can work wonders. Now, we always used to run this in August because this is when we had the lowest footfall. As soon as the kids break up from school, my clients struggle with childcare. Therefore, salons visits are not a priority. So I actually, because I'd planned for a downturn in our income, I wasn't too concerned with lots and lots of money coming through the door. But I didn't want staff sitting around getting demoralized. So we used to run our annual recommend a friend promotion, a very generous promotion to try and incentivize clients to recommend others. Now, not only did we gain some new clients, it strengthened our existing relationships through recognizing our existing customers that were raving about our services, kept everybody a little bit busier so they're not getting so demotivated, they're not getting bored. And also really importantly for me, it meant that I didn't have to try and keep focus and attention and energy on a recommend a friend promotion that was running all year round. By condensing it into our quietest month, it meant that we all could remember to talk about the recommend a friend promotion. I didn't have to worry about nagging people month after month after month to hand out those tired recommend a friend cards. Or what about leaning into some of the services that people might still want? So what about maybe a spray tan promotion? With the unpredictability of British summer weather, spray tans can give your clients a bit of confidence and convenience. If they're prepping for those holidays, they don't necessarily want to arrive on the beach looking like they've just been tipped off the plane in nice, skinny, pale white.

Those disappointed by the UK weather can at least maintain a bit of a summery glow. And let's face it, I think we've had the best of the summer here in the UK. It's a perfect service to market aggressively during August to keep foot traffic up. Don't forget, every person through the door is an opportunity to upsell. If you've got lots of column space, you've also got lots of opportunities to bolt on extra services, take a little bit of extra time with each client to maximize income. Now, the one thing I will say, if you're looking at running, let's say, an upsell promotion. So speaking to your team about perhaps, I don't know, a summer conditioning treatment, a drench hair in moisture, or perhaps something that you can add on to your facial experience to extend the appointment. Now, we've had much more success if we try and upsell ahead of the appointment. So we used to really struggle with people that were very time poor. So, for example, saying to somebody, would you like to bolt this onto your service? Well, as a last minute thought, that doesn't always work out very well because you get lots of excuses like, oh, I wish you'd said something, but I've only got an hour on the car. So I can't have that extra treatment now. If you call people ahead and ask them whether they'd like a bolt on, perhaps a discount, I think you're much more likely to convert more of those clients to a slightly higher bill. And thirdly, let's not overlook just some of the basic stuff that we do around either hair care or skin care bundles. Putting packages together tailored to those summer months can be highly attractive. I've always said that marketing is much easier when we're entering the conversation that goes on in the client's head. So, for example, offering protective hair treatments to counteract that sun damage or moisturising, drenching skincare bundles that can not only protect their hair, but tackle dry skin caused by that summer heat can bring clients in, boost your average transaction value. And those bundles often feel like amazing value to your customers, making it much easier for them to justify extra spending during those typically quieter months. More on this after a short message from this episode's sponsor. My salon owner friends, building a steady clientele and keeping your calendar full can be challenging. Zoka is the must-have tool that makes it so easy you'll wonder how you managed without it. It's an AI-powered platform that acts just like your own marketing team, designed to help your salon get discovered online and consistently attract new clients.

Zoka optimises your online presence so you rank higher on Google, turning online searches and inquiries into confirmed bookings, and it even follows up to keep happy clients coming back again and again. Essentially, it's like having a 24-7 receptionist, marketer, and booking assistant all on autopilot. The best part is Zoka promises guaranteed new customers for beauty professionals. Over a thousand salons and spas already trust Zoka, and they're seeing higher Google rankings and fully booked businesses. If you're ready for consistent bookings and steady growth, check out Zoka.com, that's Z-O-C-A.com, and see how Zoka can fill your calendar with clients. So I've already said that every business has a season, and that means that we don't necessarily need to fixate on monthly revenue targets. So while it's really important to monitor our monthly performance, it's also really important, I think, in fact, critical to keep a bit of perspective by looking at a longer term, so looking at a wider scope. And I think we need to get that perspective by considering the entire quarter, because that way a quiet August doesn't necessarily spell disaster for your salon business. And, darling, if you anticipate lower revenue in August, then we kind of need to plan for it. We need to build that into your quarter targets. So that means we probably need to push a little bit harder and plan a little bit more strongly for our targets in July and September. So what I like to do is have a look at each quarter and categorise each month. One will be a strong month. So in any quarter, in most businesses, one of them is going to be the best month, and that's fairly predictable and fairly dependable. And then one of the months is going to be a bit ropey. And then generally what happens is the third month of the quarter will be kind of average. And that helps us keep a balanced approach, prevents panic, and stops us flapping around when our business inevitably fluctuates, because it is inevitable. So when I take a look at my targets for Q3, August is my most challenging month by far.

July actually is a good opportunity for me and a good time for me to get some money in before the craziness of summer sets in. And then September tends to be fairly average. If I was looking at Q1, the beginning of the year, January in my own business is a storming month. It's when everyone's got New Year's resolutions. They all want to run out and find a business coach to help them deliver. March will be kind of average, but February is really, really tough. So I build that into my targets, and that's what I'd like you to do as well. That means that if August is going to be tough, which one's going to be the stronger month? Now, it might be that you've left it a bit late to look at July, August, September as a quarter. So why not look at August, September, October? When are we going to make some of this money back that your business needs? And how do we decide which are going to be the quiet months and the busy months? Well, most of us instinctively know. If you've been in business for more than a couple of years, you know when it's going to be tougher to sell. But don't just rely on gut instinct. Have a look back. Take some time to review your historical data. We've all got those salon software systems quietly whirring away, building up data. So look at previous year's patterns, previous year's revenue, previous year's footfall, and there will be a clear pattern. Now, it might not be 100% predictable, but it will give you a pretty good chance to at least have a good guess at when the quieter times are going to be. So, for example, lots of my salon owner friends experience really high spikes during the holiday season. So around October, November, December, while summer months can naturally slow down. Generally, like I've said, January is really busy for me. And then things quieten off until we get Easter. And it depends when Easter is going to be as to when things start to pick up again. So I want you to think about your salon business as a bit of a farming exercise. And yes, you could plant your seeds in winter and you could harvest your crops in the spring. But you're fighting against that natural cycle, that natural rhythm in your business. And that makes everything harder than necessary. So, by contrast, if you can align your salon activities, if you can align your staffing, align your promotions with those natural business cycles, everything flows smoothly. Ultimately, we're enhancing productivity, enhancing profitability and hopefully bringing you a little bit of peace of mind as well. So let's quickly recap on today's key points. I want you to recognise and embrace, if you can, August as a quieter month, if that's what's true for your business.

I want you to figure out how you're going to make the most of that downtime. Are you going to be encouraging team members to take leave? Are you going to be looking for salon improvements? Are you going to be looking for opportunities to upskill and level up? I want you to take a bit of that quiet time to try and put some memberships in place to smooth future financial peaks and troughs. If you do need to, let's apply some smart marketing strategies, like maybe looking at that recommend a friend promotion or bundling some offers together or finding some services that remain popular in the summer. But most of all and most importantly, I want you to look at that historical data and plan quarterly, not monthly, so that you're not unnecessarily panicking about a slump in your takings for a month. Next week, we've got an interview lined up with my good friend, Adam Chatterley from Beauty Business Secrets. Adam's going to be sharing his top strategies for salon success with a new concept around marketing and content, which is going to make next week's episode a must listen. So what have I missed? How's August looking for you? Please reach out and let me know. Phil at buildyoursalon.com. You know, I love hearing from my salon owner friends anyway. Please also reach out if you would like to be a guest on a future episode of the Build Your Salon podcast. I'd love to be sharing your story with my salon owner friends. And please don't feel that you need to be turning over millions and millions for your story to be inspiring. Most of the most inspiring stories, in fact, come from smaller business owners that people can relate to. So please reach out. This episode was brought to you by Zoka. Head to Zoka.com and see how the power of AI can fill your calendar with clients. Just seven short days until I'm coining your ears again with another dose of my wise owl wisdom. And until then, take care. Sit down and see what's going on with the queen of salons. Hair, beauty and more successful tips for business owners. All on Build Your Salon.