Les Nouvelles Esthetiques – Page 2

The cost of sales

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

The term Cost of Sales is one of those accounting terms that is common language for some but for most makes you want to curl up in a little ball and suck your thumb while rocking yourself gently for comfort. It really can be a nightmare to try and manage.

It has been my experience that many owners from within the spa industry couldn’t be bothered with cost of sales and the implications thereof. They see it more as a random requirement for their accountants. On the other hand spa owners who perhaps come from outside of the spa industry (like manufacturing or big retailing) are obsessed with cost of sales almost to the detriment of other areas of their spa business.

I think that owners from “big” business are used to dealing in very fine margins and if these margins are not controlled correctly the consequences can be extremely damaging to their bottom line.

The smart way to work hard

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

I have been thinking more and more of late about the fact that the rapidly increasing rate of technology these days does not always result in us having more time on our hands. In fact it is very often just the opposite.

I remember a trip a took on the Orange River in Namibia about three years ago. When you arrived at your base camp you packed all your valuables (cell phones, wallets, etc) into safe storage and off you went for 5 days. It was the most surreal feeling as we drove back into cell phone range after our trip. What had happened while we were away? Had any countries gone to war? Were regimes overthrown, what was going on in the world? Any of these things could have happened and we would not have had a clue.

Thirty years ago this feeling of being out of touch would have been quite normal but today it’s amazing to consider how “plugged-in” we are to the world around us due to technology.

Spa Intelligence

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

In this month’s article I would like to look again at the subject of Business Intelligence. The term Business Intelligence is now no longer a new buzz word but rather a fairly commonly used term in the business world, including small and medium businesses.

To recap, the term Business Intelligence means gathering data, converting it into meaningful information, interpreting this information and taking positive action in response to the interpretation.

Using Business Intelligence to support your decision making process stands opposed to making decisions based on gut feeling. Rather you give up what you think you know about your business and take a neutral stand point in order to let the facts speak for themselves. This is often very hard for spa (and other business) owners to do as they are often so intricately involved in the day to day running of their businesses they that they find it hard to accept that they can still learn something new about their businesses.

Your spa in the clouds?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

If you have not heard the term Cloud Computing by now then you have either been on a very long vacation to a deserted island or you probably still use a typewriter instead of a computer. Either way you have managed to dodge one of the latest buzzwords in I.T spheres with great talent.

Cloud computing is basically computing on the Internet. However, although you generally experience cloud computing via a web browser, we are not just talking about browsing web pages on the internet for information purposes but rather performing software application functions that have traditionally been executed with software and data that is installed/located on your computers own hard drive. The latter is known as desktop computing.

Choosing the right Management Software

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

When choosing a software management system for your salon or spa you need to realise that your industry is very different from other industries.

Other industries will have their own specific requirements from the software management systems. For example, a restaurant system needs to be centred on managing tables and be a robust and fast enough to endure multiple waitrons under high pressure abusing it day after day.

A supermarket on the other hand will rely on speed and simplicity as being the main requirement (as well as stability) so that customers can pay for high quantities (trolley loads) of items as quickly as possible. Therefore, a high tech barcode scanner and built in credit card processing are some of the requirements needed by supermarkets.

Is Ignorance Bliss?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

Our response as humans to warnings is often hard to explain. We hear in the news all the time of massive disasters that could have been avoided if warnings had been listened to. The Titanic apparently received numerous warnings of icebergs but these warnings were not taken seriously and as we all know the ship sank on its maiden voyage.

The September 11 attacks in New York are another example where we heard reports of how intelligence warnings of imminent terrorist attacks were ignored.

Why is it that we so often respond inappropriately to warnings? I think that it has something to do with whether we really believe that what we are being warned about will come true or not. If we really believe that it will come true then we will listen to the warning but the more uncertain we are the less likely we are to listen.

Client Loyalty Schemes

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

In 2008 I wrote an article on a general look at client loyalty. In this month’s article I would like to take a closer look at client loyalty schemes as they are something that every business wants to implement but very few do successfully.

The reason for loyalty schemes is obvious; you want clients to keep coming back.

For businesses in general the simple principle of buy ten (or whatever the magic number is) and get one free is fairly common practise and in many instances takes the form of a loyalty card that you either stamp, sign or put little stickers onto.

It therefore appears that most businesses don’t have any problem with giving something away for free as a reward for repeat business.

What are your takings?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Les Nouvelles Esthetiques /by Karl Markwald

A question that I find coming up quite often from salon and spa owners and one which there seems to be much confusion over is what their business takings are at the end of the day or month. A common viewpoint is that the money you bank is the income that you have earned. However, this is not necessarily true. In fact sometimes just the opposite is true.