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Realizing your dream of opening your own lash studio is incredibly exciting, but it’s also a huge responsibility. One of the less glamorous (but super important!) aspects of running your own studio is setting and managing your budget. Lash extensions and related services can be very lucrative, but it doesn’t matter how busy you are or how much you charge if you consistently go over your budget and end up with an unmanageable amount of debt. We want our fellow lash studios to succeed and avoid financial stress, so we thought we would share some budgeting tips that have helped us:
Get a Handle on Your Monthly Expenses
Before you can manage a budget, you need to know exactly how much you are already spending every month, as well as how much revenue you make on an average month. Record monthly expenses and set budgets by expense category, including:
Rent
Utilities
Supplies
Payroll if you have staff
Taxes
Marketing
Credit card payments
If you’re new to budgeting, you may discover that your expenses are equal to or even outstripping your revenue, which is a recipe for excessive debt and eventual business failure. Don’t panic, though. The first step to getting your budget under control is having a clear picture of where you’re at financially. Now that you see exactly what you’re spending, create a budget that will allow you to pay down debts and save money each month. Budgeting software like Mint and small business invoicing software like InDinero can help you keep track of everything and create a monthly budget.
Prioritize Savings
If you your profits are exceeding your expenses each month, you are in an ideal position to begin actively saving. Adding a “savings” category to your budget each month and setting up automatic transfers will help make business savings an ingrained habit. Make sure to put your savings somewhere it will earn decent interest, like an online savings account through a bank like Ally or a money market savings account. The next time you need to invest in your business, relocate to a more expensive building, or buy new salon chairs, you will have the money sitting there and can avoid going into more debt.
Find Places to Cut Back if Needed
On the other hand, maybe once you examined your budget and expenses you realized that you need to cut back on spending for the time being. Even little things can make a big difference when it comes to spending as these little things accumulate over time. At Lashology, we’ve focused on reducing waste and therefore spending less money by using our own lashes that come off the strip much more easily and smaller bottles of glue so we don’t have to throw anything away.
Hire a Professional
As your lash business grows, you may find that your budget has become too complicated to manage on your own. Hiring a professional bookkeeper, even on a very part-time freelance basis, can save you money by keeping your budget on track and your expenses in line. It will also free up your time to handle the aspects of your lash business you enjoy more.
Be Very Cautious About Debt
It’s not always possible to avoid business debt altogether. In fact, many business owners start things off with a small business loan or by charging their start-up costs to a credit card and then paying it off as their business grows. The key is to be very cautious and avoid unnecessary debt. Borrowing a bit of money to get established is one thing, but charging everything from expensive salon decorations to fancy lunches out with your staff is a bad habit that may lead to financial stress sooner than later.
We hope you found this post useful. Budgeting is certainly not the sexiest aspect of owning your own lash studio, but it can be the difference between failing within the first year and staying open and growing for many years to come. For budget-friendly, high quality, waste-free lashes, glue, and more, check out our wholesale page at Lashology Wholesale.