The January Jinx is the economical effect of the post-New Year's Resolutions. After the holiday festivities have come to a conclusion, calendars reset, and we get back to the day-to-day grind, the reality for most middle-class consumers kicks in: They stop spending discretionary income. Discretionary income is the amount of net income remaining after all necessities are covered. During the month of January, the average American purchases a gym membership to get back in shape, stops eating out (as much), and attempts to cut back on as many luxuries as possible. They wash their own car instead of paying the mobile detailer. They "give their nails a chance to breathe" and skip a few trips to the nail salon. Consumers innocently save a few hundred (or thousand) dollars, helping to make up for the monies spent during the holiday season. When you count how much each American household "withholds" from the economy, it totals up to billions of dollars not being spent with small businesses and freelance workers. This creates an economic slump, known as the January Jinx.
There's only a handful of industries that are not negatively impacted during the month of January, such as financial and tax firms, fitness gyms, and auto repair shops. Beauty service providers such as nail techs, hairstylists, estheticians, are of hardest affected by this recessionary trough. Many see a sharp decrease in clientele immediately after the New Year's Eve parties and celebrations to watch the ball drop. The same people begging for a squeeze-in, willing to pay anything for after-hours and emergency appointments are now nowhere to be found. Business (and personal) savings begin to dwindle. Guaranteed revenue from faithful regulars is no longer coming in. Appointment books have scattered appointments, leaving your thoughts to match. All the while, utilities and financial obligations remain due.
Many beauty service providers have begun to make the transition over from the traditional salon atmosphere, to independent working conditions. Private salon suites. While these give clients the ultimate level of privacy and attention allowing the service provider to control the aesthetic, it also creates an environment of the service provider being in the dark about the world around her/him.
It can be difficult to forecast revenue ups and downs if seasonal economic cycles aren't factored in. These economic factors are not caused by individual businesses. The way each business handles these down seasons, determines if they surf on the wave, or drown in it.
To say that an individual business never has a slow season, is an owner's recipe for disaster with a chef's kiss. The business may still be turning a profit during a slow season, but a slow season still exists. All businesses must prepare for them. This preparation and (execution of said preparation), will determine if the business has to weather the storm, or just be prepared for a rainy day.
If you do nothing, then the January Jinx is sure to come your way. Failing to plan, is planning to fail. No worries, we've got a recipe for success made just for independent nail techs and beauty service providers. There's so much broad and generalized information out here to help small business owners, but what about meaningful information for the unique culture and forever changing conditions of the beauty industry. Get a series of carefully-cultivated ideas on how to speed up a slow-season and use it to your advantage. While others are scrambling to figure out whats going on, you can surf through an peaceful January. Dont get Jinxed, be sure to hit the subscribe button and your blueprint will be on the way to you.