Salon WOW

Evansville, Indiana

Owner: Robin Halter

Big Mistake: To free up some of her time, Robin Halter turned over the ordering of inventory to her front desk personnel with one warning, “Don’t let us run out of anything.” But when Halter worked with KRS Consulting on some cash flow analysis, she discovered her front desk had overstocked and overspent by $18,000.

Smart Solution: Halter soon discovered that a part of her problem was she carried too many lines. She whittled the selection to three core lines. While she initially was reluctant to let go of lines, the narrowed focus actually
resulted in a boost to retail sales.

Halter also discovered she had more leverage with a single distributor, which resulted in more education and benefits. Also, if she has a product that isn’t selling, her consultant will buy it back.

“The backbar and retail are the largest expenses next to payroll. But too many of us think inventory is a menial task, and we don’t pay the proper attention to it,” says Halter. “Now I have a strict budget and a formula that is so precise, if I’m not here, the sales consultant can place the order on her own. Once you have the tools, it makes life so much easier.”

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