Cost of Living Crisis : Cost of Business Crisis

This week I have been traveling around visiting pool shops and service companies, clients and suppliers, it’s always great to connect on the front line of business in our industry, I have to admit I am a bit of a pool shop junkie (weird I know!). I also connected with some amazing women of our industry at the NSW SPASA WAVES IWD event.

Of course, one of the hot topics of conversation with everyone was fuel, though not just the price of it, but the ripple effect of it, the deepening of the cost-of-living crisis, and the effect it is having on businesses in our industry.

As much as we would like to ‘beg to differ’ -  pools are not a necessity, they are a luxury.

We’ve always been a fairly robust industry when it comes to economic ebb and flow. Standardly it has been thought that people who have pools have money, and therefore can afford to look after it – even during difficult economic times. But over the past decade or two, pools have become more common, they are not only owned by the wealthy but by the average suburban family with 2.4 kids and a dog. With this change in demographic, there has been a shift in our client avatar. And with the change in economic climate, that client’s disposable income is being squeezed – in many cases within an inch of its life.

I’m not writing this to be a ‘dooms-day-er’ – but to bring our attention back to what we can control. In times like this, that’s all we can do, and it’s very important to do.

Firstly – we can control our attitude, if we always give off negative vibes it’s going to affect those we interact with, attitude is catchy (good and bad!). Try to think about things positively, and taking control certainly helps with that. In taking control of our space, of our actions, we feel like we have a bit of say in what’s going on.

Secondly – look at the things you can control - your marketing, your expenses (where can you tighten your belt) – ensure you are working smarter. Make a list of things that you can improve on and get to work. You can include your team in this but be careful not to be alarmist – we want them to know that their jobs are secure, we are just looking for ways to improve our efficiencies and opportunities for income (especially for winter).

When looking at income opportunities, looking for how you can encourage your customers to keep maintaining (and spending on) their pools when their budgets are tight, think about their pain points and how you can reduce that pain for them. How can you help? Be the solution. Offer the solution. Market the solution.

I would strongly suggest reviewing the cost of operating your business. It can be scary I know – but forewarned is forearmed. If you stick your head in the sand, you won’t make it go away, you are just delaying the inevitable.

When was the last time you truly analysed the cost of running your services or opening your doors, truly analysed it. Do you know what a service technician costs you per hour? – I’m not talking about their hourly pay rate, I’m talking about all expenses, all ‘unbillable’ hours taken into consideration. Do you know what a service vehicle costs you per day? This is something I get all of my coaching clients to do. You might be surprised by the results of your cost analysis. If you don’t know what your true costs are, how do you know how to price your services? If you want a copy of my formularised spreadsheet, DM me and I will share it with you.

Remember, we are all in this together, you are not alone. It looks like we are in for a bumpy ride but there are things we can do to make the ride a little easier.