 by Scott Bogdan |
|
It’s
Time to Play |
“Software Company No. 1: If you were a flavor of ice cream would you be Vanilla, Rocky Road, Peaches & Cream or Tutti Frutti?”
I’m sure you’re wondering, “How on earth is he going to parallel software with dating?” And when I say “he,” I’m not talking about Jim Lange.
At the end of the day, it’s not always the prettiest girl you take down the isle, but rather, the one you’re most compatible with. However, if you are as fortunate as I was, you’d get the best of both worlds. (Happy Anniversary, Honey!)
Every salon owner struggles with the issue of data management regardless of whether you’re using the latest and greatest technology, or still using those “cards.” Unfortunately the word “data” often conjures up some frightening thoughts. Once you can overcome those fears, you will have the best opportunity to not only stay in business, but also thrive in the ever-competitive tanning industry.
The daunting task of deciding to computerize or evaluating your existing software to make sure it is providing you the essential tools to continue managing your business is much like dating – there are the “gotta have,” “those are cool” and “can live without” features you should consider when performing your software due diligence.
You should get a product demo from the three or four major tanning industry software vendors, but should not stop there. As you receive the demos, you should begin reviewing them immediately, noting any questions that come to mind. When you finish the product review process, call each vendor’s sales department for answers to your questions, and for a walk-through of their product before making your decision.
And by all means, do yourself a favor: give yourself plenty of time to get acquainted with the new technology before you start using it in your salon. Too many people either wait until the day before their salon’s grand opening and want the software sent overnight, or expect that there won’t be any hiccups along the way. Without the proper phase-in time or training period, the software, whichever you choose, is set up to fail from the very beginning.
Unfortunately, salon software parallels dating in another way, too – when you experience the discomforts of the relationship and begin to have “irreconcilable differences.” The good news is that changing software is relatively simple because at the end of the day, you’re talking about data…and data is nothing more than bits and bytes.
Is the grass any greener on the other side of the fence? You’ll have to be the one to decide; but at least you shouldn’t be afraid of it if you ever decide you might need a change. Knowing that you can always convert your data to a different program if the one you initially choose does not meet your needs should provide you with the confidence to take the leap and finally bring your salon into the computer age.
As
the saying goes, “Nothing ventured,
nothing gained!”
PEACE!
If there is a topic you would like discussed in this column, please
email scott@gohelios.com
Scott
Bogdan has been a member of the Helios team since May 1998.
In June 2001, Scott and his family moved to Indianapolis when
Helios merged with ETS and took over their salon software development
division.