2022 Year in Review

2022 Year in Review

Data collected by Vish shows that 2022 was the year of highlights, coming in as the top service performed by colorists and stylists across the nation. Used by stylists all over the world, from those in huge multi-location, medium and small salons to those working independently and in suites, Vish has made it easier to control costs, nudge pricing towards greater profitability, and lessen the industry’s impact on the environment. But don’t just take it from us; listen to what our clients have said.

Vish in the vanguard of pricing transformation

2022 was the year when rigid pricing finally gave way to more profitable pricing. With the support of Vish, some salons introduced the parts and labor model while others kept a la carte menus but with fixed color allowances, with additional color costed out on Vish and simply added to the ticket.

“Before we implemented Vish technology, color was measured on a scale, and we hoped any additional color would be added to the ticket. But that didn’t always happen. Now we have a base color allowance included for each service, which Vish has set for us on the backend, and if that is exceeded it’s charged to the client automatically,” explains Luke Huffstutter, owner of Annastasia Salons in Portland, OR.

As a result, the average ticket price has increased by $20 between 2020 and 2022, yet the clientele has still grown.

Waste not, want not

“As soon as I heard about Vish I jumped at it,” says Nicole Strachan, owner of the Vault in New Canaan, CT. “I couldn’t stand the thought of paying for leftover color that I had to throw away or spending time mid-service to go do the math to mix more. All my formulas with the exact amounts required are saved in all of my clients’ profiles so I mix only what I need. The amount of money I saved by cutting waste more than paid for my monthly subscription.”

Missed services

“People say you need to ‘spend green’ to be green, but sustainability saves you money,” says Suzy Tryall, owner of Sage Tryall in Lynchburg, VA. “But Vish doesn’t just save us money, it makes us money because all those services we were always too busy to remember to add to our guest’s ticket are now added automatically and our color costs per service are down to just 11% of the overall ticket.”

Color transparency drives behavioral change

Knowing clients will be charged for all colors and that their color use is monitored has made stylists at Hedkandi in Calgary, Canada, more conscious when dispensing color. Waste is down massively, and the group is now consistently within its budget, spending 7-8% of revenue on inventory. “We saw revenue go up by approximately $120k while our color spend significantly decreased. It happened so quickly that our color line got in touch because they were concerned our business had taken a sudden, catastrophic dip,” says owner Jereme Bokitch.

Mining the data

Thanks to the Vish Dashboard, independents and salon owners alike can access analytics and reports that track product cost per service, color waste, and more. “Having systems like Vish helps you drill into the stats and track the progress and profitability of your business. The best part is that it pays for itself, even as an independent”, adds Nicole Strachan.

Staying ahead of rising costs

Running a business against rising costs and supply shortages can feel crippling if you aren’t prepared, which is why Vish users value their data so much. Jess and Liz Arrindell, owners of Luscious & Co, in Shelton, CT, monitor theirs daily. When color supply costs increase, they simply adjust the cost in their Vish database, which is reflected in the guests’ formula cost. This type of support means Vish users can be responsive and not reactive in pricing.

“If we made the switch to Vish one year earlier, we would have seen a difference of $25k in color/product revenue, (don’t worry, we made up for it the first full year of using Vish),” says Jess.

Taking the strain out of Inventory

Vish has helped Laura Watkins, owner of Pure Salon and Spa in Louisville, KT reduce bloated inventory and made it easier to reorder.

“We run our Vish product report to identify color usage of all color supplies down to the gram,” says Laura. “This arms us with data that dictates what to order, ensuring we keep a healthy stock supply available to our team (not to mention saving employee man hours converting the time into revenue-generating opportunities). In today’s day and age, maximizing margins is the key to sustainability and growth; the secret sauce of a healthy business. Businesses may not be able to predict economic and trend changes, but we can be prepared with tools like Vish on our side.”

Changing attitudes to climate change

“We have a joke here in Lynchburg,” says SuzyTryall, “that it takes forever for change to reach us and I previously believed the town was only at the beginning of the journey towards sustainability. But I’ve been amazed at the reception from guests when we’ve explained what we are doing with Vish and why. They respect our decision. Plus, we now attract an additional clientele who were already concerned about the climate. Our business is growing. We were always a color salon but now we are doing even more, with around 70% of clients getting color. But even with this increase in services, our color order costs have stayed the same, and that’s due to Vish.”

As we approach 2023, Vish’s mission is to help even more salons achieve greater profitability, lower costs, and eliminate waste.