Stylists have soft hearts and helping hands. It’s part of what makes the beauty business so enjoyable. But when it comes to business budgeting you have to use tough love to make sure that you reach your financial goals. With a well thought out budget, your business will thrive and heal from the bumps and bruises of economic downturns.

Every stylist should have two working documents; a business plan and a budget. A business plan is like a road map. It explains where you want to go and how you are going to get there. A budget is more like the vehicle that will take you to your destination. Without a stable, working, budget everything starts to fall apart.

Budgets ought to be somewhat flexible to begin with because you are designing a model that will be used in the future. Once tested, budgets should be strictly followed through disciplined spending and planned growth.

Here are a couple of things to think about as you plan a new budget.

Determine How Much You Want Your Income to Grow And How You’ll Meet Your Yearly Goals.

If your total income is $60,000 and your expenses $20,000, you made $40,000. If you want your net income to be $50,000 next year, how much should your total income be and how much should you plan for expenses? When you figure that out, that’s your new budget. Now all you need is a strategy to add more customers, increase your fees, or focus on the services that generate the most money.

Experiment With Your First Budget For Three Months And Find The Best Formula For Making Money.

Tip #1 – Budgeting takes practice. A budget is a lot like a good recipe, you have to make some adjustments to the ingredients until you find the perfect combination. Keep your expenses in check and be disciplined about how much you spend. If you don’t really need something, don’t buy it.

Test your advertising ideas and keep promoting your business with ideas that get immediate results. Once you see that a specific idea works, you can take more money from your budget to expand what is working.

Tip #2 – Don’t make emotional decisions, make sensible business decisions. Buy equipment that will save you time and cut your costs. Poor equipment purchases can eat up your budget very quickly. Get advice from other stylists or online websites prior to spending your hard-earned money.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.