00:00:04:10 – 00:00:49:23
Jay Shorr
Welcome to Shorr Solutions, the podcast, and I’m your host. Jay Shorr. CEO and founder of Shorr Solutions. We are a team of national and award winning practice management consultant with experience running a multimillion dollar cosmetic, dermatology and plastic surgery practice. We’re here to share strategies and insights that will help you grow your practice efficiently and profitably. In each episode, we’ll explore the steps and actionable insights to guide you through your journey to increase efficiency, boost revenue, and decrease costs.

00:00:50:00 – 00:02:13:22
Well, hello again and welcome to another episode of Shorr Solutions: The Podcast, and I’m your host, Jay Shorr.
Today we’re going to be speaking about hot tips for cool cash flow, planning for your summer finances.

So I always ask: why do practices typically see a dip in cash flow during the summer?
And people always ask me the same thing. Our clients are asking us the same thing: why does it dip during the summer?

Well, is it a common practice throughout all practices, or does it depend on the service mix or the region?
Some of the trends I’ve seen over the years with clients during the summer months, allow me to explain.

Practices typically see a dip in summer cash flow because the children are out of school, or they’re school teachers.
There are realtors that aren’t selling during the summer.
And people are going on vacation, they want to use some of their expendable cash flow, kind of like Christmastime, for their summer planning.

They’ve saved up for it.
And also, they want to make sure they’re not going to be out in the sun after surgery and having specific types of treatments.
These are some of the trends I’ve seen over the course of many, many years.

00:02:14:03 – 00:03:50:19
So how can you prepare your practice financially for slower summer months?
That’s the old tip of the iceberg question.

Well, first of all, you have to forecast and budget way ahead of time.
So if you’re in the first quarter of the year, you really already should have been doing your budgeting and your business plan for the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Look at last year’s data to anticipate trends, unless there was something last year like a hurricane, a tornado, or a wildfire.
For those of you who are listening, am I hitting any kind of a hot button?
Because we have these all throughout the U.S., geographically, depending upon where you are.

You have to create a seasonal savings buffer in Q1 and Q2 so that it can last you through your July, August, and September months.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, those 100 days of summer, as we call it.

If you don’t have a forecast and a budget ahead of time, then how are you going to know what procedures are best?
For example, you’re not going to be doing laser hair removal in the summertime.

Why not?
Because you don’t want people laying out in the sun after having laser treatments.
What’s going to happen? You’re going to hypopigment, that’s what’s going to happen.

There are certain other things, what are your recovery times?
You’re going to have to stay in the house, and most people don’t want to do that.

00:03:50:21 – 00:04:43:05
Let’s take a quick break.
We know that maintaining a profitable aesthetic practice while managing all the moving parts of your business is challenging.
While your passion and dedication lie in caring for your patients and practicing medicine, the same enthusiasm might not extend to crunching the numbers in your business.

Well, here at Shorr Solutions, we can help you with your financial analysis.
Our services are designed to help you identify opportunities for growth, reduce unnecessary expenses, and maximize your practice’s profitability.

Whether you’re seeking to streamline operations, increase revenue, or gain clarity on your financial performance, we provide the tools, strategies, and expertise you need to succeed.
Schedule your free consult with our team today to get started.

00:04:43:07 – 00:06:01:15
What is your tip for managing cash flow during the lul?
Number one: cut all of your unnecessary expenses without sacrificing patient experiences.

That can be internal, it could be some of the lunches, maybe some of the fluff that you have.
If you have lower patient visits, then don’t buy as much water for the practice.
Don’t buy as many of the goodies that you have.
Save that for Q3 and Q4, and earlier in Q1 and Q2, January through June.

Negotiate payment terms with vendors.
If you know it’s going to be slow, then what you might do is get ahold of your vendors and say,
“Hey, look, I usually have slower times during this month. Can I negotiate some of my terms and then pick up my payment structure in the busier times?”

And space out your large purchases or your investments.
In other words, don’t buy a whole lot of dermal fillers, neurotoxins, and skincare products right when it comes time for the summer, unless you know that you’re able to sell it, because then you’re going to generate the cash flow.
You don’t want to have large amounts of bills when you don’t have the revenue to cover it.

00:06:01:17 – 00:07:51:19
So how do you handle staffing when team members take vacations?
Well, you may have heard me always say that I overstaff intentionally.
Why do I do that?
Because this way, when people take PTO, vacations, and things like that, I already have the staff available.

You can cross-train your staff and stagger your PTO.
They say, “Oh Jay, cross-train that’s a no-brainer.”
It might be a no-brainer, but you would be shocked if you saw what we see.
Not creating and cross-training your staff.

People hate to shift the paradigm, and they always do what they’ve always done.
And guess what? You’re going to get what you’ve always got.

So cross-train your staff—your clinical staff, your medical assistants, or estheticians and teach them how to answer those phones.
They can become your director of first impressions when your front desk directors take off.

Also, make sure you stagger PTO so that most of your people aren’t taking off at the same time—that is the kiss of death.

Consider hiring part-time or seasonal help if needed.
Think about hiring college students, young adults, or part-timers to fill in for some of that time.

Create scheduling consistency for patients.
In other words, try to fill up schedules on Mondays and Tuesdays, not just Thursday and Friday.
Don’t stagger only a couple hours one day and a couple hours another.
Make sure you’re consistent.
This way, you can give some of your staff time off.

00:07:51:19 – 00:09:34:18
So what are some effective ways to keep your patients coming in during the summer?
And should practices offer discounts or summer specials?
If so, how?

Look, I’m not one for discounts.
However, I am one for adding additional services.
You can run a marketing campaign, a summer campaign, to bring in more patients.

Maybe have a special—whether it’s a BOGO or buy one, get one half-price on your SPF.
When is SPF mostly used? In the summer.
Don’t run specials on SPF in the wintertime.
And in Florida, it’s always summer for the most part.

Encourage patients to pre-purchase packages or memberships.
This gives you available cash flow.

Use expiring credits or flash promotions.
When things are about to expire, contact your patients.

Use a different type of neurotoxin or dermal filler.
I won’t mention any names, but these major companies offer patients extra money in those beauty banks.
Get ahold of your patients and have them spend that money.
It may feel like they aren’t spending as much of their own money.

Highlight summer-safe treatments—facials, light peels, and skincare.
Don’t highlight laser hair removal.
People don’t want to stay in during the summer.

Bundle services and retail for beach and vacation prep.
These are really nice offerings and people always want to look beautiful in the summer.

00:09:34:20 – 00:10:16:16
How should practices leverage marketing during the summer?
You need content ideas —summer skin tips, pre-vacation prep. Education sells.

Educate your patient base, whether it’s through an e-blast.
I’m not much for magazines anymore, but update your SEO.
Don’t let it go stale.

You can include summer skin tips and boost gift card sales for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and summer birthdays.
This brings in additional patients and supports your marketing during the summer.

00:10:16:18 – 00:11:35:20
And finally, summer finance do’s and don’ts:
Don’t panic. Just plan ahead.

If you’re listening to this in May or June, you’re a little behind the eight ball.
You should already be planning specials for fall and Thanksgiving.

Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Labor Day—these should all be done in Q1 and Q2.
Then, just hit the button when you’re ready.

Don’t over-discount just to get people in the door.
If you do, they’ll always be waiting for discounts.

Do use your summer to clean up backend systems or staff training.
Things you don’t normally have time for when you’re too busy with patients.

Now that the patient base isn’t as busy, it’s the perfect time to clean up.
Clear out junk, address your laser graveyard, continue OSHA, HIPAA, and sales training.
Even if you’ve done it already—it’s never too much to do it again.

00:11:35:21 – 00:12:29:12
Ladies and gentlemen, those are some of my tips, my hot tips in the summer for cool cash flow planning. For summer finances until our next episode. Good luck. God bless. Don’t go anywhere just yet. If you enjoyed today’s episode, make sure to subscribe so you never miss the latest insights. New episodes are. Released every two weeks. For more valuable information and. Resources to elevate your practice, sign up for our E! Newsletter. You’ll get the latest industry updates, expert tips and exclusive strategy straight to your inbox. Also, don’t forget to follow us on social media at Shorr Solutions. If you’re ready to take your practice to the next level, schedule a free consult with our team today. Thank you for joining us on Shorr Solutions: The Podcast.