Crunching the nuMbers

ensuring customers have something to read when they get their haircut, despite restrictions on print magazines and newspapers.

‘While we won’t be able to provide physical magazines for clients, we now have e-magazines available in all of our salons, which can be accessed through a client’s phone or tablet,’ Kirsten says.

‘And of course these also have the benefit of being environmentally friendly, which we love.’

Jason Goldberg, CEO of spa booking experts SpaSeekers, suggests that spas with innovative treatments – particularly those that don’t involve people being handled or in close contact – are seeing increased booking, as people seek reassurance over infection control. He says: ‘We are seeing new treatment trends; people are moving towards low-touch treatments such as aromatherapy, deep soaks, yoga and reiki.’

For many close-contact businesses, reopening will be expensive. As well as investment in the social distancing measures required by all reopening businesses, they will require large amounts of PPE.

Mick Armstrong, chair of UK trade body the British Dental Association (BDA) says that these costs have left dentists struggling.

‘Current guidelines mean practices are operating at less than a quarter of their former capacity, with PPE bills that have shot up 6,000 per cent. Without help from government, a service millions depend on now faces a deeply uncertain future.’

Some dental practices are charging extra for PPE costs with top-up fees of up to £45 in some cases (see case study, above).

Kirsten at Live True London says that reopening costs for her hairdressing business exceed £35,000, and that PPE will be available for clients as well as staff.

Given rising costs and limitations on the number of customers you can serve, ensuring your business remains viable before opening is allowed may mean keeping up ‘pivoted’ businesses on the side, as well as continuing to

use the government’s furlough scheme part-time if staff cannot be safely brought back or if space does not allow everyone to function.

Michelle at Small Business Britain says that close-contact businesses that can’t yet reopen can serve customers at home with ‘remote care services – such as online teeth or nail care and self care packages – as well as online sales of relevant products’.

‘This can help to maintain relationships as well as generate much needed cash in the short-term,’ she says. ‘Businesses can even look at booking and charging in advance for services, post-lockdown.

‘Keeping these new business models in place will also be key to managing recovery in the second half of 2020.’