Have you ever considered changing the operating hours of your public-facing business?

Perhaps you’ve noticed a lot of customers coming through the door towards the end of your current hours, or you think there might be pent-up demand waiting to be unleashed by staying open longer. Maybe you’re looking to increase sales but are unsure of the costs and logistics of staying open for additional hours.

Factors to Consider

Before making any changes, it’s important to consider the factors involved. You’ll need to forecast sales and gross margin in the additional hours and determine if your sales mix changes as the time-of-day changes. For example, a coffee shop might sell more non-caffeinated beverages in the evening, which may or may not bring higher gross margins.

You’ll also need to calculate the costs of staying open, considering only those costs that change depending on your operating hours, such as hourly wages, utilities, and maintenance. It’s also important to ensure you have the people available to allow for a change in operating hours.

Testing Your Changes

Running a short-term experiment could be the best way forward, rather than just forecasting, which is essentially an educated guess. Keeping track of your profit per operating hour during existing hours can also be helpful in making this decision. For example, you might notice that profit per hour increases or decreases as the day goes on, providing insights into the potential success of extended operating hours.

Overall, changing the operating hours of your public-facing business requires careful consideration of various factors, including sales, costs, and employee availability. By taking these factors into account and running a short-term experiment, you can determine if extended operating hours are a viable option for your business.