How do you organise your time?

As a salon owner or salon manager, how do you organise your time?

I hate it when someone says this to me but the answer is, “it depends”.

It depends on things like, how many people do you have on your team?

How many salons do you have? Do you see clients yourself?

And, are there any big projects that you’re working on?

And so in order to answer the question, “How do salon owners and managers organise their time?” I need to make some generalisations.

So assuming you are like the majority of salons, that means you have less than five staff and that you are also a hairdresser.

With a salon that size, it means that you are going to need to be behind the chair seeing clients, probably at least four days out of five.

If you’re lucky you will be able to make the fifth day an office day, meaning accounts, maybe payroll, inventory management, staff training and general administration.

Many salon owners that are also working behind the chair reach a point where ‘they want to extract themselves completely’ from seeing clients so that they can work more on ‘developing the business’.

But often, the problem is that they want to do that before the business gets to a sufficient size where it’s able to support them.

And so the result is that the business probably won't have sufficient cash flow to meet all the overheads and pay them properly,

The other risk you take stepping away from the chair when the business is small is that the business is ‘very vulnerable’, from the point of view that if ‘staff leave’ you are immediately forced back behind the chair in order for the business to survive.

Now, if you have a bigger salon, let’s say ten full-time money producers. Then you are getting to the size where maybe you don’t need to be behind the chair full time, and the business is also less vulnerable when one or two staff leave.

But perhaps, like many salon owners, you are still in demand, and you still enjoy servicing a client base.

But then at least it’s a choice, as to whether to work behind the chair two or three days a week and then spend the rest of the time in a training, management and marketing capacity.

If your business is at the next level and perhaps you have multiple salons, maybe 2-3, then the business requires a lot more input at the management level.

For some people, this is a natural progression. Perhaps they no longer want to be behind the chair and the business has now reached a size and has the cash flow to enable them to be working full time in a managerial capacity and to focus on growing the business.

But often the owner of a multiple salon organisation still wants to see clients, as ‘doing hair’ is where their passion lies.

Often the brand has been built around ‘their name’ as the ‘high profile hairdresser’.

In this case, they can probably ‘charge a premium’ and afford to be able to employ a general manager, and administration staff, to focus on running the business on a daily basis. While they continue in the important role of the ‘high profile’ hairdresser.

If you are the owner of 2-3 salons and are actively working behind the chair then as well as having an effective management/leadership team, you need to spend time regularly at each location.

Even if you don’t see clients yourself, it’s essential to oversee the brand. To meet clients. To spend ‘one to one’ time with your managers, and most importantly to nurture relationships with your growing team.

How do you deal with salon complaints?

How do you deal with salon complaints?

No matter who you are, and no matter what you do, you will not make every client happy.

So from a manager's perspective how should you handle salon complaints?

Even when they are not happy, most clients don’t want to complain.

They don’t want to make a scene.

They don’t want to get into a confrontation.

They just want to leave and never come back.

And once they’ve left, more often than not, the first thing they will do is go on social media or other review sites and leave a scathing review.

In any service orientated business whether it’s a restaurant, a hotel, or a hairdressers, for most people it takes ‘a lot’ to make them complain while they’re still in the salon.

And I totally understand that, as both a consumer and as a business owner. Because when I am not happy, I also usually just want to leave and not come back.

Because the very act of complaining takes some emotional energy that often compounds the situation and makes you feel even worse.

But from the service providers perspective, and from the viewpoint of the manager or owner of the business, if you don’t complain they miss the opportunity to understand what went wrong and then address the situation in whatever way is necessary to make sure that it never happens again.

Salon managers should see every complaint as an opportunity to improve.

I know there are some fraudsters out there. And I know there are some people that are terminally unhappy and regardless of what you do they will complain about everything.

But they are in the minority and so we shouldn’t base our approach to dealing with unhappy clients on them.

The reality is that we see and experience our own businesses from a very different perspective to how our clients do.

We don’t experience the service through their eyes, and we don’t experience the consultation and communication through their eyes.

And when someone is brave enough to complain, and make no doubt about it, complaining takes courage, then we need to see it as an opportunity to improve.

We need to objectively look at what went wrong. Because in the client's eyes something went wrong.

We need to understand what the problem is and why it happened and then look for ways to prevent it happening again.

But the problem is that often when someone complains, their experience goes from bad to worse as the service provider or manager goes into what I call ‘justification mode’. Where they try and turn the blame around, make excuses or totally deny that the problem exists.

Sometimes the complaint is about the experience the client is having. Other times it’s about the quality of work.

No one likes their work being criticised, and unfortunately in a salon situation it is often made worse by the fact that our colleagues and other clients are witnessing the complaint.

But regardless of whether it’s because of poor work standards or poor communication, there is a problem. And as a salon manager you need to do whatever it takes to remedy the situation as quickly and efficiently as you can without making the client feel in the wrong.

And that is where the breakdown often is. People feel they have to be right.

I am sure you have heard the expression “the customer is always right”. I think it’s a terrible expression because quite blatantly the customer or client isn’t always right.

But here’s the thing, “It’s not about being right, it’s about making the client happy”.

And so as a manager, when dealing with the complaint what do you need to do is to either remedy the problem or at the very least to ensure that the client feels heard and that their complaint is appreciated and taken seriously.

Responsibilities of a salon manager.

What are the responsibilities of a salon manager? That's the question.

And the real answer is, “It depends!”

In all likelihood, there are 3 different types of people watching this video.

The first is that you don’t own the salon, but are managing the salon for the owner.

The second is that ‘you’ are the salon owner, but have employed a salon manager to manage the daily operations of the salon.

The third is that you are the salon owner. You also work in the business full time, probably behind the chair, and ‘you’ manage the business on a daily basis.

I know salon managers that have ‘a key to open the door’ at the beginning of the day, and close the door at the end of the day. And that’s the beginning and end of their management responsibility.

I know other salon managers who handle the recruitment, the banking, the payroll, the staff training, the inventory management …And everything in between.

I know salon managers that have 1-2 team members to oversee, and others with over 100 on their team.

So what are the responsibilities of a salon manager? It depends.

There is a difference between ‘Salon MANAGEMENT’ responsibilities and ‘Salon MANAGER’ responsibilities’. And it’s not just the spelling!

‘Salon Management’ responsibilities. Means everything, from the ‘daily operations, the financial, the marketing, the human resource component, the legal and the health and safety.

In other words, ‘Salon Management’ is ultimately responsible for every area of the business.

Whereas the ‘Salon Manager’ responsibilities is talking about the specific areas of responsibility that have been designated to the individual ‘salon manager’.

And this is where the owner of the business, needs to take ownership and decide what the responsibilities are that they want the individual salon manager to have.

Once they have listed what those responsibilities are, then they need to develop a job description outlining those responsibilities.

And then recruit someone, either from within the business, or externally, that already has the necessary skills.

Or alternatively, they need to recruit someone or promote from within, and then train them in the skills needed to be able to fulfil that management role.

Unfortunately, all too often, salon owners just want to give someone the title of ‘Manager’ and to then hold them accountable for the salon performance as well as expect them to deal with all the day to day people problems.

And then they wonder why it doesn’t work.

There isn’t a right or wrong list of ‘salon manager’ responsibilities.

The important thing is that if you’re the salon owner, that you define what the responsibilities are that you want to delegate to a manager.

And then to write up a job description, and offer the training and support, that reflects that.

As I say there isn’t a right or wrong list of what you may wish to delegate to a salon manager. It’s more a case of what’s ‘right or wrong’ for you and your business.

But as a generalisation most of the time, what the owner wants is to delegate the role of the day to day ‘people management’ to someone else. And they usually give that person the title of ‘salon manager’.

The titles that are given to positions are important, because, just the title alone, reflects a certain amount about the responsibilities of the position.

Some titles are culturally right in one salon, or even country, but may not be a fit in another. And sometimes titles are just about personal preference.

You could use the title ‘Salon Manager’. Or ‘Assistant Manager’. Or ‘Operations Manager’. Or Team Leader.  They’re all similar, but different.

And as I say it also comes down to personal preference.

But if I had a salon today, and wanted to appoint someone to ‘manage the people side of the business’ on a day to day basis, I would choose the title ‘Team Leader’.

Because with that title, they know that their responsibility is about the people on their team.

And so even before a word of a job description has been written, there is already clarity about the direction of what their responsibilities are.

Top 5 tips for the first time Salon Manager

If you are a salon manager, then there was a time when it was your first day in the job. And if you are not yet a salon manager, but aspire to be, then that first day as manager is yet to happen.

There are usually two possible scenarios of how first-time ‘salon managers' start out.

The first is that they were made manager in an established salon that is owned by someone else.

The second is that they’ve opened a salon of their own and the title of ‘manager’ came with the keys to the door.

They are both very different scenarios, and they both bring their own unique challenges.

But either way being a successful manager isn’t easy. So, here are my top tips to help you become the best salon manager you can be.

Tip number one is: that it’s all about the people.

Being a salon manager is about dealing with both ‘things or situations’ and secondly it’s about dealing with people.

When I say, ‘things and situations’ I mean, the inanimate stuff. Like, “The washing machine is broken?” Or “The stock order hasn’t arrived?”

Whereas, when I say it’s about dealing with people, it’s stuff like, “A team member has called in sick… again” Or, “A team member needs to be spoken to about their appearance”.

Or it might mean, that “A team member needs to be spoken to because they have just had their best week ever”. Or a team member has just had another 5-star review on google, and is always going the extra mile when it comes to service”.

Dealing with the ‘Things and situations’ is not exciting, in fact, it can be boring! But it’s important and has to be done.

But dealing with the people issues can get very exciting! It’s often emotional. It can keep you up at night. It can also be stressful, unpredictable and full of surprises… Both good and not so good.

So tip number 1 is understanding that dealing with the ‘things and situations’ are inevitable, important, and part of the job. But to be a really successful manager, it's all about the people!

Tip number two is: that It’s important to understand that a salon manager is not just a busy stylist

In other words, you don’t manage a team of people just by being the most productive person behind the chair, and think that they will blindly follow your lead.

Managing people takes time. You have to engage and connect with the people on your team.

You have to nurture and build relationships. You have to create trust and build rapport with the people on your team. And all that takes time.

As a salon manager, your role is that of a ‘team leader’.

Your real success is not about doing all the work yourself. Your real success is about your ability to build a team and to get others to be productive and happy stylists behind the chair.

Tip number 3, is that as the new salon manager it’s important that you don’t rush in and try and change everything overnight.

There is an expression, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.

As a new manager, not everyone always wants you to succeed.

There may even be people on your team who for whatever reason want to come up against you and challenge your authority.

So my advice is that as a new manager, listen first. Watch. Observe. Ask questions, and get the team onside first… And then start looking at ways to bring about positive change.

Remember, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.

Tip number 4 is: Be consistent.

As a new manager, for any number of reasons, it’s easy to have situations or people that you treat differently. …In a word, ‘don’t’.

Now, I am going to leave a small margin here for your discretion.

Because inevitably there will be a time when there may be a valid exception that you need to allow for…

But as a generalisation, when you start treating people or situations differently, then you are potentially creating problems for yourself later on.

They might be older. They might have more experience than you. They might intimidate you. They may even be a family member. Or they might be your friend outside of work.

But when you have favourites, when you have one rule for this person and another rule for someone else you are undermining the level of respect and authority they have for you as a manager.

Tip number 5 is: Don’t be afraid to ask for advice.

Many people that are a first-time salon manager are essentially just dropped in the deep end without any training or support, and they’re expected to figure it out.

Obviously, that's the wrong way to go about it.

Being a manager involves skills that you have to learn, just like you learn how to cut and colour hair. You also have to learn how to be a manager.

It takes time. You will make mistakes. You will question yourself as to whether you have what it takes for the job.

So don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Whether that’s advice from a colleague, a coach, a mentor, a family member or an online community, don’t be afraid to seek the advice of others.

Listen to their opinions. Reflect on their observations. Be prepared to change your own mind.

But as long as you ask for the advice from someone whose opinions you respect then in all probability it’s going to help you grow and develop as a manager.

So that’s it. That’s my top 5 tips for the first time salon manager.

Are you starting out in the hairdressing industry?

If you are one of those people just starting out on a career in the hairdressing industry, ‘congratulations and welcome’ to what can be an exciting, fun, worthwhile and potentially well paid career.

Now, I say ‘can be’ because for some people it doesn't become an exciting and well paid career, but I want it to be for you so I have 5 bits of advice that will help you on your way…

The first one is ‘Never stop learning!’

Now, if you are just starting out then there’s a real possibility that you have not long finished school and perhaps this is your first job.

But, perhaps, unlike school, you are now learning about something that you are excited and passionate about!

In fact, I’d take it the next step and say that you need to be passionate about it, because as well as a lot of fun there is also a lot of hard work and sacrifice in the years ahead if you are to succeed!

So my number ‘1’ piece of advice is ‘to be the best hairdresser you can be’

And for that to happen you must never stop learning, soak up every opportunity that comes your way and look for every opportunity to learn from everyone you can.

Learning is an attitude, so don’t wait for someone else to organise or pay for it, remember that it’s no one’s job to make you successful it’s down to you.

There is a great little quote made up of 10, 2 letter words “If it is to be it is up to me”

My second bit of advice is to acknowledge and understand that ‘Productivity matters’

You are now part of a business, someone owns it, and as well as doing great haircuts and colours etc you need to balance that with the recognition that the purpose of the business is to make a profit, in fact if it doesn't make a profit then the business won’t be able to exist and you won’t have a job.

So just like in school ‘results ‘matter’. When you’re at school your results in the form of exams etc are what matters.

In business it’s not so much results based on exams that your performance is measured on, its results based on your productivity.

In hairdressing that's things like the amount of clients you have each day, how many of them come back to you, and how much they spend on products and services. These things are often referred to as ‘Key Performance Indicators’ or ‘K.P.I’s and the results that you get will ultimately determine how much you earn.

My third bit of advice is to understand that ‘You can’t do it alone!’

You are now an important part of a team and you need to remember that other people are relying on you, because if someone on the team is not doing their job properly it affects everyone else on the team.

Now, you might feel like you are at the bottom at the moment and that you are not important, well that’s not true, everyone on the team matters and everyone has a contribution to make to the success of the team. The only difference is that other people on the team have different roles and responsibilities than you. But trust me when I say, “you are definitely an important part of the team!”

My fourth piece of advice should be an easy one and that is to ‘Have fun!’

Working in a salon is a great job, and it can be a lot of fun and I loved it!

You’ll often read that in surveys where they measure ‘career happiness’, hairdressing is always near the top and often comes up on the list as being number 1!

We are not usually saving lives or changing the world but we do have a huge impact on people and how they feel about themselves.

It’s important that we are professional at work, but it’s also important that we have fun and having fun doesn’t mean being unprofessional.

If you have fun, people want to be around you. If you have fun the day goes quicker, fun is more conducive to creativity and happiness for yourself and those you come into contact with. So make work fun!

My fifth and final piece of advice is ‘Sweep to perfection!’

What I mean by that is that if you are just starting out in a hairdressing career then you will probably begin with jobs like sweeping up, shampooing and making coffee etc but make a commitment to yourself that whatever you do you will do it to the very best of your ability.

Don’t be one of the those people that say, ‘When I’m a stylist I’ll’ be a perfectionist’.

Perfection is a habit and there is a saying that goes, “As you do anything is how you will do everything” so if you sweep the floor, “then be a perfectionist!”, if you’re shampooing make it the best shampoo that client has ever had, and if you make a coffee present it like you work at the Ritz!

Remember, ‘As you do anything, is how you will do everything’

I have an online course called Super Stylist it has helped many people all over the world become more successful in the hair and beauty industry and it can help you too.

We launch it 3 times a year and if you want to get on the wait list for the next launch, or are just curious about it and want to find out more visit growmysalonbusiness.com and register your interest to be notified when it’s next open for enrolment. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

And if you don’t already follow us, then don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @growmysalonbusiness

Thanks for watching! Have a great week!

What will you learn today?

Everyone I have ever met who is successful at what they do have one thing in common…

They never ever stop learning!

They learn from what works and they learn from what doesn’t, they learn from their own mistakes and they learn from the mistakes of others.

They learn from the books they read and the videos they watch, they learn from the courses they do and the seminars they attend …but they never stop learning.

“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got” and for most people “getting what they’ve always got” is not what they want, they want more!

If you are like most people and you’re not satisfied with where you currently are in life and you want ‘more’ in whatever that means to you whether it’s more clients, or more money, or more time off or more stuff!

Whatever it is, then in order to get it you need to learn new skills and gain more knowledge… Because the skills and knowledge that you currently have is what has got you to where you are today …and they are not going to get you to where you want to be tomorrow.

What are you going to do about that?

Will you just keep on doing what you already know and hope for a different result, spending all your time justifying why you do what you do, blaming everyone else, or blaming the economy your colleagues or something else beyond your control?

Or will you do something about it? Because there is another way…

You could learn more!

You could learn to think differently, to act differently!

You could learn more about color, or retail, or how to inspire clients to want more services… or you could learn more about people, how to motivate them, how to lead, manage and inspire them …or you could just keep doing what you currently do and hoping for a different result.

Staying with what you know is often [on the surface anyway] easier, at least it’s predictable and probably getting a consistent result.

The problem is, it’s not the result you want!

If you want a different result you have to learn something different and do something different, and that often means stepping outside your comfort zone and into the unknown and that’s not always easy.

Outside your comfort zone is where potential failure is, it’s where the potential for rejection and humiliation are. It’s where fear and failure are to be found.

But, it’s also where growth is. It’s where new knowledge, new skills, new insights and opportunity are, and it’s where success, fun, money and excitement are found.

You owe it to yourself…

No one owes you ‘success’! Not your colleagues or your partners, not your families, not your boss or your team, not the government, the product manufacturers or the clients…

The only person that owes you success is ‘YOU’,You owe it to yourself to be the very best you can be.

So, what will you learn this year?

What questions will you ask of yourself?

What books will you read?

What online course will you do?

What new skills and knowledge will you acquire?

If you need some help and you like what I do, I have an online course called Super Stylist it has helped many people all over the world learn more and become more successful in the hair and beauty industry and it can help you too.

We launch it 3 times a year and if you want to get on the wait list for the next launch, or are just curious about it and want to find out more visit growmysalonbusiness.com and register your interest to be notified when it’s next open for enrolment. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

And if you don’t already follow us, then don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @growmysalonbusiness

Thanks for watching! Have a great week!

Are you achieving your goals?

Are you achieving your goals? If you are like most people the answer will be, “some of them, yes!” And some of them “No”.

I always have goals. And they are usually about achieving a certain ‘result or outcome’ within a particular time frame.

And with goals like that you either achieve the goal or you don’t. Which can be uplifting and rewarding if you do! And fairly brutal if you don’t.

But there is a middle ground, and that is where the focus should be. The middle ground is more about momentum and progress. Let me explain.

Essentially, there are 2 types of goals.

First you have ‘Outcome’ goals. The ‘outcome goal’ is the end result goal, it’s a goal that is about achieving a certain target.

So for example, in a hairdressing context that might be something like, ‘achieving a certain amount in ‘Take Home’ retail sales’.

Now, the second type of goal you have is, ‘Process’ goals. And ‘process goals’ are how the ‘Outcome’ or end result goal will be achieved.

So, to illustrate the difference first of all let’s look at a practical example in a hairdressing context…

To achieve ‘10 units of ‘Take home’ sales a week’. Is an outcome goal. Whereas, ‘To educate every client about the products you use on their hair’. Is a process goal. And…

‘Weekly pre-bookings of 75%’. Is an outcome goal. And, ‘Give every client a reason to pre-book’. Is a process goal. I’m sure you get the idea.

Achieving your ‘Outcome or Results goals’ is dependant on achieving your ‘Process goals!’ You can’t get to the ‘result’ without the ‘process’.

The ‘Outcome Goal or Result’ is the culmination of the processes that gets you to the result you wanted.

Achieving the ‘Outcome goal is an event, it’s what I call the ‘Yahoo moment’ when you have achieved something.

But it’s the hard work, and that is the ‘process’ that makes ‘the event’ happen… or not!

You are 100% in control of the process, you either do them or you don’t. And whether or not you achieve the ‘Outcome Goal’ is the result.

When you start to look at goals this way, you realise that setting up a system for doing the process is more important than choosing a goal.

Everyone wants to make progress. And there is only one way to do it and that is to do the work! If we use the analogy of getting fitter and stronger it’s to do the repetitions.

Whether you are talking about getting fit or increasing your pre-bookings or growing your color percentage. Do the hard yards ‘consistently’ …Thats the key word ‘consistently’ and you will move towards the result you want.

So focus on the process, and you'll get results. If you ignore the goals and build the habits instead, the outcomes will be there anyway.

Often when people don’t achieve the outcome they wanted is because they are not focusing on the steps needed to make the ‘Outcome’ a reality.

So, “Focus on the process and the results will take care of themselves”

So, this is what I want you to do. Choose a RESULTS goal, any RESULTS goal. Write it down. And then right down 5 things, meaning 5 PROCESS goals that you need to do to achieve that result and focus on them. Not the goal!

If you want to learn more about goal setting and achieving your salon productivity goals I have an online course called ‘Super Stylist’ it has helped many people all over the world become more successful in the hair and beauty industry and it can help you too.

We launch it 3 times a year and if you want to get on the wait list for the next launch, or are just curious about it and want to find out more visit growmysalonbusiness.com and register your interest to be notified when it’s next open for enrolment. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

And if you don’t already follow us, then don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @growmysalonbusiness

Thanks for watching! Have a great week!

Is it still working?

“Is it still working?” It doesn’t really matter what the ‘it’ I am referring to is.

Whether it’s the way you do consultations, the way you pre-book clients, the way you talk about home haircare or the way you use Instagram to market yourself. The question is, “Is it still working?”

Because, sometimes the easy option is to, ‘keep doing what you're doing just because ‘that’s what you've always done’.

But what worked ‘then’, maybe isn’t working anymore. And if that’s the case you need to question whether ‘it’s’ still serving you in the same way that it once did.

And if the answer is “NO!” Then that acceptance is the first step to changing what you do and therefore changing the outcome.

But it first starts by asking yourself the question, “Is it still working?”

And then giving yourself an honest answer. Not blaming others, and not justifying why… and not making excuses either. Just an acceptance, that ‘it’s not working anymore!’

I once read that the first step to getting a ‘break through’ is having a ‘break with’.

I take that as meaning that if you’re looking for a ‘breakthrough’, that you first need to have a ‘break with’ the way you are currently ‘thinking or doing’ things.

Once you’ve acknowledged that ‘it’s not working’ and that you need to change something, then you are already moving forward.

The next step is to have a brainstorming session, either by yourself, or with your partner, or your team and pose the question… ‘What might be some alternatives ways of achieving the outcome you want?’

Now, you are no longer stuck, you’re moving in the right direction. Keep going!

But, if it’s not working and you need some help I have an online course called ‘Super Stylist’ it has helped many people all over the world become more successful in the hair and beauty industry and it can help you too.

We launch it 3 times a year and if you want to get on the wait list for the next launch, or are just curious about it and want to find out more visit growmysalonbusiness.com and register your interest to be notified when it’s next open for enrolment. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

And if you don’t already follow us, then don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @growmysalonbusiness

Thanks for watching! Have a great week!

If there was just one thing!

If there was just 1 thing…

If there was 1 thing that you could do right now today [just 1 thing] that would make you a better hairdresser, or manager or salon owner what would it be?

Would it be to get better with your time keeping?

Or perhaps to make more effort with your own appearance?

Or maybe to smile more, and say good morning to everyone else on the team.

Or maybe it’s introducing yourself to clients, and making more of an effort to use clients names…

Or perhaps it’s remembering to show the client what you are using on their hair…

I’m sure you get the idea, there are countless examples…

They needn't be life changing things, and often thats the problem that we are looking for some huge thing to revolutionise our lives and our businesses when really it's often just about lots of little changes.

Just imagine if you changed just one thing every day imagine where you could be in a 12 months from now, imagine the difference that could make to your income, to your self esteem, to your relationships…

What's stopping you? You could do it yourself or you could do it as a team…

Either way, the idea is to just focus on one thing, one action or behaviour that you will focus on for a day…

Or maybe you only choose 1 a week… that's still 52 weeks. 52 actions or behaviours that will bring about a dramatic change to your circumstances…

If you want help focusing on your ‘one thing’ I have an online course called Super Stylist it has helped many people all over the world become more successful in the hair and beauty industry and it can help you too.

We launch it 3 times a year and if you want to get on the wait list for the next launch, or are just curious about it and want to find out more visit growmysalonbusiness.com and register your interest to be notified when it’s next open for enrolment. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

And if you don’t already follow us, then don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @growmysalonbusiness

Thanks for watching! Have a great week!

If you don’t grow, your business never will.

“If you don’t grow, your business never will”

That’s such an important sentence, “If you don’t grow, your business never will”. It doesn't matter whether you’re a stylist and ‘your business' refers to ‘your column', or if you are the salon owner, and it refers to ‘the salon'

The fact remains, that ‘if you don't grow, your business never will.'

So, whether you are an individual or a salon owner what are you doing to ensure that you keep learning, growing, and developing as a professional?

Unfortunately many people are doing nothing.

In some countries certain professions like accountants and lawyers have to commit every year to a minimum of two weeks further education as a condition of retaining their license to practise in their chosen field.

Likewise I come across some salons that build into employment contracts a requirement that employees need to attend a set number of training days to ensure that their motivation and skill level are always at there peak.

In hairdressing, like most occupations, once you have got your license your continued growth is down to you, and unfortunately for many people that is where they stop growing.

They expect someone else to spoon feed them ongoing education, but, the really successful people in any industry recognise that their education is never complete, and that ultimately it’s down to them to seek it out.

People like that are constantly looking for ‘an edge’ in every area, from their creative and technical development to the never ending fine tuning of their business and people skills.

Your business is a reflection of you, and if you don’t grow your business never will. No matter where I go, I am always aware that there are people in my audience who are very successful, and yet, here they are sat in the audience looking for any distinction that will help them continue to fine tune their business.

It's their ongoing commitment to learning by attending seminars, reading books, doing online courses and constantly looking for an edge which gives them the edge.

Too often the reason we stop growing is because of a fear of failure, a fear of getting it wrong.

It's not that those people that continue to grow never fail at what they are doing. They do, but the difference is that they don't see it as failure, instead they see failure as ‘feed-back'.

When something doesn't work out as imagined they see it as an opportunity to ask why, and they look for distinctions to make, so that they get a different result the next time.

They're not afraid of stepping outside their comfort zone because they know that is where they will find growth and opportunity.

Learning any new skill will always be a mixture of frustration and fun, but if you don't put yourself out there and try you will quickly be left behind.

So what are some practical next steps?

Well, can I suggest that you could brainstorm with your team this question:

“How can we create a salon culture of constant and never ending improvement that will benefit everyone?”

As you may already know, I have an online course called ‘Super Stylist’. It has helped many people all over the world become more successful in the hair and beauty industry and it can help you too.

We launch it 3 times a year and if you want to get on the wait list for the next launch, or are just curious about it and want to find out more visit growmysalonbusiness.com and register your interest to be notified when it’s next open for enrolment. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.

And if you don’t already follow us, then don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @growmysalonbusiness

Thanks for watching! Have a great week!

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