Coronavirus action plan.

Welcome to this special episode of ‘The Two Minute Salon Manager’.

I hope you are bearing up okay in this time of uncertainty. I think it’s the uncertainty and the chaos that accompanies it that creates fear of what the future holds.

In amongst all the hysteria, it is important that you control your own mental and emotional state if you wish to be effective and work through the current health and financial crisis that we are all facing.

We all need to stay centred and calm and have a plan to deal with the upheaval that we are all experiencing.

I think it’s the lack of control over what's happening that amplifies the uncertainty. But, there are things in life we have control over and things we have no control over. So let’s start by looking at what we do and don’t have control over.

For example;

• You have no control over the decisions that the government do or don’t make today.
• You have no control over the media response.
• You have no control over what your competitors are doing.
• You have no control over what others are posting on social media.
• You have no control over the banks.

And then there are the things that you do have control over.

For example;

• You have control of how many news bulletins you watch daily.
• You have control over how much time you engage in social media.
• You have control over the conversations that you chose to have.
• You have control over how little, or how often, you communicate with your team members and clients.
• You have control over organising a cash flow budget [no matter how bad it might be].
• You have control over what you focus on, each minute of each day.

There is no point investing time and emotional energy into the things that we have no control over.

The speed at which our economies, our livelihoods and sense of security and safety are changing over the last few days is like nothing that we have experienced before, and so a degree of uncertainty and fear is inevitable.

But, if we are going to get through this and come out the other end stronger and even better prepared. Then we need to make sure we adopt a positive mindset, and not buy into the fear and panic, and most importantly to focus on the things that we can control.

As a business owner, you are by default a leader. As such, people will look to you for guidance and security. To help you, I have written a 10-point Action Plan. A checklist to keep you to be focused on the positive things that you can control over the coming days and weeks.

So if you would like to download a copy of my 10 point Action Plan to help guide you through the coming weeks. Click on this link to my website growmysalonbusiness.com/freeresources and under the free resources tab there is a pdf titled ‘Coronavirus Action Plan’ as a free download.

On Tuesday 24th March on my weekly Podcast there is an interview with 3 leading industry figures.

From London, we have Sean Dawson from the Adam Reed salon.

From New York we have Virginia Meyer from the FourteenJay Salon.

And from Sydney we have Emiliano Vitale from eSalon.

They are all talking about how they are handling the pandemic situation in their respective salons, cities and countries.

You can listen to it on my website growmysalonbusiness.com or subscribe to my podcast on apple podcasts or Spotify or Stitcher…

In the meantime, please stay safe, wash your hands, choose to educate yourself, and care for those you love and lead.

Should you open another salon?

Salon owners often ask my opinion as to whether or not they should open a second salon.

The thing to be careful of is assuming that because you may have one successful salon that you have the ‘magic touch’ and that the obvious next step is to open a second salon.

I’m certainly not saying don’t open another salon, I’m just saying that two salons are a very different proposition than only having one. Think about it, the only time you double the size of your business is when you go from one salon to two! 

When, and if, you go from 2-3 or 3-4 etc the business isn’t doubling in size, so if opening a second salon is something you are considering make no doubt it is a big step and for many people, it doesn’t work out the way they planned.

Typically the success of a single salon operation is usually due to the owner being there, and working long hours and usually behind the chair seeing clients. Usually, the culture of the salon is established and reinforced merely by the owner's presence and every operational decision goes through them.

Often the owner underestimates how integral their presence and leadership has been in making everything run smoothly. But when you go to that second salon, the owner can only be in one place at a time, and so the challenge is not ending up with two half salons.

For the owner, the key to running multiple salons and knowing how to split their time is ‘effective managers, salon systems and delegating’.

First, let’s talk about the need for effective managers. You can only be in one place at a time so without effective and reliable managers you will have challenges. People need managing, we are in the people business and without effective leadership, in each location, it’s reliant on the owner, and if that’s you, then your job is to make sure that you have replicated the role of manager or team leader in each location.

 Secondly, let’s talk about salon systems. When you have one successful salon it’s usually because you are the system! So if you are to open additional salons the success is dependent on getting everything out of your head and onto paper because if it’s not written down then it isn’t a system.

Thirdly, Once you have these effective managers and salon systems in place you need to be prepared to let go of trying to do everything yourself and delegate and trust others to fulfil their role.

Will they do everything exactly as you would? No!

Will they make mistakes? Of course, they will!

Is your way always the best way? No!

Do they need to learn some things the hard way? Definitely!

Will everything run smoothly without you? No!

Will you learn a lot in the process? You bet!

So, is it worth doing?

Well for some people yes, but for others no.

Only you can decide if you have what it takes and are prepared to put the work in to make it happen.

If you want to find out more about being an effective manager and building a team I recommend my books Grow 2 management and Grow 3 Team.

Thanks for watching. I hope this has been helpful and if opening a second salon is what you decide to do, good luck and if I can be of help in a coaching capacity don’t hesitate to get in touch.

And if don’t already do so I suggest that you follow me on Instagram and Facebook @growmysalonbusiness

Have a great week! 

Owner/managers how do you split your time?

As an owner or manager, how do you split 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 you have on your team, how many salons you have, whether or not you see clients yourself, and even what your future plans are’. So as a guide I need to make some generalisations.

So, if you are like the majority of salons, meaning less than five staff, and you are also a hairdresser, then you are going to need to be behind the chair seeing clients, probably at least four days out of five. If you are 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 owners that are also stylist want to extract themselves completely from seeing clients before it gets to a sufficient size. If you do that, the business probably won't have sufficient cash flow to pay you properly and is also very vulnerable from the point of view that if staff leave you are 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 less vulnerable when staff leave.

But perhaps like many salon owners, you are still in demand, and you still enjoying servicing a client base. But now at least you can choose 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 managerial 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 running and 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 which case, they can probably charge a premium and afford 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 ‘front person’ hairdresser.

If you are the owner of 2-3 salons and actively 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, meet clients, spend one to one time with your managers and most importantly to nurture relationships with your growing team.

I hope you have got something out of today and if you haven’t already read my books GROW 2 Management and GROW 3 team there are many ideas to help with growing your business.     

Thanks for watching!

Have a great week!

To do or not to do?

Every day we have 24 hours in which to ‘DO’ stuff.

The challenge that most of us have is that we talk about ‘Doing’ as opposed to actually ‘DO’ what we need to.

There are typically all sorts of reasons why we talk about ‘Doing’ but actually never ‘Do’. We blame time, we blame resources, we blame the weather, we blame each other, we blame budgets.

‘Doing’ and not getting it right, or even messing it up completely is still arguably better than talking to everyone about what you are thinking about doing. Because at the very least ‘Doing’ is gaining experience.

So ‘DO’ the thing that you have been putting off, whatever it is. Because the worst-case scenario is that you will at least have created momentum and have gained some experience, and that is definitely better than doing nothing.

Thanks for watching

Have a great week!

Friday feedback!

How do you go about giving people feedback?

As an owner or manager, part of your job is to build a team and to grow the business and the people in it. And one of the ways you do that is by giving people feedback on their performance.

Inevitably the feedback will be a mixture of things that they are doing well, and things that they could do better.

But although most people like getting and giving positive feedback, the reality is that probably they don’t ‘give or get’ nearly enough of it!

The other point is that most managers don’t like giving those on their team ‘negative feedback’, but let’s call it ‘constructive criticism’ because that’s what it should be.

Part of the manager's role is to let those on their team know what they need to change for the purpose of making them better at what they do, and therefore ultimately becoming more successful in the process.

The problem is that many managers are ill-equipped or afraid to give those on their team constructive criticism for fear of confrontation and conflict. The result is that the problems usually just get worse.

Set it up at the beginning of the relationship!

What I mean by that is that you should tell them as soon as they start, before there is a problem, that you will touch base with them once a week to let them know how they are going.

The result is, that now they know you will be giving them feedback on a weekly basis, so they are less likely to be feeling attacked and get all defensive, and as the manager, you are less likely to be anxious and confrontational.

The key is to always be telling people something good, anything that they are doing well and then to also mention any areas that need improvement. Aim to be telling them something positive at least twice as much as areas that they need to improve in.

Why do I call it ‘Friday feedback’? Simply because I used to do it every Friday!

Thank you for watching…

Have a great week!

10 Things great teams do

Walt Disney once famously said…

“You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it takes people to make the dream a reality”.

As someone who has employed dozens of people over the years, I was always aware when I had a team of people that really clicked, both as individuals and as a team.

It takes a lot of time, effort and money to recruit, train and keep good people but when all is said and done that’s what our business is all about, ‘people’, and having a team of great people is key if you are to succeed.

So here is my list of ‘10 things great teams do’.

1. They understand they are part of a team…

Great team members understand they are part of something bigger than them alone, they know that everyone has an integral role to play in making each other and the team succeed.

2. Think like an owner…

Great team members think like an owner. They don’t waste time, or money, or product or any other salon resources and they take into consideration what is best for the long term future of the salon when making decisions.

3. Grow themselves and others…

They are always looking for opportunities to grow and improve, not just for themselves but for those around them.

Their example and passionate commitment to continually grow also inspires others on the team to do the same.

4. Hold themselves to a higher standard…

Great team recognise that they are responsible for the standards they set for themselves.

They are always striving to raise their own standards and improve their own performance.

5. Resolve issues before they are issues…

They proactively and calmly deal with challenges as they happen and seek to resolve problems professionally and with a positive outcome for everyone concerned.

6. Open and honest…

Great team members understand that awkward situations still need to be dealt with. So, they find kind and caring ways to discuss uncomfortable situations with others, for the benefit of all concerned.

7. Spread happiness…

They look on the bright side of life, always looking for the upside in any situation, but at the same time keeping it real.

They understand the everyday challenges and dynamics of people, salon stress, and the blend of work life and friendship.

They radiate positive energy even in stressful times and share it around the rest of the team. 

8. Avoid drama…

Great teams don’t buy into the drama that some people are prone to.

They keep a proper perspective on problems and focus on finding a solution not creating unnecessary drama and in so doing diffuse situations before they get out of control.

9. Commercial reality

They have a commercial reality about their approach to productivity and demonstrate a balanced approach to ensure that every client is given 100% of their professional advice and recommendations without ever feeling oversold.

10. Step out of their comfort zone

Great team members continually strive to experience new challenges and aren’t afraid to feel awkward or uncomfortable if they don’t always achieve the ideal result.

Great teams recognise that the key to growth is trying new ways of thinking and acting and stepping out of their comfort zone and being exposed to new experiences is all part of their continual evolvement as a salon professional.

So as a next step, why don’t you either use my 10 points or get your team to come up with their own list of 10 points and then ask yourselves as individuals and as a team, “How can we do it even better?”

Thank you for watching…

Have a great week

Who can you collaborate with?

You can’t succeed on your own! To succeed you need other people.

Sometimes that means other people inside your team, other times it means ‘Collaborations’ with external people or organisations that have a vested interest in working together to achieve a common goal.

I am a small business, there is me and my wife Melinda, and 5 part-time external people we work with when we need them as part of our team. But I also have a collaboration with John Paul Mitchell Systems and it’s a true ‘collaboration’ where we both are working together to achieve a common goal. 

Collaborations are a business model that we will see more of as they fit with the technology available and more importantly with the ever-changing working model and the values of people today.

The most important thing is that when you collaborate with others that they understand your vision and most importantly that you share common values and goals. When that happens it brings a synergy and momentum that benefits everyone.

So from a salon perspective who could you collaborate with?

Well from a recruitment point of view you could collaborate with your local high school careers department. Whereby you might provide opportunities for your team to talk to students at careers days about the opportunities in hairdressing, and perhaps offer work experience opportunities for students.

Or you could collaborate with your local beauty school or hairdressing college whereby you offer your services to present a regular class and in return, you are creating opportunities for your team who perhaps aspire to work in the education area of the industry. This could also mean that you get the opportunity to get the first pick of graduates. 

From a marketing point of view, you could collaborate with other stores in your community whereby you cross-promote to each other's client base whether it’s via newsletter or email or social media.

From an HR point of view maybe you could collaborate with businesses in your geographical location who employee people that are a fit with your target market and offer a promotion directly to their employees through their internal communication channels.

I’m sure you get the idea. The point is, don’t try and do everything on your own, find people and organisations to work with whereby both of you benefit from the collaboration.

I hope today has been of value to you…

If you haven’t read my Book GROW 4 Marketing I recommend you do as there is more in there about collaborations.

Thanks for watching…

Have a great week!   

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

And, 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 let’s look at some practical examples…

‘To lose 5Lb in the next 6 weeks’. Is an outcome goal. Whereas, ‘To Run 3 miles, 3 times per week for the next 6 weeks’. Is a process goal. Or another example…

And in a hairdressing context…

‘10 units of ‘Take home’ sales a week’. Is an outcome goal. Whereas, ‘Educate every client about the products I 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 get you to the result you wanted.

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

But it’s the hard work, 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 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 it's 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 write down 5 things, meaning 5 PROCESS goals that you need to do to achieve that result and focus on them. Not the goal!

Do you talk ‘Team’, but reward the ‘Individual’?

Do you talk ‘Team,’ but reward the ‘Individual’?

That’s what many salon owners do, they talk, … “Team this, team that, and team the other.” But in reality, all the reward, training, and feedback is aimed at the ‘individual.’

If you talk ‘Team’ …you must reward the ‘Team’?

I’m not saying that individuals shouldn’t be rewarded, and given individualised training and feedback, of course they should be.

But, if you really want to set up a team culture that is more than just a ‘buzz word’ it requires a more holistic approach.

First, you have to start by setting some team goals and objectives, then you need a plan to turn them into reality.

What goals do ‘YOU’ want the team to achieve this week, this month, this year? And just as importantly, what goals do the ‘TEAM’ want to achieve this week, this month, this year?

So, in what areas should you and your team be setting goals in?

For me, there are 4 key areas. The first is…

1. Team Productivity goals.

For example;

• What weekly total client count is the goal as a team?
• What weekly total service revenue is the goal as a team?
• What weekly retail revenue is the goal as a team?
• What weekly percentage of all clients should have colour is the goal for the team?
• What weekly percentage of all clients should pre-book their next appointment is the goal for the team?

The second area is…

2. Team Creative goals.

Many of your team will be motivated and inspired by goals that fulfill their creative needs.

• So what shows or seminars do you want to attend or participate in as a team?
• What awards do you want to win, or enter as a team?
• What other creative goals could your team have?

The third area is…

3. Team Learning goals.

Everyone on your team will be at different stages of their career development, but everyone needs to be a continual learner.

• What new skills or knowledge do you as a team want to learn?
• What hairdressing oriented skills would you like to learn as a team?
• What non-hairdressing oriented skills would you like to learn as a team?

And the fourth area is…

4. Team Fun goals.

In many cases, you will spend more time with your team than with your family and loved ones, so it’s important that you have fun at work.

• As a team, what fun things do you want to do?
• What fun things do you want to see as a team?

So that's 4 areas that you could set ‘team’ goals in.

Team training

Once you have defined and set the team goals, then you have to follow up with relevant team training – especially for the productivity goals.

You can’t set team productivity goals, and expect them to just happen. To give the ‘goal’ the best chance of success you need to make sure the team have had the best possible training.

The goals you have set, combined with your own observations as to what skills the team lack, will determine what training is required. But as they are ‘Team Goals’ ask the team what training they feel they need.

Finally, how are you going to reward the team and celebrate the team achievements?

Team rewards or celebrations

What rewards can you give the team for achieving the team goals?

You could split a bonus equally between all the team members.

You could buy brunch for the team.

You could pay for the team to attend an industry event, for example – a show or awards event.

You could take the team out for dinner. Or take the team for an overnight stay at a country retreat.

Take the team to attend a concert together. Or take the team out for a massage or manicure. Or take the team out to a ‘big game.’ I’m sure you get the idea.

If you haven’t already got it I suggest you read my book ‘GROW 3 Team’ where there is a lot more about building a ‘team culture.

Thank you for watching…

Have a great week!

Change the way you…

As ‘managers of people’ some of what we do with our team on a daily basis is about getting them to change something that they currently do.

It might be to change the way they act. Or change the way they talk. Or change how they think or behave in front of clients, or with each other.

Or it might be to change the way they do consultations or cut or colour hair or how they talk about retail.

I’m sure sometimes you get ‘the change’ that you want …and sometimes you don’t. When you don’t who’s fault is it?

I’m sure it’s always their fault 🙂 …but then again, maybe not.

The biggest mistake…

I see people make when they are trying to get others to change is that they don’t spend enough time ‘with the person they want to get the change from’ for them to completely understand why and how change is needed.

So right from the beginning, there is a lack of cooperation, a feeling that they are being attacked, picked on or not appreciated. A feeling that they are not valued or understood. And as a result, frustration, mistrust and sometimes the desire to prove you wrong or to sabotage is inevitable… 

It needn’t be like that…

Sometimes there are changes that you need done ‘NOW!’ And at such times perhaps you need to be very direct. But, most times you are much better off to spend the time to get the person onside and to get them to ‘buy into’ the why and how of change.

You might have to tread lightly or beat around the bush for a bit, but that is not wasted time. It’s often simply the process that needs to be taken to understand, and eventually get the best out of each other.

Depending on what the change is, the person who you want the change from may sometimes have far more experience and understanding at the ‘coal face’ than you do! If that’s the case you would be hugely arrogant and foolish to not get them onside and to use their experience and knowledge to achieve the best possible outcome.

For example imagine you have someone on your team who is in charge of inventory control, and that you want them to change how it’s done. Sometimes, because they have been doing something a certain way for a period of time they might have very useful insights into why the change you’re suggesting isn’t actually a good idea.

Maybe that’s not the best example but I am sure you get the idea.

Change isn’t always easy…

Most people have a lot invested in how and why they think, act, or do something a certain way. And taking the time to understand their perspective and get them fully engaged in bringing about change will pay dividends for everyone.

‘Letting go' is often the issue…

Letting go of what we know has worked in the past in order to embrace what ‘may or may not’ work in the future is what holds many people back from embracing change.

But if you want to be effective as a leader, manager, teacher. Or even a parent or mentor, you need to develop the skills to bring out the best that everyone has to offer.

You need to get them, to not only understand why change is needed. But more importantly to get them to recognise and feel that they are an essential and valued component in making change happen.

If you haven’t already read them, I suggest you read my books ‘GROW 2 Management’ and GROW 3 Team where there are many ideas to help with ‘Change’.

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