Salon Owner laments “I had my lot and just needed to accept it!” (Not!)
I asked a successful client of mine the reason she attributes to her success…
Here’s her answer…
“I stumbled along for many years just getting by Malcolm, I thought I knew all there was to know about running a business and well, I just accepted that everything I knew I was doing, so it must be outside forces causing my business to just survive and I often looked at other businesses around me which just confirmed I had my lot and had to accept it.”
“They weren’t fairing any better that me!”
“But then I saw a couple of other salons doing really well… And that got me thinking… Why, why if everything is equal are they doing so much better than the rest of us who are struggling to find the next client, who are always looking for new team members, and who, as the owner, are doing most of the work just to survive?” “And then an opportunity was presented to me… I was at an industry event and had the opportunity to talk with one of the successful ones… And do you know what they told me…. And it’s not what you may think!”
“So what was it that you were told that had such a significant impact on your business and life” I asked?
She said – “One word Malcolm… Education! Yes that one word changed my business and life forever… Never ever assume that you know everything, never ever believe that you are doing everything right, always believe that you are a student of business, continuing to learn, try, adapt, and grow… So education was the catalyst of my change”.
“I went out and booked into any course I could, I hired an awesome business coach (guess who that is??) and I got rid of the mind-set that I knew it all and anything different to what I was doing was not as good or wouldn’t work… Once I realised I didn’t know what I didn’t know and opened my mind up to learning, my salon changed, I got better quality clients, I got better quality staff, I also got more time off and a healthier bank balance… All because of that one word ‘Education’ ”
I asked her “What 2 or 3 things does a salon owner today have to do to become successful?”…
Her answer:
1 “Change your attitude and mind-set, it’s that that was holding my salon back, once I realised that and changed with education, then my salon became easier to run, in fact it became a business.”
2 “Hire a business coach, but not just any- chose someone who knows this industry inside out.” (She did suggest talking to me but that would just be selfless shameless promotion wouldn’t it!)
3, “Attend any business courses that are offered, especially ones that are industry specific, you’ll always pick up a few things that you can take back to the salon to implement that work.”
4 “(bonus one) “Always measure the results (and test where you can too) you need to know that the changes you are making are worth it.”
A very interesting interview and an insight that I have long subscribed to – education is really a great business strategy!
So after reading this you’ll have got the idea that continually educating yourself is a viable business building strategy… No one and I mean no one actually knows it all… And that includes you (and me), so get out of the salon, go to courses and seminars and workshops and learn some new ways of doing business… And perhaps you can be a success story here to. And if you want to take her advice and get a business coach, give me a yell and we’ll see what we can do.
“Malcolm has changed my life, not only has my salon situation improved, I now know where I’m going and just how to get there.” – Jane, Auckland.
“I haven’t even scraped the surface of information that’s in Malcolm’s head and I’m already seeing results.” – Alisha, New Zealand.
“I learned that all I had to do was watch, listen decide and implement to get the best from what Malcolm has created (and keeps creating) he has changed my thinking and changed the way I operate.” – Marie, NSW.
I look forward to hearing from you!
