So much of our behaviour comes from the habits that we engage in on a daily basis, effectively determining our potential to succeed in business. Any salon owner who is committed to achieving financial success needs to ensure that they are utilising the right habits in business.
Bad habits can quickly ruin you, destroy your reputation and wipe out any chances for eventual success, whereas good habits, when persistently applied, can ultimately create monumental success.
The best habits to have in business are:
1. Considering that most days are busy and chaotic, waking up early to really focus your mind on the day will give you a head start. If you’re not a morning person, you might experience some difficulties with instilling this habit, but if you are serious about making this change, then set your clock back gradually every single week by 15 minutes, so that you slowly move towards your time goal.
2. Take a morning ‘hour of power’ for pure focus and clarity. Once you master the habit of waking up early, you need time to get your health, wellness and mind in sync. Take time to create a morning routine where you can focus your efforts on the tasks ahead and utilise the time with some exercise and wellness routines personal to your well-being and productivity.
3. Stay inspired – whether it’s a book, a blog or motivational talk, find something that inspires you every single day. Find your source of inspiration and stay focused on your dreams. Without a daily source of inspiration, keeping your business dreams alive becomes difficult.
4. Set business goals daily, not just long-term goals: set goals for business every single day, in the morning when your mind is alert. Break down your longer-term goals into daily goals, so that you can have a short-term target to keep you on track.
5. Eliminate clutter because it results in loss of focus. Start with getting rid of physical clutter and then move on to all the digital overload. Make this a priority as clutter causes chaos.
6. Improve your time management. How you use your time says a lot about how successful you are. Decide on a good system to manage your time and stick to is. A good starting point is to consider who and what are wasting your time, and get back to focusing on achieving your goals.
7. Tackle your biggest and most important tasks first thing daily. Get in the habit of writing your ‘to do’ list the night before, so you wake up ready to attend to these, as your most important tasks will move you closer to your long-term salon goals.
8. Track and analyse your business daily, so you understand what is working, what’s not working and what needs to change.
9. Connect with people as success in business has very much to do with networking. It’s now always about what you know or have or sell, it’s also about who you know. Most business owners know this, but don’t always engage the habit of networking into their daily lives. Collaborate with people and find out where you can add value to the relationship, and it will come back to your business in other positive ways.
10. Constantly search for ways to add value. To experience true success you have to do the most amount of work for the least initial return. While this may sound counter- productive, it is one of the best long-term strategies for achieving salon success.
11. To truly succeed, you need to ask lots of questions about everything and everyone, including yourself. The success of your business will be determined by the quality of the questions you ask. Then listen to the answers and the perspectives of others. Understand and learn from the knowledge and experience of others.
12. Journal your thoughts for 15 minutes each day to explore your subconscious mind. Journal about what you want to achieve and why. Figure out what’s holding you back and how you are feeling daily. It is a powerful way to be honest with yourself without have to worry about feedback from others.
13. Focus on positivity, as anything we focus on we move towards. It’s too easy to worry about business finances, poor sales, staffing issues and all sorts of business challenges. But focusing on the negative will only bring more negativity. Which means you must develop the habit of thinking positively and remain focused on the good things, no matter how hard it can be.
14. Contribute and give back even though contributing to those that are in need won’t instantly equate to business success. However, it will add value to the lives of others, which will in turn make you feel like a better person and more able to focus on your salon tasks.
15. Follow a budget, as expenses can spiral out of control when we fail to pay attention to the money details. Work out a budget for your salon business and follow it strictly. Ensure that you have sufficient cash flow to commit to all your business expenses.
16. Take massive amounts of action every single day. Eliminate procrastination, ensuring you move towards your salon goals
17. Improve your skills, continue learning and evolving, so your business continues to grow. If you stagnate, so will your business. Plan obsessively in order to get from one point to the next, and know what you are going to do to achieve your goals. Be mindful of your actions, without trying to cut corners and it will pay off in the long run.
18. Ask for help – nobody has all the answers. It is the nature of business and life to face challenges, occasionally crash and fail. Successful salon owners have the ability to ask for help before they are in serious difficulties. Consulting with experts and advisors on a regular basis should be commonplace, not the exception.
Finally, successful salon owners develop the habit of doing something they love and enjoy every day. Make it part of your routine. Success in business isn’t just about constant work - it’s also about health and well-being. Your business will thank you for it.
