The Most Essential Step to Being a CEO
Do you ever have those periods of time where you feel completely unmotivated?
You know there are things you need to do, but you don’t feel excited by these things, and you don’t really know why you’re even doing them.
This happened to me not too long ago. I was sleeping in late, watching Netflix in bed, and was completely unenthused by the prospect of getting up and working on my business.
I started to make every excuse under the sun: “it’s cold,” “I'm tired”... I'm sure every business owner has found themselves doing this at one point or another.
And what’s worse, is that I knew this wasn’t a great place to be in... but I couldn’t figure out how to get myself out of the rut, or why I was even in this rut in the first place!
I still loved my team, loved the owners I was working with and loved my life, but something just wasn’t right.
….and then it hit me!
The 1 thing so many Salon Owners are missing... let me tell you more about it.
What’s Missing?
I realised that what had happened was: I had crushed my previous goals and wanted to push ahead more, but got stuck because I hadn’t identified what that next step actually was for my business.
Instead, I was busy being ‘busy’ and I’d lost sight of where it was all going, why I was doing this and what it was all even for.
And without the “where” “why” and “what,” there was no way I was possibly going to be able to achieve the “how.”
Do you ever feel this way?
Like, you have periods where you’re absolutely #killingit in business… you get up early feeling motivated to work on your business because you’re so pumped for what’s to come.
Your business is moving forward at a rapid pace because you’ve identified what ‘moving forward’ actually means for you and you know what the destination is.
But then you have these down periods, like I had. Nothing is clear, nothing is happening in your business and you feel stuck.
See the common denominator here?
It’s the clarity of knowing where you’re going and what you need to do to get there.
When you have this clarity, you have focus and drive. You have a purpose and you feel energised and excited to tick off your to-do list at pace!
This type of clarity is the key factor in bringing about growth in your business. It’ll seriously set you free and allow you to fully get into that CEO mindset.
But growth comes with its own challenges...
The Thing About Growth…
Growth breaks things. Have you ever experienced this in your business?
You’ve just hit a massive period of growth, and things are flying along nicely. Finally you can see your dream start to unfold… then suddenly, things start to go wrong! Everyone is too busy to do anything, life gets messy and what worked before now starts to fail…
And that means you’re likely to be once again pulled out of CEO mode and into Manager mode or even back to being a stylist. Your attention gets diverted because you’ve got to put on your Mrs. Fix It hat and mop up other people’s errors.
Let me tell you: it doesn’t have to be like this!
The reason why growth breaks things, is because what once worked- when your team was smaller and your Salon was quieter- is now no longer going to work.
You’ve grown, and that means that what got you to this point probably won’t get you any further… and that’s OK!
What you need to do is be prepared for this before it happens and plan ahead.
It may feel like your team is falling short, but it’s actually your responsibility as CEO to be ahead of this growth and have a plan in place for when things may start to break.
And if this is your first salon or business, then you probably won’t be able to recognize what’s coming ahead of time. It’s OK to get it wrong the first time, but make sure that you remember the lessons learnt for next time, and plan ahead to avoid them.
I know, easier said than done...
You are not Your Business
You’re probably wondering… “If I'm knee-deep in shite, how am I meant to even think about planning ahead or gaining clarity on what’s next?!”
Maybe you can’t figure out what’s going wrong or why this is happening. I get it. You probably aren’t connecting the breaking to the fact that you’ve been growing and that it’s always going to happen if you’re unprepared!
In this circumstance, I recommend you take a step back and regroup. As business owners, I think we can become so immersed and intertwined with our business that we lose our sense of perspective. Remember that you and not your business and that it’s important to remove yourself from the fish-bowl and look at things objectively.
What you need is time to think. And I don’t just mean taking a 5-minute walk… I mean completely removing yourself from your business for a decent period of time (a holiday is great!)
Giving yourself time to think will allow you to leap over those obstacles you thought were invincible and really get past those mental blocks in your head… trust me, it really works.
Again, you won’t always get it right first time off! I used to find myself in a tough spot quite often actually. I would watch too much TV, drink a little too much wine, blurt things out to my team in frustration, snap at my kids, and think everything was going wrong and that I was a terrible business owner.
But now I'm able to separate myself from my business and recognise the process of growing and breaking, and so I'm able to plan ahead for it. Now, I want to help you do the same and save you, your team and your families from a whole lot of unnecessary pain!
Make a Plan
After I mentioned my roadblocks to my team and we sorted through them, we were then able to formulate a strategic plan for what’s coming next. We met and planned out our focus for the next quarter and even started planning for 2020.
And guess what… things are already starting to happen!
Because we first gained clarity, and then made a plan, we were able to then take action and really gain momentum.
I’m now getting up early again, and going to the gym at 5:30am. I then arrive home at my desk with a clear plan for that day and actually feel excited to crack into the day of work.
That’s because I have these clear goals in my head for what’s next and a clear plan of how to get there.
My team are now more motivated too, because we’ve all got something to really strive for. Plus they feel completely in the loop, and like they’re really contributed to the business.
And this is exactly what I help Salon Owners do. Without a plan, people just float around in the wind, achieving success, only by luck rather than clear, planned actions.
What’s a lot more powerful than luck, is intent. It’s so important to stay ON POINT and CLEAR. From a quarterly plan, you’ll have a 30-day plan…then a weekly plan, and a daily action list!
We also set a weekly intention & review the week that has been.
This clarity can then be leveraged into:
-> The team you need- who to employ
-> The projects you need to work on
-> What your clients need and want from you
-> Systems you need to put into place
-> What you need your team to be working on
-> The boundaries you set with yourself and your team
-> Tackling specific outcomes and targets
-> The ability to SAY NO to everything that will NOT lead you toward that goal
Master your Inner CEO
If you need help in your business, and getting clear on what you really want, then I’ve got something super exciting for you…
Maybe you’ve reached your goals and need to set some new ones, or maybe you desperately need the type of strategic framework that I've talked about above.
In 2020, I will be launching The Salon Mastery Program.
Do you feel like you're done with working long hours, like you're ready to focus on growing your business and sick of quick-fixes that don’t seem to really help?
If you have the grit, determination, or the skill to make your salon a booming success, but need some support to fully step into being a true Salon CEO? Then the Salon Mastery program is absolutely essential for you.
Salon Mastery is RIGHT you if..
- You're a Salon Owner who's looking to make a huge leap forward in 2020
- You have a team of 4-7+ and are already smashing $6-7K a week... or more
- You're more than ready to step up into becoming a real CEO of your business (rather than just having another year of 'average')
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About the author, Larissa
Business Coach helping Salons reach $1 Million+: After 20 years as a Salon Owner, I worked in online marketing & technology development, Business Development Manager at Timely Salon Software and co-founded HAIRshare app for Stylists.
I realised that I love helping Salon’s with their marketing, implementing the latest technology and developing strategies that have been proven to help Owner who smarter, not harder in their Salon business.
I founded Salon Owners Collective nearly 10 years ago as an online community with the mission of inspiring and empowering Salon Owners across the globe, to build a business of Freedom & Profit without stress and overwhelm. We have already helped 10+ Owners reach $1 Million+ success.