Most certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic tested the resolve of
salon/spa owners at levels never seen before. But in many ways, that’s what succeeding in business is — a test of your resolve.

But even in the best of times, owning and leading a salon/spa
business is no walk in the park. There are good times, tough times, and, most certainly, times when your business can just feel stuck.

Once-in-a-century “shared” experience …

The pandemic forced all owners to experience a seriously tough, high-stress time, together. Social media and Zoom quickly became an owner’s lifeline for sharing ideas, learning, and, most of all, camaraderie.

And then there’s going it alone …

Pandemic aside, how a salon/spa business succeeds, struggles, or fails, is its unique journey. Growth is exhilarating. Coasting is frustrating. Shrinking is excruciating.

The arrival of spring means the harsh winter is behind us. Days are warmer. The smell of freshly cut grass is in the air. Flowers are blooming. New leaves fill the trees.

For salon/spa owners, spring 2021 brings the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and signs the pandemic is nearing its end.

Take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. Your salon/spa business made it through the worst of the pandemic. But as you certainly know, there’s much work to be done.

FACT: The pace of change is relentless and always increasing.

In this week’s blog post, we offer a simple assessment of the state of your business. Not a big overwhelming checklist, just some thoughts on how you need to focus your leadership to make the rest of 2021 the best it can be.

If your salon/spa is growing:

Kudos to you for building a business capable of emerging from the
pandemic not only in good shape — but growing.

• Celebrate the enviable state your business is in with your entire team: Make it an evening celebration in your salon/spa. Nothing fancy or expensive. Take an hour to say, “We survived COVID-19,” and give a huge “thank you” to your team. Ask each team member to share his or her thoughts on what this journey has been like. Once a few start sharing, the floodgates of grateful emotions will open. Think of this as a pressure valve opening on a pressure cooker. Everyone, especially you, will appreciate the release of pressure.


• There’s always room for improvement: It’s great that your business is growing, but that can change in a heartbeat. What are those one or two essential change initiatives you need to focus on for the rest of 2021? Just one or two because getting essential changes to stick takes focus, leadership, information flow, new systems, and behaviors.


• Think of this as your “good to great” opportunity. Build on your company’s strengths.

• Coasting means that you and your business are stuck in the comfort zone: Status quo is the order of the day. Good is good enough is the thinking. Sense of urgency is dialed back, and no one is breaking a sweat. Snap out of it. And the leader is always the one that needs to snap out of it first.


• Why coasting is dangerous: Once a business starts coasting,
  behaviors devolve into lower levels of performance. Once behaviors devolve, it takes a lot of leadership energy to get the right behaviors back on track. It’s the same as falling out of an exercise routine or diet. It’s all about team discipline, getting the fog out of your culture, and you stepping back up as the leader.


• Once again — snap out of it.

• Shrinking means your revenues are decreasing, critical numbers are heading in the wrong direction, and cash flow sucks: You’re overdue for a brutal reality check because your situation is not going to improve unless you — the leader — take decisive action.


• Find the elephant(s) in the living room: You know the elephant(s) is there. It’s not a pet or your friend. Stop feeding it peanuts. Too many owners get used to the elephant(s) and choose to ignore it. The problem is, the elephant(s) gets bigger until it slowly stomps your business to death. Got it? It’s not going to get better until you decide to step up and be the leader your company needs.


• You’re going to need help: You already waited too long. You’re probably too close to the problem to see the solution. And just so you know, there’s no quick fix for a business that’s shrinking. Strategies can help. We’re really good at turnaround situations. Click here to get started.