The New Year’s Eve celebrations are behind us. This is day six of a new year and a new decade.

It’s time to look ahead, lock in your goals, and get down to the business of growing your salon/spa.

To get your business and leadership juices flowing, answer the following seven questions:

1. What challenges do you want to leave in 2019? You can probably rattle off five or six without much effort. If cash flow was a challenge, what needs to be done beyond just cranking up revenue? If customer service consistency was a challenge, what needs to be done to ensure every client receives your brand experience? If productivity rate was a challenge, is it because you’re over staffed, sloppy appointment booking, inability to work within time standards, or something else? KEY: Every challenge has a solution and solutions require leadership decision making, information flow and accountability. The only reason to drag last year’s challenges into 2020 is to avoid making decisions. Get it done.

2. What’s your plan to grow your business in 2020? Working harder doesn’t necessarily translate into business growth. In fact, if you work harder on the wrong stuff, you’ll be spinning your wheels and getting nowhere. KEY: Business growth requires a plan. That plan needs to be broken down into quarters, months, weeks and days. Set your targets and completion dates and work backwards to the starting point. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate plan. In fact, one page is ideal. Get it done.
   
   
   


3. What are your two big change initiatives for 2020? If you have no big change initiatives planned for 2020, your salon/spa is officially operating in a comfort zone. It’s coasting and will eventually slow down and stop. Why just two big change initiatives? Because it creates focus. When change initiatives overlap, one or both will likely fail. KEY: Big change initiatives wake everyone up. Change initiatives create a sense of urgency that builds momentum. But change initiatives must be planned out and communicated so everyone knows the objectives and their roles. Get it done.


4. What’s your plan to upgrade your leadership skills in 2020? Sharpening your leadership sword just makes sense. It keeps you energized, builds self-confidence and expands your personal capabilities. KEY: Register for a business course, hire a business coach or read six leadership books. As a guide, think about the skills you’ll need to run a company that’s 10x the size of your company. Get it done.


5. What’s your plan to develop your leadership team’s business skills? A leader that chooses to wear all the hats is going to be frustrated and overwhelmed. In contrast, building and surrounding yourself with a capable leadership team accelerates growth through shared responsibility. KEY: Leaders that strategically let go of control actually lead better. It’s the simple act of divide and conquer. The more you develop their individual skills in their area of responsibility, the more you can focus on growth. Get it done.


6. What’s your plan to improve your time management skills? The entrepreneurial spirit is amazing. It can also be an incredible time waster. This is especially so for service provider owners that make the jump to full-time leadership. Without the appointment book to keep you busy, time evaporates. KEY: There are a multitude of project and day planners in both print and app versions that can keep you focused and on task. At Strategies, we use a cloud-based app called Teamwork. Basecamp is another great project planner. To work, there must accountability to completing tasks. Get it done.


7. What’s your plan to improve team information flow? Salons and spas are notorious for dismal information flow. A couple of team meetings a year is far from effective information flow. That’s why daily huddles are so vital. KEY: Daily huddles deliver “gotta know” information so everyone is on the same page. If you’re not doing daily huddles, information flow is not flowing. There are a number of fine apps to keep your team communicating. Teamwork offers Chat. There’s also GroupMe and Microsoft Teams. The less information flow, the more isolated and fragmented your team becomes. Get it done.