Are you driving the bus or are you a passenger?

Jan 19, 2012 No Comments by

Time for a reality check.

The Holidays are gone…Christmas is over…It’s back to work, back to school, back to business…

Today is the 19th January, by now you may have already made and broken your New Year’s resolutions. The Dictionary defines a resolution as, “the act of resolving or determining upon a course of action.” What planned, intentional course of action will you embark on to grow your business this year? As a Business Owner, 2012 stretches before you, and the question I want to ask you is, “Will 2012 be a better year for your Salon, or will it be the same as 2011 or 2010?”

The answer to my question depends entirely on you. The good news is that 2012 can be a good year. In fact it can be a great year for your business regardless of what economists and politicians say. Unfortunately for many Salon Owners, 2012 will be no different to 2011 and 2010 because truth be told, they are going to keep doing the same things they did last year while hoping for different results. That’s a recipe for disaster.

1. You have got to take responsibility

In December I had a conversation with a Hair Stylist who owns her own business. Her Salon is on the verge of closing, all her staff have walked out on her and her customers aren’t coming back. So whose fault is it? Well according to her it is the economy, her staff, her suppliers. It is everyone’s fault except hers. My question to her was, “Who’s in charge around here?”

One of the business principles I teach in our 2 day Salon Management course is, “Your business is nothing more than a reflection of who and what you are.” In other words, if you keep having staff problems it is because you don’t know how to hire, fire or manage people. If you don’t have customers it is because you don’t know how to market. If your Therapists are always late for work it is probably because you are always late. If your knowledge about marketing, management, finances etc. is limited, your business will reflect those limitations.

So, if you want your business to change then you must take responsibility for that change! Here’s the reason why – NO ONE IS COMING TO YOUR RESCUE! You alone are responsible for your own success or failure so take responsibility for yourself and your business. 2012 is here and if you are going to succeed you may have to kick yourself in the butt and recommit to getting up early, staying up late, doing new things and getting your hands on all the tools, the knowledge and the training that will give you an edge over the competition.  So you have a choice, make the commitment to get results or don’t.

2. Start doing what’s most important.

I just came across a great article from Mark Colos, a small business marketer in from the USA who made an interesting observation about Small Business Owners. “A Lobster when left high and dry among the rocks, does not have the instinct and energy enough to work her/his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to her/him. If it does not come, she/he remains where she/he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable her/him to reach the waves. The world is FULL of Human Lobsters: Men and women stranded on the rocks of indecision and procrastination who, instead of putting forth their own energies, are waiting for some Grand Billow of good fortune to set them afloat. We know what it takes to get your small business making BIG profits, gaining total control over all your employees, reducing your stress, and cut the amount of hours you are working. The number one reason people fail in small business marketing is because they never do a darn thing. They get the tools, they learn all these money making marketing strategies and then they don’t use them…”

You have access to great tools from Salon Management Studio but have you actually used them? A Salon Owner phoned me yesterday saying that she can’t afford to pay R425 for Salon Studio CRM. When I asked her if she had used her 100 free SMS’s she said no. I asked her how many ready-made email marketing campaigns, and birthday sms’s she has sent out. The answer – zero. I asked her if she downloaded and used the Salon Studio Marketing Calendar. Once again, the answer was no. When I asked why not, she very crossly stated “that she was too busy.” This is a case of a Salon Owner being busy with the wrong work. She was busy, but she wasn’t making money so what the heck was she doing?

Before you point fingers, let me ask you some important questions;

a. Have you sent out your first bulk SMS and Email of 2012 to all your clients yet? (Your competitor probably has)

b. Have you started your birthday and anniversary marketing for the year? (Your clients may end up at your competition on their birthday if you don’t)

This year, focus on what’s most important to your businesses success and say no to the rest. What could be more important than marketing – finding new customers and getting part customers coming back? No marketing = no customers = no cash flow. In fact, Ninety percent of the success of any business, product or service is its promotion and marketing.  Did you know that we have case studies of Salon Owners strategically using their 100 free SMS’s and consistently making R4000 plus profit from those monthly free sms’s? Click here to find out how to do this.

3. Get the help you need

In the December Holidays I read a report on the reasons why Salons fail. Reason number 5, “Your Salon is in trouble and you don’t ask for help.” Let me remind you that Salon Management Studio is here to help you. Using training and technology it is our job to help you build a better, bigger and more successful beauty Salon. Here is just some of what are doing to help you succeed.

  • This year we are doing everything we can to help drive consumers to your door. We have partnered with all4women.co.za, a leading women-focused website that is visited by more than 100 000 unique visitors viewing over 700 000 pages a month. To have your Salon listed on this site normally costs R350 – R500 per month, but for Salon Studio customers you get a free listing! As a Salon Studio Customer, your listing will include
  • Business Name and Logo
  • GPS coordinates for Google Maps
  • Your Salon Landline
  • Physical Address
  • Your Mobile phone & Your Salon Email
  • List of Services offered
  • Website link and or Facebook link
  • List of products used
  • Your trading hours
  • Gallery of 5 photos and lots more… 
  • Over the next 2 weeks, keep an eye out for Valentines Day Promotions for men, women, singles plus Moms and Daughters.
  • I am currently working on new video’s, articles and templates that will help you generate guaranteed revenue from Birthday and Anniversary promotions for SMS and Email. Look out for these in February.
  • How to get new clients to book in for their 2nd and 3rd appointments complete with ready-made, customisable email and SMS templates.
  • Last but not least, the boys over at R&D are working furiously on our Point of Sale software which we aim to release in the first quarter of 2012.
Salon Management

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