Luck Comes from “Consistency over time’"

By Lisa Conway, the Zing Project

If I had one wish for all of the beautiful salon and clinic owners I meet, it would be to understand that there is no “one thing’, no one trick when it comes to building an amazing business.

All through the pandemic, I never missed a beat, reinventing my business and like most of us pivoting on a dime. Like you I have not had a break in fact I’d say I have worked harder than I have in years. If you want freedom of time, an incredible team and to be making substantial money then you need to understand that those three come from consistency over time.

Many are searching for that ‘one thing” - the bit that’s missing. It’s the exact opposite to the one thing, it’s many little things. The many one percent of changes, the tweaks that make all the difference. Things like a well-educated team, a strategy for rebooking, a strategy for your “refer a friend program”, a script for answering the phone, your team meeting rhythms, a bonus system to reward excellence. The first tweak to make is to acknowledge that you are not where you hoped you might be or would be by now, and that’s ok. It’s not easy to say you need help but thinking it’s related to your good or bad luck isn’t helping.

Sadly we are expected to know things that we were never taught. I had no training at all when I opened my business so of course I was just guessing my way through every week. There is no way you would let anyone work on your clients without proper training so why do we think it’s ok to guess how to run a business?

Everything is figure-outable, but you need to be honest with yourself first. Running a business can be stressful and too much stress can make you sick. So simply wanting your luck to change, is in my opinion childish and I have always said “business is a game for grown-ups”.

I don’t think there is any such thing as luck. I think that every decision you do or don’t do puts you in a position that allows luck to fall or not fall on you. Think of it like a game of chess. Every move places you in a position to either win or lose the game, true? Hard work, hustle, procrastination and avoidance are all moves and all steps toward being lucky or not. My mum had this wonderful saying that was a fabulous reality check.

She wasn’t a mum who shouted orders she wanted us to come up with the answers ourselves. She wanted us to think for ourselves. Her magic words were “what if everybody did that?”. It didn’t matter what she was referring to it was always the same. It was her way of getting us to check in on our behaviour.

Would your actions make the world a better place? Would your making a decision to stay home from a party at the last minute be fair? “what if everyone did that?” If you stayed back and cleaned up after the party. “what if everyone did that ?” If you were always at work 20 minutes before the clients arrived. “what if everyone did that ?” If you threw your rubbish out the car window, if you were late to school, if you didn’t show up for netball training. Do your actions make the world a better place?

Mums ‘what if everybody did that’ thinking can easily be used in your business . What if everyone on the team took pride in their appearance, if everyone was to recommend home skin care or what if everyone was to consider what the clients really need rather than just doing what the appointment book says? What if we thought more about the outcomes, if everyone told the clients about the loyalty program, what if everyone prescribed skin care for the client to take home? What if every client was enrolled into your salons refer a friend program or if everyone on your team spoke with kindness and respect?

All of those things are the one percent that will add up to one hundred percent that’s about being consistent. Doing the things you know you should do and considering how that affects others and doing it consistently over time is the way forward It varies a little from salon to salon however if you drill down on what salon owners really want, it always falls into these magic three, Time, Team and Money, and it’s the little things you do around those three things that will get you lasting change.

1. Making sure you get some well-earned time out. Some YOU time is needed to recharge.

2. Making sure you check in with the team by doing the weekly one to one meetings, showing them you care. Make sure they feel your appreciation.

3.Most importantly, know your salons numbers.

Focus on those three things consistently over time and luck will land smack bang on you. There isn’t a magic fix. There never was. Any success is always about consistency over time. You will make mistakes - everybody does.

You will lose team and get a tax bill you didn’t see coming, however if you are consistent with your belief that you can have a better life you can. Business should bring you joy, and it should allow you to have freedoms you didn’t have when you worked for someone else, things like picking up your children from school and having spare money in the bank and extra for a holiday.

This is what happens when you do the work. It is the small changes that you’ll need to make which will create the biggest impact in your business and the way you do that is be consistent over time. Lean into the discomfort of learning.

There is no other way. Get the help you need to be the best salon owner you can be and don’t let another year go by hoping for a lucky break. Make it happen by doing all of the wonderful things you know you should be doing and do them consistently over time.

All the best you awesome thing! Lisa x For more salon wisdom, email me at lisa@zingcoach.com.au, visit my website, find my video tips on YouTube or read my books, all available in paperback, eBook, and Audio www.thezingproject.com.a