BLOG SPOT - By Sheridan Rose Shaw

Breakthroughs...

This past week I have experienced what feels like my toughest week in business. It has been one hard conversation after another. I fired my first employee. I said goodbye to a long-term employee and on Monday, my 5th hard deep conversation… I fired my now ex-designer and asked for a full refund. 6,000 dollars’ worth.

In almost all of these scenarios, I did things I wouldn’t normally do. I said BYE BYE to my chronic people pleaser who SOUNDED strong, SOUNDED confident, SOUNDED like a bad, boss bitch, but deep down, my heart was pounding!

My nervous system was shot, and I felt like vomiting in expressing my truth. Then, the GUILT kicks in. I began to feel guilty because I was focused on other people’s inner worlds and reactions, instead of focusing on the fact that I put my foot down for a damn good reason! I was being honest with myself and most importantly, I was being courageous!

It felt like an out-of-body experience as I leaned into being the person I’ve always dreamed of being, but the insides of my body felt like they were on the outsides and the feelings were HUGE!!!!!

I am someone who has previously run away from pain, discomfort or conflict using people, places, and things. It’s no surprise I ended up in rehab for having a low pain threshold.

Though 10 years later, clean, and sober, it has been BUSINESS [and a bucket load of mentorship] that has fast-tracked me to enlightenment because I have been faced HEAD on with my patterns of behaviour. Some hot, some not!

Business really is a series of fronting up. Over and over and over again. Doing the things you don’t want to have to do. Pulling people up on their behaviour, *including myself*. Making hard decisions that not everyone is going to understand, protecting yourself and trusting your instincts!

I’m proud of myself for being the person a lot of people are too afraid to be sometimes. I’ve had a lot of conversations lately with salon owners that are too afraid to put in boundaries due to the current shortage of hairdressers.

I believe, by putting in the required action your salon culture will only grow from strength to strength rather than holding on to someone that isn’t a mutual fit. In turn, comes great morale, respect for self and respect from others.

Sometimes the hardest, most uncomfortable weeks, can be the best weeks of your life. I call them breakthroughs. I celebrated all these breakthroughs by, buying flowers for myself [pink of course] and received the best gift of all – A deep sense of belief in who I am and where I am going. X