20 minute read
Just One Thing By Julie Cross
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JUST ONE THING!
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By Julie Cross
You know how you get busy in life dealing with the big things, the important things and then all the not so important stuff that we let in, and then you notice there is ‘that one thing’... it isn’t that important, you can get through the day without it done, but it has been driving you crazy for ages and you wish you would just get it done! Well yesterday my ‘just one thing’ was to fix the clock in the car... it has been 7 minutes slow for four years, so last night I read the damn book, fixed the damn clock and I have got to tell you it was a very big relief!
And today my ‘just one thing’ is to clean the inside of the windscreen of the car.... every time I get in it and the sun shines on it I think I MUST do that, it drives me crazy...well today THAT will be out of my head! Perhaps if we got all this little stuff done we would have more space and focus to make the bigger things happen in our lives.
Then I got to thinking about this ‘just one thing’. Maybe the just one thing is a personal discipline, just one walk today, just replacing one thing that we love to eat that is unhealthy with something good for us, just one thing. Just one thought that serves me better to think, just one discipline that leads to another. Just washing up your one coffee cup in the staff room and putting that one shopping trolley back, just one thing… it all adds up and creates a momentum that makes a difference.
So, then if you take it a step further and bring that into the workplace, and perhaps we replace the ‘thing’ with an interaction, a smile, a moment of service. Just one smile can make a difference to the service you give. Taking a moment to recommend just one service that could solve a problem a client is having, or talk about just one product that can help a client look after their skin at home. Break all interaction down into that ‘just one’. So we can ask ourselves, “What is the one thing I am going to do, say or think today that will make a difference in everybody’s lives that I have contact with today?”. (And of course by default it will make a difference in yours too). Then suddenly that ‘just one thing’ becomes a 100 things and then we have improved by 100% , and all just by starting with one thing.
I was going for a walk the other morning and I lost my ING Credit Card, and in these days of tap and go it gives you a moment of concern. I had my phone with me so transferred the money from the account, just one thing. I walked back the way I had come and couldn’t find it. I quickly went back home to make the phone calls to cancel the cards, about a half an hour of time had passed. As I walked into the house the phone rang. I answered, “Hi, this is Julie” The person said, “Hi Julie, this is Leanne from ING!”… I was surprised for a moment and replied, “Leanne, I was just about to ring ING, how did you know that I had lost my card?” To which she replied, “Julie, the person who found your card rang us!” How wonderful is that. Just one person doing just one thing today to make a difference, finding my card, being a good human and taking the time to call ING, maybe even have to wait for a moment or two for a real person to answer the call, and report my card missing… maybe even cutting their walk short to do it. That person did that ‘just one thing’ and it made a difference in my life. And then ING, that customer service representative, doing her ‘just one thing’ and doing her job well, making the call to me, and sorting me out with a new card well before I even made the call.
Another moment recently, I was sitting in a café at a table on my own with my back to the rest of the diners. I was eating something hot and it was making my nose run… I had a couple of sniffles and blew my nose. The next minute I hear a voice from behind me, “Hi, there… would you like to come and sit with us?” It took me a moment before I realised she was talking to me as she got up and walked around to look at me. I then said, “Oh that is OK, I am just sitting here reading, but thank you so much for offering” She then told me that she was concerned I was crying and wanted to make sure I was OK. How wonderful is that? Just one thing, one gesture and what a wonderful moment of kindness it was.
And one more thing about ‘Just one thing’... just one thing you do for somebody else can make such a big difference in their lives... whether it is letting them merge into your lane in front of you in busy traffic, pick up something somebody dropped, giving a compliment to a stranger, saying thanks for great service... giving your car park to somebody... small things that we can do every day that can make a big difference in people’s day.
So, start with just one thing and then watch it ripple and avalanche into many wonderful moments, experiences and things! Sparkle on!
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HOW DO YOU, DO YOU? By Lisa Conway
The thing I learnt during lockdown is I haven’t been that good at prioritising me. The year 2020 taught me a lot about myself. Although not that I want to repeat the year that is about to end, there were a few defining moments for me. For the first time, I got off my self-imposed tread mill. I completely stopped both mentally and physically. Not because I wanted to but because the world did. The pandemic pushed me to look at my list of lifelong choices.
After the announcement of the first lockdown and making sure that the ZING team and the salons we coach were sorted I turned my focus probably for the very first time to myself. I was given the gift of time. Time to stay in the same place, to sleep in my bed every night. Time to sleep 8 hours every night, time to cook every meal I ate and the time to exercise.
For the first time in a very long time I was my number one focus. In my fifties now and having the kids all grown and the borders closed, it came down to just the dog and me.
Having been a hairdresser, a mother, a wife and a salon owner my focus has always been looking after others, I liked it that way, I had an excuse as to why I wasn’t achieving what I told myself I wanted. For the first time ever, I was out of excuses.
It started with chronic stomach issues that test after test revealed it was a mountain of stress. The G I specialist explained to me that my gut was trying to get my attention, she also warned me that if I didn’t take this warning sign seriously, I would end up with one health issue after another.
She also explained to me the cancer most common in hairdressers is bowel cancer. The connection they believe is the inconsistency with mealtimes and the speed at which we eat.
I left her consulting rooms and sat in my car for about 40 minutes going over everything she said.
Like a lot of women in the hair and beauty space I just keep going, kept putting my clients my work and my family first, I hadn’t really thought of the long-term damage I was doing to my gut health.
Breaking these 30-year habits hasn’t been easy but I am pleased to say I am making great progress. The results are showing up in many ways. My skin for one has never looked so bright. Four new habits have been the foundations I needed to set me up. They are as follows Adequate water, good food choices and digestion, daily exercise and adequate rest.
It’s not as easy as you might think. It has been difficult and breaking old habits was harder than I thought.
I started with drinking 2 litres of water by setting a reminder in my phone and a rule that with every dink of tea and coffee I must drink a glass of water first. Walking twice a day, and always drinking water on the walk.
Then I worked on taking the time to sit and take time to really enjoy my meals. That was tricky I was used literally throwing food into my mouth. In the salon I ate while I was mixing a colour in the back room. My digestion of food was terrible, and it stems from not chewing properly. Sleeping 8 hours straight also another challenge something that also stems from waking up to kids and working till 10 o’clock on the salon floor some nights and finding it difficult to unwind. Catching early planes to being too exhausted to go to bed. I think the last time I had a consistent bedtime I was eight! I heard a Ted talk recently that referred to most people being “tired but wired” and I was definitely guilty of that one.
I am pleased to say that by making these four things a priority over the past seven months I have made the foundational steps required to heal my gut. To say I feel good is an understatement. I feel brand new! I have a routine now and I am NOT going to slip back into old habits. I hope sharing my learnings inspires other hair and beauty professionals to carve out some time to prioritise you.
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.au
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20 TAKEAWAYS FROM 2020
By Paul Frasca
At the beginning of 2020, we launched our 5th birthday issue of The Green Chair Newspaper (the Sustainable Salons publication we circulate to our member salons) and it seems in that issue, Ewelina and I made a prophecy.
I know that’s a big call, but this is what we printed in our Founders message: “Sustainability is a ‘living thing’; the needs under People, Planet and Progress are constantly evolving. So we have to be adaptable, cohesive and brave, three things we think our growing movement aces every day.”
A month later, all hell broke loose and the needs of the people, our planet, and the progress of all economies and communities across the globe ‘evolved’ dramatically into something we didn’t see coming.
What we believed about our Sustainable Salons members then, couldn’t be more accurate now. Adaptable? Holy shit did they ‘pivot’, and still their eco-actions followed. Cohesive? Our network banded together and gave each other the support and stretchiness we all needed. And brave? When times got rocky, our members did not run from the bigger picture of what the sustainability mission is all about, instead, I actually feel like they became more determined and stubborn in their fight to uphold these values. It’s been incredible to watch.
So, on that note, I’ve decided to use this page to celebrate and highlight our 20 takeaways from the strange, hard, interesting, enlightening year that was 2020.
#20. Toilet paper is important to people. Very. Important.
#19. Video may have killed the radio star, but now it’s building businesses (ours included) and connecting families and friends.
#18. To all those who said it would never take off, the inventor of the QR code is finally saying “I told you so”. Therefore, if you believe that your business is valuable to your community, be relentless, be patient, and stay passionate.
#17. It’s important to stop and celebrate the small wins. No exceptions.
#16. Despite our reputation for being stuck in our ‘paper appointment book’, the hair and beauty industries can successfully operate, innovate and thrive in a digital world (I lost count of the number of salons I saw with shiny, new online shops and social media tutorials - amazing!).
#15. It’s possible for one month to feel like it’s taken a year to pass, and a year to feel like it’s gone by in a month... all at the same time.
#14. Only when all salons can’t open, are the true blondes finally revealed. And box-colour fails reach an all-time high.
#13. The planet CAN be healed. By incorporating new habits like more people working from home, less travel and a focus on local instead of global, we tread lighter on our dear Mama Earth and preserve her valuable resources.
#12. We think we want to live the carefree life (you know, Netflix on the couch every day), but home improvement sales and sourdough photos suggest differently. We’re hard-wired to have purpose.
#11. On the flip-side, we now know that R&R is just as vital.
#10. Necessity IS the mother of invention… and entrepreneurship and leadership and collaboration. Don’t ignore the signs and just ‘make do’; create what you need.
#9. Greeting each other awkwardly is the real new normal. Are we still elbow-bumping? Do we just stand and wave at each other? A smile and a head-nod? I still have no idea.
#8. Mental health is an incredibly significant part of sustainability. We’ve been reminded again that empowering strong communities is about providing for physical needs AND enabling inclusive, meaningful connections. Social distancing, ‘lockdowns’ and cancelled events could be our reality for the foreseeable future, so we must get smarter about reaching out and staying connected.
#7. On that note, we’ve also been reminded that the hair and beauty industries are a powerful resource for human connection and wellbeing. And now our governments know this, too.
#6. Even though it might feel unnatural, adding a ‘positive spin’ to a crisis can be effective. The pandemic brought businesses to a halt, but it also forced space and clarity for fresh, new growth. The struggle was real for so many of us, but we hope that your business, like Sustainable Salons, is emerging with renewed vision and a super exciting horizon!
#5. Fashion will inevitably follow function; nothing is off-limits, even PPE.
#4. The urgency for a solution to single-use hygiene products has reached critical levels. BUT, there’s always something we can do to lessen the impact in some small way… maybe it’s choosing the biodegradable option or opting for refillables instead of individuals.
#3. Be useful. If it’s not possible for you to do what you’re best at, then just do something useful. This simple concept ticks so many boxes!
#2. It’s okay for the focus between people, planet and profit in sustainability to shift. We’re often preoccupied with thinking the environmental problems should always be our priority, but 2020 forced the entire world to bring public health and economical smarts to the forefront.
#1. Perspective is everything. Even when we might have had a tough run, our communities are still ready to sacrifice what we can for someone doing it tougher. For Christmas, we gifted our members a charity donation on their behalf… we’ve never received so many thank-you notes.
> BUSINESS WHEN THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY ZIG’S, HOW DO YOU ZAG? By Robyn McAlpine
It’s no secret that the last 12 months in the beauty industry have been a like twenty car pile-up on the freeway. It’s been that year where you think “well it couldn’t possibly get any worse” and surprise, surprise, it did!
Despite a global pandemic taking a massive proverbial dump on all things beauty, I’m both proud and grateful to be part of this industry and in such a short space of time, have seen the best and the worst of it.
At the time of writing this, I can safely that we’ve made it through the wilderness. We’re starting to get back on our feet and return to what we love. Making skin great again.
But what if things have changed? What if the love is no longer there, or your little dwindling spark is only slightly hanging on, hoping there’s not yet another gust of wind to blow it out for good.
It could be that your employment status changed with less hours or the hours dried up completely? Perhaps now that the treatment floodgates are open, you’re so rushed off your feet and reaching burnout that the thought of another brow wax squeezed into your column tempts you to wax the left one off completely and go full Britney. No? Just me then?
Either way, I think the last 12 months have had even the biggest beauty industry diehards (i.e. me) considering a complete career change.
So as a beauty therapist how do you pivot to adapt when all of a sudden, things just aren’t ringing your bell anymore?
How do you know if it’s just exhaustion and burnout or if it really is the shake-up you need to enrol in that fine arts degree or pimp out your caravan and hit the road? dwindling flame.
Perhaps I can help you to see that this year isn’t the year to be making a regrettable decision to leave something you once very much loved (and probably still do!)
Remember when you came into this industry, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Our shiny, glamorous industry was so full of opportunities. Well, there’s no time like right now to look through your ‘newbie therapist’ eye and fall in love all over again. (and if this was your first year in this industry, please, don’t hold it against us! It’s not always like this! I promise!)
I get it. It’s easy to fall into a rut spending all day waxing hairy bits and digging stray toenail clippings out of your cleavage, whilst sipping a reheated coffee (for the third time) as you race into your tenth massage for the day. We’ve all been there and it’s enough to snuff out all the passion and then some!
But what if there was more to beauty than this?
Wait for it… there is!
Let’s look at where you are now and what directions you could move to, to reignite that love.
You’re a therapist but you’ve hit autopilot. If you’re hands on treating clients and you’re feeling like you need a challenge it doesn’t mean leaving the treatment room altogether. But aside from doing a facial while standing on one leg, how much more challenging can it be?
Time to mix it up a little. Learn a new skill. Not only will it round out your capacity as a therapist, it will help you to feel like you’re always evolving. Having variety in your skill set means you can think outside the box of the 5 step hum, drum facial that bores you to tears after 4 in a row.
I’ve just recently learned a method called Qi Beauty. It has challenged my knowledge and expanded upon my corneotherapy foundation. Being so new to me, I’m using more of my brain. Instead of just going through the motions of yet another facial, I am thinking about what I am doing with each step and learning with each new treatment I do.
Perhaps you could dive deeper into a new product range or revisit training of the brand you have. What products aren’t you using that you forgot even existed? Retraining always stirs up some passion and reminds you why you love the range you work with. It also gives you a chance to bounce off other therapists and see how they’re doing it in their salons.
Learn a new technique and put it into your daily practice. Gua Sha tools have made a comeback. Are you just jumping on the trend and winging it from what you saw on a YouTube video or is there a course that will help you be the best darned Gua Sha therapist in all the land? Same goes for all tools of your trade! Best the best and chuck out the rest. Enrol yourself into a skin education course. There are so many available to us now and having a strong base understanding of skin cell anatomy is something you’ll carry for life. It will be adaptable in every beauty job you could ever have. Product brands may come and go but skin cells, they’re forever!
No longer feeling the treatment room vibe? How great that you’ve identified that being hands on is no longer revving your engine. It doesn’t mean that your time here is done. Bye Felicia. No way! Instead, it opens up a whole world of options you may never had realised were there.
It’s the perfect opportunity to look at your strengths and the things you did love about being in the treatment room or on the salon floor.
Love the thrill of the chase in retail?
What about learning how to support a business as a sale rep and taking your skills on the road? Look at brands you love and that align with your therapist ethos. Get your foot in the door and away you go.
Not keen to be on the road? Why not look wider at the retail beauty industry of retail stores and online stores. You might love the back end of warehouse distribution and customer support. Having therapist experience could really support an established business needing a more skilled person on the floor.
Love teaching your clients about their skin but want to take it to the next level?
Education is such a huge part of our industry, now so more than ever.
Look at all our incredible education spaces. From government RTO’s to private colleges to brand specific education. It’s no secret that some training schools are challenged by turning out confident therapists. You could play part in equipping new graduates in feeling ready to take the salon floor from day one! No more out of touch trainers. You’ve been there, done that and bought the t-shirt.
Do you enjoy supporting your team mates and getting to the know more about business?
You might have what it takes to be a kick ass salon manager. If people skills, leadership and understanding numbers is what does it for you, it might be time step into the responsibility of supporting a business owner in running the show. A great boss would welcome you to step up to the plate as their 2IC, helping lead the team and build the business.
I love this option if you still want to be connected to the treatment room whilst taking on more responsibility and supporting your team to be the best therapists they can be.
Right now, so many salon owners are looking for someone who can juggle it all whilst keeping their cool and lifting up the team. If this is you, what are you waiting for? Now is your time!
See, already I can see your little fiery flame growing! You just needed someone to come and fan it a little, show you that there’s more than what you’ve experienced this year and help you see an even bigger, beautiful picture.
But if you still feel like you’re ready to hang up the wax strips, that’s ok. As long are you are chasing something you love. Just know that you’re leaving a lovely ‘you’ shaped hole in our industry. We’ve loved having you here and we always will so if you change your mind, know you’ll always be welcomed with open arms and probably still, a twice reheated coffee between clients!
