Five Ways to Prepare Your Business for Today’s Unknowns
If we have learned anything from this pandemic, it is that we must prepare ourselves and our business for any hurdles and unknowns that may be thrown our away. For the last 7 months, each day we face a new uncertainty and a new challenge and the worst thing you can do right now for your business is to sit tight and wait for the storm to pass. That method may be suitable for some of the challenges you face in your personal lives but when it comes to business, you need to develop a rock solid strategy and attack the threat head on. With a problem that seems to have no end in sight, watching the clock and hoping for sunny days again will get you nowhere except in debt and in trouble.
Luckily, there are a few ways to outsmart today’s business unknowns. If you’re ready to take back your business and your mission, follow these steps and you will be well on your way to not only overcoming the COVID-19 influenced obstacles but also preventing new ones from arising.
1.) Have a ‘Winning’ Mindset
You know the old adage, “Your vibe attracts your tribe”? Well, the same holds true for business. When you take on a winners’ mindset and start think more positively and more purposefully, that type of energy and response will start to overflow into everything you do. Hunkering down and taking the easy route is no way to lead your business through a crisis of today’s magnitude. You need to set a goal for you and your team and you need to share it with them. Show them your passion and determination to get your business back on track and soon after, you team will soon follow in that mindset. Say things like, “WE are going to beat this”, and “I have a plan to get US back on track and ahead”. Including your team in on the strategy will not only ensure that everyone is on the same page and striving for the same goal but there is always strength in numbers. Team members will also feel valued if they feel that they are an essential piece to the solution.
2.) Protect Your Productivity
During times like these, productivity is key to resilience. However, in order to efficiently keep your productivity levels high, teamwork also has to be consistent. Your goals now should be different than they were prior to the nation shutting down. Instead of primarily focusing on your top dollar services or top dollar programs, turn your focus more towards quantity across the board. Develop the mindset that “Everyone is responsible for every hour the salon/ spa has available for sale.” Push to fill hours instead of individual services because the more hours sold, the higher your productivity rate.
3.) Consistency is Always Key
Our industry is the wild child of the business world. We’re known for our individuality, our creativeness, and our overall versatile skill sets. There’s multiple ways to make it in this industry and so may avenues to venture down by beginning at different starting points and ending at different finish lines. With that being said, though we encourage self-expression and an entrepreneurial mindset, you cannot build a viable business and brand if everyone is just focused on themselves and their own growth. The beauty world allows for it’s professionals to set their own hours, charge their own prices, and dictate their own services but if each salon/ spa member is not working for the same business goal, your company will fail. Though the beauty industry has it’s creative differences from most other industries, they all are ran roughly the same. Think of your salon/ spa as a well oiled car, each employee a different car part. Each part is responsible for a different but imperative task that involves different materials, different movements, different speeds and positions. If even one of those parts malfunctions or stops working, the car itself (your business) is soon to follow. The goal of the car is to get from point A to point B, as quickly and safely as possible and even though each part has its own role in that process, it still is working towards the same end game.
4.) Business Ideologies
A lot of us may be asking questions about what’s to come next and how do I get my whole team onboard. Communication. Communication. Communication. Set up a “What? Why? When? How?” board. What is your goal? Why is that goal important to achieve? When do you want to have this goal achieved by and starting when? How are you going to make this happen? Writing your goals down is the first step towards making progress and getting your business back on track. Sharing those goals and your plans of execution with your team members is the next step in ensuring your goals are met. You are one company which means you are one team and together, you are working towards one goal– success! Instead of trying to tackle all of your problems at once, start with your most imperative and dedicate yourself to it until it is resolved. Why stretch yourself thin over 100 pennies when you have the chance to handle 4 quarters?
This pandemic has sprung a lot of uncertainties on all us and even more so on our businesses. If you want to stay ahead of the game and ahead of the unknowns, practice these 4 tips to help get you there. At Creative Images Institute of Cosmetology, we would not be where we are today without the countless, undying effort of our team. Though we all hold different roles, we are all striving towards the same goal which is the health and safety of everyone who enters our building and continued education for our students. For more information on what we’re doing as a business to keep this virus at bay, check out our post about our increased health and sanitation measures.
Stay safe and stay healthy and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
