Heather Lea Ryan
How vital are coaches in our field?
Very- Whether you own a small business with 1 to 4 chairs or a larger salon with 30 chairs, there will come a time when other professional opinions and ideas will be needed in your salon.
Keep in mind the best owners will never know everything because when growth stops, so does creativity. So how do you know you require help or a mentor? When things start to get hectic, boring, and confusing.
Coaches can bring you to a starting point to help you decide what is vital for you and your shop. More classic examples of needing help would be shop stress between stylists- stagnant shop- and boss mental overload.
Some points can be easily fixed if you approach common problems differently. However, more often than not, you will need an outside guided fix to see the best results.
*You may need to get rid of staff.
Think of it like this – if your shop is a block of cheese, and there is one bit of mold- even if hidden- if it is not addressed or removed, it can wreak havoc on the whole block. The mold represents a staff member slowly infecting your business. So you see, sometimes looking at your business from a different angle will give you a clearer understanding of what is really happening in your shop. So take a step back and look at your business differently.
*Is your staff connecting with clients on products?
Sales are of enormous importance, and if they need help understanding this concept, here’s an idea. Take off all of the products from their station – make it fun- and sit them on your station, and before they can use any products – they have to tell you ‘why’ they need it. This will help them to understand and explain product knowledge.
*Boss mental overload
Imagine your business is a car, and you’ve not invested time or money into it. One day it will give out, crash or slowly die on you. If you can take care of a car- you can take care of a business. Wearing two hats is common in our business. You are the driver, and you are the mechanic. You will know when it has to go into the shop.
And the Coaches are for the – ‘I’m out of ideas – The business is growing too fast – and the -‘ I don’t know what to do next-I need help.’ Business owners.
Half of the people I know won’t even leave cookies unattended; indeed, you don’t expect a business to make itself! Ask for help – Find a like-minded coach or even an out-of-the-box coach. Either way, coaching is a fantastic Boom in our industry, and it’s for the people who have had to walk over the coals to give you the knowledge they’ve had to work hard for. Find one within your budget, but Do Not waste their time unless you are prepared to follow the advice.
The key is where do you find them? Get on Instagram- get on Facebook – link up with owner business sites. And, if you are serious about your shop – things will fall into place.
Best of Luck to all of you hard-working bosses
Heather Lea, Owner of Hair Loft on Linden
Owner of BookPressed ( A site built for the beginner writer )
whackedadventures.com 