Taking Radical Responsibility

To quote the great Taylor Swift, ‘It’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me’.

I often get asked my views on the state of the hair and beauty industry, and it’s often in the form of someone pointing the blame, and trying to get my agreement, or backup, as an expert.

The usual suspects are: other professionals charging ‘too little’, and therefore ‘devaluing the industry’, the rise of self-employed people who are working mobile and from home, and so their lower overheads are making it harder for those with staff, premises and VAT bills, short/online courses who are lowering the standards, the economy in general, from the cost of living crisis to rising interest rates pushing mortgage rates up and making clients more mindful of where they’re spending their hard-earned cash.

Think the industry is going down the pan and wanna play the blame game? Take your pick, there’s plenty to choose from.

But one of the biggest culprits when it comes to why things feel hard, or that business feels like a struggle, is us. I see it time and time again with my coaching clients, Bosses in my online community, and it’s something I’ve personally worked through in my own business, with the help of my coach, mentor and therapist (because it takes a village, am I right?!)

This might feel like a kick in the teeth, but it’s actually great news, because guess who has control of you? Yep, you do! While you can’t control the economy, the competition, or the industry at large, there is SO much that’s in your control, which can have a hugely positive impact on your current situation.

For example, you are in total control of the price you charge (if you’re stuck on the numbers, check out my handy pricing calculator: www.bossyoursalon.com/bossyourprofits), you’re in control of your marketing, your social media, the services you provide, your working days and hours, your policies and your boundaries. 

So how might this look in the day to day? Let’s say you’re feeling down because yet another competitor has popped up in your area, charging buttons and having done a course that you feel isn’t up to scratch. Old you might have felt hopeless, like business feels like an uphill slog, and totally overwhelming and out of your control.

But the new you, takes radical responsibility and checks in with what’s in your control. You’re led by facts, not feelings. And the facts tell you that there are plenty of hands to go around, and your Rockstar Clients love what you do, and they aren’t looking for ten quid nails or a £20 colour. In fact, they’d probably have an awful mental image of what that looks like.

You block an hour out of your diary next week and you look over your numbers. You check your stock spend against your budget, you do an order where you utilise bulk discounts and don’t get swept away with impulse buys or ordering stuff you don’t need. You use a comparison site to shop around for your insurance renewal that’s up in a few weeks’ time. 

You check over your social media insights and see what’s been working, and you save yourself some time by scheduling some posts because you’ll be busy with clients next week, and you even repurpose some older content that performed really well.

Not so scary anymore, is it? In fact, it’s pretty liberating to check in with yourself when you start to slip into finger-pointing and playing the blame game, and take back some power, and take control of your situation.

I like to think of it as doing Maddi of the future a total solid, something she’d give me a high five for, for taking care of it for her, or making her life easier.

So, nail Boss, what’s in your control, that you can do right now, that your future self will be grateful for? 

Maddi x