Did you ever stop to think that your business success totally relies on you building a brilliant team?
It’s true. Without a great team, you have a never-ending job for yourself and an everyday struggle to keep your head above water.
Your team is the heart of your business. Make sure this heart is healthy, strong and in great working
order.
How? Follow my step-by-step guide to building a dream team who will make (not break) your salon
business.
Step 1: Understand that cloning you is NOT the secret of salon success.
Do you sometimes think how great it would be if every one of your team members was just like you? You know, honest, punctual, skilled, professional, motivated, client-driven. How great would it be to have a few clones of you bringing you strong business and booming profits?
I ask you to think again.
Imagine if everyone in your business was just like you. Sure, you’d share the same strengths and qualities. You’d have your drive, ambition and vision in common.
So what’s the catch? Your weaknesses. You’d also share the same weaknesses – and that’s never a good thing for business.
You’d be supporting each other to procrastinate the same things, avoid the same challenges or constantly clash, depending on your personality You’d stagnate. You’d learn nothing from each other. You stay stuck in your shared comfort zone. Having a team of clones spells disaster for any business.
Step 2: Learn to see your team as a key resource for problem-solving
You need to understand that no one’s perfect, including you. Your business success depends on your ability to be flexible about new situations, teams and challenges. You need to be able to think outside the box and challenge yourself to find a solution you never thought of.
Let your great team come to your rescue, closing the gaps where you don’t have the experience or
the headspace to innovate, come up with new ideas or step back and take a practical, non-emotional look at issues.
Having a team where everyone is a mini-you does nothing to help you and your business grow in new and exciting directions.
Step 3: Identify your weaknesses.
Unlock the blockers holding your business back from flourishing.
Grab a notebook and pen. Draw a line down the middle. Title the left side ‘my strengths’ and the right side ‘my weaknesses. Start your list and keep going back over a few days or weeks to add new thoughts.
You need to step beyond your comfort zone and be super honest, to see yourself through an outsider’s eyes. Ask for input from people you trust. It’s not personal. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Knowing your weaknesses gives you the opportunity to correct them and grow. How great is that? At the same time, you get to validate your strengths. And that’s always a good thing. Don’t forget to congratulate yourself on the things you do well.
Step 4: Look for team members who can close the gaps.
Now you’ve identified your weaknesses, you have a list of desirable attributes for new team members. Your aim: close the gap on each of your weaknesses so together, you and your team form a well-rounded force to be reckoned with.
How does it work in practice? Try these pointers. If you’re a dreamer or ‘big picture’ person, you’ll need team members who can see the finer details of how you can get to your vision.
If you’re very logical and detailed but get lost in tasks, try teaming up with someone who’s more
creative.
If you get frustrated because you’re not good with time management, you need to delegate those tasks to someone in your team who’s good at planning and organising.
If you lack the time and patience to teach skills or educate your team, seek out someone who’d love to do that either as part of your team, or as an outsourced industry-based educator.
The principle here is to employ based on personality rather than skills.
Step 5: Surround yourself with people who are better than you.
Dare to find better hairdressers than you. That’s what smart business owners do.
Unfortunately, ego is still very strong in our industry. Many salon owners are working against themselves. They want to control everything in their business on a micro level. They think they know best and they know everything.
They don’t trust in their team.
Controlling everything is exhausting. Being in complete creative control is deadly and constant multitasking stops you giving anything your full attention. You can’t focus on doing important things right. Every task on your to-do list suffers.
Give your team freedom to be creative within your framework of processes and systems, and you’ll be surprised how innovative and professional they are.
Work with everyone’s strengths. Make it clear to each team member what their personal responsibility is within the team and how it relates to the team’s collective responsibilities.
I promise you: employing the right people can free you as a business owner.
You’ll create a lifestyle for yourself where you don’t need to be tied to the salon whenever the doors are open. You’ll be free to enjoy a holiday, or go on maternity leave, without constantly worrying about what will go wrong.
Why? Because you’ve built a confident, capable team who can take care of business, solve problems and keep your revenue and profit humming along.
Clever you!
For more salon wisdom email ZING Coach Adrienne Vargaadri@zingcoach.com.au or visit www.zingcoach.com.au