[00:00:00] Antony Whitaker: Welcome to the Grow My Salon Business podcast, where we focus on the business side of hairdressing. I'm your host, Antony Whitaker, and I'll be talking to thought leaders in the hairdressing industry, discussing insightful, provocative, and inspiring ideas that matter. So get ready to learn, get ready to be challenged, get ready to be inspired, and most importantly, get ready to grow your salon business.
[00:00:27] Antony Whitaker: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Grow My Salon Business Podcast. I'm your host, Antony Whitaker, and as always, it's great to have you join us here today. And let me take this opportunity to wish you a safe and happy new year. Now, if you're like most people, then you probably have made New Year's resolutions, either this year or perhaps in previous years.
[00:00:51] Antony Whitaker: And if you have, I hope that you achieved whatever it was you wanted, or if it's for this year, I hope you achieve whatever it is that you desire. Now, of course you can make resolutions and set goals and change direction in life at any time. It doesn't have to be limited to the beginning of the year, but January has always been a time to reassess and reinvent where you currently are and to set goals and make plans for how you're going to get there.
[00:01:20] Antony Whitaker: And those resolutions or goals might cover all manner of changes that you want to see in any area of your life. But I have a challenge for you, and that is that you make this year, 2024, the year of results. Not resolutions. So what do I even mean by that? Well, I hope that you've had a good break and that you've wrapped up 2023 on a positive note and that you are ready to make 2020 for your best year ever.
[00:01:52] Antony Whitaker: But let me ask you this, What does your best year ever even mean? What does your best year ever look like? Well, it can mean different things to different people. And it can mean different things depending on the part of your life that you're talking about. Meaning, you might make resolutions about your health, or relationships, or your diet, or hobbies, or your finances.
[00:02:15] Antony Whitaker: But regardless of what it is, Because of the fact that you're listening to this podcast, then that means that in all probability, you are a salon owner. And so when you talk about having your best year ever, there is undoubtedly going to be a financial component to that. Whether that's a total revenue number for the salon for the year, or a total profit percentage, or a figure that represents what you will personally earn 
[00:02:43] Antony Whitaker: from the business in 2024. And all those metrics, and more, are all important. And they're all numbers. And numbers are facts, they're not just feelings. And that is what makes numbers measurable. And once you start to measure them, then you start to track them.
[00:03:03] Antony Whitaker: And by tracking them, you start to see the cause and effect of the decisions you make and the actions you take. Meaning, if you do this, then that happens. And if you do something else, then something else happens. But let me just back up a bit and say that the first step to making 2024 your best year ever is putting a stake in the ground and saying, this is what I want to happen in 2024.
[00:03:32] Antony Whitaker: For example, let me share with you someone that I've had the privilege and pleasure to work with. And last year he had the goal of his salon generating 2 million in total revenue. 
[00:03:43] Antony Whitaker: Now, for the average salon, achieving 2 million in sales is a big number and he hadn't come close to it in previous years. But at the beginning of 2023, having that as a goal, it lit a fire under him and it gave everything he did that year, a focus and a renewed sense of purpose. Now, I'm going to cut to the chase, and I'm going to say that he didn't quite make it.
[00:04:09] Antony Whitaker: But he did come within a whisker of it. And so for 2024, he has already set a goal for 2, 100, 000, and I'm confident that he'll get it. But the important point that I want to get across is that he didn't stop by simply stating the goal and then assuming that the passing of time would take care of the result.
[00:04:30] Antony Whitaker: Because stating the goal, although it's a good first step. On its own, it's just wishful thinking, unless there's a strategy behind turning the goal into reality. Now, let me explain exactly what I mean. Once he'd set the goal, he broke that figure down into what he needed to do each quarter, then each month, and each week.
[00:04:52] Antony Whitaker: He knew he would have to average 40, 000 weeks. He knew how many stylists he had and what each stylist would have to do in sales.
[00:05:01] Antony Whitaker: He knew where a price rise was needed, and by how much, and for what specific services. He identified where the growth opportunities were, what products, what services and what stylists would have the greatest potential to step up. He built a recruitment plan around achieving the goal. He identified where further training was needed and implemented that training as it was needed.
[00:05:28] Antony Whitaker: And most importantly, he monitored the results throughout the year and kept tweaking his approach as life happened. And as I say, he missed the 2 million goal by a whisker. But here's what I want you to think about. He probably did at least 100, 000 more than he would have if he didn't have that goal and go through the process of planning for growth.
[00:05:54] Antony Whitaker: You see, most people are good at setting a goal. That's the resolution part, meaning that they resolve to make something happen. Whether it's how much they want to weigh, or something in their life that they want to start or stop. Or perhaps it's a goal about how much they want to generate in revenue. But the most common reason that they don't achieve the goal is that they don't think through
[00:06:19] Antony Whitaker: what the steps are that need to be put in place to make it a reality. That's the strategy part. That's the process and the systems and the checks and balances along the way that need to be put in place to make it not just a resolution, but that you actually achieve the result that you want. You see, setting the goal or making the resolution is the easy part, but coming up with the steps and identifying all the things that will need to be put in place along the way isn't nearly as much fun or as exciting as imagining the end result.
[00:06:56] Antony Whitaker: But it's the implementing of the process that turns the resolution into a result. So you need to ask yourself the right questions and come up with the answers to the questions like what is the timeline?
[00:07:10] Antony Whitaker: What are the milestones along the way? What are the key performance indicators that you'll monitor? Is it the client count? Is it rebookings? Is it average bill? Is it client retention rates? Is it the number of new clients? Because, well, they're all important, but what will be the things that will move the needle the most for you?
[00:07:32] Antony Whitaker: What will have the most impact on whatever your goals and ambitions are? What are the benchmarks that you need to have in each quarter? What are the benchmarks that you need to have monthly and weekly? And how much will each operator be responsible for? And who or where specifically will the growth come from?
[00:07:55] Antony Whitaker: Will the growth come from services or will it come from products? If it's services, what services? Will there be any new services offered? And if so, what will those services be? What additional marketing will be needed? And what training will be needed? And who's responsible for doing the training? And are there any other resources that will be needed?
[00:08:15] Antony Whitaker: And what additional investment needs to be made and how will you monitor and track the results on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis? And what incentives and rewards will you have in place? And how will you celebrate the wins both at a personal and company level as you progress throughout the year?
[00:08:37] Antony Whitaker: Because the answers to these and many more questions are what will determine whether or not you will achieve the result that you desire. The thing is that as a salon owner, you have multiple roles and responsibilities, and inevitably you will be more effective in some areas of business ownership than others.
[00:08:58] Antony Whitaker: But what's really important is that if you want to succeed, if you really want to turn your resolutions into results, then as a salon owner, you can't just focus on the things that you like to do, or that you might be good at. You have to take what I call full ownership of your business. And one area that is often the Achilles heel or the weak spot in many salon businesses is the area around the numbers in business.
[00:09:28] Antony Whitaker: Oftentimes it's understanding the numbers that is the area that some salon owners just want to ignore. And so they work on the basis that if they just work really hard behind the chair doing hair, then with a little help from lady luck and cross fingers, then there will always be enough money to pay the bills.
[00:09:45] Antony Whitaker: Alternatively, they want to outsource the financial planning and understanding of their business to their accountant or bookkeeper or some other expert who will tell them what needs to happen. And that's the problem. Because it's the numbers and understanding the financials of the business that is typically the area that salon owners want to outsource.
[00:10:08] Antony Whitaker: But the reality is that outsourcing and hiring experts to solve every challenge isn't possible or practical. But the problem is that many salon owners want to get someone else to do what they either say they don't have time to do or don't have the expertise to do. But the reality is that with business ownership comes that responsibility to understand what it really takes to grow your business.
[00:10:36] Antony Whitaker: And so even if you do outsource the bookkeeping, which in many cases, if not most cases, you should. But it's still important to recognize that your bookkeeper and your accountant are experts at bookkeeping and accounting and understanding tax laws, etc. Their expertise isn't about running and building your business.
[00:10:59] Antony Whitaker: Their expertise isn't about making you and your team more productive. Their expertise isn't about knowing what levers to pull to increase your productivity. As a salon owner, that's your job. Now, you don't have to do your bookkeeping and you certainly don't have to be an accountant, but you need to understand what is being done and you need to have an overview of your business and what the financial accounts for your business are telling you.
[00:11:28] Antony Whitaker: And when that light is turned on inside you, then you will not only feel empowered and in control. But you will understand and look at your business and the opportunities it presents in a totally different way. Most salon owners will already have an accountant, and many will also have a bookkeeper. So in most cases, let's assume that the information is all there.
[00:11:52] Antony Whitaker: And to complement that, most salons will also have a point of sale system. And although everyone has their favorites, let's assume that your point of sale system will also have a lot of great financial data about where your salon is strong, where the opportunities to improve are. And what you need to do is pull the numbers from your accounts and the numbers from your point-of-sale system and put them together in a way that makes sense and is meaningful.
[00:12:19] Antony Whitaker: to you because even if you had unlimited financial resources at your disposal and could outsource that job in order to get someone else to pull your numbers together into a simple dashboard that would give you what you need, the reality is, is that you are the best person to do it. You know your business better than anyone else.
[00:12:43] Antony Whitaker: And so, you have to get resourceful and learn and take responsibility and take total ownership for what is happening in your business. And do you know what? Surprisingly, it's not nearly as difficult as you might think. And as you increase your level of financial understanding and learn to work with a few simple benchmarking and budgeting and forecasting tools, then the insights that it will start to give you into your business will be far better than what anyone else can do for you.
[00:13:17] Antony Whitaker: Because I know that you know your business better than anyone else. And when you start to look at the numbers in your business in a way that makes sense to you, then you can set goals and develop the strategies needed to take your business forward. And as a business owner, that's your job. So where do you start?
[00:13:39] Antony Whitaker: Well, let's start by saying that the first thing that you need to do is to accept that that is your responsibility. And the second thing you need to do is to trust that with a little help and some work on your part, that you have the ability to master the financial side of your business with the same confidence that you mastered the hairdressing side of your business.
[00:14:00] Antony Whitaker: And that begins with you. Making a resolution that this will be the year that you take control of the financial side of your business in order to get the results that you want. Now, as you probably already know, as a very successful hairdresser and former multi salon owner, I have developed an online money course with the goal of helping salon owners just like you to master their understanding of the numbers in business.
[00:14:29] Antony Whitaker: And to take control of all the necessary financial aspects of running and growing a successful salon. It's not about turning you into a bookkeeper or accountant. It's about giving you the tools and developing your understanding of the financial aspects so that you're in control of your financial future.
[00:14:50] Antony Whitaker: The fact that the course is online allows you to work through it at your own pace with the support of myself and other salon owners that are also going through the course. Now the course opens for enrollment on January the 15th and it's only open until January the 25th. So if you want to find out more about it and get priority notification, then join the waitlist at growmysalonbusiness.com/course/money. And I'll make sure that I put that link in today's show notes. So we need to start wrapping up this episode, if you want to find out more, then visit us at growmysalonbusiness.com or on Instagram at grow my salon business. And I will put those links in the show notes for today's podcast.
[00:15:41] Antony Whitaker: So to wrap up, thank you for listening to this week's episode of the grow my salon business podcast. And until next week, take care and let's make this the year that you turn your resolutions into results. 
[00:15:55] Antony Whitaker: Thank you for listening to today's podcast If you'd like to connect with us you'll find us at Grow My Salon business.com or on Facebook and Instagram at Grow My Salon business And if you enjoy tuning into our podcast make sure that you subscribe like and share it with your friends Until next time this is Antony Whitaker wishing you continued success