[00:00:00] Antony Whitaker: Hey, it's Anthony Whittaker here, and welcome to today's episode of the Grow My Salon Business podcast. This is the weekly podcast for the ambitious stylist and salon owner. And every week I will bring either a guest onto the show or I'll dive into a new idea or revisit the foundations of what it takes to succeed in the salon industry today.
[00:00:25] Antony Whitaker: We'll also feature a range of industry startups and new ideas as well as initiatives from those more established people and brands. Now, some of them might at first sound a bit too niche, but we'll explore why they're worth keeping an eye on and how they'll reshape client expectations and how they'll be central to the future of the salon industry and perhaps even become the new normal.
[00:00:49] Antony Whitaker: And with every episode, my aim is to bring you practical and actionable opportunities that you can run with easily. today.
[00:00:57] Antony Whitaker: Now, hopefully you are also aware that we're doing an intimate live two day business school event on the 16th and 17th of March in the house of Sassoon, London. There is early bird pricing available and you can find all the details at growmysalonbusiness.com
[00:01:13] Antony Whitaker: forward slash course forward slash business school. And I'll make sure that I put those links in the show notes for today's podcast so that you can find out what it's all about. So with that said, on with today's episode. Now, for many salon owners, January is a time of the year where they're getting the team on board for a productive, a positive year ahead.
[00:01:38] Antony Whitaker: And a question that often comes up with one to one coaching clients that I have the pleasure of working with is, what is the best way to get the team excited about the year ahead? And as this is a topic that would help many people, I decided to repurpose it for this week's podcast episode. So, January is usually a time of new beginnings, it's where you let go of the year before and you set goals and launch new ideas for the year ahead.
[00:02:05] Antony Whitaker: But if goals and ideas are to turn into reality, then you need to get the team on side and excited about what the new year brings. And to get the team involved and on side means that you need to get everyone together for some sort of event. So, the first step is to be clear on the purpose as to why you're doing this.
[00:02:29] Antony Whitaker: Perhaps it's to give out awards and acknowledge achievements for the year that's just gone, or perhaps it's to launch new ideas, new goals and projects for the year ahead. Or maybe it's a combination of the two. Or is it to launch some new products and services? And if so, is there any training element to the meeting?
[00:02:48] Antony Whitaker: And are there any outside speakers that might potentially be involved? Now, in most cases, 
[00:02:54] Antony Whitaker: getting everyone together means it's probably an event to draw a line under the year that's gone and to involve the team in reviewing 2024 And setting business goals and objectives for the year ahead, as well as putting plans together for how to make those plans a reality. Now, once you're clear on the purpose, then it's much easier to get clear on how much time you need.
[00:03:18] Antony Whitaker: Meaning, is it just going to be an hour or two or is it a half day or even a full day event? There's no right or wrong here, really just depends on the purpose that you have for why you're doing this. I'm sure you're getting the idea. Just be crystal clear about why you're doing this and make sure everyone is clear about what the meeting is all about.
[00:03:40] Antony Whitaker: Once you're clear on the purpose for why you're doing it and how long it will take, the second step is to decide when you're going to do it. For example, when it comes to when are you going to do it, I think I'm just scraping in with getting this episode to you because we're already well and truly into the second half of January. 
[00:04:00] Antony Whitaker: And ideally, I should have got this episode recorded and delivered the first week in January at the latest to give you time to get organized. Because in reality, any meeting that you're going to have with the team about 2025 should already have been done by now. But a little bit late is perhaps better than not at all.
[00:04:20] Antony Whitaker: The other thing when talking about when you're going to do it is the time of day. If it's just going to be an hour or two,
[00:04:26] Antony Whitaker: then I'm always going to say that you should do it in the morning when everyone's focused and ready for the day ahead, as opposed to at the end of the day when they probably want to get out the door as soon as they've finished the last client.
[00:04:39] Antony Whitaker: And so if it is just going to be an hour or two in the morning, then I'm always gonna suggest that you get some coffee and croissants and orange juice, et cetera, and perhaps make a little bit more special than just a regular team meeting.
[00:04:53] Antony Whitaker: The third step is to decide where are you going to do it. Now, in most cases, you're probably going to do it in the salon. In other instances, you might opt to do it out of the salon, whether that's a private room in a restaurant or a hotel venue or a conference center of some description. And although that's usually an additional expense,
[00:05:13] Antony Whitaker: remember that part of the reason you're doing this is to make sure the team feel special. And so this get together is important because you want them focused and feeling appreciated and excited about the year ahead, as opposed to it just being another weekly meeting in the salon where you'll probably have interruptions of phones and potentially clients wanting to come in, et cetera.
[00:05:38] Antony Whitaker: I'm sure you get the idea. The fourth step is to think about the structure of the day. Again, this will be influenced by the reason that you're doing this, whether it's wrapping up the year that's gone, or giving out awards and launching new products, etc. But let's assume that the primary objective is simply to wrap up the year that's gone and to get the team involved and excited about plans for the year ahead.
[00:06:03] Antony Whitaker: If that's the case, then there are a few questions to get everyone to focus on. The first is simply, what's working? In other words, looking back at 2024, what worked well for the business? What are the things that you as a business did that were moving the needle in a positive direction? And this is an important step to take because you can't make better decisions about the future without first reflecting on the past.
[00:06:34] Antony Whitaker: It's easy just to fall into the trap of not acknowledging all the good things and wins, both big and small, that you had as a team and as individuals. So taking the time to acknowledge the things that are working is a really important step in moving forward. 
[00:06:51] Antony Whitaker: And inevitably that brings us to the next question, which is what's not working? Meaning where, what, and who were you wasting time, energy, and money on that in hindsight simply wasn't working? Now, a word of caution here, because if something's not working, There's often a tendency to immediately want to stop doing it, and sometimes that's definitely what you should do, but that old expression, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, is important to consider here.
[00:07:23] Antony Whitaker: Meaning that whatever it is, it might be a good idea, it might have had value, but perhaps there are reasons why something isn't working that could be addressed rather than just discarding it completely. But if you've decided That something isn't working and it's wasting resources, whether that's time, energy, or money, then it makes sense to simply stop doing it.
[00:07:46] Antony Whitaker: So that might mean new products that you've initiated into the salad. It might mean new services that you were offering in 2024. It might mean new positions that you created. It might mean new client service systems or staff training systems, whatever it was. But the point is that this is the time to look at what's not working, ask why, and then either develop a plan to fix it, or alternatively, to make a plan to start winding it up completely.
[00:08:18] Antony Whitaker: You see. When you reflect on the year that's gone and get clear on those questions. What's working? Or, where did you shine? And, what's not working?
[00:08:29] Antony Whitaker: Where did you struggle? It enables you to set goals for the year ahead. Now, at the end of this process, you may very well have a long list of goals and objectives for the year ahead, but another word of caution here is that as the leader, another of your responsibilities is to narrow the list down and prioritize a maximum of two or three goals for the year ahead.
[00:08:54] Antony Whitaker: And that brings us to the fifth step, which is planning. Once you've narrowed down the two or three most important goals and objectives for the year ahead, you need to develop a plan to make it a reality. Stating the goal and getting clear on what that looks like really is just the beginning. It's just the first step.
[00:09:14] Antony Whitaker: Your plan needs to include. Actionable steps, deadlines, and accountabilities for who is responsible for the implementation and what those results are. Remember, the objective in taking the time to 
[00:09:30] Antony Whitaker: reflect on 2024 and plan for 2025 is that you will move forward with business and financial goals for the salon.
[00:09:39] Antony Whitaker: Reflecting on the year that's gone and planning for the year ahead helps you eliminate any distractions and it helps you to focus on what really matters so that you're not wasting time, energy and money on the things that don't deliver. And if that is to happen, you need your team involved and engaged in bringing about those changes.
[00:10:00] Antony Whitaker: So with that said, we are also about to reopen our money online course. So for those salon owners who are listening and recognize that money is an essential topic to master, then visit growmysalonbusiness.com forward slash course forward slash money. Because when you get clarity and have the confidence that you need to handle the financial side of your business, that will be the best investment that you have ever made.
[00:10:24] Antony Whitaker: So if you want to find out more, then go to growmysalonbusiness.com forward slash course forward slash money and join the wait list so that you will get priority notification as soon as enrollment opens. So once again, that's growmysalonbusiness.com forward slash course forward slash money. And I'll also put that link in the show notes for today's podcast.
[00:10:46] Antony Whitaker: So with that said, thanks for listening and I'll see you next week.