364 What Does Your Business Need From You?

Welcome back and welcome to another episode of the Grow My Salon business podcast. I'm your host, Anthony Whittaker, and it's great to have you join us here today. Last week's podcast was called Keep It Simple. And in that episode, I talked about the fact that when you look at really well-managed businesses, everything seems to work well together. There's clarity, there are systems, people know what they're doing, and there's a rhythm to how the business operates. And I used the metaphor of a jigsaw puzzle where every piece has a purpose and every piece connects with everything else around it. I also talked about something that I refer to as joined up thinking because nothing in a business exists in isolation. But I finished last week's episode by saying that before you can manage your team, your systems, your clients and all the other moving parts in a business, there is one thing that you need to learn to manage first. And that is yourself. So that's where I want to pick up today, because when most people hear the word management, they immediately think about managing other people, managing the team, managing performance, managing somebody who keeps turning up late, managing somebody who isn't hitting targets, managing the receptionist, managing the assistants. But management starts long before any of that happens. It starts with you, because whether you like it or not, as the owner or manager, you set the tone. Your behavior matters. Your standards matter. Your communication matters. Your ability to make decisions and follow through matters. And your ability to manage your own time, energy, and priorities matters. You can't expect clarity from the people around you if you're constantly changing direction. You can't expect people to be organized if you're disorganized. And you can't expect accountability from your team if you don't hold yourself accountable. Now, I'm not saying that to beat anyone up. I know how hard you work and how honourable your intentions are. But I do say it because that was part of my journey too. You see, like most salon owners, I didn't wake up one morning knowing how to manage a business. I learnt it by doing. Sometimes well, and sometimes I don't mind saying really badly. Sometimes by getting things wrong and sometimes wondering why people weren't doing what I wanted them to do. Only to eventually realize that perhaps I hadn't been nearly as clear as I thought I had and should have had in the process. And I think that's one of the first responsibilities of management, learning to look in the mirror occasionally and ask, what am I doing that actually helps this business? And what am I doing that in reality gets in the way of progress? One of the biggest challenges for any salon owner or manager is that there's always something that needs to be done. There's always another email, another client issue, another team question, another supplier. Something is broken. Someone's called in sick. The website needs changing. or the accountant needs something and perhaps it's the toilet that needs fixing. And then of course, if you're working behind the chair, there's a client waiting for you as well. So you can be