VISION AND GOALS
Cosmetology is a competitive field. Committing yourself to a set of self-imposed rules is crucial to your success. You need to know what to do to improve overall efficiency, increase client referrals and keep your chairs filled. At the end of the day, the most important metric is your production numbers. The economy has affected many businesses, but you have opted for a career in a recession-proof industry, where your services will always be needed by the general public. However, that doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels. You have to take on your competition and ensure you get the lion’s share of customers. In order to increase your production, you need to build a business model that either you personally (or your team), follow religiously and improve on constantly.
In order to be ‘great’, you need a vision and to create clear-cut, achievable goals. Ask yourself where you want to be in one year, two years, five years, etc. You can’t operate effectively without a vision. You can’t just simply hope that things will magically flow without direction. Put your vision in writing. If you dream of owning your own salon, draw a floor plan of what it will look like. Paste photos on a vision board. Put your list and vision board in a spot you will see it daily.
Assess and write down every step you take on a ‘stairstep’ chart. Start your list from the bottom of the page and work your way up. Keep yourself in check and make sure you’re adding a step up often. People tend to be more motivated when they have either a personal or collective vision to work toward. Give yourself (or your team) a greater purpose for coming to work every day, rather than just simply putting in time.
Vision is your ultimate ‘destination’. Goals are the steps you take to get to that destination. You should be setting a minimum of ten goals annually. Write them down, give yourself a deadline for each one and stick to that deadline. Be sure they’re ‘measurable’ goals. If it’s only you, it’s easier to remain disciplined. If it’s a team effort, each individual needs to know what is expected of them and what their path needs to be in order to achieve said goals. When you assign goals to others, you are creating both commitment and accountability. It also makes it easier to measure what goals are in need of help.
As John Amico students/alumni, you aren’t just given a top education in your chosen field. You are given the business and sales education needed to ensure that you have the tools and leadership skills to succeed. You have to focus on consistently improving everything. Client retention, customer service, internal marketing, external marketing. Everything. You have to maximize every single opportunity with every single client. No exceptions. The most successful salons know that you must WOW the client on their first visit. This is critical if you want to retain them as clients and for them to refer their family and friends to you. Remember that every single day, it all starts with you. Your success will ultimately be measured by the steps you took to get there. No one’s steps but YOURS will get you to the top of the mountain.