June - Stylist and Salon Newspapers

Design Your Dream Career and Be in Charge of Your Own Destiny
“What I’d like to share with beauty professionals
is that you really can design your
own dream career.”
“Taking the most important step is often
the hardest -- simply believing that you can
do it,” declared Lauren Gartland. “Sometimes
our biggest obstacle to overcoming challenges
and reaching our goals is simply our belief in
ourselves and our abilities.”
Founder of Inspiring Champions, a business
training and coaching company specializing
in the professional beauty industry,
Gartland works with thousands of salon and
spa professionals each year to help them
dramatically increase their income while
achieving a work-life balance.
“To begin taking charge of your destiny,”
Gartland explained. “create a vision statement
for your life. Write down in very precise language
your ideal day and the type of business
you desire.”
“Include details; exactly how much
money do you want to earn? Often, salon and
spa professionals don’t yet see the true potential
of how much they are capable of earning
or they may have the subconscious belief that
they aren’t worth it.”
She urges beauty professionals to aim high
-- with the goal of doubling their income, or
specifically to earn $100,000 or more. By using
professional salon systems, creating a business
plan and executing it, monetary goals become
very real and attainable.
In your vision statement, consider what
type of clients you want to attract to your salon
chair. Make a list of their qualities. Once
you do this, you will soon start recognizing
your ideal clients all over town, much like
when you buy a new car and you start seeing
that car everywhere. When you identify your
ideal client, you will start to discover them.
Gartland stressed that you need to take action
to find those new clients, not just sit and
wait for them to find you. “The first step is to
realize that you can actually choose your own
clients. The type of client you choose will
determine the money you make and whether
you work harder or you work smarter.”
Gartland goes on to explain how you
don’t have to settle for whoever comes along
and sits in your chair, but can take action
by actively prospecting for new clients on a
regular basis. This requires getting out into
your community, introducing yourself to new
people and inviting them to do business with
you, as well as taking a fresh look at people
you already know.
Think of your business like a farmer. A
farmer knows that if they never plant any
seeds, they will never get a harvest. They also
know that if they just plant a few seeds, they
will only receive a small harvest. To attain a
large harvest, they need to plant lots of seeds.
Ask yourself, what is one action step you
can take in the next 24 hours to support you
in attracting more new clients? What action
step can you take in the next week to support
your goal? What steps can you take in the
next month?
Perhaps in the next day you can start looking
into a professional networking group you
can join to meet new people. In the next week,
you could get new business cards made up that
really have a wow factor that grabs people’s
attention. In the next month, start attending
some functions and pass out those cards.
Always have your business cards on hand
and regularly give them out. Based on a ten
percent return rate, giving out two cards per
day, five days a week over a 50 week period
would get you 50 new clients. If you want
more clients, then simply give out more
cards. Giving out three cards per day will get
you 75 new clients a year; four cards per day
will get you 100 new clients.
The next step in designing your dream
career is to create your business model. Consider
a few basic questions first. Base your
answers not on what your business currently
is, but on what you want it to become. Most
people get stuck at this crucial first step. They
don’t even let themselves dream, as they
don’t think it’s really possible.
Our biggest danger is not dreaming too
big, but thinking too small. To begin creating
your business plan, think about the number
of days you want to work per week, your
hours and the number of clients you would
like to have. Then, consider what your ideal
daily and weekly service tickets would be, as
well as your average service ticket per client.
Remember to dream big.
Perhaps you would like to work four days
a week, with seven clients a day for a total of
28 clients per week. A typical earnings estimate
might be to have a weekly service total
of $3,000 with a $750 daily service ticket, for
an average service ticket of $107 per client.
Next, create your ideal daily target to hit.
Decide how many of your clients each day
will receive what services. For example, if
your daily goal is seven clients per day, then
you could have two haircutting clients, two
clients receiving haircutting plus one chemical
service and three clients receiving haircutting
plus two chemical services. Figure out
the cost of those services. Perhaps haircuts are
$40 each and chemical services are $80 each.
With a daily service goal of $750; do the math
and figure out how many services those seven
clients a day would have to receive to keep
you on track to hit your daily target.
Completing the business model allows
you to have more control in your life. You
will gain clarity about how you want to
design your business. Write down these new
service goals and post them where you can
see them every day. The model gives you a
visual target of what you’re doing daily. You’ll
know if you’re on track, above or behind your
goals.
Action is the fuel to success. The moment
you decide what you want and write it down,
you immediately get the process started. You
can design the career of your dreams and be
wildly successful in the beauty industry. You
will earn more money -- yet money is simply
a reward for achieving the real goal of having
your dream career and life.
Lauren Gartland is founder of Inspiring Champions, a business and coaching
company offering live training camps, coaching and mentoring services,
webinars, audio tapes and educational resources. For more information call
800-496-9305 or visit www.InspiringChampions.com.
Admissions: 419.873.9999
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ENDORSED BY REDKEN FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION
| JUNE 2010 | OHIO STYLIST & SALON