Business consultant Phil Jackson from Build Your Salon, offers these tips for getting the most from your objectives and turning goals into actions!
It used to be rare to encounter a salon owner who had any kind of plan for their business, much less tangible action plans to turning goals into actions. But not anymore. I guess we have had to get to grips with the business side of salons – the competitive market is too fierce, our finances too precarious to leave these things to chance. But it’s not all good news.
As much as I welcome seeing owners taking their business goals seriously, that has brought a huge amount of overwhelm. The danger is that we still don’t make the progress we need to for our businesses to thrive – not for want of planning, but for want of a meaningful way to implement those plans.
Some goals, particularly those well within our comfort zone and areas of expertise, are easy to plan. But of course, for exceptional results we need to set goals outside that comfort zone – and that means we don’t always know where to start.
Let me help you with a few questions which can get a sticky goal moving, reduce overwhelm and perhaps encourage you to set more goals that stretch your current abilities and knowledge. In short, it’s OK to set a goal that you don’t quite know how to achieve yet. In fact, I would encourage it. But these prompts might help you get started or unstuck when you do.
Get Clear on the WHY
It’s perfectly natural for your enthusiasm to wane a little over time. That’s when you need to get back to why this goal is important to you. Spend some time journaling what your life or business will look like if you hit that goal. Will you have more time? Money? Freedom? Self-respect?
What will your friends or family say about you? How will things improve for you? The more emotionally bought into this picture you are, the more effective the exercise will be, so focus on how you will feel once this goal is achievedThe second half of this exercise is less pleasant. Spend some time exploring what happens if you don’t achieve the goal you have set yourself? Is it simply a case of ‘nothing changes’, or are the repercussions more serious? What is the impact on your longer-term future? How does failing affect your family? Your finances? Your self-esteem? Again, really connect with the emotion behind this exercise. It may not feel pleasant, but turning back to these thoughts will help you keep going if your commitment or enthusiasm starts to wane.
For more information: www.buildyoursalon.com