In this episode of #QandAwesome, I answer a question about who is responsible for building the business in the salon. It all comes down to a few things… vision, leadership, communication, confidence! And the answer is of course, we are ALL responsible, in any type of business, not just a salon. Thanks so much for watching!
Sticks + Stones
“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.”
Confucius
(image via Google)
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.
Have you ever heard the nursery rhyme “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me”? OMG. That was actually something we put into children’s minds.
I like to think we have evolved more intellectually and emotionally to know how incredibly damaging that message is. But sadly, that is not always the case.
Words matter… in business and in life.
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They create an awesome experience. Or create a not so awesome one.
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They help build confidence. And they can destroy it.
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They build relationships. And break them.
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They build trust. Or create doubt.
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They can excite me. Or they can bore me.
How much time do you spend choosing the words you are using in your business communications, both online and off?
How much care do you use when choosing the words you use when coaching a team member or speaking to a colleague?
How conscious are you of the words you choose when talking to yourself? (and please don’t even tell me you don’t talk to yourself. We all do. Whether we are conscious of it or not.)
Some wander through the social web, through business, and life, using words that have the potential to cause damage. But some choose to use words that empower, enrich the conversation and create awesome experiences.
Your choice. Choose wisely.
(shared with LOVE from Nina)
Is Confidence Really A Choice?
Confidence is a choice, not a symptom. -Seth Godin
Here is the audio version of this post. Thanks so much for listening. Enjoy!
Just last week I wrote about confidence when sharing the Creating Awesome Recipe. It seems I just keep feeling the pull to write about it more. Why? Because as I shared last week, to me, it is one of the biggest things holding back so many small business owners, particularly in the professional beauty biz. And it totally bums me out, since if that is really the only thing holding back greatness, why is it not talked about more?
So my marketing and biz guru Seth Godin wrote about it recently too, and I had to share, as I love his take on it… Here is what confidence means, taken directly from his blog…
“The batter has already hit two home runs. When he gets up to bat for the third time, his confidence is running high…
It’s easy to feel confident when we’re on a roll, when the cards are going our way, or we’re closing sales right and left. This symptomatic confidence, one built on a recent series of successes, isn’t particularly difficult to accomplish or useful.
Effective confidence comes from within, it’s not the result of external events. The confident salesperson is likely to close more sales. The confident violinist expresses more of the music. The confident leader points us to the places we want (and need) to go.
You succeed because you’ve chosen to be confident. It’s not really useful to require yourself to be successful before you’re able to become confident.”
I agree with Seth. And I would also add that yes, education is very empowering, knowledge does destroy fear as my awesome buddy DJ Muldoon shares with us, but in the end, you gotta believe. You gotta do what you gotta do to truly believe you can make it happen, that you deserve success.
I think the other myth is that believing and knowing are the same thing. To me, they are not. I believe that I can empower people. It’s what I do everyday. I believe it. But do I know for sure that what I share will empower people? Well, actually, no. I don’t know for sure. But because I believe it, I have a much better chance of choosing to show up, create and share myself with the people I love, with the belief that they will be better for having engaged with me. It’s why I wrote my book, Follow Your Heart, it’s why I wake up every day. Because I believe. What do you believe?
(shared with LOVE from Nina)
The Letter C
It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently. -Anthony Robbins
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy!
So what does it take to create awesome? Over the last couple years, and really, over my entire career I have studied many businesses, including my own. I am one for keeping things real, and simple. While there are several ways to create awesome and people are doing it every day, it is the following traits and actions that I see which are some of the most important, and conveniently enough, they all begin with the letter C, so I call this the Creating Awesome Recipe.
Confidence
Believing your awesome and learning to love yourself and believe in you. This is absolutely the biggest roadblock to awesomeness in the professional beauty + wellness industries in my experience. You can have all the education and motivation in the world, BUT, if you do not feel deserving of success and happiness, another class or workshop will not help you. Truth.
Courage
Turning your fears into creative fuel. Learning to say YES, and more importantly, NO! It’s a decision. It’s a choice. Make it.
Clarity
Discovering your awesome and finding your purpose, promise and passion for yourself and your business. When you have clarity, those around you will too. If you want people to buy into your vision, seek clarity first, and then share it.
Consistency
Living your awesome and creating systems, processes and plans for growing your business, consistently. This holds true in business and in life.
Commitment
Are you prepared to make it happen, even on the days you don’t feel like it? Enough said.
Connections
Sharing your awesomeness by engaging and marketing online and off to grow yourself, your team and your business. Creating deep connections with the world around you brings so much more meaning to owning and leading a business.
Communication
George Bernard Shaw once said,” The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Truer words have never been spoken. Communicate with your team, clients and community. They will be grateful, and you will be a much happier owner, leader and awesomeness creator.
So there you have it. Pick one, work on it, then move to the next. Rome was not built in a day… and neither are our businesses or lives.
(shared with LOVE from Nina)