Unleashing the Power of Resilience and Positivity in the Salon World

Sit down and see what's going on with the Queen of Salons. Hair, beauty, and more successful tips for business owners. All on Build Your Salon. Hello, hello, hello my salon lovelies. Phil Jackson here, your Queen of Salons, coming in your ears once again with the Build Your Salon podcast. And today we're talking about mindset and motivation for you gorgeous salon owners. But before we do, a massive lovely rainbow welcome to all of my LGBTQ plus listeners at the beginning of Pride Month. Here we are, beginning of June. And of course, it's the beginning of, well, it's more of a Pride season around here because all of the big events are happening in June. But because I'm stuck out in the middle of nowhere, then we have to, we have to wait a little while. So the Pride celebrations in my village aren't till July. So it's kind of the beginning of a rainbow season. And I have to say, I don't know if it's an age thing or perhaps it's just an appreciation thing. But I think this is my most proud year. This is the one where I'm leaning into these events the most and making silly costumes for the festivals and all sorts of wonderful things and very much looking forward to it. But of course, our industry built on amazing women and also the LGBTQ plus community. So it's always been a safe haven. And I have to say, in a lot of ways, you wonderful salon owners saved me because I'd come through years of brutal bullying around my sexuality. And it was only when I came into the salon industry that I found any level of acceptance, any level of comfort, any level of feeling welcome, to be honest with you. And it turned things on a hairpin for me. And I'm a big fan of salon owners, you guys and foster carers, my two favourite groups of people in the whole wide world. So it is my pleasure, my honour to serve you, whether you are part of the LGBTQ plus community or whether you're an ally and a supporter and someone who accepts us. I'm not a terribly militant person, by the way. I'm not out there trying to promote this weird idea of a gay agenda anywhere. But I do think these events are very important for us to remain on the radar. Now, I'm not asking society to reconfigure by definition, of course.

We live in a democracy and that means that if you're a minority, you don't get to dictate the path in a huge way. The majority rules in a democracy and we wouldn't have it any other way. So I accept that our needs should not be first and foremost all the time. But these events are very useful for that feeling of inclusivity. And I can remember the first Pride event I ever went to in London, my goodness, baptism of fire. And just that feeling of being part of a majority for a change was an absolute joy and so important to me when I was a younger queen. Anyway, should we plunge into talking about mindset and motivation? Big buzzword, isn't it? Mindset. But what do we mean when we talk about mindset and particularly why is a growth mindset useful? Well, if you have a fixed mindset, I think it very quickly can turn into a kind of victim mentality, feeling that the world is against you a little bit. And that fixed mindset means that what you've got is what you've got. And making the best of what you've got is all you can hope for in your business. Whereas a growth mindset relies on the fact that you believe that your mindset is adaptable. You feel that your skills, your abilities can grow and develop over time. And you wouldn't be listening to business podcasts unless you had something of a growth mindset about you. So well done, my darlings. Pat on the back before we go any further at all. And I think that brings a level of confidence when times are tough. I think we start to see if we have that growth mindset, we start to see those challenges as opportunities for growing and for learning, which is so vital for reframing. And I think it helps cultivate a belief in your ability to develop skills and to achieve success. But I think what's happened more than ever over the last generation or so is that we now recognise the impact of that mindset on your ability to problem solve and your creativity and your resilience. So that growth mindset is really the foundation for entrepreneurial success. And people get switched off when I start talking about entrepreneurship. But I promise you, if you're a small business owner, you are an entrepreneur or a salonpreneur, which is something I wish I'd trademarked years ago. But you're on an entrepreneurial journey. So don't get switched off by the lingo. We're just talking about that growth mindset combined with small business ownership. But, of course, as an industry, we are hugely insecure. We're racked with self-doubt. And everyone's favourite phrase whenever I talk at masterminds is imposter syndrome.

That self-doubt, that feeling that you're kind of blagging it a little bit and someone's going to catch you out one day and realise that you're a big phony. Well, you're not, my darlings. And we've really got to challenge that negative self-talk and reframe those limiting beliefs. But the first step, of course, is identifying, acknowledging that you have self-doubt and imposter syndrome. And let me tell you now, I haven't met anybody who doesn't have a level of self-doubt at some stage or another, at any level of business, at any stage of their career, at any stage of business ownership. Every now and again, we come up against something which makes us doubt ourselves, which makes us feel that we can't do this, which makes us feel that we are out of our depth. And I don't believe that anybody in any industry goes without those feelings at least some of the time, unless you are a complete psychopath or a complete narcissist. And I think understanding that that self-doubt is a common experience is really empowering, realising that some of the people that you look up to, that you admire, that you strive to be like day after day, are having those feelings too, help you embrace that vulnerability. More than anything, you have to appreciate that there is no lord of business. There is no queen of business who's one day going to tap you on the shoulder twice with a sword and say, you are no longer an imposter. You have now achieved the mighty heady heights of entrepreneurship. No one's going to give you permission to lean into that new role, which means we're free to accept that those feelings of self-doubt are always going to be there. And we can seek support from others instead and start celebrating our achievements. So we're going to come across that in just a second. So where's the good news, Phil? If we're going to be racked with self-doubt, keep having imposter syndrome and keep hitting obstacles along the way that challenge us as far as our growth mindset is concerned, what's the point, dear? Why are we doing this at all? Well, it's all about developing resilience, of course. And those challenges and setbacks are, as I've said, a natural part of that entrepreneurial journey. And what we need to do is reframe those failures, reframe those challenges and see them as those learning opportunities because that cultivates resilience. And what we're doing each time a team member quits on us without proper notice, each time we have to handle a customer complaint, each time a delivery lets us down and we have to get super creative on my days.

Goodness me, didn't we ever do this when I was working in the salon as a colour technician? The number of times a delivery wouldn't turn up and you get very creative with making up colour combinations, I have to tell you, and can create anything out of any old tube of tint in the end. But once we realise that all of that is part of that entrepreneurial journey and we can reframe those challenges as learning opportunities, we can see that those difficulties are building your entrepreneurial muscle. This is what they're doing because the second time a team member quits without proper notice, it won't sting quite as much. I used to have this when I was very newly qualified when I had customer complaints because, to be honest with you, I think we all go through this phase, perhaps not quite so much in beauty, but certainly in hairdressing. You go through this phase where you're newly qualified and, to be honest, you're not very good for a little while. It takes you a while to get your training wheels off properly and start creating some beautiful hair. And I had lots of complaints. So I can remember the first complaint that I had, I was devastated. Oh my goodness, absolutely devastated. And sat on the stairs, the building was two floors, upstairs was just the stock room. And I sat on the stairs crying and crying and crying and wondering how on earth I was ever going to turn this around to any kind of career at all. And that upset probably lasted me about 24 hours. And then the second time I had a complaint, it probably lasted about 12 hours. And then the third time, it probably lasted about an hour. And by the time I'd had 10 complaints in about two weeks, it wasn't that it was water off a duck's back. It wasn't that I didn't care. But certainly it affected me a lot less because I was building resilience. So I was building those muscles that helped me deal with those situations. But of course, the downside to that is as the complaints dry up, as you get good, when you do get a complaint, it can hit you a lot harder. Anyway, that's about complaints. And if complaints training is something you're interested in, ping me a message, phil at buildyoursalon.com. I'd love to help you with that. I love handling complaints. I got very good at it. But what we're doing is building resilience. We are learning to focus on the solutions rather than dwelling on those problems and help us maintain a positive outlook. And a big part of that, I think, is about stress management techniques.

It's about learning to bounce back from setbacks. It's about appreciating that everyone has difficulties. But it's how you handle those difficulties, how quickly you can get back on the horse, that will dictate the level of upcoming success. And I'm not suggesting that we have to walk around saying everything's wonderful, but we do want to try and maintain a level of positive thinking. What we've got to appreciate is that that positive thinking has a massive impact on your motivation and actually a massive impact on your productivity. Positive thinking, I think, can really enhance your productivity for the day, can really boost the amount that we actually get achieved. How do we maintain positive thinking? Well, it goes back to those wonderful practices of focusing on the positives, but also practicing gratitude, practicing self-care, making sure that we are surrounding ourselves with positive individuals, supportive people in our lives, using affirmations, if that works for you. I struggle a bit with affirmations, or certainly I struggle with spoken affirmations. I think that self-doubt starts creeping in again and tapping me on the shoulder. And I seem to have this demon, when I'm looking in the mirror, I'm repeating affirmations, there seems to be this demon on my shoulder staring back at me saying, yeah, but you don't really believe it, do you, dear? But I do write affirmations. I make sure that when I'm journaling, I will have an affirmation that I'll write three times. Visualization techniques are something that I've used very effectively. It ought to reinforce those positive beliefs. The other thing that I want you to really focus on, and this is something that I catch people out on all the time in my group coaching, is listen to how you're talking to yourself. Monitor that self-talk. Because you would not speak to your best friend the way that you speak to yourself, I promise. Everyone's talking themselves down all the time, undermining themselves, pulling away the rug underneath their achievements a little bit to throw you off balance. So really try and catch yourself out when you're talking yourself down. Reframe and reinforce those positive beliefs. Are you feeling like you're stuck in a rut? Like you're just going through the motions or that whatever you do, the next level in your business stays just out of reach? Well, it's time to shake things up. With one-to-one coaching, you'll have buckets of support, inspiration and accountability to help you bring the buzz back to your salon business. Whether you're looking to achieve a specific goal or just feeling that things are lonely at the top and you want someone to coach you to be the best version of yourself, I am here to support you.

And don't worry, even though it's called coaching, I won't make you join a gym and I will never suggest you give up your Toblerone habit. What's the alternative? More of the same? Come on, you can do better than that. Ping me an email at phil at buildyoursalon.com with the subject line coaching and I will send you all the details. I can't wait to help you on your journey to salon success. So where do we begin with all this, Uncle Phil? How do we even get started on motivation and maintaining that positive mindset? Well, for me, it has to start with the outcome and I always start anything with the goal. So I will start a coaching call by asking the customer what their goal for the coaching call is. I will start an entire coaching relationship by figuring out what the goal for our three months or 12 months together is all about. And I think that's the key to that growth mindset and continued motivation. We've got to establish clear, specific goals that are aligned with your business vision, with your values, with your personal values too. And then break those long-term goals down into small, actionable chunks that we can get our teeth into. Because that roadmap, that action plan is going to track your progress. And by reviewing and adjusting your goals, but most of all, celebrating those milestones, recognizing your achievements is going to be key to continued motivation and that momentum to keep moving forward. Without the goals, none of this is going to work, I promise you. Then we can build and sustain some motivation by identifying what actually motivates you. And if we come back to the team example, lots of people struggle with motivating their team. And they say to me things like, I need to know how to motivate my team. I need to know what to do to motivate them. Well, motivation is easy if you're going to choose the thing that actually motivates the person. The problem with team motivation is we end up choosing things that motivate us as the business owner, as the entrepreneur. The problem is we're at a different life stage, a different career stage. We have a different mindset to the people that we employ. So we have to tap into what's actually going to motivate them. But for now, while we're talking about your mindset, your motivation, you've got to identify your personal motivations. You've got to figure out what your vision, your values, your purpose is all about.

And this is a life's work, I promise you. This is not a thought exercise that you can journal out in a day and say, this is my vision. This is my purpose. This is what motivates me. Because it shifts, it changes, it evolves. We're complex people. You know, us salonpreneurs, we're like onions. A layer after layer of intrigue. And every layer peeled away brings tears. But it's about getting to know yourself. Getting to understand your own personal motivations. And part of that is just noticing your energy as you approach different tasks, as you reflect on your day, as you set out your week ahead. Where is your energy as we look at those different tasks? Are some things switching us on? Are some things draining us? Are some things becoming a bit of a chore? Is our motivation shifting and changing over time? And the reason things shift, of course, is because they are no longer a challenge. They become easy for us. They move into our comfort zone. And things inside your comfort zone generally aren't great at motivating you. If you struggle with that self-reflection exercise, if you struggle to reflect on your own day, your own week, and find inspiration, look elsewhere. Whose biographies are you reading? Where are you finding inspiration as far as industry leaders are concerned? Or whose success stories do you resonate with? Look for clues in other people's stories if you struggle to find them in your own. Biggest way to erode your motivation, I find, is not managing your productivity, not managing your time. And we've talked before in this podcast about time management, and we can talk some more about it if that will be helpful. Don't forget to ping me an email. But managing your time, I think, and utilising your time properly is the best way to keep that momentum, to keep that forward progress. It's about finding that balance between self-care and productivity. We don't want to burn out. But equally, we want to make sure we're using productivity tools, use apps, use journals, whatever it is that you need to optimise your workflow, to get the very most out of your day. And of course, the tough bit for us, because we love a shiny thing in our industry, is minimising those distractions and maintaining your focus too. Next, I want to talk about our network, and I don't think we're brilliant at this in our industry. I see some progress in some areas, but I really do want us to lean into networking groups, industry associations, try and find some support, try and find some collaboration. And if you can't find it in the industry, look outside the industry, but for people that are at the same stage as you in their entrepreneurial journey.

So if you can't find like-minded salon owners, then maybe look for small business owners who are about the same size or about the same stage as you, and participate in maybe some mastermind groups or local business networking groups. And my favourite way to stay motivated is accountability. Try and strike up some accountability partnerships. Now, I think lots of people try and put all their eggs in one basket with accountability. I do think you need some kind of mentor or business coach to hold you accountable. But also, we can look at those more casual relationships as far as accountability is concerned. Can you get an accountability buddy? And sometimes that doesn't work for your entire business. It won't work for huge chunks of your life. But what if you just had an accountability buddy, say, for social media? Someone who you could hold each other accountable and celebrate the wins just to make sure you're posting every day on Instagram, for example. So we can have that lighter approach to accountability too. But also, seeking advice, seeking guidance from people that have a bit more experience. And I think making sure that it's a reciprocal arrangement too. And I promise you, I learn as much from the people that I coach as they ever learn from me. So we can learn through providing support and encouraging others too. But most of all, and most importantly, celebrate your wins. Recognise the achievements that you've had. The big ones and the small ones too. Take the time to reflect on your progress. Reflect on your accomplishments. Reward yourself for reaching goals and reaching those milestones. And we are awful at this as business owners. What we tend to do is set a goal. And we may even attach a reward to that goal and say, let's do a very simple example. Let's say we're going to do $1,000 in retail this week. And if we do, do you know what? I'm going to buy that handbag. We call that a purse in the States, of course. And then what do we do? We sell $1,000 worth of retail and then talk ourselves out of the reward. We say, well, actually, there's not enough profit in that to buy that purse. Or we say, well, yes, we hit $1,000. But we only hit $1,000 because Aunty Nelly came in and bought three products on Saturday. We talk ourselves back out of those rewards. And the problem is we need that reptilian, that antique part of your brain to kick in

and help us maintain motivation in the longer term. If you talk yourself out of the reward, what happens to that bit of the brain? Well, it gets cynical. And next time you try and promise yourself a reward, that bit of your brain is going to go, yeah, but you don't mean it, do you? You're not going to deliver that reward. So I'm not going to kick in and help you stay motivated. So make sure you're rewarding yourself when you hit those goals, hit those milestones. Celebrate and use those celebrations as fuel for your continued momentum, your continued success, your amazing journey in this glorious industry. And share your successes. Share them with your team. Share them with your peers. Acknowledge other people's contributions, but acknowledge your contribution to your success too. And maybe even think about sharing your success with me. You know, I love hearing about how amazingly well you guys are doing. You are my continual inspiration day after day, week after week. Phil at buildyoursalon.com. I love hearing from you. And while you're at it, if you could take two minutes to leave this podcast a little review, that would be amazing. Perhaps give us a little rating. I always think five stars look best on the page. And perhaps think about sharing this episode with someone in the industry that you think needs to hear it too. Just seven short days until I'm coming in your ears again, my darlings. Until then, take care. Sit down and see what's going on.