Well, we have just seen Valentine’s Day come and go and we are now heading full-on into a Leap Year, so it seems an appropriate time to ask the question:
Are you still in love with your business?
Is your business fully living up to your dreams and expectations? I do hope so, however like all long-term relationships, more often than not there are certain things which can start to irritate you, and if you don’t tackle these early on, they can get totally out of control and start to be really detrimental to the relationship you have with your business.
Business life can sometimes feel like a long, rocky and lonely road full of unexpected potholes.
I’ve always thought that business flows very similar to a loving relationship with constant, ever changing expectations.
At the start of any relationship, things go along smoothly. Then the pressure is on for more commitment, so then there’s the investment in diamonds, next step the big wedding, kids follow into the mix, and before you know it your whole life has taken on a new dimension with so many more responsibilities.
A similar scenario plays out within your business. The pressure to grow and evolve can bring in so many new responsibilities, leading to a few sleepless nights!
As business owners we are juggling home-life as well as our business, so no wonder we can end up feeling frazzled and out of control. Sometimes there can be too many expectations from others, which can lead you to believe that to be successful you have to keep growing and expanding your business. I’m here to let you know that it doesn’t have to be like that.
The biggest business isn’t always the best. The business that YOU love and feel comfortable and secure with is always the best.
Here’s why…
- It has been proven time and again that it’s easier to make money when you have a business you LOVE.
- Growing a business too fast without a proper plan in place can cause you untold stress, and even lead to illness.
- It’s so easy to take your eye off the ball during a business growth phase, and things can spiral out of control.
- Expanding can often result in far smaller profits for the owner due to higher costs and overheads.
How do I know this?
Well, I have made these costly mistakes myself. I was so driven to be the biggest and best, and somewhere in the mix, I lost my way. I grew and grew my small business, expanding premises 5 times. My team grew to 12 members, and I was the working manager. When it got to that point I realised my business was spiralling out of control at an alarming rate. I was working twice as hard to try and make ends meet, working ridiculous hours with no time to look at anything apart from my rapidly growing overdraft.
Fortunately, 27 years I first started up in business I still have my salon. I managed to undo the mess I had made by expanding too fast. I now have a lovely business with a team of 6 experts. The business is now fully systemized. It functions like a well-oiled machine whether I’m there or not.
I do believe that things happen for a reason. Eight years ago, that tough experience inspired me to stop working as a therapist in my business to learn real-world business strategies so that I would never mess up like that again. And that’s what I did.
Lessons in business
I learnt what makes a business truly successful and profitable. I also learnt how to safely scale a business and turn it into a saleable, profitable asset. It was invaluable learning which I now have the honour of passing on to 100’s of fellow Beauty Entrepreneurs to help them to make their businesses great.
The one thing that always stayed with me throughout my journey is the understanding that business has to be fun. Otherwise why do it?
In my next newsletter we will look at some simple steps you can take to exert full control over your business.
Here’s to your great business.
Susan x