Do you have the attributes of a leader

It is crucial to understand right at the beginning - long before you think about your brand, who is going to be in your team or where your salon will be located - that you are not opening a hair salon, you are opening hair business, says Antony Whitaker. The technical and creative skills that make you a good hairdresser are completely different skills to those needed to run a hairdressing business. And you need to be prepared. The day you open your business your job description changes from that of stylist to that of ‘stylist, manager, creative director, assistant, financial controller, book keeper, budgets manager, merchandising supervisor, marketer, social media editor, HR manager, recruitment director, maintenance person, cleaner, laundry assistant, stock controller, IT specialist, designer, staff trainer, PR expert and health and safety inspector. Have you ever had any training in those areas? No, I thought not. You’ve got a lot of reading in front of you. On top of all that, to be a good a salon owner you also need to be a good leader. Do you have the attributes of leadership?  Leaders:

• believe in themselves
• have courage and are prepared to take risks
• define and communicate goals
• develop strategies and follow-through on them to achieve their goals
• are strong when they need to be... ‘firm but fair’
• provide regular feedback to their team
• are prepared to make mistakes and learn from them
• aren’t afraid to step outside of their comfort zone and try new things…
• don’t ask others to do things that they aren’t prepared to do themselves
• lead from the front in thoughts words and actions…
• are eternal optimists
• recognise that they can’t do it all themselves, that they need to delegate to help them grow
• have integrity and do what they say they will
• are passionate about what they do and have the ability to inspire others
• recognise the need to build strong relationships with others on their team

  A lot of the above can be learned and a lot of it can be acquired by having the right attitude. So before you become a salon owner, think first how you can learn to be a leader. Antony Whitaker is the man behind Grow Your Salon Business. He is an acclaimed educator, motivator and author, delivering seminars around the world. His latest book, Grow 3: Team has just been published. Visit https://www.growmysalonbusiness.com for further information.