Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Advice from Top Female CEO

Each day I receive SmartBriefs direct in my inbox. I use these to keep up with latest business news, trends, tips and tricks. In past two weeks I’ve enjoyed two posts by a top female CEO. Janine Popick, CEO and founder of Vertical Response, a leading provider of self-service e-mail marketing, online surveys, and direct mail services empowering small businesses to create, manage, and analyze their own direct marketing campaigns. The company has over 70,000 customers, and was ranked No. 1270 on the 2009 Inc. 5000 list. I figured any advice from her would be great advice. I read her two blog posts and she provided 9 great tips that I feel would apply directly to our industry as well. I’ve tailored that information for Salons and Spas, I hope you enjoy.
Read Janine’s blog on 9 Things I Learned.
Here’s my tailored version:
1. Hire a GREAT Lawyer – From lease negotiation to confidentiality or rental agreements you will, at some point, need a good attorney. Protect yourself now before something happens and costs you twice as much.
2. Don't Hire Ahead of the Curve – Janine believes that you and your teams should be at more than FULL CAPACITY before you hire. I couldn’t agree more. Nothing will kill profitability and morale quicker than a team of people sitting around waiting for clients. The trick is to watch and anticipate your next new hire. You need to always be recruiting and preparing for the next position to be filled. Hiring assistants is an excellent way to capitalize on another team members productivity all while preparing a newbie to hit the floor running.
3. Get a GREAT Accountant – One of the most vital assets any salon and spa owner could have is a great accountant. In our industry it is even more important to have one that understands the nuances of running a salon and spa. Larry Kopsa who owns Kopsa Otte CPA firm is someone that I personally recommend. He has an entire team dedicated to the industry, works with hundreds of salons and spas across the country and is a salon owner himself.
4. QUICK Decision Making – Indecisiveness, over time, erodes trust and effectiveness. You’ve taken the role as owner and that requires the ability to confidently make sound decisions. Remember, not all decisions can be made quickly but when they can and should, don’t hesitate.
5. Get Rid of Bad Employees...FAST – Jack Welch, former CEO of GE always believed that 10% of your employees need to go. Bad employees affect the success of everyone on your team and your customers experience. They are cancer and you’ve got to rid the team of the cancer before it spreads.
6. Establish & Enforce Core Values - Core Values form the cultural foundation of your business. They are the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that unite a team.
7. EARLY Training – Training is the standard you set within your organization. It is the level of expertise that customers come to expect. You want to set everyone up for success, training early and continuously increases the rate of success.
8. Don’t try To Be Everything to Everyone – The role of a salon and spa owner is not to be everything to everyone, it’s impossible. Not everyone will stay or should stay with you. Lead your team from your core values, vision, and mission. Doing so will establish what is to be expected and then others can choose to meet that expectation or not.
9. Love What You Do – A great friend and mentor always said to me, Julie, love what you do and the money will follow. I believe that, however, the one caveat I would add to that statement is this…love what you do, plan how you will do it and then execute the plan! Passion without execution is just a good feeling.
I hope you find these 9 tips a great reminder for simple ways to stay on track. Good luck.

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