I used to laugh when I meet someone new and they asked what I did for a living. “I own and operate a spa.” I would say. Then I'd wait for it.

“Oh! That must be such a relaxing job!” they would reply, eyes bright and imagining working in a candle-lit room, listening to spa music, and giving a facial. Yes, that sounds like it would be an amazing career! LOL.

I know you are smirking as you read this because it’s about as far from the truth as it gets, yes?

Almost every spa owner I’ve met is running around like a crazy person. Oh…they put on a good face alright, but I know what it looks like behind their mask.

Because I wore that mask for years.

Why is it that the owners in the spa industry get on and stay on the hamster wheel when it comes to running their business?

Spa entrepreneurs have been following an old paradigm of business practices: working with clients too much, not working on their business enough, being strapped for time, and thus are only able to take a superficial or narrow view of their situation.

It adds up to poor sales and owner burnout.

If you recognize this in yourself in that statement, I need to be honest with you: if you are working extremely hard with very little, or no profits, you must slow down & get strategic. There's no other way.

Faster is not necessarily better in business development. You end up missing vital facts that are essential to good decisions.

Slow down so you can think. Deeply. Critically.

• Slow down so... you have time to dive into what could be preventing outstanding sales, what may be draining your profits, what is killing your company culture.

• Slow down so... you can think creatively about which ideas could lead to actions that support your business growth and profits.

• And slow down so... you can think strategically rather than consistently operating on knee-jerk reactions.

Slow down so you can save your business. And your sanity.

I’m not implying that this will be easy (being a leader rarely is), but I am suggesting that slowing down and doing what it takes to bring your salon business into the black, is worth it.

Otherwise, where do you think you are going? How do you think your entrepreneurial story will end?