The Year in Review

Are you further ahead this year than last year? Did your business grow? Did you step outside the bottle and try something new? Last year I brought you 52 tips on marketing your business with a few about success and attitude thrown in for good measure. But its more than just listening and reading. True change comes in the form of doing. When you review your past year think about what worked and what didn’t. Think about how much effort you put into your business and how much more it will take to get to your level of personal and professional success. One mans success is anothers starting point. Don’t compare yourself to others, measure yourself against the only person that matters. You. You define your success. No one else. But you are also responsible and accountable for the journey. What are you willing to do this year to make real change happen? Remember if we keep doing what we’ve always done we’ll keep getting what we’ve always gotten. Challenge yourself this year to learn something new. Are you an acrylic master? How about learning one stroke nail art? Gel perfectionist? Learn to bling. Opening yourself to new challenges shows you and your clients you are willing to do what it takes to keep current not only for yourself but for them. Sign up for a class, buy a dvd, invest in yourself and your talents will expand. We are only as valuable as our skill set, so increase your value by learning more skill sets. Come next week, actually this week for some of us, myself included, there will be plenty of time to reflect on this past year. Take a good hard look at your numbers and look for areas to improve. Do you need to work on your time to increase your value per hour? Do you need a better booking system? Use this down time to research, investigate and try new tools that can make your business more efficient. Everyones assignment this week is to set three new goals this year. Make them real goals, not vague like want to be a celebrity manicurist. Start with tools like maybe buying Crystal Wrights book. Look for opportunities and act on them. I want to increase my income by 20 percent by June 1st. What do you need to learn and do to make that happen? Come up with a few things that will propel your journey towards these new goals, keep a list and review it often. Look at the year in quarters, 1st, second etc and set goals for each quarter. We overestimate what can be done in a month but underestimate what we can do in a quarter. Reach out to find help in the nail community. Chances are there is someone doing what you want to do and would be willing to mentor you. Asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness. Most of all this year enjoy what you do. That is the real key for success. You will never find a successful pedicurist that hates toes. If there are areas of your world you hate, don’t include them on your menu. While we may be able to strengthen a weakness we may never love it, so let it go. I wish each and every one of our listeners a happy and prosperous New Year! And remember, help is only one Monday away.