The Power of Focus

As with everything, a business is more successful when it is run with focus. Focus is the difference between just showing up every day doing the same old thing and making positive changes to grow your business.
For many of us, maintaining intense focus is difficult. It's so easy to set goals then let them run on autopilot with no follow-up or accountability. This year my managers and I are striving to maintain focus and intensity. Our goal is to proactively grow the business by taking deliberate actions, following up and holding everyone (including ourselves) accountable.
To help in this regard we decided to work with a salon coach from Live, Love, Be. We meet with Eric via Google Hangout once a week. Our first two meetings focused on goal-setting. Our homework week one was to come up with measurable goals, a timeline, and steps to achieve them. There are so many different things we could focus on, but we chose just a few to start with.
1) Sales goal for our Valentine's Special - we set the goal, communicated with the team and clients, and decided on a reward for the team when the goal is met.
2) Upsell goal for the front desk staff. They have a goal already but it has not been met in several months. This renews focus on that goal so they will consistently apply the steps that produce results.
3) Cleaning goal - I like that this goal is not financial in nature. It's important to focus on all areas of the business. Over the course of the month the salon will be deep-cleaned in our spare time - baseboards, air vents, wax spots on the floor...all of it.
While achieving these goals takes the effort of everyone in the salon, the most important thing at this point is the focus of the leadership team. Our intense focus on these goals sets the standard for everyone. If we slack off, the message is sent that this is not important - it's just another thing the managers are trying - ignore it, it will go away.
Having a coach in our corner demands accountability and keeps us on our toes. If you can't afford to work with a coach, create a group of business owners for weekly or semi-monthly round table meetings where you can discuss your businesses. You gain insight from the group and peer pressure to follow through.