If you have a team, you know how important it is to be consistent with team meetings. I do this at least quarterly and I had a few new hires this time around so I thought it would be really cool to have everyone come up with a mission statement for our salon. I went around the room asking what would you say is important to you and how would you describe our business. The answers where amazing. They came up with such heartfelt, meaningful things. I was really impressed. Once everyone had a turn to talk I could tell the energy in the room was renewed and excited to deliver these amazing qualities to our guests. If your feeling a stagnant energy in your business workspace, sometimes it's helpful for your team to put THEMSELVES into their place instead of you. Allow them to remind themselves why they are there and how important they are to helping their clients solve a problem. Anyway, I hope this helps anyone in this situation! If you've experienced this in your space let me know your experience!

Marketing 101, if you solve someone's problem, they will pay you. But did you know people buy with emotion?! If you create a feeling that makes people feel good when they think about your product you are winning! Weather that's luxury, comfort, convenience, etc. Products that resonate with a person's values, memories, or aspirations create an emotion bond, making them more likely to purchase. Also, emotions can trigger impulsive decisions. For example, feeling happy or excited can lead to spontaneous purchases, while feelings of sadness or stress may prompt comfort buying! Emotional experiences with brands can foster loyalty. Positive feelings associated with a brand can lead to repeat purchases. So the next time you put an ad out or try to sell something, remember this!

One of the most important things you can do as a leader is to be trustworthy. Your team must believe you when you say things and trust that you will do the things you say you're going to do. When I started my first business, I struggled with this a little bit. It was not intentional at all. I would want to make everyone happy, over promise and not be able to follow through with everything or I would take super long to do something that shouldn't have taken so long. When you do this, a couple things happen. Your team doesn't see you as someone who is dependable. That may be hard to hear, but it's true. Another thing is, they will stop coming to you with important things because they don't think you'll listen to what they have to say anyway. When this happens, things will start to go unseen and unsolved ultimately resulting in a less-than-ideal work environment. These employees will eventually leave. The idea is to build trust and respect. Ultimately resulting in a great work environment and a great retention rate for employees. This means thinking things through before you agree to them, saying no sometimes, not always being liked (this is especially hard for people pleasers), making sure you are on top of your time management, so things get done accordingly. This will help create better relationships with your staff.

Understand who your customers are, what they need, and where they spend their time. Tailor your marketing efforts to meet their preferences. A great way to start understanding who your target audience is, is understanding who you want them to be! Who do you want to sell to? If you're an inclusive cafe you're target audience isn't going to be someone who doesn't like coffee or a diverse town. So, figure out who you want to be your clientele. Develop a detailed profile including demographics (age, gender, income), interests, values, buying habits, all humans, men, woman, age, eco conscience, etc. Once you've got this down, you will have a very good idea on how to market to them and what will get them to be your customers!

1. Charge More One way to IMMEDIATELY make more money is increase your prices! I know this is a touchy subject and feel overwhelming. The number one thing entrepreneurs say when I say this is what if I lose clients?! You will. BUT you will also make more room for clients that will pay the new price. Also, because you're charging more you won't notice a huge difference. Now don't go increasing your prices by 50% lol start at 10-20% 2. Spend Less Money Many entrepreneurs don't know their numbers. The best thing you can do for your business is to figure them out. What is your fixed expenses (rent, water, PSEG, ETC.)? What are your vendor fees? What are your payroll fees? Marketing fees, etc. you get the point. Add up everything and figure out what you can do to make things less expensive. When you do this you don't even have to make more money to get more money. 3. Get More Customers MARKET. Market your business! This usually includes spending money to make money. The thing you have to remember when it comes to marketing is if your average ticket is $50 you want your marketing to cost way less per lead. For example, if I pay $600 in marketing per month but it brings enough paying clients that spend $10,000/month that's $16.67/lead I'm paying for. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me! Now without that $600 your missing $10k from your bottom line. Keep in mind depending on your business you will have to find what kind of marketing works best for you and will most likely have to go through some trial and error at first.