International salon coach Liz McKeon shares her expert insights on winding up your salon or clinic.

Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do the things that should be done, when they should be done, whether you feel like it or not.

Your ability to develop the habit of self-discipline will contribute more to your salon success than any other personal quality. Business owners who enjoy great success have the ability to think long term, delaying gratification in the short term so they can enjoy even greater rewards later.

The key word is sacrifice. It’s the ability to forgo immediate pleasure so that you can enjoy greater rewards later on. Self-discipline means self-control and self-mastery; it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy pleasurable experiences in your day-to-day life, but that you do so after completing the necessary hard work and your key business-building tasks.

Self-discipline, the common denominator of business success, is a habit that you learn through practice and repetition. If you want to achieve all that’s possible for you, there are seven disciplines you must develop:

1. Daily Goal Setting

Focus and concentration are essential qualities for success. Every morning, take three to five minutes to write out your top goals in the present tense. By writing out your goals at the beginning of each day, you’ll program them deep into your subconscious mind. This will stimulate your mind, make you more alert and help you see opportunities and possibilities to move you more rapidly towards your goals.

2. Daily Time Management

Take a few minutes to plan every activity for the coming day. Always work from a list, and always think on paper. The more you plan, the better you use your time and the more you accomplish.

Organise the list by priority before starting work. Use the A–B–C–D–E method to set priorities, based on the consequences of doing or not doing a particular task:

A = Must do – serious consequences for not doing

B = Should do – mild consequences for non-completion

C = Nice to do – no consequences for non-completion

D = Delegate – everything you possibly can

E = Eliminate – everything you can to free up more time

The discipline of time management spreads to all your other disciplines and brings immediate benefits to the quality of your work life.

3. The Discipline of Courage

Courage makes you do what you should do, teaching you to deal with your fears rather than avoid them. It’s another habit developed through practice whenever it’s required. The biggest obstacle to business success is fear of failure. Make a habit of confronting your fears rather than avoiding them. When you face your fears and move towards them, they get smaller and you become braver.

For practice, identify one fear in your life and discipline yourself to deal with it—confront it and do whatever it takes as quickly as you can. This will give you the courage and confidence to deal with every fearful situation you encounter.

4. Excellent Health Habits

The key to health can be summarised in a few words: rest well, eat less and exercise more. Visualise your ideal body and let this become your goal. Develop the habit of exercising daily—ideally in the morning before you have time to think about it.

5. The Discipline of Hard Work

The harder you work, the luckier you get. Develop a reputation for being a hard worker, and work all the time you work—in other words, don’t waste time. Continually ask yourself, What is the most valuable use of my time right now? Whatever your answer, work on that every hour of every day.

6. Develop the Discipline of Persistence

The greatest test of self-discipline is when you persist in the face of adversity and drive yourself to complete your tasks 100 per cent, no matter how you feel. Your persistence measures your belief in yourself and in what you’re doing. Persistence is self-discipline in action. Self-discipline leads to improved self-esteem and a greater sense of personal power—all very useful in running a successful salon business.

7. Time for the Important People in Your Life

Relationships are everything. Be sure that in climbing the ladder of success, you don’t find it leaning against the wrong building. Make time for your relationships every day, no matter how busy you are.

The Benefits of Practising Self-Discipline

• The habit of self-discipline virtually guarantees your success in life
• You’ll get more done, faster and to a higher standard than with any other skill
• You’ll be paid more
• You’ll experience a greater sense of self-control, self-reliance and personal power
• The greater your self-discipline, the greater your self-confidence and the lower your fear of failure or rejection—nothing will stop you
• With self-discipline, you’ll have the strength of character to persist through all obstacles until you succeed

The Power of Positive Thinking

Positive thinking brings inner peace, success, improved relationships, better health, happiness and satisfaction. It also helps the daily affairs of life run more smoothly, making life look bright and promising.

Positive thinking is contagious. People, including clients, pick up on your mental state and are affected accordingly. Think about happiness, good health and business success, and you’ll attract people who like you and want to help you because they enjoy the energy a positive mind emits.

To make positive thinking yield results, you need to develop a genuinely positive attitude towards life. Effective positive thinking is more than just repeating a few affirmations or telling yourself that everything will be all right—it must be your predominant mental attitude. It’s not enough to think positively for a few moments and then let fear and doubt creep in. Some effort and inner work are necessary.

Learn to think positively and expect only favourable results and situations, even if your current circumstances aren’t ideal. In time, your mental attitude will shape your life, and your circumstances will change accordingly.

Words: Liz McKeon

To learn more about Liz McKeon, visit here website here.