Which one sounds like your salon? The following are the stages every business goes through as Michael Gerber describes them in his book entitled “The E Myth”. See which one applies to you.

Infancy: You started your salon because you have a passion for the industry, the ability to gain a loyal following and a great sense of customer service. You wanted to build your own business and share your expertise. You also wanted to be the one to make money from technicians just like you. You are the busiest technician in your salon. You not only provide services but you may also be managing the books, ordering products, cleaning and even taking appointments.

Now before we go on to look at the next level of growth in your salon let’s take a look at some of the challenges each of these stages has.

In the infancy stage your main challenge is not burning out. Your roles keep you coming in early to prep the salon or spa up for the day and leaving late at night after it is cleaned and ready for the next day. You recognize that you are the business, it cannot live without you. There is no option to take a vacation or stay home because you’re sick. What you have now is another job, maybe a few.

In the adolescent stage you may feel relieved at first having the help but your biggest challenge comes when you try to get the hired help to do what is expected. You may notice that clients start complaining about the service they had. Some of the regular clients have told you that when you aren't’t there things just aren’t the same and your accountant is having trouble with the bookkeeping practicees.

Maturity: The mature business runs independent of the salon owner. Everyone working knows their role and expectations and there are systems in place that confirm this to the owner. There is consistency between all that serve and in the clients experience. This business owner has seen the momentum and growth that comes from working on the business rather than in it. They focus on how will it be done rather than what needs to be done. They continually evaluate what they can do to ensure that the business will operate without them.

This salon owner is free to work if and when they choose and knows that the salon will still turn profits.

So where are you and where do you want to be in 2010? If you need your salon to grow up and get mature join me on November 16^th!