Is Wearing a Woman's Crown Hurting Your Business? How I Almost Lost My Business

You might think this is the ramblings of a crazy businesswoman, but this is a real story.

Just a year ago, my life was all about glamour, endless fireworks, strutting in stilettos, sipping champagne, and munching on tons of strawberries. A dream? Not quite. Sponsors? Well, sort of. A young man helped me open a beauty salon, but he kept his share on the down-low. I was the manager. I promoted the salon, and it prospered.

But six months went by, and everything started crumbling, and I couldn't figure out why. I definitely didn't deserve this. I was supposed to have lots of loyal clients, but there were only occasional visitors. I wanted lots of cash and everyone to know about my salon. I even gave it a catchy name: "Baron and Baroness."

Why wasn't everything going as planned? Someone was definitely envious.

What to do? I had to pay interest to the one who bought me the salon. And I was in the red. The staff demanded wages, we were running low on materials. Honestly, we washed foil, reused disposable towels multiple times, used cheap dish soap instead of hand soap, painted with low-cost paint but charged premium prices, used household shampoo instead of quality products. Tough times, I was losing my mind!

And the insomnia… But it saved me. One night, due to late-night stress eating (I gained 15 pounds because of it), I was upset, as I had been watching my figure, drinking my beloved energy diet, but now I couldn't afford it =(, stress made me buy more pastries, smoke more, and drink more.

So, I ate, smoked, had nothing to do... Can't go chasing Pokémon, right? I surfed the internet. Various sites, pages, social networks... Until I stumbled upon coaching-biz.com.

They had seminars, business consultations, and personal training. I thought it was nonsense. Was afraid to spend money again, but I'm a risk-taker, so I decided to give it a shot. I called, a pleasant young man consulted me, and we concluded that I needed a full analysis of my business and a specific plan to fix this "messy" situation.

Now, let's talk about what was and what became. Not in chronological order, but candidly.

- This was the salon before.

They corrected the crown that clouded my judgment. I simply lost it with having my salon; I thought I didn't need advertising; everyone should know about my Baron and Baroness; why have two GPRS when people will find me anyway, and honestly, I was squandering money. Once the profits started to flow in, I focused on myself, my stilettos, and lips. It's all good, but I hadn't seen such profits to spend like a madwoman. Then the name. Funny, isn't it? Like a true queen. Less pomp, folks, be closer to the people.

I gathered a team of girls who behaved like baronesses, and I didn't notice; they hardly smiled, spoke as if everything was owed to them.

Maxim Sergeyevich explained everything clearly, pointed out the mistakes, sometimes with humor. He gave examples, and now my salon is no longer Baron and Baroness, but Hands & Scissors (may seem absurd to some, but it's catchy, not off-putting, and more relatable). I have an Instagram; for now, I post photos myself, reply to comments promptly, but I'm looking for a manager because I have many responsibilities, and timely responses are essential to keep clients. I also have a website with a 3D tour of the salon and a price list, so the administrator has less work answering how much things cost.

I fired all the dissatisfied staff, hired people who love what they do, who put their hearts into it and want to earn.

And as for advertising, I won't reveal all the secrets, but I'll say this – it works! Hooray! Oh, and no more cost-cutting; the more you save, the less profit you make, the less you can spend on yourself.

- showcasing our salon

Clients book appointments, they come, they love it, they leave satisfied, come back, bring friends and family. And me? What about me? I no longer drink, I quit smoking, I exercise, lost weight, and here's a big secret – I'm getting married soon! Of course, I have to work a lot, spend less on lip fillers (I don't even pump them up anymore since finding a man), he prefers natural lips. I stopped getting fillers during the crisis, but now I'll invest more into advertising.

You might think this is the ramblings of a crazy businesswoman, but this is a real story. My advice to you, if you're lost, seek help from specialists, and invest more money because you'll gain more. And if my advice doesn't help, throw stones at my salon = )

A big thank you to Maxim Sergeyevich!