At Empowering You Consulting,Amy Carter says that working smarter, not harder, boosts productivity, enhances your creativity and saves energy. For information on her company’s Booth Renter’s Boot Camp, email: info@empoweringyouconsulting.com.

The entire team of Empowering You Consulting coaches and trainers personally built a successful beauty business from the ground up.  No wonder they’ve been able to help dozens of salon and spa owners set goals, understand finances and meet key performance indicators. Now, the company is expanding with its first Booth Renter’s Boot Camp, which includes three months of coaching, personal phone calls, the company’s RockStar CD and more. According to co-owner Amy Carter, just a few of the topics covered are creating a vision, marketing, defining your purpose, serving not selling and doubling your revenue. Here are just a few of her Solo Artist tips for staying accountable and working smarter:

Accountability

Often, we hold others accountable but forget to do the same with ourselves. There are three main ways in which you can take responsibility and hold yourself accountable.

1. Don’t play the blame game—take ownership of your actions and choices. These include the way in which you communicate with others, how you show up every day, and managing your personal attitude and your thoughts. 

2. Be responsible. Follow through on your commitments. Don’t over promise and under deliver. Be a person of your word. 

3. Set goals and/or intentions. One surefire way to hold yourself accountable is to measure your successes. Set goals or daily intentions and you’ll have a clear picture of where you are going. Include professional goals, financial goals and even personal fitness goals. Being accountable is nothing more than following through with your commitments and responsibilities. When you take 100% responsibility for holding yourself accountable, your performance and relationships will flourish. 

Working Smart Not Harder

Success may be the result of hard work, but working hard can also result in failure.  It’s important to recognize that there’s a difference between working hard and working smart.  The biggest problem here is having too much work and not enough time do it.  No matter how you juggle your schedule, the number of hours in a day never changes. So, create an effective plan to work smarter. Include:

• Using technology wisely. Technology has made it possible to automate many daily tasks in the salon.  To save time, use online appointment books, email marketing programs, financial software and more. You can save time on inventory control, paying taxes and even connecting with clients.

• Managing your time. Being time-inefficient always results in having to work harder. Take control of your schedule and don’t over-commit yourself. Be realistic. Everyone has just 24 hours or 1,440 minutes in a day for both personal and professional time. Have a clear understanding of exactly how much time any particular project will take.   

• Communicating effectively. Effective communication is the foundation of a successful business. When consulting with clients, make sure you are 100% present in the conversation. Get your client in agreement before you proceed. This will prevent you from having to redo services. 

• Making a to-do list. Every night, spend a few minutes creating a to-do list for the next day. Identify unfinished business and/or projects that need to be completed. Then prioritize each item on your list. As you complete an item, cross it off. Anything left on your list at the end of the day should start off the next day’s list.