Mini Moment #4: Scaling With Purpose: How Delegation Changed Nicki’s Salon

Transcript

Welcome to the Inner Sanctum Salon rising the podcast mini moments brought to you by timely. Hey Sam.  Hey man. You haven't done a mini moment yet. Done. I was like, is this where I should have a Tim Tam? Like is a mini moment a Tim Tam or like a melting moment and a cup of tea? Like I just feel like,  I feel like it's definitely a cup of tea moments.

Yeah. So we are joined again by the beautiful Nicki from Salon Purpose to delve into some of those

early. Days of starting out that you wanted to share some information about.

So talk to us about that, Nicki.  Yes. One of the biggest questions I get asked is, how did you do it? Mm-hmm. How did you grow from a solo, single base hairdresser to now a busy salon, big salon in Manly. 19, staff. 19 staff, $108,000 donated. I feel like we try and do it all, but I also tried to do it all myself when I first started.

Hmm. So, I guess for me it was if I could share my wisdom in only the five years that I, I feel like I still have my training wheels on. I don't know it all,

but. From when I started to now, and if I was to reflect on that, it would be Nicki, get out of your own way.

Because often

I would, in the early days, be making decisions, talking to my husband, talking to my business coach, talking to people that actually were trying to help me.

And you just, I always had something to say, no, no,

no, this

is the way to do it. Or No, clients don't want that. Or like, it was so set in my ways.

And

it was very quickly, I just had to change, like something had to change if I wanted to this salon to be grow bigger and beyond me, I had to get outta my own way.

Mm-hmm. And my why was always how do I spend time with my kids?

kids?

And what I learned very quickly is if, if I do it all myself. There's no time there. Yeah, there is no margin. There is no time at all because I'm always in the background running around like a headless chicken, trying to do it all myself.

So from the get go, from the minute I opened my doors, I had a bookkeeper and an accountant that I worked with, and

I

touched on this earlier in the podcast, is what I knew how to do really well, was to make money.

As a single hairdresser at my home, I knew my craft. I knew what I needed to charge. I knew I could be profitable,

but

with that profit, and it's really hard in the early days, you're

like, oh, I don't

wanna spend money on

that and I don't wanna invest into that. But you actually have to, I believe you have to find out,

Obviously

with wisdom.

No, I didn't give everything, I didn't outsource everything back then, but there were things that I was like, I'm spending like eight hours trying to work this out. Yeah. When I could pay someone X amount and they do it like that is their

craft.

I am not a bookkeeper. I am not an accountant.

I

know how to do hair, and so if I could.

Share wisdom in anything It is. If you are someone that was like me who tried to do everything yourself. Mm-hmm. Figure out what it is that you need to delegate. Mm. What can you offload to others that are really good at it? I work very closely with one of the girls in my team, and she's so good on the computer.

She just navigates that keyboard and all the things on it and the, we use ooba, the booking system. It's like it's.

Second

nature. Second nature to her. Yeah. Whereas to me, I fumble around, I spend hours on it. Mm-hmm. So,

and also

people actually want to help you. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like. People feel honored when you ask them for help.

They're like, oh yeah, I can do that. That's easy for me. And they do it 10 times better. So much better. Yeah, so much quicker. Yeah. And then it's like, okay, well if you like doing that and you can do that, take it, do it.  And see, I think we've spoken a lot about this with a few people. You know, there's that, well, that's where I want to be.

So you wanted to be the person who had time to spend with their children. So. What would that person have that this person doesn't have to make that happen? And sometimes you have to leap before you feel like you're ready. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's like, oh, can I, it's like you, you actually might need to bring that bookkeeper on or something before you think that.

Oh yeah. A hundred percent. You know, like taking the leap before you're there.  Yes. And I think you have to,

one thing

I knew is I needed to be set up and. Almost like I'd already had a business that I was transitioning into. Mm. But actually, I just knew I had to get everything set up and a system in place.

So from Day dot

I

was on payroll. Mm. From the day dot, I knew what I needed to having my bank account to pay my mortgage, to pay my groceries. I find it wild when people are like, like, that's like a nerve. How refreshing. Oh man. When people go to me, oh, I haven't paid myself in two years.

I'm like.

like,

Why

are you just working for free? That seems real dumb.  But sometimes they think they haven't paid themselves and they actually have just,  oh, they pay themselves loads because it's just like, yeah, I'll take $500 here and I'll take 200 bucks here. Yeah. See, I can't operate like that. But again, that's why like I love that you're always like, I love your programs.

'cause I love seeing that. But yeah, it's like, what do you need personally first? Yes, that was my pay. Yeah, that would go in, but I couldn't. And get my head around like, how do I do zero? Like I, uh, ugh. It just gives me the creeps when I see the

sign. Like

I just, it's not my ball game. So I just, that's my bookkeeper's ball game.

Mm-hmm. And every Monday we just have a quick 10 minute phone call, approve, pays, move money around, done. And it's all in control. But what I will say is. When you don't do things yourself, they're not gonna get done the same way you would do them. Mm. Yeah. And I think that, I, my husband always gives me a hard time 'cause he's like, oh, you do things like 50%.

Whereas

he's

like a full perfectionist and we always laugh 'cause he'll get things done really well, but it'll take him like eight hours to do it. Whereas with me, I'm like, he's always like, oh, you just do things so half-assed, but I get it done. Mm. And but actually when you then offload that again. It's like, oh, I wouldn't have done it like that, but actually whatever.

Yeah, it's getting done. Just knowing that. If you offload it, which I believe everyone should be just coming to terms with it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't get done your way, it obviously has to get done well. Yes. And it has to align with your values and get done according to how, what the business needs it to do.

But

how

it

gets done might be their way. And as long as it doesn't take too long and the job gets done, whatever. Mm. Yeah.  And I was actually having a conversation with your partner about this kind of thing yesterday. Sam, you know, he's like.

He's obviously in construction. It's like, I remember when I was, being trained and it's like, this is how you have to hang a door.

But then you, you go out into the world and you realize that everybody hangs the door in their own way. Mm-hmm. Is the door hanging at the end? Yes, it is. So just because they're not doing it the same way as you, doesn't mean their way is wrong. It's just different. Yeah.  And I think, you know, if you're unsure right, a massive list of all the things that.

You need to do in the salon, in business, write a big list, which I did, write a big list, and then work out ways that you can delegate, delegate that to take some pressure off. And your team are more than willing to help, but it might be different things. I have a cleaner in LaSorella and I tell you that it's the best money I've ever spent every week, and I also love that I support my cleaner.

Hmm. You know, I suck at that, so why wouldn't I get someone else to do it? And also. It helps my team 'cause they don't know if I have to think about it. The floors are always clean, the salon's always clean. Like it's things like that delegate in different ways.

Yeah. And, and things that you don't like. Delicate things. If I like, um, doing my zero, not the reconciling. Now Paris does that, lovey Paris. But I like doing, I don't mind doing my wages. It doesn't bother me. And also I like doing my accounts because it feels really like powerful and controlling for me.

Like when I get to like. On a Sunday or a Monday when I do my accounts, it's like, yes, I can see what's moving and I'm excited about this and I can see where that's gone. Control the controllables. Is that that? Yeah, absolutely. And yeah, I think the, the 1% is for me would be like the stock ordering. Yes. Yep.

You

don't like or you do? I don't, I can't. Oh my God, it makes sense to me. Hide it so much. My, I just don't do it. My company does it for me and it's the greatest. Yeah. Because then if they get it wrong, I can yell at them and not get in trouble. It's the best. Yeah. I just, yeah. I,

I.

know what my strengths are.

Yeah. But early on in the piece, I was like, no, no, I'm gonna do all that. Yeah. Like, I wanna be the business owner. I wanna have control, I wanna do it all. But I then had no time.  Sometimes you do have to do stuff a hundred on. Sometimes you've gotta be doing things just to get things off the ground.

 I also say it's really important that you know how to do all of the things before you give them to somebody else. Yes. My husband always says that, said that. You need a procedure. When you, your bookkeeper, when you did your books yourself in the beginning and you learn how to do your finances, you learn how to do it first.

Before you were like, here, accountant. Here, bookkeeper. You do it. Yeah. You learned it first, so you know it when you look at it. Yeah. It's not like you're just hoping somebody is doing the right thing in your business because you don't want to, if God forbid, this ever happens, but if someone left

and

then you had to step in, you need to know how to do it.

Yes. You need to know how to do it. Yes, exactly. Right. There was a time when I had to do it all and I have to know how to do it all. Yes. I have to know how to go in and change the rosters and book holidays and do that. Sometimes it's not a bad thing to take it, like if someone does leave, I've had that where I have to take it back and then you're like, oh, I kind of needed this for a minute.

Yeah, and then you can read rejig re kind of. Totally. So there's incorporate, there's definitely

wisdom

behind it. But the biggest thing for me was Nicki, if you wanna grow. You need to get outta your own way and stop doing everything yourself. Yeah. And actually delegate. Yeah. And

not delegating

going. Can you do that?

I don't know how to do that, but actually like

that's

your

job now. Yeah. Yeah. I don't have time for that. Yeah. 'cause I'm gonna do this. Yeah. I'm actually gonna work on the culture. I'm gonna work on X, Y, Z and things I can say. I've been in business 16 years and you will forget this. Like I forgot about delegating even though I know it.

And then you hear it and you're like, oh yeah, I've gotta re delegate again. I heard that word in my head the other day. And I know he was sending it because then I was like, oh, and I've re-delegated to my team and it feels so great. Yeah, because you can delegate in your team as well. Yeah. You're already paying your whole team and they've got time delegate it to the people that are here.

And they will feel power in them having something else as well. Yeah. I think my girls love helping me. Yeah. Yeah. Like they see it as helping. Yes. Again, when you talk about giving and generosity, they're like, great, that, that, that actually fills my cup 'cause I get to help.  And it also makes. People feel like you have faith in them to do it.

Yeah. You know, like you have the trust and the faith that they will be able to get a job done. Yeah. And that's uplifting for people.  Yeah, totally. Yeah. And that might feel their take as well. Yes. So I love that. Yeah. What a magical moment. Yeah.  Thank you so much for your insight. My pleasure. On our mini moment guys.

Obviously just a taster and we have more chatting about bigger stuff on the full length podcast. But thank you for joining.  Thank you. Thank you, darling.