Having a Goal Mindset as a New Cosmetologist.

In the last post, we talked about mentors and how anyone would benefit from having someone in their life to guide them through their career. Today, we are going to discuss goals, how to set them, and how to achieve them. I will describe how I set goals, how I keep track of my goals, and how I crush them! First, we must do a little soul-searching before establishing these goals. We must determine what we want from our profession as hairstylists.

What do you want your career to look like in 1 year, 5 years, or even 20 years from now? What do you want your life to look like in the future? Can you even picture it? If I asked you what your dream income or dream life looked like, could you describe it? Envisioning your future may seem like daydreaming to some, but I feel it is an important exercise because when you write down goals and speak them out loud, amazing things start to happen. Our words and thoughts are truly powerful; if you believe that, start writing down those thoughts. A goal-setting session is a great way for new stylists to picture their future because it allows ideas, visions, dreams, and even predictions of their business to start taking shape. I am a list maker, and I thoroughly enjoy checking off the completed items from my list. A list of goals is no different in my eyes because it gives me great satisfaction in completing tasks and my goals. It shows me where I am and where I am going, similar to using a map. If you want to get to point "B", you first need to know where point "A" is located. This is where weekly, monthly, and annual goals come into play.

You should have a goal for what you want your business to become and where you want it to go. This exercise can be done annually and should be easy and fun. You could start a brain-dumping session and put all of your thoughts on paper, or grab old magazines and create a "vision board" where you make a collage of images that represent your goals and dreams. I have a running list of goals on my phone and a few Pinterest boards too. The lists are labeled for the year we are in or the concept that I am dreaming about. For instance, I have a board called "Dream Vacation," and I "Pin" all the images of The Maldives or Bora Bora that my heart desires because one day, I will visit these tropical paradises. I do not know when or how, but I will! No goal is too silly or too big, so be outrageous with your goals. Write down everything, even the aspirations that you do not think would happen in a million years. A few topics to meditate on could be achievements in your career, skills that you want to master, your dream income & your dream schedule.

I want you to be very specific with these goals, not just vague ones. Try not to write "I want to make more money". Instead, write "I want to make $100,000" in 2023. Write down exactly what achievement you want to have no matter how crazy it might sound to anyone else. Write down all the skills that you want to master in your career so that when you look back on the list, you can smile and be proud of yourself. For example, write down that you want to master a specific method of extensions or hand-painted Balayage. The goal needs to be niched down. Think about your perfect schedule and work towards that every month. If you want to take off more Saturdays, then write that goal down and take the steps to bring this goal to life. I know that it sounds scary to think that a stylist would give up their most profitable day, but hear me out. Taking off 1 Saturday a month will not put you in a huge financial bind because your clients will just come another day. If you feel the need to work later the previous or the following weekend, then do it. You need to enjoy your time off with your family and friends from time to time otherwise, why are you doing any of this? Finally, write down your life-changing dream income and the reason behind it. Your reason is important because it is what drives you, and it is what makes you go to work every day and stay late on those hard days. It is what makes you keep pushing through all the crap that life throws your way. It is your "why".

Let me ask you, what is your "why"? If you do not have a "why", it is fine because all that means is that you probably need more life experiences. You may not have determined what drives you, so, therefore, you may not have a why just yet. And let me just say, your "why" can change. At one point in my life, my reason was one thing and now at 41, my reason is not the same at all because I am not the same person; I've matured, gotten married, and had children.

Once you have created your list, I want you to do something kinda silly. I want you to find a picture representing that goal or just write your income goal on a dollar bill and then tape it to your bathroom mirror so that you see it every day when you get ready in the morning. I want you to read it daily so you do not forget it. I have an income goal, and I have written that number on a dollar bill and it is taped to my bathroom mirror where I put my makeup on daily. I see this goal almost 365 days out of the year. Even my husband and kids ask about my goal and I'm happy to talk to them about it. I'm even happier to report when I smashed that original goal and when I added a NEW one!

When it comes to your income goal, I like to break it down into bite-sized chunks to make it more attainable. Start with making daily, weekly, and monthly goals that way, you can make visible progress and keep track of your efforts. Some people like to reverse engineer their income goal by taking the big total and dividing that figure by 12 to determine how much revenue they need to make monthly or divide by 52 for a weekly figure, and so on. If your goal is to make $100,000 in top-line sales, you need to do $8,333 in monthly or $1,923 in weekly sales. This way, you can keep track of your numbers and if you are falling behind, you can kick it up a notch. This is a huge motivator for me and the numbers do not lie.

When we speak positive words in the universe, positive things come to fruition. Our words have power and we must be intentional with our words. We have to get in the habit of speaking kind words to ourselves and identifying the negative thoughts that infiltrate our minds. When you say that you cannot do something or that you will never be able to achieve a goal, then you won't. We are what we say we are even if these words are lies. We tell ourselves these lies maybe because we lack self-confidence or someone has told us something negative about ourselves. We can all have negative thoughts at times but we must learn to change that habit. We must choose to be positive and take hold of those negative thoughts. Your mindset has to be positive if you desire a positive life.

I want to end with a few of my favorite quotes or scriptures.

"The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts." Marcus Aurelius

"You're never too old to set another goal or dream another dream" C.S.Lewis

"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:22 NKJV

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