In fact, the question I’m asked most often during seminars across the U.S. is “what should our staff be doing to make the most of time not spent with clients?”  The response I’ve developed is based on the idea of the salon business being a numbers game.

“Just think how busy every service provider would be if he or she could keep every client he or she could keep every client they touch.”  I say, “Retention is the key to being busy, so it makes sense to turn every second of down time into growth time – time dedicated to creating and implementing strategies to put and keep clients in the chair”.

1. Keep in touch with your existing clients.  Spend 30 minutes a day calling your clients from last week and see how you did.  Make sure they scheduled their next appointment.  Remember, the ultimate “than you “they can offer for a job well-done is to rebook.  Find out if they are telling friends and family about your salon.  Most clients are not aware that word-of-mouth is our greatest source of business, and many will be glad to help if you ask them for business.
2. Use a “10-Card” system.  Make a quick visit to other stores in your area or shopping center location within a one-mile radius.  Pass out ten cards to people that you see.  Introduce yourself to the employees and invite them to the salon for a tour.  Make sure you leave a card – it’s your best, easiest and most inexpensive source of advertising.
3. Develop in-salon, mini “power” meetings.  Meet with other members of the staff who also have free time. (But try to stay our of the break room. I call the break room “the black hole” because nothing good ever happened there.)  Meet and discuss future events to build business in the salon.  Start an idea book and write down ideas as they strike.  At staff meetings, go over the ideas and discuss which ones would work best.
4. Study the phone book and the yellow pages.  Look for groups, organizations and other nearby businesses who might want to get involved in cross marketing or mutual promotion.  Call and introduce yourself.  Offer the contact person the opportunity to visit the salon for a service and receive a free bottle of shampoo or conditioner.  Retail products work well as business builders because the value to the client is twice what it is to the salon.
5. Study your salon as a client.  Get in the habit of a daily walk-through of the salon, concentrating on seeing it through your client’s eyes.  Check for cleanliness and sanitation.  Make certain all displays are neat and accessible.  Check all retail testers and make sure they are full and wiped off.
6. Make “up” side down time a team goal.  Have everyone contribute to a list of “things to do”, so that anyone who isn’t booked gets into the habit of picking the list up, tackling a task and checking it off.  Keep the list for staff meetings and acknowledge people for extra efforts.

There’s an old saying that goes: “If you want something done, give it to the busy person”.  Staying productive is a habit.  Build the habits to fill those inevitable empty slots in a day and it’s true, the clients will come.

Are you holding onto any resentment, anger, or guilt toward another? Know  that even if these thoughts aren’t foremost in your mind, they persist in the form of an energy drain.

The good news is, there is peace i n release. Think about how much energy you expend on draining emotions and what you could do with that energy, if released. This month , identify something within that is not serving you, and let it go. Once you do, take advantage of the remaining energy and do something productive and/or fun.

Reward & incentive programs

Just how important are customer reward and incentive programs? Well, considering that some consumers will go out of their way to accrue points with their favorite credit card, or at their favorite store, then it’s fair to say it’s pretty important. Small business owners can run the exact same reward and incentive programs and are likely to be much more flexible on how those programs are managed and implemented, than their larger competitors. Large companies have rules, regulations and a myriad of procedures in place to protect their gross profits, and most importantly, their bottom line. With less overhead, and more flexibility, entrepreneurs can offer incentive programs for customers that match their exact needs.

Take the time to come up with your own reward program. It could be based on volume purchased, frequency of orders or the types of products or services offered by your company. Make sure your program is flexible! Provide your customers with options on how they can accrue their rewards and how they can be redeemed.

Offer discounts on prepayment & prompt payment

Make sure to offer your customers several payment options and methods. However, concentrate on getting your customers to prepay, or pay a portion of the invoice amount sooner, by offering discounts for prompt payment. Discounts for prepayment & prompt payment are excellent tools to increase customer loyalty as they allow customers to accrue additional savings off the invoice’s value. At the same time, you benefit from earlier payment, which helps your company’s cash flow.

Be flexible on payment terms

Being flexible on payment terms is a benefit that small business owners have over their larger competitors. Now, this doesn’t imply you allow your customers to take as long as they please to pay their invoices. Not at all! Like any business, your small business has to not only pay its bills, but also meet payroll and still have enough to pay for those day to day operating expenses. However, if you can afford to be flexible on payment terms with your largest customers, then use it to your advantage. Most competitors will find it hard to be as flexible. If it makes a difference between business won and lost, then make sure to weigh the benefits of extending terms to your largest customers.

Be willing to sign contractual agreements on supply

Most large companies have all kinds of rules and regulations governing how they manage and hold inventory for their customers. After all, inventory can be extremely expensive. However, with less overhead, small business owners and entrepreneurs can afford to be far more flexible in managing and controlling their contractual supply agreements. Now, the intention is to be more flexible in managing supply agreements, not to be a “pushover”. In this case, be sure the supply agreement covers your company’s inventory costs of ownership. However, be willing to hold inventory longer if needed. This is often one thing larger competitors simply can’t compete with.

Be willing to become an “unpaid consultant”

This last point is something that must be handled with care. By no means is anyone implying you offer up something for nothing. This is not the intention of this last point. Regardless, small business owners often have keen insight into their given industry or market. That insight and information is often of great value to customers. Therefore, be willing to share information that could help your best customers secure business of their own. However, be sure to draw the line at customers asking you to provide competitive pricing in order to lower other competitive bids. This is not acceptable.

When it comes to improving customer retention and loyalty, small business owners and entrepreneurs have the capacity to be more flexible than their larger competition. The key is to be aware of the ways your business can afford to be more flexible, that can’t be duplicated by your competitors. Take the time to enact these aforementioned strategies. They will improve customer retention and ultimately ensure your company is your customers’ primary partner.

Coaching is a fashionable and a powerful development tool, and if accessed for the right need can be beneficial for those providing the coaching (the Coach) as well as those receiving (the Client).

Coaching is centred on the individual; the power base for change is believed to be held within and with some support can be released. Coaching can be used for performance issues, but is more generally used to enhance performance, to prepare for career moves and to develop skills and abilities in new areas. Many individuals are taking up personal coaching to help them make changes in their daily life such is the effectiveness of the intervention. Coaching is different to the more traditional forms of training and development in as much as it is geared always to match the individual’s personal needs and preferred learning style. It is therefore custom-made, bespoke and more likely to bring about the change desired by the Client.

There are many models and types of coaching practice, some may have a therapeutic angle, some with an intention of teaching ‘something’ and some, which are more counselling-based. However, whichever model is used, there are six fundamental principles, which need to be applied if the effective result is to be realised.

Principle 1 – The Client is resourceful

Coaching is not about being ‘fixed’. The Client has the resources within themselves to resolve their particular issue. Only they know what to do because they possess of all the essential information, they alone will have to implement any action and ultimately live with the results. The Coach can, and often will, offer useful additional information, but it is up to the Client whether they use it.

Principle 2 – The Coach enables the Clients resourcefulness

The role of the Coach is not advice giving. The giving of advice implies a sense of knowing better than the Client and an obligation to honour that advice, even if it may not be in their best interests.

The Coach should facilitate and encourage the independence of the Client through empowering them to generate and consider the options available.

Principle 3 – Coaching relates to the whole person

Coaching isn’t just about professional issues, or just about personal life. Experience shows that difficulties in either part of a person life are often present in the other; therefore, the issues need to be explored in totality rather than in isolation.

Principle 4 – The Client sets the agenda

There is no set agenda with coaching. This is essentially different from traditional teaching practice where particular learning objectives need to be met. The Coach may have models and programmes for particular issues, but if these are not an issue for the Client, they are not appropriate. The session begins and ends with the Client and their agenda.

Principle 5 – An Equal Relationship

There is no power base. The Coach and Client work together on an equal footing. The relationship is not dependent on the Coach requiring authority and knowledge that the Client does not have. In order to be effective the relationship must be based on mutual respect.

Principle 6 – Coaching is about change

Clients seek coaching because they want something to change and they want to become more effective, whether this is managing a small team or succeeding within a particular sport. The role of the Coach is to help the Client achieve their goal and therefore the client must want to change.

Whichever coaching model is chosen these six values provide the foundation for a successful outcome for the Client and the Coach. If these elements cannot be applied, an alternative development method should be considered.

We introduced KIN to  hiroshi beverly hills and spend an evening  learning. It was a great class and what a great professional team.

According to the Regis Corporation the Worldwide Salon Industry is now worth more than $150 Billion dollars annually and since 2003 it has been growing at a 5.5% average annual growth rate. They also currently estimate the Domestic Hair Salon Industry to be worth more than $53 billion dollars annually. In 1997 the Industry was estimated to be $40 billion dollars indicating an annual average growth rate of approximately 2.6% compounded since 1997. That rate however took a hit at the end of 2008 as the recession that started in the last quarter of 2007 took hold and expectations are currently for the contraction in growth of at least 2.5% with growth slowing moving back to at least a positive 1.5% in 2010 as the Economy continues to exit the current recession. We are now in a high-tech, high-touch world. Consumers are demanding knowledgeable, highly skilled professionals to perform their hair care, skin and body care services. Consumers’ main needs are to look professional, well-groomed and more youthful. Hair salons that diversify to offer personalized packages and spa services outperform others. Also, salons must offer styles that are easy to maintain and services at more convenient times. Between stress, aging and time constraints women are demanding more and more services and with higher disposable income, facilities to answer to these needs. According to Info USA databases, the Industry lost 5,527 facilities or 2.19% in 2009.  The CBO (Congressional Budget Office), expects that over the next year and a half, consumer spending will grow more slowly than in recent years. Contractions within any Industry are not all bad and in fact they can be very profitable for operators with an established clientele or new operators who have the understanding and the cash available to weather the storm. Already lower numbers of new  salons are coming into the market and the Economy will shake the weakest operators out leaving a much more profitable environment for operators who survive. The Industry is tied directly to the health of the U.S. Economy and consumer disposable income. The CBO anticipates that the current recession, which started in December 2007, will have lasted until the second half of 2009, making it the longest recession since World War II they anticipate that real GDP will have dropped by 2.2 percent in calendar year 2009, a steep decline. Severe economic downturns often sow the seeds of robust recoveries. During a slump in economic activity, consumers defer purchases, especially for housing and durable goods, and businesses postpone capital spending and try to cut inventories. Once demand in the economy picks up, the disparity between the desired and actual stocks of capital assets and consumer durable goods widens quickly, and spending by consumers and businesses can accelerate rapidly. Although CBO expects that the current recovery will be spurred by that dynamic, in all likelihood, the recovery will also be dampened by a number of factors. Those factors include the continuing fragility of some financial markets and institutions; declining support from fiscal policy as the effects of ARRA wane and tax rates increase because of the scheduled expiration of key tax provisions; and slow wage and employment growth, as well as a large excess of vacant houses.

In CBO’s forecast, real GDP increases by 2.1 percent between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the fourth quarter of 2010 and by 2.4 percent in 2011. Given CBO’s estimate of growth in potential output, those GDP growth rates will narrow the difference between actual output and potential output (the output gap) only slightly. Growth of real GDP will accelerate after 2011, spurred by stronger business investment and residential construction.

Source: Congressional Budget Office Economic Projections and revisions.

The rebound in GDP and will also affect real disposable income growth which is expected to grow by 1.2% in 2010 after .50% growth in 2009. For 2012 through 2014, CBO projects that real GDP will increase by an average of 4.4 percent per year, which would close the output gap completely by the end of 2014. Even though economic activity began to increase again during the second half of 2009, the unemployment rate continued to rise, finishing the year at 10.0 percent. Hiring usually lags behind output during the initial stages of a recovery because firms tend to increase output first by boosting productivity and by raising the number of hours that existing employees work; adding employees tends to occur later. CBO expects that the unemployment rate will average slightly above 10 percent in the first half of 2010 and then turn downward in the second half of the year. As the economy expands further, the rate of unemployment is projected to continue declining until, in 2016, it reaches 5 percent, which is equal to CBO’s estimate of the rate of unemployment consistent with the usual rate of job turnover in U.S. labor markets. Reflecting the large amount of slack in the economy, inflation will decrease further from its already low level in 2009, CBO forecasts. The core price index for personal consumption expenditures (that is, the PCE price index excluding the prices of food and energy) will rise by about 1 percent (on a fourth-quarter-to-fourth-quarter basis) in 2010 and by 0.9 percent in 2011. The overall PCE price index will rise by 1.4 percent in 2010 and 1.1 percent in 2011.

For operators just getting started this may be the best time within the business cycle to plan and open your new facility understanding that with interest rates still at all time low levels and marginal operators going out of business you will have accounted for the marginal efficiencies necessary to not only survive against the competition but to thrive as we cycle once again into economic expansion.

Understand all the costs of your inventory:

Companies often misunderstand, or don’t properly assess their costs of inventory. A company’s inventory costs are made up of more than just the product on the shelf. They also include the per unit freight costs of every part and material in your warehouse. In addition, any time you move product from one warehouse location to another, it also adds to the costs. Holding inventory for extended periods is an additional cost. Electricity, and even heating and air-conditioning, are also costs. Damage to inventory is yet another cost, as is obsolete inventory that can’t be sold anymore. A basic rule of thumb is that inventory ties up money that you might otherwise be able to use in other parts of your business. Having money tied up in inventory that isn’t moving, or doesn’t sell fast enough, is a cost to your company every day, week and month. A number of companies simply ignore these factors and keep their analysis to the basic cost of the product or material on the shelf. However, inventory costs go well beyond that.

1. Use your economies of scale and don’t get fixated on short term inventory costs:

Every company wants to have low inventory costs. It makes perfect sense not to want to have too much inventory. However, mistakes are often made when companies become so fixated with monthly inventory costs that they actually ignore potential savings that can be accrued with better vendor pricing with larger volumes per order. By no means are we implying that month to month inventory costs aren’t important. They are very important. Rather, what we are saying is be cognizant of the savings your company can achieve when purchasing larger volumes, relative to how long that inventory will remain in your warehouse. A good rule of thumb is to remember that monthly carrying charges for inventory are usually around 3% of the inventory value on hand. So, if purchasing double your volume allows for a 10% reduction in pricing, but means you hold onto the inventory for an additional month, it makes sense to do so. Your two months of inventory will cost you a total of 6%, but your price will go down 10%. Your company is still ahead 4% in costs. Granted, this is a simple example, but there are bound to be those items you can double your volume on.

1. Include every cost variable and manage costs by quarter:

You’ll never be able to improve how you manage your inventory, and its costs, without first being sure to include all the necessary variables. It’s all or nothing when it comes to inventory costs. Be sure to include all the variables we previously mentioned, and set a plan in motion to reduce those costs. When you have all your costs mapped out, you are always in a better position to identify areas that need to be immediately addressed. Take the time to put all this information down in a table, and extend your analysis to looking at these costs over a quarter. You can still set plans in motion to improve costs month to month, but give yourself plenty of time to see the results of your actions. Measure the impact of your cost cutting measures by quarter, and take a longer term view of your inventory costs.

1. Eliminate redundancy and obsolescence:

Surprisingly, it’s really not that hard to improve your ability to tackle the problem of obsolete or outdated inventory. It’s simply a question of discipline and better coordination between sales and inventory management. What needs to happen is that you set some boundaries by which your company will not deviate from. Make sure the common parts in your inventory have multiple customers who could take that inventory. While it really depends upon the industry, a good rule of thumb is to keep inventory of common parts as long as your sales has the ability to sell that inventory to a minimum 3 or 4 customers. For all non-standard parts, that business should be “made to order” business only. In this case, you don’t hold inventory of the product, and only ship what is ordered by your customer. Of course, there is a lead time for the product, but it never remains in your inventory and therefore doesn’t add to your inventory costs. It’s up to your sales team to properly manage customer expectations and have them incorporate the lead time into their order patterns. Aside from these two areas, if you do entertain holding inventory for just one customer, make sure to have an iron clad agreement in place securing the inventory and protecting your interests.

1. Negotiate favorable supply agreements with vendors:

Understand that damage to your inventory is a huge impact on your overall inventory costs. Holding inventory for extended periods is not only a cost per month, but also represents an additional cost if those parts are accidently damaged. If damaged in your warehouse, your company is liable for that cost. However, if the risk of that damage is removed, then your costs will go down. How can you reduce the potential for damage to inventory, and at the same time reduce your month to month carrying costs? You accomplish both by negotiating a contractual blanket order agreement with your vendors that allows you to only take inventory when you are certain you’ll either use it, or sell it immediately. Granted, you won’t be able to do this with your entire inventory, and will have to abide by our first principle of using your economies of scale, but there will be items you can use these agreements with. Just be aware that your supplier will have their own monthly carrying charges and will likely put a limit to how long they retain your product. However, having your customer keep your inventory for you, frees up some of your cash, and protects against damage to that inventory in your warehouse.

Trying to keep inventory at manageable levels is never easy. It requires stronger cohesion between your sales, purchasing and inventory management departments. However, by using some simple rules your chances at lowering your costs of inventory greatly increase. Over time, you’ll begin to see what works, and what doesn’t. By managing your inventory with long term goals in mind, you’ll be able to identify those products where using your economies of scale is beneficial, and those products where contractual agreements make more sense.

1 What do you know about in life? If you don’t want to have a struggle at all stages of your start-up, select a franchise in a topic area you are familiar with. It is difficult enough to start a new business without having to learn about an unfamiliar product or service stream at the same time. If you are familiar with the topic area you will know what the problem areas will be, what the business potential is, and what the demands on your time and money are likely to be. You will be also less likely to be conned by suppliers or a questionable franchiser.

2 What capital do you have available? Entering a franchise arrangement with insufficient capital will mean you are always struggling financially from the start. There are many ‘once only’ costs associated with starting a business, and if you cannot meet these, your business will have a difficult birth. The next financial consideration is whether you can make a profit from the business. The franchiser may impress you with earnings potential, but you know your local area and market. Don’t fool yourself with over-generous estimations. Careful research or due diligence in all areas of finance at this point will prevent pitfalls or unexpected issues later.

3 Is there a suitable location available to host your business? The franchiser may help you to find premises, or may rely on your local knowledge. Use the franchiser’s expertise to find premises that suit the working pattern of your business. Ensure that you use available expertise such as a lawyer or accountant to check the contract for the lease. If you are investing time and money in building a business, you don’t want to find you have built it on a dodgy lease agreement where your tenancy is insecure.

4 Secure the support of family and friends. You may simply need someone to stand in a store while you have a quick lunch, or you may need to borrow money to expand the business. Whatever the circumstances, the support of people you know and trust is vital in setting up a business.  Life will be difficult enough without having relatives say ’I told you so’. Family and friends can see you through many business storms and provide a level of support and help that money can’t buy.

5 Decide which franchises meet these criteria. You have narrowed the field by researching which franchises suit your location, experience, circumstances and available finance. Now you need to make a choice as to the best franchise to invest in. You will be hopefully signing up to a long-term relationship, so don’t rely only on business data. If you just don’t like a franchiser, don’t give yourself years of grief and unpleasantness just because the relationship scored best in a survey. A franchise deal you are happy in will be much more productive than one in which the relationship is always difficult.

The guidelines listed above will give you some help in deciding among the many opportunities available. The most important lesson is that you do your research carefully, and don’t make a quick decision. Find out what the business arrangements are, but make sure you will be happy in the relationship. You will then hopefully have a business that will give you a profitable and a happy life.

So lets be clear. An employee is not an Independent Contractor — and a Booth Renter is not an Independent contractor. Even though a Booth Renter pays taxes in a manner similar to an Independent Contractor, the source of their income is very dissimilar. In addition, their obligations to the IRS for reporting income and expenses is quite different.

As a matter-of-fact, the Employee has more in common with an Independent Contractor than with a Booth Renter. Specifically concerning the Form 1099 Report of Income. Employers give the form 1099 to Employees and to Independent Contractors. Booth Renters give the Form 1099 to those they are leasing business space from.

Taxes
Employers withhold taxes, provide a paycheck and also pay Employer taxes. As an Independent Contractor, those who employed you, will pay your bill or invoice in full. You are responsible for paying your taxes. As a Booth Renter, you pay rent to who you rent business space from. The rest of the money you make is yours. It is solely your responsibility to pay taxes on it.

So remember, it is the IRS who can decide if you are an independent contractor or not. The same folks who can audit and fine you thousands of dollars! So if you really want to know whether or not you are an Independent Contractor, find out what the IRS has to say about it.

What Is An Independent Contractor?
An independent contractor is not someone who comes to work at the salon day after day, week after week, with a split commission pay plan between themselves and the salon owner. That sounds like an Employee, someone who is supposed to be on the payroll. You can be paid by the hour or you can be paid a commission and certain aspects of the minimum wage laws also would apply to you. Your Employer tells you when to come to work and when to go home. Your Clients are not really your clients, they are the Clients of the Salon Owner and you should receive a paycheck. Your paycheck should have deductions for Federal, State and Local taxes and deductions for Medicaid, Social Security, etc.

In addition, the Salon Owner as Employer, must pay their share of your Social Security and your Workers Compensation. And because the Employer pays you, at the end of the year the Employer is supposed to provide you with the Form 1099, which reports money paid to you and taxes deducted on your behalf.

Also, if you are an Independent Contractor, the Employer also is supposed to provide you with a 1099 Income Form, reporting money paid to you. But no responsibility for paying taxes. Do you see why some Salon Owners like paying you as if you were an Independent Contractor? When really, you are working as an Employee. They like not having to pay their share of ALL those Employee taxes.

Most people in the Beauty Industry who think they are an Independent Contractors, are actually Booth Renters. But as far as the IRS is concerned, you cannot be part Booth Renter and part Employee. For tax purposes you have to do everything expected of a Booth Renter, which would then place you in the Independent Business Person’s tax classification.

A Booth Renter leases space within the Salon. Space in which to operate their own business for their own benefit. Not to work under the control of the Salon Owner for the benefit of the Salon Owner. You pay a specified rent, not a commission or a split of your income. You collect and control the money and give the Salon Owner a check for the rent amount. You must have your own key to the Business as proof to the IRS that you can enter and leave as you wish and therefore determine your own working hours.

So you see, if you are in a work situation where you are called an “Independent Contractor” or you are a Booth Renter, or you are a “Booth Renter” that is being called an “Independent Contractor,” and they don’t allow you to have a key, or they can tell you what time to come to work in the morning, or the Clients pay a central cashier or cash register instead of paying you, or they tell you which products you are going to use, or you’re being paid some sort of split commission… well… maybe everything is just fine.

Unless the IRS comes knocking on the door. Then you’re going to have to explain why you are NOT the Employee the IRS thinks you are.

And about the Form 1099. At the end of the year, a Booth Renter is supposed to provide a Form 1099 to the Salon Owner. Showing the untaxed income that YOU provided to the Salon Owner. And as for your own tax return, you file as the Operator, as an Independent Business.

Booth Renters should have a signed Booth Rental Agreement. For the protection of the Salon Owner and the Booth Renter.

Why?

For a lot of reasons! The main one being, IF the IRS ever knocks on your door or the door of the Salon Owner, it is proof of who is supposed to have been paying all those taxes!!!

So… As a Booth Renter, you lease a work space for a set period of time, at a specified price that does not vary as income varies. And you work as an Independent Business Person.

This week, I was offered just such a business partnership. It would have been wonderful for my ego. It was a fantastic brand with which to collaborate and a high-profile venue, with worldwide recognition. All my family and friends were impressed. Yet, it made absolutely no business sense.
How often do we make business decisions based purely on our emotions rather than on logic, insight, and real business savvy? This was my prime example. Had I become involved in this enterprise, I would have done so for all the wrong reasons—all the emotional reasons. Though logic told me this wouldn’t be the best course of action, I could easily have let my emotions win the battle; but, thankfully, common sense won.

For me, this experience has highlighted the importance of a simple yet crucial principle: Emotions are the worst criteria on which to base our business decisions and also the worst indicators that those decisions have been wisely made. While we wouldn’t want to discount our intuition entirely when making business decisions, because that would rob us of a whole dimension of our humanity; it’s just as true that logic and clear thinking must predominate, keeping our emotions in check, when the time for a final decision arrives.

As we allow ourselves to weigh all sides of the matter objectively, without feeling bound by what others think or expect of us or the prestige a particular business decision might bring us, we enjoy greater freedom to make the choice that would benefit us most in the long run.

In a small business, we often treat our employees as if they were family. When those employees disappoint us, as so often happens, we feel hurt. We think, “How could s/he do this to me? I treated her/him like family.” While these experiences can be painful, they do teach us an important lesson: Though it’s always right to treat others well, in a business environment we mustn’t allow ourselves to take everything personally.

The challenge in this arena is to remain human while still stepping back just far enough to see the situation objectively—at least from a business standpoint. Though we may still feel personally hurt by an employee’s failure to live up to our expectations, we must nevertheless subordinate those negative emotions to our better business judgment. This will free us from being ruled by our emotions and responding in an emotional manner and will allow us to draw instead on our powers of logic to separate those personal feelings from the requirements of running our businesses effectively. It will also make dealing with our employees on a professional, employer-to-employee level, far easier.

One way to remain more objective in a business environment is to discuss issues rather than actions or people’s specific involvement in them. Rather than stating that an employee has done something wrong, try discussing the problem itself in a less-personal way. Make up your mind to be failure-tolerant, knowing that every failure presents an opportunity for learning and growth. This will make your employees far more likely to recognize their own errors, without feelings of defensiveness and without feeling as if they’ve been attacked, criticized, or put down.

Approaching problems as shared challenges to be collaboratively overcome for your mutual benefit—and that of the company for which you both work—will give your employees greater buy-in where your company’s vision and objectives are concerned, which can help build greater loyalty. In this way, they will begin to see that failure isn’t necessarily the end, but can instead be the beginning of greater success in the future. This will not only empower your employees to seek new ways of improving their own performance but will also give them an incentive for doing so.

Failure tolerance will also help you as a business leader by taking your dealings with your employees out of the emotional realm and placing them squarely into the realm of reason, thereby creating a less emotionally charged, more balanced and business-like atmosphere at work.

Dealing with emotions can be tricky in business, whether those emotions are our own or others’. That’s why it’s helpful to realize that, though we may experience an emotion—and even recognize and accept its validity—we aren’t required to allow that emotion to control us or dictate our reactions to others. Despite that emotion, we are still completely free to use our better judgment to determine the most appropriate response in any given circumstance. Keeping our heads when emotions threaten to overwhelm us will provide the mental space we need to deliberately choose to do the things that will be most beneficial to our businesses—and at the same time, to ourselves.