Time is your most precious resource when it comes to being an entrepreneur… especially in the spa industry.

Despite this, however, spa owners are constantly setting themselves up to fail when they’re trying to grow their spa businesses. How? Because they frequently don’t pay attention to the time-stealers that are robbing them of opportunities to complete growth strategies. 

The Importance of Self-Awareness as a Spa Business Owner

Now, the summer is the time of year when both small and large spa businesses are mapping out the remainder of their year… because, as we know, a plan without a plan is set up for failure!

But the number one mistake I see spa owners making when doing this? Not accounting for the aspects of spa management that are stealing their time. 

Doesn’t sound like you? Well, let’s compare with my time-stealer checklist:

• Do you feel like a great project “starter”, but are not so hot at the whole “finishing” part of them?

• Do you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get done what you need to get done?

• Do you struggle with prioritizing?

Have you said “yes” to any of these questions? Then, sorry to say, but you’re a victim of time-stealing!

So what are my top time stealers that you need to be aware of as a time-stealer? Well…

Disorganized Grocery Shopping

This one especially rings true to you, fellow spa owner mamas!

As a mother and business owner, being disorganized when grocery shopping was a big “aha” for me; at the peak of my time as a spa owner, it eventually hit me that the combination of last-minute grocery shopping and meal-planning was insidiously sucking me dry in terms of both time and energy. 

When I switched to making Sunday my weekly grocery shopping and meal-planning day the relief was instantaneous. 

Idle Social Media

I know, I know: social media apps were literally created to be as addictive as possible. Trust me, I’m not impervious to them either!

With that being said, idly scrolling social media in your downtime between clients, in the evening when you’re supposed to be sleeping, or first thing in the morning can quickly eat up half-hour chunks. This also extends to texting, TV, email, and phone calls. 

So what can you do? Other than taking steps to actively minimize your time spent procrastinating via it, taking the time to reflect on why you’re picking up your phone will lead to long-term changes. Is it boredom? Compulsion? Figuring out the reasoning behind your reactions is vital for channelling that idle time into something more productive.

Last-Minute Clients

We’ve all heard the dreaded phrase before: “Oh no, I have an emergency! Can you squeeze me in?”

While spa owners feel the need to make allowances for clientele due to the fear or frustration or loss of business, let me drop this truth bomb on you (that you already know is true!) Ready for it?

Your client having an emergency does not mean that you have an emergency.

Setting healthy boundaries is vital for your mental health, for your workflow productivity, and for ensuring that you are not saying “yes” to too many things: after all, multi-tasking rarely means that things are getting done well! So what can you do instead? Make sure that you are not being a “yes man” to those frantic last-minute clients. Trust me, it’ll feel good in the long run!

2017 Planning Day

Do these time-stealers sound like things you need to be tackling within your spa business? Tune in to my upcoming Planning Day to get help patching those “leaks” that have sprung in your schedule!

As always, please feel free to reach out to me for further resources, advice, and coaching scheduling. Thanks for reading, spa owners!