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Why You Need to Treat Your Business Like Getting a Haircut

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No matter your age or gender we all have woken up at some point and said I need a haircut. Even bald men have to do some sort of maintenance. The warning signs are clear because you do not look put together, maybe you’re uncomfortable, and it’s time to clean up. As an entrepreneur, your business can be giving you the same signs, but you may be ignoring them. Very often our business can be a mess, and we let the look of our business, and more importantly the profits, get swept away like cut hair on the barber floor.

Here are 5 tips you should be asking each quarter to see if your business needs a cleanup:

1. Making an appointment

You better make an appointment if you need a haircut with your favorite barber or stylist. Sure, you can just walk in and hope someone is free, but you never know what you’re going to get. Same is true with our business. Are you meeting with key employees and clients regularly to ensure things are running smoothly? Do you meet with them at the right times too?

If you call a meeting with them at the busiest time of their day, you can throw them off their game, and more importantly not get the information you need. Sure, this may mean meeting earlier in the day, or later at night then you would like, but in the end it’s about getting the results so push outside that barrier.

2. Preparation

Even if you see the same person each time you get your haircut, they always ask, what are we doing today. The usual, something new or maybe they even share an idea they have. Either way, before each haircut a conversation takes place. Why? The person in control wants to know what is going to make you, the client, happy and come back again. They know you are going to need another haircut.

How often do we stop to ask what our clients want or need? In today’s automation society, we very often plug people into a system and feel it should just work. Are you stopping to ask your clients if it’s working, and more importantly are you seeing if they need the usual, something new or maybe you need to share a new idea you have that can take them to the next level?

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abraham Lincoln

3. The cut

This is where you get to sit back and relax, but maybe you’re a bit nervous. I see a lot happening, but this does not look like me. If the person cutting my hair stops right now I will look silly. What can you do? You’re in the chair so you have to trust them that in the end this will look amazing!

We have all had clients that have freaked out halfway through the process. For example, your client can say their website is not getting traffic or their social posts are not getting enough likes. The question is are you checking in with them throughout the process? Are you making sure they know where we are and where we are going? More importantly, do you stop to ask the questions, do my clients trust me?

4. Final touches

For the ladies it’s the blow out at the end, for us men it’s the hot shave to square you up. Either way, you can see things coming to gather and you sit up a little bit straighter in the chair. You feel good and you begin thinking about where you can go to show off your clean new look. Before you get up, your stylist takes out that big mirror and shows you all the angles so you can see the work, and they ask the final question, how does it look?

How many times do you report to your clients? If you are not giving monthly and/or quarterly reports on progress then you are missing out on showing them all the angles. If you have a large customer base, are you sending out regular surveys that ask how you’re doing, and more importantly are they happy? Finishing a job right is better than finishing it fast. Any job you’re working on should have final touches that make your clients feel good, sit up a bit taller in their chair, and more importantly tell others about the great work you are doing.

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it again?” – John Wooden

5. Maintenance

Before you leave, very often you are given a plan to keep your hair looking great. Maybe it’s a product you should use, or a routine you should put in place. More importantly, a good barber will ask you when will we be seeing you again, and you want this experience again so you will want to book that next appointment before someone else does.

We have all had a great meeting with a client where after, we all feel great. That feeling will stay as long as each party continues to deliver on what we spoke about in the meeting. It’s so important for both you and your client that you give them a maintenance plan to follow after a meeting. Even if they are hiring you for a service, there is very often work that needs to be put in by both sides. Make sure you set the next meeting so you can keep up the momentum.

What part of this article resonated most with you and why? Share your thoughts with us below!

Lawrence Andrews – Mr. 247 Law – is a motivational speaker and community leader. He engages his audience through a straight forward, no holdback, sincere approach that will help them grow and shift their mindset into one that engenders success in their lives! Coming from humble and rough beginnings, Lawrence uses his wealth of real-world experiences and great hardships to bring a perspective not seen by most.

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Success Advice

Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)

The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

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Why one-size-fits-all leadership doesn’t work
Image Credit: Midjourney

Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)

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Success Advice

What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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leadership tips for new CEO
Image Credit: Midjourney

When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
Image Credit: Midjourney

When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

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