Boy, did my journey take a turn in 2020…one I didn’t see coming at all! But like I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to do it His way, not my own! There was no question as to what my next step should be. I knew the next step was to begin writing a plan, yes, a real business plan. It’s one thing to have a dream in your head for all those years but it’s another thing to have to put it all on paper! I got to work and started writing my business plan from nothing but an outline I saved years prior! It’s important to note that I was doing this mainly on weekends and during late nights. Why? Because we were in the middle of a pandemic and decided it would be best to switch to virtual learning for our boys which meant I was teaching Monday through Friday from 8-3! I didn’t have the energy nor the time to work on my business plan during the day so I had no choice but to get it done on the off hours! Nevertheless, I was dedicated & diligent! I set goals for myself and I made sure I stayed committed to them as best as I could!
Then, the year 2021 rolled around. I thought it was a good time to expand my network and get connected to someone with experience; someone who could help lead and guide me to my end goal of becoming a spa owner. How did I go about seeking out this individual? I’m glad you asked. Of course, I started searching the internet but more importantly as I began to search I paid close attention to their character as I watched the videos and read reviews. I wanted to reach out to someone who I felt I could trust, who was easy to talk to, had great energy, and one that made me feel we would work well together! Yes, experience is important but more importantly I need to make sure we would be a good fit for one another! Turns out, I found a great coach/mentor and we’ve been working together since January of 2021! That’s not even the best part! Once I connected to her, I was then introduced to another great leader who became a mentor. She, then, introduced me to an amazing financial consultant who I desperately needed at the time.
There you have it! I built my community by reaching out to make one connection and that connection led to others, allowing it to grow organically! I knew I couldn’t do this alone and no one should feel the need to do so! Today, my community consists of a spa coach, mentor, financial consultant, business lawyer, spa organizations in which I’m a member, and a SpaHive community consisting of mostly spa owners I get to learn and grow from everyday! One great advantage that comes with having a mentor and/or coach, in my opinion, is they help you avoid any unforeseen circumstances that could occur down the road saving you tons of money and time! This is due to their wealth of knowledge and experience! And, I can’t stress enough the importance of having a financial consultant! My financial consultant is THEE numbers man and there’s no way my business plan would be complete without him as we all know how important numbers are for any aspiring business owner, no matter the industry!
My encouragement for you today, build your tribe! Get connected to individuals that inspire, encourage, motivate, & help guide you! Your tribe may look slightly different than mine but staying connected to a community of like minded individuals will help add value to your overall success in so many ways! We are better when we work together!!
Stick around because next week I’ll tell you about how I began looking for a spa location once my business plan was complete and how yet another unexpected turn, our should I say halt, took me by surprise on this journey! See you next week!
