marketing Processes
Beard trimming can be a business process driven approach
A Business process can allow your business to scale at speed
Even my new barber uses business processes
I’ve been growing a beard for a while and have had a love-hate relationship with the process. My beard gets long, misshapen, trimmed short and even shaved right off at times. Yip, but the shaved off period was scary. I didn’t recognise the human behind it.
It’s a bugger to keep a beard neat, and to find a good barber has been a problem. So I settled for a two-part process. I’d have my haircut at a hairdresser and then have my beard trimmed at a barber.
My ex-barber, a chatty fellow, with an occasional body odour problem, served me well. Then one day he threw an off colour rant. I became very uncomfortable going to him. I didn’t feel like putting up with another rant, and I knew I would feel awkward about putting him in his place.
This is, after all, the guy you trust with a razor at your throat.
The Universe Conspires
My beard got itchy and I was miserable. The kind of miserable where you want to scratch the skin off your face rather than write inspiring words.
So off to my friend Google.
I use beard balm from the Black Hat Beard Company, which I bought from the local home industry store. I saw from Black Hat’s website that they also had a beard soap. So I popped a message to their Facebook Page and asked if there was a local outlet to collect. They offered a few suggestions.
Then I threw in the question about where was the best place to go to get your beard shaped or trimmed.
And that’s how I met Wayne Smit. He didn’t have the soap in stock and I said that although I had just had my beard trimmed I was ready for a haircut and could I make a booking. He promised to investigate stock.
The Appointed Day
Wayne sat me down and discussed what I liked, what my routine was and had me off to the basin for a hair wash and head massage.
All good and well. We chatted about what I do and I mentioned I was into business processes and automation, particularly around marketing.
Well, that lead to a very interesting discussion about Michael Gerber’s Book “The eMyth Revisited”.
Turns out Wayne had given a lot of thought to how he can systemize his business. He had an eight pillar approach in place.
In Wayne’s business, every stylist asks their clients six questions when they arrive. Each of these questions are designed to let the stylist know exactly what the client wants and also to allow them to identify further marketing opportunities.
Then the rest of the seven pillars kick in. There’s a hospitality process, a basin process, a product recommendation process, a demo process, a rebooking process, and finally a referral process. (okay I may have them mixed up but you get my drift).
Now I know that Wayne will do very well in his business with a bit of help but was inspired that he had read THE book and developed business processes around the book to benefit his business.
Oh and did I mention, I now have a plan on how to grow my beard in a controlled fashion.
I’m all for systems.
Digitally First - Physically Enhanced
The Online Business Model has usurped the Physical Business Presence as the primary business presence. Physical businesses now support the online versions.
This transitioning has been fraught with difficulty but has been terribly exciting. Successful transients are alive with possibilities…