The Lessons I’ve Learnt About How to Mentor a Team | Tracey Ann Smith

1. You have to be serious about your business in order for it to grow. I contacted a very respected business coach and began to truly understand how to run a business. He tore the business apart and we rebuilt it together. He worked with me for two years, helping me understand everything from average bills to retail and training. This is how I got to grips with every single element of the business.
2. Know when it’s time to leave. I loved every minute of growing my salons, but by 2014 (after 18 years!) I knew the time had come for me to sell Angels. I wasn’t in the business as much and I wasn’t the person to keep growing it. By that point, I was also very tired and my life had changed significantly. It was time to go.
3. Building a team is completely different to building a business. You can have a cart full of apples, but if one is rotting, it’s going to disrupt the rest. Building a great team starts with ensuring those around you have the same vision, but remember, no one will have the same level of passion for your business as you do; don’t assume that everyone shares the same goal.
4. You can teach skills, but not an attitude. Choose your team carefully. Differences are fine – and it’s good to have a lot of different skills and diversity! – but the core values of the team need to all be going in the same direction. Be consistent – if you are inconsistent, your team will be too. I have learnt that people need clarity; they like to know what is expected of them in order to feel secure

The biggest lesson I have learnt about building a team is that you have to be humble; you have to accept that you are just a step on someone else’s career journey. You can’t hold people back and take it personally when they move on. In the early days, I used to get so upset when good staff moved on, but I realised over time that it wasn’t about me and what I could or couldn’t offer them, it was their journey.