Last week we had our first meeting with our business coach who is also a personal financial coach too. It was a two hour meeting and I couldn't figure out how we could talk that long with a person we don't know about our business, finances, and future. I looked at the clock when we got there and thought, "this is going to take forever." What could we possibly talk about? What does he want to know? Scott and I are open books and rarely find a reason to hide anything. We don't ask for a lot of help though. We aren't scared of asking, it just that we keep moving along in life and forget we may need advice and wise counsel from time to time.
Justin is our financial coach's name. He is an interesting guy. He's not super nerdy but he is definitely sold on what he chose as a profession. I sat there analyzing his haircut and sideburns that were asymmetrical That's a ten year habit that I can't break. Sorry guys, I stare at your untrimmed neck hair and crooked sideburns. I'm not judging, I'm just giving you a mental haircut and once I have met you more than a few times, I will tell you that your hair potential is so much more than what your $10 haircut is letting it be. Okay, so once I got past that (30 minutes later) he started asking questions about the business like what we like about it, what we don't like about it, what are our goals, how started it, who's roles are what, etc.
I love surveys and filling out charts so this was like a verbal questionnaire dream come true and I answered questions while looking at Scott making sure he agreed. He looked at me and we were on the same track. One of the major questions, "what don't we like about our business" spurred some conversation full of juicy answers. Scott said he didn't enjoy doing the books. FYI, that has been his job since day one and he's been trudging through the task for five years. I love doing books, I love balancing a checkbook, I mean, it REVS me up to see the adding and subtracting on the page. Scott was designated that role because I didn't have time to do it and he is naturally good at math. I just assumed because he was good at it that it was going to be very natural for him to do the books. We have learned over the last seven years that if Scott doesn't want to do something, even if he's good at it, he won't do it. He is the free spirit in our relationship and I am the nerd. He is the first one to pass our business card out wherever we go and he is the first one to take pride in owning such a wonderful place that Studio7 is. I, on the other hand, could do the books (even though he's better at math) and stay in the background forever. In short bursts I can be in public and promote the salon but overall, when people ask me what I do I always say "hair" and leave the "owner" part out. The spotlight has never been my thing but my heavy-rock-band-husband loves the spotlight. He is a great story teller and can sell a piece of poop if he gets a good enough commission off the deal.
There was a little bit of an "Ah ha" moment there. What the heck are we doing putting him on the accounting books and I'm trying to be the marketer? One of our goals is to switch roles so we can thrive in our gifted areas. I bet Scott will throw the books at me once I get a handle on how it works and I will give him all the marketing ideas that have been floating around not being used for years. Eventually, there will be some harmony going on.
Our homework: we have to fill out a personal budget as well as a business budget before our next meeting. You better believe I've been working on it for five days now. I can't help it...I love budgets. You know how some people get that burning excitement feeling in their gut when they really want to buy something or get their caffeine fix? Well, I get that feeling from budgets and questionnaires. I've been hiding my nerd-self behind a fashionable hairstyle and colorful clothing but it's time to come out with the truth.
"I LOVE PUTTING THINGS IN ORDER! I LOVE CONTROL! I THRIVE OFF OF ORGANIZATION! I LOVE A GOOD CHECKBOOK LEDGER!"
Today I told the teller at the bank drive-thru that I loved how they arranged the new parking lot and that it was more square and path-oriented. He said that I was the first person to say that about the new layout.
Scott and I may be on the opposite ends of the spectrum but together we get it done.
