COPING WITH THE TRESSES & STRESSES

Louise at a friend’s wedding in Cordoba, Argentina.

Coping with the tresses & stresses
For Louise Pilkington, the owner of Servilles Hair Salon in Auckland’s Ponsonby, a break from her business often involves a hot, remote, exotic location and more than likely, a friend’s wedding. So far she has been witness to nuptials in Argentina and Bali. “And being a bridesmaid for a Hindu wedding in Penang was a very special experience,” she says.
Of course, it’s only natural that she combines these special occasions with a holiday – just as she does with the international fashion shows she attends every year in such equally exciting venues as New York, Milan and Paris for the likes of Prada, Gucci, Louis Vutton, to name just a few.
Pilkington admits that the whole wedding thing may not be sustainable – sooner or later she’s going to run out of friends who want to get married in exotic locations – but, exotic locations aside, she has many other ways of coping with the stresses of the business. These include weekly yoga sessions, meditation, long walks, a policy of ‘no clients before 10am’, and a no-client day on Fridays.
“No-client Fridays means I can hang-out all day in the salon on a more relaxed basis – having coffee and a chat, maybe getting my hair done – it’s a chance to step back from the business, meet with staff and sort out any issues.”
It hasn’t always been like this. Her reduction in ‘hands-on’ hours has been a gradual process over the 13 years that she has been running the business. “I couldn’t have done it in the first year. When you first start a business, your foot is on the accelerator. I used to work 52 hour weeks and I could personally be looking after up to nine clients in the salon at any one time,” recalls Pilkington.
“I’ve learnt how to manage my time better. After a number of years in the business, you need those breaks. If you’re exhausted you’re no good to anyone.
“Business owners need to surround themselves with great people, I’m very fortunate to have a great support network,” she says.
Pilkington recommends that owner/operators should groom someone who’s energetic and full of enthusiasm – provide them with the skills and knowledge so that they can eventually run the business and allow the boss to take a decent break.
“I love taking people on as a project and mentoring them, so they can hold the reins for a while. Leave them in charge and they will have something to prove.
“On the other hand, run your business like a dictator, so no-one can operate it without you, and you’re setting yourself up to have absolutely no time away.
“It’s about delegation and trust, growing the young ones so they’ll walk beside you one day. And like me, you’ll come back from that holiday and find that they’ve excelled.
“And trust the process – if you go away thinking you’ll have to come back and pick up the pieces, then chances are that’s what will happen.”
Pilkington generally takes one or two week breaks from her business – she’s restricted by her client base. “We’re in the service industry, so it has to be service as usual – but I’m lucky to have wonderful, flexible clients. I find a couple of weeks is all I need to chill out and relax, and I’m so passionate about the business I don’t need longer breaks anyway.”
She says ‘small and often’ is best for business owners. “If you can take a long weekend every eight weeks or so then you’re managing yourself – but if you have the hammer down for six months or more without a break, you’re heading for burn out.
“Just have a whole day to yourself occasionally, remove yourself totally from the business, you’ll feel so much better.”
Meanwhile Pilkington is looking forward to more breaks in exotic locations – perhaps another South American destination. “Places like Buenos Aires are such a visual feast – both relaxing and inspirational – and I just love the music.” Her next planned trip is to India.
But what if she runs out of friends wanting to tie the knot in such beautiful places?
“Then I guess I’ll just have to get married myself!” she replies.

Change your outlook
Such is the importance of taking a holiday from your business, Ridler says they actually teach their clients to take one. He knows of one client who hadn’t had a proper holiday in 15 years.
“It really does change your whole outlook. It should be part of your routine – every 90 days, take a week off. Tack a few days onto a long weekend perhaps.
“And New Zealand has the most accessible outdoors on the planet, so it’s possible to have a world-class holiday on any budget.
“But the key is to book your holidays at the start of the year. If everything’s pre-booked and you’re tempted to use the “too busy” excuse, then you’re obliged to go anyway. So start filling out the calendar for 2009 now.”
Meanwhile, Smee encourages every business owner to give themselves decent breaks and reminds them that they can’t work on the business while they’re still working in the business.
“The longer the break, the more productive it will be.”
And, in light of the tough times business now face, now’s a good time get away and focus on things so you’re in a better position to survive the downturn.
“Have a strategy to survive, and remember that every business goes through good times and hard times.
“We also need to toughen up too – we live in an increasingly competitive world.”

Glenn Baker is editor of NZBusiness.