3 Steps to Achieve Goal Success with Danielle Leigh
I'm Tiffny Nadolny, your host of the Spa Business Building Podcast. I'm a licensed esthetician, massage therapist, and solopreneur in my day spa. With nearly two decades of experience in the beauty and wellness industry, I've learned a few things about building a career and maintaining longevity.
Outside of the treatment room, I'm a wife, mom to the human and fluffy kind, plant enthusiast, and book lover. Join me while I share my experiences and insight on attracting clients, maintaining and building a thriving business while achieving work-life balance. So whether you're a new solo spa boss or season, this podcast is for you.
Thank you so much for joining me today, Danielle. I'm so excited to be chatting with you. So Danielle, you and I met because I had posted an interest in a Facebook group and finding an expert for my podcast, and you had answered.
And when I went to check out your Instagram and your website, I knew right away that you were the perfect person for the topic that I had in mind. So in today's episode, I wanted to talk about setting goals specifically for those in the beauty and wellness industry. So now you're a career and business coach, right?
I am. Yes, I am.
And you help ambitious women level up in work and life, right?
That is what we do, yes.
Perfect. So can you tell me a little bit more about what you do and your background?
Yeah, yeah. First of all, thank you so much. I feel like I could just replay that little intro whenever I'm feeling down.
So that is the sweetest. That means the world, first of all. Second, I'm so excited to be here and to be connecting with your community because I have a very strong affinity for those in the beauty and the wellness space.
I'll tell you a little bit more about that in a sec. But yeah, to answer your question, I'm a wife, I am a boy mom. I have two boys and they mean the world to me.
And I'm a success coach for women. So yes, I do career coaching and I do business coaching as well. And my background is actually in advertising.
So I came from the advertising world. I spent 15 plus years in that space. And most of those years, I was a brand strategist, which is kind of a, it's just a fancy way of saying that I helped brands of all different shapes and sizes, all different industries reach their really ambitious goals.
And I did that by working with a team to craft custom doable plans to help them reach those really ambitious goals. And we just did that again and again and again. And in 2021, I decided to start my own business and I decided to bring some of that knowledge and expertise to help women.
I help driven, ambitious women reach their biggest goals by crafting those custom plans, custom doable plans to help them get there. And I absolutely love it. And I have, firstly, an experience in the salon and spa world.
One of my all-time favorite jobs through high school and through college was I worked at a salon and day spa as a receptionist. And I have so much respect and so much appreciation for what all of you do. And the impact that has on people, I love, love, love the beauty and the wellness space.
And yeah, I'm happy to be here sharing some goal setting tips today with you all.
That's so great. I love that. So you definitely do have, you kind of understand the industry.
So that is very, very helpful. So can you share a little bit about how those in the beauty and wellness industry can start setting goals? Because the new year is coming up.
And I always say start early thinking about what you want and how you're going to get there. And sometimes that can be really hard to figure out exactly what goals you want, but how to reach those goals. So when you are helping entrepreneurs, like what are the steps that you are helping them take so that they can create goals and make sure that they're hitting those goals?
Yes. Okay. So this is so important, Tiffny.
And I think you touched on two really important things. Like, I am a nerd when it comes to goal setting. Like I have really embarrassing journal entries since second grade of like me setting goals.
So like that part comes naturally. But I think it's important to be able to, yes, set the goals and like help get clarity on how to do that well, but also to take action on them, right? Because I am like a classic planner.
If you let me, I will just like make goals all day long. But you have to be able to put them into action, right? And sometimes it's hard to like show up, consistently and get yourself to do the work that gets you to reach those goals, right?
And so one of my goals today, I want to share with all of you a three-step process that I take all of my clients through. So no matter what industry they're in, honestly, if they're in a corporate space, if they're in a business, like entrepreneurial space, it works for both. And these are three strategies that I've picked up along the way that will help set you up for success.
And I love that you pointed out like, this is a great time to do it. I couldn't agree more. Like you can do this anytime.
Anytime you're listening to this podcast, you can set goals, and I'll show you how to help take steps and take actions to make them happen. But I think it's really important to do this, to plan your year ahead, just to get clear on where you wanna go. And so I don't think there's really any bad time to do that.
So I'm gonna share with you three steps. I'm gonna share with you three steps, if that works.
Absolutely, yes, let's dive in.
Let's do it. So the first strategy to set you up for success is to begin with the end in mind. So what that means is you are clear on where you're headed.
You know what you wanna be able to accomplish, and then from there, you can align your decisions and your actions with that end picture in mind. So I will tell you, like sitting in rooms with senior leaders all the way up to like C-suite level executives, they are masters at being able to keep their eye on the end goal at all times. So they will interject in conversations, right?
And they will be able to steer that team to focus on what that end goal is for the team. They are so skilled at doing that. And I think that's really important for us, too.
No matter the size of our business, I think it's really important for us to be able to begin with the end in mind, too. So for you, maybe that's being like fully booked three months out. Maybe that's hitting a certain revenue goal, right?
Maybe that's hitting a certain number of clients per year. Whatever that looks like for you, it's important just to take the time and get clear on what that looks like for you. However, if you struggle with this, some people do.
Some people struggle like, but I don't have clarity on what it is I want. I actually take my clients through a two-step process when we are beginning with the end in mind. We do goal setting, but the first thing we do is actually vision casting.
And they're different, but they're very connected and related. So the reason why I have my clients do vision casting is, I ask them three years from now, what does the ideal look like for you? And I want you to think about that in terms of work, and I want you to think about that in terms of life.
Just paint that picture. You can get as specific as you want. You can write four pages on this if you want.
Just take the time to really think about what you want three years from now. Write that out. From there, I encourage you to pick out three goals.
No more than three. You can put as much as you want in your vision, but three goals and start with those. And those, I think it's really important that you pick goals that are motivational for you, that are specific, that are actionable.
So that can be like the examples I just shared, right? So that maybe that's X number of clients per month. Maybe that's being fully booked three months out.
Maybe that's hitting certain monthly or annual revenue goals. Whatever that is, it should just be motivational, specific, and actionable for you, like meaningful for you. And I think those two pieces in tandem are really important because when you're showing up, when you're doing the work to reach that goal, that part is hard.
That is hard, right? That's the grind. The vision is what's on the other side of the goal, right?
That's what's on the other side of the hard work. That's what it's all for. So that's why I encourage my clients when they're beginning with the end in mind, two pieces, vision and goals.
I love that. And especially like I love that you have like this kind of two-part process though, right? Like let's paint it out and then pick those three goals.
So where do you go from there?”
Okay. So the next part is sometimes as entrepreneurs, we are wearing all the hats. We are doing all the things.
We are showing up, working really long hours, really hard. And if we're not getting the traction that we want or not getting it as quickly as we want, it's really easy to just want to give up, isn't it? It's like, it's so easy for our brains to tell us like, this is too much.
It's not working. What else we got? What else can we do?
Right? And the reason that that happened, I believe one of the biggest reasons that happens is because you don't know your needle movers. Okay?
When I say needle movers, what I mean is actions or tasks that actually bring you closer to reaching your goal. They're the actions that are yielding the results or the outcomes that you really want. Okay?
Too often, this is just not cleared us. Like we don't really take the time to kind of pull these things apart. We show up, we're working so hard.
And the biggest areas, I will say, I see this. This is across all industries, like all different types of business owners, but the two different areas I see this show up all the time is in social media.
Right?
Like so many of us are spending so much time and effort creating content. And we get this idea in our head, like we have to have like a million followers, and we have to grow our region. We're putting so much effort into this, and it's just really hard.
It's hard to grow a social audience. It's hard to get engagement. You feel like it's taking so much of your time, and if you're not getting clients from it, or if you're not getting the organic growth or the followers that you want, it can feel like a grind.
Right? The other area I see this show up all the time is websites. I myself am like guilty of this one.
We tend to like obsess over our websites, right? And we'll like make all these changes, and spend a lot of different time, like writing and designing, all these things, right? But if we pay attention, maybe those things aren't necessarily influencing our conversion rate.
Maybe we're not getting more clients to book, but we're putting a lot of time and effort into these things. So hear me on this. I am not saying social media doesn't matter.
I am not saying websites don't matter. I am saying if you're finding yourself doing a lot of, one of my mentors, she calls this busy work, right? If we're doing a lot of busy work, and you're spending so much time, but you're feeling frustrated because it's not yielding the results you want, there's one or two things that can happen to change this busy work into result work.
Okay? One or two things. Either you can change the way you're showing up on social, like change the way you're posting.
You can be really intentional with those website edits to try to optimize conversion. You can track that, right? Or you can ask yourself something different entirely.
And this is what I encourage you all to do. Ask yourself, where are my current clients coming from? Are they coming from social?
Are the bulk of my current clients coming from social? Are they coming from one side? Or maybe a lot of the entrepreneurs I talk to, especially when they're newer in their business, they tell me things like, well, I have a few loyal clients that have been seeing me from the beginning.
They keep coming, right? They're my loyalists. And then I have some friends, and then I have now I have some friends of friends.
Like they're telling their friend, they're coming to see me now. Okay, so what that tells me is, if that's true for you, your needle movers may actually be personal connections, like real human connections. And that also tells me that the experience you're giving those clients is good enough for them to be able to tell a friend.
Okay, so those are needle moving actions. Okay, so then I would ask you, which actions can generate more of those results? More of the clients, if that's what you're after, right?
Or increased revenue. Ask yourself, which actions can actually yield those results? So this one's super obvious.
Tiffny, you probably talk about this all the time in your space, right? But like, are you asking your loyalists if they wanna come back and see you in six weeks, right? Like, we know to do that, we know to do this.
But do we actually do it with the clients that are, you know, coming to see us? Are we actually saying, you know, in order to maintain your results six weeks from now, I'd love to see you back. Do you wanna set that up now?
Are we doing that step, right? That's one. That's a needle mover right there, okay?
Another one, maybe it is those personal connections that you're finding are generating your current clients. So if that's true, you can ask yourself, well, how can I generate more personal connections? That could be online.
It could be, but it could just be you're showing up differently, right, than the way you are now. If that's your intention, if that's your needle mover. That could be saying yes to a social invite that you normally would have said no to.
So now you're like, well, okay, if I wanna make more personal connections and meet more people, this is a chance for me to do that, right? So maybe you say yes to more things to build more of those personal connections. Okay?
Another thing too, if you are creating that experience that is getting those loyal clients to come back or you're getting those referrals, I would ask yourself like, what is my signature trait that is creating this experience that's getting people to tell others? What is that thing? And how can I do more of that?
Or how can I make that a little bit bigger, right? So maybe that's the techniques that you use. Maybe that's the ambiance.
And the experience that you create in your space. Maybe that's, I will give you an example. So my stylist, she does so many things incredibly well.
But she, at the end of her service, she lets each of her clients pick a mantra card. So she just has this deck of cards that she orders, right? I don't know where she gets hers, but they're really cool.
And she lets us, and you know how, like with your stylist, it's half therapy, half beauty, right? Like, let's be real, that's what it is.
For sure.
I just think this is such a brilliant example of how she's creating those rave-worthy experiences that get others to share, because you pick this mantra card, and so often it just resonates with what we were talking about. It's like the words you needed to hear in that moment. And I keep all my mantra cards that she gives me, and I put them by my jewelry box, and I see them every morning, and now I think of her, and now I have a reason to like share that on my social and tell other friends.
So it's such a cool little idea, but it's so cool. So I would invite you to think about your needle movers. Think about the things that are working really well in your business and think about designing more intentional actions that you can take each and every day to generate the real results you want.
Absolutely. I love that. So basically, the focus is to really hone in on what is working for you, and keep going with that.
Perfect that and stop focusing on everything else that you think that you have to be doing and doing the things that work for you, because what might work for you might not be working for somebody else, and they have something else that makes them unique that they're able to attract more clients with, and it's okay to be different.
Exactly. Oh my gosh, 100 percent. And I will say, this is often the trickiest part of this three-step process.
For anybody who tries this and struggles, I will tell you, this is the hard part. Because sometimes it does, it takes trial and error. The things we think we're supposed to show up and do aren't actually getting us closer to the results.
So sometimes you have to tweak and change things to get more traction, right? Other times, like you said, Tiffny, it is about just leaning into the things that are already working for you, and thinking about, how can I amplify these? How can I make these things even bigger?
Right? And that's what leads into the third step. So the third step is actually like putting these plans, putting these goals, like identifying which actions are going to move you closer to those goals, and now doing them consistently.
Doing those needle moving actions consistently. And this is where so many of us struggle, right? It is hard.
It's so hard. If anybody, I mean, we all know, right? Like New Year's resolutions, everybody shows up with the best intentions at the beginning of the year, in the gym, it's packed, and then like a few weeks later, none of us are there, right?
That's my story. Okay. So here's how to make sure that doesn't happen to you when you set goals.
Okay. So the third strategy to set you up for success is to develop a daily system to support you. Okay.
So, I mean daily, like every working day, this is what you do. So once you know your needle movers, you can then build those into a daily system or into a routine that bring you closer to your goal. This is small, doable, consistent actions.
You can show up and take every working day to move you closer to your goal. Okay. So, I'll give you an example.
So my oldest son is super into basketball. He loves basketball. And one of his favorite players is Steph Curry.
And for those of you who aren't super familiar, he is not the tallest guy in the NBA by any stretch. He's like six foot two, but he is like one of the all stars in the NBA. Like amazing talent.
And his dad also happened to be an NBA player. And so early on in Steph's career, as everybody else started shooting up, right? And like the competitive leagues he's playing in.
He knew he was not going to be the tallest guy, but his dad encouraged him, just focus on your shot. Focus your energy there. So his needle mover is his shot.
It's his technique, right? And so he can like sink deep threes. He has such a quick release.
It is almost impossible to defend him because he is so good at shooting. Like his form is so good. It's so natural for him.
He has shown up in the gym and practices shot every day for how long, right? To be able to get to the level that he's at now. And now he's one of like the leading scorers in the NBA, right?
So my point in doing this, in telling you this is like, he knows his needle mover. He built in a routine, get in the gym, practice a shot. Like that's what he's focused on every single day.
Okay? So I want to ask you like, what your needle movers are once you know those, how can you develop those into tiny tasks that you can do every day? So for example, if you have that revenue goal and you are one of those people who has that loyal clientele, right
And they come back and see you. And now you're getting some referrals and you want to turn those referrals into loyal clientele, then maybe you just challenge yourself. After every appointment, after every single one, I'm going to say, I'd love for you to come back and see me, like six, eight weeks, whatever it is.
Do you want to schedule that now? Just give them the prescription, right? Like you're the expert, invite them to come back and see you.
Just one question at the end of every service, challenge yourself to do that every day, at the end of every service. That will pay off, right? Same thing, if you are the type of entrepreneur who is really skilled at building those personal connections and you want to build more of them, then maybe you set yourself a challenge.
Like maybe your challenge is, I want to meet five new people a day, whether that's online or in person. I want to connect with five new people a day and I want to tell at least one of them what I do for a living, right? Sometimes it's all at a social event, right?
What do you do? Oh, I'm an esthetician. I'm a massage therapist.
But I mean, bound to happen, right? Somebody's going to say, I've been looking for one. Like I need a new stylist.
Always happen.
Always, always. So sometimes it's honestly as simple as that. So once you know your needle mover, I encourage you to craft a daily routine, some small action you can do each and every working day that's going to move you closer to your end goal.
Yes, I love that. I love that so much. Consistency is definitely key.
And that's one thing I try to drive home. Consistency in all that you do when you're showing up in that way. But you also have to show up for yourself.
It's not just about showing up for your clients. And I like how you put that. It feels like, you know, showing up for yourself and staying consistent so that you can reach your goals.
I love that so much. These three steps are so helpful, so informative, so valuable. I love how you broke it down.
Do you have any other maybe tips specifically for solo beauty and wellness professionals that you might be able to add in today?
I will say, so it's kind of picking up on the point that you made earlier, Tiffny. And I think that's really important. So finding your thing and doing more of it is so important because we don't all have to grow our businesses the same way.
We don't all have to design our businesses the same way. We, as the entrepreneur, we as the founder, get to choose what type of business we want to create, which is such a beautiful thing. And so I borrowed this idea from the Heath brothers.
I don't know if you're familiar with any of their work, but they are super smart. They're pretty influential in the habit formation space, Tripp and Dan Heath. And one of the things that they talk about is finding the bright spots.
And that language has always stayed with me ever since I read that in their work. So they talk about finding the bright spots, finding the things that are working well for you, the areas where you shine, right? And just doing those things really well, and maybe challenging yourself to do them in a slightly bigger way.
So that's one more thing. I encourage, as you're sitting down, like planning your year ahead, that's one more thing I encourage you, just find your bright spots. What are those for you?
And how can you just make those your signature things, like do those extremely well?
I love that so much. Honestly, that should be like every, everyone's like New Year's resolution. Like what is my bright spot?
Like how do I find that? Like I love that so much. Well, thank you so much, Danielle.
This has been amazing. I can't wait to share all of this with the listeners. How can listeners find you if they wanted to more information?
Yeah, so you can come on over, find me on Instagram. I spend a lot of time there. If you are a friend of Tiffny's, be sure to just send me a message.
Come say hello. Like any friend of Tiffny's is a friend of mine. So my Instagram handle is Danielle Leigh with a bunch of underscores.
And Leigh is spelled L-E-I-G-H. I love, love, love hearing from all of you. So if you do that, I also have a special gift that you can grab when you're there.
If you click the link in my bio, you can grab a guide that I've created called Six Secrets of Super Successful Women. And it's got some more really helpful strategies that you can put in place to help yourself and your business and really just set you up for success. So even more, even more to dig into.
And I just encourage everybody like just start now. Even if it's small, just start now. You can do really big things over time.
Absolutely. And thank you so much for that little bonus. Well, it has been so much fun and thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us, Danielle.
Oh my gosh. It's been so fun to be here, Tiffny. Thank you for having me.
And I hope, hope, hope to connect with all of you soon.
Absolutely. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Spa Business Building Podcast. If you enjoyed today's show and don't want to miss another episode, you can follow on Spotify or subscribe wherever you usually listen.
If you haven't done so already, I would really appreciate it if you leave a rating and review to let me know what you think and to help others find the Spa Business Building Podcast. If you have a specific question that you would like answered on the next episode, send an e-mail to Thrive, that's T-H-R-I-V-E at spabusinessbuilding.com. If you want to learn more about my offerings, head to my website at spabusinessbuilding.com, or check me out on Instagram at solo.spa.bosses.
Until next time, friend.
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