My business week v. 36

It has been an intense week to say the least, final deluxe before the holiday!

And do you know anything more fun? This week it's exactly one year since I started my business posts on Sundays! They take quite a long time to write but I often hear that they are appreciated so I still think it's worth it!

Det är också värt av bara den enkla anledningen att jag själv “tvingas” se tillbaka på veckan varje söndag och analysera, tänka och reflektera. Jag tror det är väldigt nyttigt faktiskt även om vissa veckor är mer händelserika än andra :)

Makeup job at Disruptive Materials
This week I was at Disruptive Materials again (the company that works with the subject Upsalite that the professor of nanotechnology Maria Strömme developed) and when the CEO Mattias came in with a new can of upsalite powder for me, I was so happy! Upsalite is extremely absorbent for oily skin and every time I get a new sample, I always skimp on the last to save it for important occasions haha.

Den här gången var jag dock där som “vanlig makeupartist” bara och sminkade inför fotografering. Dels sminkade jag hela styrelsen men också en del nya ansikten som skulle fotas till deras hemsida.

I had to borrow a study where I made up people on a conveyor belt. In the background you see their slate board where they had a meeting before, I had to ask if it was ok to take photos so I would not happen to publish any trade secrets haha! It is impossible to understand what the draft means :)

In normal cases, I do not do much freelance work anymore, it often costs more than it tastes to pack everything and go away like that. But Disruptive Materials is a bit VIP;)

Creative Makeup Kickoff 2018!
On Wednesday, it was finally time for our annual kickoff that we now had for the 3rd year in a row!

We are always in the same conference place - Odalgården outside Uppsala, and it is completely impossible not to stand there and think back on the first year and how extremely much we have developed since then!

We have our whole way of working Peragenda to thank for, we started going business development with them shortly after we started the salon and our whole structure and all our meetings are based on what they taught us. So worth it!

I started the kickoff with this presentation:

1. Goal image - First, we presented our goal picture, 4 clear points with how we want the company to look within a year. But it is not enough to decide a goal picture and then go back to work and just hope that the dream comes true, but you have to start and work in the right direction to get there.
2. Current status image - And to know what we are going to do, we have to look at what the business looks like today, what opportunities do we have and what needs to be improved? This is broken down into different categories.
3. Strategic focus - But all the points listed above we can not do at once (even if you want!) But you have to look at which points are most prio and start with them. These most acute points can be summarized as a sub-goal, which must be achieved earlier than the goal picture.
4. Key figures - Now we know where we will and how we must start working to get there, but we must also be able to follow up that it is going in the right direction - and above all have time to do something about it not going in the right direction. We do this with key figures that are specific things you measure to see if it progresses. The key figures are not necessarily figures on sales and such, but you can measure just about anything, how well you follow routines, etc.

Then the staff had group work for an hour where they jointly go through the whole current situation picture, the strategic focus and the goal picture and talk about what each point means, if they agree with us and if they have something to add to e.g. the current state image or the target image. And finally - if they approve of everything :) Because it's just as much their goal picture!

During the group work, it is a tradition for me, Miska and Annika to hang on the bridge;) We are very experienced and driven so it is important that the others can talk to each other without us being involved and listening or tabling.

I love this moment of the kickoff, you have prepared and charged for so long and once the presentation is done, you breathe out and take a much needed break ♥

Then it was time for lunch! We offered both lunch and dinner :)

Förra året prata vi mycket om hälsa och välmående och i år fokuserade vi på positivitet, pepp och värmande ord! Vi höll i en kundundersökning tidigare där jag avslutade undersökningen med att man fick skriva allmänt vad man tycker om Creative Makeup som jag läste upp för alla. Jag kikade även på våra facebookrecensioner och gästboken i väntrummet och satte ihop en lista. Jag skrev bara upp dom recensioner som “stack ut” mest eftersom det finns så många, men ändå blev listan på tok för lång för att jag skulle ha tid att läsa upp alla. Där kan vi snacka positiva problem! :)

Here is the part of the list that I had time to read out anyway:

We have such good customers! :)

My fantastic colleagues
I'm really hot inside after this week thanks to my wonderful colleagues at work! ♥ We had such a successful kickoff on Wednesday and everyone is so heavenly committed, focused and diligent mixed with the fact that at any moment they broke out in the ashes together and had very, very fun!

We are all very different people, but we complement each other well and above all, everyone feels so incredibly genuine. We respect each other's differences and support each other, which means that everyone dares to be themselves and also say what they think - which is extremely important in order to continue to have good cohesion.

En sak som sades på kickoffen var “det är kul när ni är på semester, vi får ansvaret ensamma och det är roligt, man växer!” och hur fantastisk är inte den inställningen? Jag menar, dom skulle kunna spy galla över att dom blir 2 personer kort och får både mer att göra + måste lösa alla problem själva istället för att fråga Miska. Men nej dom inser att utmaningar gör att dom utvecklas – och dom wants develop. Isn't that cool?

Vi har också ett stort projekt nu där vi satsar mer på Hårologi just för att sommaren och våren är en “svacka” i produktförsäljning och med en så avancerad kunskap som hårologi är så är det lätt hänt att man tappar både suget och självförtroendet om man inte håller kunskaperna färska. Jag menar inte främst “grundkunskaperna” utan det är också viktigt att kunna förklara för kunderna på ett pedagogiskt och enkelt sätt vad produkterna gör och varför vi blandar i det vi blandar i o.s.v. Det är så extremt mycket kunskap som man både behöver kunna själv + förmedla till någon annan utan att hålla ett föredrag i en kvart ;) Så bara för att alltid ligga på topp så tar dom tag i problemet och ber oss marknadsföra hårologi MER så att dom håller igång kunskaperna. Dom repeterar och läser på i böckerna från utbildningen och vi ska även boka in en fortsättningskurs under hösten. Och allt detta är deras egna initiativ! Allt för att vara the best of the best :)

En annan del av kickoffen, som egentligen var tänkt som en snabb “mellangrej” på kanske 5 minuter max, det var att alla skulle säga en snäll sak om personen som sitter bredvid och så gick vi “varvet runt”. Vi hamnade helt utanför tidsplaneringen för vi satt med detta i 20-30 minuter! Vi skojade efteråt om mina röda öron för jag blev inte bara varm i hjärtat utan hela huvudet blev fysiskt varmt och alldeles tomatröd haha! Jag blev så rörd av alla snälla saker (inte bara mot mig utan hur fina alla är mot varandra) och folk höll sig till slut inte “till reglerna” utan det flög komplimanger åt alla håll och kanter haha. Hur fint är inte det? :)

I forgot to take a picture of the whole team at the kickoff so I offer this old treat instead!

Quick training on business administration
Another part of the kickoff was that Annika held a mini-education in business administration. Even though not everyone needs to be able to understand accounting reports etc., it is important that they have an insight into how a company works.

It is easy to otherwise stare blindly at the high amount on the cash report and not understand why we even need to talk about keeping costs low, etc. But of the high amount on the report, a quarter goes directly to the state, then the rest will cover inventories , consumables, wages, rent and then on top of that even more taxes and fees.

Here Annika stands and talks like the balance between plus and minus in the company. Speaking of balance, it is also a balance how much you should involve the staff in finances, because at the same time as it is a and o with the finances if everyone is to keep their workplace, both Annika and I have an easy time panicking and it wants you do not get infected with it. The staff's focus is to make customers happy, have fun at work and follow routines so that everything flows smoothly - because if all that works, the economy will come in handy.

It thus becomes a balance between being financial but at the same time not becoming for pengastyrda. We always recommend the best for the customer we help, not the one that gives us the most money. We are also not stingy with quality and amenities. In addition, you have to bet to win as well, we would not have needed to have such a luxurious and nice salon with such a good location - but for us it is very important!

After explaining everything, Annika showed this example. If you have a salary of SEK 25,000, you get about SEK 17,000 in hand and to earn your own salary in product sales, you then need to sell products for a total of SEK 93,500. And then you have still only gone plus or minus zero, you also need a little profit to cover costs such as rent and so on

Early voting!
I onsdags förtidsröstade jag och Miska och det var så skönt att ha det gjort! Jag vill inte prata så mycket politik i bloggen för det är inte riktigt min nish. Jag vet vad jag inte vill rösta på och sen vill jag rösta för saker som enligt mig gynnar alla, det är lätt hänt att bli egoistisk och tänka “vilket parti är bäst för MIG” men så kan ju inte alla tänka för då kommer vi ingenvart.

Det jag dock tänkte ta upp, oavsett vilket parti man håller på, är en inställning som jag har hört såå många gånger under den här valperioden. Och det är att många ser företagare som någonting negativt, att fokusera på företag är att “göra rika människor rikare” och att det är bättre att fokusera på “arbetare”.

I completely agree that we must focus on everyone in society, but I do not think that one must always exclude the other.

När Annika höll i mini-utbildningen i företagsekonomi så var den första meningen efteråt “why start a business? It's no idea!“Haha, and then we would not have pushed at all for how extremely much we pay to the state or the like but just explained how everything works completely without values.

Focusing on companies IS focusing on workers, because it is in companies that you get a job! I am not saying that all taxes should be reduced in general, but e.g. such fees that make it cheaper to hire would benefit the whole country. And if more companies can survive and grow so also the tax revenue to the state increases because there are huge sums of money that companies contribute.

What I want to say above all is that I hope people can have a slightly milder attitude towards entrepreneurs because we both create jobs and contribute a lot of tax money. I paid hundreds of thousands of kronor in taxes and fees for several years before I could even take out a monthly salary. So we are not terrible, greedy people :)

Then I also want to emphasize that the really rich people rarely get it just because of their company, but of how the economic structure looks today with investments, interest on the interest rate effect, etc. And the economic structure politicians can not change anyway.

I do not say this to change anyone's opinion regarding the election, but talk more generally about this because I have thought a lot about it now during election times :) Do not hate us entrepreneurs haha!

Speaking of this, another calculation example that Annika showed at the mini-economics education! This is what a month looks like for very many small companies, and this is just VAT a part of the total amount that the company contributes to society. So all companies are very important to society, we contribute a lot! :)

Come to the beauty event with us on September 27th!
My first working day after the holidays will kick off with a corporate event in the evening! I wrote a bit about this already last week and now I have prepared the last thing for this so that we do not come home to a real stress day.

I have e.g. printed out signs, prepared prizes for our raffle, made an event invitation, put pictures in an iPad we will show before and after pictures of, checked out exactly who can be involved and gave responsibilities to everyone for the evening.

We combine our annual autumn event with Art Clinic which celebrates 10 years in Uppsala! It will be a wonderful mingling evening with offers, inspiration, personal advice, raffle of great prizes, cuts and bubbles!

In addition to us from Creative Makeup and Art Clinic, Keep Training, Galderma / Restylane, NeoStrata and Promeduc / Mentor will also be on site. If any of you who read this want to come, you can email caroline.ohman@artclinic.com no later than 17/9.

Ready for the holidays?
In addition to this, I have also fixed the last blog posts that are timed when we are in Spain. It has also been the end of the month, which means financial jobs such as salaries, monthly statistics and invoices that have been emailed out. I have also had some customers who took the opportunity to book an appointment before I leave. I have booked our barber + makeup artist Lisa for hairology training and there was a lot of planning back and forth before we got together dates and times etc. And in addition to this, there has also been an unusual amount of emailing to the right and left, including regarding the relocation but also so I get a lot of questions from readers and customers about makeup tips and product recommendations :)

In order for everything to roll on as smoothly as possible when we are away, I have also compiled two long lists. A checklist for Malin who works from home with, among other things, the webshop with tasks to be done when I'm away, I do not even think she will have time for everything until then because it is SO much haha. And then a list to the staff of things they should think about when we are away - everything from offers that end or are extended to important phone numbers they can call if something goes wrong.

I ended the week with Ida coloring my eyelashes and listening to all my catastrophic thoughts that my stress brain fantasized about, like my sister should forget to feed our cat and stuff unreasonable haha. It is difficult to relax and let go of control sometimes, but then you just have to get out of it so you can focus on relaxation later. It's so heavenly nice with colleagues who care about each other ♥

I'm really so grateful for my nice workplace and am really warm inside after this week and all the cute goodbye hugs before we went home. Everyone told us to really enjoy, not to think about the salon, they take care of everything, and that we should just have a great time! Absolutely amazing people :) I trust them to 100%!

Now I really feel ready for this adventure! We leave early tomorrow morning. The fortune teller said last week that this trip will be a real WOW experience (and I had not even said that I would go abroad) and I feel it in my whole body too :)

We pick up the rental car already at the airport and the first 8 nights are booked at 4 different hotels (2 nights per hotel) along the coast of southern Spain. And the last week is still completely unbooked - we'll see where we go! Feel free to come up with tips !!

I will read comments but as you know I will not update the blog (although it is kept updated with timed posts) but on my instagram @ imakeyousmile.se you can follow the journey on insta stories if you want :)

Kraaaam! ♥