Last week, I chopped off my hair. 

I shared with the stylist that I wanted to feel lighter and change things up. When I turned around, nine inches were gone, and there were tons of layers. I felt dramatically lighter and energized by my new look.

Later that afternoon, when I hopped on Facebook Live to check in with ABP Difference Makers group, I was surprised by the amount of positive feedback I received. But every single day since, people have continued to approach me to tell me how much they love my style. Then they inevitably comment on my “surprise” turquoise under-coloring as well, which I’ve actually had since last December. But before the new cut, it got lost under all that hair. In other words, there was too much going on at once!

In my coaching, I’ve noticed the same thing happens to many businesses - not that they dye their hair, of course, but that their lack of focus keeps their product or service from getting noticed. My coach once told me, “You can have the best idea in the world, but if no one knows about it, then it is not a business.” For this exact reason, the marketing and advertising industry is worth over $1.2 trillion dollars.* 

Though I didn’t dye my hair blue for the sake of getting noticed, as a result of my new haircut, two major things happened in my business. Firstly, engagements on my regular Facebook Live videos skyrocketed. And, almost immediately, my website began to see more traffic. The numbers told me people were drawn in by the hair, stayed for the content, and took action based on the message.

If you can get people to notice you, then they will notice your company, service, and product. If people do not notice, then people cannot and will not care. If no one can find what you’re selling because it is buried under a whole bunch of other content on your website, or you mention it too late in your networking introduction after 80 percent of the room has stopped listening, it’s going to be really hard to succeed. 

If you do want to succeed, you’ve got to get people’s attention and show them how awesome you are. Anytime anyone sees your company, they should know immediately what show-stopping service or products you have. So if you’re not sure what to showcase, it’s worth taking the time and investing the resources to explore this question with your clients, team, and community. 

When I first dyed the back section of my hair blue, I learned some people found it offensive that I would coach business owners and interact with professional executives while sporting blue hair. Some even told me they thought I’d lose business because of it. Fortunately, I know those people are not my people. I am not saying that 100% of my clients LOVE my hair, but my choices and style do not negatively impact our relationship. They understand that one of ABP’s core values is authenticity; what you see is completely representative of where we are right now. And right now we are a little spunky and running lighter than normal as we transition to our next phase of growth! 

But perhaps the most valuable lesson from my recent haircut was the gift of time, money, and energy I received from letting go of what I did not actually need. While my long hair will most likely make a comeback at some point in the future, it was taking me more time to style, dry, and maintain than I wanted to spend. Switching to a shorter, low-maintenance style frees up time and energy to devote to doing things that actually help make the world a better place (like writing this blog). 

Three lessons that made me money from a simple haircut:
  1. Make sure people are noticing you.
  2. Stay focused. Doing too much at once distracts and detracts.
  3. Live and make choices aligned with your values and purpose.
Whether you like the new hair or not, I truly hope you enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you for making the world #abetterplace.

*http://towersofzeyron.com/the-advertising-industry-is-now-worth-1-2-trillion-marketing-in-its-various-forms-continues-to-grow-through-mobile-content-marketing-social-platforms-and-new-digital-platforms/

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