Salon Success Secrets

The One Thing You Must Remove Before You Can Grow

• Lindsay Lowe & Jen Booth

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We make the case that endings unlock growth and that closing loops is the most powerful move leaders can make before setting new goals. We share the CLOSE framework to capture, label, own, set endings, and empty space so your team feels clear and safe.

• why finishing well beats starting big 
• how open loops create tension and stories 
• pruning as strategic removal for strength 
• beliefs don’t stack, they replace 
• restoring self-trust through completion 
• the CLOSE framework step by step 
• examples of conversations, pricing, and roles to end 
• creating space so clarity returns

If you want help doing this inside of your salon with your systems, your team, your leadership, we do talk deeply about this inside Salon Success Secrets and Million Dollar Beauty Pro


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SPEAKER_01:

If you're listening to this episode right now, I want you to pause for just a second. Take a breath. Ah, because this is not a hustle harder episode. This is not a set bigger goals episode. This is an episode about ending things well. And I believe, truly believe, that the way that you close a year matters more than the way that you start the next one. And most salon owners are obsessed with what they're going to add next year: new goals, new hires, new systems, new offers, new energy. But here's what I've learned, both personally and in business. Nothing new can fully come in until something old is released. Or as I like to say, it's more important to get something out than it is to get something in. So today we're talking about closing loops, unfinished conversations, incomplete promises, lingering beliefs, half decisions, and why this might be the most powerful leadership move you make all year long.

SPEAKER_00:

So good, Lindsay. I love what you just said. It's more important to get something out than it is to get something in. Wow, that was really good. Love that. So let me ask you a quick question. Have you ever walked into your closet? This is a great time of year, people start cleaning out their closets and you felt overwhelmed. Like not because you don't have enough clothes, but because you have too many things that no longer fit. You know, things you don't wear, things that you feel guilty getting rid of, things that represent an older version of you. And that's what open loops feel like in your business as well. No, open loops are the team conversation you've been avoiding, the stylist who should have been coached or released, or the price increase you said you were going to do, or the promise you made to yourself, let's say last January and quietly broke it. And here's the most dangerous part. You don't consciously think about these things all day, but your nervous systems, your nervous system actually does. Is that so interesting? And when your leadership signal is blurry, your team actually feels it.

SPEAKER_01:

That's so good. You know, because we believe that strong leaders don't just start things well, they finish things well. You know, so inside of salons, we teach finishing the consultation strong, finishing the service strong, finishing the you know, entire guest experience strong. But we forget to apply that same discipline to our own leadership. And unfinished things create confusion instead of clarity, tension instead of trust, noise instead of focus. And here's the truth: most salon owners don't want to hear. You know, your team will never feel safer than your level of completion. Because when things linger, when expectations are vague, or you know, when consequences are unclear, your team fills in the gaps with stories. And stories rarely work in your favor.

SPEAKER_00:

So good. That's so true, though, when you think about it. Stories rarely work in your favor. Um, you know, this brings me to the pruning principle, uh, Lindsay. When I think about, and there's there's truly a reason pruning exists in nature. You know, pruning is is not punishment, pruning is not failure, pruning is not loss, pruning is intentional removal so something stronger can actually grow. And when you think about it, this applies to everything, it applies to systems, to team dynamics, to habits, to beliefs, to even identities. And, you know, a lot of us are trying to go to two to three or five million dollar salons with leadership beliefs that were formed when you were just trying to survive. And when you think about that, that will not work. Like you cannot add confidence on top of insecurity, you cannot add clarity on top of avoidance, and you cannot add growth on top of guilt. Something has to come out first.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, that's so true, Jen. Something does have to come out first. So let's, you know, let's go ahead and talk about beliefs for a moment, because this is where most personal development gets it wrong. You know, people think if I just listen to the right podcast, or if I just read the right book, or if I just attend the right event, then they'll get a new belief. But beliefs don't stack, they replace, and replacement requires removal. So if you believe, you know, raising prices will make people leave, or you know, like if I hold boundaries, I won't be liked, or I have to do everything myself, or this industry is just hard. You can't simply add a new belief on top of that existing belief. You have to question, complete, and release the old one. That's why growth feels uncomfortable because something familiar to you is dying.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, one Lindsay, one of my favorite um end-of-year reflections is this is to think to myself or ask myself, are there any promises I made to others or to myself and to myself that I didn't fulfill? Are there any promises I made to myself and to others that I didn't fulfill? Like not from a place of shame, from a place of integrity, because every unkept promise creates an open loop. And the person you subconsciously lose trust with is actually yourself. You know, sometimes it's a promise to follow up with a team member. Oh, I'll do that another day when I have more time, or maybe it's the promise to implement a system. Oh, I'll do that in March when I get time for it. Or maybe it's the, you know what, I gotta have a hard conversation with Jen, but I'll I'll not today. We'll do it later. Or, you know, starting next week, I'll start that exercise program. Um, you know, closing loops actually restores self-trust. And self-trust is the foundation of confident leadership.

SPEAKER_01:

I love that, Jen. Self-trust is the foundation of confident leadership. That's brilliant, you know. And I and we want to give you a simple framework that you can actually use this week. You can use use it right now. Grab a notebook or open your notes app or something. You know, we're gonna call this the close framework. So the C stands for capture. So, what you want to do is you want to write down everything that feels unfinished. Don't judge it, don't organize it, just capture it. Ask yourself, you know, what conversations am I avoiding? What decisions are half made? What keeps popping into my head when I'm tired? You know, if it's stealing mental energy, it goes on that list. Step two is L, which is label. Now label each item. Is it complete? Do you need to communicate it? Do you need to conclude it, or do you need to cut it? You know, so complete would mean it needs action. Communicate means it needs a conversation. Conclude means it needs a decision. Cut means it needs to be released. Because you guys, not everything needs fixing. Some things need ending. The next step is O, which is to own. You know, this is the leadership moment. This is where you ask, where have I been unclear, inconsistent, or unavailable? Not your team, not the economy, not the industry, you. Ownership collapses drama. You know, ownership totally restores your power. Then you get to the next step, which is the S, which is where you set the end. So you want to decide how this ends. You know, what does done look like? What does closed feel like? What is the final action or conversation? Because leaders who end things cleanly don't carry emotional debt into the next season. And the last portion is E, which is empty. You know, this is one of the most overlooked steps. You know, this is where you want to sit in the space that you've cleared. Don't rush to fill it. Don't immediately add goals. Let the quiet recalibrate you because clarity loves space.

SPEAKER_00:

I love I love that. So when I was thinking about this, Lindsay, I was thinking, you know, for some of you, like what does closing loops look like? Um, to me, it would be like reading a book that didn't have any periods in it, no periods at the end of a sentence. Like it would be like all jumbled together. So when we're closing loops, it's like we're actually putting periods at the end of a sentence. So this may look like, you know, finally addressing a um a toxic team dynamic. It could be releasing a service provider who no longer aligns. It could be owning that your pricing doesn't match your standards. Um, and sometimes for others, it's actually internal. It could be letting go of the belief that you're behind. You know, oh man, I'm so behind. I see so-and-so doing this and feel so behind. It could be like releasing the identity of the exhausted owner. It could be forgiving yourself for what you didn't know then. Like you don't need a perfect year to have a powerful ending, you just need completion.

SPEAKER_01:

So good, you know, and I think the salons that grow next year, they're not the ones with the biggest vision boards. You know, they're the ones with the cleanest emotional and operational slate. So when you close loops, what actually happens is energy returns, your focus sharpens, your confidence rises, and your leadership lands. And suddenly momentum feels lighter.

SPEAKER_00:

So here's our invitation to you before you plan the next year, before you set new goals, before you add more, just ask what needs to be completed, concluded, or released now? Because leadership isn't just about building, it's about ending well. And when you do that, you don't just step into a new year, you actually step into a new version of yourself. And if you um if you want help doing this inside of your salon with your systems, your team, your leadership, we do talk deeply about this inside Salon Success Secrets and Million Dollar Beauty Pro. But for now, you guys, close the loops, clear the space, and trust what comes next. We'll see you in the next episode.