#31 The Day I Realized I Couldn’t Do It All Anymore
I used to believe that if I wasn’t behind the chair, the salon would literally fall apart.
My sales behind the chair made up almost 80% of our revenue, so on paper, the math said if I stepped back, we’d lose money. No doubt.
But on top of being behind the chair, I was also doing inventory, running our assistant program, helping out the front desk, creating all of our marketing, running payroll, the list goes on and on.
The salon was growing, we were making more money each year, but every day I felt like I was fighting for my life lol.
Until one day, I was back in the office while one of my guests was processing, trying to frantically run payroll, when my manager knocked on the door and told me we were completely out of toilet paper.
I could feel a lump forming in my throat, and I told her I’d take care of it. As she walked out, I looked above the office door where I had a sign hanging up that said ‘It’s Fine’, and the tears started flowing. Because it was not fine. Nothing about any of it was fine.
And that’s when I realized that in order for me to keep my sanity and be able to give the company and my team the focus it deserved, I couldn’t keep doing everything.
But I didn’t have a whole lot of trust in anyone else to take over a lot of what I was responsible for. So that’s where the work began. I started cutting back my days behind the chair and poured all of my time into building systems and creating other leaders to help me run the ship.
It didn’t happen overnight, it was messy, and I failed A LOT. But here’s what finally made it possible and what I learned the hard way about control, delegation, and leadership.
Lesson 1: You Can’t Build Trust If You Never Give People the Chance to Earn It
At first, I expected my team to step up, but I never truly gave them the room to do it.
I hovered. I double-checked. I redid things without giving them feedback or really teaching them how it should be done.
What changed everything? Actually naming what I wanted them to take over and creating a system to support it. The day I gave someone a clear outcome and a process and let them own it was the day I started to breathe again.
Lesson 2: Systems Are the Bridge Between Chaos and Confidence
I wasn’t afraid to delegate because I didn’t trust my team. I was afraid because I didn’t have a system that could catch dropped balls. There was zero organization lol, unless you count random Post-its stuck everywhere as being organized.
Now? We have checklists. Standard operating procedures. Defined roles. Review points. And when someone takes something over, they’re not guessing, they’re guided.
Systems gave me peace of mind. And they gave my team something solid to stand on.
Lesson 3: Micromanaging Feels Like Protection, But It's Actually Fear
I wasn’t trying to control everything. I was just scared. Scared of losing guests. Scared of slipping standards. Scared of what people would think if the business didn’t run perfectly.
Micromanaging made me feel safe, but it also made my team feel small. The moment I shifted into coaching and letting them find their rhythm, the salon felt lighter. And so did I.
Lesson 4: Letting Go Grows Everyone
The minute I stepped back, two things happened:
My team rose up.
I remembered why I started this business in the first place.
Letting go wasn’t easy. But it was the best leadership decision I ever made. Because when I gave my team more ownership, they didn’t just perform better, they felt prouder. And I got my time, my vision, and my peace back.
If you’re scared to step back, you’re not alone.
You’re not doing it wrong. You’re not failing. You’re just stuck in the belief that your presence is the only thing holding it all together.
It’s not.
You can’t do everything and expect to grow.
I know it’s scary, but I promise you, it will be the best decision you make for your business.
You can do this.
Salt & Light,
Heather