“There are two things people want more than sex and money… recognition and praise.” Mary Kay Ash

Running a business is just as much about making money as it is making relationships. A fundamental building block of any relationship is communication. We value our relationships with clients, coworkers, and vendors. There are so many avenues of communication that we can’t control, we really try to nurture the relationships that we can. I have worked in places before where there was NO communication! Things would happen and we would all be completely shocked! I always want to make sure that my staff never feels like their work environment is unstable. And it is always so important to let people know when they are doing a great job. That validation really keeps a person going!

Every month we have a staff meeting. It’s actually something that I really look forward to! I bring in some delicious Kettleman’s bagels (have you tried the pumpkin bagel with cinnamon raison cream cheese? Oh. My. Heavens.) and we all spend an hour going over the state of Urban Waxx. This is a time when we entertain guest speakers, go over goals for the month, review suggestions from the suggestion box, announce winners from the previous month’s contests, and ultimately get a sense of where everyone is and where we are heading. This time is vital for Urban Waxx because there is so much going on daily here that we need time to sit together as one cohesive unit and all get on the same page. I also find these meetings really beneficial because, as we all know, this IS my first rodeo! Although I have a very clear vision of what I want from Urban Waxx, it’s great to be able to get some amazing ideas from the team. It’s a new business, and it’s also exciting for them to see their ideas being implemented.

We always end the meetings with “gratefuls.” This is something that I have mentioned before. Basically we go around in a circle and say one thing that we are grateful for, not necessarily about Urban Waxx. It could be something like “I’m grateful for coffee,” or something like “I’m grateful that I have such great people to work with.” It always leaves us with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

This past month’s meeting was the first meeting that Liam attended. Afterward, he said that he loved being there! And it really was great to have some cute male energy in the room. All of our staff has adopted Liam as there little brother, so there is a fair amount of teasing back and forth. It’s really fun.

I have also gotten a lot of great ideas from clients. We have gotten recommendations on products, services, all kinds of stuff. I love the fact that people are invested in Urban Waxx and what we do, and want to be a part of it! So keep those ideas coming, friends! Trust me, I could talk about Urban Waxx all day long!