Confessions of a Former Excuse Maker

Excuses are tools of the incompetent used to build monuments to nothing. For those who specialize in them shall never be good at anything else." anonymous

I don’t like excuses and I used to be the queen of excuses. I found that by making an excuse I was not taking responsibility for what should be. We all do it. I have known some people whose whole lives were a bunch of excuses and as the quote above says they didn’t amount to much of anything.

Personally, I have found when I catch myself making an excuse I stop and think about what is really going on. For example, I am late to work I have blamed it on the traffic, or construction, or some other crazy thing. When in actuality the true reason I was late is that my morning routine has something to be desired and I didn’t leave for work on time. I was known for being late to everything. I am thankful to say that I am much better about this today. A lot of thought went into excuses for me. I did not feel good for making them. Excuses are lies. So why did I do it and what needed to change?

The fact of the situation was that I was not being responsible for getting my ass out of bed in the morning and completing my morning tasks in enough time to leave the house in enough time for me to arrive at my destination when I was supposed to be there. I took responsibility, figured out what needed to change and changed it!

So what does this mean to groomers and grooming businesses? I read the posts in Facebook groups about groomers leaving the business because of ungrateful, tyrannical employees, financial issues, physical ailments, ungrateful clients. Although these may be all true they are excuses for the truth. The truth is that the real reason, the one way down deep inside, has not been revealed or is being ignored and excuses have been made. This keeps the person from accepting or dealing with the real issues If we all accept responsibility for our actions and peel away the layers of the onion, we will get to the reason as to why you have a problem. It all begins with you. There is always something you can do.

And that usually means change. Change is scary and then comes the fear and many times the excuses continue. If you face the fear, look it right in the face, you will see results. There are so many great things on the other side of fear.

I recommend identifying the problem. Write it down. Think about why this happened. What is the root cause? Then start listing solutions to the cause no matter how crazy or outlandish it seems at the time. Then muster up the strength, face your fear and start dealing with it. Start with one thing, something small. Success is built on a bunch of small victories.

Let me give you an example….

The Problem: 

 I may have to close my business because I am having a hard time making ends meet and I cannot take the stress anymore. I am burnt out and hate my job.

The Why: 

I don’t have a budget. 

I don’t know where my money goes.

 I pay my employees a 50% commission. 

I need to raise my prices but I am scared. 

My shop is getting run down because I don’t have the money to fix it up. 

I have lost my passion for grooming.

The Solutions:

Start by creating a budget. If you don’t know-how, educate yourself. There is so much information out there.

Hire a bookkeeper. This may be the best money you will ever spend

Restructure your payroll to get all employees w-2 and the cost 33% of what the business makes.

Step into your fear. Figure out how much you need to make in a day and raise your prices to accommodate this need. You may lose some clients but you are making space for new clients who respect you and are willing to pay.

Start with a thorough cleaning and start putting a minimal amount of money a day aside to do the renovations needed. Have a conversation with the landlord. Ask relatives/friends to help.

Educate yourself. There is plenty of free content out in the world. Read, watch videos. Learn! Learning new things awakens passion.

These are just examples and we could all go down rabbit holes with the solutions. My point is to show you how to stop making excuses, get your head out of the sand and start to change. One small success will lead to another and another. You are responsible for your life, no one else will do this for you.

I would love to hear your comments on this. Are you an excuse maker?

Peace & love from Sandy, the former excuse maker!