You know all those emails you receive the first few weeks of January are about ‘new year, new you’ and how to get the most out of 2022 with this brand-new 64-step program guaranteed to make this year ‘your best year ever’? My Inbox started filling up with them this week.  It's like opening Pandora’s box. Like I have to keep the flames of my business going no matter what. Even when I'm not checking email.

It’s almost like you have to be like the Vestal Virgins in ancient Rome but, instead of tending to the flames of a goddess temple, you’re tending to the flames of your business every day. ‘What do you mean by that?’, you ask.

Well, there were six young women, from the ages of 16 to approximately 30, who were known as the Vestal Virgins. They would keep watch over the flame of Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth. Their job was to keep the flame going in Vesta’s temple. They would tend to this flame day and night, in shifts. They fetch water daily to cleanse the temple. They learn the calendar of sacred rituals. They watch the senior priestesses perform sacrifices.

So now I know what you’re thinking, ‘why was this flame so important?’ Because it symbolized the continuation of Rome as a power in the world, the Romans believed that if the flame went out, the city would be in danger. (It also symbolized the ongoing virginity of the Vestal Virgins but that’s a whole other story.) So the Vestals knew this flame must never go out. The lives of all the Vestals and the safety of Rome depended upon it.

And sometimes, that’s how you feel about your business. Never letting that flame go out, in case somehow, you summon the ‘Great Business Apocalypse’ and all hell breaks loose.

So how about we make 2022 about one word? And that word is SIMPLIFY.

• No freaking out over your business because you let the flame burn out for just a second, so you’re convinced your life depends on this constant attention. 
• No New Year’s resolutions you can’t stick to (or track how well they’re actually doing).
• No promises to yourself that you can’t keep (unless you clone yourself so you can run your business 24/7 without suffering sleep deprivation).

Let’s focus on what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about in 2022 – running your business. Focus on what works for you AND what brings you more customers.

Simplify can mean automating parts of your business so that flame never goes out. It can mean streamlining other parts so you can get more done in less time. And if you want to know the secret of how to simplify 2022 so that flame and the passion you have for your business never goes out, stay tuned because I’ll be sharing with you exactly how we generated 217 leads in just five weeks and over $33,000 in new revenue for one salon owner using Facebook Ads. 100 percent of the customers that came in that month also re-booked for their next appointment, which means the large majority of them will go on to become lifetime clients!  And we did all by simplifying a lot of the hard work that goes into generating leads…without the flames going out.

Here’s to keeping the flames burning bright.