Before Jessica Martindale, stylist at Insignia Hair and Body Studio in Nottingham, Maryland went through the Qnity program in 2015, she was struggling with a bad habit—tardiness.

Chronically late to work, she would scramble around to get organized when she got to the salon, barely ready for her first client every morning.

When her boss presented her with the opportunity to participate in a Qnity workshop, Martindale, who loves to learn, eagerly signed up, never realizing what an impact it was going to have not just on growing her numbers, but also on her work habits.

She went into the workshop with no expectations. “The class was new, and we didn’t know much about it. But it ended up being so clear, direct and user-friendly that it was fun. I was excited to bring it back to the other stylists and use the techniques I learned on my clients.”

Seeing Results

The tools Martindale received helped her learn to track her important benchmarks, particularly two she was struggling with—retail and prebooking.

“I wasn’t consistent before I started tracking,” she says. “Now I am—the steps have become more natural.”

Writing everything down on a 9Grid and keeping a close on her numbers through her “Tuesday tracker” simplified her business, making the essentials clear to Martindale.

“I’m tracking, keeping notes on clients, looking at the book, and I know who’s coming in and what they’re having done every day,” she says. “I’m more in tune with my business.”

Jessica’s son Owyne proved the use of the 9 grid in all parts of your life when he bargaining for his new dog.

Now that she’s organized and purposeful with each client, Martindale also has a system for her free time.

“Every day I set a different task for myself,” she says. “Some days I write personal notes to clients I haven’t seen in a while, other times I reach out to my clients who are my biggest spenders.”

And as for her habit of showing up late? It’s no longer an issue.

“I realized being on time and having a few minutes to set up, made me feel way less frazzled,” she says. “It’s so much better to start the morning off refreshed and ready. I can glide right into seeing my first clients.”

Martindale quickly reached her goal of 17-percent growth and raised her new goal to grow another 17 percent.

Her coworkers, who see her numbers posted in the salon, have taken notice, and Martindale is happy to share her personal stories of overcoming obstacles.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get through to them, but I tell them they need to invest in themselves, which is hard to accept when you’re really young. You’d much rather buy shoes or a purse than take a class. But I stay positive with them and keep the dialogue open.”

The most important question Martindale asks other stylists when they come to her for advice is, “What is your goal?”

Helping others define their goals and reach them as well as improving her own numbers is what helped Martindale become a manager.

“I stepped up,” she says. “I wasn’t just going through the motions anymore. I got so organized that it was easy for my passion to shine through and for me to get really excited about each and every client and my coworkers. I’m just more engaged with my business.”

Martindale continues to set goals for herself and is planning to take classes to become an Aveda educator next.

And when fellow stylists are struggling to meet their goals, she has tried-and-true advice: “I tell them to write it down,” Martindale says.

“Record what is working and what isn’t. It’s important to sit down with yourself on a regular basis and reassess the behaviors that aren’t working. Then, figure out new behaviors to promote change.”