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It’s not about beating yourself up for choices you made or finding anyone to blame. It’s about building a bedrock for a great 2016. We learn from our mistakes. Most of our baggage, good and bad, comes from our mistakes. Yet few people reflect and do the little tweaks needed before continuing on.

For example, if you want to employ another team member, ask yourself what works well in your team? Grab a blank sheet of paper and write down the names of those team members who were (or are) a perfect fit in your salon. Was it someone you worked with 10 years ago? Maybe it’s that first-year apprentice who brought a breath of fresh air to your salon before relocating interstate with her family. List them all.

Now, what are the qualities in each person listed that made them ideal for you? Think: attention to detail, time management skills, bubbly personality, impeccable presentation, or great with training juniors. You’ll know what made you feel good about them.

Invariably, you’ll find some clear common attributes in the people who you enjoyed working with. Now, list the team members who didn’t fit in so well and include the reasons. For example: disruptive mood swings, reluctance to train, know-it-all. What ticked you off, annoyed your clients or just didn’t sit well?

I’m told that unless you know what you’re looking for, you’ll never find it. Having a list of desirable and non-desirable qualities, based on your past experiences, will help you pinpoint and recruit the right team members for your salon. Your talent- seeking process will be faster and far more on point. See where I’m going with this? Looking back and learning from the past can help you make sound and effective decisions about your business future … and your personal life.

Let’s reflect on the things you wish you’d said “yes” to in 2015. Think about the things you missed out on. Perhaps a group of friends was going away for a weekend and you couldn’t join them because you were behind schedule and had catch-up work to do. In hindsight, it’s obvious that staying ahead of your workload could have allowed you to enjoy a fun weekend with your favourite people. Lesson learned. How many concerts did you see in 2015? How many plays or movies did you manage to get to? If you want a better social life, consider entering a “date night” in your diary right now, perhaps every second Friday night. Then it won’t be three months (or longer) between nights at the cinema, if that’s what you love.

“You can punish yourself for your mistakes and try to block them out, or you can reflect and embrace the learnings that come from looking back.”

Lesson learned and action taken. You can’t work on the solution unless you see the problem. Look at your finances. Did you overspend on clothing, heels, handbags and eating out? If you had a budget for each of those categories, you’d be less likely to overspend and much closer to reaching your financial goals this year. Maybe your savings plan was a bit hit and miss in 2015? This year, think about setting up direct debits to automatically manage your savings on a weekly or monthly basis. It’s tricky to recall an entire year without prompts. Go back over your diary, flick through week-by-week and note down relevant events and happenings, the numbers, the calendar entries, the stuff that sparks your interest and needs addressing. This exercise will excite you into taking action and planning for your best year ever. Being prepared is the secret to winning and is always the best start to energising yourself into action.

Whenever I return home from holiday (I’m writing this in Bali), I reflect and make a few notes to myself about how I can improve the trip next time. For example, I wish I had a sharp knife to cut up fruit in my room, or perhaps some simple medication for a headache or a sore throat. Maybe I don’t need four pairs of heels; one pair would suffice given I spend most of my time in my bathers. It’s easier to change money at the airport, rather than finding and fiddling around at ATMs. And, I need to organise someone to check my pot plants four times a week so I don’t come home to potted dry arrangements. I pop these notes inside my passport and forget them until I’m getting prepared to travel again.

As a salon owner, you have a choice. You can punish yourself for your mistakes and try to block them out, or you can reflect and embrace the learnings that come from looking back. One-by- one, transform last year’s business and personal regrets into positive actions for 2016 and you’ll be on the path to a cracker of a new year.