Everyone Gets Their Hair Cut

It’s hard enough running a hair salon business when you know that everyone gets their hair cut.

But when you run a business based on something not everyone gets or needs, it’s time to get clear about what needs really are.

Business used to be about “needs”. In many parts of the world (or your neighborhood) this is still true.

But if you’re reading this, odds are business is about “wants”.

We “want” to be included.
We “want” to eat food that makes us feel healthier.
We “want” to deepen our spiritual connection.
We “want” beautiful art to uplift our home.
We “want” to find the perfect gift to wow our friends on their anniversary.

None of these are in the first two levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which qualifies them as basic survival needs.

However, something is changing. In privileged parts of the world our wants are replacing needs, becoming more important to us because we simply never think about our needs, or we do infrequently.

And something interesting has happened as a result. We think and say, “I need…” about things we don’t actually need, but we want — that is, it would increase our comfort to have them.

And here lie two interesting business questions:

1. Will you, like most marketers, use your effort to train people to more direly need what in fact they simply want?

2. Will you aim instead to change your people for the better, to leave them feeling freer of needs and more generous?

Either way you’re accountable to yourself and your expenses. And you’re accountable to the culture that you’re creating.

Every decision you make will come back to haunt you. Guaranteed. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.