Intro: Do you feel like you were meant to have a kick-ass career as a hair stylist? Like you got into this industry to make big things happen?
Maybe you’re struggling to build a solid base and want some stability. Maybe you know social media is important, but it feels like a waste of time because you aren’t seeing any results. Maybe you’ve already had some amazing success but are craving more. Maybe you’re ready to truly enjoy the freedom and flexibility this industry has to offer.
Cutting and coloring skills will only get you so far, but to build a lifelong career as a wealthy stylist, it takes business skills and a serious marketing strategy. When you’re ready to quit, just working in your business and start working on it, join us here, where we share real success stories from real stylists.
I’m Britt Seva, social media and marketing strategist just for hair stylists, and this is the Thriving Stylist Podcast.
Britt Seva: What is up, you guys? Britt Seva here. I hope you’re doing absolutely amazing. We’re bringing back an episode that some of you may see as an oldie but a goodie, but some of you have never heard this content before.
Early in the fall of 2020, I was given the incredible opportunity to work with the Modern Salon team and Kati Whitledge, and co-create an interview about what the industry has experienced going through 2020, permanent and temporary shifts we see because of the pandemic, and how to prepare for the future.
Now we are seeing some states regress into shelter-in-place. We’re seeing some states have second and third rounds of closures, and I wanted to bring this interview back around because I think it’s inspiring, I think it’s enlightening, and I think it’s really, really insightful.
For some of you, you may have heard this content before. Listen again, fresh ears. We’re all in a different place. And for some of you, this is the first time hearing it. Enjoy. I think you’ll find it really inspiring, especially hearing from Kati who’s a salon owner who really knows what it’s like to go through shutdowns and how to navigate these times.
So you guys, enjoy the episode ahead and I’ll see you on the flip side.
Anne Lorato: Welcome to today’s webinar: how stylists can move from coping to adapting to thriving and our new reality, presented by Modern Salon. I’m Anne Lorato, director of brand content strategy for Modern Salon and I’ll be your moderator for today’s event.
Our webinar today is made possible with special support from Viviscal Pro Hair Growth Supplements and xFusion by Toppik Hair Building Fibers. Viviscal is committed to helping stylists and consumers advance hair health. xFusion by Toppik’s signature line of care in hair fibers and tools are go-tos for stylists and salons everywhere. We’ve come to rely on xFusion for their clients with fine or thinning hair. We are going to be announcing more details after the webinar, but Viviscal Pro will be giving away 100 free three-months’ supply of Viviscal Pro supplements. So stay tuned after, and we’ll give you more details on how you can enter there.
And before I introduce our presenters, I want to encourage everyone today to submit questions during the webinar at any point and we’re going to try to address them all during a Q and A at the end of today’s session.
I’m delighted to welcome and briefly introduce our special guests for today. Britt Seva and Kati Whitledge.
Britt Seva is a business and marketing strategist for hair stylists. After spending years as an assistant, stylist, and salon director, Britt realized that cosmetology school left one major area out: business education. She began coaching salon owners in 2010 and launched her trademark hair stylist business education program ,Thrivers Society, in 2014. Over the past nine years, Brett has coached thousands of stylists and salon owners to build wealthy businesses and lives, and she’s determined to empower 1,000,000 six-figure stylists while changing the perception of the entire beauty industry. Brit hosts one of iTunes top podcasts, The Thriving Stylist Podcast, which in 2019 crossed over 1 million downloads.
Kati Whitledge is an entrepreneur, speaker, author and podcaster. Kati is the creator and CEO of the Beyond the Technique podcast, the award-winning marketing tool Meet your Stylist, and the award-winning Be Inspired salon, which is located in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Be Inspired salon is a seven-figure business with over 20 team members. Kati opened her salon in 2010 and has gone through three expansions in eight short years. Kati believes she’s just getting started in her career and is eager to move the industry in a positive, progressive direction. Her mission is to equip salon owners and their teams with the most innovative business and marketing strategies.
So first, let’s just set the stage for today’s discussion because in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, Modern Salon hosted a series of webinars discussions around the challenges created by the pandemic. We’ve been living with this for six months and we thought it was time to readdress the situation and take stock.
We’ve moved from coping to adapting and now we want to talk about thriving.
So Britt and Kati, I thought we’d start first by identifying the challenges that stylists have endured. We’ll second talk about what it’s like for them right now, and then we’ll talk about a way forward finding opportunity and optimism and hopefully spend the most time there on the optimism and opportunity. And then we’ll leave time for questions at the end.
So Britt, I’d like to start with you and let’s talk about how at the time of the outbreak and the lockdowns, which happened in many states in early March, we saw so many stylists struggle and feel really unprepared to meet the challenges of being out of work for an extended period of time. What do you think, at the time, they were most challenged by?
Britt: Great question and for me, what I kept hearing from stylists was everything feels so uncertain. And the uncertainty was so heavy and our industry is recession proof. I always said that, I still believe it, but we—like every other industry—aren’t pandemic proof, unfortunately.
Back in March, April, May, stylists kept asking me, “Well, what are we supposed to do? How do we react?” And like you said before we went live, this is such an unprecedented time that there were no rules. There wasn’t a game plan and we have to be reactive in everything that we did to cope with what was going on with the pandemic when in good business, you always want to be proactive, two steps ahead. In this instance we couldn’t be, and it was that fear of “When will we reopen? Will we reopen? What will that new reality look like? When will I get a paycheck?”
Again, all of that heaviness around the unanswered questions has such an emotional, a physical toll on the industry as a whole. And we’re still recovering from that. So I think at the beginning, it was just that overwhelming uncertainty of what happens next.
Anne: Agreed. And Kati, what would your take be on it? You’re in a different part of the country. Everyone was seeing things a little differently, but we had so many shared struggles at the same time.
Kati Whitledge: Yeah, hello everybody. Thank you, Anne and Modern Salon for having me today. And thank you. Hunty, I see you, brother, in the comments. I’m so happy to be here.
It has been the most tumultuous season as a salon owner with a team of stylists and also just walking through their emotional challenges in, “Oh my gosh, what’s gonna happen with my clientele? What’s going to happen with my financial situation? How am I going to navigate coming back to work when I have a family and there’s an uncertainty?”
You’re just managing all the different categories of your life throughout out all of this, and I’ve never seen anything like it. But I think the silver lining through that season of being shut down is that we had this precious time to decide what are the positive ways that we want to move forward together and what could life look like now?
Even though they’re seeing that we’re very uncertain, what are the new ways that we can craft our lives and be in this together? And so I’m just appreciative that we’ve all stuck together and that we’re having these conversations, um, in order to move forward positively.
Anne: That’s great. Thank you both for sort of giving us a little historical background. Now. I can’t believe I’m using that term when it’s only been six months, but it feels like we’ve packed so much into such a short time.
Now as the six months have progressed and we’ve figured out a little bit about what we’re dealing with, what things look like, now there are a new set of challenges.
And I don’t want to put words in your mouth. I mean, I know I certainly hear from stylists in our community, I listen to what they’re saying, I eavesdrop on conversations on social, so I know that after six months after reopening, there’s a little bit of a reboot that’s needed again. We thought the worst was that, just, “How do I reopen?” And maybe that was the worst, but I think that now there are a different set of challenges.
Britt, I’ll go back to you again. What do you think or what are you hearing right now from your community? What are they telling you they are really challenged by right now?
Britt: Such a great question, Anne, and it’s a little bit all over the map. For some stylists, they’re inundated with business and they don’t know what they’re supposed to do. Do you do a price increase or is that insensitive? And do you start a waitlist? How do you navigate this influx?
Then for some stylists, there is no influx, and so that’s terrifying. It feels like the rules of the game have changed where the things we could have maybe done to fill our chair in 2019 or early 2020, well, a lot of those opportunities don’t even anymore. So it’s adapting to this new reality of the industry and continuing to evolve with the trends.
The way we serve our guests has changed so dramatically, the way we communicate with them, the way they enter our salons. I mean, from start to finish so much has changed. And I think a lot of us in the spring, were like, “Oh, we just can’t wait to get back to the salon,” because we thought this was going to be maybe a three-week shut down, a little blip in time. And the salon we thought we were walking back to doesn’t exist anymore.
It’s like stepping into this new reality and how do we do it? To tag onto what Kati just said too, I’m in California, our schools are still closed. There’s a lot of stylists working who now have to balance homeschooling their children while still trying to do hair and sustain a business or juggle clients who have gotten used to in=home hair services.
Just adapting to this new reality when it feels like Play-Doh and there’s no real set rules. How do you settle into a new normal where that routine comes back again and you feel that predictability? We’re just craving that stability right now and it still feels like so much is influx. We’ve gotten a taste of normalcy, but we really haven’t come back full circle. That’s, I believe the current frustration.
Anne: And Kati, how about you? What are you seeing and what are you hearing from both your team and from your wider circle of licensed salon owner friends?
Kati: Sure. I think on an emotional level, we see a new challenge of mustering up that strength to be confident, positive, and hopeful. I mean, if it doesn’t start there, then how do we go to battle with overcoming some of the problems and challenges we’re facing, which in addition to setting the tone for the mindset that we want need to have, but also, “Okay, now what?”
I think one of the challenges we’re noticing is “How do I come back to the income I had become accustomed to when maybe I’m working at a lower capacity? Maybe I’m only seeing one guest at a time and I was used to being double and triple booked with an assistant?”
And so for us, we’re noticing just some of those areas where people are a little uneasy when it comes to their financial capabilities right now, and then just choosing to have what type of attitude every single day because we’re inundated socially with so many divisive topics and conversation.
So I think for us, it’s like if we can start there, we’re now in a better position to tackle the day-to-day challenges that come up with being in the industry. But we got to start with choosing the type of attitude and mindset that we want to have to take it on.
Anne: Thank you. And that leads in beautifully to—this is again, we’re just going to, we’re still dealing with the emotional piece. We’re going to get into talking a little bit more nuts and bolts and talking maybe a little bit about suggestions that are based on the discussion of income and clientele, but what would you say if a stylist came to you and said, “I’m just so burned out and so uninspired right now”? Do you have—and maybe I’ll challenge you to come up with, let’s say two or three things that you could say to them that would be sort of action items or would just be words of encouragement that they need to hear right now?
Because you both have a little bit more of a macro view because you are looking at the industry as a whole. You have your own businesses and you’ve seen how those have fluctuated.
So Britt, again, what would you say to this kind of plaintive cry of, “I’m so burned out and so uninspired”?
Britt: I love this question and I want to bring normalcy to that question and that feeling. If you’re feeling burned out and overwhelmed, it’s okay and it’s very normal. It is a part of this journey that we’re traveling.
The emotional weight of experiencing what the industry has just gone through is tremendous and so if you’re feeling that, it’s okay to just be in that moment. And the testing for us as hair stylists—and from the outside, people think of us as like cut and color people. People who make men and women feel beautiful, but to us, it’s so much more than that and there is an emotional weight we’ve always carried within this industry.
Now that—I don’t even want to say burden, but that emotional expectation is that much higher. So the idea that we’re supposed to be there for the clients and maintain these conversations and then go through the journey ourselves, it is a lot to navigate.
And to what Anne said, you have to find resources to help support you through the journey. I know for myself, I definitely got to places of overwhelm, burnout, and confusion, for sure. I think finding what I like to call white space or places where you can just reconnect with your why, what you love about this industry, why you chose this, and then continuing to find the balance.
So historically pre pandemic, I used to find a lot of inspiration or that pull out of burnout by seeking professional education. And I still do to a degree, but I also found a lot of balance by enjoying more just walks outside or connecting with my family, like truly focusing on life balance.
Because for most of us, we joined this industry to really have a beautiful, well-rounded life and it’s so easy to get so fully focused on the business part. So I think just to remember to keep everything very holistic as you get focused on the business, but find a way to recharge your own personal battery to whatever that looks like for you.
Definitely some professional inspiration and filling that inspiration tank for your business, but also just for your soul and for your life and for your family and reconnecting with what truly brings you joy. You’ll find a lot of reinflation in that re-engagement to the industry when you see that full focus life come together again.
Anne: That’s great. Thank you. And I love the triumvirate of overwhelm, burnout, confusion. I think that covers it all.
Kati, same question. Someone you know, someone reaches out to you, says, “I’m just so burnt out. I’m so uninspired”—stylists were told through lockdowns, keep your social feed active, keep in touch with your clientele, and they have to keep those things going now as well. But where do they find a little creative spark when they’re so not feeling it? What would you say to them?
Kati: I think Britt answered that so well, because I love how she brought up going back to your why. I think that this is an opportunity when you’re feeling burnt out and uninspired, and I feel it too. I’ve been there. You have to sit down and just get some clarity on remembering why you’re in this in the first place. What are going to be some new non-negotiables for you?
Maybe this is an opportunity to say, “You know what, gone are the days where I would work six days a week and saying yes to everybody all the time.” So this could actually be a new opportunity to have a new career pace, pace for grace maybe in walking through this industry and career in a new way. And so remembering your why.
And then we think about who we always want to become, some of the goals we have, what are the major things that determine who you’re going to be a year from now is based on two things.
Number one, the books you read. I’ll say books, but I would say any education. So I love Brit brought that up as well. How are you educating yourself to stay inspired or newly inspired and motivated? And then the other way you change and become a new, more evolved person a year from now is who you hang around?
I think that another silver lining is in how we spent so much money in going to all these different events and now that we aren’t able to travel or be in person live events, we have even more—like today—these tremendous opportunities to be around people who think in a way bigger maybe, or bring up ideas that we haven’t thought of. There are so many amazing influential people in our industry that are very inspiring, who have this, “I’m going to stick with it no matter what,” and it’s like surround yourself with people that, you want to have that mindset. You want to have their drive. You want to actually have that perspective.
And maybe you don’t have that perspective now, but the more you surround yourself with other people who are doing the things you want to do, have the life you want to have, that’s going to directly influence your mindset and everyday behavior, and that will help you stick it out and get through this season.
Everybody has gone through seasons in their life where they felt burnt out, uninspired, and they need a break. So maybe take this time to reflect and decide number one, what’s the most important thing to you and why did you get into this in the first place?
Anne: I love and will very likely steal “pace for grace” for some future moment. That’s a wonderful way of framing it, and so agreed that the more we focus on that, the bigger it gets, so if we’re going to focus on the problem or the negative, well, that will expand.
I love the reminder just to be feeding ourselves with the things that we want to ultimately—I can’t think of another word other than manifests, but, like you said, surround yourself, be in touch with people who really inspire you and who are what you want.
So again, as I said at the outset, we were going to frame the situation. We were going to talk about the challenges because yes, we all know what they been, but I think it’s important to recognize how far we’ve come already because we’ve navigated so much. So now we want to be able to point people towards a little security, some certainty, and, and opportunity. I’m so glad that we have questions we’re going to get to that are very specific.
We’ll take a lot of time with that, but let’s talk about looking for a little certainty in this really crazy time and a little security. And again, I know those are really big topics and broad themes, but Britt, could you talk that on a little bit? Where could stylists right now look for some security and certainty?
Britt: Oh, I love, love, love this question. So 2020 is the year of clarity, right? Lots of lessons learned and we didn’t like the way we had to learn them, but it was truly the year of clarity, I think, for people as a whole.
One of the things that I think was a really beautiful silver lining that came out of this experience was the realization of how crucial personal care services are for everyone. I think it was easy to take for granted. “Oh yeah, I gotta get my hair done, got to get the roots done,” and it almost started to feel like a chore. I was even in that mindset sometimes too, like, “Ugh, gotta make time to get my hair done.” And we are so cherished right now to everybody who’s listening to this. There is such a tremendous appreciation for absolutely hair stylists, but also our friends who are massage therapists and nail technicians and estheticians. My gosh, we had been put on a really beautiful pedestal.
I think this is a really great opportunity for us as an industry to double down on that and continue to remind consumers that we aren’t just a luxury. We’re not just an option. We’re not just a chore. We truly are essential.
I always say great businesses built in gaps and I think there’s a really good gap created right now for our industry. I think we will come back stronger than ever. I think revenues as a whole for the personal services industry, with a focus on hair services—I think we’re so fortunate to be in the place that we are—we’re going to see a huge uptick because consumer behavior is already starting to shift. Where we had gotten into this habit of, “We want what we want and we want it now and we want it fast, and maybe I will just do Madison Reed and maybe I’ll just do my hair in my bathroom.”
Now it’s like, “Oh my gosh, no, I want to slow down and take care of myself, and I want to have that connection with a stylist again.” Thinking about Kati and her beautiful salon team, it’s like, this is what people are looking for is to reconnect with those that they love and to feel like they’re a part of something bigger. I think our industry especially is going to see a huge surge in 2021 and beyond, and we’re really fortunate to be in the place that we’re at.
I know there are a lot of people who were feeling really fragile in the industry like, “Oh, can I sustain this? Should I even stay?” You guys, we’re still really in the beginning stages of this. Our industry is going to bounce back. We haven’t even seen it yet. Hang tight. We’re still riding the waves a little bit. I truly think that in 2023-ish, I think it’s going to take us a little bit of time to get there. Our industry is going to be one of the most well-respected and one that people are dying to be a part of because we’re going to show the potential that stylists have to create a really beautiful career for themselves. So I actually think that being a stylist now is perfect timing and we’re looking at really great opportunity over the next couple of years.
Anne: Wonderful. And we’ll go back to getting ready for that surge.
Kati, security, certainty, really, you put the word “certainty” in my mind because when you and I were first talking via email, we were throwing around some things that we know our communities need to hear right now and certainty was a big one.
Where are you sending people to look for or find a little security and certainty, whether that’s emotional or fiscal, whatever that is?
Kati: Thanks, Anne. It’s funny, ‘cause this is gonna sound maybe hard, but the only thing that’s certain in life is that it’s going to be uncertain. There is nothing that will stay the same.
If we look at historical examples, many decades before us, I mean every decade, there’s something really hard that people go through and have to live through it. So just remember, everybody, there’s always a beginning to things, there’s always an end. You’ve gotta be willing to make it through the middle. That’s the biggest part of this.
So what can we be certain in? Well, think about when are you happiest? I bet it’s when you’re behind the chair, working with your guests. Why is that? Well, because you are showing them what I call is a Greek term, agápi. Love.
That’s the kind of love you have just because someone else is sitting there and they’re a human. How do we show that love to others? We show that love to others by serving them. So what you can be certain about right now is that you have the ability and power to love, and you have the ability and power to serve, and you have the ability and power to bring light into other people’s lives.
So if you got to wake up every day and be certain about something, you got to be certain about you are called to this and you have the ability to really be a game changer and this light in someone else’s world today. If you just take it one day at a time, you will get through it. You will get through it.
If anybody’s into “I am” statements, maybe write this down every day and then say it maybe in front of a mirror to yourself. Say, “I am someone who loves others well. I am someone who serves my team, my guests, and my community. I am someone who brings a light to others. I am unique and I am called to this position.”
So people, just remember this: this is something, this is the opportunity that will last, in my opinion, the long haul with all of your guests. People will remember those who were there for them during the low times. So I’m calling you to think outside of yourself, focus on what you can do for others right now, and I promise you if you do that, you will be happier.
People will remember those who were there for them during the low times. How can you be there for people right now?
Anne: I love that and you both give me hope, and your optimism is really contagious. Thank you both for putting that out there.
Let’s spend a little time on opportunity before we get to questions, because the questions are going to very directly relate back to opportunity because we have questions around business clientele moving forward.
So Britt, you mentioned getting ready for the surge. Do you have some “do this now” advice that you would suggest to a stylist or “do this every day,” or just do this consistently? Some working method that you tell your Thrivers Society to stick with this, this will pay off?
Britt: You said one of my favorite words: consistency. Yes, I do think that’s a huge part of it.
I want to tag onto one thing Kati said as well. She touched on the idea of being patient and waiting for the industry to come back around. I think a lot of us are feeling like we need immediate solutions right now, and it is going to take some time. I think you’re right. This is really the time to get consistent with how we show up for our guests, consistently show that love that Kati was talking about, consistently show up on social media, which I know can feel really hard.
It’s easy to be like, “Oh my gosh, show up on social media. I’m just barely getting through my day.” I totally understand that when we think about what guests are looking for and when we think about setting ourselves up for a strong future, potential new clients and existing clients want to go somewhere that feels consistent, confident, and not that they have all the answers, but that they are future casting, that they’re looking forward.
I’m not going to say, “Okay, post on social media five times a day,” but can you post good content consistently, showing up with a message of positivity two or three days a week probably.
One of the really cool things that makes me excited about what we just went through is it’s the end of this era of perfectionism. So let’s all breathe a sigh of relief about that. That was very exciting for me.
I think we’re walking into this era of vulnerability and realism. Like if you’re going to be showing up on social media, creating that strong marketing platform right now, which is what we do, we have to plant the seeds and allow them to grow. If we plant those social media seeds, now we’ll see them grow in three to six months and we can start planting those seeds, posting photos of clients of wearing masks, posting photos of you doing what you are really doing in your day-to-day to serve your guests.
Clients are looking for a touch of reality and hope and just human connection, like “We’re all going through this right now.” You can relieve that pressure of everything has to be so perfect and so curated. Everything has to be very real and that consistency is absolutely something guests are looking for. I don’t want to minimize that.
I think it’s important that we start to continue showing up and this is—the catch 22 is a lot of stylists are like, “Well, I want to bounce back, but I don’t feel ready to show up on social media,” or “I want to bounce back, but I don’t have the money to do so.” It’s like that what comes first? The chicken or the egg?
I tend to think we need to start showing up with that confidence that Kati was talking about and getting that inspiration tank filled again so we can walk into our communities and walk into our salon space and be reconnecting with our guests again, saying, “I’m here. I’m ready. I’m better than ever,” and starting to plant those seeds and being patient, waiting three to six weeks to see those fruits of your labor really starting to come around.
If you trust the process and you start showing up now with confidence, being realistic, I promise you stepping into 2021, your business will be stronger than ever.
Anne: Oh, that’s great. Kati, opportunity. What are you suggesting in terms of where to look right now? Maybe not new opportunity, but just the sustained opportunity. What are your suggestions?
Kati: Well, I got to say one more thing about consistency because Britt brought this up and it made me think of one of my favorite quotes: “Successful people do consistently what other people do occasionally.” So the opportunity here is you could really get after it right now if you want to.
Now let me back up a little bit. When we were shut down, were we prepared? Did we have an emergency fund or were we crapping our pants saying, “Oh my gosh, how am I going to make this?” So the opportunity right now is start looking at your budget, start saving now.
We look at the stock market. We’re taught that we should buy when things are down, when the market takes a dip, that’s to your opportunity to get in. When it’s up, that’s your opportunity to sell. So how do we translate that into business?
Well, because we were prepared for a downturn and we had the money to do it upon reopening when there is a lot of competition out there who can not move forward and do anything new, they’re holding onto what they have. We’re able to go out and buy ads everywhere else. When people are looking for a safe, successful salon to visit, they’re gonna think of us because we’re in front of them everywhere and we’re able to do that because we had the money set aside. We were prepared. It doesn’t feel good, but it’s gotta be one of those things.
So the opportunity right now is if you weren’t already prepared, start working on a budget to prepare yourself. Because listen to this: entrepreneurs who are successful, salon owners who are successful, stylists who are successful, are the people who are willing to do what others cannot do or will not do.
So your opportunity is while other people may be chilling and pausing, if you’re ready to get after it, how can you be a big fish in a small pond where you’re at? Could you do more with social media marketing? Obviously Britt’s brilliant with that and can help you if that’s something you’re motivated to do right now.
There’s so many opportunities right now. It’s just a matter of do you want to step into that? Or maybe your step one is “Okay, I have now the opportunity to prepare myself. What’s a new budget that I can live within where I can set aside profit and have it there so when the market’s down, boom, I can go, I can buy, I can do and grow.”
And then of course, the opposite, when the market is high, then you can maybe chill and not put as many expenses. So it’s all strategy.
I think that’s the opportunity in summaries. We have the ability to sit down and make a plan and have a strategy for how are we going to maximize what we have right now, but also prepare for the future.
Anne: Terrific. Thank you. I can’t believe we’re already 35 minutes in and we have questions that we’lll really dig into. Maybe before we get to those specific questions, I just want to remind everybody two things. One is that you’ll be getting an e-blast if you’ve registered for the webinar with an on-demand link so you can go back and listen to this at your leisure.
The other thing is that there is going to be a giveaway offered through Viviscal Professional. They’re giving away a hundred free three-months’ supply of Viviscal Pro Supplements to the first 100 that respond to the giveaway. You’ll need to follow at Viviscal Professional on Instagram and send them a DM with your contact information, plus the code webinar 916, webinar 916. We don’t expect you to remember that, so as I mentioned, in that e-blast, that information will be there too.
So Britt and Kati, are you ready to jump into questions or do you want to touch on anything that we’ve already talked about?
Kati: Let’s take on some questions
Britt: Let’s do it.
Anne: Okay, all right so we have a question. When you mentioned Britt, the schools are closed, I mean, I am a mom. I do have a kid who’s homeschooling, but my first thought was beauty schools, which is so funny. You can see where my head is at.
We do have a question from a future professional, so let’s start with Angel’s question. Angel says, “What is your advice for future professionals? I have yet to step foot into my beauty school and I already have 600 hours out of my 1500 hours required for licensing. How can we catch up in the industry and find the right mentors during COVID?”
I love that Angel is asking about mentors because it sounds like that’s something you both are very much on board with.
Britt, why don’t you start and let me know if you need me to read the question again.
Britt: No, this is wonderful and Angel, I’m so glad that you asked this.
First of all, congratulations on being almost halfway through your cosmetology school hours. You’re joining the best industry on the planet, so welcome to it. You’re in a really good place.
I am of the mindset that everything happens for a reason. I know you feel like, “Oh my gosh, this is the world’s biggest pause button,” and you thought you would have maybe graduated by now or been really, really close and have already gotten your start.
The industry is a bit influx and what is going to work to your benefit is by the time you’ve completed your hours, there will be some stabilization. I truly believe that. You’re going to be walking into a much more stable environment and that’s going to be a really good thing.
You said one of the phrases that always hits a little close to my heart, you said, “Catch up.” I think in business in general—one of the things Kati said that always makes me smile is she reminded us that we’re entrepreneurs. We’re not just hair stylists. We don’t just do cuts in color. We are entrepreneurs this industry and when you’re an entrepreneur, I want to relieve that pressure that you have to catch up or that we’re in some sort of race.
You are joining an industry for yourself and there will always be space for you, Angel.When you join, it will be absolutely the right time to be here. I like to say this year, this is my theme for 2020, is that we’ve lost the gifts of certainty, but we’ve gained the gift of time.
You now have time and I can already tell you’re looking to use it wisely because you’re saying, how do we find the right mentors. Angel, if I could go back in time to when I was in beauty school, back in 2007—which was like dinosaur times in our industry—if I could go back, I wish I had used my time before actually stepping foot in the salon more wisely. I wish I had done more work on social media. I wish I had researched what it takes to build and grow a business. I wish I had made more network connections.
When you said you’re looking for mentors now, to what Ann said, oh my gosh, my heart sings to hear you say that. You’re already a cut above.
I would do things like if you’re not already following me and Kati, follow Kati and I. And then Kati, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, so one of my little hacks is I’ll follow Kati and then I’ll see who she follows, who she goes to for inspiration. That’s one of my favorite little tricks is I’ll follow somebody that I really resonate with on Instagram, let’s say for example, and then I’ll take a look at who they follow. It often allows me to spider out and find lots of really great mentors.
And for me, I try and follow no more than two or four mentors at a time. Really get a sense of their message. If I resonate with what they’re saying, if I like the energy that they bring to the table, and then I continue to maybe flush some of those people out. If they weren’t a great fit for me, bring a couple of new people in.
But this is such a great time to really get inspired and find great mentors and set yourself up for tremendous success for when you do get to finish that program. But I want you to relieve the pressure of you need to catch up or that you’re behind because you’re not. You are exactly where you’re supposed to be.
Anne: Terrific. Thank you so much. And, Kati, would you like to take that on as well and answer Angel’s questions?
Kati: Well, I think Brit did a brilliant job at answering that question and giving some great guidance. I just—yeah. I mean, this is an opportunity to immerse yourself and as much education as you can right now, so that when you’re able, you’re gonna rock it.
Just being in that, you’re okay to just chill right now and surround yourself with the education and the people that keep you inspired. So I think Brit took that one on and it was awesome.
Anne: Terrific. We did have somebody—and I will say, yes, you can listen to this afterwards. They say they want to listen to this inspiration. So yes, it is being recorded and you’ve registered so you’ll get it linked to the on-demand version.
Let’s take a question. Kati, why don’t you start with this because, maybe you are having to talk about this a lot with stylists. What are some ways to build your clientele up?
This comes from Melvin, and keep it moving forward and tie into that a second question about… No, why don’t we let’s just do that. I don’t want to overwhelm it. Kati, why don’t you talk about some clientele building strategies?
Kati: Oh my gosh. Well, I have to—it’s like a shameless plug because I can’t not say Meet Your Stylist. Melvin, if you were a part of a salon team, then you have an opportunity to talk to your salon owner about bringing on Meet Your Stylist to your salon website, which is a conversion tool and what that means is there’s all these people coming to maybe check you out on Instagram or your website, but how do they know if you’re the right stylist for them? And quite frankly, how do you start controlling the guests that sit in your chair? How do you determine, “You know what? I’m a really bold, driven, outspoken stylist. I want somebody to sit in my chair who says, ‘Hey, you’re the expert. You do your thing.’ It’s like music to your ears.”
Well, if you want guests like that, then Meet Your Stylist could be that right fit because it’s a behavioral science matchmaking survey. It’s like eHarmony, but for hair salons and hair stylists.
I know that this is not an opportunity to promote that because that’s the software company that I developed and run, but that is changing the game for salon owners throughout North America. I mean, in one year we have a salon that brought in over 12,000 leads through Meet Your Stylist. There’s just nothing like that.
Now outside of that, I would really tap into your current network. At our salon, we’re noticing that there are still people who haven’t come back yet since we reopened, whether that be they’re nervous, whether it be they couldn’t get in on that first round of people because we weren’t double booking already. How can you already go in front of the people who know, like, and trust you, who’ve already bought from you before and go back and start nurturing that relationship?
I think sometimes we get so nervous that people are going to reject us. Nobody wants to be rejected, but I think it would show really good favor if you reach out to people who haven’t been back in yet and just had a really cordial conversation and allowing them grace if they’re not comfortable, or if they say, “Hey, I couldn’t get in. I went somewhere else.”
Just being willing to talk things through with people. That is so hard for some reason, for many people, because of the fear of feeling like they don’t like me anymore, they’re not going to come anymore. Maybe you step out in courage and faith and maybe they’re just waiting to see if you’re willing to talk to them. Have you thought of them? This could be an opportunity for that. So I’m hoping that that was helpful and what you’re looking for.
Anne: Absolutely. Always reaching out, there’s no downside to it.
Britt, let me throw Pam’s question to you. Pam is wondering where should stylists spend the most effort, on Instagram or on Facebook?
And maybe Britt, you have a third suggestion, but that’s what she is wondering. Could you take that one?
Britt: I would love to take that one and that’s such a great question because we feel like we’re supposed to be everywhere all the time, showing the right stuff and we could easily be on 10 different platforms and I’m not even on 10 platforms. That sounds like too much work. It’s completely overwhelming.
And the good news is you don’t have to be nor are you supposed to be all the places. You just need to show up in the right places with the right content. So the trick to this is there isn’t one right answer. There’s a different answer based on A) where are you located? So each area like, Kati and I are across the country from each other. What works for me and what works for her, there’s probably going to be nuances to it based on our communities and just our geographic area.
And then beyond that, what kind of clientele are you trying to reach? If you like to serve men between the ages of 45 and 60, probably not going to be Instagram. That’s not where you’re going to be showing up. Versus if you’re trying to reach women between the ages of 20 and 30, absolutely Instagram is going to be your jam.
Also, I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m going to use the four letter word: Yelp. I have to say it. I know we have an aversion to Yelp and there’s two sides to every coin. I truly understand why it leaves a bit of a bad taste in our mouth. Sometimes in the Bay Area, if you can figure out how to make Yelp work, it is the easiest form of social media you could ever use as a stylist to build.
I use the Bay Area as an example because it’s my backyard, but there are lots of places in the country that are that way. I just want to expand that the horizon that there are multiple platforms that might work really well for you, Pam. So maybe it’s not Instagram or Facebook. Maybe it’s the NextDoor app. Maybe it’s Google My Business. Maybe it’s Yelp. Maybe it’s something that’s a bit different. The sigh of relief can be you just need to find a one or two platforms in your area to show up on to see massive results and just get consistent there, and you will 100%.
If you plant those seeds and can be a bit patient, you will see the fruits of your labor come through. So just take a bit of time to do the research and I have some podcasts that can certainly support you through that as well.
But it’s about finding out where your specific clients who live in your general area like to show up, like to find a new service basis to interact with, and then go from there.
Anne: Great, thank you, Britt.
Kati, I’m going to throw a question to you from Joyce. Joyce is asking would you suggest adjusting pricing during this time lowering service rate to help those on tighter budgets or possibly raise rates to cover extra costs for PPE and sanitation measures? I’m a hair stylist that works with a team but also independently, and I mainly travel to clients. So a question around pricing, which we just touched on at the very top, but that’s a big one I know through this.
Kati: Yeah, sure, and I think Brett kind of brought this up. It may, depending on your demographic and your area—are you in an area where there’s heavy retail and people aren’t working as much and they’re stressed out and is there an opportunity? What’s your retention rate look like already?
We had chosen not to raise prices during this time. We did not raise prices, but we did not and nor have we ever offered discounts. We always want to think about how do we have value-added opportunities. So is there a cool gift card giveaway you could do that preempts people to get fired up about your brand and maybe they’re referring friends to you.
It depends on do you have a lot of space on your schedule. But I’ll share this because I think this is a good opportunity, and I just heard this from the brilliant Nikki Lee. So if you weren’t following Nikki Lee, she’s amazing.
She said, “Hey, go and pull a report of your top 20 product SKUs. What are those top 20 products that you sell with ease? Go then after you pull the report and raise your products by 10%. Okay, so if something was 20, now it’s 22.
She goes, “You know what? People aren’t really even going to notice. If they do, you can offer a price match, but it’s the quickest, easiest way.” She said when she did this during a holiday season, her salon earned an extra $28,000 during the holiday season just from that one strategy and then they did that again when they reopened after their shutdown.
So I would say that’s the easiest way/first step that doesn’t feel like, “I’m a little uncomfortable.” I would never want you to discount, but it’s okay if you don’t go and raise your prices. How do you always add value to everybody’s experience? That’s what I would be focused on right now.
Anne: Perfect. Okay, Britt, I’m going to ask you a question from Renee. I know you were a salon director, Britt, so this is from Renee. She says, “I own a salon and I’m also a stylist, but I can’t work for six more months due to family care at high risk. I have a new stylist and I don’t know how to oversee the management of this new stylist and my salon family, managing the new stylist and getting that stylist to blend into the salon family when she’s not there.”
So this is remote management that is a challenge and helping a new stylist join the team. Do you have any suggestions?
Britt: Oh my gosh. First of all, Renee, thank you for asking this question and know that you’re not the only one in this boat. This is tricky and I was in a bit of a similar position, given it was not a pandemic year, the particulars were a bit different, but I took a five month maternity leave in 2014. I had some new team members join and I was away from the salon for an extended period and had to think, “Oh my gosh, how am I going to integrate these people? How am I going to oversee their onboarding being away?”
It is different. It’s going to be different for you. It’s going to be different for your existing team and the new team member coming in. I always go back to communication is king or queen, and I think that it’s going to be a combination of individual communication and team-based.
One of the really cool things about being in business right now is that we have the blessing of technology. So one of the things my team and I do—my team and I are always virtual. We have been in this business forever. So we’ve maintained virtual experiences through 2020. Yesterday, we had a team coffee break, so we all got on yet our coffees together from home, and we just talk. It wasn’t about business at all. It was how’s homeschool going, you got a new puppy. Somebody has just bought a home, give us a house tour. It was just a really great opportunity to connect and break some of the ice. So you can do some virtual get-together things.
Some of the things we’ve done before too is a virtual game with everybody. For you, it’s going to be a lot of incorporating you, because I’m assuming this stylist is already integrating with your team a bit? But bringing the team together and having those conversations and creating common touchpoints is super important right now.
The other thing is I would reach out to the individual members of your existing team and say, “Listen, I know we have Natalie coming on. I want to make sure that she feels welcomed. Maybe here’s a bit about her. Would you mind catching up with her today? Let me how it goes. I’d love to know how you guys are connecting.”
Plant the seed for those in your salon to reach out and connect with that stylist so she feels integrated and like she’s a part of the team. Even though you’re not there to do it manually in person, you can still facilitate those conversations from afar. It’s about putting in the effort and then reaching out to him or her individually too, and saying, “Hey, I know I’m not there. I just want to check in how was your week?” Then there’s just so much that can be resolved through great communication and just helping to facilitate those conversations and connection points I think is going to be a really great way to integrate them into the salon culture even though you’re not in there right now.
Anne: That’s a great answer and I’m glad you actually had that firsthand experience pre-pandemic.
I have a question here from Judy and Kati, I’m going to ask you to address this. So I’m gonna condense it a little bit. Judy is a senior stylist. She is over 50 and she has a lot of clientele who are also that same age. She’s not super comfortable servicing them until she knows everything is safe, as she says, “for people our age.” And so she has semi-retired right now, but she doesn’t want to completely stop serving her clients. She says, “I feel I know so much about disinfecting, but it is still hard to work and feel safe. How do I get comfortable in doing seniors?” That’s a very specific question. Do you have any ideas, Kati?
Kati: So to understand this correctly—and hello, Judy, thank you for your question. Okay, so you are nervous about being behind the chair based on your age, but then also serving people within your same age group. Do I have that right?
Anne: Right, and I should have said that she has an in-home licensed beauty salon. So that’s a big plus. So it’s just her space. She says, “I’ve decided to act retired and I’ve had to tell clients to go elsewhere. I work for two days, but then we shut down in California again.” She says, “I do feel like I know what I’m doing, but I’m still not super comfortable.” And maybe there’s just some conversation suggestions she could have with clients prior to being them. What do you think?
Kati: I think a couple of things. Judy, I think it’s time to ask yourself if this is something you want to continue to do. And at what capacity the opportunity is that you could maybe sell your book of clients to somebody who would love to take that over and that could potentially be an opportunity on the financial side.
If you do want to be behind the chair—I think that’s the real question. It sounds like you got it under control with the sanitation and disinfecting, but do you want to? And if you don’t want to, what are the next steps? What does that look like? If your salon is out of your home, I could imagine that you maybe want to do that and you just want to be confident in doing that.
That’s where I would just sit down and say, “You know what? I am a business owner and what are other successful companies doing in my area to communicate their safety practices with their clientele?” Can you find out? Do you have any mentors in your area or salon owners who would be willing to talk you through that? Maybe it’s a matter of just communicating with your guests what your safety protocol is so they feel comfortable.
But really, it sounds like you just need to ask yourself what do you want right now? And I think that’s the first step and then go from there.
Anne: Terrific. And I see we’re coming up on the hour. Unfortunately we didn’t get to all the questions, but I want both Britt and Kati to take a moment to say how everybody can reach them.
As I mentioned a gazillion times, everybody’s going to get that e-blast so they’ll be able to watch this again. But Britt, Kati, Britt first, why don’t you tell everybody how they can find you, follow you, and keep learning from you?
Britt: First of all, I just want to thank Anne and the Modern Salon team for having me here today. This was truly a joy, and for pairing me with Kati! I mean, this was like a dream partnership for me, so thank you for the opportunity.
I happen to be hosting a free masterclass on how to navigate post-pandemic, through pandemic, and how to create a successful 2020 and 2021 this weekend on Sunday, September the 20th. If you head to brittseva.com/success, you can register for that.
Now we’re doing live classes and replays, and then as always, I’d love for you to follow me on Instagram at @brittseva and check me out at the Thriving Stylist Podcast wherever you like to listen.
Anne: Terrific. And Kati?
Kati: Well, that just tickles my heart. Thank you, Britt, and I’m so happy that we got to do this together and you’ve been awesome.
Okay, everybody, if you want to get in touch with me, there’s a few different opportunities. You can go to meetyourstylist.com and connect with us through our website if you’re interested in learning about that.
Of course, beyondthetechnique.com and what I’d love is if you really love seeing faces behind the voices, go to Beyond the Techniques YouTube page. We have a ton of free education there and video podcasts for you to watch, and that—we are almost at 400 episodes, y’all, so there’s just so much there so much content. And it’s not just me, this is going to be bringing in the most innovative business and marketing professionals in and outside of our industry that helps educate our beloved professionals.
So I won’t get way into all the different places, but please connect with me through Meet Your Stylist and Beyond the Technique, and just remember, stay strong, don’t give up. Stay strong, and don’t give up
Anne: Thank you both and thank you to our sponsors, Viviscal Pro and xFusion by Toppik. For more information on hair health, please check out Modern’s The Guide to Hair Health and Loss, which is on our site.
Britt and Kati, thank you so much for helping us create community and connection and for giving us reason to be optimistic. And thank you everyone for joining us and be well. We’ll talk to you again soon. Bye bye.
