I recently shared a prompt on Instagram stories for you to ask me anything because I know you have plenty of burning questions.
Boy, did you. There were over 200 questions submitted! We’ll go through as many as possible to give you a little more insight into my head and a day in the life of Britt Seva.
What do your day and week look like?
I’m an INTP on the Meyers Briggs scale. Ps are perceivers and have a difficult time working within structure. And, like most other full-time educators, no two weeks are the same. However, as the business grows, I’ve realized my team can’t work without that structure. So if you’re a salon owner who feels like a free spirit, know it’s difficult to properly support a leader who doesn’t work within structure.
I take meetings all day from 8:30 to 3, Mondays and Thursdays. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are structured working days for things like creating content, updating courses, internal and external projects, planning, and speaking.
Even though my set schedule is from 8:30 to 3, Monday through Friday, I often work evenings and weekends. It might sound crazy, but I love what I do, so winding down the day with a little more work is enjoyable to me. I feel like I can seal the day that way.
If you want to be an educator, know the business doesn’t stop if you’re traveling. If I have to take three days off to go teach, work will come in over that time. When I get back, I often have to work a weekend or extend my time to catch up on everything.
Can you be friends with your team as a salon owner?
My salon team respected and cared for me, but at no point was it a misunderstanding that we were friends.
I chose to be their leader, not their friend. I didn’t get invited to Saturday night drinks after work, and that was okay because it was very uncomfortable to grab a drink with you on Saturday and fire you Tuesday.
I led with love, but with a firm hand. If something was going sideways, I didn’t have an issue writing somebody up. There was a different level of respect because I was somebody who cared for them but wasn’t their friend.
At first, that was difficult because I went through feelings of being left out and wished I was partly their friend. But I realized the more I set myself apart as a leader in a caring-but-not-friendly way, the easier it was to make good business decisions.
I won’t say that’s the playbook for leadership or that you can’t be friends with your stylist. Create a relationship where you’re comfortable. If that means you’re comfortable going out for drinks on Friday afternoon with someone you have to fire them Tuesday morning, that’s fine.
How did you get into stock market investing and know what to buy?
I won’t pretend to be an expert because confession: I got a little bit lucky and wasn’t afraid to play the game.
My husband and I started investing early because we come from families that didn’t prepare for retirement and some who lost everything in the 2008 stock market crash. We invested in Netflix when the shares were less than $10, along with a couple of grocery store chains and technology products. The only thing that hit was Netflix.
That is how the stock market works to a degree. The name of the game isn’t hitting the jackpot; doing it properly is a long game.
I was a self-study student who geeked out over stocks. That’s how we got lucky. I followed trends and read reports about what was projected to do well.
It came down to that and the fact I don’t live fear-based. I’m not afraid to make some mistakes. So long as I have my life and my house, everything else is fixable.
Sometimes you just have to make the leap, and that’s where greatness comes from.
Does your personal true north change?
When my financial advisor asks what my five-year goal is, I get nervous because I’ll be in such a different place one or even three years from now, let alone five. But you have to answer the question because your true north affects your decisions.
I don’t make a decision today that doesn’t push me towards my true north. Nothing I do in my life is out of alignment with where I want to be in five years.
Once you start to achieve these tremendous goals, your true north pivots a bit, but mine is probably 80% the same as it’s been the past few years.
As things change and my family grows, my true north will shift because it is a moving target. As life changes, your true north does too.
How do you deal with being a renter and not loving the salon’s retail?
It’s the leader’s prerogative to sell whatever they want. You chose to sign a lease knowing which product line they carry.
That said, a lot of leaders make poor choices when it comes to retail. They either choose something flashy that has nothing to do with their target market or something high end. Meanwhile, they have part-time booth renters who charge $25 for a haircut and then try to sell $40 shampoo. That’s insane.
Leaders need to choose the right line, and booth renters need to realize this is what you have. It either works for you, or it doesn’t.
We, as human beings, should get better about having difficult conversations. Do you feel comfortable telling your owner you know they love that line, but could we look at other options? Try not to come in hot because your owner’s wall will go up. But if you constructively say you’ve looked into three other lines and want to know if the salon could sample them, the owner will be open to that.
Having a powerful conversation is a good way to start, but also respect the fact that the leader made a decision. You chose to work there, and it may just be what it is.
Did you have any fears of starting your coaching business? How did you deal?
I have fears about everything. The difference is I don’t let the fear take over.
I am so thankful I chose the right life partner. When quit my salaried job to become a coach full time, we were scared, but he had full faith in me.
I’m fortunate to be with somebody who empowers me that way. He and I have the same outlook: there isn’t much that isn’t fixable. Don’t let the fear take over. There was a big chance I could have started this coaching business, and it would have majorly flopped. But that didn’t stop me.
The thing is that chasing your dreams isn’t enough. Choose a goal, find what is in alignment for you, and work your ass off to get there.
I worked hard to make this all happen. There were a lot of sacrifices my family and I made. We had to make some big life choices for me to pursue this, but I didn’t let the fear take over. I truly believe this is what I’m supposed to do, and I was willing to work my booty off to make it happen.
So yes, I was scared. Yes, I did it anyway, and yes, I would 100% do it again.
How and when in your business did you start building your phenomenal team?
I was definitely not ready. I was overwhelmed, at my wit’s end, and – pushed by my business coach – knew I couldn’t do it alone anymore, so I took the leap of faith. I now have the best 16 women on the planet working alongside me.
When I hired my first assistant, I was open that I didn’t have the money. She came on anyway. Because she took a load off my plate, I pushed towards bigger goals that produced more revenue. Once that revenue came in, I could pay her more and expand the team.
Often I’ll hire somebody thinking I can’t afford them, but we need the help. But by bringing them on, their efforts take work off my plate and bring revenue in.
It’s not all been smooth sailing, but we keep the culture first and are selective about who comes on, how they work, and how they interact. That’s allowed us to build a beautiful, well-connected work-from-home team.
I would love to know more about the dynamic between you and your husband.
We have a great relationship, but it’s not always been rainbows and sunshine. We got together when I was 17, and he was 18, but turns out the 18-year-old boy I fell in love with is not the man I’m with today. I am certainly not the girl he met back in high school.
We all grow and evolve. You either grow together or grow apart. He and I chose to grow together and support each other. He and I are both willing to work our butts off to achieve everything we want, and we support each other in doing that.
Incredible communication has been instrumental in navigating our 20 years together. We are good at communicating, and it’s gotten better through the years. I always know where he’s at, and he always knows where I’m at.
We’ve learned to grow together over the years. Incredible communication and respecting that we are different people than the people we fell in love with has been major.
How long does it take you to write captions? Does it get easier?
Captions used to be painful, but I now write 7 – 10 captions one or two times a month. I’ll write 30 or 40 captions on an airplane because I don’t purchase the airplane internet and just enjoy the internet-free time.
During a regular month, I step away from my smartphone and computer to go somewhere – often the beach or my backyard – to write captions. If I have a little bit of quiet space, I can knock them out.
The least productive way to write captions is by staring at a photo, so I batch out captions without looking at one.
PSST: I have caption writing trainings in Thrivers Society (opens in spring 2020) and my Best Year Yet workshop (reopens at the end of 2020!).
Did you make any personal goals this year?
My personal goals are to slow down and connect with the things I love a little bit more.
The challenge is I love my business. It doesn’t feel like work to me, and I can easily do it all the time. But to keep myself from having mini malfunction meltdowns, I need to find more ways just to do fun things, like runs (my personal therapy), spa trips, taking a walk with the kids. Things that make me feel fulfilled beyond work and finding more of a balance.
It’s not that I’m disconnected from my family. I’m at all one hundred of my daughter’s softball games each year. Last year, we took six vacations as a family. I’m connected to my family, but often the business is chirping in the background, or I’ll find myself split.
This year I just want to slow down and reconnect the things that I love to do.
That wraps it up for this session of Ask Britt Anything! Keep an eye on my Instagram stories for the next round!