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 my loves and welcome back to the Thriving Stylist Podcast. I’m your host Britt Seva, coming to talk about our industry in flux.
2020 has been the year that none of us could have predicted was coming. In November of 2019, I shared a podcast saying that a recession was coming and we didn’t know if it was coming in 2020 or 2021, but we were coming up on it. We were overdue and it was time.
Well, what I couldn’t have predicted — and I certainly didn’t predict — was a pandemic that would force our industry to a halt overnight, that we would see stylist displaced, that we would see stylists questioning if they should stay in the industry or not, that we would see unemployment in our industry at mass scale.
For the first time ever, we are in a position where 20% of our industry still isn’t back to work at the time of this recording — I’m recording this podcast in mid June and some stylists in some states. And in some counties within states are being told, “Don’t plan to go back before July, if at all.”
I want to talk about what has been going on for the last 12 weeks. I want to talk about your biggest concerns right now. You’ve been hitting me up in my inbox, my DMs, my email, and my Facebook groups. I’ve heard your concerns, and I want to talk about them at mass scale.
I know some of you are considering leaving the industry altogether. I know some of you already have, I know salon owners are considering closing their doors. I know some already have. I know some stylists are considering leaving their existing salons. I know some are considering making the leap to become educators. I know some are considering major schedule changes because they realized how much they enjoy being home with their families, where they realized how overworked they were before they realized they just don’t want to go back to that pace.
There’s a lot of business reconsideration happening right now in our industry and I want to just provide as much clarity as possible this week. I want to stay focused talking about the four comments, questions, and concerns that I keep hearing the most.
We’re going to talk about salon walkouts. We’re going to talk about stylist moving salons. We’re going to talk about client concerns and losing motivation during this season of business.
So let’s start right at the top: salon walkouts, salon owners losing their entire staff or losing 50% or more of their staff, which to me is considered a walkout.
It doesn’t have to be your entire team walking away, but if you lose more than one person at a time, we could consider that a walkout or a soft walkout. What we have to realize — I’m going to speak to the salon owners for just a second here — what we have to realize is that everybody in the industry right now is reconsidering their business. Everybody. There’s just nobody exempt for that.
And when I see reconsidering, I don’t mean everybody’s got a foot out the door. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that everybody had to take this giant step back and look at their business with a magnifying glass and reevaluate how they got here, the choices they’re making, and what they want to be doing moving forward, right? We all did that. Can we just collectively agree?
So what we have to acknowledge is that some of your team members took the step back, pulled out the magnifying glass, and decided that they want to work more part time than your business structure allows.
That’s not even personal. They just don’t even fit in with your structure anymore. Some weren’t happy before. And now they’re like, “You know what? Honestly, I wasn’t that stoked working at the salon before. This is the perfect opportunity to make a leap.”
Some felt it was unfair that they had to pay rent while they were gone. I’ve shared on the podcast many times before my thoughts on that, but we have to honor that that was a feeling that some people chose to take on. So they’re looking for another salon that has open chairs because they refuse to pay rent during that time.
Now they have to make a different choice, right? Some felt like entrepreneurship and being self-employed wasn’t for them anymore and they want to make a change. I think we have to honor that there’s a lot of people who, after being out of work for eight, 10, 12, 16, 20 weeks plus are like, “Man, this self-employed thing isn’t for me.” They watched employees who some sustained a paycheck, some were able to work from home, some got unemployment faster than those of us self-employed, right? And they thought, “Man, I don’t even know that I want to do this anymore.” Then the thoughts about coming back and having to reinvent their business, they just said, “You know what? This is not for me.” Right?
They made that choice to maybe step out or step to the side, somewhere over the commute they were commuting to get to your salon. And they’re like, “Ugh, I just want to be home with my family more.”
Some decided, “You know what? I’m going to use this time to make the leap of faith and I’m going to actually pick up a commute. I’m going to drive an extra 45 minutes to get into the big city or to get out of the big city,” or whatever it is. They’re just considering making a change, whatever those stylist’s reasons are.
Our industry is in motion as a whole. I’m watching even the best of the best salons — like the salons where if I decided to go back to doing hair, I’m going to beg these owners for a job. I’m watching those salons, the ones that check all the boxes, posting we’re hiring. I’m seeing it everywhere. Like the salon owners I respect the most are losing people.
This is a time of opportunity: opportunity for salon owners to be really picky about who they choose to let back into their space. Opportunity for salon owners to redefine what is allowed in their salon space and what they’re looking for as they build their team.
If you’re a salon owner and experienced loss (some of your team has walked), I know you’re feeling the panic because you just went through a financial upheaval and you’re worried about money maybe more than ever before. Let’s just talk about it, right? We just talk about it, how it is on the show. You’re worried about money and your stress. And now you have these open chairs and you’re like, “Are you freaking kidding me? This is the last thing I need right now.”
Don’t fall into the desperation. Don’t say, “I’m just going to take money from whoever wants to rent. Whoever wants to work commission yet. I just need bodies in here.” No, that’s not what I coached you. Now you will create a long-term problem if you do that, right? That is a short term fix. We don’t want that.
We’re playing this for a long game here. We don’t need bandaid solutions. What I want you to realize is that many of the stylists who are in motion are bad-ass stylists. They are dream stylists who are over their salon where the owner just didn’t step up, like had really good intentions, but didn’t really pull the trigger and the wheels never got fully in motion. The best of the best stylist don’t settle for that.
So if you’re a salon owner looking to get great talent — which before was next to impossible — it’s not impossible anymore. For all of you who are like, “Oh my gosh, I feel like my team left,” please know there are amazing stylists out there looking for opportunities. They want more, they want bigger, they want stronger. So now it’s up to you as an owner to create a dream salon space and culture, to be the net that catches their fall.
Oftentimes when I say dream salon, people are like, “Oh my gosh, expensive.” No, go back and listen to my podcast where I talk about what booth renters are looking for. I did a survey. They didn’t say, “I want the space with the fanciest, most expensive shampoo bowls” said nobody ever. That was like very low on stylist lists of what they want.
They want a true leader. Somebody who’s inspired. Somebody who comes with fresh ideas. They want a culture. Everybody’s happy. Everybody’s motivated. Everybody shows up. And if you’re like,”Man, I’m a salon owner. I don’t have any of those things.” Okay, well, then the best of the best aren’t going to come work for you because you’ve got your salon filled with people who are half in, half out.
And that’s the whole question of what came first: the chicken or the egg? Like how do I get motivated stylists in here? If everybody has one foot in, one foot out, you need a cleansing. And when you look at salons or businesses that really level up, oftentimes there is a generation of who got you here won’t get you there. They do see some kind of walkout and this is the opportunity for the owner to step up and become a leader.
Because until the owner becomes a leader, they’re never going to attract top stylists. It’s an impossibility. So it gives the opportunity for the leader to really step up and say, “Okay, what I’ve done in the past was good. How can I be better?” This is an opportunity and it’s a chance for you to take it.
So I have some questions for you. If you’re a salon owner who has experienced a loss of staff, here are the things I want you to ask yourself:
Am I ready to see this as the opportunity to build my dream business? Yes or no. Some of you — I say that and you say no. That’s fine. Own it but are you ready to see this as an opportunity to build your dream business, to be the salon owner who rises up in the face of adversity, and becomes a salon home to the best displaced stylists in my city? Because they’re out there and they’re looking for you. You just may not have hit their radar yet.
Are you willing to do the work to push yourself to be better than your previous best? To make that possible, can you do that without excuses? Without saying it’s too hard or without saying you don’t have time. I don’t buy that excuse. You have the time; you’re choosing to spend it differently.
Are you willing to put in the focus, the energy, the effort and the time? If not, that’s okay, but then don’t wonder why it’s not coming together, right?
You’re at a crossroads. You cannot change the past. You can’t control where your former stylists are going or what your current stylists are going to do. All you can control is the actions you take next, and you have two options: step up or step out. There is no option C. (Cruise control is not an option any longer.)
It’s step up or step to the side. You decide what you want to do.
I encourage you to step up and I’m here to support you if you’re down for that journey. But if you’re like, “You know what? I just don’t want to do it,” it’s okay. But then don’t be surprised when you don’t rebuild, when it doesn’t come back together. Because the pressure on salon owners to be phenomenal is high right now. I encourage you to step up to that raised bar and own the opportunity.
Some of today’s most successful businesses grew out of times of recession. Why? Because the majority will choose to step out.
I know even when I was saying that you were like, “Oh, I think I’m the stylist who wants to step out.” And I know you have those feelings. Well, guess what? When somebody does step out, it leaves lots of room for those who instead choose to go all in and rise up.
Go ahead and Google what businesses grew out of recession. It’s going to blow your mind because smart business owners see recession has opportunity, right? When the waves recede and everybody else is like from getting out of here, I’m nervous, smart business owners power forward. And they say, “Oh no, I’m all in. There’s a gap here. I’m going to take it.”
One of the awards given out at Thrivers Live is the Phoenix award. It’s given to somebody in the industry who thrives against all odds. They have all the odds stacked against them. Everything seems impossible and they crush it. Our 2020 Phoenix is Yara de la Torre. I encourage you to look her up on Instagram, @yaradoeshair, check out her story. She will leave you feeling so inspired.
And my guess is that our 2021 Phoenix will be an amazing salon owner who has a more successful year this year and next year than they’ve ever had before. Like they are going to grow the strongest business they’ve ever had in this season. I’m holding that space for you. Listening to this podcast, I’m holding that for you. It’s yours to take. I’m giving it to you. Do you want it? Here it is. It’s going to take work, but I’ll celebrate you on the flip side if you get there.
For those of you who are saying the studio suites are stealing your stylists, I can’t even do it. No, no, no. The studio suites aren’t stealing anything. Your stylists are just demanding true leadership and culture. If you weren’t in a place where you can offer that, or you’re not willing to do the work right now to create that.
No worries, but they’re not going to wait for you. They’re just going to go to a studio where they can create the culture for themselves.
That’s not what I want. I want your stylist to stay with you, but I also want to encourage you to step up so that your stylists see the value in what you have and they choose to make that choice, right?
Let’s talk about client concerns for a minute, because we knew that it got quiet with our clients for a minute while they were waiting for us to come back. And now that they’re back, we’re managing that new normal, right? Masks are uncomfortable. We’re now having to wear gear we never had to wear before. We’re now having to temperature check our guests and sometimes because we’re heading into summer here, their temperature reads high and you have to send them home.
Well, what are you supposed to do about that? Are they actually sick or was it a false reading? Are they going to argue about that, right? I know it’s frustrating to try and keep all of your clients happy as we’re rebooking them, especially Karen who’s pissed when you got her in on the fourth day you were open and not the first, right? She’s livid that she wasn’t the very first client you called when you opened your books and now you’re spending hours trying to console her because she has to wait four days to get her highlights. You know who I’m talking about, right?
Here’s what clients want from my perspective: there’s three things and they’re super simple. Clients want to feel special like always. That’s not new; clients want to feel special, like they matter to your business, right? They want to be prioritized and they want to feel safe.
I know some people feel like this whole pandemic has been blown out of proportion. For every person who believes that, there’s another person who is nervous and terrified or has somebody at home who is high risk. They have fear about just stepping out of their house. We have to honor both sides of that, right?
What I want you to keep in mind as you navigate these next years, probably — I don’t think we’re going to get to the flip side of the pandemic anytime in 2020. So as we navigate this new normal, I want you to remember these words: special, prioritized, and safe.
If you’re a stylist who thinks the masks are pointless and you refuse to wear one, first of all, I’d advise you to make sure you’re following state guidelines because that could be illegal. And if you do something illegal, you lose your license.
But if it’s not illegal, remember we are in the customer service industry. Masks in general are meant to make the public feel safe. Whether they’re effective wearing the mask is very debatable, right? It’s been debatable from the start. They do psychologically make people feel safer, which is why for most of us, they’re required to wear in public. I know in some states, they aren’t, but in some states they are. And especially in some businesses where we’re face to face psychologically, it makes people feel safer and there’s some weight to that.
I got a DM from a stylist over the weekend saying that her salon owner is choosing not to require the staff to wear masks. She’s leaving it optional. She’s chosen not to post the legally-mandated precaution signs, right? And some of your states, you have to legally say here’s the things we’re doing to keep this space safe for you: temperature checks, washing hands, sanitizing, whatever your state is requiring. It has to be posted. So clients have the peace of mind knowing you’re crossing your Ts and dotting your Is and all those things.
Well, this owner’s like,”You know what? It’s just too much not doing it.” Okay. Well the booth renter who DMd me said she saw a client last week who then emailed her expressing how disappointed she was in the way that the salon is handling themselves. She said nobody was wearing masks. The booth renter who sent me this email was wearing a mask because she’s choosing to do it. And the client wore a mask, but it sounds like they were the only two in the building, nobody else was. There was no signs. And the client felt like the building was too crowded, whether it was or not based on fire code and state regulations, I have no idea. But the client’s perception is she was not safe, right?
What do you think could happen if that client chose to not send the email to her stylist, and instead called the city or the state board? An owner can lose their business, be fined, or be shut down temporarily. This is really scary stuff, you guys. And this is because the client did not feel safe. It takes one passerby or one client.
I know your clients are so chill and they don’t care. It doesn’t have to be a client that sits in your chair; it could be a passer-by who chooses to report you. Do I believe that that client should be calling everybody up and reporting all the businesses? No, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. You have to think about the longevity of your business.
So here’s what I want you to do. I want you to own this as your true north with every decision you make. I want you to ask yourself, “Is this the smart decision for the longevity of my business?” I’m going to say it one more time. “Is this the smart decision for the longevity of my business?” Because if that’s the true north, all of the decisions become very easy.
It’s very easy to tell Karen to see her way out of your business when she was invited to come in and see you the fourth day you were available and not the first, and she’s pissed. The fourth day you offered her was a very fine choice. It was the smart for the longevity of your business. Karen didn’t like it. No worries. See you later. Cause you were making a choice for the longevity, right? Posting the legally mandated signs, even though they look ugly, even though it doesn’t go with your salon decor for the longevity of your salon business, that is the right thing to do.
I understand taking a personal stance. I truly get it. But I want you to think about the legal ramifications of choosing to opt out of masks and sanitation procedures and signage and capacities, right? Think about is that the best choice for the longevity of your business?
Let’s talk about temperature checks and clients canceling due to COVID symptoms. So if a client messages you and said, “Listen, I’m symptomatic,” we’re not going to charge them a cancellation fee.
If you’ve been coaching with me for a while, you know, I’m a stickler about those cancellation fees, but in this season of life, if somebody is canceling because they’re symptomatic, we’re not going to charge a fee. It protects you and your business.
I also want to thank Wendy, Shareena, Abby, and Java in my Facebook group for the pro tip they shared. They noticed is a lot of their clients are sitting in a hot car waiting to come in, waiting for that text message that says come on in, I’m ready for you. Then when they do the thermal scan, a client is reading hot. Well, what they’ve decided to start doing is provide a cold glass of water and have the guests sit in the shade for three minutes before getting the thermal scan. It just allows their body temperature to regulate back to normal.
If you were to give a cold glass of water and a sit in the shade to somebody with a fever, they’re not going to cool down that fast, but you or I, or somebody healthy, who’s just been sitting in a hot car, it’s going to be the game changer. So pro tip, that helps a lot.
But remember that crosscheck. Whenever you do anything, ask yourself, “Is this the smart decision for the longevity of my business?” and that will help you tremendously.
Let’s talk for a moment about the stylists and salons who still aren’t open yet and still aren’t able to work, right? You are just feeling frustrated and then a crossroads. I have a Facebook group for some of my Bay Area-only Thrivers and I saw a post today that said, “Oh my gosh, I just got word from my county that we won’t be able to open up until July at the earliest,” or that the person in charge of making the opening decision is not even going to consider it until July. So just sit tight, because nothing is happening was basically the response. Still at a complete standstill and it’s infuriating and frustrating, right? I think the lack of plan is the hardest part.
My biggest advice is to connect with other stylists and salon owners outside of your salon for support as per usual. If you’re just talking to those who are usually within your building, how are you going to get inspired? How are you going to know what’s up? How are you going to know about the things you hadn’t necessarily considered? Cause you’re just all leading each other, but you’re not getting outside inspiration anywhere.
It’s also really nice, especially as an owner, to have a shoulder to cry on. Somebody who truly gets it, somebody who can help keep you inspired when stuff’s going sideways. That’s major and we all need a resource like that.
I also want to encourage you to use this time wisely. After listening to those who have gone back to the salon, you will go back at full capacity, like no breathing room, for months. This is the breather you’re in it right now. I know it doesn’t feel good right now. You’re dying to get back to work. You won’t get this time again. Knock on wood, right? We hope not.
So use this time wisely. I want you to be using this time to schedule your social media. If you haven’t scheduled out posts for the next four months, I’m not sure what you’re doing with your time. And even if you’re like, “Well, I can’t schedule the posts. They don’t have the photos yet. I want to photograph my clients wearing masks,” well, first of all, you can still use old photos. It’s truly okay to showcase work you’ve already done. That’s still okay.
And you can be sitting at home writing captions right now. Captions are the hardest part. Photos are the easy part. The captions are hard. Are you sitting down in your free time writing captions so that for the next six months you can do posts on the fly all the time, cause you’re set. If not, that’s going to be something smart. You’re not going to have extra time to write captions when you get back to the salon.
So do the things you will not have time for. Organize your photos on your phone. Take classes. How many of you don’t educate because you don’t have the time for it? Do it. There’s so much free education, low cost education. Some of you have paid for stuff that you’ve never actually applied. Do it. Go through your old notebooks from classes you’ve taken previously, actually apply the work.
Schedule a photo shoot for yourself. There’s a lot of photographers who can’t do weddings or large scale events, but it is within social distancing guidelines. They’re not going to be closer than six feet to taking your pictures, anyway. You can do a fully social distance photo shoot right now, safely and comfortably, and get some photos done for your business.
Schedule a photo shoot of your salon space. It’s empty. Dress it out, make it look great. Take photos. If you can update your website, transition to a new online booking system, that’s a huge undertaking. Now’s a great time to do it. Create your marketing funnel. If you’ve been following me for some time, create that marketing funnel, you’ve always been dreaming of, right?
The best of the best stylists have waiting lists 50 clients long right now and not existing clientele. Everyone’s like, “Yeah, yeah, we’ve all got that.” No, no new clients they’ve never seen before. 50 people deep. Like who knows how long it’s going to take them? And those people are willing to wait. Why? Because they built a strong business beyond the pandemic.
If I go to your social media right now and all you’re posting about is the pandemic and how you can’t wait to get back to the salon, you’re not doing this right. You’re not creating FOMO. You’re creating a social media. That’s a personal blog. Don’t do that. We have to speak to the time, right? We can’t be completely tone deaf and pretend like everything’s normal and it’s not, but you can still be posting beyond “can’t wait to see you!”, posting only once a month because you’re feeling in a funk about it.
I encourage you to find your inspiration, get excited about what’s to come for the future and be posting about that. Create the FOMO. May clients want to come in and see you.
These are the actions you’re going to take that’s going to set up the business for the year ahead, right? Reactionary marketing is not effective in our industry. It all has to be thought forward. What can you share today that grows the business tomorrow?
Last but not least. I want to talk about what to do if you’re losing motivation in the season. I want to read a DM I received from a salon owner because I think it’s going to give a lot of you the feels. And even if you’re not an owner, I think you’re going to really relate.
She said, “Hey, Britt, I don’t expect to reply, but I want to explain where my head space is at. I own a rental salon and I had the full intentions to hire this spring for an hourly position. I’m an Enneagram type 3” – which me too, girl, I still get you “and I’m extremely driven. My salon has been reopened for three weeks. During the shutdown, I felt lost, knocked off my feet. And is it the fears surrounding my money story were all about to come true. Now that we’re back, my motivation is gone completely. I’ve never been so apathetic in my life. I can feel my team pulling away from me. I have zero desire to hire. And if I’m being completely honest, I find myself wishing for another shutdown so I have reason to permanently close our doors.”
Oh my gosh. I mean, can anybody relate? This is huge.
“Today was my office hours day and instead, I slept. As I was drifting off to sleep. I had the idea of closing my salon on my mind and Britt, I felt so happy. This isn’t me. Quarantine has taken so much out of me and I simply don’t know how to move forward. I honestly don’t know why I’m even messaging you. I feel like I need advice, guidance. Where do I go from here?”
Can anybody relate? You should be able to. If you’re questioning your entire business and all of your life choices up until this point, welcome to the club.
This is normal. We all just got handed the world’s biggest reset button. You should be assessing your life right now. You should be deciding what makes you happy and what drains you. You should be reevaluating how you’re spending your days and whether the actions you take today are pushing you closer to where you want to be in five years, or if you’re just treading water.
Cause if you’re just treading water, what are we doing this for? Knock on wood, we won’t get the chance to have this period of reevaluation ever again.
I truly believe we’ve all just been given the opportunity to create our dream life and business with renewed clarity. So if you’re a booth renter who has always dreamed of opening a salon, awesome; lots of salons are becoming available. To this salon owner who messaged me who’s thinking about closing and it’s making her happy, be in those feels. Is that really what you want to do? Because if you do sell it, somebody is dying to buy it.
This is a season of opportunity for all of us. If you’re a salon owner ready to take your salon to the next level, do it. If you’re like, “You know what? I’ve been wanting to create a culture.” “You know what? I’ve been wanting to get better about social media.” “You know what? I’ve been wanting to fill these chairs,” do it. This is the season of opportunity to make it happen.
If you’re a stylist dreaming of being an educator, do it. Take this time to learn the skills you need to push to that next level. Money is a resource we can always make more of. Time is finite. The reason we’re all having these feels and questioning everything is because that has become a reality for all of us. It’s slapped us in the face.
We will get the money back. Salons will reopen their doors. Business will go back to normal.
What normal do you want to go back to? That’s the choice you have. We just got slapped in the face with the fact that time is of the essence and we’re all trying to decide how we want to use the rest of our lifetime.
Don’t let this opportunity to go to waste. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Follow your heart. Decide where you want to be in five years, 10 years, 15 years, and use this period of opportunity to make powerful shifts so that is possible.
I want one final reminder of what your clients are looking for during this time: they want to feel special, prioritized, and safe. Use this time to love on your guests. Use this time to love on yourself. Use this renewed clarity to decide what’s next.
You guys so much love, happy business building, and I’ll see you on the next one.
