Creativity

I saw this on Pinterest and it got me thinking.

This is so true for me. 

1. Confidence- I've always been shy...surprisingly. Once I gained some confidence I was able to ask question without fear of being judged for not knowing everything.

2. Observation- the best way for me to learn and grow. I catch myself watching others and searching for videos for new techniques. I try to adapt them to what works best for me. I really get lost in my own little world when I'm observing.

3. Humility- this is a tough one. I think some of the best stylists out there are the humble ones. Because in all honesty....none of us know it all (except for the man upstairs). There is always new techniques and trends evolving. We will forever be learning, the sooner we practice humility the better off we will be.

4. Mindfulness- sometimes i have to think outside the box. See things from a different perspective.

6. Resourcefulness- as soon as I learn something new, I have to get the tools I need and get to playing. I have to figure it out on my own to learn.

7. Energy- don't get stuck in a rut. Be excited about the future and new ideas.

8. Action- trial and error! The more you "fail" the more you learn and the more talented you become!

This just really stuck with me as this week comes to a close and I wanted to share.

Defeat or New Beginning?

I have been doing my friend's hair for 2 years now. She is also a stylist. That helps because she understands hair limitations and endless oportunities of colors and looks. Her hair has become "my hair". I've turned it into my masterpiece and have been so proud of it. Last fall it was PERFECT! I was in love with everything about it. All the beautiful colors blended so seamlessly and was sealed with shine. Then my heart was broken when she wanted to "add dark" to "break it up" because she needed change.

She was in love....and I was happy but loved the before so much better.

It has been a few months and she needed change again (what am I going to do with her?! I mean should I be surprised? She IS a hair stylist). So I attempted a new balayage technique with a new product. And I'll be honest....it did NOT turn out how I wanted. I mean it wasn't horrible. ...and she got compliments. But we BOTH weren't happy with the results. I immediately felt defeated. Here sat my masterpiece, which was once flawless...and now it was just bleh.

On our way home from the salon we talked and brainstormed for hours it seemed. What were our options? 1. Start over 2. Go back to the old fashioned product and application method 3. Add dark through the ends again. After discussing every possible outcome we decided to go with #1.

We started over with a fresh canvas. We were both terrified to lost the blonde ends that she wore for 3 years. I tried to talk her up that it could be the "change" she was wanting and she could fall in love with it. Since we did these applications one day after the other we most definitely used OLAPLEX!

Her roots were so dark when I matched them to my pravana level system. We agreed she was a level 3. We cringed because we usually don't ever go lower than a 4 on our own clients. But we agreed it was better to have an even color throughout than her ends be lighter and have to touch up AGAIN. I added 1/4 of 6.45 to our formula to help fill the blonde. And I am VERY pleased with the result.

I have NO IDEA what her hair will look like in a few months. Lord knows I will probably end up on the troubled road of lifting a level 3 to a non brassy blonde. But for now, her hair can take a break with some OLAPLEX Stand alone treatments and be left a lone. Sometimes when something great gets messy, instead of making a bigger mess it's good to take a step back and start fresh. And because of that I am humbled and ready to transform more hair.

Inspirational Tuesday Post

Sometimes as stylists we get discouraged. We look on instagram, youtube, and pinterest and think....wow I'll never do hair as good as that stylist. Sometimes we even go through our own pictures and criticize ourselves because it doesn't always turn out as planned. But we are still on our journey. We will ALWAYS be learning (even if you've been licensed for 20 years). Why is that? Our industry is everchanging. New products come out all the time. So instead of getting yourself down because you don't do hair like "that one girl", learn. Don't let other stylist be competition. Compete with yourself! Look at your work from last week. Are you happy with it? What did you not like about? How can you change that for next time? THAT'S how you become a strong talented stylist. Learn from your mistakes and experiences. Turn the negatives to positives! That is all, now go create some hair!

Goodbye No Shows!

As a beauty professional, it's very frustrating when a client no call no shows you. And honestly I feel like word has never gotten out that this is a serious issue. I think there's a misconception that our job isn't serious and appointments aren't important. When in reality this is our livelyhood! Yes we love what we do and have lots of fun doing it. But what are clients pay us pays to rent that chair they sit in, funds the products we use, pays our car payment to get to work, pays our mortgage and feeds our children. It's not just play money.

Time is money. If a client no call no shows for whatever reason, our chair is left open and we aren't making money. When the client gives us a 24 hour courtesy cancellation that allows us time to notify another client who is waiting to get it. Then the chair is full, we are making money, and a client is getting pampered! I have had my fair share of these horrid no shows, or cancellations 15 min before an appointment starts.

My solution? Cancellation policy! Doctor's do it all the time. When you put it in place and enforce it, it gives the impression that your time is precious and you mean business. Now, I'm human and I know life happens. I do waive these fees in the event of an emergency. Now if your child was sick yesterday, and sick all night, and you txt me 30 minutes before your appointment saying "sorry, I didn't think to txt you. I was taking care of a sick kid all day and all night so I won't be able to make it" there is no excuse.

How do I enforce it? Styleseat! When my clients schedule online they see my policy and have to put a credit card on file. If they don't show up, styleseat charges them accordingly. I have never had an issue with a client no showing after they've scheduled online. They can cancel and reschedule their own appointments without ever needing to talk to me. They love it. Because this has been solving my no show issue, I'm working on having ALL my clients schedule online by the end of 2016.

Styleseat is free and does so much more than eliminate no shows. I highly recommend it. If you use my link here to set up your account, you will be entered to win $500. So what do you have to lose? Sign up today!

Secret to MY success

I had to rebuild my clientele in 2013. Let me be honest....it SUCKS starting back at square one. But on a positive side, you get a do-over. You get to learn from previous mistakes.

I didn't have a lot of money to spend on advertising. And shockingly, I can be very shy. So what did I do? I contacted GROUPON. Yep, that's right, I built my clientele off them. For me, it was a bumpy start. They kept pushing back my campaign launch date and it finally launched over a month late. But it was worth it in the end. I have heard countless people advise not to sell yourself short with coupons, discounts, or groupon. But I did. They took my services and sold them at half price to their customers. Then, the part that SUCKS is groupon takes half of that and you get the remainder. For example if you all over color is $50, they sell it for $25. Groupon takes $12.50 and pays you $12.50. Yes I know....it's not much. BUT, just remember...that's more money than you had before. And that's what I kept telling myself.

I knew that if I could just get people to sit in my chair, I could get them to fall in love with my personality and talent becoming forever clients! So I worked hard. Those $100 weeks slowly turned to $200 weeks. Then $400... and so on. The 3 clients that followed me soon grew to 20...then 30...and now 63. I was so busy last summer that I had to cancel my second groupon campaign only 4 months into it. I was putting new clients on a month wait. Now yes that is a good problem to have...however my already forever clients weren't as happy. And I always kept them as a priorty. Now that I'm not doing groupon and all my clients are paying full price I am finally making a living out of what I love.

It didn't happen over night. It took me 2 years to grow. My clients have become friends and because they love me, my talent, and trust my opinion they refer their friends to me. And word of mouth is the BEST form of adverisement. You just have to have mouths to give recommendations...and groupon did that for me. Now there ARE some downsides with groupon. I had those few "groupon hoppers" who will see a new stylist everytime with a new groupon. I had some who rebooked....then never showed up and I never heard from again. (I will address in a later post how I've fixed that issue). Some of them didn't tip. And some came in with a "project" for me and received well over what they paid for in their groupon. But I remained professional and kind because I wanted every single one to come back over and over.

Don't get discouraged if you're fresh out of school, moved to a new town, or just needing to build. There's so many different ways to get started. Time is the key to success. And unfortunately you have to spend money to make money. But hang in there because one day your bank account is going to reflect your hard work, patience, and perseverance.