I have the honor to introduce one of my favorite stylists, Aveda Purefessional, Educator, and this week's guest: Sher Smith.
In 2010, Sher graduated from the Aveda Institute in Knoxville, TN where she lived and worked until moving to Los Angeles in 2020, now, 3 years later Sher has returned to Tennessee and works halfway between Knoxville and Nashville at my salon, in Cookeville, TN Loxx Salon and Spa.
As I’ve watched Sher start over in a completely new area, and build her clientele entirely from the ground up I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share a conversation for all my stylists that are building a clientele for the first time, or starting over somewhere new.
In this episode: What’s your advice for hairstylists that are considering completely starting over somewhere new? So far, what’s been the most challenging part of your transition and how have you changed your approach to meet the challenge? How are you leveraging social media to share your work, find new guests and rebuild your personal brand as a hairstylist?
Can I ask you a favor? If you enjoy the show, will you follow us and leave a 5 star review? This helps our show move up in the charts to help more stylists. Thank you!
I have the honor to introduce one of my favorite stylists, Aveda Purefessional, Educator, and this week's guest: Sher Smith.
In 2010, Sher graduated from the Aveda Institute in Knoxville, TN where she lived and worked until moving to Los Angeles in 2020, now, 3 years later Sher has returned to Tennessee and works halfway between Knoxville and Nashville at my salon, in Cookeville, TN Loxx Salon and Spa.
As I’ve watched Sher start over in a completely new area, and build her clientele entirely from the ground up I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share a conversation for all my stylists that are building a clientele for the first time, or starting over somewhere new.
In this episode: What’s your advice for hairstylists that are considering completely starting over somewhere new? So far, what’s been the most challenging part of your transition and how have you changed your approach to meet the challenge? How are you leveraging social media to share your work, find new guests and rebuild your personal brand as a hairstylist?
Can I ask you a favor? If you enjoy the show, will you follow us and leave a 5 star review? This helps our show move up in the charts to help more stylists. Thank you!
Welcome to the Aspiring Stylists Podcast with Tracey Franklin. Where to begin, grow and aspire to become the best stylist you can be. Whether you're thinking about becoming a stylist opening a salon, or developing your skills as an experienced stylist the next step of your beauty career starts here. Each week we'll discuss strategic ways to design, plan and execute on becoming a stylist that excels behind the chair and above the bottom line. Here's your host, Tracey Franklin.
Tracey Franklin:
Before we get into today's episode, I want to introduce one of my favorite stylists Aveda professional and educator Sher Smith. In 2010. Sher graduated from the Aveda Institute Knoxville Tennessee where she lived and worked until moving to Los Angeles in 2020. Now three years later, Sher has returned to Tennessee and works halfway between Nashville and Knoxville at my salon in Cookeville, Tennessee Loxx Salon and Spa. As I've watched Sher start over in a completely new area and build her clientele entirely from the ground up. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to share a conversation for all my stylists that are building a clientele for the first time or starting over somewhere new. So share to catch everyone up. You recently moved from Los Angeles to a small town in Tennessee, or you have to completely rebuild your clientele. What steps did you take before your first day to make sure the transition was seamless? And you were prepared for success? Well,
Sher Smith:
thanks for asking. Hi, hi. Yes, I just moved to Cookeville, Tennessee, and it's quite a culture shock for Los Angeles. And there are some challenges I've noticed so far. There's also some benefits as well. Some steps to make my transition a little smoother, and being prepared for success. I try to do my research ahead of time. And when I landed on a salon where I want it to be, then I started learning about the community. Where's that salon located? Places in the surrounding area? What is the demographic of this area? What kind of businesses are close by what things would interest me on a personal level that can cross over and integrate into my professional life? Yeah, so just reaching out to different businesses, even on social media or looking through websites, reading maps. A little nerdy like that, but I literally would pull up maps and be like, Oh, how far is it from here to here? Yeah. What is the range of Aveda salons in this area? And looking specifically a salon, a type of salon that fits what I want out of my career was important for me too. So as I decided to make a transition, I found a salon that fit what I was looking for and workplace. Awesome. That's helping me feel more successful. And yeah, and my career path.
Tracey Franklin:
Yeah, absolutely. So far, what's been the most challenging part of your transition? And how have you changed your approach to meet the challenge? Moving
Sher Smith:
in general is really hard, especially moving across country that in itself is a challenge. But here we're focusing on salon life specifically and career shift, change, ebb and flow careers move and change all the time. Even if you're in the same space, your entire career, it's still going to ebb and flow over time, I agree was so I think the most challenging part is just finding your niche and being patient and gentle with yourself while you go through the transition. It's going to be different everywhere. And me personally, I have a plan in my head and I overthink things. And if things don't go according to my plan that I've concocted in my brain, then I'll get really stressed out. And yeah, I'm putting that pressure on myself. Because it's not going as planned instead of relaxing into it. And just going through the journey and just presenting the best I can for myself
Tracey Franklin:
and being pleasantly surprised. Like I find sometimes that when we try to strategically play on every aspect of a shift or transition. Like we don't let any of the magic in any of that unexpected magic that kind of I think it may change your mind. Like you may have an epiphany along the way and experience something new and be like, Oh, well, maybe maybe that's it. I'm so happy that happened. So happy. It didn't go according to plan because now I have this, you know,
Sher Smith:
I have salutely Absolutely. And that's overarching even, you know, I had some really great coworkers and experiences in Los Angeles. And you know, I've left that space and I had those experiences, but that's leading me to the next step of my journey, you know, to this step. So yeah, it's overcoming little things here and there and being surprised about like, wow, I didn't realize how much I had learned or how much I had benefited from this space. Yeah, that I can bring to this space and showing up. Well,
Tracey Franklin:
I'll be honest, when you and I first started Talking about this possible transition, I thought, How is Cookeville going to compare to Los Angeles? I knew that you were experiencing this like really cool aspect of the business working with celebrities and being in a very fast paced very hip space and like how could cook they'll possibly compare? So why did you choose Cookeville? Why did you choose locks?
Sher Smith:
Well, I've made two major transitions from Knoxville to Los Angeles, I made that big transition. Yeah, I specifically looked for certain things in a salon, that would feed me where I am in my career and what I'm wanting out of my career. And then I did the same thing, what I'm looking for in my career personally, and it's different for everybody. Sure. So what I'm personally looking for is excellence in my craft in leveling up and being in a space that feeds me to grow and elevate and develop myself to optimum potential. And that will never end if it does for me to find a new career. Yeah, I agree. So when I moved from Knoxville to Los Angeles, I love the Veda network. And I'm going to remain in the Aveda network and practice being innovative stylists. Yeah. So number one, I needed to find an Aveda salon. I also was very involved in in your coffee or over the past several years. And I really like the intercoiffure organization. So I looked up and what is that share? For people who don't know people who don't know intercoiffure is a hairdresser organization and it's very high level very elite. You can't just join intercoiffure You have to be invited and recommended. And then you have to present your work. It's like almost like a Lifetime Achievement type situation to be inducted. You're pinned into the membership. Yeah, yeah, it's just really inspiring. And it's just such a great hard working group of people. And it's just really good interconnectivity, which kind of reminds me like Aveda is an intercoiffure company. But Aveda has that family interconnectedness. And I like that like me to community I like working together networking, I like being a unit, a family within a corporation. So I was looking for an inter coffee or salon, which means it's high level globally. And also innovative salon and my former salon was the only one that popped up on the list. So I knew that I was headed toward excellence. And the more that I learned about it, the more that I realized this is definitely a space for me. And it's going to really help propel my career. Yeah. Then when I was called to leave Los Angeles for personal reasons, family reasons. I was looking for another salon closer to Tennessee so that I can be closer my family. And I didn't necessarily, like decide to move back to Tennessee. Proper, but somewhere closer. Yeah. So I looked at several different salons around the country that already know and admire and just have different conversations with people. And you know, you and I have been vine following each other's careers for years and years and supportive of each other. And so yeah, we had those initial conversations, and then I had conversations with other salon owners. And I just felt that Cookeville lock Salon and Spa is going to be the place that is going to fill what I need in my heart and my soul as a professional. It's going to help me grow on my professional path. It's also reputable and has a high standard and I don't deserve less than that as a stylist. So I want to be the top who is at the top of their game. That's where I want to be because I'm always striving to do good
Tracey Franklin:
hair. Yes, yes. Well, I'm honored. I'm truly honored. Thank you. Before you started working behind the chair, you were a professional ASL interpreter. Now as a stylist, you use sign language to help connect the deaf and hearing impaired to the beauty industry as a stylist, why is it vital? We share our interests and unique skills. Okay,
Sher Smith:
so we're gonna back up a little bit and I'm gonna give you some gentle corrections. Okay. The first is I'm still a sign language interpreter. Yeah, like that was full time career before I switched into the beauty industry. So being a hairstylist is my second career. Yeah, but I still practice my first career as an ASL interpreter. And I love that. Yeah. And yeah, we just say deaf community. Okay, servant deaf. Okay. And I am passionate about the Deaf community and have a very high skill level and proficiency in sign language. I don't interpret as much anymore these days because my sole focus This is an behind the chair and hair world, right? But I want to bridge the gap. That's one of my passions is bridging the gap between a deaf consumer and their hair service. Yeah, they're often left out because of lack of communication. They can bring pictures, they can text. But hearing stylists that don't understand Deaf community or don't know, the language will often struggle even with visuals. Maybe you like this haircut, but you don't want these bangs and sometimes little things like that, even with a hearing client as a hearing person. Yes. Yes. So then you have a deaf person who is really specific about their hair, and they really want a great hair service. They can't communicate that. Yeah. So I love being able to let people know that I'm bilingual and I'm able to fill that and make my chair in my space inclusive and accessible. And normalize, hey, we're hearing aids, hey, I wear cochlear implants, you know, I have an implant device. Okay, so I wear glasses. You know, it's like, let's normalize that. And some people who haven't been around it don't know when or maybe afraid or maybe offensive sometimes. And it's really like no big deal. Yeah. So I just want to always be a beacon of advocacy and activism. Well,
Tracey Franklin:
I think you do a really great job of that. And I will be perfectly honest, that was one of the most exciting things to me. We have not had a lot of members of the deaf community come into locks, just I think, probably not knowing you know, whether or not we had anybody there that could communicate well with him. And now we do and it's just so exciting. Thank you for clearing that up for us. Yeah,
Sher Smith:
absolutely. And this county doesn't have a huge deaf population. I already know a couple deaf people here. Yeah. And and community. And so we'll be getting some Deaf people along. Yeah, I'm
Tracey Franklin:
excited. Inclusivity is so important. I want everyone to feel like they can come into my establishment and be welcomed with open arms and be served to the highest capacity.
Sher Smith:
Yes, amen.
Tracey Franklin:
How are you leveraging social media to share your work, find new guests and rebuild your personal brand as a stylist?
Sher Smith:
You know, I'm in this new town where I don't really have friends. You don't really know anybody. I don't have like an already built in community. Yes. So social media definitely helps me keep in touch with people, but as a platform for my work in leveraging that. I post things that I like, or I'm inspired by. So I'll post on my stories, something that speaks to me that I admire, or that I like doing myself, so that maybe somebody in the community that starts following me on social media be like, Oh, she likes to do Lockrey twists. Yeah, he's attracted to these styles. Oh, okay. So he's just got some great little natural textured washing go posts. Yeah. Oh, she's comfortable with that. she admires that. That's me sharing what I like and what I'm comfortable with or what I'm passionate about. Lately, it's been curly hair on this new, like, curly hair mission. And yeah, because I've been hearing the screams of we need help with our curl, right? Therefore, I'm like, I can help. Here we go. Yes, yeah, so I've started actively posting more curly haired content. Also, I took a social media class of Tatum, Neil years ago. And one of the things that I didn't quite understand, but then once I heard him talk about it was using geolocation. So as I'm learning Cookeville now I'm using certain places that are like hotspots where there's, you know, in the back of my mind, potential clientele, I want to reach I want to target this type of person, then I'll tag that little area and talk that business or tag that institution. So really just some ways of leveraging my social media to reach people for now. Yeah.
Tracey Franklin:
So what about education? You're a passionate educator, how do you use social media to leverage that part of your career?
Sher Smith:
Same thing working with students or if I'm a class taught let's throw out a real we did this. I save more education content than not post yeah did so yeah, I feel like right now it's kicking in Yeah, it's not quite there yet. But when I get a little bit more momentum in this area back at Neil back, you know, with a spire and logs, I'll start programming that way. I kind of get those wheels turn in a crank and a little bit harder with posts or reels or information, tidbits. Yeah. And education and also figuring out what's needed and where do I need to plug in?
Tracey Franklin:
Yeah, It's all great. So share, I think social media is a great tool. But it's not the only tool. What are some other things that you do to promote yourself and your skill set? Yes,
Sher Smith:
since I'm not really a social media person, and but I'm a very social person, being in a new community. Personally, I'm speaking for myself, and it's again going to be different for everybody. You're moving to a new place. I'm meeting new people all the time all the time day. Yeah. So I'm working on putting myself out there a little bit more. Before I even moved here. Like I told you, I research the community looked at maps looked up social media, what are events happening in the local park? Or what's going on downtown? Are there any, you know, different types of specific events and show up at those events and introduce myself and meet people? Hi, I'm a hairdresser. I just moved here. I'm at Luxilon. Oh, I like doing this just to let people know who I am. And doing that authentically, in real life in person. And then also, just simply ask, behind the chair, somebody's happy with their service at the end of the service. Hey, friend, thank you for honoring my chair today, have loved having you in my space. We've had so much fun, because I'm new here. Would you send someone to me? Yeah, I would love to have more people on my channel like you.
Tracey Franklin:
I wish I could bottle that intention and sprinkle it all over everyone. I mean, it's just the easy stuff, the free stuff, the genuine, authentic stuff. That is where people want to show up. That is where they want to help you and you just simply look at him and be like, hey, I really loved spending time with you today. I want more people like you. Does that. Yeah. Do you have some friends or family that you can think of how many business cards can I give you? Thank you so much for supporting me and welcoming me to this new community. It's not hard, but so few people are willing to do and
Sher Smith:
simple and talking about yourself to attracting the type of clientele that you want. I'm going to ask those people that I genuinely in my heart, really enjoy your day, not just to say it just to get a pre book, right? Because yes, pre booking is important. But it's not the end all be all, especially for new stylist, or a seasoned stylist. Newer stylists, you can't really pick and choose as much. But oh, we took care of your amazing curls today. They're so juicy and find. And I'm so glad that you love them and you're obsessed with your curls as you should be. Yeah. So tell your curly and coily haired friends to come my way. Yeah, it's that simple. So
Tracey Franklin:
genuine to you know, what is your advice for a stylist that is considering starting over somewhere completely new?
Sher Smith:
Hmm. I have some good advice for that. Take it or leave it. I think my first piece of advice for stylists that wants to start somewhere brand new, is to be yourself. Be authentic, all the way and find your tribe. When I moved and relocated to Los Angeles from Knoxville, I knew that I wanted to find my tribe. You know, people say work life balance. You know, I've said this before. Yeah, I call it work life integration. I love that. Read it in a book and it just stuck with me. And it's really perfect. You know, work and private life can overlap behind the chair, and the chair can overlap into your personal life,
Tracey Franklin:
and usually does anyways, organically
Sher Smith:
no matter how like, Oh, this is just work. And then this is just home. Like we're not two different people. We're one person, right, many faceted parts of ourselves, but we are who we are. So if you're out there and you're being authentic, best advice, starting somewhere new is find your tribe. Find your passion your people, for example, myself, this is my journey, had to move to LA and find my queer community and my deaf community. I identify as queer. I'm always advocating activism for the LGBTQ plus community. Also, I'm fluent in sign language. And I've worked as interpreter for many years and very passionate socially about the Deaf community. But also I want to serve the deaf community behind the chair because I know it fills a gap. Yeah. So moving to a new space, finding in my personal life, the spaces I want to be in, I want to be in queer spaces, I want to be in Deaf spaces. Then I meet people and then they find out who I am and what I do, and they tell other people, then I start building a clientele off of that. It's really wonderful. It's really magical because you get to combine your passion, I can combine my passions, and not only do I love my craft and my career as a hairstylist, but now I get to have the career that I love and serve the people that fills my heart that also extends to not just deaf people but the disability community. I think that we always need to do better, hashtag do better, like in all situations, but I always Want to make a safe space, an inclusive space and an accessible space for anybody who has anything that's different than what the norm especially in a rural area where we don't see many people of color, and I want to be a space for that. And I want to be a space for deaf people. And I want to be a space for a hijabi women who come in and need their modesty protected. Anybody who feels that they don't have a safe space. And I know that's one reason I really wanted to partner with you is because you are very vocal about everybody is included, no matter your gender identity, how you present yourself, what pronouns you use, what hair texture, you have, your What are your lifestyle, religion, your cultural practices are, you're all welcome in the space. So going to a new space, find a space that matches your values. And in your personal life, find your tribe, because that's going to fulfill you in your professional space behind the chair. And also, when your chairs built with the people that you have found that fit your vibe that you're doing the kind of haircuts that you enjoy, that you feel proud about, that's going to enhance your personal life as well. That's my best advice.
Tracey Franklin:
I love it. What is the most important thing for stylists to remember as they go through a challenging transition, whether it be moving somewhere new, or going to a new Salon at a different price point, or even building your very first clientele?
Sher Smith:
I think one of the most important things is having realistic expectations. defining some expectations for yourself. Knowledge is power, knowing what you're getting into, you know, I'm learning new people. I'm learning new techniques and culture. Each salon has its own culture, even if it's within the same company. Sure each salon has its own culture in its own. Yeah. So just being gentle with yourself to let that unfold. Blossom, how it's going to and
Tracey Franklin:
find your place within that. Yeah, yeah. So
Sher Smith:
being patient with that and just do you, boo, share
Tracey Franklin:
thank you so much for joining us on the aspiring stylist. Where can we find you on social media to follow along your journey? Well,
Sher Smith:
it's been an honor to be here. And I always have so much fun with you. So when they get like time away and just be in your space. Yeah. There's so much fun with you. Yeah, same. And so keep an eye on all the growing things here at logs and aspire and I can be found at share flair on Instagram. Love it. Yeah, thank you for
Tracey Franklin:
Thank you, Sher!
Morgan Franklin:
Thank you for joining us on this episode of anytime soon. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin. If you enjoyed listening and you want to hear more, make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts. The Aspiring Stylist Podcast with Tracey Franklin is a Morgan Franklin Production. Today's episode was written and produced by Morgan Franklin editing and post-production by Mike Franklin. Want to find out more about Tracey and the Aspiring Barber and Beauty Academy go to aspirebarberandbeauty.com