There's a stigma around admitting you don't have it all figured out.
Of course, you're gonna make mistakes, you're still learning. You will always be learning. Whether you're learning on purpose, or life's handing out lessons for free, you will be a completely different stylist in five years and in five years again.
So much of the treasured knowledge that I carry with me was learned by things not working out by making mistakes and learning from them and by asking for help when I needed it. This is where I see the most potential go down the drain. People are afraid to admit they don't have all the answers and in time, that mindset will paralyze you.
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!
There's a stigma around admitting you don't have it all figured out.
Of course, you're gonna make mistakes, you're still learning. You will always be learning. Whether you're learning on purpose, or life's handing out lessons for free, you will be a completely different stylist in five years and in five years again.
So much of the treasured knowledge that I carry with me was learned by things not working out by making mistakes and learning from them and by asking for help when I needed it. This is where I see the most potential go down the drain. People are afraid to admit they don't have all the answers and in time, that mindset will paralyze you.
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:
There's a stigma around admitting that you don't have it all figured out. Guys, we need to change that mentality. Of course, you're gonna make mistakes, you're still learning, you will always be learning. Whether you're learning on purpose, or life's handing out lessons for free, you will be a completely different stylist in five years. And in five years again, I have reinvented myself more times than I can count and I'm nowhere near done. So much of the treasured knowledge that I carry with me was learned by things not working out by making mistakes and learning from them. And by asking for help when I needed it. This is where I see the most potential go down the drain. People are afraid to admit they don't have all the answers. And in time, that mindset will paralyze you. On the other hand, you can't be someone that won't allow anything to ever be good enough. You have to stop being so hard on yourself. We have to find the balance between our competence and our insecurities. We have to see the good that we're doing while realizing that yes, there is still room for improvement. Why is it so hard for stylists to acknowledge and accept their mistakes? Well, the first step is admitting you have a problem. But seriously, everyone makes mistakes and acting like you don't make you someone completely unrelatable. Clients want a safe space to tell you when things aren't just like they would like them. If we don't create that safe space for them, it's going to affect the relationship and how long that relationship last. If we don't let it sink in, learn from it and make the necessary adjustments, then why would anyone keep coming back, you're gonna be at the top of your game as a colorist, you can be the most skilled barber out there. But if you make people feel uncomfortable when they're trying to be honest with you, none of that will matter. I started out as an assistant, and that taught me early on that there is too much to gain from successful and talented stylists not to take advantage of it. I've been in the industry 23 years now and I couldn't be happier with how I spent my first six months after my apprenticeship, I got to work building my clientele. I was competent in some services, yes, but I still had so much to learn. Back in those days, I didn't travel for education I had littles at home, and honestly, it was pretty expensive for a new stylist. But I would read books, and I would go to any class that my local supply house hosted. And I still continue to learn from that mentor that I worked for the entire time I worked there. If I needed help, I asked, and I'm a better stylist for it. So there are some mistakes that you're going to make, maybe more than once, and it's going to impact you and it's going to impact the client and one of them is salon hopping. It is by far the most detrimental thing that you can do behind the chair. If you've been out of school, two years, and you've already been at two and three salons, honey, you need to sit still for a minute, okay? If this is you, I encourage you to take a deeper look at that grass that you think is so green. If you're not finding your salon home time after time, then the common denominator is you. And it's time to see where the holes are on how you're handling your business. Secondly, would definitely be not updating your skill set doing things the way you've always done them just because you've always done them that way. The satisfaction in your work and the longevity of your career is depending on you to get out of the box, you put yourself in and try something new. Even if you're afraid, do it afraid. Being so afraid of making a mistake that you don't even try new things is going to really impact your creativity and your willingness to even try new techniques. Your fear will hold you back if you let it but you can't afford to let it so the mistakes been made. What do we do, right? Like what do we do? Step one, be transparent with your guest. They're gonna notice whether you made a scheduling error or their color got too dark, they're going to notice and the worst thing that you can do is to try and sweep it under the rug. Just say hey, look, I've made a little mistake. And I'm sorry and I promise I'm going to make it right. respect them enough to not treat them like they're stupid and you'll get respect and read Turn for your honesty. I'm gonna give you two scenarios here. Okay? Stylist A gets the client's hair too dark. She excuses herself to go do a little research. She asked a few senior stylist in the salon. Hey, what should I do? Once she has a solution she goes back to the shampoo bowl with the competence she needs to let the guests know. Yes, I got it too dark, but I've got a solution. she apologizes to the guests for the extra time it's going to take and get started. Stylist B gets the hair too dark, same exact situation, but she still makes it looks pretty good. She takes the guests back to the chair and starts to blow dry the hair without saying anything. The client asks why does this look different and the stylist says ah the color muster grab this time but it's going to fade and a few shampoos. Stylists be let that client leave unsatisfied without an apology. This is the same exact scenario guys handled completely different. Now I'm going to ask you, which one of these stylists Do you think gets to keep the client. So as a salon owner, and even an experienced stylist working in another salon, I know how important it is to create an environment where it's safe, where it's safe to admit mistakes, and where you can actually expect to work together as a team and ask for help. The best environment to work in is a supportive and empowering one. A team with a strong culture a team that functions with the same goal in mind will elevate everyone's success. One way to do that is with an unwavering willingness to have each other's back to help each other out with formulations with haircuts. Maybe you're running behind and you need somebody to shampoo for you. Sometimes you just need someone to share a solution on how to deal with a difficult client the list goes on and on. As a salon owner, I am never mad at anyone who makes a mistake, owns it and grows from it. How could I be when I have been there myself countless times. There is nothing more important as a salon owner than keeping my team motivated and educated. And you better believe I'm going to at least do my part and I'm going to expect them to do theirs. I am the author of my salons culture. Now my team has helped me co write my salon story every single day. And I know that but at the end of each day, if someone doesn't feel safe and supported when a mistake is made, then we're all getting it wrong. Mistakes are not just for students in beauty school or the new stylist trying to figure it all out. I got someone's hair too dark just a few months ago. mistakes are made no matter who you are or where you are in your journey. As a mentor and educator, one of the hardest parts of my job is making sure students don't rip themselves apart every time something goes even a little off the rails. This is the exact time in their life where they're going to need to give permission to themselves for some grace. But oftentimes they don't. And it's really hard to see, perfectionism is paralyzing and you are chasing the impossible dream. So make the mistakes and use them as stepping stones. So when a stylist is looking for their salon home, how can they really gauge if this salon has this openness, this learning environment we're talking about? Of course, no one wants to say, Hey, who's going to help me if I mess up? But it is a good question to know the answer to and honestly, you just need to see the salon in motion. So you're gonna need to spend some time there. You can ask to come shadow you can apply for a part time job, whatever you need to do to take a deeper look. It's worth it. It's not ironclad, you know, do I think a salon can misrepresent themselves? Sure. If there's a guest present, most likely we are all going to be on our best behavior that's normal, but you can pay attention to how they treat each other how they talk to each other or about each other and get a pretty good idea of how they work together or how they don't. Mentorship is such a valuable exchange and I know hundreds of successful stylists who give mad credit to the people who have sewn into them and added value to their career. I have been a mentor for most of my career. I believe in it so much that I won't even put a stylus on the floor at my salon without taking them through at least my basic mentorship program. Even a seasoned stylist coming on board needs at least a modified one. How else will they know how it all flows, where things go and how things need to be done? I'm proud to say my salon has an incredible reputation and my community, one that's been built by my blood and sweat and tears baby and by every stylist who has ever worked for me. I'm fiercely protective of it because I know if it's tarnished it affects everyone So I'm never gonna let someone come in and just go rogue. And honestly, they thank me for it. I think people appreciate the structure and the clarity of expectation. It's a big leap from students salon, where you have someone at every second to help you see a service through to the real salon floor, and it can be difficult to navigate on your own. This is where strong leadership and a good mentorship program is going to serve you well. There is an unlimited supply of amazing stylist and salon owners offering up the goods for free on social media. You don't even have to scroll very long anymore before you will stumble upon some little nugget that can make you better. But to really ignite your passion, I love a convention or a hands on class that can be so powerful. Not to mention, I've made a lot of really good connections. And you know, you can too when you're sharing a roof with 1000s of industry professionals, it's magic, the energy is amazing. Another great way to improve as a stylist or to just be more insightful as a human being is through podcasts and audiobooks. Turn one on while you're doing your makeup or cleaning the house. Some of my favorites are the thriving stylist and destroy the hairdresser. For books, I really loved the audacity to be queen and you're a badass. I'm also incredibly impressed with just about anything Tony Robbins does. But seriously, find something that is your vibe, something you vibe with, and put in those air pods and expand your mind. Sometimes asking for help is hard, I get it. These resources are a great way to find some of the answers even when you're not looking. There are some preventative measures or practices that a stylists can adopt to at least help minimize mistakes. Well, you can continue to practice, you are never too good to dust off that mannequin head and do a practice run on that haircut you're not familiar with, or get those swatches out and test out some formulations before that color client gets there, you will never arrive, you will never be done doing new stuff. This industry just doesn't allow it. Just when you master one thing, boom. Now we're doing it this way. So let's talk about appropriate communication when a mistake has occurred. And again, honesty is always the best policy. But in my opinion, confidence is also an important ingredient when it comes to making a mistake, you should let them know that a little tweak needs to be made because you want it to be perfect for them. And say it with the competence of someone who actually believes they can fix it, the client will smell fear. If you're on the verge of falling apart, you can make mistakes, and you can be someone that fixes mistakes. This has been my stance through my entire career. And all these years later, I still have clients who refuse to leave me. So you're a stylist and you're trying to figure out how to manage the stress and the emotional toll that comes with mistakes you've made. You need to handle it like someone who understands that inside of these mistakes are the best lessons that any professional can learn. Sometimes it's about technique, oops, you gapped it behind the air is probably not going to happen again. Because now you triple check. You walked away from the toner, you got distracted, oops, it got too dark. Now you stay present. So that's probably not going to happen again. You canceled on a client even though you just moved her last week, but you really wanted to go to that concert last minute. And she didn't feel valued. So she found another stylist oops, that's probably not going to happen again. And it sucked because you really liked her. But guess what, it won't happen again. If you're carrying around a bunch of guilt and shame about the mistakes, then you're not doing it right. You can't look at mistakes like they're the enemy. You're a human being, you will never not screw things up sometimes. Just learn and let it go and let that be your new position on your mistakes and I promise you'll be better for it. holding yourself to some ridiculous standard of profession isn't good for your mental health. In any situation. Put someone you love dearly in your place. If this was your sister or your best friend, how would you talk to them and treat them after making a mistake? You'd never say you're an idiot. Why did you do that? You find some kind and loving way to talk them through it. Can you try to love yourself in the same way and forgive yourself in this same way. Some mistakes can be prevented by practicing and planning ahead and some can't. But some of the mistakes you make are necessary. Some will make you better. Let them be the stepping stones into greatness. If we let them build up, instead of tear us down then you can only go up from there.
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