What is Your Daily Agenda | Part 1

The book "Today Matters" by John C. Maxwell talks about our misunderstanding of success. It's not what we think it is. It's not what I thought it was...

He writes, "The secret of your success is determined by our daily agenda. If you make a few key decisions and then manage them well in your daily agenda, you will succeed." 

Besides reading this awesome book, I recommend joining me in the following exercise. What are the main decisions you need to make in the following categories? Once you've made these decisions for your life, you will need the discipline in managing them. And remember, discipline means giving up the good, and the better, for the best! 

1. Attitude: Choose and display the right attitudes daily
2. Priorities: Determine and act on important priorities daily
3. Health: Know and follow healthy guidelines daily
4. Family: Communicate with and care for family daily
5. Thinking: Practice and develop good thinking daily
6. Commitment: Make and keep proper commitments daily
7. Finances: Make and properly manage dollars daily
8. Faith: Deepen and live out my faith daily
9. Relationships: Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily
10. Generosity: Plan for and model generosity daily
11. Values: Embrace and practice good values daily
12. Growth: Seek and experience improvements daily

If you're open to it, I'd love for you to share with me on social what you've decided on in these categories for your life!

How to stay strong through difficult times

We all go through tumultuous circumstances. How do we stay strong? How do we get through?

First, and this may surprise you, we don't have to stay strong. We can allow ourselves to be weak, vulnerable, and exposed. I've always tried to muscle my way through life. And as life would have it, there are times when I just can't. I need to admit, I alone cannot overcome the hurt, nor the pain. I alone, cannot find my way through this.

Most of you know that I'm a believer in Jesus Christ. When going through difficult times, I've learned it is best to go to my Heavenly Father. For me, He is strong when I am not. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."  

What Paul is saying, and I agree with, is it's okay to give your rights over to those who can help you. For me, I find strength in going to God with my burdens. Asking Him to lead the way. And I also share my struggles with trusted advisers, who will pray for and with me, or offer advice, give me direction or give me a referral to someone who can help.  In our willingness to be vulnerable about our problems (we all have them), we find freedom, grace and mercy.

At the end of the day, each trial, each storm we live through, is forming us into the version of ourselves we are meant to be. Have faith and hope in the midst of it all. Because in my opinion, there will come a glorious day when we'll no longer suffer from the sin of the world. Amen?!

What Have You Been Putting Off?

Think about this: What do you want to accomplish that you’ve been putting off? What have you been putting away on a shelf that deep down you really want or need for your life?

Maybe for you, it’s starting your own business, hiring a manager, or getting healthy. Or maybe it’s attending advanced education, which would require you to take a trip across the country and make a significant investment.

Why is it such a struggle to just do it?  

Would you agree that sometimes it’s a struggle to start or try something, because you’re afraid of the possible issues and/or outcome? You and I both know it doesn’t always work the way we want. But there is only so much planning you can do, and only so much control you can have.

You can’t predict the outcome! You already know that you can’t control tomorrow. The only thing you can control is this present moment, and how you respond to today. Sometimes you just need to take the leap.

And I think you’d also agree that if you do nothing, you will gain nothing. Action has to be taken. If you want something, you need to act on it. Stop overthinking it, and take those first steps.

What’s your goal? What’s that thing you keep thinking about?

My challenge for you is, just to do it. Get started. Write down two simple action steps that you can accomplish today. Think of two small things that will bring you a step closer to that elusive, big dream you’ve been imagining. Don’t let it slip away without putting everything you can into it. And remember, there are other people taking leaps like this each day. You're not alone. Just do it! 

Cheers,
~Kati

You Were Born for This

Acknowledging and Accepting Your Challenges

I know that I’m speaking to the salon owners, and hair and beauty professionals out there. And I get that we wake up many days wondering what we were thinking! Sometimes our profession can seem like a thankless job. But it could also be the same with parenting, or any role we’re in. Some days we may just wonder what the heck made us decide to put ourselves in this position.

But I believe that you were born for this. I first heard this saying when my husband and I went on a “Love like you mean it” cruise. It’s a marriage cruise put on by an organization called Family Life. Their mission was not only to have couples walk side by side with one another, but also to have them grow closer to the Lord. This cruise was an amazing opportunity for us, and I can’t say enough about how great it was for our relationship with each other, and for our walk with Jesus. I’m very thankful for that opportunity. While there, I heard one of the Pastors onstage say, “Marriage is a mission you were born for. When you become married, you’re taking on a role with your partner, and you were born for that role.”

Think about it like being a fireman. Would a fireman resent having to put out fires? Sometimes we do resent the obstacles we need to go through. But we still jump over, climb under, get through that obstacle and emerge better, stronger, wiser, and more resilient.

Persevere to Find Greatness

Nothing, in my opinion, is not meant to be. And I know that it’s challenging when you have these obstacles and you wonder if it could get any worse. But I promise that if you persevere, you’ll realize (and maybe not anytime soon, but eventually!) that you needed to experience that hurt, pain, or trial, so that you would be prepared for future challenges.

So stay positive in the midst of the struggle. Keep your eye on the greater prize and the greater vision. Remember why you began this adventure in the first place. When you remember why you started on this path for your life, you can endure any challenge.

In this line of work, it’s never because we have to. It’s because we get to. All storms eventually die down, and the sun comes back up.

You were born for this. Try to remind yourself of that regularly. There is a bigger, greater, deeper purpose, and you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. And if you persevere and endure, you will be successful. You may not see glimmers of hope for six months, or a year. You may not see how this will work or might not believe that it’s true. But just don’t give up.

I can even get a little biblical with this topic. I believe the devil tries to bring us down. And there are also a lot of naysayers and negativity out there. “See? You couldn’t do it, I knew you couldn’t do it.”

And even in our own minds, there can be plenty of negative self-talk. But think about it this way…You choose a role, just like a fireman does. You have to show up for hard, scary tasks sometimes.  But you’re prepared to put out the fire, because that’s your role. You were born for this. Don’t give up.

Success Starts with Self-Mastery: Your Career

Do you want growth and development in your career? Instead of thinking about your career coming before family, or being placed as a higher priority than your spiritual life, think about your career as a slice within your personal life pie. Each area of your life has a different size pie slice, depending on the importance of that area of life at any given moment. And everyone’s priorities or pie slice sizes are different.

Here are three ways you can experience growth by focusing on the development of your career!

Education

Education is key; it’s essential in order to advance your skills. You might educate yourself by attending educational events, seminars, expos, or by watching videos and tutorials. The education aspect of growing your career is so important. Without it, it can be very hard to gain traction in your industry. How will you commit to advancing your education? It could look like scheduling thirty minutes in your calendar, once per week, to read a book that you’ve heard would impact your professional environment. Small, obtaining strategies will lead to success.

You could also plan to gain educational experiences by proactively booking three events per year. That’s about one per quarter, and you could even take the Summer off! You could think about having guest speakers that come to your business every couple of months. P.S. I know this girl who may be a good fit for you (wink).

How do you respond to education?

Many of you know that I’m heavily involved in the beauty industry, so allow me to use this industry to give you an example. Ask yourself, if translated into your world, can you relate?

I’ve seen stylists who attend educational events and then completely revert back to what they’ve always done. They did not apply what they learned because it was uncomfortable stepping out of their comfort zones. It’s sometimes painful to implement new techniques, systems and/or processes. Yet, we believe that if we would, we’d benefit greatly. In the beauty industry, if you aren’t changing with the times, the times are going to change without you, and you’ll become outdated. Eventually, you may lose clientele if they become bored with you or mature in their styles before you do.

I personally struggled from the opposite. As soon as I learned something new, I’d want to apply what I had learned to and for everyone. I once attended an intimate razor cutting class with Wayne Grund, the Founder of Surface Hair. I came back from his workshop and was way too excited about applying what I learned and I ended up giving this long-haired teenage girl a disastrous haircut. I used the razor on her fine hair and I took too much weight out, which left her with even less hair than she started with. If you use the razor in this inappropriate way, the hair becomes very tangled and delicate. Needless to say, I never worked with her again. She and her mom were so unhappy that I ended up losing both of them as clients. Lesson learned? When you learn new things, don’t be afraid to try them, but make sure you have a trial period or practice period prior to launching full force!

You may sometimes fear that you won’t be as good as the professionals you see at an event or in a video. You’re probably right! At least at first, very few new skills should come totally natural to you. It’s like being at beauty school before you even know what a zero-degree haircut is. Learning new things takes time, but you have to be willing to invest in yourself if you want the long term benefits that will propel your career success.

Development Through Networking

This is another huge way to get to that self-mastery. For the most part, everyone either totally loves or completely dislikes networking. I believe that networking is essentially getting out, and meeting new people, and getting to know them. If you’re always hanging out with the same people, you have no idea what you could be learning and gaining from new relationships. There may come a time where you realize that you’re outgrowing those around you, and you might need to be around new people that offer more than what you already have. It sounds negative, but it just means that you could be moving at a different pace than those around you.

Who can you get out and start meeting? Where can you go to start meeting new people? There are very few times when I haven’t benefited from networking. I remember going to a local chamber of commerce event and it just so happened that a person I had networked with in the past introduced me to Spencer X Smith. He’s brilliant at marketing, social media and writing for well-respected business magazines. He’s an expert in areas that I am not. We started meeting once a month, and I would spend a lot of the time taking notes. We bounced ideas off of each other, but I tried to absorb as much of what he said as I could. It was a great opportunity for me to talk to someone who excels in different areas, and as a result, I’ve learned so much. He also provided me with resources that I never previously had access to and invited me to events that I’d never been to. He became an advocate on my behalf and talked about me to other professionals.

Because of all of this, I ended up having an opportunity to speak at UW Madison. They have an event called MUBS, which stands for Midwest Undergraduate Business Summit. The talk I gave was called “What every young entrepreneur needs to know to be successful.” There were 60 amazing, young adults in attendance and they were eager to learn. It was awesome. And none of this would’ve happened had I not been willing to network, willing to ask questions and willing to apply what I’ve learned. At the end of the day, networking always leads to growth in your career.

Spend Time with A-Players

Have you heard the “Rule of Five”? You become most like the five people you spend the most time with. So it makes sense that if you want to get better, you must hang out with those who are better. When you start hanging around people that perform at a higher level than you do, what happens? You’re able to see how they interact with their clients, how they communicate, and witness some of their non-verbal communication skills as well. These are all important things to pay attention to if you want to advance yourself.

How do these people sell products or services? How do they retain their clients, or gain new referrals? How are they following up with their clients after they experienced working with you? If you can observe and identify the strengths of those A-players, and ask some questions, then you should be able to start taking action. Mimic their positive characteristics and you should slowly but surely reach the same level of performance.

If you try doing any or all of these steps, I guarantee that you’ll start seeing increased success very soon. Spend time networking, learning from the right people, and continue to be educated throughout your life and career, and you’ll be so much closer to your goals that as of today, may seem out of reach.

Your Deepest Weakness is Revealed

I recently heard Pastor Craig Groeschel, who produces a leadership podcast and is the pastor of LifeChurch.tv, say, “The place where you issue your harshest judgments often reveals your deepest weakness.”

When I heard this, it felt like a dart straight to my heart.

This quote got me, and it stuck with me. I’m going to be very transparent about this. Because I thought about that quote, and asked myself, “Where am I highly critical?”

Being critical is a pride issue. And I can tell you, it’s a big problem for me. My ego gets in the way of many things, and it’s something I need to work on. I want to give it up, so that it’s not a barrier between me and relationships with fantastic people.

One of the areas where I’m a huge critic is with my family and their nutritional choices. I believe deep down that the choices they’re making are irresponsible. They food they eat, isn’t technically food. If you look at any food item that you’re purchasing, beneath the nutritional label is always the list of ingredients. If you’re buying whole, fresh food, there’s only one ingredient and you’re looking at it. But if you’re not buying fresh food, then you have to look at those ingredients! And if a lot of them are completely unknown to you or you can’t even pronounce them, that’s because it’s not real food! So we’re putting these things into our bodies, and I believe that it’s poisoning us a little bit at a time, over and over.

And I understand that struggle; it can be addicting. And some of you may know my personal story, some may not. But I have struggled with food addiction from the age of five, and this is where that stems from.

So my reaction to my family, and their choices, and the way I treat them is very critical, condescending, and shaming.

When I heard Groeschel’s quote, I immediately knew that this was my personal issue. Because when you physically point a finger at someone, you have one of your fingers facing their direction, but you have three other fingers pointed straight back at you. And I used to be a food addict. It was my issue first, and that’s why I’m so hard on my family.

And at times, I still struggle with relapses. I now say that I’m in remission from food addiction, but there are times when I relapse. That struggle is real for me, and the relationship I have with food is sometimes very unhealthy. It’s like being in love with someone who pretends to love you back, but always hurts you.

The same goes for food and me. Depending on the food choices I make, I think that it loves me and tastes and feels so good, but then I come down from the food high and realize that the negative effects from that were just awful. So I project my own issues with food onto my family and loved ones.

But really, you can’t change others. You can’t beat other people down and just expect them to have magic epiphany moments. You don’t have that kind of power. You won’t win anyone over that way. But loving them is one way to show them that in the midst of their struggles and choices that you may not agree with, you are still there to love them and be a resource for them. And after this realization, I posted this on Facebook: “As social media as my witness, I will no longer shame, torture, ridicule or condemn my family for the food choices they make.”

So my tip to you is to sit down and think about the places where you issue your harshest judgments, and what that reveals about places of weakness for you. Then take ownership, responsibility and accountability for those weak spots and work towards improving yourself and your relationships. Together, we will consistently grow and develop! 

People + Passion = Sales

Passion

I’m going to start with the passion piece of this equation. I think that we can relate a lot with this because-think about it--have you ever been to a hair show? I mean, put your hands up—yes, I’ve been to a hair show. 

And we’re watching these professionals on stage and what happens? We end up buying what they’re selling, we’re signing up for their classes, we’re following them on every social media platform. We are so fired up about them. Why?  What’s their secret?

I believe it’s because they’re fired up. That’s the passion. Passion is being excited about what you have to sell and what you have to offer. Excited about your services, trends…the more excited you are, the more passion you display, the more excited your clients will be. And their level of excitement will rise to meet yours. So friends, we’ve got to be passionate. You’ve got to believe in what you have to offer.  

So, are you sold, really?  If you’re not sold on your products or services, your clients won’t be either.  You are the ones that have the power to bring passion to the chair each day.  Let me say that again: You have the power to be passionate each day.  It’s a choice you make, regardless of what’s happening behind the scenes.  If you make this experience about them, which is the people part of sales, then you will bring the show alive and direct with the passion part of the sales. Then you will be wildly successful.  

Practice Makes Permanent

You’re not going to become this wildly, over-the-top, passionate person overnight.  You’re not going to just potentially have it already in you to put on a show and entertain the masses.  But passion can come in other ways.  You don’t have to just show the *crazy excitement*.  You can look people in their eyes and say, “This product was a game changer.”

Here’s an example: “Donna, if I’ve heard you correctly, you are struggling with dry hair. And I get it, it’s that time of year. The winter…especially here. We are in Wisconsin. The winters are brutal. It’s dry, it’s cold, it’s awful. I mean, why do we live here? Another topic for another day.

But, okay, so Donna, you know what? I’m going to have you leave with this conditioning mask today, and it’s going to be a game changer for you. I cannot tell you the amount of success I’ve personally had, but other clients who have said the same things, have had success with this as well.  But here’s what I’m going to need you to do. I’m going to need you to commit to using this at least twice a week.  Put this on twice a week. So think of a time, Donna, where you have about ten minutes to yourself. Is that in the morning? Maybe before bed? You can put this on, leave it sit for ten minutes put a cap on, just hang out, read a little, watch TV. Minimum of ten minutes, maximum of sixty—I mean, that’s cool too. And then you’re going to go and you’re going to rinse that out. You’re not going to wash, you’re not going to shampoo. You’re just going to rinse that out. And then here’s the next thing I need you to do Donna. I need you to blow dry your hair.”

“Why? Why not air dry? I thought that was healthier?”

“No, no, no. The technology of our blow dryers today…I mean this is not the same world we lived in when we were doing our hair back years and years ago.  The blow dryers are not going to damage your hair. What will be stripping the hair though is if you let water just sit and chill. Well, we can talk about the pH scale.”

“Well, what do you mean, Kati?”

“Well think about the pH scale. Your hair, skin and nails are 4.5 to 5.5 on the pH scale.  Well, where’s water? It’s at 7, it’s neutral. So even water is damaging to the hair. So we’ve got to get that water out. So, after the conditioner is rinsed, you’re going to--I know you already have this at home--this moisturizing oil. I’m going to have you put this in, right after you get out of the shower. You towel dry, you put this oil in, and I want you to put this in. So if that makes it easier for you to do this in the morning, that’s cool, but this is going to be the game plan. And I promise you, you are going to see results.”

Now, I’m not acting or saying those recommendations to Donna in a wild, crazy, on stage way.  But I’m bringing passion behind what I’m saying. Some of you who are very supportive personalities, who--maybe your face turns red a little when you have to speak in front of anybody in general. And I get it; I mean I can’t relate, but I have team members who would do anything to stay behind the scenes rather than be in front of people or be onstage. 

So, for you, you’re going to have to kind of go into the mindset of I’m going on stage right now. When you go behind the chair, you’ve got to be like Beyoncé. You’ve got to cultivate that Sasha Fierce. When Beyoncé steps on stage she becomes a completely different person. When you go behind the chair, I want you to cultivate your alter ego, and bring to the table almost like you’re acting a part. I mean for real, very introverted personalities—and these are often very logical, analytical people, so you’re great at your craft—produce phenomenal results, you produce precise results for your behind the chair work, whether it be coloring or cutting. 

But, you sometimes struggle to bring the creative imagination side of the brain to the table, because it’s just not naturally there. And that’s fine! I mean, there’s a place for everybody. But when you go behind the chair, my recommendation is that you pretend that you’re playing a role, this is your role in this play, you’re acting a part. And your passion doesn’t have to be unrealistic for your personality type. 

So maybe your passion is compassion. I will tell you that eye contact will be the biggest key. Put your hand on their shoulder and say, “Donna, this right here is the conditioner for you. I couldn’t back a product up better that will give you the result you’re looking for today.”

And remember, practice makes permanent. Practice makes permanent. When you’re implementing new behaviors, it’s not going to become a habit overnight. You must practice positive habits each day. An Aristotle quote, one of my favorite quotes is, “We all are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Eventually, you won’t be acting any more. When you practice this repeatedly, it will become a habit. It will become who you are behind the chair, and you will become very successful. Your clients will be as passionate is you are. Their level of excitement will come and rise to meet yours. Passion will bring you the sales you desire.

People

But without the people part of this, it won’t matter how passionate you are. What do I mean? You’ve gotta love on your people. You aren’t selling products and services, you’re selling to people. We sometimes forget because we’re all saying, “oh, here’s what this can do, and here’s what-what-what we do”, instead of “Why do the people you work with care to hear about this?”

I mean, the saying is true: “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care”

So, in my opinion, for most professionals in the beauty industry, this is actually a strength of ours. Because I believe most of us got into this industry because we love people. We want to help people, we want to bring out the best in people. We want to help people look and feel good.  So we’re already a step above.  I mean, we’re ready to go; we love people. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we do that we forget we need to give the proper attention to the person. Especially if you get to the point where you’re double, triple booked. Then it becomes managing your schedule and time and moving people around. 

But take a moment to say, “How’s your day going?”  I mean, just asking people.

So how do we care for our clients so much that we can create a trusting rapport with them? Hopefully, by getting to know them. Are you genuinely engaged? Do you know how your clients like to be talked to?

There are clients—and you know what I mean, right?—they’ll come in and you’re going to be like, “Heyyy girl, have a seat. Got this new trend for you, I know you’re going to love it, it’s on point. Girl, check this out.”  

And then you’re going to have other clients where you’re like, “Fabulous to see you today. Take a seat right here.” 

And you sit down face to face and you lean in and say, “Tell me, how is your family doing?”

And yes, these are completely different clients. But you’ve got to understand how you talk to your different clients in different ways. Do you understand your clients’ values? Some people are going to be into different things than others. Are you remembering these things? 

I mean, every salon software out there that I’m aware of, will have a little notes section that will potentially pop up for you and remind you of things.  (We’ll just stick with Donna.) “Donna was on vacation last month” or “Donna is heading to Florida on vacation.” So by the time she comes in next you can be like, “Donna! How was Florida? I missed you!” 

Here’s a question: What is the number one thing people want to talk about?

Themselves, yes!

So how do you become more engaged with your clients? How do you get to know them? 

You ask them questions. 

And there are some personal questions, and there are questions that lead to the end result of your appointment. So, a personal question—and this is going to help you professionally so just go with me, here—a personal question you can ask your clients is “Hey, what does your everyday life look like?”

People are going to be very excited to answer that. 

So you say, “What does your everyday life look like?”

And they’ll say, “Oh, I get up, I go to my workout, and I get home, eat breakfast, get the kids off to school…”

And then you can say, “Oh, let’s back up! So I’m assuming you’re going to shower after your workout; tell me, what are the top products for your shower?” Now that’s a lead-in to your professional conversation. So it’s a personal question, you’re getting to know them. And now the next time they come in, you can be like, “Hey, how are your workouts going?”

But that was also a discovery question that also led to: What’s your daily regime with your hair?

Another leading question like that is: Do you have the time that you’d like to have every day to style your hair or apply your makeup?

“You know, I wish I had more time, but honestly I have about twenty minutes that I can allot for both.”

“I hear that, Donna. Because now that I know you only have twenty minutes to work with, I have a couple of suggestions for you.”

Another question: If you had more time, what would you like to achieve?

“Well, if I had more time, I’d love to put in those curls where it looks like waves, not like beach waves, but kind of…”

And they show you a picture and the light bulb goes off—and you’re like aha! Those are flat iron waves. 

And now this is in the back of your mind: Now I’m going to show you the flat iron you need to be using, and I’m going to show you the proper product to put on your hair before you put the heat on. It’s not only going to protect your hair from the heat, it’s going to infuse protein into your hair, and it’s going to hold the curl.

Boom! Opportunity.

Another question: If you had no fear or hesitation, what would you love to try?

Now, stick with me on this. Because you don’t ask this like, “Oh, we’re going to do the whole world today, we’re going to take you from a level four to a level ten today.”

No, but it’s kind of cool to see whether this person is a risk taker, or if they’re kind of in their comfort zone. Once you know that, for future visits you can make a note that this client, Donna, likes to push the boundaries. 

That is so fun. Because you know, you can do a little change to their look—add bangs—and it changes the whole thing. You can place foils in a certain way to completely change the look of their style. You add a few highlights on top, it’s going to instantly seem like there’s more lift, more volume at the top of the crown. So that’s so cool to find out.

Then there are products and services questions, for example: What are your products not doing for you that you wish they would?

Especially maybe with new guests. They come in and you ask, “What are your products not doing for you that you wish they would?”

And they say, “Well I really like how soft my hair is, but I’m struggling with volume. I feel like my hair is lifeless.”

You look and they have blonde, Norwegian, thin hair. And you’re like, “well, you probably shouldn’t be using that product…”

But you don’t say that! Instead you say, “Oh, well I have a really awesome idea I’m going to work with you on today, and you’re going to be blown away at how much volume you can have with your hair, and not compromise the softness, the moisture, the integrity of your hair.”

Another question: On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your current product or this product?

And if they say, “Well, maybe a 6…” this is your follow-up question: “What would need to happen to make it a 10?”

And she says, “Well, I love the softness, but to make it a 10 I need to have volume.”

So now you’re coming up with your game plan. You’re genuinely engaged. This is a give and take. Being great at sales, building trust so people will buy from you…it starts with the person. Getting to know them, and not just getting to know them to be their friend.

You know, when I’m hiring new stylists and I say, “Why would a client want to work with you?”

And they say, “Well I believe I can get along great with people, and I have a really great personality and I like to make people happy…”

I’m thinking in the back of my mind, “Yeah, you and every other stylist out there!”

Friends, this is why we’re going to talk about your unique selling proposition. What makes you truly unique?

Because unless you’re a complete A-hole, people are going to genuinely feel like most hair stylists are nice people. So that’s not doing it. With your client it’s not “let’s be best friends time”. With your client there is a way to maintain your professionalism and the fact that you are in a sales position, and still care deeply for people. Your goal is to be their professional.

And are you friendly? Do you care so much for them? Yes. But you’re their professional first. 

That is, if your goal is to make the earnings you’re worth. You know, I had talked before that the average stylist in America makes $30,000 a year. Across the nation, the average income for a hair professional…$30,000 a year. 

Are you okay with that? I’m not! I don’t want that for the stylists that work for me. I don’t want this to be their job for a little while, that’s fun. I want hair professionals to feel that this is a long-term career, that they can retire from this career, and feel comfortable.

And so, I’m just not willing to settle for the average. And just remember, friends, average is best of the worst or worst of the best. Can I get an Amen? 

I want us to be the exception.

People + Passion = Sales

So sales is about people plus passion.  Here’s the sales process: People have to know you. They’ve got to know that you exist. (Oh, I’ve heard of that salon, I’ve heard of that professional)

And then, they have to like you. We’re going to get into this a little bit further, because that’s all about authenticity. Then, they’ve got to trust you. I believe trust is built when you have the opportunity to sit down and get to know them, ask questions (the right questions) and come up with solutions.

Once, they trust you, then they’ll buy from you. You know, it’s hard to say, “Oh, I’m a sales position when I’m in the service industry.”

Friends, if you don’t make sales, you don’t make money. You are in sales. We just talked about discounts and how they complete devalue what you have to offer. Please, consider charging what you’re worth. You will attract the clients that believe the same things you do. Their values will match your values. There’s plenty of people to go around. This is not a world of scarcity. We live in America. This is a world of abundance. There’s plenty to go around.

Don’t fear the unnecessary. Instead, focus on your potential. And remember, practice makes permanent. This won’t come overnight, but today is the day that you can implement a new mindset that will result in new behaviors, that will result in new habits. And eventually, a year from now, you will a completely different professional than you are today. 

I believe you deserve it. 

Practice Makes Permanent

Perfect Isn't Real

Practice makes permanent. Don’t screw yourself out of reaching your potential. You know, we’ve heard forever: practice makes perfect, practice makes perfect. No, because perfect isn’t real. There is no perfection. There’s progress. There’s reaching for better. But the decisions you make every day to either give it your all, hone in on trying to be as precise as possible, doing your very best; that becomes the type of mentality you have, the type of professional you are. Practice is going to make permanent. 

Don't Skip Steps

If you skip steps because you typically run behind or you’re busy or you think, oh, it’s unnecessary, then you’re going to produce results where steps are skipped.

Let me give you an example. When I was younger, I had piano lessons from a genius professor. I don’t even know what it’s called, and I’ll tell you why in a minute. But he made his own music. He was unbelievable. When I showed up for lessons I’d play the song my own way, you know, with my own twist. Which nowadays, if you were on any of the talent shows—like The Voice, and I know this year’s the last year for American Idol—they’re typically like, “Redo that song in your own way.” Well, I was like, “You don’t have to ask me twice. All of my songs are done in my own way.”

And I remember him—his name was Dr. Kushman—and he said, “Kati, once you learn to play this the way it’s written, then you may go and play it anyway you want.” What I thought he didn’t know, but he really knew, is that I wasn’t disciplining myself. I struggled with following the rules. And I didn’t practice faithfully the way I should have. Like most people who have ever played the piano, I can sit down and play a little bit of Fur Elise by Beethoven, and maybe a couple of other things. But it was two years of trying to be a pianist and because I was not committed to practicing as best I could and bringing my A-game every time, what permanently stuck was mediocrity. I didn’t produce great results, and it never led to anything. I never really committed to honing in on the craft. I wasn’t any good and I gave it up.

Practice Makes Permanent

So here’s an example on the flip side: Practice makes permanent. I remember showing up for a work out one day. And I’m a little bit egotistical. I really pride myself—you know, if I can’t be the fittest, the skinniest, then I’m going to be the strongest, the most bad ass. And I remember showing up to one of my workouts and there was this petite, really pretty girl who came with her amazing outfit, and she was a boss. She was lifting heavy, going fast. And I was like “Oh hell no. Okay, I’m not going to let this happen.” So it was Christmas Eve, and I put on all this weight to do a dead lift. Even the coach looked at me and was like, “Oh, that’s a lot.” I think it was like 230 pounds. And he said, “You know that’s 230 pounds?” And I said, “Yeah, I know, I got it, okay?”

And no…I didn’t. The second time around in the circuit we were on, I pulled up and—pop—something in my upper butt cheek snapped. And I set it down and I looked at him, and tears were coming up in my eyes, and I was like, “…I have to go, I have to go now.”

Luckily I called my chiropractor and they were willing to see me on Christmas Eve. So I went in, and I had a herniated disc. Long story short, this was probably a little bit of a tear in my upper buttocks/lower back. So, that was really stupid. And I probably could have been like, “I’m going to give up, because that’s embarrassing and I made myself look like a huge A-hole.” But instead, I decided: I really want to get good at lifting properly. So I scaled it way back, I took my time, and two years later, my deadlift max is 245 pounds. 

And I feel like obviously that’s not perfect, it’s not the best it could ever be. But it’s a hell of an improvement and I do it safely. Why? Because practice makes permanent, and I took the time to scale back and do things step by step.

Reach Your Full Potential

I think sometimes as beauty professionals—especially if you’re fresh out of school—you want to be a Master level right off the bat. You don’t want to be level one! You are in school and you’re subjected to that level and you come into a working environment and you want to get on the floor right away, you want to get after it. I totally get it. I was that same person, no surprise. 

But there’s something to be said for taking your time. Now, luckily, I had skills beyond the technique that brought me significant success, even fresh out of school. And I’m going to get into those in topics to come. But I dove into as much education as possible, because all of the sudden I realized…I am around fantastic professionals. These hairstylists, barbers, they’re doing work at whole other level. And instead of basically faking it until I made it, there are instances where that can happen, but also instances where you need to take a step back and say, what do I need to do to get from here to there?

And friends, do not skip steps. Because if you do, you are screwing yourself out of reaching your full potential.

So let’s end it with this: practice makes permanent.