The Aspiring Stylist with Tracey Franklin

Morgan Franklin: 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: The beauty
industry is not for the faint of

heart. And coming back from the
holidays is never easy.

Depending on the amount of time
that you take off for the

holidays, it may even feel
really anticlimactic to only

have a few days off after an
insane holiday rush. And then

boom, before you know it, you
gotta be right back at the

salon. This year, for the first
year, I closed the entire salon

for the week of Christmas, my
team was obsessed. Of course,

their opinion matters. And I
wanted to make sure that this

wasn't going to be a huge
financial blow for them. And so

I checked in Hey, how did this
feel? I had one stylist tell me

oh my gosh, next year, I'm gonna
go to Puerto Rico, and I'm going

to see my family. Another one
said, Oh, it was so nice not to

have to feel like I couldn't get
everyone in because I only had a

few days, the feedback was
probably some of the most

valuable information I could
have asked for. Because now I

know that this is going to be an
every year thing. I mean, what

does it do, it allows you to
rest it allows you to reflect

and spend that much needed time
with the family and travel even

so if you need to do that. But
even with a well deserved break,

it can still feel a little bit
daunting to return to work for

some people. So how do we shift
our thinking, because that's

really what it comes down to
right? It's not the reality,

it's the way we see the reality,
our thoughts around that

reality. And I think it starts
with an attitude of gratitude. I

mean, think about why you got
into this industry in the first

place, the creativity, the
making people feel amazing. Take

just a moment and think about
that brand that you have that

hates their job, you already
know who I'm talking about,

right? They sit at a cubicle,
they check people out at a

register, they do some other job
that for whatever reason is not

satisfying to them, it does not
fill their cup, and they could

have every other week off, and
it still wouldn't feel like

enough. You, on the other hand,
have a career that you love. And

it really is a gift. And you
need to remember that because I

feel like it can do a lot for
your Outlook. So what stresses

us out the most to stylist? What
about our future feels the most

stressful? And I think it's the
uncertainty for sure, right?

Like with every job, there's a
level of uncertainty and in life

in general. But one thing we
know as stylists that maybe

other people don't know is how
dramatic our paychecks can vary.

I mean, two cancellations. And
my check is half of what it was

last week. We're not salary and
that uncertainty can really

stress us out new clients. Oh,
that's another one, right? I

mean, on one hand, that can feel
really exciting. But if you're a

stylist that's still working on
building your confidence. It can

also be really scary. And this
is where a solid consultation

process is really going to come
in and save the day. If you have

something like that if you have
a process, you know, the way

that you ask questions, the way
you're able to work through that

lack of communication because
the lack of communication is the

barrier. It's really hard to
meet a client's expectations if

we don't know what those
expectations are. So just avoid

all that discomfort by asking
the questions. I feel like for

stylists, it's really not that
hard to reset our outlook, you

know, especially on the year.

And if you feel like you're
already falling behind, let's

chat for a minute. Okay, so I
like to have a checklist. I am

like a big kid in this way. I
mean, give mom a gold star for

getting something done. I also
like to have little rewards in

place for the progress that I
make on my way. So hitting a

small goal on my way to a bigger
goal sounds like a damn good

excuse for a new pair of shoes.

And the organization helps keep
order in my mind and it helps me

stay on track. But if you do
fall behind remember the simple

truth. We can't change the past
but we can start over tomorrow.

So do what you have to do so
that that tomorrow does not turn

into a month of them. What about
a short term goal on your way to

a bigger goal? Like what if you
feel like the pressure of

planning out your whole year is
just way too intimate? Eating.

Well, I like the three to one
method. I like three small goals

to medium goals and one big, fat
juicy goal. Some examples of a

small goal might look like
something as simple as cleaning

out my closet and getting rid of
things that don't fit me anymore

or that I don't feel good in
that don't feel good on my skin,

whatever the reason is, I want
to get rid of those so that when

I prepare in the morning to show
up looking and feeling my best

I've got organization, I know
exactly what I've got to choose

from. A medium goal for me this
year is it's actually kind of

big. And that's getting
everywhere. I'm supposed to be

15 minutes early. If you know me
at all, you're probably

chuckling right now. And for my
big goal, I want my salon to

have a million dollar year.

compartmentalizing these goals
help me keep the order and the

focus. And hopefully, if you do
this, it will help it feel less

intimidating to you as well.

There's so much power in the
small habits and the little

things about our lifestyle, and
how those help us with our

goals. I want to make a book
recommendation. It's called

atomic habits. And it's by James
clear, and I gotta be honest,

like, I'm kind of a woowoo girl.

So this was a little bit more
cut and dry for me a little bit

more black and white. But I
think sometimes we need that,

right? We need that sense of
order sense of fact, you know,

the things that we can use
moving forward to help propel us

closer to our goals. And that
really is in the small, everyday

habits. Some of the most
successful people in life are

those people that get up really
early in the morning, I've

started doing something, another
book recommendation, it's called

the 5am Club. And it's really,
it's really been transformative

so far, you know. So this
process requires that you wake

up at 5am You spend the first 20
minutes of your morning doing

vigorous exercise, the second 20
minutes you use meditating,

praying, writing in a journal,
whatever you need to do to

release. And then the third 20
minutes is consumption like

you're either reading a book or
you're, for me, I love

audiobooks. So that to me, sets
my day up for success with just

a few small habit changes in the
morning, I'm waking up and my

mornings aren't feeling as
hectic as they used to, I'm able

to accomplish the things that I
want to accomplish like exercise

because I do them right away. So
before I grab my phone, before I

let the world in before I allow
myself to get distracted, I'm

committed to this first hour
because I'm worth it. And

because I know it's going to
help me in the long run. So what

makes goal setting so hard to
achieve for most people? I think

it's in the perfectionism. I
think we have this belief that

it has to be flawless that it
has to be absolutely perfect, or

we can't even start and it's
freaking paralyzing. Like if we

let it this perfectionism, this
fear of getting it wrong will

keep us stuck. Like we're just
going to be too scared to try

anything new, we're going to be
too scared to move over. Because

what if we don't get it right?

When the truth is, it's better
to get it wrong, to learn from

those mistakes, and to have
another whack at getting it

right than to sit still forever
and never even try. What will a

stylist have to do to have a
measurably different 2024 than

they had in 2023? As a stylist?

What if you woke up in the
morning and you were already

feeling in a funk? What could
you do to pull yourself out of

it? Again, it's all in the
mindset. It's all in the

gratitude. You have to remember
the why behind what you're doing

every single day. It's not the
what it's not the you know,

getting up and putting on your
makeup and arriving at the salon

and clocking in and clocking out
and doing the thing. It's all

the magic that lives inside that
day. I don't know about you

guys. But as a hairstylist,
every time I turn over a new

client, I've got another
opportunity to spend a few hours

with someone that I really like
somebody that I consider a

friend. I've worked really hard
to cultivate a clientele that

allows me to enjoy my work that
allows me to feel energized

instead of depleted when we have
these energy exchanges. Another

thing that you should ask
yourself is, am I available to

new opportunities? Have I
decided what I want my 2024 to

look like? Because if I don't
know that, then I'm nowhere.

Like I have to sit down with a
pen and a paper and I have to

write out a few things that I
would like to accomplish. And

then I gotta timestamp those. I
gotta give myself By when or you

know what we're gonna be having
the same conversation in 2025.

And I'm just not here for that.

So you got to plan it out, you
got to map out your success,

nobody ever woke up accidentally
successful, you have to be

intentional about it. And you
have to get that out there, you

have to let the universe know
what you're available for. So it

knows what to serve up next,
having goals that aren't just

money related, you know, when
it's not just about money, and

what it can buy you when it's
about other things, when it's

about maybe your health goals.

Or maybe you know, you want to
have deeper and more meaningful

connections with someone, maybe
you're ready to meet the love of

your life, maybe you're ready to
start a family, it's all going

to take planning, it's really no
different than setting a

business goal or a financial
goal, you have to sit down, you

have to map it out. I know a lot
of times we do we make goals

around money. And it's not just
about making the money. It's

also about what that money lends
itself to, right. It's about the

things and the not things you
know, the the experiences, the

memories that you're allowed to
make the trips that you're going

to take with your family, being
able to pay off debt and have

that peace of mind. So many of
the goals that we make in our

personal life that we don't
think have anything to do with

money still do. You know, I
mean, money fixes a lot of

things and it can't buy you love
and it can't buy you happiness,

but it can certainly help you
afford it. Some great goals that

you could have outside of just
your paycheck could be about how

meaningful your work is. When I
decided to become an extension

artist, don't get me wrong, I
was super excited about six

figures. I'd had that goal for
several years. But you know,

turning out great hair color and
good haircuts was just like not

enough to get me there. I was
really excited about the

potential. But when I started
diving in to this industry into

the added hair industry, it
became so much more, I was able

to help women regain their
confidence, I was able to help

them fall back in love with our
hair. I mean, the adornment of

hair, the connection that women
have with their hair goes way,

way back to biblical days, maybe
even caveman days, who knows,

you know, it really is such an
important part of I feel like

what makes us feel good about
ourselves and what makes us feel

beautiful. So when I was able to
mix that really great feeling

with also earning a good living,
that's when I really saw my

career start to come to life. So
yes, there are a lot of things

inside of your career that you
should be mindful of outside of

the money, you need to be
finding work that lights you up,

like what makes you excited to
come to work, open up your

schedule and take a look. And I
want you to keep scrolling until

you find a service that you're
absolutely in love with. And if

that takes too much time, it's
time to reorder, it's time to

figure out what you need to be
doing more of that will Yes,

help you make more money, but
also create more joy in your

work. Having measurable and
attainable goals is important.

Or else we're just walking
around in this sea of gray, not

really knowing if we're getting
it right, we cannot rely on our

emotions to let us know whether
or not we're doing well. Because

you could create beautiful work
post a picture of it, it could

go viral and all of a sudden
you're fill in like a rock star.

But as soon as that dies down,
you have to go back to being a

regular non celebrity stylist,
right. And so we have to decide

was that actually beneficial?

Because you know, you can
measure it by how many followers

did I get? Or how many likes did
I get? But if you don't have

clarity on what a successful
outcome looks like, then you

don't really know if you hit the
mark, you know, yeah, maybe you

got a bunch of people to look at
your content but if they don't

live in the same city as you and
that doesn't translate into you

know, a booking or something
like that, then it's probably

not as big of a deal as you
might think it is. A lot of

times when a stylist starts to
work at my salon, you know

they're fresh out of school or
probably within their first year

behind the chair. I love to hire
people in that demographic

because I feel like for one
thing as a salon owner I get to

train I don't have to go in and
untrain and then go in and train

it saves me this you know very
time consuming step. But I also

feel like you know, they also
come to me kind of like Joey I

you know, they're really
inspired. They're really

excited. They're not at all
tainted, you know, the nothing

has happened that has made them
question their self worth yet.

They're just this clean slate
and it's so beaut Before to get

to work with them. So when they
come to me, they probably

haven't even set their first
goal yet, you know, I really do

wish that the schools would work
more on the business aspect of

goal setting aspect and things
like that with their students.

But until that starts to happen,
you know, it really falls on us

as salon owners, and it's very
beneficial for us, the salon

owners. So it's important that
we don't overlook this, because

at the end of the day, their
success is also our success. So

you better know that, yes, I'm
going to sit down with them. And

I'm going to help them set some
goals that we can measure and

that we can attain, and we're
gonna hand out gold stars and

buy new shoes all along the way.

So maybe you're thinking, You
know what, I'm really busy, I'm

super booked, okay, I don't need
to be setting goals, I don't

have time for it, it's not
important. Or maybe they're

feeling like, Hey, I've already
achieved the things that I

wanted to achieve. So I'm gonna
just rest for a minute, hey,

that's totally fine. I think
it's really important that we

live in the moment that we
celebrate our victories along

the way. But successful people
always have their eye on the

future. So once you have
accomplished a goal, celebrate

the crap out of yourself, and
then move on to the next one.

When you're super committed to
accomplishing your goals in the

workplace. A really beautiful
side effect of that is that

you're going to experience a lot
of personal growth as well. And

I find this to be incredibly
important, because the stylists

that do really well. And I'm
sure this is true in any

industry. But if you're going to
do really well at work, it's

probably stemming from this
really kind of well rounded life

that you've created for
yourself, right? If you are

putting too many of your eggs in
one basket, if everything that

you do is geared toward growing
you as a professional, but your

personal relationships are
falling to the wayside, and you

haven't tucked your kid in in
the last week, maybe it's time

to reprioritize and find the
balance so that we don't

completely lose sight of our
professional goals, because

we're in this panic mode of oh,
now I've got to focus on my

family, you really can focus on
both, but it's going to take

some intention, you're gonna
have to set some healthy

boundaries around your work life
and your personal life so that

they accept each other really
well and aren't

counterproductive. So you may
have heard me talking about this

and in in a previous episode,
but I'm really focused on my

health right now I'm really
focused on you know, making sure

that I'm taking care of myself
that I've got the energy and the

in the clarity that I need
mentally to be the person that I

am, you know, I wear a lot of
hats, and I really love them

all. And I want to be really
good at all of them. But in

order to do that, I have to
remember to fill my own cup, I

have to remember to take care of
myself first, so that I can take

care of others. So for me, it's
important that I have separate

goals for the separate parts of
my life. I have my work goals,

the things that I want to
accomplish, like I talked about

earlier, with my salon goal of
having a million dollar gross

year, that is completely
possible if I'm staying

connected to that goal. But that
doesn't help me at all with my

health goals, right. So that's
going to require a different

version of me, it's going to
require a different set of

goals, I'm going to have to show
up differently in that part of

my life. Because sometimes the
balance and the healthiest thing

that I can do for myself is
nothing at all. It's just to

unplug. It's just to take a
break. It's just to binge watch

a show on Netflix, or maybe take
a nap on a Sunday afternoon for

God's sake, whatever it is that
I need, I know it's going to

change every day. So it means
I'm gonna have to stay connected

to me, I'm gonna have to make
sure that I'm tuned in and I'm

gonna have to make sure that I'm
creating space to be able to

deliver those needs. I really do
love a new year. I really love

this clean slate, this rebirth,
right this opportunity to show

up bigger, better, stronger than
I did the year before. But the

important thing to remember is
that you don't need a new year.

You don't need a new month. It
is never too late to start over

and start showing up as the most
fierce and committed version of

yourself.

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