How to Find a Mentor in the Beauty Industry
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: So let's talk
about how and when you should be
trying to find a mentor in the
beauty industry. I think it
should start early on, you know,
most schools are just teaching
you the basics. They're not
teaching you any advanced
techniques, they're certainly
not teaching you about the
business of beauty. So you're
going to need to know a lot of
things that you're just going to
come out of school not knowing.
So I say start early. And I
think it starts with finding the
right salon. And I recommend
that you take time and shadow
the senior stylists, at the
salons in your community so that
you can get a really good feel
for whether or not that's going
to be a good fit for you. Make
sure that the salon has an
apprenticeship program that
you're going to be there you're
going to be learning and you're
going to be making at least a
minimum wage while you're
learning. You know, it's really
great when a senior stylist
takes you under their wing
because for one thing you just
can't help but admire someone
that's really found their way in
this industry. And the fact that
they're willing to take time and
sew into your life is just such
a gift. It's definitely not
something you want to pass up.
The fastest way to the top is
finding someone that's killing
it and doing what they're doing.
You are not reinventing the
wheel here. Like you just need
to emulate the success that
you're seeing with the people
that you respect. There's no
reason not to be elevating
yourself in this industry, you
cannot stay still, you have to
continue to learn. So if
someone's willing to take you in
and teach you everything they
know, make sure you are sticking
right by their side. You know,
ideally, this is a role that the
salon owner will play as well.
Like I definitely hope that the
stylists that work for me look
up to me as a mentor. I hope
that they see the things that
I've been able to accomplish in
my career and are inspired by
that. People give away valuable
advice every day on social
media, you can easily be
mentored just by watching
someone's social media and how
they are excelling in this
industry. Later on that might
look different. You know, you
might hire a coach or take a
course there's a lot more to
this industry and being
successful than just doing good
hair. You need business skills
and marketing skills and people
skills and mentors are
everywhere to help you gain that
skill set. They wear a lot of
hats they teach they guide they
support you and inspire you,
there's no end to the list of
benefits that you can receive
from having a good mentor in
your life. What is the process
of finding potential mentors who
align with your values and your
skills and the goals that you
have set for your career, you
know, your first salon
experience can make or break
your career, it's so important
to take the time to choose
wisely. I know so many people
that go and work at a salon and
you know, their apprenticeship
program is really nothing more
than a shampoo tech job and they
don't learn a lot and they get
really discouraged. And they
feel like you know, they're just
being used to fold towels and
sweep up hair. Make sure that if
you're going to a salon that
offers an apprenticeship program
that is a true apprenticeship
program that there is a
curriculum and a schedule of how
and when you will learn these
potential skill sets. Knowing
win can be as simple as just
feeling a stirring like in your
soul. Like it's time to level
up. You know, for me, I like to
go to hair shows or conferences
so that I can learn something
new and make more connections
and you know, come across people
and spend time with people that
really inspire me and that know
things that I don't know. And
maybe I can share something with
them that they're not aware of.
It's just a really great
exchange of information and
inspiration. So you probably
need to be researching and
creating a list of all the
potential mentors that you'd
like to learn from, you know,
everyone from local industry
leaders to influencers in the
beauty profession and on social
media mentors are wildly
available on social media
platforms, they are literally
giving you free valuable content
every single day. No charge just
information because they're
passionate about this industry
and they want to help. When you
find the right person. Make sure
and reach out make sure that you
are subscribing to their page.
Like a lot of people have really
affordable subscriptions where
they're actually teaching you
real classes with real skills
that you get to take back to the
chair. So how do you approach a
potential mentor you want to
make sure that you do it in a
respectful and genuine manner.
The best way to approach a
mentor is just through real
admiration and gratitude for all
they give Back to our industry,
you really can never thank
someone too much for all they
freely share. So make sure and
let them know all the ways that
their efforts positively impact
your life, you can create a nice
personalized message or an email
that highlights some of your
favorite nuggets of inspiration,
I say be specific, and let them
know that you're genuinely
paying attention and that you
want more that you desire to
learn from them. I also really
love an old school thank you
card or a handwritten note, it's
really personal. And it will
really stand out since that's
not the typical approach these
days. People who have taken on
this role are passionate about
what they do. They're passionate
about this industry. And they
have been where you are and they
know the way they offer a
listening ear and a
compassionate heart. And they
really offer sound advice. So
find someone you trust and put
those shared principles to work.
Some mentors will even offer you
a complimentary session just to
make sure that you are a right
fit for each other. For me, as a
mentor, I never like to feel
like I'm wasting my time I want
to see people put the skills to
work and I want to make sure
that they come back and they
share their victories with me.
So if you have someone that's
willing to sow into your life,
make sure you let them know how
much that means to you. So it's
important to foster a
relationship with your mentor
that's, you know, mutually
beneficial. A mentor is a person
that really loves to help, they
like to see other people win and
they like to pass on the most
valuable lessons they've learned
along the way. But they will
always expect you to do your
part. So you need to stay open
to all the ideas that they share
with you and be willing to try
those strategies. Open
communication is so important.
Your mentor is offering you
their time and support. So your
commitment to learning and
growing needs to be obvious,
they are going to want to see
the fruit of their labor. So
don't leave them hanging check
in often and let them know
what's working and what you
might need to work on a little
harder. So you've got a great
mentor and now you want to start
applying the wisdom. A mentor
will pour into your life in the
most beautiful ways. They make
you feel held and understood and
that you're not alone. They are
there to reassure you when
you're feeling defeated or not
good enough. But they are also
there to hold you accountable
and call you out on your shit
when you need it. They will see
through your excuses and point
out when you're not showing up
for yourself or your clients.
Hear me this is important. That
may not always feel good, but
you need it. You need a mentor
that is willing to shoot you
straight. They are not there to
sugarcoat the truth. They are
there to help you help you grow
and help you succeed and make
sure you're giving it all you
got to put in the effort and
then celebrate your wins
together.
Morgan Franklin: Thank you for
joining us on this episode of
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
