Risk, Reward, and Regret
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: I am so excited
to dive into today's episode. In
business, I've always thought of
the risk I've taken as leaps of
faith. Sometimes the word risk
can give scary uncertain, and I
believe that's why so many of us
stay stuck for so long. A leap
of faith feels more like I'm not
in this alone, and that
something bigger goes with me.
And that to me just feels more
empowering. Right outside of
your comfort zone is where our
next level of success lives just
waiting for us to muster up the
courage to step outside of the
place we've been to get to the
place we're going. That is where
all the reward lives. Right on
the other side. Regret is kind
of tricky for me because I think
sometimes we make a decision we
wish we wouldn't have made. But
I also believe who we become in
life is a gathering of all of
the choices we have made. And
self love and acceptance comes
from living out of those
consequences and those choices,
the good and the bad, and
forgiving ourselves for the ones
that are filled with regret. I
feel like I've taken a lot of
risks both big and small, but a
few that come to mind are
opening my first salon. So I was
working under a really well
known veteran stylist in my
community. And there was a lot
of opportunity for me there and
I was actually making incredible
money for a first year stylist.
But money isn't everything. And
there were a lot of things going
on that I just didn't align
with. So 15 months into my
career, I presented a business
plan to my grandma, and she gave
me the $12,000 in seed money I
needed to get started. God rest
her soul what an incredible
woman. Another one would come 12
years later when my husband and
I purchased a 5000 square foot
building that I had dreamt of
owning for years. I mean, you
talk about a leap of faith the
bank account was giving no
indication that we were ready
for this. But in our hearts, we
knew that that building was
ours. The previous owner was a
good friend of mine, and she
agreed to let us pay her
directly until we acquired
enough credit and resources to
purchase it through a bank. She
gave us five years and we were
able to do it in three, a big
reward came with that risk. And
we just celebrated our 10 year
anniversary as a company. And
lastly would be the risk I'm
taking right now. I'm a salon
owner, Academy owner, educator,
content creator, podcast host
and a hairstylist. And as much
as I love the craft of creating
beautiful hair. I'm definitely
in a new season. My team, my
students my following they all
need my full attention and
working behind the chair is
coming to an end for me. In the
last 22 years I have been very
fortunate to deeply love my work
and make a good enough living at
it to experience some of the
best things that life has to
offer in giving that financial
security up builds Hello risky,
but it also feels really right.
And the reward of leading my
team and my students and helping
them achieve their goals. Man
the idea of that brings me so
much joy. So what does a risk
look like for most stylist I
think a typical risk for today's
stylists would be raising their
prices all these years later.
And this still scares stylists
so much that their clients will
be mad or even leave them that
even though it's time even
though they're worth it, they
cannot bring themselves to do
it. Another one could look like
changing salons are going to an
independent model where you are
essentially running your own
small business. Statistics say
that a stylist can lose up to
20% of their clientele when
changing their location. That
client may stay at the salon
because they liked the vibe or
the products that they use. Or
maybe they liked the big salon
energy or the location is super
convenient. Whatever the reason,
you need to account for that 20%
loss and your budget. And
lastly, I remember this one
myself, changing your schedule
or cutting back on your hours.
I'm going to sound a little old
school by saying this but back
in the day salons were closed on
Mondays and every stylist I knew
worked on Saturdays. That's just
the way it was and I did it for
years. And then my life changed
and I became a single mom and I
was tired of me Same things I
was tired of missing games and
dance rehearsals and Saturday
morning Snuggles. I was just no
longer willing to sacrifice. So
I worked for 10 hour days and
took Saturday's off. Later
evenings made it possible for me
to get those Saturday clients in
during the week. So I did that
for a while. And then I quickly
realized that was also not
working. That left my two kids
at that time 13 and 14 to fend
for themselves until I got home
at seven or 8pm would take out
in my hand and only a few
minutes to catch up before
showers in bed. I was exhausted.
So I cut back to two evenings a
week and clients left and that
had to be okay. We have to
protect our time and our energy
for what matters most. No
regrets for choosing my kids. So
for stylists to get out of their
comfort zone, you know,
something has to feel pressing,
you know, and sometimes it's
money, sometimes they need a
raise. And sometimes they just
need something to mean more. You
know, it's so important that the
risks that we take, get us out
of our comfort zone in a
meaningful way. Nothing will
give you that push you need it
but doesn't mean anything if it
doesn't inspire you. For me that
was getting into the extension
business. It did feel risky, the
certification was a couple
$1,000. But I did think it would
be worth it. At first I was self
motivated, I wanted to wear
them. So I figured hey, I'll
learn how to do them. And then I
realized how lucrative it was.
And money became a big motivator
too. But once I started offering
the service, I also became aware
of something else that was
motivating and that was giving
women their competence back.
creating beautiful colors and
flattering cuts for my clients
was what I lived for. But being
able to give someone their dream
hair well that y'all that hits
differently and I was addicted.
If you've never had long thick
hair then experiencing that for
the first time can be emotional
illness, hormones and aging. It
all takes its toll on the hair
and being able to give that back
to someone is definitely
rewarding. So I'm going to sound
like a huge advocate for
commission salons and really I
am when it comes to a young
inexperienced stylists I do not
believe another business model
suits your needs more than a
commissioned salon with an
apprenticeship program. A lot of
students graduate and feel ready
for the salon floor. But there's
a big difference between the
student salon floor and the real
salon floor and I caution new
graduates do not be in a hurry,
there is still a lot of learning
and your investment and your
time will pay off. If you're
dedicated to learning all you
can from your mentors, y'all the
way has already been paid, the
wheel has already been invented.
So just go in and soak it up. A
huge regret that I had as a
younger stylist was not giving
proper notice. I couldn't bring
myself to tell my boss that I
was leaving. So I snuck around
and made plans behind their
back. It felt cringy then and it
still feels cringy now, this
person had invested a lot in me.
And that is just not who I am. I
take pride in having integrity
and being open and honest with
others. And it still bothers me
to this day that I wasn't. And
as a salon owner, I've
experienced that from the other
side. And now I have even more
respect than ever for that boss
of mine back then. They forgiven
me since then, and even
congratulated me on my recent
success. I just think that is so
cool. Can you balance risk and
reward I mean, balance is
tricky, but it is available to
you if you choose it. I work a
lot, like a lot a lot. But
that's my choice. My children
are grown and I am still
desperately in love with my
work, especially since opening
the academy at times it does
feel overwhelming. And I have to
create more white space in my
calendar. But I'm very intuitive
to my needs. Because I choose to
be I don't ignore the voice that
asked me to rest. And that is
where I find the balance. So
what is a good risk that I
encourage stylists to make?
Well, I think a risk is always
worth taking, if that means
investing in yourself. Investing
in education growing and
learning is never over. So
continued education should
always be reflected in all of
your decisions. So you need to
choose a salon that values
learning and is willing to
create that for all members of
the team. Or you need to make
sure you're creating a budget
that always allows for new skill
sets. So there are some risks
out there that are harder than
others and may not be the right
fit for every stylist. It's
funny how something that started
as something risky in hindsight
is something you can't picture
your life without. And that risk
for me is hiring a coach. Now
this will not make sense for
everyone. But it's also not only
for salon owners and managers.
coaching programs come in all
shapes and sizes. And if you
need fresh ideas or someone to
buy bounce ideas off of, and
more importantly,
accountability. If you need
accountability, then I urge you
to find a program that fits your
needs and your budget. I
personally don't go more than a
year at a time without
participating in some sort of
program. All admit if I'm left
to my own devices, I will
procrastinate till the very end.
I need the organization and I
need the accountability that a
coach offers. Regret is human.
But we can take our regrets and
our mistakes as stylist and see
them as learning opportunities
if we choose to. We won't always
make decisions that we're proud
of. But we have to learn our
lessons. Be thankful for them
and move past them. If you're
feeling disappointed or stuck
where you are, then it's
definitely time. It's probably
way past time to get risky and
take that leap of faith. You
will never regret investing in
yourself. The reward is looking
back at your comfort zone proud
as hell of yourself and living
your best life.
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
