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: So you've just
decided to enroll in beauty

school, and you're so excited.

Well, I'm going to tell you
right now that it's probably not

what you think it's going to be,
it's going to be a lot of

things. And you're going to
learn a lot. So it's going to be

out of a textbook, a lot of it
is going to be life lessons. But

one thing that you need to be
aware of is that you're not

going to get everything that you
need out of the 1500 hours that

you're going to spend in that
school. I talk a lot about

continued education, I talk a
lot about making sure that you

keep your craft interesting to
you. And beauty school is just

the first step. You know,
everyone thinks, oh, this is

going to be so awesome. And
parts of it are I don't want to

discourage you parts of beauty
school are a ton of fun. And

parts aren't some of it's a lot
of repetition. Some of it's a

lot of anxiety, you know, you're
trying things for the first time

ever on a person. And that can
be very scary. But it's a

beautiful industry. I'm proud of
you for making the decision. I

just want to let you know,
there's a lot more to it than

meets the eye. I was a good
student, I'm going to toot my

own horn here for a minute I
really was I was a good student,

I had a good attitude. I was
eager to learn, I worked hard. I

knew I had to make a go of this.

I knew failure wasn't an option.

I knew a lot of people were
depending on me. I knew my

school was depending on me. I
knew my kids were depending on

me. And most of all, I was
depending on me, this was a

choice that I had made and a
really dark time in my life. And

I declared this my fresh start.

So I was depending on me, I had
a lot to prove. And most of all,

I wanted to prove it to myself.

When my first boss came to the
school, you know, he was really

well known in the industry. And
he was opening a new salon and

he came to the school and he was
like, I want your best. Give me

your best. So three of us were
chosen couldn't believe I was

one of them. Could not believe
it was not expecting that I went

to this little loft, did our
little interview did our cut. I

think I had to do like four
foils or something like that. I

can't really remember it was so
long ago. But I was really,

really nervous, but also really,
really honored. You know, it was

a crazy mix of emotions that
day. I got the job, like was not

expecting to get the job. But I
did I got the job. And I was so

nervous. But I knew even that
knowing as little as I knew

about the industry, I knew that
I was about to embark on an

incredible journey. And it was
an incredible opportunity. And I

was not going to let fear get in
my way. I was going to take that

job. And I was going to show up
and I was going to do my best.

And that's exactly what I did.

My instructors were so proud of
me. I had never,

never really experienced that
before. Like what does it feel

like when someone's really
really proud of you for

something that you worked hard
to master. I was blown away and

I was hungry for more like that
did something for me, it did

something for my confidence, it
did something for you know, a

new belief that I was trying to
develop in myself, and I'll

never forget the way that made
me feel. And I love that saying,

you know, like people will
forget what you did for them.

But they will never forget the
way that that makes you feel.

And I always remember that. And
I always remember this moment. I

studied really, really hard for
my state boards. Like a lot of

people don't pass their state
boards on the first try. And I'm

here to tell you right now that
is okay. That is okay. I have

hired people to work in my salon
that failed their exam three

times, and are the most
incredible stylist that I've

ever had in my salon. It is
really hard and not all of us

are great test takers. You know,
it's a lot of pressure. It's a

long day, when I took my test,
we took all of it in one day now

they've got it broken up. And
I'm not sure if that's better or

worse. But I just know that I
took one part of my test in the

morning, went to lunch came back
into the second part. So I left

that day knowing whether or not
I had a barber license. Now they

kind of drag it out and I think
they kind of torture people with

that information or lack
thereof. But I say all that to

say don't get hung up on how
many times it takes you to pass

that test. Just make sure that
eventually you pass that test do

not give up on yourself. It's a
very stressful situation. But

don't give up. So let's fast
forward to my first day of work.

I was very nervous, obviously, I
was very nervous. I went in, I

was ready. I said at my station,
let's do this. Not a single

client on my first day of work,
and nothing will make you

question your future more than
that your first day of work, not

a single client. Now, keep in
mind, this was a new salon.

Okay, so it wasn't like there
was a line out the door to get

in. We were still establishing
ourselves. But no clients hit

hard. And I went home with a
really crappy attitude that day,

I remember just feeling like,
well, I've screwed up. But I

went back the next day,
obviously. And the next day, I

had one haircut, I'll never
forget, I know who the person

was. I still remember them.

They're no longer a client. But
I remember exactly who they

were. One haircut, not a huge
confidence boost, but better

than zero, right? Like one is
always better than zero. By the

end of that week, I had served
for clients. You guys, I was so

discouraged. I really thought
how, how do people do this, like

that was not enough to even pay
for the after school care for my

children that week for me to
even be in the salon. I just was

questioning everything. You
know, this wasn't what I

expected. And that's exactly why
I'm sharing this with you right

now is because I want you to
know that you are not going to

walk into a perfect situation
and a full clientele when you

graduate school, there is not
going to be a van full of people

waiting for you at the salon on
your first day. It is a slow

build. And you've got to have
the patience and the strength to

get there, you will get there
but you have to be patient.

Luckily, my boss pulled me aside
and was like, Hey, this is

normal. I needed someone to tell
me this is normal, because it

wasn't normal in my book. But as
somebody that doesn't know

anything about the industry, why
would I know that? We all need

someone like that in our lives.

All these people, the teachers,
my first boss, all the educators

along the way, have taught me
what it means to really sew into

someone's life, what it means to
really impact someone in the

most positive and beautiful way.

And that's why I'm opening a
school. I want to be that person

for as many people for as many
years as I possibly can because

we all need those people and I
want to be that someone for you.

In this industry, you've got a
lot of options. You can really

find your niche even in school,
like do you want to do nails?

Are you a skincare girl? Would
you like to be a cosmetologist

or a barber, a standard barber
that really focuses on men's

grooming, you know, there are a
lot of avenues that you can take

in this industry. And the first
step is figuring out what that

looks like for you. What do you
what do you really want to do?

You know, for me, I did a little
bit of investigating and I just

thought barbering was for me my
first experience with a beauty

school was the barber shop it
was or the barber school pardon

me, it was close to my house.

And everyone looked like they
were having so much fun in

there. And I really liked the
balance of male and female

grooming and male and female
students. Like I think we've all

had that experience with girls,
you know where it can be a

little bit clicky a little bit
catty sometimes. So I liked the

idea of being able to throw a
little testosterone into the

mix. And I just felt like I was
really interested in, you know,

old school barbering, straight
razor shaves, fades and things

like that. So that was the
avenue that I took. But I do so

love that there are so many
options out there available for

people to choose from. I was
really excited about school I

was 26 years old when I went to
barber school. So I felt like I

was a little bit more mature, a
little bit more in touch with my

guess the student in me, you
know, I didn't always do the job

that I could be proud of in high
school, but I had two kids. This

was the path I had chosen. So I
knew that failure was not an

option. So I was a really good
student. And I made sure that I

went in with a really good
attitude every day. You never

know what to expect, you know,
what is what does school really

look like, you know, you're
going to start off with the

sanitation you know, they gotta
get that across, they will come

in and they will shut you down
if you do not follow sanitation

protocols set forth by the
board. So that is something that

they always want to make sure
that you're hyper aware of. So

you're gonna learn all that and
that's not the super exciting

part, but it is very important
and you're going to use it for

the rest of your career. So pay
attention. You know, you don't

get to touch people for a while
but that's okay. You're gonna

have your little mannequin head
and you're gonna just screw her

up royally. And then you can
have a little bonfire if you

want to afterwards. That's what
we did. But honestly, that

mannequin kind of becomes your
sidekick. Like, that's where

you're basically learning all of
your first haircuts, and some of

your first color techniques,
which I took a ton of comfort

in. Like, I'm not trying to go
out there and do my very first

haircut on a person. I know this
haircuts only $11. But I'm still

going to try my hardest not to
screw you up. So I think the

fact that we start on mannequins
is really good. And for me,

brought me a lot of comfort. And
then the day comes, and you get

your kit, and you are so
stinking excited. It's like

Christmas, you open up that
zipper, and you pull out all

these fancy tools that you've
never even seen before. And it's

just so much fun. You know, in
school, there's this rotation of

the curriculum. So you know,
they're enrolling students, like

every month. So whatever lesson
you come in on is kind of where

you get started. For me, it was
makeup. Now, in theory, and it

might be kind of hard. If you if
you've ever seen me, you might

not believe this, but I was not
a girly girl. I am the ultimate

girly girl now. But growing up
in the household that I grew up,

and there wasn't a lot of extra
money for makeup, or jewelry or

anything like that. So it just
wasn't an option. It's not. It

wasn't in me. It wasn't part of
who I was. But I loved the idea

of it. Like I thought, what if I
could be a girly girl. So I dove

deep into the makeup and I still
22 years later, I know trends

change. But I still use a lot of
that foundational information

that I got from my very first
official makeup lesson. It was

just so much fun, you know. And
then once we started cutting

class, I started working with
the public and it was so scary.

Again, so much anxiety when it
comes to things like that, but

you get a little better. And the
great thing is if you have a

good instructor, they're there.

They're with you. They're
guiding you. And let's be

honest, I mean, if you are
coming to a barber school for a

haircut, then you better come
correct with those expectations.

Don't come in expecting a $50
hair cut from a chick that just

learned how to cut hair on a
mannequin for the first time

ever. And I think they do I
think they do for the most part.

You know, I had a few people
that I thought were kinda like

overly nitpicky about stuff for
the school environment. But at

the end of the day, that's a
good lesson, you're gonna have

those people. But I did. I was
lucky I had a teacher that I

loved and had a ton of support
and learned a lot. In my school

getting chosen to do a cut was a
huge honor. If the guy that

owned the school that taught the
cutting classes came back and

called your name, you just like
stood up with this immense

amount of pride, you got your
things and you went out there

with your head held high. That's
how he wanted you to do it. So

like we talked about, I was in
school 22 years ago. And so a

lot of things have changed. But
back then we used to pull hair

through a cap. Now if you're not
familiar with that terminology,

I encourage you to look it up.

It was a little slice of hell
here on Earth, you basically

took this little knitting needle
and pulled small strands of hair

through this cap. If the client
had a lot of hair, or it was

really long, this was kind of
painful, and I wasn't really

expecting that. And then you
know, you put the color on you

let it process and then you pull
it off. And there are these

crazy looking little blonde
noodles in the hair. It was

outrageous. And that's how I
learned how to highlight hair. I

know crazy. I really was having
so much fun though. And there's

a lot of repetition. There's a
lot of you know, rolling perms

on mannequin heads. I hated that
part. Oh my gosh, you had to do

like 20 a month or something
which is basically almost every

day you're rolling a perm on a
mannequin head and it's just the

worst. But you know, it's busy
work and you got to do so much

of that before they're gonna let
you you know, get your license.

You're also spending a lot of
time working on each other.

There is so much Hey, girl, you
want to curl my hair. Hey, girl,

you want to highlight my hair.

If you come out of Beauty
School, without your hair being

damaged, you have really
accomplished something because

you're always wanting to try
something new. And you're always

trying to talk your fellow
students in the letting you

play.

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