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
completed all of your hours, and

in Tennessee, that's 1500 hours.

And you've received a passing
grade on all your work and all

your tests. And it's time to
schedule your state board exam.

So there will be a theory
portion, you know, questions to

answer the written portion. And
then there's a practical portion

where you actually perform your
services on a mannequin in front

of an examiner. When I took my
exam, both were taken in person,

and on the same day, it was a
really stressful day and the

whole thing took three to four
hours. Well, now they've split

it up and you can take your
theory portion first, and you

can take it online now. And once
you pass that they will schedule

your in person practical portion
of your exam. Once you pass your

state boards, you are able to
begin your work behind the

chair. But that doesn't
necessarily mean you should and

we'll get to that in a minute.

So can you start working behind
the chair from the moment you

pass your state boards? Well, if
a stylist has passed their exam,

they will receive proof of their
passing grade that day and they

are legally clear to begin their
work in a licensed salon. I

encourage students to shadow or
be part of an apprenticeship

program at Aspire Once a student
has 1000 hours they are

encouraged to choose their top
three salons or barber shops and

schedule their shadow days. They
will receive credit for those

hours. This gives them a chance
to see firsthand how salons

operate how the team interacts
with clients and each other. Are

they welcoming and helpful? Was
there actual instruction in the

work or were you just watching
them perform services. If you're

going to put the time into an
apprenticeship program, make

sure that it's one that will
actually help you grow. A good

program isn't just about
sweeping hair and washing color

bowls. That's part of it. But
every day should hold lots of

real world experience and
lessons behind the chair.

Cleaning up after your mentor is
a small price to pay for a front

seat into their world and what
has made them so successful. I

suggest students have a job
lined up before they pass their

state boards, especially if
you're going into a salon with

an apprenticeship program. When
I'm interviewing apprentices,

I'm not really looking at their
current skill set, I can teach

them all of that I'm looking for
how they present themselves and

what energy they bring to the
interview and what their goals

and aspirations are concerning
their future. I'm always very

impressed by applicants that are
putting the effort into finding

their salon home before they
even graduate. It shows drive

and motivation and I'm attracted
to that. Now that's not to say

you have to some students prefer
to focus on one thing at a time

and put all their energy into
studying for the exam and that's

okay too. So we're salons even
looking for brand new stylist. I

think most salons are willing to
hire a brand new stylist

especially now where new hires
are more and more scarce. With

the rise of independent
stylists, the need for stylists

and a commission based salon is
growing every day. So what about

luxury salons? Are you going to
land a job in a luxury salon as

a stylist that just passed your
boards? Well, luxury salons have

high standards and will not put
a new hire on the floor without

training. The depth and duration
of that training varies but as a

luxury salon owner, I have to
think of the salons reputation

and the reputation of all my
stylists that have worked really

hard to establish themselves.

And unsatisfied client doesn't
just speak poorly of a

particular stylist the whole
salon takes the hit. No one is

perfect and mistakes are a great
learning tool. But for the

reputation of the salon. Those
have to be minimized. And that

starts with a solid training
program. Should you be working

on your skills even after you've
passed the state board? Well,

that's a great time to work on
efficiency in school you are

encouraged to take your time and
really focus on getting it and

understanding the technique.

Well in the salon Time is money.

So it's important that you work
on your speed of course without

sacrificing quality, but the
time still matters. What about

equipment? I mean, should you go
out and buy a bunch of equipment

after you pass your state
boards? Well start with a great

pair of shears. A great pair of
shears is a must. mannequin here

is really hard on shoes. Here's
so a shiny new pair of shears

could make a great graduation
gift. Other than that, you need

to find out what your
perspective salon requires and

what they provide before
spending a bunch of money on

tools you may not even need. So
once you pass your state boards,

you will get your barbers
license or your cosmetology

license. But if you're going
independent, you're going to

need to make sure you get a
business license as well. And

yes, an accountant is a great
person to add, especially if you

don't understand how the numbers
work and where they're going to

go. Otherwise, the salon that
you're going to work for is

probably going to be responsible
for your shop licensing your

taxes and your insurance. Let's
talk about resumes. I won't lie,

a pretty resume always catches
my eye. I mean, we are in the

esthetics business. So your
resume should reflect that and

look really well done. I don't
need to know about every fast

food job you've ever had. But I
am looking for your most recent

job history. And depending on
your age that can look like the

last four or five years that is
more than sufficient. I'm far

more interested in your GPA as a
student and any additional

certifications that you might
have received that are relevant

to this industry. So what
shouldn't be on it? Again,

depending on your age, I'm not
really interested in part time

jobs you had in high school or
that you were in a sorority in

college, try to keep it relevant
to the most recent events and

your beauty school accolades.

What other things were you able
to accomplish in school? Did you

get certified and other services
that maybe salons aren't used to

students coming out of school
with that would be a great and

impressive thing to add to your
resume? How long does it take

for a student to secure a full
time job as a stylist? Well,

that's completely up to them. If
they are motivated to reach out

to salon owners for shadow days
and interviews while they're

still in school, then they can
have a job lined up before they

even graduate. A lot of work
goes into our apprenticeship

program. So we really like to
focus on one apprentice at a

time, I like to stay ahead of
the game and have my next

candidate lined up so that I can
plan ahead and give them a

projected start date. Again,
some students want to focus on

school and the state boards
before the search begins. And

that is totally fine. I am
however leery of those who have

long gaps between graduation,
the exam and the job search to

me it shows a real lack of
initiative, someone that's

excited about their future won't
wait months to set their career

in motion. So what about
portfolios should stylist have a

portfolio? Well, I like to see a
variety of services and a new

stylist portfolio. During the
building phase of your career,

you're going to be performing a
lot of different services, maybe

not services that you want to
provide a ton of, but you're

still going to be taking
whatever walks in the door as a

new stylist. So I like to see a
variety of your work, our

portfolios even still relevant.

Well, it's been a while since an
applicant has rolled in with one

of those three ring binders of
laminated pictures of their

work. Everything kind of lives
on our devices now. So an online

portfolio is much more common. I
think it's incredibly important

to document and share your work.

I know it's kind of hard in the
beginning to believe that your

work is good enough to post. We
see all these gorgeous photos

that seasoned stylists are
posting and we think our work

can't possibly compare. But they
were at some point exactly where

you are. And they wouldn't be
where they are today. If they

would have let fear or
comparison hold them back. Don't

compare your beginning with
someone else's middle, be you

and do your thing. I promise
you're going to enjoy looking

back at some point at pictures
of your earlier work and

celebrating how much you've
grown. I think all stylists

should have a professional
Instagram before they even take

their skateboards while they're
still in school. I think they

should start a professional
Instagram immediately. Your

friends and family are going to
be so excited for you and they

want to be part of your journey.

Cute videos of your first day of
school or some of your early

mannequin work are great
examples of what some of your

first posts can look like. The
idea is to create a following

and you will need to keep them
engaged with regular content.

All of those perfectly curated
pictures will come later. For

now. Let them into your world
and let them see what your days

look like in beauty school. You
never know who you will inspire

to take the leap into this
industry for themselves. So what

if a stylist doesn't even have a
professional Instagram or social

media account when they're
looking for jobs? Well, I won't

hire a new stylist that doesn't
have an Instagram account. I'm

sorry, but this is just too
important to our industry now

and it's going to take way too
much work on the back end to get

them started if they're starting
with nothing. If you use your

personal account for your
professional posts, that's

totally okay. Just make sure
your handle makes you Easy to

find. If you do use your
personal account for

professional posts, make sure
you're not posting anything that

you wouldn't want a salon owner
or a potential client to see.

The things that you need to be
working on before you take your

state boards is get those shadow
days and interview scheduled. Be

actively working toward finding
your place your tribe, and then

keep practicing any techniques.

You're still struggling with
practice, practice, practice,

and you will keep improving so
that when those clients finally

get to sit in your chair, you
are ready.

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