All Stylists Are Entrepreneurs!
Why Relationships Matter
You can have vision, drive, ambition, and capital, but if you don’t know how to build and incubate relationships, you will never accomplish your goals. Communication, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, empathy, respect, giving & taking support, and staying positive are the 7 Relationship Building Blocks! Adopting and practicing them will ensure you are able to create and build relationships; however, incubating them means that you have to create conditions in which they can grow. So, not only do you have to adopt the 7 Relationship Building Blocks, but you have to grow them actively. Let’s dive in.
The 7 Relationship Building Blocks may seem obvious, but if you look up each one of them and then go out in the world and practice them, you may find that: This Is Work! Building relationships may come naturally for some, but most of us have to put in the work.
What is this work, and who are you talking about because I already have clients, Robert!?
I am glad you asked and made that point! Relationships with clients are one thing, but this will not ensure success. I have talked about and interviewed on the topic of mental health. It is important you practice these Building Blocks throughout your life and seek relationships because you can have a full book and still feel lonely and isolated. Very few, if any of us, can find true happiness in isolation. Many people lie to themselves or have no idea about the happiness they would find in relationships. You can also find your clientele hard to maintain and see it slowly erode away from you because you do not constantly practice these 7 Relationship Building Blocks. So, look them up and PRACTICE with everyone, always. Caveat: sometimes we need a mental health day or days.
Self-awareness may be the most important Building Block next to empathy. Self-awareness requires one to constantly take personal inventory, even of the ugly and dark, and work to beautify and bring light into your life. If you are not aware of your facial expressions, tone, or body language when someone is talking to you, they may think you are rude or disrespectful. If you are not aware of the impact, you have on others around you, good luck getting people to hang out with you or clients to come back to you. Similarly, but different, empathy requires you to consider others. I would expand the definition of empathy to mean that you consider other people's struggles, wants, needs, desires, and lives, and you are willing to listen and be accepting. This means that every time someone is late for an appointment or get-together, you assume something happened out of their control, and you do not make it about you by thinking they are disrespecting you (unless they are like this all the time, and that is a different conversation). This also means that if someone is of a different background, religion, ethnicity, gender, or another identity, you take time to understand them and appreciate their story.
Incubation is when those relationships you have been building keep coming back, and you keep up practicing your 7 Building Blocks. This is the hardest part, actually. I am not trying to take away how incredibly challenging it is to practice these Building Blocks every day. Like I said in sentence #17, “This is Work!” Well, incubation is an ongoing practice, as well as creating an environment for the relationship to grow. What does that look like? Well, that looks like you setting up your workspace to be considerate of your clientele. That means having water ready with a straw and two napkins for Sam, because you know that's what they are going to ask for. You know this because Sam asks for it every time they are in your salon or suite! Incubation looks like you stopping what you are doing (as much as and when you can) to welcome a customer with a smile and confidence. Incubation looks like you calling Alexis to make plans because you know they have social anxiety, and they are not intentionally ignoring you or not reaching out to you to make plans. Are you getting it yet?
Okay, Okay, I get it, but be specific in terms of business.
Relationships with landlords and or salon owners. Relationships with colleagues, partners, vendors, clients, and employees. All of these require building and incubation. If you solely focus on today, tomorrow, next month, or even the next 9 months and not on the next 1-5 years, you may find yourself struggling to achieve your greatest goals. A landlord you have a good relationship with may give you a break on rent when you have hard times or reduce the increase of rent to keep you since you use a plunger or change your own light bulbs instead of calling them for things that are easy for you to do. An employer could become your mentor and advise you on starting your own business, and an employee could help you scale or pivot your business to heights and in ways, you would have never achieved on your own! Clients who come back to you for 5+ years and pay for every price increase with no complaints will provide you with security no employer or benefits package will ever give you, EVER! Vendors will hook you up and give you exclusive access or first release of products and services, and colleagues and partners will help you reach goals you will absolutely never achieve otherwise.
Practice the 7 Relationship Building Blocks, incubate the relationships you build with them, and reach heights you can only dream of. If you think that you can do all of this online, you are delusional. You must get out into the world and have relationships that span time and space. I am not saying you cannot have relationships online; I am just saying that the relationships you can bring together in person AND incubate in spite of geography are going to be so much more special!
We, at HairdresserStrong.com, believe all of this, and WE ARE PROVING IT! What better way to build relationships than to get together in person, share knowledge, and tackle the challenges we share? Well, find out by clicking the link below, learning more about it, and buying tickets to our Business Beauty Brunch on April 30th, 2023 from 12pm - 4pm in Washington, DC! We hope to build and incubate a relationship with you!
Click this Link to learn more & purchase tickets today!
Robert, a 20-year veteran, has worked passionately, for the bulk of his career to empower stylists, democratize the industry, and shift the power dynamic to be more equitable for the hairdresser.
