It’s About: The Labor, Not: The Fruit!
What YOU can do to help the future
For the last two years, I have had the pleasure of sharing over 100 stories of success, the struggles and challenges along the way, and roadmaps for achieving the most desired roles and goals amongst hairdressers! These include opening a salon or suite, building strong boundaries, launching a product or tool line, and so much more! Throughout it all, I dug into something social media doesn’t typically show: the Work, Sacrifice, Struggles, and Steps to Navigate ‘What It Takes’ to achieve these goals. #RealLife vs #BestLife. After all, “A fool learns from their own mistakes, and a wise person learns from others.”
To give you a little backstory, we just celebrated 2 years of running the show, and I spent the first 18 months honing in on the generational gap between Salon Owners and Gen-Z. This topic affects Salon Owners and Rising Stylists across the country. The main arguments have been that many Salon Owners think Rising Stylists do not appreciate the effort it takes to run a business and train to get on the floor AND, they have unrealistic expectations of compensation, flexibility, and transitioning onto the floor. The Rising Stylists have complained that the Salon Owners mislead them or lie about having a training program, OR they feel they are not appreciated for the value they bring and are being held back.
Now, despite your feelings about this, after all my work and all of that digging, I have come up with a thesis on bridging this gap. I believe that Rising Stylists do not know what they do not know! Yes, it is that simple! Think about it: If you never worked in a salon and your only experience of what it means to be a successful stylist is something you consumed through social media…ta-da!
…Okay, if you do not get it, let me explain: Social media is notorious for (1) portraying the fruits of one's labor and (2) giving an outsized voice to confrontation with cultural, social, and business norms.
Just check out this quote from an Educator at Paul Mitchell Tysons Corner, Artyce Dozier:
“I think they’re seeing us now like, oh, I just want to have what you have now instead of seeing that I was an assistant, I didn’t have health insurance, I was saving my tips. I think we need to share that hard part with them because they want what we are experiencing now, and you probably did a shampoo, a color, took somebody’s highlights out, got a bottle of water, all within 10 minutes, and I think they don’t think we did that. They just see us as successful now talking about our story, but we haven’t shared those little details that made us successful.”
We do not see much on social media that shows the “labor” part of the equation: “fruits of my labor.” So, many Rising Stylists just see what the generation had before them and pick the things they do not want to repeat and the things they want to achieve. These decisions are made without concept or knowledge of what it takes to achieve the goals…
I know that I am making a bunch of blanket statements here, and if you disagree, please leave a comment below and let's discuss; I want to hear from you!
For the most part, we, the hair industry, need to do better for our future. Rising Stylists need YOU to go to their schools and post on social media: what it took to get to where you are! Salon Owners: Rising Stylists need YOU to visit their schools to tell them your expectations. This will not only help open Rising Stylists' eyes to the effort, and sacrifice entrepreneurship takes, but it will make for a much better hiring & interviewing process. Speaking of effort, it won't take much to ensure Rising Stylists have the knowledge and tools they need to build Strong and Sustainable careers and an industry that elevates us all.
… It is YOURS and MY responsibility to visit the schools to communicate salon expectations, realities of the work and energy it takes to realize your goals, and to post about the “labor” and not just the “fruit”!
You can also attend our Beauty Business Brunch on April 30th to build a STRONG local hair industry community AND help each other conquer our greatest challenges!
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.
