"Do you remember your first client? The nervous excitement, the pressure to seem confident? I certainly do. I was so nervous, I didn’t want to use my clips to section the hair, thinking it would make me look like a beginner. Crazy, right? But that’s what our minds do, especially at the start of our careers. Today, I want to talk about how those early experiences can fuel a passion for mentoring. By sharing our journey and guiding new talent, we can help them feel more comfortable behind the chair, build their skills, and grow in confidence. Let’s dive into the world of ‘mentoring’ and explore how you can be that supportive ally for someone in your salon."
"Do you remember your first client? The nervous excitement, the pressure to seem confident? I certainly do. I was so nervous, I didn’t want to use my clips to section the hair, thinking it would make me look like a beginner. Crazy, right? But that’s what our minds do, especially at the start of our careers. Today, I want to talk about how those early experiences can fuel a passion for mentoring. By sharing our journey and guiding new talent, we can help them feel more comfortable behind the chair, build their skills, and grow in confidence. Let’s dive into the world of ‘mentoring’ and explore how you can be that supportive ally for someone in your salon."
Do you remember your first client? The nervous excitement, the pressure to seem confident? I certainly do. I was so nervous I didn't want to use my clips to section the hair, thinking it would make me look like a beginner. Crazy right, but that's what our minds do, especially at the start of our careers. Today, I want to talk about how those early experiences can fuel a passion for mentoring. By sharing our journey and guiding new talent, we can help them feel more comfortable behind the chair and grow in confidence. Let's dive into the world of mentoring and explore how you can be that supportive ally for someone in your salon.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to All About Hair, the go-to podcast for stylists, salon owners and anyone passionate about hairstyling. Whether you're a seasoned stylist refining your skills or a curious listener looking to enhance your hair knowledge, we've got you covered. I'm your host, denise Kylitz, a former stylist and salon owner with four award-winning salons under my belt, with over 30 years of experience. I've dedicated myself to helping stylists excel in foundational haircutting, color theory, client communication and more, enabling them to build six-figure careers they can be proud of. My mission is to uplift our industry by sharing valuable insights gathered along my journey. Get ready for enlightening discussions, captivating interviews and practical advice on marketing, sales and technical skills.
Speaker 1:
This is the podcast all about hair. Let me ask you do you remember your first client that sat in your chair? Do you remember your first haircut Boy? I do. I was so nervous I didn't really know what I was doing, but I definitely wanted my guests to feel like I was capable. I remember that I didn't really want to use my clips to section the hair because I don't know she might think I was a beginner. I guess it was because I had just gotten back from the Long Beach hair show and the people on stage weren't using clips to section their hair. So I thought I would look dumb or inexperienced if I used clips. I know, stupid, stupid, but that's what our monkey brain does to us, right? Especially in the beginning. Heck, sometimes, even after you know what you're doing, that little voice makes you think you're incapable of new things. Anyway, you want to know the truth. I think I threw up a little in my mouth and swallowed it that day, really. But you know what? Each time a new guest sat down, I grew a little bit more confident in my skills. It took a while and it was hard and I wanted to quit many times, but I'm so glad I didn't.
Speaker 1:
That leads me to this conversation today about mentoring helping someone who's just starting out in their career, helping them feel a little bit more comfortable behind the chair. Maybe it's skillset they need. They haven't learned what they need in order to provide the service. Remember, beauty school is only responsible for getting them to pass their state boards and many States aren't even requiring the practical portion anymore. Crazy, I know. Or maybe it's time efficiency. Maybe this newbie is taking too much time parting the hair or foiling or whatever. Maybe you can show them a faster way. Remember, time is money. Who knows? Maybe it's people skills they need. You know, shaking someone's hand, looking at them in the eye, giving a good consultation.
Speaker 1:
Look, we've all been cooped up because of COVID-19. And I know it's been a while, but a lot of our younger colleagues have been ducking in their houses and they only communicate over their devices. Our business, our beauty business, is all about people in person. Business is all about people in person and we've got to actually teach our young stylists how to communicate properly and confidently, yeah, and even how to shake someone's hand. So maybe you could be that person for someone in your salon. Maybe you could be their mentor. Take them under your wing.
Speaker 1:
The best mentors. They offer their support in a way that resonates with the learner. The true value of mentoring lies in sharing your experiences. You've been there, you know how it feels and you made it through, so go for it. That's mentoring in a nutshell. I like to call it buddy mentoring, meaning it's more really about being an ally than a teacher. A buddy is like the person who sat in the passenger seat when you learned to drive. It was all up to you, but somebody was right there beside you for support. We're going to talk about some core concepts to share with new professionals who maybe just started at your salon they just graduated Somebody who's lacking a little bit of confidence in whatever area that might be.
Speaker 1:
First, as a mentor, the very first thing that you need to consider is you need to consider checking your ego at the door. Yeah, this isn't about you. It is not about how great you are or showcasing your expertise, or showing off in front of somebody and showing how fancy you are about cutting hair and you know holding the hair this way or that. It's not about you. Mentorship must be humble and it has to focus on the learner, not on you. Share your mistakes that you've made in the past. Kind of go at it like this when I first did my very first bleach, I couldn't get the yellow out, so here's what I did. Or when I cut my very first bob, or my fifth bob or my 10th bob, I kept having those little hairs peek out from under the neck, and here's what I did to fix that. Show them that you made mistakes too and that this is what you learned to correct it. What you're doing is you're showing that everybody has a challenge. Nobody's perfect and everybody had to learn, so let's just make their path a little bit easier.
Speaker 1:
Number two take genuine interest in the person that you're mentoring. Show interest in them as a person. If they mentioned they had a great weekend, ask for details Like who did they spend it with, what did they do. Be a friend, not just a mentor. Get to know them. That way, you will actually learn more about them as well. Number three lead by example. Don't lecture them. Don't tell them what to do. You know. What you need to do is just demonstrate every day in the salon, because you're going to demonstrate your excellence through what you do your actions, your everyday actions. And what are those actions? Well, it has something to do with providing great customer service. Managing your time well, keeping your hair station clean and tidy, being polite to people, admitting when you don't know something. All those things, believe it or not, will be more of a learning opportunity for them than anything else, because they're sitting back and they're watching you on a daily basis. What are you doing? Why are you so successful? And then what they can do is copy.
Speaker 1:
You know what I got to share this story? Um, we used to have assistants in our salon and when I was still behind the chair, I loved, loved training assistants. I loved it because you, you take somebody right out of beauty school and you just watch them blossom and it's pretty quick. Well, it depends on the person, but in our case it was pretty quick. I remember teaching and, um, I used to have my assistant shampoo. Um, learn about the, the products, sometimes blow dry, sometimes put on color after they got some experience. So it just depend on the person. But I'll never forget when I was my, my assistant started taking guests and we allowed that like one day a week, as long as they knew what they were doing, if it was something that they were capable of performing. Um, so my assistant was behind her chair and I was doing a guest and I remember listening to her because I'm listening to how she's consulting and talking with her guests in case there was any kind of coaching to be had at the end of the day. And, lo and behold, what was coming out of her mouth were the same exact words that I say to my guests. It was so. It was just like my words were coming out of her mouth and like a month before that she didn't even know what those words were. So it's amazing to see the growth and the progress and watching them just blossom right in front of your eyes and then watching them succeed. And this stylist actually went on to be over a six figure stylist and she went on to have her own business too and she's very successful. Rock on, it's so cool, love it.
Speaker 1:
Another pointer that you can give and that you should take away too is focus on the work you want to know. The best kept customer service secret is focus. Yeah, you know yourself, stylists like to talk. It can be chatty and we can get easily distracted. Sorry, you know, we have a joke, you know, kind of like that what was that movie Up? I think it was Up with the guy with the balloons, anyway and the dog in the Disney movie kept saying squirrel and be distracted. We used to say that all the time in the salon squirrel, you know cause. I think we all suffered from that. But yeah, if you teach them to concentrate on the work on the head, on the person that they are servicing at the time and not to anything else that goes so far, first of all it'll help with their timing. Second, clients appreciate and respect that you're focusing on them. They're paying you for your time and if you're spending your time or're the stylist is spending their time chatting with everybody else in the salon and not focusing on what they're they're doing. That says a lot If you put your focus on your guests or excuse yourself very respectfully and say, hey, I need to help another stylist real quick, but they will follow your lead real quick, but they will follow your lead.
Speaker 1:
And the fifth one for being a mentor is don't look for any rewards for doing this. It won't be immediate and, again, it's not about you. That true reward comes at the end of the day, when you realize that you're learning something too. Yeah, by teaching somebody, you're learning, and it feels really good, don't you think so? If you've ever been a mentor, you know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:
Let's discuss a little bit of how building a mentorship program in your salon can benefit not only your salon, not only this you as a stylist, or you as a salon owner, but also our industry as a whole. First off, just passing on knowledge and skills, there's a lot, I mean come on, I've been in the industry over 30 years. There's a lot that I can, a lot of stories and a lot of knowledge that I could pass down. Why should I keep that to myself? Now, there's a lot of stuff to learn too, because it's changing every day. So mentoring just allows you to share your insights, your advanced techniques that you've learned, your best practices that you've gained over the years, and it just ensures that the next generation of stylists is well-prepared and they're skilled.
Speaker 1:
We don't want them to not learn how to do finger waves. We don't want them to not learn how to do finger waves. We don't want them to not learn how to do a roller set just because it's not popular in the salons these days. You do gain by learning the old, old fashioned knowledge that we used to have to do, because it's about controlling the hair, it's about manipulating the hair. You never know, maybe you're on a photo shoot and you need to do like a 19. I don't even know when they had finger waves like 1940s, 1920s, I don't know, but maybe it's that kind of photo shoot. It'd be nice to know how to do a finger wave.
Speaker 1:
I'm off on a tangent, sorry, I'm just saying passion, knowledge down right. And also it builds a stronger industry. Like I was saying, when you mentor new talent, you establish I don't know professional qualities and the reputation of the beauty industry. If you don't teach them about the beauty industry, the only thing they're going to know is what they experience. I mean, think about it this way well-trained and confident stylists enhance the industry's image. Then it attracts more clients, maintains high standards of service and benefits everybody. Right, don't you think? Two points about that building a stronger industry.
Speaker 1:
I was having a conversation the other day I don't even know how it came up. We were talking about how the stigma of a hairstylist is that most hairstylists are just people who went to beauty school because they didn't know what else to do. They were either a high school dropout or they didn't want to go to college, or their parents said, hey, you need to go study something, or they just didn't have a direction. They didn't want to go to the military. People think that that's all that hairstylists are. Well, they're not.
Speaker 1:
There are a few people like that out there, unfortunately, and it used to be that the average hairstylist only earned like $24,000 a year and I really tell you the truth, I think that hasn't gone up very much and even recently it's still very, very low, and it's because we have set the bar so low and people don't care and they don't know what they don't know. They don't have a mentor. They get out of school, they kind of waffle around because they don't have any customer experience knowledge, they don't have retail knowledge, they don't have business sense. They just went to beauty school and then they get out and they look for a job. Not everybody has the mindset to become more and more successful, right? I remember my accountant couldn't believe he's like I have never seen a hair salon with these types of numbers. Before he goes, I didn't think hairstylists can earn this much, because he sold all our books. I was like well, I'm not lying, we just treat it like a business.
Speaker 1:
Our goal was to have every single stylist a six figure stylist and we had many, many of them six figure stylists. So, and I love to share the story of how a lot of our team members went out into our industry and became better than they were when they were in our salon and I kind of hope is because they got a good solid foundation under them and they were when they were in our salon. And I kind of hope it's because they got a good solid foundation under them and they were provided mentorship and they got. You know, it was their springboard to success. And a lot of them are still out there doing the thing. But there's a lot of service providers that just kind of flounder because they don't have the confidence, and that's kind of sad. Most people who get out of beauty school are just experimenting on every single head that sits down in their chair. Now, that is sad, but that's no fault of their own. It is because they don't have a mentor and they don't have anybody showing them the way. So let's just make it easier and better for everybody involved, not just stylists, but the clients too, right. I can go on and on about that.
Speaker 1:
Also. Mentor is such a rewarding experience and it actually fosters personal growth for you, provides a sense of fulfillment and purpose, knowing that you're helping others succeed it. Really, at the end of the day, it is so, so cool to see the person that is trying to learn do the thing and guess what. It also enhances your skills because they always say the teacher learns more than the student because it really does reinforce what you know and it deepens your understanding of your knowledge. And then also, you know you have to up your game and you have to be on it. You can't slack because they're watching you and you know they're watching you. So it actually is a win-win.
Speaker 1:
Mentorship also helps build a strong network within the industry. By forming relationships with these new stylists, you can expand your network, have the opportunity to go to beauty schools and teach. You can collaborate with other salon leaders in your community. You can create courses within your salon. So invite other salons to learn and grow. You know, instead of being competition, let's collaborate, let's build a better industry.
Speaker 1:
And then also, having a mentorship in your salon, it keeps everybody staying current and innovative right, because new talent exposes us to fresh perspectives and new trends and innovative ideas that we haven't experienced before, because we can get stuck in a rut because it's worked before, so why wouldn't a work continue to work while these new styles come into our salon and teach us new techniques? New products are coming out. They have time to watch TikTok and Instagram stories and all this stuff and they're seeing all these things online. They could bring it into you and teach you something. And this exchange of ideas, it just keeps seasoned professionals updated and inspired and it helps prevent us from being stagnant and it also encourages ongoing learning opportunities in the beauty industry.
Speaker 1:
It's fun, in conclusion, when you step up and you mentor the upcoming talent in our beauty industry. It is so deeply rewarding and it's mutually beneficial for everybody. By offering support that resonates with learners, sharing personal experiences, share what you have learned in the past, and then when you lead by example and be that person in the salon, mentors can profoundly impact the careers and lives of new professionals. Think about that for a second. You can make such a difference in someone's life, but you have to stay. But you have to stay humble and you have to know that it's not about you, it's about them, focus on the work and create an environment that fosters and fertilizes, if you will, a collaborative environment, meaning everybody gets to share ideas, everybody gets to grow and thrive in the same four walls. Ultimately, the true reward of mentorship lies in the journey itself. It's when both parties learn and evolve together and it really does strengthen our industry as a whole.
Speaker 1:
Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of All About Hair. Here's what I'd love for you to do next Take a screenshot of this episode and share it on your Instagram stories. Be sure to tag me at Denise Keilitz so I can see that you're listening. Sharing on your stories helps more people discover this podcast, allowing them to learn how to build their salon business more easily and faster. If you're really enjoying the show, please head over to Apple Podcasts and leave All About Hair a review. Your support helps boost the podcast and it makes it easier for others to find. All right, let's wrap this up. I'm Denise Kylitz and until next week, remember when you know better, you do better.