Taking Risks 101

Ready to step out of your comfort zone and pave the path to success? Embrace the thrill of risk-taking with me,  as I share my personal journey from being a regular stylist to becoming a six-figure stylist. Listen as I reveal how every risk I took propelled me further, opening doors to unimagined opportunities and personal growth. Discover the power of calculated risk-taking and how it can unlock your potential, enhance your career, and lead to personal fulfillment.

Let's face it, we all fear the unknown. But what if I told you that overcoming fear can be your game-changer? On this episode, I bare my soul about how conquering my fears and diving headfirst into risks not only skyrocketed my career but also enriched my personal life. Learn how stepping into the uncertainty can bolster your confidence, spark innovation, and create a whirlwind of success. Whether you're a budding hairstylist or on the brink of making a life-altering decision, this episode could be your catalyst for change. Get ready to transform your fear into fuel and turn those risks into rewards. Tune in and be inspired to take a leap of faith!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the smart, wealthy stylist podcast. I'm your host, emily Cardin, over here. We're dedicated to helping hairstylists manage their finances, stay organized, healthy and manage their time and mental well-being. We focus on staying healthy in all areas of life and maximizing productivity. If you're a hairstylist looking for these things, then this is the podcast for you. Together, we'll avoid burnout and step into being the smartest, wealthiest stylist that we can be. Welcome back to the smart, wealthy stylist podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:35

Today we're going to talk about risk taking. This is a pretty scary topic for most people, including myself, and you know, with risk taking, it can affect so many areas of your life. It can affect you financially, personally, physically, in your business, as a hairstylist and just as a person in general. Life is full of risks and you know there's social risks, like being invited to go to coffee or you inviting someone to go to coffee. Or there's physical risks, like driving without a seatbelt or drinking and driving, or, you know, getting hit by a car. And, of course, there are financial risks, like investing money in the stock market or investing in your salon or, you know, trying a new hairline or taking that extension course. And some people really enjoy risk. They get excited by it. It's, you know, a new opportunity. They see all the potential that comes with risks.

Speaker 1: 1:42

But most people that I have ever talked to avoid risk. They think it's scary. Some people avoid it so much that they become depressed because they think that, you know, they've just never done anything with their lives. There's other people that are super impulsive and so much that they dive right in and they don't even examine the risks because it causes them anxiety. So they would rather just dive right in and not even check it out before they make a decision. And then there's those that convince themselves that nothing will go wrong. You know, they mask their risk taking with positivity and just believe that you know it is what it is, it's going to be great and everything's going to be fine, and they don't base their decisions off of, you know, examining what could potentially go wrong. They just go for it, no matter where you're at. Most of us make your decisions, including myself, based off of fear, not off of a calculated answer or a calculated decision.

Speaker 1: 2:53

Risk taking can be intimidating, but it can also lead to such great rewards and personal growth, and I want to touch on five different things that has helped me take risks and given me reasons to take risks. And because I've taken risks, I have, you know, become a six figure stylist. I'm doing what I love. I don't work nights and weekends. I'm making great money as a hairstylist. My business is actually working for me and not against me. I don't feel burned out, I feel excited and encouraged to go to work and I'm truly doing what I love.

Speaker 1: 3:37

So, but for years, I trapped myself in this fear bubble and in this no risk taking thing, you know, because I'm like, well, I don't have enough money to take education. I don't, you know, really want to do any of that stuff. I don't know, you know, and it wasn't until someone pushed me out of my comfort zone and said hey, listen, I don't want to go to anyone else. It was my friend Casey, actually. She was like I don't want to go to anyone else, I need you to take this extension class, because I want extensions and I'm not going anywhere else. And I'm like, okay, well, I've always enjoyed doing extensions. I've always, you know, done clip ins for all my friends and custom colored them and fitted them, and I have always really enjoyed that. So why not do some permanent extension methods, right? So, because she pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was like, okay, I'm going to take this risk. And you know it was like maybe $1,800 investment. And so I looked at that and said, okay, well, that won't take me too long to pay off. Hopefully this will. You know, the extensions will pay it off quicker than I thought. And man, am I so glad that I did. And then I also took a risk and invested in Brett Seva's coaching. You know the smart, the scaling stylist method, and that also has changed my life and really dialed in everything that I needed for my business to work for me. But you know it's a lot of money, it's, you know, a stretch, and you think, is this really going to help me? It's a lot of work, but by taking those risks, I have elevated myself personally, I've elevated my business. I truly enjoy what I do on all levels. So let's get into the first one Opportunities for success.

Speaker 1: 5:29

By taking risks, you open up opportunities for success that may not have been available before. By stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new, you may discover a talent or passion that leads you to advance your career or personal fulfillment. So this could be anything within your business. This could be something on a personal level. You know, maybe you've really been wanting to go, step out of your comfort zone and go to that local Pilates class. But you know you don't know anyone there, spots are limited. You know that. You know it's going to be different from anything you've done before. You've never done group style fitness. So what if you go and level up your fitness, you get in the best shape of your life. You make new friends, you know.

Speaker 1: 6:14

But a lot of times I think we think about, if I do go to that class, what if I don't like anyone there? And I kind of hate Pilates? And you know I feel embarrassed, I don't know what I'm doing. You know, you let fear take over instead of thinking positively about it. And whenever you get to the point where you're like you know what, I'm just going to do this, I'm going to try it. Step out of your comfort zone, take that risk and you'll see that nine times out of 10, the good thing happens.

Speaker 1: 6:45

Fear is irrelevant, it's irrational, it's not real. It's being afraid of things that haven't even happened. Fear is a facade and when we operate out of fear we miss so many opportunities. You know, had I been afraid of going to that extension class and not done that, or had I been afraid of investing in my business and not taken any you know classes on business side of things, I would still be in debt up to my eyeballs. I would probably still be working nights and weekends, way undercharging for my services, and I'd be broke and my body would hurt because I was working too many hours. I did not have all that free time that I've been spending with my kids this summer, and so in retrospect, you know, looking back at that, it is like I'm just so thankful that I took the risk and didn't miss an opportunity. So if you have an opportunity that is around or something you've been thinking about, I want to encourage you to try, because it Probably will work out in your favor. At the end of the podcast, I'll kind of give you guys some guidance on how to weigh whether to take the risk or not.

Speaker 1: 8:01

So the second one is increased confidence. When you take a risk and succeed, it can boost your confidence and self-esteem. You'll feel more empowered to take on new challenges and tackle, tackle bigger goals, Whatever it is, whether it's personally, financially, business-wise. When you can say I did that, just like I have. You know I did that extension class. I am a successful extension artist. I am getting new client requests every single week. You know there's so many great positive things. And when you establish yourself in the beauty industry as a professional in a certain area and niche down or, you know, maybe you go and take that color class and you become the blinding expert in your town that gives a great deal of confidence, knowing that you are doing what you want to do. You have set boundaries and parameters in your business. You are succeeding, you are loving what you're doing every single day. That is amazing, that is gratifying, that makes you feel important and special and, like you have, you succeeded at exactly what you were trying to succeed at. So if you don't take the risk, you'll never get the reward.

Speaker 1: 9:15

The third one is innovation. So when you take risks, a lot of times you can find things that you never thought were possible, or new techniques that haven't been thought up yet, or you can create a new product that people are needing. And Whenever you innovate, it is super powerful. It leads to creativity and by trying something new, you may discover a new way of doing things or coming up with an innovative solution to a problem. I know that you know, with my risk-taking, when I dove off into this smart, wealthy stylist venture, I had this special little thing, this little nugget of Wisdom when it came to your business, getting out of debt and getting organized in your finances. There are a million hairstylist coach out there and most of them are teaching you know techniques, color techniques or other ways of doing things, or extensions or you know whatever it is, but there's not very many of them that are specifically niche down to getting to know your numbers, untangling your finances and how to budget within your business.

Speaker 1: 10:30

So by taking that risk, you know, I created a course, I've created a community, I've created a podcast like all these things. I've created kind of a new way to do things and I it's been so rewarding to people message me and they say you know I was about to give up, I was getting ready to throw in the towel. I'm so glad that you recorded this podcast. This is just what I needed to hear today. I'm so encouraged. You know, that's the reason I keep doing what I'm doing, because I wanted to create value and community and give something back to the community that could help many people, not just myself. You know, I had information that helped me so much that I want to help others, and so just think, by taking that risk, what could you create for others? You know, is there a topic that you have that you could help other people with on a podcast? Or is there an online product you could create to help others? Is there a technique or a way of coloring hair that you do that no one else does? Or, you know, there's just so many different opportunities, and so, by taking risks and creating innovation, you can create something amazing for someone else, including yourself. But whenever you share that with the world, that's when you really gain a lot of positive feelings about taking risks and gaining that confidence when you create something for someone else.

Speaker 1: 11:55

Number four is overcoming fear. Fear, like I said, fear is a facade, but it overruns so many of us in so many areas of our life, and I have been a victim of that of fear, you know, and not moving and staying stagnant in so many areas of my life, simply because I was fearful. I didn't know what would happen. I, you know, just was afraid of doing something because I thought I would. You know, like when it came time to raise my prices, I just thought, oh my gosh, everyone's going to leave me, I'm going to have to start all over again. This is just so terrible. And that's not at all what happened. I maybe lost 50 people out of almost 300 clients, and all it did was free up my time and free up my schedule so that I could fit in more people to do what I love. And then not only that, but make more while doing less people. And so all it did was make my quality of life so much better. And so you know, when we operate out of fear, it can just totally wreck you.

Speaker 1: 13:02

Taking risks can help you overcome your fears and anxieties. Each time you become successful and navigate a risk, you'll feel more in control, unless afraid of the unknown, and that is a powerful thing, because you go okay, you know, I took this risk, I'm going to do it anyways, I'm doing it, I did it, I succeeded, and you overcome all those fears. And then, all of a sudden, whenever you take that first step and overcome that first risk and nail it successfully, that's when you go oh my gosh, I have been stuck here for so long simply because I was afraid of something that didn't happen, but what a powerful thing to truly overcome fear and know that you are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to. So many of us box ourselves in these little, teeny, tiny boxes. We never even open the lid to see what our potential could be, and, simply because we're fearful, we fear that you know we're not enough, or maybe your self confidence hasn't been the best, or maybe you have failed before and you don't want to try again because that fear of failure, fear comes from the devil, and he wants to steal, kill and destroy, and that includes your joy, your future plans, your happiness. You know, unlocking your true potential. The last thing, though, the devil wants is for you to unlock your true potential and fully walk in happiness and comfort, and, you know, knowing that you are enough and that you're amazing and that you're an overcomer and a conqueror. And you know that you're a creator and you're innovative and you're living successfully and enjoying a life that was created for you to enjoy. So I want you to try to overcome those fears today, and whatever it is that you've really been thinking about doing, but fear has been stopping you power right on through that. I want you to just pretend that fear is not a thing, that you are the bravest person on the face of the planet. And once you overcome that fear, I want you to message me and let me know what you did, because that's some powerful stuff. I need some encouragement, so I want to hear what you guys are overcoming.

Speaker 1: 15:23

And the last one is personal growth. Taking risks can be a powerful tool for personal growth and development. By challenging yourself, you'll learn new skills and gain valuable experiences that can help you grow as a person. And you know, like I said, overcoming those fears, innovating something new all of those things come when you start taking risks and you know your self confidence grows because you see yourself succeeding, because you decided to take the risk and really dive in and become your fullest self. That is some exciting stuff and that is some encouraging stuff and that is the stuff that you can share with your family members and encourage other people to. You know, take risks themselves. But even if you're not into sharing and you just need it for yourself, do it. But you will never regret trying to grow, even if you fail. It's just a learning experience. It's one more way to pivot and then adjust and figure out a different way to do the thing you were trying to do and then succeed. So what if you fail? So what, you can try again and succeed the next time. So to finish this all off, I also want to say taking risks doesn't mean being reckless or irresponsible. It's about weighing the potential rewards against the consequences and making a calculated decision with careful planning and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone.

Speaker 1: 17:01

Taking risks can pay off in huge, huge ways, but just know that you need to balance your emotion and logic, and this is how I do this. So the first thing that I do is I label my feelings. So when I'm thinking about this risk that I want to take, I look inward and say, okay, am I feeling anxious, excited, happy, sad? Not only naming your feelings will take a bit of like staying out of your emotions, but it can also help you recognize how your emotions are likely to cloud your judgment, because a lot of times, I feel like you know, if you're getting ready to take a class, and you think, okay, this is, like you know, $4,000 investment over here to take this class. I'm anxious about spending the money, but I'm excited about the opportunities that could happen. And so, by writing down. You know I'm anxious about spending money but I'm excited about the opportunity. And then you're going to create a list of pros and cons. So, keeping this in mind, what you know, what your goal is or what you're trying to do here, this risk you're about to take write down all the potential pros and cons of taking the risk. Then write down all the pros and cons of not taking the risk. Seeing that list on paper raises your logic and ensures that you're thinking about the potential benefits as well as the reality of the risk that you face. So, okay, you've already said you're anxious about spending this money, but you're excited about the opportunity.

Speaker 1: 18:40

So for the pros of taking the risk, it could be you become the extension say it's an extension class. You could be the extension specialist in your city. You could over triple your income. You could take off nights and weekends. You could do it, edit it, edit it right. Okay, then the cons would be maybe you don't get any extension clients, the money was spent and you have your certification, but you're not doing them very much. You know whatever those cons would be. And then write down don't take the class. So the pros would be you don't spend the $4,000. I don't know what other pros that there would be besides not spending the money. And then the cons would be you don't have the opportunity to raise your income. You don't get to do extensions even though you've really wanted to. You know, you see what I'm saying.

Speaker 1: 19:32

So write down your pros and cons of taking the risk and your pros and cons of not taking the risk.

Speaker 1: 19:38

Once you get that all out on paper, you can look and see okay, which ways more should I take it? Should I take this risk or should I not take this risk? If I do take this risk, these are the positives and these are the negatives. If I don't take this risk, these are the positives and these are the negatives. When you get it all out on paper and out of your head, it really helps dial in exactly what you're wanting to do with this risk and if it's worth it or not. And you get your anxieties out of the way and you see on paper what the true reasoning yes or no is going to be.

Speaker 1: 20:14

Learning how to balance your emotions with logic takes practice. It will sometimes require you to face fears head-on, and other times you might need to say no to an attractive opportunity, even if, in the moment, you really want to say yes. Of course, each mistake that you make is an opportunity to learn and get better at taking risks. With practice, you can learn to take the best risks and to tolerate. You know the discomfort when you experience when things don't work out the way you hoped. Yes, you will still fail sometimes, but that's okay. Failure is simply a gateway to a new opportunity. One door shut, another door opens. So don't let fear paralyze you into not taking risks when you could truly be unlocking your full potential.

Speaker 1: 21:04

I feel like in today's day and age, you know, there's so many people who have just decided I'm going to do it, I'm taking the risk, I'm all in and I love seeing that. Now, I don't know if that's the majority of people or if it's just the people that I'm following on social media, and I'm always looking for positive, inspiring people to follow. So, you know, maybe Instagram's algorithms like oh yeah, this girl needs all these risk takers. But I just want you to be encouraged today to take that risk and, of course, calculate it. Make sure you're not being, you know, irresponsible, of course, but figure it out, see if the risk that you're wanting to take is worth it, and if it is, I want you to go all in, because every time I've taken a risk, there has been a few failures.

Speaker 1: 21:55

I'm not going to lie, but what did occur was I figured out a new way to do it and then it was a success and I've been able to open up and unlock free time, more money, uh, more enjoyment behind the chair. I'm able to talk with you guys every week on this podcast, and doing this podcast was a risk, even, and I wanted to make sure that I did what God's called me to do, but also, um, do it in a way that is rewarding to myself and to others. I wanted to make sure that I was adding value, um, but I had never done a podcast. I was not tech savvy, I didn't know anything about any of that stuff and I just bought the equipment. I dove in, I did it and I'm still doing it. I'm learning all along the way and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Speaker 1: 22:47

So, um, anyways, if you guys take a risk, let me know. I would love to hear about it, send me an email or shoot me a DM on Instagram. Uh, I hope you guys have a great day and I'll talk to you next week. Let's get to taking some risks. Thank you for listening in today. If you have a burning question or a topic you want me to cover, leave a review and ask the question in the review. This is the best way to get your questions answered. Just remember you are a smart, wealthy stylist and you are capable of anything you set your mind to. I'll catch you later. Don't be a stranger.