Julee George of Rocket Science Salon: Nurturing Client Relationships and Building Your Salon Suite Business

Discover the remarkable journey of Julee George, a seasoned hairstylist with 36 years of experience, as she shares insights from beauty school to salon ownership and the transition to becoming an independent stylist. Dive into her captivating story, filled with lessons learned, challenges overcome, and triumphs celebrated in the dynamic world of hairdressing.

Explore the nuances of building a thriving business with Julee's expert guidance, from the importance of mentorship to the power of pre-booking appointments. Gain valuable tips on raising prices, soliciting referrals, and leveraging platforms like Yelp and Google to expand your salon suite's reach.

Delve into the emotional bond formed between hairstylists and their clients, as Julee reflects on the profound connections forged in the salon chair. From commemorating life's milestones to providing comfort during challenging times, discover the role of a hairstylist as a confidante, friend, and source of support for their clients.

Join host Matthew and Julee as they navigate the intersection of artistry, entrepreneurship, and human connection in the hairdressing industry. Whether you're a seasoned hairstylist, salon owner, or simply someone who appreciates the transformative power of a salon visit, this episode offers invaluable insights and heartfelt stories that resonate on personal and professional levels.

Transcript

Matthew Landis: 0:00

Welcome to the VIP suite. The podcast exclusively designed for independent beauty, health and wellness professionals. Brought to you by image studios the luxury leader in the Salon Suite industry. I'm your host industry expert and certified business coach Matthew Landis. Each episode will bring you insightful interviews with solo entrepreneurs who forge their own path to greatness. From sharing inspiring stories of triumph to practical tips and strategies for growing your client base and building your brand. This is the place to thrive and take your business to the next level. Joining me today is Julie George of Rocket Science Salon in Laguna Hills, California at our image studios there on the West Coast. Good morning, Julie.

Julee George: 0:44

Good morning, Matthew, I'm honored to be here with you this morning.

Matthew Landis: 0:47

I'm so excited that we met a few months ago. And we've just kind of clicked I felt the same way.

Julee George: 0:51

Actually, here's the funny thing I knew when I was watching your videos that someday we would be somehow working together.

Matthew Landis: 0:57

That's amazing. Yeah. And I felt it as soon as I met you, thank you. And you've been in the industry for a while.

Julee George: 1:03

I've had my license for 36 years. And I went to beauty school while I was in high school.

Matthew Landis: 1:08

Well that it seems so lucky to me to have started out so early because I didn't start till I was 25.

Julee George: 1:14

I think you can look at that two ways. I went to beauty school while I was in high school, not because I actually wanted to do here, I just wanted to leave high school at lunchtime. So it was really my stomach that brought me into this industry. And I thought that doing hair would be something that would get me through college, and then I would get a real job. And here I am 36 years later, that is so funny, because one of the reasons I went into hair is because I thought if I ever wanted to go back to college, I could make enough money and have the flexibility to do so. You know, what I was gonna say is I think you getting into the industry. I won't say a little bit later, because 25 certainly isn't late. But I think when people do it later, sometimes people feel like they're behind. But I don't I don't feel that way at all. Because I think at 25, you're much more mature. I feel like I repeated the same my first year in this industry eight times. So what I mean by that is that for eight years, I was doing the same exact thing. And I wasn't progressing because I was an eight, I was 18. And I was licensed and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to build a clientele. And I didn't have anybody guiding me. So I think that when you're older, you're more open to mentors, and you're more open to learning how to build your business?

Matthew Landis: 2:24

Well, I'll tell you at 25 was definitely a choice. And I had done a lot of other things that I hated. And so it really for me was the process of elimination, and I got on this and you know, I've had the best time I've made lots of money had lots of fun, it's been the best decision that I ever made. So you said you started that first year eight times. So what finally made it click?

Julee George: 2:48

I think what finally made it click was, I was either going to continue struggling having a second jobs or I was going to dedicate myself to this industry. And at that point, I got a job with redkin as an educator, that was the best decision I ever made. They literally taught me everything that that I know.

Matthew Landis: 3:05

I was an educator for L'Oreal professional and they're sister companies under the same umbrella. As a former educator. I also just love teaching. And I love being able to find that sort of tribe of people with shared passion shared interest for what they do.

Julee George: 3:21

I don't know if you remember back in the day when salon centric with Maly's. And John Maly was the president and owner and because he had an accounting background, he helped us so much with business skills. You know, as I was developing my skills as a hairdresser, I was also getting the business skills. And then because of redkin we had people like Michael Cole that was teaching us a business. So it really was a great combination of both. Tell me a little bit more about your current business. I started here at image studios in Laguna Hills, when they opened I waited for oh, I don't know how long it took them to open six to eight months. So I was the first one to sign, and that was when there was I basically picked my sweet from a drawing. Nothing was done. I'm a hairdresser and I specialize in color colors my favorite, but still I still do a lot of hair cutting.

Matthew Landis: 4:09

How long have you been independent? And what made you decide to go the independent route? Oh, that's an interesting story.

Julee George: 4:15

So I owned my salon in Long Beach, California for 17 years and it was 2000 square feet. I had at one time 23 people working there and for receptionists 13 hairdressers, couple manicures and assistant and three and a half months before COVID. I said I don't want this anymore. I don't want to do this anymore. I was commuting 30 miles to work every day and I didn't want that commute anymore. And I just knew that it was time to sell. I was just so lucky that I sold the salon when I did and I decided that I wanted to build my business close to home I am four miles from home, meaning that I'm four miles from my son which makes it so much easier to be able to work and so that was my reason for going independent, not to be honest with you at first because I worked at a big salon, I thought, Who am I going to talk to? Like, who am I going to talk to you if I, if I'm working by myself, and then a light bulb went on, and I thought, Oh, well, I guess I'm going to talk to my client. Imagine that. And you know, when you work in a salon, you're always interrupted. And as an owner, I was always interrupted, you know, it could have been, you know, this magazine subscription needs to be filled, or the air conditioner is not working, or the plumbing is not working. And now I get to completely focus on hair. It had been, you know, 17 years since I was able to do that. And I just, I feel like I fell in love with doing hair all over again, in a different way. Because now I really am focused only on my client. I love it.

Matthew Landis: 5:36

Well, our paths are so parallel. You know, I used to own a couple of salons, I had 5060 employees, 20, something chairs to locate out, you know, all of that. And the most money and the most fun I ever had was as an independent. When I gave all of that up.

Julee George: 5:53

You had to give up your ego, right? Because I had to give up ego. There was a lot of ego in owning a salon.

Matthew Landis: 5:59

Oh, 100%. In fact, speaking of ego, one of the things that really helped me get past all of it was listening to Eckhart Tolle lays a new earth, which is all about the ego, and it helped me realize are the decisions that I'm making in my life and my career, because they're good for me, or because they satisfy my ego.

Julee George: 6:16

Well, you're gonna have to text me that because that's something I need to read.

Matthew Landis: 6:20

I listened to the audiobook on a road trip, it was super helpful. Yeah, one of the things that really helped me through a hard time in my life was realizing that I just needed to focus on showing up every day for each client and doing the job and connecting with each one of them. So I'm really glad that you said that, because I think that's so important. I think a lot of pros that are building their business, sometimes they're focused on external factors in building their business like social media. And sometimes we lose sight of what's important, which is the client that is in our chair right now. Now, you said you sold your salon right before COVID, which is crazy, you must have felt something in the atmosphere,

Julee George: 7:00

I have to tell you I didn't I just feel I just say I had a guardian angel.

Matthew Landis: 7:04

That's incredible. And you had to rebuild your clientele during COVID. And out of COVID. Tell me about that.

Julee George: 7:10

I have to tell you that it's actually it's exciting for me to share with you, I want to say I feel incredibly grateful and thankful at how rate my business. So I want to make sure that I don't come from a place of arrogance that I'm coming from a place of being grateful and thankful when I moved, I moved 30 miles away from my salon and my clientele, and I wasn't expecting, I mean, I knew a handful of those diehards would come, but I wasn't expecting to keep as many as I did. So for me, I had to not be afraid. First up, I had to not be afraid to sell my salon, I had to not be afraid to move 30 miles away. And I had to trust that I have all of the business skills that I need to build up again, we've all seen really good hairdressers that haven't made it. And when you look at like, why are they not making it, they're so talented. And I think a lot of it is just because of their business skills. I know that if I just trust the process and trust what I already know how to do and as I work it that I was going to I was going to be okay. And I was going to do okay, again, I wasn't starting completely from scratch because some of my people came. So now I have to get new people in the chair. So one of the things I did is I did do Yelp advertising, I think maybe I started at a perfect time in the sense that during COVID, when we were open, a lot of hairdressers got out of the business. So if they were new, or if they were old, older, seasoned, I should say and they were ready to retire, they left they decided to get out. So what it created for me was a was a need for people needed a hairdresser. And so I started advertising with Yelp. And I think one of the best things that we can do is make sure that we're getting Yelp reviews. I know a lot of people use Google, I don't really use that I use Yelp, making sure that we're you know, now getting those reviews for later will help us the really interesting thing that I love about Yelp is you can turn your advertising on and off. So let's say you get so busy, you can turn it off or turn it back on. So let's say right now, if I have a slow day, and I'm like, ooh, I've got a couple of slow days. I just turned my Yelp advertising on it gets booked. I turned it back on. You know, I've always had a love hate relationship with Yelp. And I have to tell you, since I moved, it's more love than it is hate.

Matthew Landis: 9:10

Now, that is really great advice. Because a lot of our pros spend a lot of time on Instagram and Instagram is great. But I always say Instagram is more like a portfolio. You need that referral first and then somebody will go to your Instagram to see what it is you do. But what I love about Yelp and Google is they're more geo located to where you are, you know, it's great. If you're amazing on Instagram and you you live in Salt Lake City, but if somebody in Boston is following you, it's not going to bring you business but Yelp and Google and getting those reviews and I love that you use the advertising because that's something that I think a lot of people are curious about. What what does that cost?

Julee George: 9:49

Well, you can set up your own budget, I believe maybe you can start at 300. I started at 500 and I was consecutively getting about$2,500 in business back but If I look at that $500 a month and the $2,500 that I was making back, it wasn't just that first visit, now it's my responsibility to make sure that that client comes back, a lot of my business is still Yelp business, it just doesn't look like it because now I've been doing their hair for a while. But the original way that I received them was through Yelp, it was worth $500. To me, again, I got to turn it off if I got too busy. And so you know, now sometimes my Yelp advertising is 30 or $80 a month, depending on if I've had to turn it on or off.

Matthew Landis: 10:30

You are speaking my love language.

Julee George: 10:32

Because one thing that you just brought up that I really wanted to touch on with, and that's Instagram, I was watching one of I was in one of your business classes, actually. And you gave me a freedom. And I wanted to thank you for that. Because I don't I don't do enough on Instagram, I have to be honest. And I always feel like I have I mean, I just have hundreds of pictures of things to post. But I work six days a week in the salon, and I'm busy. And so when I go home, I don't want to post and so I was feeling like I'm not doing what I should be as a style. I'm not keeping up with the times. And you said no, your client, like who is your client. And I started to realize, like, my client is somebody who comes in every four to six weeks because they need to get a crutch up or they need to get their hair highlighted. And so my client maybe isn't on Instagram as much. And so I realized that, you know, it's good for me to have that presence, but it's not necessarily where my business is coming from. And so I really wanted to thank you. Like I said, it gave me a freedom that I don't have to feel guilty that I'm not on social media that much.

Matthew Landis: 11:34

Thankyou so much for saying that. It is so important to know who you're marketing to and focus your energy there instead of comparing yourself to other people and beating yourself up for not being good at Instagram, for example.

Julee George: 11:48

And then the other thing I realized that I was taking pictures of some Bali aaj app tell you, I really don't like to do it. And I'm like, why am I posting that beautiful work, but I don't want to do it, I realized that you know, I love cutting short hair. So with fine if you go to my Instagram, I have very little short hair. If I were to have one goal for this year, it is to start posting both on Yelp and on Instagram works that I want to do

Matthew Landis: 12:11

I love that you can have any clientele that you want. You have to really understand who it is and what it is that they want from you. What is it that they're looking for? What problem are you solving for them? And how can you communicate that to the most number of people in that category? Absolutely. You're hugely successful. You're busy, I've seen you you're a machine, what are some other ways that you have built your business and sustain your business?

Julee George: 12:35

Okay, so I'm going to talk about two things. One of them is asking for referrals. Sometimes we feel prideful, that we don't want to ask people for referrals because it means we're not busy. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with asking people for referrals. But I'll do it in a very, I'll do it very sincere. So I'll tell my client, I love doing your hair. If I had a book full of clients like you, this is the dream job. And so I'm sure that your friends and your family are like you so do you have any friends or family that you can send to me because I'm trying to build my business. And I have to tell you, I don't offer I don't offer a discount. I don't offer a referral discount i That's I decided that I was going to build this business without giving away anything for free. And I know that's a different mindset. When somebody is coming here, they're already expecting to pay and quite honestly, people want to help you when you ask for help people really they want you to be busy. They they want to help.

Matthew Landis: 13:27

That is so powerful and important for our products to hear. Thank you.

Julee George: 13:32

Now the next one, which is really honestly my favorite is pre booking. So I have the glass genius app and I love the number that tells you how much business you booked that day, I believe that what gets tracked gets improved. So I love glass genius for that reason, because not only can I see what I've booked for that day, I get to see exactly how much money I've made up until that very moment and I track everything I track every tip everything because I want to know exactly what I've made at the end of the year or, or at the end of the day or after a certain client you know, I'll do a little contest with myself like let's try to get that over this amount when I have a client sitting in my chair and I'm pre booking their appointment the most important thing to do is either say let's pre book your next appointment so you can get the time that you want. Notice I'm not asking them I feel like when if you say would you like to pre book your next appointment or do you want to call what we're doing is we're giving them an out i My motto is always I'm just gonna say it the way I say it to myself is shut up. So meaning that I don't would you like to pre book your next appointment? Then I tell myself in my head Shut up, meaning that don't give them a way to say no, they can come up with any reason that they want you to say no, but I'm not going to give it to them. So for instance, you know, even when we sell a product like would you like to take this home today? Or do you want to use what you have at home don't add that next thing to stop talking. I'll ask my clients do you want to book your next appointment or like book your next appointment because you like a certain time I'm getting really busy. Now in the beginning. I wasn't busy quite honestly they could have gotten in at any time but I like to say that I was telling the truth for the future. So I'm going to be so busy that you have To book your next appointment, if you're going to get into me, what I did is I created my own reality, I don't just put one appointment, I typically book six months in advance, or on my Saturday appointments might get 30 people, they want their appointment on Saturdays, I will book it for the whole year. So what's important to me is I have to book my vacations and my time off at the beginning of the year.

Matthew Landis: 15:19

This is all so great, thank you so much for sharing this, because this is how I built my business. This is how I get got busy, I had to rebuild my clientele at least five times that I can think of, and I employed a lot of these techniques that you're talking about. So thank you so much for sharing them. And I love that you pre book. You know, there are a lot of Salon coaches and a few people out there that are telling people to stop pre booking, that pre booking is an old school out of date out of fashion thing, and I'm listening to this thing. Yeah, okay, I'm an older hairdresser. But are you crazy?

Julee George: 15:53

Right, I'd actually your I'd like to hear what the reason is, I would be open to hearing that reason.

Matthew Landis: 15:58

The reason assumes that your books are full, some of the reasoning is that I don't know what I'm going to be doing in three months, I don't know what I'm going to be doing in six months, I don't want to commit to something that I might have to change later on. And I want to leave that time open for potentially new business. And I'm thinking this is not right. Like I want to be able to guarantee that I have business, I want to be able to guarantee like you said that they have the best time that they want. I want to see them again, I want to make sure that they can get in, I just I don't get it. I don't.

Julee George: 16:32

I have different comfort levels. For me, I'm not comfortable when I see gaps in my books, I'm not comfortable when my client doesn't get the time that they want. I feel very uncomfortable to me. I'm trying to get them into the time they want. I know they like Fridays at three o'clock every five weeks. So for me, it's like I just look at Yeah,

Matthew Landis: 16:49

I also like seeing people that I know on my books, and I love new clients. But I also don't want three new clients in a day because every single new client is a makeover. And if I have three makeovers in one day, I'm not getting home till eight o'clock that night. So it's not gonna happen. So to me actually, pre booking is freedom's one other advice do you have for building your business,

Julee George: 17:09

I would say that it's very important to look the part I think that we've it's just when I'm going to just sound like an old person. But I think that we forgot to dress up we forgot to do our hair. Sometimes people come to work without their makeup done. They come in, in into work with tennis shoes, I always show up for work. If I have a new client. Here's a perfect example. Sometimes we have a new client on our books. And so we dress a little better we make sure our hair is done. And I believe that should be how we look every single day. I remember one day my son looked at me and at the back of my head had a weird part. I don't know, maybe I hadn't washed it for a few days. And he goes, have you seen your hair? And I'm like, why? And he goes, you know, no one wants to go to a hairdresser that doesn't have nice hair. And I had to laugh because those are words out of my mouth. I mean, that's what I always say no one wants to go to a hairdresser that doesn't have good hair. And maybe that's just a silly thing. But I always show up for work. I'm always on time. It's not always easy. I make sure to book the amount of time that here's the nice thing about pre booking if you have a client who takes less time or more time because you pre booked you know, you get to control your schedule. I pride myself on not running late. And I think that you know we were talking earlier about that that really talented hair duster that doesn't make it some time. Well here's the thing is I'm never late. I'm so I don't know that I'm the best hairdresser but I think I have great business skills.

Matthew Landis: 18:27

You absolutely do. One of the things that you shared with me is that you are always telling people wherever you go that you are a hairdresser.

Julee George: 18:35

Yes. So because of that, it doesn't matter where I am, I think I told you that I started playing pickleball about a year ago. Here's the funny thing. I played pickleball one time, and I loved it so much. I changed my hours, I just went in and I'm like I'm getting off now at 530. So I don't work, I do not work past 530 anymore, because I have to go play pickleball The nice thing is that when you build your clientele, you get to choose your hours. So my clients are not choosing them for me. So anyway, I started playing pickleball and now you know every when I play pickleball either sometimes people will ask me about my hair, you know, that happens a lot. Or you know, I'll just tell them, Oh, I just got off work. What do you do? I do hair people. You know, as soon as people find out that you do hair, then they start asking some questions. And then it's I can't believe how many clients I've gotten from pickleball. I've gotten clients from pickleball. I've gotten clients from my son's school. I mean, I still do clients when my son like teachers have my son since he was two years old. I just tell everybody, it changes the relationship that you have with those people too, because now it's like pickleball and I'm their hairdresser. So then we have something in common when they when they sit down in my chair. If I'm at the grocery store and somebody you know likes my hair, I tell them I do hair. People are always when they hear that you do hair, you know sometimes people say I'm an engineer and they're like, okay, but when you say I'm a hairdresser, typically people will always have a story for you. And that's just a really great way to start conversation.

Matthew Landis: 19:54

Isn't that wonderful? People line up when you say I'm a hairdresser, they really do they really do. I think that This also goes to something that I always say is that people are looking for you, they may not know who you are yet, they may not know where to find you or what you do, but they're looking for someone just like you help them find you help them build that relationship.

Julee George: 20:14

I also feel like you may talk to somebody who loves their hairdresser. And I think that's great. They've been with their hairdresser for a long time. And I also think that's great. Also talk to them about hair, because there may be a time where that hairdresser decides to leave, or the person that I'm talking to can't get in. So they may call me for that reason. And you know, maybe I never see them in my chair, it doesn't matter to me. I mean, I just want to spread the joy and have people have people see this industry, when they see someone who's happy with their career, want them to see that as well.

Matthew Landis: 20:42

Let me ask you about the business side of things. What are some things that you have learned that you wish you had known earlier on in your career?

Julee George: 20:51

Again, remember, I said, I repeated the first year of business eight times, I wish that I had learned early that probably 80% of my success was going to be business skills, and 20% was going to be here, we probably spend 80% of our education on our techniques, and 20% on business, when really the business part will help us to be more successful. So I wish I had had known that part, you have to be a good hairdresser. And course get your education at that. But don't forget to get your business education. I wish, you know, I could tell my younger self like stop being so fearful of things because everything can be changed. When I would have assistants and they would mess up on color, I would say congratulations, you don't do anything in this business without making a bunch of mistakes. It's only really a mistake if you didn't learn from it. So how can that be done better? You know, I think that if I had embraced my mistakes more and been less fearful, I would have, I would have built my clientele faster. But I guess you know, I wasn't ready at the time.

Matthew Landis: 21:45

Making mistakes is a part of this. And the biggest roadblock to success that I see is fear. And even when it comes to these practical things that you've been talking about pre booking and retail and referrals, the reason they aren't being done is because people are afraid that people are afraid of rejection, even though it's not personal. It's not personal. That's what you have to remember is not personal. I always tell people it isn't about you, it's about them. You're not on trial, you're not an audition, you're just trying to solve a problem for them. You're trying to help them. And if they don't want it, they'll just tell you no, but it's no reflection on you whatsoever. But fear is the biggest factor.

Julee George: 22:23

Where do you see hairdressers being fearful because I'll you know, give my own input.

Matthew Landis: 22:28

I always say to being in this industry, whether it's hairdressing or nail art or aesthetics, we want to be liked so much, and our ego is on the line every single time we do anything, because we really want them to like the work that we've done. And we really want them to like us.

Julee George: 22:46

That's a good do you think that sometimes people are fearful about raising their prices, because somebody won't like them? If they raise their prices?

Matthew Landis: 22:53

Yes, they're afraid of raising their prices, they're afraid of of recommending retail, because they're afraid of being pushy. They're afraid of pre booking, because they're afraid that the client is going to think they're being pushy. They're afraid of all of these things that we've talked about, because they feel like if the client says no, that is a reflection on them as a person that makes sense price is really gets to the heart and soul to the guts of that fear because it has to do with perceived value. Absolutely. And so people are afraid of raising their prices, because they deep down inside they're saying what if the client doesn't think that I am worth it? So I know you have some strong feelings and advice on raising prices, how do you address those?

Julee George: 23:38

First off, you have to get rid of the fear of raising your prices. And I think I think that you just put a new spin on it, it really I never thought about it, as you know, not feeling like we're good enough. You know, I hear when people raise their prices, they say, Well, my clients won't pay, my client will leave if you don't feel like you're doing a good service. Or if you don't feel like you're doing a good color, then maybe you're afraid that they're going to leave. But you know that you are if someone is not raising their prices, then they're not keeping up with inflation. So they're actually making less money. So you're having to do more clients and you're having to do work to make the same amount of money, I have a little bit different have an idea of when to raise prices, I raise prices when I want clients to go away, I want to lose them. And the reason I say that is if I'm getting so busy that I don't have the extra few minutes to maybe do an add on service, or are you going to do new clients because you know, like new clients, even though maybe we don't want to do three in a day, we still want to have new clients because it's new energy. When we raise our prices, typically the ones that we we want to keep are the ones that really do end up staying because they see our value. I raise my prices to let people go away so that I can bring in new clients who are willing to pay the new prices. They've never had an old price and a new price. They've only had the new price. And so it just gives me new energy for my business. I'm not afraid to raise my prices because if I get some gaps I know how to build a business. So either I go at Yelp, I go back to asking for referrals, I have gotten to the point where sometimes No, I can't take a new person, and we want to take new people, but I'm too busy too. And so that's when I know it's time to raise my prices. I also think it's important that when you you know, we're in an independent business now, I mean, I, I'm in control of my environment, but I still want to make sure that when I do have a referral, or if I do have a new client that I can't get in, I refer them to somebody here at image studios, because I want my friends to be successful. Also, the thing I love about image Studios is how open everything is, you know, how busy everyone is, when I can watch and help somebody else build their business. It inspires me, and, and it makes me realize why I'm in this industry. It's not just by myself. I love being able to be inspired by other people.

Matthew Landis: 25:47

And I will tell you being at the corporate office, we take design very seriously. And the spaces are designed to be collaborative, they're designed to create community and promote wellbeing for our pros that are in those spaces. So thank you for for saying that about the space and sharing that.

Julee George: 26:06

After I sold my salon, I went to another Salon Suite company and everything was very close. And when I came here, it has such a different environment in the sense that I feel like I work in a salon because these people are my friends. I feel like I can still learn things from the people that are around me, because will like peek in and say, Oh, what are you doing? will sometimes you know, we're looking at different techniques we're looking at, you know, people were asking questions of each other. And so it really does have the environment of feeling like a salon, but being independent. And I think that that's incredibly unique.

Matthew Landis: 26:39

One of the things I admire about you is this focus on the client and the relationship that you have with each of them. And you mentioned something to me offline about what a gift that is with each person, would you care to share the story that you shared with me,

Julee George: 27:00

I just I think, I just started to get emotional. Um, I was going home to make soup for one of my clients. And the reason for it was because I had confirmed his appointment for today. And he has stage four pancreatic cancer. And he sent me a message saying he could not make his appointment, because he take a turn for the worse, and not knowing what I could do to help. I said, Can I make you soup? Can I bring you food. And so that's what I'm going to do when we're finished today, I'm going to bring that to him. And it might be a gift to me to be able to say goodbye to him. Because so often we don't get to, I am getting emotional. Um, you know, if you've been in this business for any sort of time, you will lose a client because they die. And what people their family don't realize is that they, they sometimes forget to tell us, they forget to tell the hairdresser because we're just the hairdresser. But we're not. We're not just the hairdresser. When I see a client every four to six weeks, and I spend an hour to two hours with them. That's more time than I spend with my best friend. And yes, this is business. But reality is you get to know people, you know, who they like in their family who they don't like, you know that they hated that so and so brings this dish to Christmas every year. We know all the things that, that they can't tell people in the real world, they can't tell their family that they really don't like this person. And so when, when they when they pass, it's it's emotional for us. Because, you know, I'm talking a lot about, you know, business building our business. But you know, there is also a huge emotional connection that we get with our clients. So, anyway, that's what I'll be doing when we leave here is I'll be bringing him soup.

Matthew Landis: 28:54

It's such a gift to be able to hold that space for other people. People over the years would say to me, oh, being a hairdresser is like being a therapist. And I would push back like I am not a therapist. I don't want that responsibility. But I think where the comparison lies is being able to hold space for people. And we're a safe place for them to share. Absolutely. I had, coincidentally, a client a few years ago whose husband had pancreatic cancer. And she came in for her appointment on a hard day and started to cry. And she said I'm so sorry I didn't come in here to unload on you but I can't talk to him about what I'm going through. And I can't talk to my children about what I'm going through because I need to be there for them. I don't have anyone to hear me.

Julee George: 29:50

What a beautiful about we're able to experience with her. I can see it I can hear it in your voice.

Matthew Landis: 29:57

It was a very hot humbling moment.

Julee George: 30:03

Oh, you're making me cry? Oh, you're cute. I know I get it. I mean, yes. This is the part that you know you do. When am I being so focused on business? This is this is the other side. And you know, that's why it's so easy to love what we do. I don't know about you. But there's never a day where I think I don't want to go to work today, there might be a day where I just don't feel like picking out an outfit. But I never want to not come to work. I love this. And 36 years later, I love this.

Matthew Landis: 30:37

We talked about this offline. But we go through life with these people. Yeah, I watched them. I watched their kids grow up. I had clients that were four and five years old when I did their hair the first time and now they're married and living in DC and like, right, yes. So it's incredible. And we age with these people.

Julee George: 30:57

I never think that I'm the one aging, I always think it's them. But I guess I am too.

Matthew Landis: 31:04

It is wonderful. It's a wonderful business to be in to have these relationships to hold this space for people to be this creative, to have a party every day with people that you really enjoy and to make money out of it.

Julee George: 31:19

And that's just it, we make money doing the best thing. I mean, the most enjoyable thing that we can.

Matthew Landis: 31:24

So what does the future look like for you? What do you what's next?

Julee George: 31:27

Well, here's the funny part is that I have a huge financial goal last year, and I was so focused on that goal, I really couldn't see anything else. The last day of December that I worked last year, I made the goal by $300. That was it 300. And so this year, even though I will always have a financial goal, I made the financial goal less, and I did so because I need to enjoy life a little bit more. When I go on vacation, I want to take an extra day to see wherever it is that we're going, I don't want to worry that I need to be back here working. You know, my goal for myself really is to take a little bit more time for me

Matthew Landis: 32:04

What other parts of your life bring you the most joy and happiness.

Julee George: 32:08

And that is my son, he is 15 He's actually probably the most frustrating, but the most joyful thing in my life. He's the best thing that I have ever done. Because I was working for redkin. And I was traveling the world and I was teaching hairdressers, I never wanted a child. When I got pregnant, I thought you know what, this is the next step. And I don't want to breathe a breath on this earth. Without him. He's the most amazing thing that I've ever done. What I hope that I'm doing is I hope that I'm showing him what a strong woman looks like and how to be a hard worker, because I share these things with him. I love getting his advice on you know, this client did this, or this client did that. And I do that because I want to see what his views are is the thing that gives me the most joy. He's also 15. So it's it's also frustrating, but I love that kid. And I know you said that was the last question, but I'm gonna put it back on to you. I'm going to ask you the same question.

Matthew Landis: 33:02

You know, I would have to say I do a gratitude journal every morning. And it's always my husband and our dogs have worked hard to be in the place that I want to be worked hard on myself. And it took me a long time to learn how to love other people and be loved and returned. And he brings me that every day. And of course, our dogs as well. So just being here with them. That's enough. Well, Julie, thank you so much. This has been a wonderful time together and I cannot wait to do it again. In the future.

Julee George: 33:36

I think that we're going to have to do it again in the future because it's just way too much fun to be around you.

Matthew Landis: 33:41

Oh, I feel the same way.

Julee George: 33:42

Thank you.

Matthew Landis: 33:46

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of The VIP suite. I'm Matthew Landis and I hope you found the insights and inspiration share today truly valuable for your journey as a solo entrepreneur, and independent beauty, health or wellness professionals. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram@imagestudios360. And if you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to the VIP Suite on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an opportunity to connect with our vibrant community and to discover more incredible stories and strategies. We love hearing from our listeners. So if you have any questions, topic suggestions or want to share your own success story, feel free to reach out to me at Matthew at image studios three sixty.com Remember dear listener, you are the heartbeat of the beauty, health and wellness industry. Your dedication and passion make the world a better place one client at a time keep shining, keep growing and keep making a positive impact. We'll be back with more engaging conversations and valuable content in our next episode. Until then take care stay inspired and continue to create your own VIP suite. For more information about becoming a part of the image studios luxury Salon Suite community, visit our website at imagetudios360.com