The VIP Suite at IMAGE Studios with Matthew Landis

Christopher Johns, "Updo Man," Talks Sustaining Joy And The Importance Of Networking

• IMAGE Studios • Season 3 • Episode 16

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Christopher Johns, a 30-year veteran of the beauty industry built a career based on his passion for making a difference in his clients' lives. Based in Lexington, Kentucky, he shares the the joy he finds in his work and the satisfaction of being part of the Image Studios salon suite community.

Matthew and Christopher discuss the art of hairdressing, emphasizing the importance of personalization and creativity. They explore the challenges faced in understanding and meeting clients' needs and the crucial role of effective communication and empathy. 

They also talk about the significance of mentorship, networking, and self-care in building a successful career. Christopher reflects on his inspirations and the impact of mentors in his journey, while Matthew underscores the value of soft skills like communication and the willingness to take risks. Together, they offer practical advice on growing a clientele through personal connections and social media, handling challenges, and maintaining a positive outlook in the face of adversity.

Matthew Landis:

Welcome to season three of the VIP suite at image studios. The podcast exclusively designed for independent beauty, health and wellness professionals brought to you by image studio, the luxury leader in the Salon Suite industry. I'm your host industry expert and certified business coach Matthew Landis. In each episode, we will bring you insightful interviews with solo entrepreneurs who have forged their own path to success. From 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 Salon Suite business to the next level. Joining me today on the VIP suite at image Studios is Christopher John's from Image studios in Lexington, Green Kentucky. Good evening, Christopher.

Christopher Johns:

Good evening.

Matthew Landis:

How are you doing?

Christopher Johns:

I'm doing well. Sir. How are you?

Matthew Landis:

Good. Now you worked a full day today. So this Ten and a half? Twelve? is we're doing this in the eve ning? Yeah. How many hours d id you work today? And how many days a week? Do you do work that schedule?

Christopher Johns:

Well, in my old age, I've cut back to four days a week. So I only would only do that three days a week. And then on Saturday. I work a half a day.

Matthew Landis:

That's still a very full schedule. Now. Do you take breaks in between?

Christopher Johns:

No.

Matthew Landis:

Old school?

Christopher Johns:

Yeah.

Matthew Landis:

I'm a hairdresser by trade. I started in 1995. And what's a break? Yeah, exactly. So tell me a little bit more. How long have you been in the industry?

Christopher Johns:

30 years this year? I started in 94 and thoroughly enjoyed every single day that I've worked in it.

Matthew Landis:

Now I follow you on Instagram. Can you tell our listeners what your Instagram handle is?

Christopher Johns:

@updoman

Matthew Landis:

I've gotten a little bit of a sense, I think of who you are and your career and I can really I can tell that you still really enjoy what you're doing?

Christopher Johns:

Absolutely.

Matthew Landis:

So what's the secret to sustaining that level of joy?

Christopher Johns:

I think it's the clients that really just kind of give me a thrill every day, you know, to be able to make a difference, whether it's a 15 minute or 30 minute service or a two hour or, or six hours service. That's what makes you happy. You know, it's it's doing the service Yeah, doing the doing the work, but it's interacting and being involved in these folks lives.

Matthew Landis:

I would agree. I don't do as much hair as I used to. And I really miss that I miss showing up every day and hanging out with my friends and being creative and having those conversations and having that party every day. So give me a little trajectory of your career. Give us a little background.

Christopher Johns:

Well, I'm from a small town here in Kentucky 30 miles south of Lexington. So I started there. And I worked there for about nine months. I made the move to come to Lexington and I've been here since I've been in Lexington working since October of 94. Back in the 1900s kids. And shortly after I came up here and started working for a company, husband and wife owned company for 16 years. In my first year here. My first year in the business, I became a L'Oreal professional educator, worked and traveled with them for about 10 years. And about 2005 I stopped doing that. And that was when my daughter was born, I had already had my son, he was born in 2001. And my daughter was born in 2005. And after that, I was like, you know, working 60 hours in the salon being on the road on my days off. That's not what I want to do. So I left that and just focused on business and clients. And I've done a lot of extracurricular education, traveled and done education for myself and education in the state of Kentucky. I was part of the Kentucky educational committee where we had trainings a couple of times a year, which is a used to be part of the NACCAS, national cosmetology association, on the state level. So I worked with that for several years until they until NACCAS went just to a single tier. So we were dissolved. And then just staying in the salon working with assistance, training them, helping them with their their growth in their client building. Own the salon for just shy of 10 years, my wife and I did. And then I came here in May of last year. And I've never been happier images though. Interesting concept. And the salon that I owned, was set up like this where it had individual suites. You came in, you did your business and you left and then I took care of that worry. And now I'm on the opposite side. And it's wonderful.

Matthew Landis:

So what made you take that leap

Christopher Johns:

Closing my doors? It was kind of a tough decision. It was a landlord issue. It just didn't work out. So she we couldn't come to a time Are to extend the lease. So because of that, she said that she was going to sell the building. And I said that I was gonna leave and go elsewhere anyway, so that was fine.

Matthew Landis:

You said you're loving it. What do you love about it?

Christopher Johns:

The community? We have a full house here, you know, everybody, we see each other in the hallway and we see each other in the break room. You know, it's, it's just that, hey, how you doing? Good to see you. You know, tell me about your weekend. Tell me about this. Tell me about that. So it's just it's a constant kind of uplifting. There's no, none of that heavy drama that usually comes. That usually comes in a salon setting, which is so refreshing. The clients love it. I mean, I guess most of the image studios all kind of feel the same. And so it's just so it's so refreshing to have a community and a support staff, our Owner, Brittany, just wonderful. And her husband is the the handyman. So he's in here all the time. Great, great. Couple. Great couple. So so it's nice to have a family owned, it's just a family owned the salon, you know?

Matthew Landis:

Yeah, you know, I've been to so many of them now. And they all, like you said, there is a sort of a uniform look, very luxurious look. And yet each one is really different. It feels personal.

Christopher Johns:

It does. Absolutely, yeah. And the design of the space with the windows, you're able to kind of see each other and see what you're doing. And I really liked that.

Matthew Landis:

And I love going into a new location that I've never been and I get the same feeling. And I love meeting everybody and waving and it's a good vibe. Now, you're the Updo Man. Tell me about that.

Christopher Johns:

Early on in my career. I just loved the creation and the architecture of hair dressing, and being able to put the hair up, create, you know, different forms and whatnot. So I really kind of honed some of those skills and pushed myself further and in that level of education and took bits and pieces from everything that every one that I learned from nationally, internationally and local and just kind of did my own thing. And so I just I fell in love with doing weddings, I fell in love with doing just any kind of formal hair that I could possibly do. So some of my brides came back and said, Gosh, it was wonderful. I didn't have to worry about my hair at all. It was it was great. It even lasted through the night.

Matthew Landis:

It doesn't move, it stays. But hairdressing really is an art form. And you know, the term hairdressing went out of vogue for a while. But of course, people still wanted their hair dressed for events and weddings. And I feel like in the last 10-15 years, it's been more about styling. You know, the haircut was sort of the star for a long time. And then hair color was the star. And now those are sort of expected, but people want their hair to be able to do different things, especially now with Instagram and social media. They want to have different looks all the time. And so hairdressing and hair styling, I think in the last 10 years has really sort of been front and center. And you know, again, looking at your Instagram, you do some incredible work. I am envious because that is not a skill I ever developed. Because first of all weddings freaked me out because there's so much pressure, you know, this is such a big day for everyone. And that was a lot of pressure on me. So I sort of decided to specialize in other areas. But I really admire that because it takes an incredible amount of skill in it. And you have to have that eye, you have to have that passion. That's the other thing that I noticed about updos and hairdressing is you have to really love it, you have to understand what's going on inside the mind of the bride, for example. And the mother of the bride and the mother of the bride and the maid of honor. That was the other thing. It's like, you know, one thing I always thought is the bride was usually the easiest person.

Christopher Johns:

100%

Matthew Landis:

It's everybody else around her that can be a little difficult. Yeah, yeah. Especially the ones that sort of swoop in at the last minute. You know, you're sort of staying tight lipped about this.

Christopher Johns:

Yeah, yeah. I don't know who's gonna hear this. So I'm yeah, I'm gonna be Switzerland on this.

Matthew Landis:

Yeah, I love it. What would you say is your superpower?

Christopher Johns:

Being able to communicate with my clients, and understand that breakdown and understand what they're trying to communicate. Communication might not be my greatest superpower outside of here. In here, I feel like I'm pretty strong with that. But being able to communicate with what they need, what they want, what they want, might not be what they need, and vice versa. So knowing the person outside of what they do outside of here, not just sitting down in the chair, this is what I want, this is what I want, this is what I want. Sometimes, if we do that to them, they're not going to be happy. You know. So being able to, I think being able to understand the person, the client themselves in giving that client, something that she can take home and recreate is, I feel like something that's been strong with me,

Matthew Landis:

That's great. And it's so important to get it right, those listening skills, being able to communicate that and I love that you said

Christopher Johns:

Sometimes what they want is not what they need.

Matthew Landis:

Exactly. And being able to communicate that yes, in a way that is kind and patient and understanding, I think is a real talent. You know, I hear sometimes when things go wrong in the salon, people really want to blame the client. And I'm not saying that doesn't happen. But usually it's because something wasn't communicated. Or we were in a rush. I know for me, and I've said this before, the times when things really went wrong, like really went wrong, was when I knew that I shouldn't move ahead with something and I did anyway, because we weren't really on the same page.

Christopher Johns:

And I've had that happen to me several times in my career. And I'm sure that it'll happen some more before I hang it up. But you're absolutely right, you got to be on that same page.

Matthew Landis:

And it's hard to accept that maybe it was me

Christopher Johns:

And take full responsibility.

Matthew Landis:

We've been in the industry for about the same amount of time I started a year after you in 1995. I educated for L'Oreal as well. I worked with Aveda for 16 years. So I followed that path for a while as well. One of the things that I really admire that you mentioned, and I also saw this on your Instagram as well is that you work with assistants and I really admire and love people that understand how important it is to mentor the next generation that's coming out. So tell me a little bit more about that. How long have you been doing that? And how does that work?

Christopher Johns:

I have often had an assistant for the last 20 years. See, I gauge everything by the age of my children. Because I can't remember, I can't remember what year was but I can remember. Was he laughing? Was he born? Yeah. So 22 years, I've had off and on I've had in the system and? And it is absolutely I love it because it helps me out. It keeps me on on town and on on tasks. Because sometimes I can start talking and oh shit. But yes, it is. It's important, I think for kids to get out of beauty school now in cosmetology school to go work behind somebody, you know, we've kind of gone away from that and jump right into standing behind the chair. But you know, and no offense to talented cosmetology students, but you're only doing Beauty School hair, if you come out and you're going behind the chair and just that's just the way it is. But to get behind somebody and learn and see what they do and, and learn their techniques, hone your skills and hone your techniques will do nothing but improve your career and your business and your and your bag of tricks.

Matthew Landis:

I think there's also the soft skills, you know, learning how to communicate, because I've seen a lot of students come out of school and you know, they can cut of mean Bob or a great layered haircut. But that doesn't mean they can communicate what they're doing to the client or get them to come back.

Christopher Johns:

You gotta be suave. You gotta be you gotta be smooth in and you gotta be able to, and I hate to say it like this, but you gotta be able to sell, you know, the number one thing you're selling in this business is not shampoo. It's you. So if you can't sell yourself, that's it, you know, she'll come get a haircut and out the door and they're done.

Matthew Landis:

You know, I was so lucky to be surrounded by incredible people at the outset and to just really model them and follow them and copy them. And that really made such a huge difference in my career.

Christopher Johns:

Absolutely. Absolutely. I had that as well. And, and even before that my mom used to always tell me when I was a kid that I could either be a lawyer or politician because I could just talk my way into and out anything.

Matthew Landis:

Is that a southern thing?

Christopher Johns:

Probably Yeah, my wife tells me all the time that I can, and feel free to edit this, but I can sell shit to a manure farmer. My daughter, she is 18/19. She is in cosmetology school now, and will be joining me when she finishes. later on this fall. She and I had a conversation the other day about, you know, being an assistant/apprentice. And she goes, "Dad, we don't, we don't have to do that anymore." In the state of Kentucky, there used to be a six month apprenticeship. And then you went back and took another exam. And I said, "Oh no, somebody else doesn't have to do that. But you have to do that." And after the eyeroll, she understood very quickly that you know, dad's right about that one.

Matthew Landis:

That's a good dad right there. I also know that family is really important to you.

Christopher Johns:

Well married to just a smokin hot wife. She's the daughter of a hairdresser. She herself is a nail technician. We used to work together years ago. I was still married to my ex wife. And she she went out to California and worked for C and D creative nail design. So she was there for a number of years and came back, did her thing. She had her family, I had my family. And then we saw each other again in 2011. After we both got divorced, and we started hanging out, and it was the kiss her around the world. My son is going to be 23 this year, my daughter is going to be 19 this year, they're both just absolutely incredible. And my stepchildren, my bonus kids, my stepson he's already 23 and my stepdaughter is going to be 20 this fall. And they are amazing. We were very fortunate to have a very well blended family. They all are different in their own ways. But there's similarities at the same time. So it's pretty cool,

Matthew Landis:

Who or what inspires you?

Christopher Johns:

Fashion inspires me. I try to stay with my fingers on the pulse of what's going on, on the runways and what's going on with the hair on the runways. What's happening backstage. And then, like you said, the folks that you when we first started, the people that trained us and we mimic those folks still, they're not doing hair and one of them is passed away, but they're still there. They're still in my mind and in my thoughts and I can hear I can still hear and and see some of the things that they did 50, 60, 70 years ago, and I'm trying to emulate that now. Old hairdressers, they inspire me. I try to take that and make it new for younger people. I think that's a very long twisted answer.

Matthew Landis:

I love that answer. You know, I think I think about some of those folks, as well. You know, I got to see Vidal Sassoon once, I think probably a year or two before he passed away. And it was incredible. It's such an incredible presence to be around and had so many wise words. He had a very high bar that he set, but he was also very kind and generous and understanding I think. And those are things that I really admire in people. So how did you build your clientele? For our listeners, a lot of them are probably starting out, maybe they've moved to a studio from from a salon before? What sort of advice would you give them when building their business network?

Christopher Johns:

You know, really, I think honestly, word of mouth is still the greatest way for you to grow. And for your name to get out there. You do a haircut on somebody and they love it. They're gonna tell five people but if you do a haircut and they hate it, they're going to tell 25 People. Really just network with the other hairdressers. Social media obviously. I guess it is the networking of handing out the business card like we did 30 years ago. Social media is the way to do it now. But you got to have a presence on social media. You got to have a following on social media. I think networking is the biggest, how I did, it was a form of networking, I took business cards everywhere I went, I went out to dinner, at least four nights a week. And I would just chit chat with the server, male or female, threw my business card in and said, you know, here, this is, this is not your tip, but please come see me, I got a lot of business that way.

Matthew Landis:

That's great. And people are gonna remember you, I think social media is great. It's an important tool, because people are really looking for you. They're looking for what you do. But it's not personal. Right, it's not as powerful as walking up to somebody and telling them how good they look or how great their hair is. It's not as memorable, because there isn't that sort of, you know, personal connection. So I love that, that you said that. And that that's kind of how you did it. And I think that that still works. You know, the research shows us that two thirds of new clients still come from referrals, but referrals go to your social media to see what you're about. So your social media is really like a portfolio that says this is who I am, this is the work that I do. This is what I'm about. Yeah, I remember having to build my clientele word of mouth, because obviously, we didn't have social media back in the 1900s, as you put it. But I got I worked in New York and Atlanta. For a while in both of those cities, I did a lot of training, and they made us bring in two models every single week for class. So I'm in these huge cities where I don't know anybody. And I have to go out there and find two people that are gonna be willing to let me experiment on their hair, and I did it. But it took guts. And I think that's kind of what you you got to guts doesn't just, that's not necessarily a natural thing. You sort of get the guts to put yourself out there, put yourself forward. And really, you know, to go up and introduce yourself to somebody or tell them how good they look that takes a little bit of guts.

Christopher Johns:

Absolutely, yeah, we used to do that too. And in our salon, we would have, you know, training classes once a month or every other month. And we would have, you know, everybody bring a model. This is what we're going to do. We're going to do a long layered, you know, whatever, this type of cut or that type of haircut. So find somebody, you got eight weeks. Find somebody that that we can do this for. Oh my gosh, it was always so much fun. But yeah, you have to Well, I mean, I got this client, this client, but no, it can't be a client either. Okay, so you got to go out there and find them. So that was fun.

Matthew Landis:

They say do something terrifying every day, right? Do something that scares you if you want to grow. Yeah. I feel like being a hairdresser being in these industries. It's terrifying every day.

Christopher Johns:

You are one slip from messing it all.

Matthew Landis:

Yeah, and I think you said something earlier. I think, you know, as time goes on, we have fewer and fewer of those days where things go wrong, but we still have them. Yeah. How do you handle those days? What do you do to overcome?

Christopher Johns:

Think about what I did that wasn't quite up to par that I was dissatisfied with. And what what should I have done? And what could I have done different? So that if that presents itself ever again, I'll know better? How to handle it. We all are our own worst critics. Right? So constantly, even in the middle of doing somebody's hair. I don't know if I like that or not. Or maybe I can change this or, or whatever, blow drying, just doing a blowout. Let me try this or let me do this. Huh? Oh, that didn't work. Oh, what's wrong with her hair? What happened to her bangs? You know, but yeah, I think you know critiquing and not being hard on ourselves but just trying to better ourselves. And how do I deal with it? Once I get done with the day, I'm done. I'm done with the day. The day is over. Can't do anything about it. Let's come back in and and swing harder tomorrow. And also drink a lot of bourbon.

Matthew Landis:

A little bit of medication to soothe the nerves. How much longer are you going to do this?

Christopher Johns:

Well, I'm 51. And I can't get any kind of social security until what? 60-something? So I got a few more years. I don't know. I don't know, I would say, I would say a lot of it depends on how my daughter steps in and, and to see how excited she is now. Of course, she's still in school, but just so excited about things and she'll send me pictures during the day, Dad, look what I did. So I'd say at least another 10 At least 10 years probably. I always said that I wanted to do this for 50 years. So 71. And I'll think about it now that I've been hit that 30 mark, and I'm like, my knees aren't the same.

Matthew Landis:

Yeah, my body reminds me all the time. Like all that advice that I got 20 years ago about taking care of myself, I should have listened.

Christopher Johns:

Probably should have listened.

Matthew Landis:

So that leads me to one of the questions I wanted to ask you before we go and that is what is one piece of advice, or what is one of the best pieces of advice that you ever got.

Christopher Johns:

That's a tough one. Really, I guess just don't be so hard on yourself. If you're a perfectionist, which hairdressers have a tendency to be? Don't Don't beat yourself up if that if that color wasn't just exactly right, or that highlight wasn't just exactly right, or that haircut wasn't blown out just exactly right. Don't be so harsh, though. You know, it's it's just hair, you made that light, you've made that client smile. You've made that client feel special. That's that's best thing you can do. Make them feel special. And then that'll make you feel happy.

Matthew Landis:

That's the best feeling in the world.

Christopher Johns:

It is. Every day, every day.

Matthew Landis:

Well, Christopher, thank you so much. You know, I feel like you have become one of those people that I think people look up to I know they're at your location on Lexington green, that you mentor a lot of people and people look to you. And I think that's incredible. You put in the time and you you have built a successful wonderful business again, I look at your Instagram and I see you cooking and so you're hanging out with your family and it just looks like you're living the best life.

Christopher Johns:

Well, thank you very much. It's been a pleasure. And you know you live hard. You play hard. Oh, you work hard. You play hard. And sometimes you gotta live hard in there too.

Matthew Landis:

Yeah. Well, it looks like you're living good.

Christopher Johns:

Every day. Thank you so much.

Matthew Landis:

Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of The VIP Suite. I'm Matthew Landis and I hope you found the insights and inspiration shared today truly valuable for your journey as a Salon Suite entrepreneur and independent beauty, health or wellness professional. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @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 if you have any questions, topic suggestions or want to share your own success story. Feel free to reach out to me at matthew@imagestudios360.com. Remember 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. We'll be back with more engaging and inspiring conversations 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 imagestudios360.com