Hey, what's up, everybody?

How you doing?

This is Robert, the host of the Hairdresser Strong show.

And today we are going live with Ashley Taylor from Taylor Nework Salon.

And the big conversation that we're having with everybody tonight is that is what is behind the chair in uncertain times, dealing with Trump cuts and tariffs.

How does it impact us?

And.

And how do we adapt to uncertainty?

So if you're in the D.C.

area, then you probably know that.

That we have had an incredibly challenging time with some of our clients losing their job.

Is.

Is out there.

And I'm gonna have.

I have a local.

Another local salon owner, and she's gonna.

Come on.

Ashley Taylor from Taylor New York Salon.

So let me just get her on the show here.

All right, Ashley, I'm gonna actually cancel your invite, and then I'm gonna invite you.

Let's see.

There we go.

See if that works.

Okay, so as you all are just tuning in, we.

This is behind the chair in uncertain times.

Trump cuts and tariffs, how they impact us and how do we adapt to uncertainty?

Hey, what's up?

You got a glass of wine?

I gotta.

I gotta.

Well, mine is water.

Okay.

Am I vertical?

Yeah, you're.

Yeah, you're horizontal.

Great, great.

That would have been fun to do it that way, but.

Okay, There we go.

There we go.

Hi, Robert.

How you doing?

I'm good.

I wish I did have a.

Is it wine or whiskey?

Actually, it's a sipping rum.

It's made in.

It's like.

I think it's Hawaiian maybe.

And it's.

It's got, like, coffee and it's soup.

It's kind of like, has like a.

It's a sipping rum.

It's so good.

It's so good.

We'll discuss that later.

That.

Later.

That later.

So.

So I was just letting the folks that have tuned in so far know that tonight's talk is behind the chair in uncertain times, adapting to Trump cuts and tariffs.

How is it impacting us?

What do we do?

So I guess, you know, for the folks tuning in that may.

May not know who you are, would you just give us a little, like, intro to you and your spot and how we came about, had this idea because this was your idea to have this cop talk.

Yeah.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Ashley Taylor, owner and stylist of Taylor in York Salon.

We're located in Washington, D.C.

in the Shaw, D.C.

area.

If you're in the area, think beer garden.

We're like, right next door.

Been in business for.

It's going on 13 years and every time I say it, my mind does a little explosion, like, oh, my gosh, I've managed to survive in D.C.

proper for 13 years.

We love color, we love hair, we love service, we love connecting with people and which I think is the basis for most salons in, you know, just that community environment.

And I know we're talking about, you know, the current political and cultural climate, but for me, there's a direct thread between, like, where we are now and the need for community even more.

What I mean by community is there's nothing like commiserating with other people.

And I think I'm just trying to be in this space of adding some levity to all of this, because when you think about it a lot, it can be a bit ominous and heavy and can wear you down and stunt your creativity.

But when you're in that space with other people kind of going through the same thing, it helps.

And we'll probably touch on that a little bit later.

But, yeah, this I started and I contacted you a little while ago because I felt the rumblings of, like, okay, something is on the horizon here.

I don't think any of us knew where we would be right now.

And it's only March.

Like, this is just the beginning.

And.

And Even being in D.C.

proper, we are at, like, ground zero.

And we're taking and feeling the brunt of a lot of this, the beginnings of this.

And I think now, personally, I haven't seen anything.

Any concrete evidence, but there's definitely a feeling in the city.

There's definitely a new feeling in the salon.

When talking and engaging with clients, there's like a.

There's a.

There's a worry.

And I think it would.

I prefer to get ahead of things.

I think as a business owner, we're always trying to stay.

We need to stay a couple steps ahead.

So even in the thoughts and trying to plan for what's ahead in the fall season, it's like, oh, crap, wait a minute, 50%.

And that's on the low end.

50% of our clients may not have a job.

What is that going to look like?

What am I spending my money on?

What can we do to try to prepare for the unknown of stuff that hasn't even happened yet?

So that's the impetus of why I wanted to just talk about it.

I could have my own ideas all day, but I think it helps when, you know, we're bouncing ideas off of each other and then adding, you know, and asking other people to join in the conversation as well, just so we can see I think that that helps.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, the reality.

So once, once you hit me up about this, I started asking all, every single customer, unless the customer was clearly in distress over the situation that was happening, but most customers were happy to respond to what is your prediction to what's going to happen in Washington, D.C.

the local economy.

And usually the answer is something about their, their feelings about the people that are in charge, you know, like Elon or Donald Trump.

And, and, and you know, we have that conversation and then once that conversation, kind of after they say what they have to say, then I ask them.

So I hear you on that, but I'm, I'm about to go and have a talk with another salon owner.

And, and, and like, I have.

Here's an example of a question like if, if a salon, if, if, if someone came up to us and said, hey, I'm.

I have an opportunity to open up a salon in D.C.

should I do it?

What is your answer?

You know, and I, and that changes the whole question, the whole conversation.

Yeah.

And then it's not about speculating about the future and being afraid about like our democracy.

It becomes very much like a, an immediate now question.

And the immediate now question is how not only like, okay, so like, maybe you have an opportunity to like, do something with a business or pivot or whatever, but like, you know, I think that you nailed it.

And it's like the number one thing that we know for a fact.

And I'd be curious to know if there are any other stylists out there that are living in different parts of the country that if they, what they have their, what their experience is.

But I definitely agree that like cus, like the stress of the customer coming in is like, that's reason enough to have a conversation about, like, how do we, how we navigate that?

Like, how do we, how do we.

How do we be there for them as their service provider and a safe space for them to like, feel and relax without, without, without taking on their stress in trying to, trying to, trying to really help them relieve that.

I mean, you know, if you're.

A lot of us are empath, empathetic and empaths.

And you know that.

That's like, that's my first thing I got, I got like, I made a list of four things.

What?

You have a list?

You send me your list.

I'm totally joking.

Anybody that knows Rob knows what I'm talking about.

Rob is always very, very incredibly prepared.

It's.

It's admirable, I swear.

Oh, thanks.

Well, I I'm happy that you brought this up.

So let, why don't we just dive right in because people are waiting to find out what should they do.

And if anybody out there is listening and watching that wants to come on, please just like shoot us a comment or request to join and we'd be happy to have you jump on.

So for right now, let's get into it.

So Ashley, what, what is it?

What is, what is like your top two or three things that are thinking that you're definitely going to do or you would advise or you think is a good idea to do to deal with this uncertainty.

So first let me say salon, not just salon owners.

And if you hear me referring to that, just know, frame it on my head, not my heart.

But salon owners, we're not.

This isn't a unique experience.

It is kind of.

But what I mean by that is creatives, we pivot a lot.

We know how to pivot and like especially artists, when whatever medium you just, you know, whatever medium you decide to use, you know how to make something work.

And the difference in with this one is we don't know how long and how far this is going, like the reach of this and how severe the trickle down or the impact will be.

So even in planning, you can plan only for a little bit.

And I think one of the main things that I'm doing is one.

Trimming the fat.

Yes, that's on my list.

Trimming the fat and leaning into the opportunities that usually arise in times like these.

Yeah.

What type of opportunities do you have?

Anything that, that you think.

Any guesses so.

Or speculations.

Always thought that.

And I think I mentioned this to you, if not you, because I'm having this conversation with other people as well.

Is that.

Yeah, dc, we're, we're at ground zero.

We're feeling this.

But I'm leaning into the.

Well, who isn't affected by it?

You know, who, who isn't financially impacted by it?

It doesn't mean that I'm not.

I don't have space and hold space in my heart for clients that may have been let go.

And I mean real horrible circumstances that I can't even begin to imagine.

Losing the home, having to take my child out of college or the expensive high school, you know, where you have a two income household, you're trying to figure it out.

But there are a group of people, because this still is dc, where leaning into that demographic of people where it's not affecting may be worth some consideration.

What that looks like, I think that is up to the individual in terms of what you provide.

And that's what I mean.

Well, I didn't touch on that, but that's one of the things where I mean by mediocrity is like it can't be tolerated anymore because when you are dealing with that demographic, you're bringing your A game all of the time.

You are confident in yourself, you're confident in your skill set and you are, you're operating from a space of anticipation.

You're anticipating the needs of your customer.

We've been doing that for years, you know, so it's just a matter of kind of fine tuning it and packaging it and presenting it to people.

And that's one thing that I'm currently and presently working on as far as trimming the fat.

Woo.

I, I'm grateful.

I am that I'm glad that I don't have an assistant.

I would have had to let them go.

And I'm being very honest with you where I'm noticing a, I'm noticing a decline of pre bookings and you know, we all know how the assistant situation works.

But like, do I have an extra thousand dollars a week?

No.

Right.

You know, I'm reimagining what retail is looking out.

Do I really need all of this on the shelf?

You know, looking at your leases and this is all going into the planning part, the unforeseen getting ahead of things, having these conversations early.

So it won't completely throw you off guard.

But those are, those are the two main things that, that I'm leaning into community, having more conversations like this because I guarantee you we're not the only ones that are, are thinking about this.

For some of us, it may have it, you know, may already be impacting us.

I haven't done a deep dive to see what the numbers are in the city, what salon service a certain demographic, what salons have a high volume of federal workers.

You know, I have a lot of teachers.

Like I'm almost scared to send the email like yo, who has been let go.

But I'm going to have to see so I can, so I can plan A lot of those kind of hard conversations are going to have to be had.

So spiritual gangster75 says Covid prepared us to pivot.

And I think we give, I think we give them a safe place to not think about the challenges.

I completely agree.

That's one of my things is like the customer's experience.

My thought is it's very similar in line with what you're saying.

And if I had like I have four things and I guess if I had to pick, I don't think I could pick two or three out of these.

But like, I guess since you already said trim the fat, I think that's important now.

I would say that I want to have a conversation about the comp.

There's a whole conversation around the scarcity mindset and I want to touch on that.

But in the moment, so I have diversify revenue look at seeing expanding services.

So that's kind of like what you're saying in terms of, like, who is not affected by the, the, let's say, the tumultuous nature of situ.

I don't know, the chaos, like, what's happening, like, impacted economically.

I think that there's a mental health piece here where people are just like, like, people are just stressed out.

And so I don't know if we're going to find anybody who's not stressed.

Like, but I do.

I mean, there are people there.

Like, I had one client today, I was telling him, and, and he goes, oh, I bet you're hearing a lot of stuff about that.

Like, like, kind of just matter of factly, like super flat, like, and, and so anyway, to, to prepare, but behind the chair, in uncertain times, Trump cuts and tariffs.

I say diversify revenue, cut, watch your cash flow.

And.

But the last two things I think are really important is strengthening local and industry connections.

You touched on that.

And there's more than, more to it than like, dealing with uncertain times.

And especially in the event that it's like super hyper focused on the DC DMV market with people losing jobs and like, organizations getting closed down.

And so, like, having access to having a good, robust local network.

Sorry, Having a good, robust local network will enable you to know things that you might not know otherwise.

Like that the fact that DC is giving out like $10,000 grants right now to brick and mortar operations and salons are one of them.

And you can use it for like, payroll and like your rent.

Like, you know, it's like, it's like how many people out there know that DC's giving out 10 grand, you know, and so would you know that by doing a bunch of research.

Yeah, so that's a research that we should all do.

But you'd also know that if you had a strong local community that you were having conversations like this.

And then also the.

But this is, that's.

That.

That.

That is nothing compared to this one.

I, this is my favorite one.

Other than the customer service and adding value.

Like, I think the most important Thing that a hairdresser or a salon owner or a barber or a hairpreneur can do in an uncertain time during.

During these.

Is to.

Is to go around to other local businesses that you have similar target audiences and.

And then find them that are local and do collaborations with them.

Like.

Like something that.

Something that I'm working on right now is teaming up with, like, a nearby restaurant in a nearby clothing store, and maybe.

Maybe even a hotel.

I think those are harder to get.

But.

But, like, we could do, like, a mod, like, get some models and do these photographs and videos of them, like, hanging out, like, having a sip of wine and then going to get their hair done and then going out to dinner and then going to stay at the hotel.

And you have this whole, like, all this, like, social media content, and then you utilize, like, the collaborator, the collaborations thing, and then you all are sharing each other's audiences and you're casting a wider net.

Like, to me, that is.

That sounds super exciting and it's, like, hopeful and it's uplifting.

And I feel like I just interviewed a doctor, a PhD of stress physiology, and that I'm gonna try to get that one out soon.

She's amazing.

And she was just talking about how, like, when we're under stress, because I told her we were having this talk and shout out to Rebecca heist, you are amazing.

She's like, my favorite person right now.

And so she.

She.

She's basically saying that we need to reframe stress.

We need to stop thinking that stress is bad.

That doesn't mean that we're being stressed out in some ways is bad.

It just means that not all stress is bad.

And if.

If you can reframe it.

And yeah, collaboration idea.

You're right.

So, yeah, so Rebecca is saying, reframe.

Reframe the.

Reframe it.

Is this an ordeal or is this an adventure?

Can we.

Can we.

Can we look and see different ways?

She did tell me something interesting.

There's a physical.

There's like a chemical movement in your brain when you are in community and you help another person agree.

And that, like, it could just be like, I'm here for you.

You want to talk.

You know, I can grab coffee so you could vent.

And.

And so.

And then she said.

Then I asked her about holding.

Taking on other people's feelings and being empathetic.

Like, she was saying that it's really challenging for an empath to not take on your fe.

On those feelings.

So finding ways to.

To.

To de.

Stress and let the energy go she said, literally, like, if you just go back in the break room after a person who is super stressed out and do some jumping jacks, you can kind of like shake it off from you, from yourself in a way that can lead you on, on the rest of your day to having a good, healthy day.

So anyway, those.

That's kind of.

Those are my thoughts on that.

Yeah, I.

There's something about.

So I was having a conversation with Darius from Groom Guy.

We actually got together at Tate about a week ago and I'm still thinking about the conversation like there when you.

Shout out to Darius, by the way.

Groom Guy, when you align yourself with people, in particular in our case, when other creatives.

And it honestly doesn't have to be in the same industry, but it helps.

But when you surround, when you align yourself with other creatives and they're doing something that either one you can see yourself doing or something that is just is igniting something in you where you're just captivated.

And that's what I felt like the things that he is doing and has done with Groom Guy, it says it signals something like, well, wait a minute, I didn't think about that.

You know, and I mean, operating from a space of salon owner and stylist, I'm always just going.

I don't really.

It's challenging for me to have time just to sit and really just and daydream and think.

So I have to either etch out time or really make it a point to do that.

But I mentioned that to underscore the importance of just like you said, aberrating and talking to other people.

The value that is in community.

It should ignite something in you.

It should invoke thought.

It should make you think differently.

And I think that is going to help a lot of us now because you're going to kind of be in this mode.

And when I say survival mode, I don't mean that in a negative way, but those parts of your brain and your mind will begin to ignite and think and you start to think differently.

And even if you embrace it, if you got to embrace it, though, like, if you just run away and hide and like drown your sorrows and don't, don't do.

Yeah.

So, like, I agree.

I think that you're.

I think that some people might have a challenge with that.

So, like, go out and embrace this, what you're saying.

Sorry, I just wanted to.

It's very much a.

Ron Goodness.

Ron David, a friend of mine owns a boutique in the area and I was doing Amazingly well.

And he posted very vulnerable side.

But he was, this particular post was on Sink or Swim.

And I think any business owner, we all have those moments, like, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to make it this month.

And that's just the reality of, you know, the situation.

It's not thinking negatively or leaning into the stress and the scarcity mindset.

That's how we kind of have to think.

But the sink or swim, like, okay, are you going?

Is it going to work out or is it not?

And it's kind of up to you.

And it begins in the mind and what you, you know, what you see, what do you believe that you are capable of in really, really exploiting your potential?

Like, now's the opportunity to really try a whole bunch of stuff, a lot of things and see what could possibly work, what meetings could you set up, you know, what, what projects, how could I make, how, what could I type into, whether it's, you know, chatgpt and it gives me the framework for, for something that I've been trying to work on but never had the time to.

You just gave me an idea.

Just had an idea just in this minute.

What if you call, what if you call hit up, like, find, I don't know, a brand that you don't carry.

And you have to be open to actually be doing, willing to do this.

Like, let's say that you're like, you know what?

I'm gonna try a new color line.

And then, and then you go and you get the color lines to go out and say, hey, I'm gonna open a new color line.

I want you to host a customer appreciation day where the customers get to come in and they get like free glasses and wine.

And then, and then you say, and I'm gonna test out a couple of different color lines.

I mean, and then you, you can like.

And then you pick up this new color line and, and then this whole process that you've been going through during how much ever time, it just kind of like, it's like messaging to your, to your customers that you're like, you're like doing new things and you're creating space for them to like, that they don't have to come and spend money.

They could just kind of like appreciate you and your space and your work.

You're.

You're going to work for them and making their life amazing while you're work.

Like, it's just, I don't know.

I just had that idea.

I kind of like this idea.

But no oh, that is, that's another thing that is in my notes.

These big corporations, like it's going to have to boil down to more than just sending me free product.

Yeah.

Like doing all, you know, people who are, you know, promoting these, these brands.

But when you really get down to it and see what you're doing for them, I think there needs to be some reciprocation.

We can't do without each other, so we're going to have to work together.

And I think it is not an unreasonable request to begin asking more of these big brands that we give thousands of dollars to a month without having to jump through hurdles to get it.

Amen.

If we don't have the.

It's basic math.

If we don't have the clients, guess what, that thousand dollars may be 250amonth.

Like it's just, it's basic.

Totally leaning into that.

And just like the event like that just, I think you just called the event what it is.

Seriously, that's genius.

And that goes into the anticipation because clients, the other side of that is the client saying, yeah, you know, I lost my job, I have a little bit of money to work with.

I may not have $600, but I have 90 or 100 and being prepared for that one and then two, hey, I'm sending you a personal invite for this.

There's the community aspect where you're coming and you can exhale for a little bit.

Because what I found even in, during the pandemic and Covid, like the artist community, especially the hairdressing community, skyrocketed in numbers.

Like what we do is freaking magical.

And I'm not just saying that it is something to watch, like watching someone paint.

And people who don't generally think with that side of their brain, they're still captivated by the visual, the imagery of it and seeing something you can relate to that, whether it's a grooming session or whether you're doing a full foil highlight or fashion color or whatever the salon industry is, is fun.

And people like leaning into that and having a space for that where we're showing you different glosses and ways that you can make it work for you.

That's a no brainer.

But yeah.

And the cut original point, the big corporations.

Yeah, everybody's going to be getting a letter soon.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

I mean I'm definitely going to.

There's a couple of lines, brands that I'm going to hit up actually about this.

So, so okay, so everybody who's joining in, who's who's joined in since we started.

This is our talk today is behind the chair and uncertain times Trust Trump cuts and tariffs, how they impact us and how do we adapt to uncertainty.

Welcome to the talk.

Okay, so we've talked about a few things so far.

We talked about some ideas.

We came up with some new ideas.

We came up with some ideas that we came here with.

What do you think about, like, I guess my, I guess my thinking is.

First question, what would you say this is a.

Kind of a trick question?

I think.

Maybe not, because you're probably going to surprise me with your answer, which is kind of the point of this.

What, what, what, what would you say to somebody who said, hey, I'm thinking about opening up a salon right now, or I have an opportunity to open a salon right now, Should I do it?

What would you say to that person?

I would ask them what?

Well, start with what is the reason for opening the salon?

One.

Okay.

Let's just say it was a standard answer.

It's a dream of mine.

I'm busy, I have a lot of clients, and I'm ready to open up a salon.

I feel like that's most people's reason.

Have you done, have you, have you done the numbers?

Ah, great answer.

You got it.

Damn it.

Of course you got it.

The, the answer is definitely.

Well, let's look at your books.

Like, let's look at your numbers.

Let's look at your bank account.

Like, how much money do you have?

Like, how much is it gonna cost you?

How can you last?

Okay, so here I got a very specific question then.

How long do you think this, all this stuff is going to go on for?

That could potentially dampen anybody's endeavors, whether or not they're just thinking, like, hey, you know, maybe a salon stylist is looking at their own.

They got, you know, they're looking at their books.

And maybe the salon owner is, you know, they have a strategy, but maybe the stylist is, you know, nervous, like, you know, which makes sense.

And it has nothing to do with the salon owner.

It just has to do with the fact that the stylist is just, like, trying to make sure that they're doing all the work that they need to do to, like, look into this and, like, prepare for this because they're nervous and they were seeing that less people are pre booking, like you said.

And, and that, that is the thing.

I've, I've been hearing more people say, like, I had a client in today.

He was saying that he's in the hotel industry.

And he goes, you know, we're pretty much like, haven't really been hit, but there is one space that we noticed all the Canadians are canceling.

And so that's only going to be.

That's only going to be for a little bit, though.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah, right, exactly.

But I guess the idea is that there are reasons.

I guess my point is what I get from that is there are reasons that people look into the future and are worried that.

And so they're gonna, like, wait and see.

There's kind of like this whole wait and see vibe.

So, anyway, what are your thoughts?

So as I bring that up to that hairdresser who really has no.

No real power on the business, but they have the power within themselves.

And they're saying, I.

My salon owner has a strategy, but I want to do something too.

And yeah, we'll.

You have any thoughts there?

Definitely flesh that up.

Well, I would want someone to come to me.

I would want that.

I would want my stylist to come to me.

Hopefully the relationship had already been established where there's an open door, not open door policy.

But.

Hey, Ashley, I have an idea that I'm thinking about and wanted to run it by you.

And let me be clear with the stylist in this space.

Is this the stylist thinking about either incorporating an idea in an already established salon or jumping out on their own?

No, they're not.

They don't want to leave.

They just imagine they're like me and that, you know, I can't just sit by and, like, trust somebody.

The captain of my ship.

I'm not gonna jump ship, but I want to know, like, what else can I do on.

Within this ship or within myself on my own time to work on.

Work on my own book like this.

The salon owner is worrying about the whole salon.

They got so much to worry about, these support staff.

And, like, you know, you even mentioned, like, if you have support staff, you know, you.

Would you be cutting back on that support stuff?

Like, they have plenty to worry about.

I'm the stylist in a salon, and I.

I just want to think about my customer.

Yeah.

And.

And that could be.

That could.

That could be like, talk to your customers and see if they want to do like a.

Do like a little event or something.

But, like, what?

You know, because you could always pitch that to the salon owner.

That's not out of bounds.

But definitely, if you have it planned out and you're presenting me with some facts and some research and a plan for it.

I'm going to give you some time.

I'm going to.

And what I mean by that is like, all right, let's see what you got.

Come April, April 1st to April 30th, I'll give you a month.

And if I see a difference, it doesn't necessarily have to be a maybe 75% increase in revenue, but it may be just a shift in something.

Maybe more inquiries, more engagement on social media, like, hey.

Or, you know, people talking in the salon.

Hey, I saw that Rob, your stylist was.

Was doing xyz.

Tell me more about this.

If there begins to be a buzz around it, and I know that takes time, then that's going to make me lean in some more.

Personally, I'm going to be interested because I'm looking like, hey, that may.

There may be something here.

There may be something here.

And if you've already really fleshed it out and presented it to me, the ebbs and flows of it.

What if you didn't reach this certain number by X date?

What's your alternative plan?

Because that shows me that you're thinking more like me, and I would respect that 100%.

But it couldn't just be this random.

You know, hey, I want to try.

Needs to be well thought out.

Well, I guess what I'm looking for is do you have any ideas that a person could do on their own if they're limited and we may be maybe talking about the solo stylist, the independent artist, might make some sense.

And if.

And if anybody that's listening or watching wants to, that's an independent stylist and you're worried about the uncertainty.

We'd love for you to, you know, tune in or, sorry, chime in here.

So, yeah, I guess what I'm looking for is, like, if an individual wants to make an impact in a way that, you know, in a different way or do something, what would you recommend?

Like, I have some ideas and I feel like you kind of already touched on them, but I just want to make sure that we're addressing the entire audience.

Yeah, I know.

For me.

So you know Luis from stylist at North.

We were talking, and long and short.

I'm going to go and work in his salon for a day.

Nice.

I love that.

Just.

I love that.

Just to change of scenery.

It's an amazing experience.

Well, I'm being dramatic, but an amazing experience for the clients.

And like, we're going on a field trip, guys.

Like May, let's say for instance, May 15, I'm working in Old Town.

Let's see.

New space.

The guy, the salon is beautiful.

He's dope.

It'll still be all me, but we're changing things up a little bit.

That to me is fun.

You may be next, Rob.

I'm just, that is, I love that.

Stuff like that is so fun to me.

And again, it ignites something in you.

You meet other people, your clients meet other people, you see other stylists work.

I can't tell you the amount of times where I've just wanted to just sit and watch other stylists work.

Like there's a respect there, just to see how other people execute their craft and that just.

Yeah, that's fun.

Who knows where it may lead, what it is, but it's something that is, it's a start.

Yeah.

Thinking differently.

And I love it.

Yeah.

Like saying that these are different.

In order to want something different or have something different, you're going to have to do something differently.

I mean, what you're doing is taking, you know, as people probably know and you definitely know, you know, the whole shadowing thing.

Obviously we believe that shadowing is the key to success, to finding in a training apprenticeship, the opportunity to work at a salon.

Little A, not big A for all you regulation licensed people out there.

The little A apprenticeship, the old world apprenticeship, the thousands of years old apprenticeship, not the new age, get your license apprenticeship.

Just to make sure I'm clear, because there's not clarity on that, by the way.

Like this seems like everybody I say apprenticeship and like almost 9 out of 10 times someone jumps to like regulation and like licensure.

So I'm talking about the training part.

Like we need, we need, we need to learn our craft, not just get a piece of paper that says we have a license, you know, and so, so anyway, now that I'll digress.

So I, I love the idea of salons, people shadowing each other.

Like, that's amazing because like the whole point of shadowing for a student is so they get to figure out where, where their ideal fit is and who they want to work with and their vibe.

But also like to those that want to, you know, be in business one day, like, it's such a valuable tool.

And for those in business, I love this.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm, I'm really looking forward to it.

I just personally, I personally like being in new spaces.

Even though I'm a creature of habit.

I love shaking things up a little bit, meeting new people, new energy.

Because something inevitably will come from that, whether it's it's something will come from it.

I love this.

Ken says, I went when I was younger.

I used to go to Tyson's Corner, But I'll Sassoon and watch artists work for hours.

It really gets the brain going and inspires you to do better.

Totally.

It totally really does.

And I think if we feel the magic of that, how do you, in a sense, bottle that up and make this whole, like, bringing it back to the whole situation where we're in.

How do we make that something that our clients are still going to want to come and experience?

Yeah.

And that's what I mean by the opportunity where this is fertile ground to begin thinking differently.

Like, just imagine, because we're going to be the ones to do it, because there are people that will be scared to make the move, which I get.

You know, you've had the same job for 10 plus years.

It's the root, it's the routine, and you've never strayed away from that.

We are the ones who do the different things.

We're the ones that test the waters and then bring it back to you and say, like, come on, y'all, we got this.

It's fine, fine.

It's fine.

Trust me.

Get behind me.

Trust me.

We're good.

And then it's like, oh, okay, you were right.

And that's how it is culturally.

I was listening to MSNBC today, and there's this conversation about how the Democratic Party.

Well, Democratic politicians are leaning into the sports world and trying to be.

Yeah, they laid dollar short, but we'll see how it works.

Because they see that they have a captive audience and it's like, what does that mean?

They're leaning into the sports world?

It's trying to be.

If you follow sports, you know, Stephen A.

Smith is.

He's leaning a little bit.

He talks about politics a lot more, not necessarily on espn, but on his personal podcast and the Democratic Party, who is now in, like, worry, panic mode.

Like, okay, what do we need to do?

And you're following.

Where are the people?

Oh, a lot of men, a lot of young voters are at these games, are tuned in all the time.

Like, sports is huge.

Like, I knew that you go where the people like.

The culture, the people, the entertainers, the artists.

That's where people follow us.

And if we really lean into that, this thing may look a little differently.

That's interesting.

Spiritual gangster says, I'm a cosmetology educator.

Preparing people for internships is a big part of what I do.

And I love that because I literally Think that that's, that's the pathway to success.

And then Ken adds, from my experience, clients love seeing stylists share ideas and learn.

It gives them a sense of confidence in our work.

Actually, I was literally gonna, I was literally gonna say, I want to come and shadow you and, and then you can like, I just feel like if you have somebody here standing next to you being like, I'm here to like, see how they work and then what does that do to the customer's experience?

You know, they love it.

I mean, you and I know they love it.

They go back to their friends.

It's almost like when you have a child or, you know, so and so did this today and you're just proud because that relationship is there.

Like some clients are like family at this point and for them to go back to, you know, their regular run of the mill.

And I've spent an hour or two of my day, you know, my blood pressure has been raised in a good way.

I've been excited, I've been ignited.

And you want to, you want to be a part of that.

You want to be a part of the fun, the what's new, the people who are taking chances.

And again, going back and saying like, hey guys, it's good over here.

Come on, just get behind me.

We can do this.

This is fun.

I'm guaranteeing you'll have a good time.

And that's, that's like what our lives are.

That's what our day is.

They love it.

Totally.

I love this.

I think, I don't know, I think that we did, I think, you know, not to be self congratulatory or anything, but I think we did a pretty good job covering a lot of bases here.

And anybody that's going to tune in or will tune in after we post it, because I'm going to pause also post this.

I think that they're gonna get some pretty valuable information here.

Is there, is, is there any other information or thoughts that you'd like to share before we kind of wrap it up?

And, and if any, anybody out there that wants to chime in or, or anything like that, now's the time.

I know I, I'm gonna lean in more into the collaboration, into the more collaborative aspect of this.

What I am, when I have those dips in my schedule now, I'm going to take advantage of those because I have to believe that my creativity is still not just important to me, but important to other people, important to clients.

And if you believe it, then others will follow suit.

But thinking and dreaming bigger is the space that I'm in and very much in plan mode of what is that going to look like?

Totally.

And I would like to.

Well, real quick, Ken says I want to add if economy gets worse for the stylists.

This is a great time.

Show stylists how important financial education is.

Yeah, I definitely agree with that.

Like hands down, that's definitely, that's definitely something that we talk about a lot and hairdressers.

Oh and you, you touched, you touched on this about say for instance, if you, you don't want to be by yourself and you still want to create, you may not be able to afford the six thousand dollar a month lease.

But what if we go in together, get all of some of the greats and make something happen because they're still going to need.

There's still going to be that need for community in the salon experience.

And there's nothing like it.

There's absolutely nothing like it.

But what could that look like that something like a year two projection plan, you know, what does that space look like?

What would something like that look like in dc?

That's interesting.

Yeah, I am going to noodle on that.

And I want to make sure that before we sign off we bring one attention.

We circle all the way back to something you said in the beginning, which I am hands down.

Like if anybody, anybody out there that's listening or watching, they need.

I want you all to remember what Ashley said and that is mediocrity.

What'd you say?

Mediocrity tolerated.

Yes.

Mediocrity won't be tolerated anymore.

Seriously, the not showing up or sloppy color placement, not answering the phone or the email.

Being late for your client.

It's not now more than now more than ever because clients are being very, very discerning and where they're spending their money.

If I'm scraping up a couple hundred dollars to come spend with you, it has to be right, doesn't have to be perfect.

But I need effort and I need passion and the laissez faire sloppy placement just not doing your best and you know you're not because you're.

I know they'll be back.

They may not.

This time.

Not this time.

And the.

That's going to.

Yeah.

Somebody out there that will do it.

Yeah, totally.

Well, this has been a pleasure.

Thank you so much for prompting this.

I definitely, I be, I be down to like do a follow up maybe.

Let's see like what the.

What, what what's go.

What happens?

Let's give, let's give some time to, like, let things play out.

And we definitely should check back in for, like, a follow up, maybe in, like, two or three months just to see, like, what plays out.

Also, are.

Are you.

Are you gonna make it to the March 24th hairpreneur happy hour here in D.C.

this.

What is that?

No.

Tell me about it.

Well, we.

We're put.

We put together, like, just a let's get together, have some drinks, no cost, cover your own drinks kind of vibe.

And, you know, we've been sending out some messages and I think we're gonna promote it soon if we haven't already.

Sorry, that's the dog.

March 24th, correct?

Yeah, absolutely.

And.

Well, and then I'll send me.

I'll send it to some people that I know in the industry.

Okay, cool.

Awesome.

All right, well, until next time.

Thank you so much.

It's been a pleasure.

And I definitely, definitely want to see about this, like, shadowing.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Like, I definitely.

I.

I would love to come and, like, hang out, so.

And anyway, I'll follow up with that.

Okay, sounds good.

Sounds good.

See ya.

All right, have a good one.

Bye.