Hairdresser Strong: Be a Forever Student!
Empowerment is one of the most important building blocks of success, second only to education. We discussed empowerment via community and self in our last blog post. Now, we discuss education and the value of being a “forever student”. Your success depends on your adoption of this mentality. It is too easy to dismiss a learning opportunity as a burden or annoyance because you do not like the facilitator or the subject matter. When you do this, you stand in your own way!
I hope you had a good June! Summer here in Washington, D.C. is kicking off with protests! As I write this, Roe vs Wade was just overturned. Some of you will be happy about this and some of you will not be. Seeing people marching in the streets, exercising their right to assemble and their freedom of speech, speaks to me. To my point in my last blog post about the importance of empowerment: people are empowered to claim their rights and they assemble with their community of like-minded people to be strong and support & help each other to take control of their lives! This is the energy and activity that moves mountains and is a fundamental key to success for all.
Now, despite your position on this issue, I am confident you get my point about the strength in “community” and the empowerment that it brings. Sometimes, in order to understand a concept, we need to see it in a way that impacts our lives in a big way. You can harness that energy & motivation and use it throughout your life. Empowerment is not the only thing that we, at Hairdresser Strong, believe is the key to your or our success. We believe education is imperative.
What is education?
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries defines education as, “learning, especially in schools, colleges or universities, to improve knowledge and develop skills.”
Most of us are exposed to a lot of information via the internet. This may be social media, news publications, blogs like this one, and/or podcasts & YouTube shows like The Hairdresser Strong Show. I maintain that Rising Stylists are light years ahead of previous generations at the same point in their career due to all the online education. However, a common mistake that we, at Hairdresser Strong, see during our business advising sessions, networking, and visits to schools & salons is that a person or group may be strong in technique, but not in administration. Or, maybe someone or a group is good at all the administration of their business, their technique is good enough, but they are weak in digital marketing or communication.
There is always room to grow and learn. Be Forever a Student! If you want to be successful, approach every single learning opportunity as a chance to grow your knowledge and/or skills. Even if you think you know everything the teacher or facilitator is teaching, you may instead focus on how they facilitate. How do they speak? How does their body move, and what types of words do they use to convey important messages? There is always something to learn! For example, you may be asking yourself, “Why would I watch the interview with Daniel Mason Jones on “Adapting to Gen-z & Millennial Stylists’ Expectations” when I am not a salon owner?”. Well, in this interview, you get to hear how a Million Dollar, Behind-The-Chair, Stylist (and owner) sees the industry and how it is evolving. This will help you think about your future. If business owners are changing their models or culture, this could directly affect you. You may be able to sway your salon owner in the event they want to make a change in a way you do not like. You can tell them about this interview you watched about a very successful business owner and this is what he did… This education, along with some empowerment helps you be strong in taking control of your life.
The “forever student” mentality is required for success. You will not achieve your goals if you do not adopt this mentality. How can anyone achieve anything without education? Historically, restricting education is a way to keep people subservient. Is that what you want to be? A servant to a master? Or do you want to be the captain of your ship called “life”? If it sounds like I am telling you this is the right way and everything else is wrong, it is because I am. The old saying, “Give [a person] a fish and feed them for a day. Teach [a person] to fish and feed them for life.” is a concept that people seem to forget when they expect others to do and sacrifice on their behalf. I have another one, “Once you learn to read, you will forever be free.” (-Frederick Douglas)... This is a tale as old as time: Education = Freedom; Education = Greater Control of Your Life; Education = Greater Success. I encourage you to leave a comment below if you agree or disagree; I love the engagement, and you may be able to change my mind!
We at Hairdresser Strong, aim to educate through storytelling, events, resources, and advising. Our focus is professional development and entrepreneurship in the hair industry. What do you want to learn about? What resources do you need? Would you like a business advising session? Send us a message or leave a comment below; we are standing by and ready to help!
Robert, a 20-year veteran, has worked passionately, for the bulk of his career to empower stylists, democratize the industry, and shift the power dynamic to be more equitable for the hairdresser.
