Rooted At West Oak.
Rooted At West Oak is podcast for salon owners, hairstylists and beauty lovers. We discuss topics like salon ownership, how to build your beauty business, beauty industry hot takes and so much more!
Rooted At West Oak.
How to build a dream clientele in the midwest as a hairstylist.
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In this weeks episode Emily and I talk about how we have built a solid clientele of dream and loyal clients.
we had so much fun recording this episode because this is a topic that we both love to talk about.
Thank you so much for being here!
Keep up with Daniel and West Oak Salon.
Daniel's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/daniel_does_my_hair?igsh=MTZ2dGNoMmw0eTN4ZA==
Emily's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/emilypaszke?igsh=MXNidnJrN2p5ZTU1OA==
West Oak Salon's Instagram:
You are listening to Rooted at West Oak, a podcast for stylists, salon owners, and beauty lovers, from hair color and extensions to business, growth, and real salon life. This is where it all starts. Welcome to the next episode of the Rooted at West Oak Podcast with me, Daniel Stoffel. I am the salon owner of West Oak Salon. And today I have Emily with me. You guys know and love her at this point. She's been on countless episodes. She is my co-host as well as a fellow stylist here in the industry in Columbus. And we are today are going to talk a little bit about how to build a community of clients that we not only love, but clients who love us, want to support us in our business, and also believe in our journey and believe in our passion. So I want to kick off this episode talking a little bit about how I feel like I have built a clientele of uh people who just support my business, support my journey, support my work. But then I also want to talk a little bit on your side, Emily, about how you have developed skills and traits to maintain your clients who love what you do but also respect what you do.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03So I feel like one of the most important things in this industry, whether you are commission, hourly, a suite owner, work in a booth rent salon, whatever route you take, I've always said this, you are always working for yourself. Yes. It does not matter what type of salon you're working in, but you are always working for yourself because you are the driver of what you do in this industry.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And what you decide to do service-wise, work hour-wise, social media-wise, is all it's all this umbrella of developing your individual journey in the industry. So you have to take the reins in your career and whatever the framework is around where you choose to work, hopefully it's going to just support your journey. But what I want to talk about is is kind of like why I believe that. Because I think sometimes people forget, you know, it's like I'm working in a commission salon or in an hourly salon or a booth rent salon. And people think I think sometimes you're only working for yourself if you are like an independent contractor. And that's just not the case. No. Because me as a salon owner, you know, when I employ somebody, I'm encouraging, I'm helping, I'm, you know, helping them figure out what they need to do in their career, but I'm not standing behind the chair for them. Right. I'm not having the conversations with their clients with them. I'm not the one delivering the skill or the finished result. They are. So we're always working for ourselves. And I think people forget that because they think, oh, you have to work an independent career to do that, but that's not the case. So one of the things that I feel like is really important that maybe isn't touched on a lot with this topic is I think the topic of truly connecting with people.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I feel like for whatever reason, this gets glanced over. We have to build connection with our community so that they understand that we have their best interest. Why are they coming to us if we are not going to be supporting what their goals, what their hair are? You know what I'm saying? So one of the things that I feel like is totally forgotten is the art of communication, connection, and developing a relationship with your client.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_03I cannot tell you how many times I've had clients tell me, I cannot go to somebody else because they do not see my vision. And I see their vision because I know who they are. Right. You know what I'm saying? I'm sure you experience that too coming from the world of, you know, you're like, I wanted to build this clientele in a smaller town, in a smaller space, because I come from that and I know these people. So I feel like a lot of times people wonder like, that's like, well, why am I not maintaining a clientele? And I'm like, well, what are you doing differently than other people? What are you doing behind the chair that is making you stand out from the other person, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03One of the things that I do is I try very hard to from the jump, I'm like, what do you do for a living?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Why do you do it? Why do you love it? Why do you hate it? Yep. You know, as I'm putting those foils in. Because I learn about who they are.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03And then they can kind of open up to me and they'll be like, oh yeah, well, I do this because I get to work on people. And I'm like, I do my job because I get to work on people. Now there's a connection. Now I know who you are. You know, and it's constant. And you do that on repeat for appointment after appointment after appointment. All of a sudden now I know exactly who you are. And you know exactly who I am.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03And you feel safe. Yes. And I feel safe.
SPEAKER_00And you feel heard.
SPEAKER_03Yes. So I feel like that's something that like I feel like a lot of times it's almost like in the industry, it's like factory work. It's like, okay, I just gotta go to the next person, the next person, the next person, the next person. Absolutely not. You know just as well as I know in this industry and in our salon, I've not built it to be that way. I don't want it to be that way. I don't want you to have to service 12 people on repeat every single day. Right. I don't want that. Yes, I probably could make triple, quadruple down of money for the salon, but I I'm not in the business of factory work work. I'm in the business of we need to build connection with people so that we know that we are giving them a tailored experience for them.
SPEAKER_00Yes. I think that especially here, like you can kind of you really get that vibe because just as someone who obviously has worked in this salon for as long as it's been open, I know firsthand and has some, but as somebody who has worked in a as many people in and out as you possibly can. I know that that's the case here because you guys don't make us do services that we don't want to do. No. It's I mean, a busy day for me is like, oh my god, I have three clients today. Where in the past I've been like pause.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Three days worth of clients could be four hour appointments. Yes, so you're working a 12-hour day.
SPEAKER_00You're still working a 12-hour day. Um whereas in the past, it's like, okay, I'm taking nine people and I'm putting foils on somebody's head in 30 minutes, and then her processing time putting foils on her head, and it's just in and out all day.
SPEAKER_03Like, let's decompartmentalize that a little bit because I feel like there are two different types of clients out there. There are clients who want to be in and out in two hours. Yes. Do it as fast as possible. I'm almost like on like they are almost like on routine with their appointment. And so they want that quick 30-minute foil application, 20-minute processing, pull the foils, rinse it out, blow it out, I'm done. Yeah. And then there are, which is, I feel like the convenience is it's convenient. We're coming in, getting it done, and I'm leaving. Then you have the other side of clients who are like, I want the experience. I want to sit, I want to relish in the fact that I'm not doing other things. I want to enjoy my communication with my stylist. I want to learn about the application that they're doing on me. I want to learn about my stylist. I want to learn about the products they're using. I want to learn about, you know, why they blow out a certain way or why they style a certain way. I want to learn about all these different things and I want the experience. There's two different subsets of clients, and I think different salons can be lucrative off of both things.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03And I think for us here at West Oak, I don't want the factory clockwork. Obviously, I have my clients that come in every four, six, eight, ten weeks.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, yeah.
SPEAKER_03But I'm in the business of let's make your experience as fun and as relaxing and as enjoyable as possible versus in and out quick onto the next because clients pick up on that. Absolutely. And if they are not, you know, if the client wants quick and efficient and fast and get me in and out, and they're in a salon of it's gonna take me three and a half hours to do this, they're not gonna be happy, versus flipping it. You have somebody who comes in and they want that experience and they're in and out in an hour and a half, they're not gonna be happy with that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. And I think that it's kind of funny too, because I think that you and I even working in the same salon, and I'm not saying that I'm like, but I I will say, I mean, I'm a fast worker, I'm quick.
SPEAKER_03And she's being modest here. Emily is the fastest foiler I think I have ever seen or met.
SPEAKER_00I thank you.
SPEAKER_03A full foil in 35 minutes is crazy. And not only a full foil, it is like a double full foil. She's putting 60 foils in the head in 30 minutes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like I'm good. I'm not gonna lie.
SPEAKER_03How is she doing that?
SPEAKER_00Not to pat myself on the back, but I I was kind of trained that way because I was in one of those, like boom, boom, boom, get them out. So long.
SPEAKER_03I've done this for 12 years and I can't do that.
SPEAKER_00But it's also funny because you, when you're talking about like the education of your clients and all of that kind of stuff, like I've tried. I think we attract this goes to how you find, you kind of find what works for you and you find what works for your clients. Because while I do have clients who ask me, hey, what product did you use? How did you get it to look like this? The amount of times, so Dan is very like, I'm doing this this way because it's gonna be like this, and this is the result we're gonna get. And his clients like eat it up, right? When I sit there and I try to tell my client, I'm gonna put this here so that it does this, they're like, Emily, I don't care, just do it. And but that's the kind of I vibe with that, and I'm like, okay, cool, I'm gonna go do it. And my clients are very much I attract that and it works for me. Yes. And Dan attracts the opposite and it works for him. And that is why so many different stylists can be successful because Dan and I do things so differently. We're both very good at what we do, but we do things so differently, and for that reason, he has a clientele that is different from my clientele. But guess what? We both have clientele that are diehard loyalists to us.
SPEAKER_03Well, and I think that's like a really good example because what if like we came in for the day and uh we both had like three clients and we were like, we're gonna flip. I'm gonna do your clients and you're gonna do mine. Wouldn't that just be like so insane?
SPEAKER_00I think that'd be so funny.
SPEAKER_03How do you well obviously the clients would have to be on board with that? Absolutely. But like, what if we what do you think that would be like?
SPEAKER_00I don't even know.
SPEAKER_03Because that would be so like your clients would hate me.
SPEAKER_00Uh but your clients would hate me. So they'd be like, why'd they why'd she do this so fast? She doesn't care about me at all. And meanwhile, and what's funny is even our conversations with clients are like, it is not abnormal for there to be tears during an appointment for me. Not in a bad way. Like my clients come in and they're like, you know what? I'm just gonna tell you my dog died, my mom's sick. This happened, that happened. You're never gonna believe this.
SPEAKER_03And your clients There's not a lot of tears in my chair unless people are like overly happy with the result.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and like that happens too, obviously. But like I think in general, our clients, but you know what? You want to know something? Our clients would be fine because all either one of us would have to do is bring up reality television and our clientele would all be like, you know what? That's cool.
SPEAKER_03You right, you might actually Emily set me up with the right person because what exactly they'd be like, Okay, you so you want to talk about traders?
SPEAKER_00That's fine.
SPEAKER_03Well Housewives, Salt Lake City?
SPEAKER_00Yep, absolutely. But that's the thing, is like I think that that is it it's just so wild how you attract that.
SPEAKER_03Yes, but the thing is though, is like going into this though, because this is a really good point. If we did actually switch clients for the day, I know that they probably personality-wise, it'd be a hard match.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But first of all, the work would still be great. It would be great. But also, too, a really good sign, I think, personally, a good sign of a good hairdresser is is find the commonalities.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03And we would.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I would 1,000 points.
SPEAKER_03We would at within five minutes, I'd be like, How can I relate to you?
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03Because this is not any different than a new client walking in, right?
SPEAKER_00And I say that in general, like in life. Like, this is so kind of this is gonna make me sound kind of conceited, and I don't mean it that way, but like even in like Go on.
SPEAKER_02Ooh, I'm like spicy.
SPEAKER_00I have to like take a step back and be like, yeah, the conversation was great. I'm like, but but was it because I am a hairstylist and I, for a living behind the chair, am like, I've had that where I've been natural curvessement. Oh my gosh, yes. I'm like, oh my gosh, yeah, the date was great. We had there was never a dull moment, like we had such good conversation, and then I step away from it. I'm talking to my friends about it. I'm like, wait a minute.
SPEAKER_03I was I brought that up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like I brought that up. I said that. He didn't say anything. He played off of what I said, but I brought it up because I start conversation all day, every day.
SPEAKER_03The second someone sits down. My go-to is some like crazy weather we're having. The generic, literally. But let me tell you something.
SPEAKER_00A hairstylist, we love, we love to talk about the weather.
SPEAKER_03We love the weather because why is it 60 degrees today? And why is tomorrow gonna be 32? I don't know, but it pisses me off.
SPEAKER_00And you know what? It gets uh in Ohio, that gets every single person in my chair riled up. Absolutely. Because everybody's got something to say about it.
SPEAKER_03Why did I have to wear a coat this morning? Yep, I don't know. I don't know, but you know what though? That coat is fierce, hot, sexy, love it. That's matching with this new hair you're about to walk out of. Please tell me you're going on a date tonight. Yes, please tell me.
SPEAKER_00Send me the link on Amazon, please. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03And that's see, because then if we did switch, if we switched, the clients would be taken care of. Absolutely. It'd be fine. But my point is, is it's like you have to find you do, you have to find that commonality.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. And I think that that is you have to find the commonality. And I think that that's why it's so like I said, hairstylists, we do this all day, every day. It's very easy for us to do that in behind the chair and in life.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00And it's just so funny to like think that that rolls over into everything, which is why going on to another kind of topic of this is social media saying that you like your clients to come in, feel safe, feel heard, all of the things right off the bat. Leading off of that, social media is where I like to showcase who I am.
SPEAKER_03It opens, it's you become now an open window to what people are going to experience in the salon with you.
SPEAKER_00Yes, because I love to set up a tripod and record my appointments because I'm like, okay, if you want a stylist who's not gonna talk with her hands, I'm a very fast foiler, but I have to be because I will put my comb and foiling board down for literally 30 seconds at a time just to tell you a story with my hands. I'm doing it right now. You guys can't see me, but like I'm doing it right now. And if you guys cut to camera one, no. If you guys don't want a stylist who's gonna do that, I'm not for you.
SPEAKER_03Yep. Well, see, and with me, I'm going to have 15 things in my hands, drop 10 of them, and also talk with my hands, and then stop foiling and be like, you know what? Actually, let's get into this real quick.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yes. But like, I that's why I'm so slow because I'm like, but that's like, it's just funny because I feel like I love showing people what their experience. I'm editing one right now that I'm hoping to get up like later this afternoon. But it's just funny to think about how I love to showcase the experience somebody's getting behind the chair, but then I also am constantly to somebody who is not my client, maybe would look at my social media and be like, okay, Emily, we don't care. But I will post my coffee 900 times. I will post my dogs 900 times. I'll post the book I'm reading. I'm gonna post the show I'm watching. Because guess what? That's a conversation starter. The next time I see you, the amount of times clients come in, they're like, oh my God, I saw you read such and such. Or I saw I've the amount of times I've been like, I'm gonna start a book club amongst my clients because I know you all like to read as much as I do. I'm gonna give you guys all these books that I like. Or let's talk reality TV. One time, this is actually really funny. One time I had a client come in, had never met her before, ever. This honest to God was probably within the last six months.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00She comes in, she's going on and on about we're talking about reality TV. So I throw on, I don't even remember what show it was. She's like, Oh, I haven't watched it yet. I'm like, girl, we got TV's right here. Let me pop it on for you. We talk nonstop, we're laughing, we're telling jokes, we're watching this show, we're talking about the people on the show as if they're our close personal friends. She leaves and I was like, Oh, I really liked her. That was so much fun. That was I'm so glad I got to meet her.
SPEAKER_03Did you feel like you did? But when you're in that environment, whether or not however this person found you, whether it was a referral, found you on socials, found you from the salon, however, she found you, when you broadcast your interests outside of work through your socials, you are putting the feelers out to all these people who potentially might want to get their hair done. And they're like, Emily feels like a good choice because I like the work that she's presented and sprinkled through her her socials, I like her mentality on life, I like that she does this, I like that she does that. And then when you come in or when she comes in, you can hit it off immediately.
SPEAKER_00Yep. She feels like she knows me already.
SPEAKER_03She feels like she knows you, she knows you can do a good job. Yeah, you feel trusted, so you will do your best work. Absolutely. Client feels safe because she knows you are doing your best work. You're both enjoying conversation. She likes the result, you like doing it, she believes in your system, she believes in your work. Then on top of that, her experience is fantastic, your experience is fantastic, and everybody wins. Yes. But it's a perfect collaboration, and that is what this industry is as a hairdresser. You have to 100% collaborate with your clients. They have to 100% believe in what you do and believe in your pricing and your scheduling and your skills, all of those things. Yes. Believe in you as a person, but you yourself, as the stylist, you want those. You want that. Like that's the dream, that's the goal. You got a full clientele of people who are those types of people.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03And that's how this builds. Because then the next time she comes in, it can only go up from there.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. She now is one of those. Sorry, my stomach just got to be able to get it.
SPEAKER_03Me too. Me too, literally.
SPEAKER_00She now is looking forward to her next appointment with me because that first one felt like we just headed off on a first date. Yes. Even if there are times where you're like, okay, we just met. Maybe she'll never, maybe she'll never come back, but she she probably is.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Well, there are so many times too where I feel like I meet somebody and it is a click immediately. And then there's people that I meet and I'm like, the vibe wasn't there.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, you hate me.
SPEAKER_03But it wasn't there. And the thing is, is it's because it sometimes it is harder to find that common ground. But the thing is, though, is over time as a hairdresser, you will meet so many people where it does click.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03And the work does show for itself. And that whole experience is fantastic. And it's just about figuring out who those people are for you, if that makes sense as a stylist.
SPEAKER_00I think that comes into transparency with one, who you are, but also like you said, what you have to offer. You know that they've seen your work, they see all these things. I know for you, and this might be a touchy subject for a lot of people, and I think this is where a lot of stylists get intimidated, is like price points, price changes, price increases. And I think for me, a price increase is never it can be scary, it's always gonna be scary, but it's a lot less scary when you have clients who like love and adore you.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00And you can say, like my last price increase, I warned like toward the end of the year, I was telling my clients, like, hey, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing yet, but I am increasing my prices. I'll let you know, I'll post them, they'll be on the website, all of this stuff. But I remember one, I've been doing hair for years. We always I adore her. Always great conversation. Her hair is always amazing. She trusts me amazing. Like, she's just the best. She literally was like, Okay, well, you're the only person who hasn't even increased their prices on me in the last three years. So I've kind of been expecting this. So like go off. And I'm like, Oh, okay. It just makes such a difference when you make a change in your business when it comes to maintaining clients, and it feels like, oh my gosh, I'm starting over because I'm gonna increase my prices and I'm gonna lose all of my clients. When you already have a clientele that respects you and loves you, they're like, Okay, yeah, I've been waiting for this.
SPEAKER_03Yes up on the well, and I think it goes to show like when you can spend those three years developing a relationship with somebody and the hair results are always immaculate, that you've created the value. How common is it gonna be for that style, or I'm sorry, for that client now to find a stylist who can check all the boxes that you just checked?
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03And it's not a matter of like, you know, we're like this experience with me is better than everybody else's. But if her experience really is the best she's had, then it's gonna be really hard for her to let that go. But also too, uh the price increase is warranted because you, as the stylist, has created that. Yes, and that person still trusts you. And I think that that is what gets lost sometimes. I think sometimes for stylists, I will say, and I'm not playing devil devil's advocate for. For our clients here. But your consistency matters.
SPEAKER_00It does.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely it matters. And your consistency with delivering great results, being transparent with pricing, being transparent with services, whether you can or can't achieve something. Yeah. Being transparent with your schedule, being transparent with everything is so important because if you're kind of moving around in the shadows or in the dark around things or tiptoeing around things with your clients, they can fish that out, smell it like as soon as you're doing it.
SPEAKER_00I have a client who actually she's the one who like waved when she saw us. Yeah. Um, she one day, I remember I was like kind of going through it. It's been a while, but I remember the day she came in and her and I like we just uh no, she was another one that immediately when I started doing her hair, we just we've I've seen her go through a lot, she's seen me go through a lot. And I remember I was the only one in the salon in here.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00And I went to go mix up her color, and when I came back, she looked at me and she goes, What is wrong with you today? I she had been in my chair for maybe two minutes. I was like, What do you mean? She goes, Something's up, something there's an aura about you. You are sad, something is wrong. What is wrong?
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_00And I I don't like doing this, but like I'm a very sensitive person, and my emotions are written on my face every time. And I will I always promise to do my best when I come in and I will give you the work that I know that you deserve.
SPEAKER_03Yes, but we're human. We're human and we're humans and we're having human interaction. Yes. And human interaction is not perfect.
SPEAKER_00And my ideal client is someone who understands that I'm not human.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00So when I come in and I have a bad day, and I can still be like, okay, this is great. I'm trying, but my trying is not showing in my eyes, and they can tell I've been crying all night, or they can tell that I've had a rough morning or something. And then maybe I'm the one that day who's like, you know, I'm just having I'm just going through it right now.
SPEAKER_03And I think it's gonna slay.
SPEAKER_00Hair is gonna slay, but I might get some tears in your lightener and those foils. And that's you know, it's okay. It happens sometimes. But I am lucky enough that I have built that relationship. And I'm not saying when you're a first-time client, you're not coming in and I'm like crying to you. I had been doing her hair for years. But she could tell my energy was off.
SPEAKER_03She opened up that door and she said, I want to talk about this as well. She's like, What's going on with you?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, she's like, What's going on with you? Because you are not you right now.
SPEAKER_03And she because you've built some sort of foundation with this client where she feels she can trust you and you feel or she feels that you can trust her. So she's opening that door and she's about me. Let's talk about this.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and she didn't know.
SPEAKER_03Which in today's day and age, human experience is far like it's few and far between. It's so sad. So not there anymore. And it made me feel so much. This is a job where we can we keep that interaction.
SPEAKER_00Even like a couple weeks ago, I came in and you were here, and it was very obvious that I was having a bad week. And my client that I had, she immediately she's like, How are you? And I was like, Girl, you asked it the worst time. Don't ask me that. I'm starting crying. And she hugged me and she goes, Emily, you have listened to me cry for 10 years about stuff going on in my life. You're allowed to have one. Yes. You're allowed to have one.
SPEAKER_03Because we're human.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And so often, if I have ever had that first client that I was talking about, like I told her what was going on, and she just like looked at me, like, or even one day, this was a different day, but I didn't get emotional on her. But she could tell something was up. And she sat at the shampoo bowl and she cried. And she didn't tell me until after she hugged me after her appointment. She was something is up with you. And I know it, and you're not talking about it. And I just don't want to see your sparkle doll. And whatever it is, if you need anything, let me know. And that night I got home, she wrote me a novel about how much she loves me, about how whatever it is, I'll get through it. Like, and it just made me feel so seen as a person. Like, you know what? This is why I do what I do because she knows that I'm good at hair. Yeah. She knows I'm good at hair. She wants to come to me because she like sees me as a person and she trusts me and she loves me. She wants to support you and she wants to support me as a human being.
SPEAKER_03And she's getting a good service. Yes, and enjoying what she has, like enjoying what she's paying for.
SPEAKER_00It goes so much deeper than just hair. And I say that all the time as like I think one of my last every few months on socials, I'll like post some good photos that I've gotten done and be like, hey, by the way, if they're new here, I'm Emily. This is X, Y, and Z. This is what you're gonna get in my chair, this is what I enjoy. Little roundabout in case you don't know. Yes now you know.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00And it's just so funny because I think I ended that post with something like, I just want you to know, like, no matter what, your hair appointment is never just a hair appointment to me. Like, you I want to know the things going on in your life. I want to know the vacation you're going on. How are your kids doing in school? Yes. What's are you going back to school? How's work? How's your husband? Is he still treating you well? Like, what's going on? Yes. And there's just so many things. Like the things we know as hairstylists about our clients are that could be a whole series in and of itself. Yes. It is baffling the things that people come in and tell. But it's also like, oh my gosh, you trusted me with that. Thank you so much for sharing that bit of your life with me. And it's ne it's never just about hair. Like, yeah, you're gonna walk out of here looking amazing 10 out of 10. Yes. But you're also, I hope when you leave my chair. Yes. I hope when you leave my chair, you're like, I my hair looks good, but I am also so glad I got to spend that time with her today.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00Because I love when I see my books and I'm like, oh, I can't wait to tell so and so about this because we talked about this last time. I have her today, oh my gosh, can't wait to tell her about that show. I have her tonight. Oh my gosh, she's gonna eat up this book I just read. She, I need to ask her, I need to make sure her baby's doing okay because he was really sick last time. Like it's just so many things, and we carry that with us. Yes. And I love that about what we do is just like the human interactions, which can also be one of the hardest parts of the job.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I feel like when it comes to obviously the work doesn't suffer no matter what. I think that often enough I don't want to say this as if it's just gonna happen and that this is just lucky for everyone, but I feel like when you don't feel like the vibes are right, obviously you're still doing the hair, still putting out excellent work. But I think more often than not, the client also realizes if the vibe is a little bit not.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And I think that because obviously not every single client you have is gonna be like oh, giggles and bubbly and everything when they come in every single time. But I think often enough when the personalities don't align super great, it honestly kind of takes care of itself. Like they're usually not booking with you again, or maybe they don't book often. Um, they like you enough that like they'll let you do their hair, but they're not coming in and like getting super and I honestly I have some clients that they come in often enough, they obviously enjoy me. I enjoy them as a client, but it doesn't get it's it's it's a little more surface level. Yes, and that's fine. You're gonna have those. Every single one of those clients is not gonna be somebody who is like, something's wrong, are you okay? I can tell you're having a bad day.
SPEAKER_03Some of the clients are gonna be, I'm paying for a service. Yes. And I like your work and I appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_00And sometimes, as a stylist, those are also great.
SPEAKER_03No, they are because I don't want to get emotional some days. And I don't want to talk about all the deep things. Yep.
SPEAKER_00And it comes in and you're like, okay, this is great. Yes. We're gonna, this is strictly business. Gonna give her a good haircut and get her all blow-dried and styled and ready to go to dinner with her husband, and she's gonna be out the door, and I'll see her in six weeks, twelve weeks, however long she's gonna take to come back.
SPEAKER_03So, final thoughts here. We're giving advice to somebody who's struggling with this issue, right? They feel like they're not able to build, they feel like they've been working at it, and they just can't seem to connect with clients. What is like the number one thing you'd recommend to a stylist who is trying to build that consistent clientele where people are repeating?
SPEAKER_00I would say you need to find what is most important to you as from a stylist standpoint. Is it more important to you to have clients that you connect with in one way or the other in a more personal way or in a more professional way? Like we were kind of not that they're not all professional, but you know what I mean. Like in a more emotional way or in a more strictly business way. And I think that you have to not only decide what's more important to you in that aspect, but also decide what's more important to you from a standpoint of what services you want to offer. Because if you're building a clientele full of services that you don't want to offer, if you want to eventually stop offering perms, why are you building a clientele of perms? Even if it's the other you know what I you know what I mean? Like, even if that's the kind of client personality-wise you enjoy, why are you building a clientele for full of services that you hate doing? Right. And have the intention of getting rid of it essentially. Like, I don't really build a lot of haircut-only clients because I know that I don't do a lot of those, and I do for certain clients that are already kind of established clients, and I do their color, and maybe every once in a while they're like, Hey, by the way, can you do my haircut this day? I won't need color yet. But I'm not building fresh haircut clients because sometimes, I mean, there's been times where I've taken haircuts off my books completely. And that's one of we've talked about that in episodes before, where that's the beauty of this industry, you can kind of control that. But you building a clientele based off of just what you want to do in the moment or not want to do in the future, you're gonna be starting all over again with the same exact thing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I think one of the biggest things, and I will gripe about this until I am six feet deep, you also, regardless of uh which direction you take with that, your consistency and showing up, your consistency and keeping your education sharp, your consistency and listening to people is uh probably my top three things because if you are constantly not showing up for your clients, constantly rescheduling them, constantly not getting education, you are never going to be able to build anything because clients then are going to s to take your cue and they're going to constantly reschedule. They're not going to trust you to show up, and then if you're not getting your education, they're not going to feel confident to switch up what their ideas are with their hair because, like we were discussing earlier off of the podcast, is people need change.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And if you're not able to div uh deliver the changed results for your clients, you're not going to maintain them.
SPEAKER_00No. So if you're looking for a way to build in just a square one, like niche down what you want to offer, who you want to offer it to. Think of your ideal client that you have in your chair right now, who you hit it off with, who gets services you really enjoy, and then combine those things. Like make two separate lists of okay, I love this person and I really like what these people get done. Okay, let's do the Venn diagram of who meets in the middle of who's getting the services and who's getting the or who has the personality that I mesh really well with. Those people in the middle, that's who you send that to.
SPEAKER_03Yes. And then from there, you build off of that. Yes. And you try to get as much of that as possible.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03And then what'll happen is is all of your clients will love what you do for them. They will trust you, they will support you, and you will love your job.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03No, I love that. Thank you so much, Emily. This was super helpful, beneficial for not only me, but I'm sure for so many hairdressers out there. And hopefully everybody was able to just hear some great tips or they were able to see that they are not alone in the industry when it comes to client retention.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03And we thank you guys so much for listening to this episode, and we will see you guys on the next one.