In order to play a game and win, you have to understand the rules of the game inside and out. And yet, hairstylists find themselves struggling to unlock the six-figure income they dream about. It’s not for lack of trying! It may even feel like no matter what advanced training you take, seminar you attend, planner you purchase, or video you watch, the key to a higher income remains out of reach. It’s no wonder so many of us hairstylist are headstrong, independent, entrepreneurial-minded individuals who prefer to do things our own way (which most of the time is the hard way).
I’m here to tell you the hard truths: we are playing a game. If you just understand the rules, you have a real shot at a thriving career. But until you learn them, you are forever doomed to mediocrity at best. And when I say ‘game’, I don’t mean that your boss or circumstances are playing games with you. The game we are playing is against ourselves.
In today’s blog post, I’m going to dive deep into the hidden mechanics of what is holding you back from a thriving hairstylist career and show you the invaluable tools you can use to unlock your true potential. So hold on to your beer because this one is going to get a little metaphysical, but I promise that if you apply yourself to learning the rules and start to play by the rules, your professional career growth is guaranteed.
- Reality Creation Device (RCD)
- Inputs and Outputs
- The Feedback Loop of Beliefs
- Why Tracking Results Fails to Create Change
- The Strategist Solutions
- Conclusion
The Reality Creation Device
Enter the ‘Reality Creation Device,’ or RCD for short. It works kind of like a machine, sort of like a calculator, but looks, thinks, and acts exactly like you… Because it is you! In fact, the whole point is to get you to start thinking of yourself as the ‘Super-Cool Reality-Bending Invention’ that you are. Let me explain.
This machine combines things to generate the reality that we experience, and it works with perfect precision every time. Just like if you take a calculator and add 2 + 2: it always produces a result of 4. That’s the way the RCD works. 2 + 2 will never equal 5; only 4. Just like how if you juice an apple, you’ll never make orange juice; only ever apple juice comes from an apple. That is exactly how this device works.
So what does this have to do with hair? Well, this reality creation machine takes all of our behaviors throughout the day — let’s call them ‘inputs’ — and creates from them the results we see behind the chair. Each of these behaviors during the day is like our own personal recipe, and depending on what you add or subtract from the whole determines whether you bake a beautiful cake or a flattened flan.
The truth is, many are unaware of the fact that our behaviors with every client directly create the results we get behind the chair (and see in our check). Because we don’t understand how this transformative-system works, we never quite realize the results we want. The key is to understand that if you want a six-figure income as a hairstylist, it requires a recipe of very specific behaviors, done consistently with every guest.
Inputs and Outputs
Before I can teach you how to start influencing your RCD, you have to learn to start seeing the inputs around you. As we said earlier, inputs are our behaviors throughout the day and with each guest. Hair Strategists are experts at identifying behaviors that support their goal to earn six-figures and ignoring the ones that do not. Here is an incomplete list of some of the behaviors that influence how much we make behind the chair:
A good exercise would be to keep a journal every day for one week. Every time you catch yourself doing any of these behaviors, jot it down in your journal. At the end of the week, tally up how much time and energy went into each input and compare that with the $$$ results for the week. With time, you will become more capable of catching these behaviors in the moment. Only when you see the behaviors as inputs will you have the ability to redirect your energy into the behaviors that support your goals.
The Feedback Loop of Beliefs
The root problem is that while each of us has goals and visions for our future, many of us believe that we deserve the best as we are, that the world needs to change and not us. A belief like that prevents us from growing because we will resist making the changes needed to influence the RCD. Remember that it is a machine that simply adds inputs; it doesn’t care about our dreams, beliefs, or emotions. Beliefs that hold us back are called “Limiting Beliefs” because they have a negative impact on your potential to grow.
Our behaviors are born from our beliefs, which then generate our reality. This reality then confirms our beliefs, creating what is called the Stylist Feedback Loop. For instance, let’s take a look at the belief of “The salon is slow and should be providing me with clients.” A belief like this would result in a stylist feeling stuck – spending more time in the backroom, disinterested and unengaged, waiting for the busy bus to roll in. There’s no reason to go on social media when the salon should be the one bringing me the clients.
Such beliefs lead to a reality where our work slows down and we waste more time unengaged at work. Eventually, we make less and less money. Blaming others is easier than examining our own beliefs. When we question our beliefs, it creates resistance in us; we become defensive and can even feel hurt, thus making things even more difficult.
Since this is a feedback loop, focus on changing behaviors, not beliefs. Our beliefs are shaped by our reality, which is shaped by our actions and thoughts. When we focus on changing our behaviors instead of our beliefs, we can still create the desired change despite not believing that it will. Then miraculously, as we begin to see the cumulative effects of positive change, we gradually begin to soften and change our beliefs, which then adds more fuel to create further changes, aligning us closer with our goal.
Why Tracking Results Fails To Create Change
Why do hairstylists struggle to see results from planners? Most planners and trackers on the market today focus purely on tracking results behind the chair. That focus creates an unawareness of the stylist feedback loop, rendering them mostly ineffective. Without a holistic approach to beliefs, behaviors, and results, these planners fail to work for the majority who, for a time, might track their results. However, when those results are not in line with their beliefs, they soon become discouraged and stop using them.
It is disappointing for staff to track meager results. They become unmotivated, feeling they don’t have control over the outcome – and they truly don’t. For instance, stylists can influence how much a guest purchases in services, but they are NOT in control of the guest. If the guest chooses to purchase retail or not, it is ultimately their decision to make, but the behaviors that influence the guest ARE in the stylist’s control. Yet because these planners focus on results, staff become less likely to engage in the behaviors as they dread completing the journal.
These planners can also be devastating to salon cultures. Because there is no focus on behavior, hairstylists see some of their team win and others lose. No one explained the rules of the game to them – as I have to you. These hairstylists are left with their imagination to fill the gap of why they are struggling because they are unaware of The Stylist Feedback Loop. Salon owners often realize too late that they have not created an inclusive environment with an equal opportunity to win. Underperforming staff are well aware of this fact and can begin to perceive their environment as punishing or hostile. Ultimately, they will leave.
The Hair Strategist Solution
Introducing the G.A.M.E. Journal at Hair Strategist University. G.A.M.E. stands for Goals and Action Make our Experience. It’s a unique and powerful journal that is focused on behaviors, not results. HSU has identified the key behaviors to generate growth and income, and our intention is to help hairstylists align their days with the behaviors that will create professional growth.
The primary benefit of the G.A.M.E. Journal is that it allows you to identify weeks where you made significant results vs. weeks where you made less than desired ones. By tracking behavior, you can quickly see how your actions played into the outcome for the week. How consistent were you really? And what can you change this week to see a better outcome?
As the name also not so subtly hints, this journal is also gamified to keep staff engaged. Completing the journal becomes enjoyable and effortless. Each day, staff can calculate their power level, creating fun team opportunities to reward staff who are engaged and present instead of purely rewarding results, which they do not control. But rest assured, as you see behavior change, you will realize sustainable growth, in a way that encourages and motivates staff, instead of traditional methods that drain energy and demotivate the team.
Conclusion
True results are a factor of time and consistency. Because one perfect day or week isn’t enough to create lasting change, the biggest factor in your success is making small, consistent changes every day over long periods of time.
I told you we would dive deep here today; this is the kind of stuff no one is talking about in the hairstylist space! Yet, this is the information everyone most desperately desires. You can decide today to take action on this information to begin experiencing the positive effects on your results. You can benefit from this info without agreeing or believing in the tools mentioned! The degree to which you succeed is ultimately how closely your behaviors align with your goal.
To boil it down further, in order to be a six-figure stylist, we must first act like a six-figure stylist.
You can visit our web store to get the G.A.M.E. Journal for yourself and your team, and watch the YouTube video below for easy step-by-step instructions on how to use it.
