Building Your Beauty Career from Day One

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Stepping from cosmetology school into your first salon position can feel overwhelming, but today's episode breaks down exactly what you need to succeed. This fan-favorite episode has become required listening for both new stylists and salon owners because it delivers actionable guidance on the five critical areas that determine your success behind the chair.

Whether you're just starting your beauty career or looking to take your existing skills to new heights, these practical strategies will help you navigate the industry with confidence. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs this guidance, and join our community of beauty professionals committed to continuous growth. The principles shared here have launched countless successful careers—yours could be next!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Mastering the beauty industry isn't easy, but with
the right guidance, it can feela whole lot less intimidating.
Whether you're fresh out ofcosmetology school and stepping
into your very first salon job,or you're a salon owner eager to
set your new hires up forsuccess, today we're bringing
you one of our most popularrepeat episodes, an all-time

(00:22):
favorite with both new stylistsand salon owners.
This episode is packed withinsights to help you thrive.
Drawing from my 30 years ofexperience and building four
award-winning salons, I sharethe five essential areas every
new graduate needs to focus onClient communication, technical

(00:44):
skills, time management, productknowledge and professionalism.
No wonder this episode hasbecome a listener favorite.
So settle in and let's revisitthis classic guide to making
your first steps in the beautyindustry strong and successful.
Welcome to all about hair,where we talk shop, share

(01:07):
stories and spill the secretsbehind great hair and a great
career.
I'm your host, denise Kylitz, aformer salon owner, educator and
a lifelong hair crusader.
Whether you're a new stylistbuilding your book or just
someone who loves learning aboutall things hair, you're in the
right place.
All right, let's jump rightinto it.

(01:35):
Our first must-know tip and, asa salon owner, keep this in
mind when you're hiring yourgraduates, first of all, put
yourself in their shoes.
They're scared.
They've never worked in a salonowner.
Keep this in mind when you'rehiring your graduates.
First of all, put yourself intheir shoes.
They're scared.
They've never worked in a salonbefore, right, and as a
graduate, you're scared.
You've never worked in a salonbefore.
So what are the top five thingsthat you need to know right out

(01:59):
of the gate?
That's going to set you up forsuccess.
Tip number one the art of clientcommunication.
I cannot stress this enough.
This is going to be probably Idon't know 75, 80% of your
success how you communicate withyour guest.
So picture this you're about tostart your very first client

(02:21):
appointment.
What do you say?
How do you make them feelcomfortable and confident in
your skills?
It's a real anxious moment and,to tell you the truth, even
after years of being on thefloor, sometimes you still feel
that way when you have a brandnew guest coming in and sitting
in your chair, becauseeverybody's different.

(02:41):
So what do you do?
You listen very carefully toyour client's needs and
preferences, okay, ask a lot ofquestions and then provide
honest recommendations.
If they're requesting somethingthat you really don't think
would look good on them.
It's your job and yourresponsibility to let them know

(03:01):
that, okay, you're theprofessional, and just always
remember that excellentcommunication that leads to
client loyalty and referrals,even if you are just starting
and you don't know what you'redoing and you have a brand new
client and you said look, I'venever cut this haircut before,

(03:22):
so I might have to ask for help.
But, trust me, I'm not going tolet you go without being happy.
That goes a long way.
And, salon owners, you need togive your newbies permission to
do so and help them, of course.
Moving on Tip number two, yourtechnical skills.
Yeah, you do need technicalskills.

(03:44):
You can't just go on yourclient communication.
That's not going to do it.
So, mastering the basics as afresh graduate, you're going to
want to make sure that you'vegot a solid grasp on the
fundamental techniques likecutting, styling, coloring these
are your bread and butterservices.
And if you need to brush up onthose technical skills, head

(04:06):
over to my YouTube channel,where you're going to find my
foundational haircut series overthere and it takes you through
five foundational haircuts andalso how to finish them and
texturize them.
But remember, it's not allabout knowing it all, it's about
perfecting what you do know.
So practice, practice, practiceand refine your skills, because

(04:29):
the world of beauty, our world,it is ever evolving.
Take all the classes you cansalon owners, get classes in
your salon.
Set up some kind of skillassessment program.
If you need help with that, wehave one.
Just reach out, we can help youdevelop yours.
That was a game changer in oursalon when we had our skills

(04:52):
certification program, becausewe hired directly out of school
and really salon owners.
This is where you need to gonow.
Don't just sit there andcomplain that nobody wants to
work.
People are still in cosmetologyschool.
They need a job and it's up toyou, as a salon owner, to teach
them the ropes.
Just have to change yourmindset just a little bit and

(05:15):
they're wanting to learn.
Tip number three the art of timemanagement.
Okay, wow, working in a saloncan sometimes feel like a
whirlwind.
There's all kinds of thingsgoing on.
You got appointments back toback and clients are late, but
they expect you to be on time.
So, being efficient, gettingyour haircut skills, your

(05:39):
haircut services, your coloringservices timed proficiently, you
know, make it a game.
Stay organized, make sure youhave all your tools clean and in
place and make sure that you'reon schedule, complete your
appointments on schedule.
I know that we used to timethings a lot and part of our

(06:02):
skill assessment was timing.
You know how?
How long does it take to wrap aperm?
How long does it take to put atouch up on?
You need to know your timingand, yeah, when you're first
starting out, it's going to takeyou a little bit longer, but
you have to speed up the process.
Trust me, it's a game changerIf you can get your time

(06:23):
management under control.
Game changer.
Okay.
Now let's talk products, shallwe?
Okay, your product knowledge.
Tip number four it is not allabout your scissors and your
combs.
It's also about the productsthat you use on your client's
head.
Take the time to learn theproducts that your salon is

(06:46):
carrying.
You don't have to know everysingle ingredient in the bottle,
but know at least one or twothings that this product could
do for your guest and justunderstand what those benefits
are and how they can benefit theperson sitting in your chair
and then recommend that product.
I can't tell you how many timesI've been in a salon and, trust

(07:10):
me, I don't need any moreproducts.
I got all the products I can Iever need right, but I still
want to buy something.
I still want that magic potion.
I want to know what's going onmy head.
Look, and when you recommendsomething you don't have to like
, be a salesperson, you are justrecommending saying, hey, you
got frizzy hair.
Here's what I would recommendfor that.

(07:31):
Maybe stick it in their hand,show it to them, let them smell
it, touch it, feel it.
This builds trust with yourclients and it does boost retail
sales, so it's a win-win.
And, last but not least, being atrue professional yes, and I
feel like this is overlooked, Iguess.

(07:53):
So it's more than just yourskills.
It's your entire presence,everything about you.
You got to dress the part, yougot to maintain a clean and
organized workspace and youalways have to adhere to the
salon policies and the handbookof the salon you're working at.
So your professionalism itextends to how you interact with

(08:15):
your team members and, ofcourse, your clients.
Do you shake their hands?
Do you give them hugs?
Do you listen, making eyecontact?
Do you show up at work withyour hair done, nails, clean,
makeup on?
If you wear makeup, or are youcoming in with a messy bun,

(08:36):
wrinkled shirt, crocs?
I don't know.
You know that just doesn't lookprofessional.
So it's up to you to be a trueprofessional.
So those are the five tips theart of client communication, the
technical skills, the art oftime management, your product
knowledge and being a trueprofessional.
As a graduate, when you startyour first salon job, the

(08:59):
principles hold true.
These are the five things youneed to concentrate on and
really, really, it'll step upyour game and it'll give you a
head start on being successful.
Okay, that's it for today'sepisode of Short and Sweet, and
I hope you found this valuableand if you did, could you please
go over to the podcast?
Maybe leave us a review?

(09:19):
I would love, love, love that.
And remember the beautyindustry's always changing, so
you got to keep learning, yougot to stay passionate and you
got to keep making the world amore beautiful place, one client
at a time, every client everytime.
If you have questions or youwant to share your own
experiences, I would love tohear from you.

(09:40):
Don't hesitate to reach out onany of our social media
platforms and, as always,remember, when you know better,
you do better.
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair.
If you loved this episode, hit,subscribe, leave us a review
and share it with a fellowstylist or hair loving friend.
You want more tips, tools andbehind the scenes?

(10:01):
Goodness, follow me on YouTubeor head to my website at
denisekeilitzcom.
Yes, I know it's hard to spell,so don't worry, the link is in
the show notes.
Until next time, keep learning,keep creating and keep loving
what you do.