The Chair, The Chat, The Catch Up @VandyVanity

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Time is the most valuable asset in the hair braiding business, and it's something veteran stylist Vandy of VLS Hair ATX has mastered through years of perfecting her craft. In this candid conversation, we dive deep into the realities of professional braiding that clients rarely see and stylists often don't discuss.

Vandy shares her journey from doing hair as a side hustle while working as an accountant to opening her own salon and preparing for a second location. Her perspective combines artistic talent with business acumen, offering rare insights into how financial literacy transforms a passion into a sustainable career. Through stories of challenging clients, industry evolution, and professional growth, she reveals the strategy behind her success.

We explore current trend favorites (the barrel boho bob is winning for low-maintenance beauty), unpack common misconceptions about different hair types, and discuss why touching your hair during an appointment is the ultimate stylist pet peeve. Vandy doesn't hold back when addressing client behaviors that disrupt the creative process – comparing it memorably to someone throwing milk on a painting you're working on.

The conversation takes practical turns too, with Vandy dispelling myths about who can wear braids (everyone, but not every style works for every texture), offering advice for clients with traction alopecia, and explaining why deposits matter to serious professionals blocking out significant time for appointments. Her efficiency tips for fellow braiders demonstrate why some can complete a full head in three hours while others take ten for the same style.

Ready to transform your understanding of what happens behind the salon chair? This episode delivers professional wisdom served with honesty, humor, and insights you won't find in beauty school.

Stay Connected with Vandy by following the links below:

@vandyvanity

@vlshairatx

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Today's a little bonus episodebecause I'm catching up with my
girl, vandy.
You know the braid queen behindVLS Hair ATX, out in
Pflugerville, texas.
We're just gonna kick it, talkhair salon life and all the
little things that come withbeing behind a chair.
So grab your tea or your snackand listen in we're keeping it
real and fun.
Or your snack and listen inwe're keeping it real and fun.

(00:26):
Welcome to the Hair what I'mSaying podcast.
I'm your host, kenetra Stewart.
Today we have Vandy of VLS HairATX joining us for a second
time.
How you doing, girl, good.
Thank you for having me again.
Of course, you were such awonderful and patient guest the
first time.
We did this because I wastrying to be the podcast
engineer, the podcast producer,the podcast director, the
podcast host, and it was a hotmess, yeah, trying to do it all

(00:50):
and we had to go.
What was that little daiquirishop?
We had to run down 11 Degrees.
Took all my nerve.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah, it was like an eight hour podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, we were there all day and you were so amazing
Like you was just so patientwith the shenanigans.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, when you're a content creator, you understand
what technical difficulties cando to you.
It can delay your entireprocess for hours, sometimes
days.
It sure can.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
And it definitely did that to us, but we had fun
throughout the chaos.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
We definitely made the most of it.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Yeah, it was that stupid update.
I don't know if you remember Iupdated my MacBook and it was no
longer compatible with thesoftware that I was using and
you hit the button and it's likenope, not today.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
So mad, been there so many times, right.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Because you've been content creating for a long time
, because you have, like, a veryestablished YouTube channel.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah, I've been doing it for a while, probably since
2018.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, yeah, because how many subscribers you have,
like a lot of subscribers.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
We hit over 300K a couple months ago.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
I was like dang, Because my first impression of
you was on Instagram.
And then, when I invited you onthe podcast, that's when I
noticed like oh, she doesYouTube.
Like for real, for real.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, it's crazy because all of the different
platforms have differentaudiences.
So on Instagram it's more nichedown I'm going to run into more
people in my industry, in mycareer field.
On YouTube, it's more globaland it's for the folks who are
looking for how to do things.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Solution absolutely all right, girl.
We're gonna jump into the firstquestion because I want to
cover all this content.
I want to run out of time, sowhat styles are you loving right
now when it comes to braids?

Speaker 2 (02:43):
um, when it comes to being a braider and clients, a
girl, whatever you want to talkabout all of it give us all the
um, well, for me, uh, latelyit's been my, my pixie okay, but
I've had to change my outlookon that because I've changed my
lifestyle.
So I've just never a workoutgirly but now I'm a workout

(03:03):
girly, so I do Pilates likethree to five times a week now
and my little natural pixie isjust not gonna hold up with that
, especially if I need to becamera ready or if I need to
shoot content or something likethat.
It's just too much.
So now I'm really consideringgrowing my hair back out so I
could just stay in braids allthe time, and right now it's
just all crochet, yeah, um, forclients, I would say, the

(03:26):
favorite right now, andespecially fan favorite, is the
barrel boho bob I think I'veseen you create content about it
on instagram anything boho bobwhere it's like short sweet, to
the point.
It is the most low maintenancestyle you can ever have, pretty
too.
You don't have to worry aboutputting it up, putting it down,
no product in it, like, and it'sgreat for like hot weather.

(03:48):
So those of us who be catchingthem flashes like keep that hair
off your neck, yeah yeah, um,is that the one where you had
sort of like that?

Speaker 1 (03:58):
um, it's like a copper brown hair color on there
, is that?

Speaker 2 (04:04):
the one.
No, everybody's kind of beengetting the one Bs.
I haven't really had a lot ofcolor options.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Well, I guess for you , what I saw you showing like
demonstrating was it the copperbrown.
I don't know why I thought itsounded like a copper brown.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Not for the bob, not for the bob Colors.
I do a lot of colors but notfor the bob.
I haven't done a lot ofcoloring, oh okay, I kind of saw
it.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
I don't know, it's so much content, you know, all
over Instagram it'soverstimulating, it is it's
overwhelming, you know.
So, girl, I'm probably mixingyou up with someone else, but I
could have sworn.
I saw copper, like it was like.
It looked more like locks.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Maybe not Girl.
I do so many things.
People bring me pictures fromyears ago or they'll bring me a
picture they screenshotted offof YouTube and I'm like how did
I?

Speaker 1 (04:55):
do that again.
I know it's really like that,though, Like you really forget
your own artistry.
Sometimes it is difficult torecreate your own art.
Right it is.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
And especially in today's economy.
The way things move, everythingis a trending style and then
it's gone.
So we're constantly revolvingstyles in and out, calling them
new things, calling them oldthings, you know, and then, like
, I remember when crochet waslike the biggest thing in 2012.
And now it's coming back around.

(05:25):
It sure is it?

Speaker 1 (05:26):
sure is, everything is so timeless.
You know it'll have this littlerush of you, know it's moment,
and then next thing you knowit's on to the next thing and
then it's coming back around.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
You know what kills me, is the young girls always
giving a name to a style thatwas in the hair books in the 90s
?
Have you seen like the wholetrend now of micro braids?

Speaker 1 (05:51):
Like ma'am, have you not?
Seen Moesha All the girlies hadthem.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Oh, I was just watching an old movie that had
Solange Knowles in it and Cedricthe Entertainer.
She had the tiniest microbraids she sure did, and they
were human hair.
Like people act like this isbrand new.
But we also have to remember weare older than most of the
folks out there, that's trueLike two decades yeah.

(06:20):
So we've already lived thatcycle over a couple of times and
so this is just brand new tothem and they're turning it into
their own thing, which isperfectly fine yeah um, but
don't come in my chair tellingme how to do my job when I
already know what you're talkingabout absolutely not it.

Speaker 1 (06:38):
Um you talking about johnson's family vacation,
that's it yeah, uh-huh, yeah,yep, that's it and that was like
late 90s.
You know what I'm saying?
So to me, I'm like there's noway you, you, you didn't see a
little bit of that you know.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
But we also have to remember a lot of these kids
weren't born until the 2000s.

Speaker 1 (06:56):
That's true our oldest was 2025.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
So that mean our oldest was born in 2001, so that
?

Speaker 1 (07:03):
that means what?
24?
Yeah, about 24 years old,that's true.
Why is time moving so fast likethis?
I can't do this girl.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
Time is the only gift that we should value.
No, seriously.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
Absolutely, I 100% agree with you there.
Well, what's one trend youlow-key wish would go?

Speaker 2 (07:25):
away.
I think everybody can agreeit's the boho braids.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
I've been seeing that a lot lately.
Like the braiders are like whenthey book, like just plain old,
knotless, like Well, webraiders were complaining about
it from day one.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
What I'm seeing now is that the clients are starting
to complain because theyrealize it's too much
maintenance or it's just notgoing to pan out the way you
think it's going to pan out.
Right, if you're alow-maintenance person, that's
probably not the style you wantto get.
If you're not used to runningyour hands through your hair or
putting a little bit of water onit and there are people who are

(07:58):
like that, then that's probablynot the style for you and you
can't blame us for it, becausewe told you up front several
times.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
This is a high maintenance style.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
So, yeah, I've actually seen quite a few
content creators get on, youknow, create content around.
Oh, I got regular braids againso I don't have to worry about
the boho life anymore.
So it's finally.
They're finally feeling.
You know the pains of it.
For us it's just laborintensive, it's time consuming

(08:30):
and people don't want to pay forit.
Like human, hair costs money.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
It sure does, especially if you want that
natural, real boho Right, or ifyou want five bundles braided
into your hair.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
That's a lot of work.

Speaker 1 (08:47):
And how long does it take you to do boho braids?

Speaker 2 (08:48):
I know it depends on the size.
Yeah, it depends on the size.
What's the?
Longest it's ever taken you sixhours, yeah, and that's still
quick though, and that's withhelp oh, my god, right.
Because they wanted fourbundles in their head, did it go
on my website?

Speaker 1 (09:03):
absolutely not no, I'm not doing that again.
Promote it.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Yeah, absolutely yeah , but for the right people who
asked politely I might considerit and who's willing to pay for
it.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
Yeah, but no, because it do depend on the aura of the
clients who sit in there thatlong and then also fussing with
a hairstyle, you know it takes adifferent level of skill.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
I just saw another video where a girl got boho
braids and she got the hair froma trusted brand but when she
got done she was not happy withit because the braider had put
so much product in the in theactual curls.
The hair was just weighted downand sticky and she didn't know
what to do.
And in my mind I'm like girlit's because the braider put too

(09:43):
much product on the actualcurls.
It takes a skill for you to notbe able to do that to pull the
hair out of the way and not putno product on it or not dip it
or any of that.
Because you know human hair isjust like human hair when you
put product on it it's going tostay on it, it's going to soak
it up and the only way to get itout is a shampoo.

(10:11):
And, sure enough, she washed herhair and it came out perfectly
I wonder why that she didn'tinform her of that information,
like ahead of time, so that shecould be aware.
Um, probably because thebraider is just doing their job.
They just like okay, I'm justgonna put the hair in your head
and you be on your way.
A experienced braider wouldknow you only put the product on
the braids, not the curls.
I didn't even know that, I justlearned.

Speaker 1 (10:29):
Well, you're not on a braid though, so I never knew
how to process it.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
The number one advice I give every client who gets
boho braids is don't put anyproduct in it.
Less is more, because it's justlike human hair.
If you do a wash and go, you'regoing to have to wash it out in
a couple of days because all ofthat's going to build up.
And if you're a workout girly,you've got all that sweat, all
that dirt.

(10:53):
Everything is just building upon the hair and it has nowhere
to go.
The only way to get it out isto wash it out.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
Yep, makes sense to me and that's why a lot of
people are going back to thesynthetic hair.

Speaker 2 (11:06):
Because synthetic hair less maintenance holds way
better.
It holds its shape better humanhair.
It's going to mold and shape,however you put it up it in at
night.
Yeah, fail to realize that too.
So if you perm rod it or if youcurl it with some flexi rods,
it's going to hold that shape.
But if you put it in a messybun at night, it's's going to
look a little janky, yeahabsolutely so what style do you

(11:30):
have right now?
Oh, so I actually just did avideo last night, it's so pretty
.
Thank you.
These are some human boho locks.
Okay, they're like on theshorter side.
So if you want like a lot ofvolume.
But I did a new method of doinga knotless crochet.

Speaker 1 (11:49):
So yeah, oh, so that's what you have right now
knotless crochet.
Yeah, it's so pretty, it's soneat.
Thank, you?

Speaker 2 (11:54):
Yeah, it looks really good.
Thank you.
Yeah, so there's no knots atthe root.

Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, that's what I was looking I'm like.
So what do you have right now?

Speaker 2 (12:04):
Yeah, so I'll be dropping a tutorial on how to do
that, probably in the next weekor two.

Speaker 1 (12:09):
It looks.
It's so nice and natural.
It compliments you really well.
It's so pretty, Thank you.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
You're welcome, girl.
Thank you, I will definitely bereusing this hair.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
Yeah, it looks good.
So what is your approach toclients who are indecisive and
have four different braidsstyles that they are unsure
about?

Speaker 2 (12:27):
Research Research, research research Communicate.
We're only a text away.
Say, hey, this is what I'mthinking about getting, this is
what I have.
Book the consultation.

Speaker 1 (12:40):
Absolutely.
The consultation will save youa lot of time.

Speaker 2 (12:43):
We make sure that, yeah, you book the consultation.
The $25 you pay for theconsultation goes towards your
appointment.
It's a win-win for everybody,it sure is.
At least you know exactly whatyou're getting.
But really the main thing isresearch, research, research,
because I get so many people inmy chair who just booked the
style because of some trend theysaw or some influencer who put

(13:05):
it up on their site and didn'thave a clue what they were
getting.

Speaker 1 (13:12):
That's important and to me that's pretty brave
because I want to know what I'mgetting.
I got to make sure we're on thesame page.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
What blows my mind is that you put your credit card
down to pay a deposit forsomething you don't know what
you're getting.
There's no way.
It makes zero sense to me.
I get it.
Some people, you know, just gotmoney to blow like that, but
most of us don't.
No, I don't.

Speaker 1 (13:33):
Most of us don't.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
So, yes, if I'm going to put down $50 for a deposit,
I'm going to read those policies, absolutely.
I'm going to YouTube and I'mgoing to find a creator who has
hair like mine, who did theexact same style.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
That's important to find someone that has hair like
yours.
That's so important becausedifferent hair produces
different results.

Speaker 2 (13:58):
That's a real thing Every time.
And I always end up having toset expectations.
They come in with bone straighthair and they want kinky twists
.
That's not going to happen.
It says it on the actualwebsite.
This is not ideal for straighthair or relaxed hair.
Why did you book this?

Speaker 1 (14:19):
Why did you book this Like?
Think about the texture itself,kinky, yes, we're talking about
straight hair.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
We're fighting against two different textures
here and your hair is going towin every time, every time.
I said your hair is going towin, every time it's going to
win every time.

Speaker 1 (14:36):
Oh yes indeed yes.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
So I spent a lot of time setting expectations.
Hey, I can.
Either I can't do this I'mgoing to have to send you on
your way, because I would rathernot do it and not have an issue
later on or we can do this, butI'm going to have to change how

(14:58):
I do this, and you're going tohave to understand what I'm
doing.
So, yeah, and it's going toproduce different results.
Yeah, you know policy, what youoriginally had in mind, you
know, and the question I hatethe most is what do you think
will look best on me?
First of all, I don't know youfrom can of paint.
I just met you today, yeah.
Second, you're the one that hasto live with this for the next

(15:20):
six to eight weeks and what ifyour suggestion turns out to be
the very thing that they don'tlike?

Speaker 1 (15:25):
and now you finished a complete hairstyle and guess
who fault?
It's going to be Yours, notmine.
But I'm just saying.
You know that's a projection,you know that is definitely the
projection.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
You're not going to blame me today.
You're going to pay me my money.
You can be on your way.

Speaker 1 (15:40):
You said you're going your way, you gonna pay me my
money, you can be on your way.
No, seriously, I don't.
I uh, I have some artists thatsay, like I love when they give
me creative freedom, I'm like Idon't like when they give me
creative freedom, creative,creative freedom.
Because what I like may not bewhat you.

(16:01):
You might think you like this,but when it's on you it's
completely different.
Because it's on you, you mightlike it on me, but that does not
mean you're going to like it onyou, you know.
So I don't like that creativefreedom.
I actually like a picky clientbecause it leaves less room for
error.

Speaker 2 (16:16):
Absolutely, if you know what you want.
I can do a better job ofexecuting that need and that
desire for you.
Have you ever had aconversation with a girlfriend
that you've known forever and belike that girl's hair is so
cute, I think it'll look good onyou, and they'd be like, uh-uh,
exactly, I would never you knowhow often we have those
conversations.
Yeah, think about how many timeswe have these conversations

(16:38):
with clients yeah, behind thatchair, and then you'll go
through the entire process withthem, build up the expectations
and they're still unhappy.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
Some people are just unhappy in general.
Yeah, it has nothing to do,nothing you can do about that
and you just can't take itpersonal.
Yeah, you just can't thoseeffects, and you can always tell
too.
It's a dry sneet.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
One thing about being a hairstylist you, your
discernment meter gets a lot ofwork.
It surement meter gets a lot ofwork.
It sure does.
It gets a lot of work and youknow how to weed out the good
ones from the bad ones.

Speaker 1 (17:10):
You sure do, Absolutely Even different
marketing strategies.
You know how to even market ortarget that audience that you
want.
Because of the mistakes in thepast, You're like you know what.
I know how I attracted thatclient because I had this
certain policy in there, wordeda certain way.
Let me go and reword it.
You know it's so much strategic, you know I mean so much

(17:32):
strategy behind how we, you know, attract the clientele that we
want.
Once you get the experience,you know it's like I am not
ending up in another situationlike that.
You know, and that's where allthat discernment come from too.
Just experience, you know, andsome clients don't understand
some of y'all the samepersonalities, y'all just
different and y'all whateverunique ways you know fonts, but

(17:55):
that's true, you learn a lot.
What's something you pretend tobe okay with, but you're not in
your profession?
It don't seem like you pretendto be okay with none.
It's like look, I don't like it.

Speaker 2 (18:10):
I'm a very direct communicator Very direct.
Yeah, people touching theirhair during the appointment.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
During the process.
Yeah, talk about why that isnot okay, please, because I
think they are receiving it likeas though the artist is being
rude about it, but it's like no,there are actual reasons and
benefits as to why you shouldn'tbe touching your hair.
So many different reasons.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
The main reason is we are artists, we are creators.
Have you ever been to paintingwith a twist?
I have.
Or a painting large, sippingpaint, or anything like that no.
Have you ever been to paintingwith a twist?
I have been, no.
Or a painting large, or a sipand paint, or anything like that
?
No.
Have you ever painted a picture?
Yes, drew, something Spent sometime on a picture, mm-hmm.
What if you're in the middle ofthat picture and somebody comes
by and throws milk on it?

(18:58):
How would you feel?

Speaker 1 (19:01):
That's a problem.
That is a problem.
How would you feel that's aproblem?
That is a problem.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
So what we do?
Well, depending.
Not every braider is a creative.
Some of them are just in it forthe money.
They just learn a skill andthey're like okay, I'm a one
trick pony, I'm going to learnhow to do this one thing and
call it a day.
But, those of us who've been inthe game for a long time and who
have mastered this skill.
We're creatives.
For a long time and who havemastered this skill, we're

(19:28):
creatives.
And so my process is whensomebody walks through the door
I may not have ever seen them aday in my life I start
visualizing how that style isgoing to look on them and
throughout the process, I'mconstantly checking to see how
this is looking on them.
How is it flowing on their head?
Where is the length stopping?
Like, how do I layer it?
When you are constantlygrabbing at your head and

(19:50):
grabbing the braids, especiallybraids, especially braids that I
have not finished?
Can you please stop?
Because not only are you likemessing with the product, like
the, the process, you couldpotentially be like pulling some
of the, some of the pieces out.
Absolutely yeah, that's happenedto me so many times.

(20:10):
I even had a client a long timeago.
She had a habit of yawning withher arms out like this and she
was stretched all the way back,and one time she stretched all
the way back and her fist hit mein my eye.
No, ma'am.
So going back to what we weretalking about, going back to
what we were talking about howyou change your policies.

(20:31):
I had to start changing myelevator speech when people came
into my chair.
I said hey, look, keep yourhands and your feet in front of
you.
Please Do not keep them behindyou, because it is a safety
issue at this point it'shappening at this point.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
It's getting harder at this point.
What the heck?

Speaker 2 (20:46):
Exactly, but she just had no disregard for what I was
doing.
I have several people sittingin a chair and they're just
hopping around, moving aroundconstantly talking to the next
person next to them and it'slike can you please stop?
Can you please stop or thepeople who think that it's
beneficial to hold their headthis way when I'm on this side.
You know, when you do that, itchanges my grip game.

(21:08):
It sure does, because now youhave no grip, I have no grip, so
I constantly have to keepadjusting because you keep doing
this or you keep doing thisTrying to help you.
You're not helping.
No, you're not helping us.

Speaker 1 (21:22):
No they think so.
They really think so Because Iknow like even at the bowl I've
had some girls to like raisetheir head up when I'm in the
back.
I'm like you're going to getwet.
Like just stay here and relax.

Speaker 2 (21:33):
Just chill.
We just need you to sit down,chill and relax.
That's what you're there for.
Let me do my job so we can bedone and on time.

Speaker 1 (21:42):
Absolutely.
I know for me it's a pet peeve,especially when I'm doing silk
presses because or when I'mtaking out a weave and they're
like touching the hair and ithasn't been shampooed and
cleansed and then the nextservice is to book a silk press.
So it's like your hair is oily.
I mean your hands are now oilybecause you've been touching the
hair to have all the buildupthat has accumulated while

(22:05):
you've been in the weave.
So now you're touching the silkpress, which is now clean, and
when you have no movement and nobody and it's not as silky,
that's because you keep touchingyour hair.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
But they want to blame you for that.

Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yeah, it's like, oh, it's so stiff.
It's like, yeah, one sideprobably is because you keep
grabbing it and you keeptouching it after you've just
touched dirty hair, you know,and the only way that silk purse
is going to move is if the hairis clean.

Speaker 2 (22:29):
You know, and sometimes we're working with hot
tools behind you.
Yeah and you grab it.
You put your hand back thereand I got a flat iron trying to
seal your braid Like please stop.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, please stop.
Now you done got burnt.
Now you want to sue it.
Don't work like that, exactly.

Speaker 2 (22:57):
What is something braiders will only understand in
the braiding industry, girl youso funny.
I think that was the question Iwas stumped on, because we live
the same, pretty much life asmost hairstylists.
I think braiders value timemore than others, simply because
what we do requires largechunks of time for us to set

(23:18):
aside.
So no shows, no call, no showsare detrimental.
Actually, even though I don'tsweat it, there are a lot of
people who are not in thatposition to handle no shows
because we need these heads topay these bills.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
Right, absolutely.
Yeah, that's a large time totry to make up.
Yeah, we're talking about sixhours at least.

Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah, and we value our.
I can't speak for everybody, Ican only speak for the serious
ones, but we value our clientstime.
We value the money they putdown for it.
We set aside our entireschedule to block off that time
to be with you, so that we canperform this service.
If you think about it, we'regeneral contractors, we're

(24:03):
basically contractors.
You're contracting us out toperform a service.
So that's why we require adeposit.
And then, for those of us whoinclude all of the materials,
all of the hair we're puttingforth a lot of time and effort
to make sure that we are readyand prepared for your
appointment.
For you, so for you to not showup or don't even give me a
heads up that you're not coming,instant block absolutely and

(24:28):
it's also to um braiders.

Speaker 1 (24:29):
Y'all separate the hair and prep it, sometimes
before the appointment.
Y'all don't do it, you know, assoon as the client comes in.
That's a lot of time too.
What is it like?

Speaker 2 (24:38):
what 30 minutes maybe , um, depending on the person.
I've seen people take it.
Takes them hours to prep onehead, um, but that just goes.
Goes back to efficiency.
Are you trying to be moreefficient with your time?
Do you understand time?
Some people don't understandthe concept of time, they don't

(24:59):
understand a sense of urgency,so that's why they'll.
They'll take 10 hours to braidbecause they can.
Well, that's not reallyefficient, because if you're
taking 10 hours to braid on a$250 hairstyle, that's only $25
an hour.
And the math ain't mathing Like.
You might as well go to get ajob at Chick-fil-A.
You know what I'm saying?
You can just show up to work,exactly.

Speaker 1 (25:19):
No, seriously, it's less work on your a braider.
You know anybody in theindustry.
You know we have.
You know we had to becomecontent creators at this point,
and so the time that you alloteven for that, it's just not
worth it.
It's not worth it.
Like you said, you can justshow up at Chick-fil-A throw
that chicken in that oven, orhowever they fried.

Speaker 2 (25:39):
And collect your paycheck every two weeks and
you'll be making more than youare charging for that head of
hair.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
And have more time you know on your hands.
Yeah, so you were right aboutthat.
What's one thing you wish allclients knew before sitting in
your chair?

Speaker 2 (26:05):
my love language is time going back to what we were
saying no, no call, no show,instant block.
Because I'm a serious person,I'm serious about what I do and
serious about the service thatI'm providing.
I put a lot of time and effortand energy into preparing for

(26:28):
you to be there Right.
Second, when you show up, Ineed you to know what you want.
You need to at least have aninspo pick something.
There's been times people showup and don't have a clue what
they're getting or what theywant, so they just book the
service just to have theappointment Just to have the
appointment, and what ends uphappening is I've now wasted 30

(26:52):
minutes of my time going backand forth with you trying to
figure out what it is youexactly want, because I'm not
going to spend the next fourhours giving you something you
don't want and, on top of that,you eating into my time, eats
into other people's time.
So I need you to understandthat one.
I am a serious professional andI'm here to do my job.

(27:15):
I'm not here to be your friend.
I'm not here to be yourcounselor.
Those things are bonuses.
Those things are bonuses.
I'll be a counselor if we clickand we communicate effectively.
You know, and I'm not wastingtime running my mouth while I'm
doing your hair Like, but mostof the time you're booking a

(27:36):
service.
Sit down, get your service done, let's go.

Speaker 1 (27:42):
We got things to do, yeah, but that's real.
You know, we do take on a lotof other things in this
profession that we just did notsign up for, like you said.
And like you say, if we click,yeah, we can talk on that level,
you know.
But sometimes you do get someclients for the first time.
They're ready to dump Firstappointment.
You don't even know them fromanywhere, you know and they're

(28:04):
ready to dump and you have awhole day ahead of you too.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
You know, and my shop is very interesting because
it's, you know, wide openThere'll be people come in and
tell us their whole life story.
I mean, we done been through awhole traumatic Tyler Perry soap
opera and the entire salon islistening.
Yes, they be, kids in the shop.
Yes, the whole salon islistening.
Like one time I had to go tosomebody and say, hey look, um,

(28:29):
I think you're sharing a littlebit too much.
They just that just happens tobe their personality.
But some people just can't readthe room, um, or you just kind
of, as a professional, say, heylook, I'm running behind
schedule.
I can can't, you know, talklike we normally do all the time
.
So you know, let's just get itin, get it done.
Yeah, all those other thingsare just bonuses.

(28:55):
It is yeah, and in some days weare just human.
Some days we don't want to bethere.
Some days we woke up and we'recramping like nobody's business.
Oh Lord, have mercy, we're notfeeling good.
There's been times people haveleft an appointment and
immediately sent a text.
I didn't like your vibe.
Well, ma'am, I was having ahorrible migraine and horrible

(29:17):
cramps right in the middle ofyour appointment.
Would you rather me cancel yourappointment today?
Nope, Exactly no.
Stop taking things personally.
This is a professional service.
We are not besties.
I am here to provide a servicefor you.
Yeah, that's right some days wejust ain't got it, but we still
come to work.
That's right.

(29:38):
We don't get pto, nope, no, wedon't get pto.
And sometimes emergencies dohappen and people understand
that.
But some people just don'tunderstand that because they
don't have a plan B or they booktheir vacation breaks the day
before their flight.
Oh, like, come on.

Speaker 1 (29:57):
That one right there, I feel like you cannot book
your as much as you want to.
Don't book your appointmentaround a special event.
Anything can happen.

Speaker 2 (30:07):
Like at least do a week in advance because it's
still going to look good in aweek, and I think that is the
misconception.
They think that they need to besnatched on day one, when
really you probably should giveyour hair a week to, you know,
do its thing, so that you can becomfortable on your trip.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
That's right.
I don't ever schedule nothingaround a trip and if I do, I
don't care if the appointmenthappens or not.
You know, that's just me.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
Yeah, I always have a plan B.
I have a plan B.

Speaker 1 (30:34):
Yeah, oh girl, I can't tell you how many times
I've been at fault for having toreschedule because, well, I
have a trip coming up and I planaccording to that trip.
Well, I don't know why wouldyou do that?
Because things will happen,things can happen, you know, and

(30:55):
it's like it's well, I guesswhatever you want to call it,
like a protective style orwhatever you want to call it,
but it's going to last.
This isn't a silk press, know,it's it's hair, that's, you know
, covering your hair so that youcan have it for a long, a long
period of time.
So I don't think a week wouldhurt.
I don't even think two weekswould hurt.
I don't think so yeah, I just belike if someone has to

(31:18):
reschedule, at least you havethat week of wiggle room to try
to figure it out, or I can evenget you the next week, but today
is just not.
But yeah, that's one of mythings too.
I really don't like whenclients schedule around events
because I don't know what'sgoing to happen.
That's just life.
Oh goodness, what did yourfirst few clients experience

(31:45):
back in the past versus now?

Speaker 2 (31:46):
I don't know.
I guess not much has changed.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
Oh yeah, talk about that.
That's a lot of growth.
It helps to get some outsideperspective.
Yeah, because you know we're init but they actually get to
view it.

Speaker 2 (32:11):
You know, right, yeah , some of my longest standing
clients found me on Craigslist.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
Yes, oh, so you was promoting on Craigslist.
That's how long I've been doingthis.
That's a long time.

Speaker 2 (32:24):
Yeah, actually, some of my really good friends that
we become really good friendsfound them on Craigslist.
That's when we was in thetrenches like learning how to do
these things, because rememberbraiders wasn't a thing back
then Like we would go to theAfrican braid shops to get our
stuff done, Right right.
It was just becoming a thingwhere we were independent
braiders and we were actuallygetting out and marketing

(32:45):
ourselves independent braidersand we were actually getting out
and marketing ourselves.
Most braiders just braided atthe house and you knew them
through your cousin, auntie, youknow somebody.
but no, when I first, when Iwhen I decided that this was
going to be like something thatI made money doing, then I
actually put 100 in doing it andI've had clients who have
followed me from place to placeto place and still stuck with me

(33:07):
when I tried to quit.
Oh, my goodness, why was youtrying to quit?
Because I was an accountant.

Speaker 1 (33:14):
Oh, this was when you still had a full-time job.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
I was a professional executive doing my big thing,
and hair was just something thatI did for fun, really, and I
just so happened to make moneydoing it.
But it wasn't until we movedfrom our apartment on the north
side that we moved to EastAustin and I tried to quit

(33:39):
because I was like I can't doboth, because it was getting to
the point where people were.
I was working my full-time joband then I was booking clients
in the evening, but then I wouldhurry up and rush home to be on
time for that client andclients weren't showing up.
So this was before deposits werea thing and all that stuff,
yeah and so it was just becomingdraining and I was like I would

(34:00):
rather do my regularnine-to-five than you know be
running around here trying to,you know know, book a client.
But no, those same people arethe people who kept me doing
what I do.
I know it's like it keptchoosing you.
Yeah, and then the minute Idecided to give 100% into this,
they were my number onesalespeople.

(34:20):
Your clients are your numberone salespeople.
And not much has changed.
Everything that I have learnedand developed professionally
I've taught to my team, soeverybody's expected to get a
consistent experience andconsistent service that is in
line with how I do business.

(34:40):
So, the same elevator speech Iused to give folks when they
came in the house and sat in thechair and you know I got comfy
and all that stuff.
I still give them the same youknow speech when they come in to
the shop.
It's no different.
The idea was just to get movedfrom the house to a bigger space
and create a home away fromhome, and that's one thing that

(35:00):
people, that's one thing thatpeople praise us about is that
the environment is calm, quiet,safe.
You know, because we're therefor hours at a time.
Nobody wants to be in chaos forhours.

Speaker 1 (35:14):
Well, we know it's safe if they love dumping.
So we know it's safe.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
Yeah, the clients who stuck with me for all that time
and who are still continuing tosupport my brand because we
would not have grown to where weare now without that support
Right.

Speaker 1 (35:33):
They keep booking Because you're like operating a
front store now, yeah, andworking on a second, oh,
congratulations.
Where's that?

Speaker 2 (35:41):
location going to be Hopefully on the south side,
because we have a lot of clientswho come from san antonio,
houston, and a lot of them won'tcome all the way up to
pflugerville because you knowaustin traffic, you know, right
there, depending on the day, uh,the time of day, that means an
hour to two hours, you know.
So the idea is to hopefully geta location on the south side.

(36:04):
Yeah, absolutely Got to keepthat, you know, in fruition.
One thing for sure is that weare never going to go out of
style.
We are a recession-proof job.
That's true.
My business was booming duringCOVID.
Yeah, it did.
You know why?

Speaker 1 (36:20):
Absolutely, because all of the other shops got shut
down, but we were still able towork from home and people were
willing to still come get theirhair done, they still needed to
look good on those zoom callsyeah, that's right, you know,
because you know some of us uh,you know, even though we were,
you know, moved out of ourlocations, they still had to
show up in different ways, sothey still had to be presentable

(36:41):
.
And everybody, you know, I feellike braiders really took off
during that time because youcouldn't go as often as you
wanted to and you neededsomething that lasted longer.
Yep, you needed something thatlasted.
So that's when I really startednoticing the Braiders in the
area, because I didn't know whothe Braiders were, because I had
moved here in 2018, thenstarted getting out to 2019.
And, literally four monthslater, covid happened and that's

(37:05):
when I started saying like dangit is Braiders in.
Austin.
So that's when I noticed theBraiders.
For sure during the pandemic.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, we was out there.
Yeah, people just wasn'tchecking for us because they
didn't need us, but now they seethe value in what we provide.

Speaker 1 (37:22):
I know even for my clients.
They didn't know because theywere asking me do you know any
Braididers in the area?
I'm like I don't know nobody inthe area I just moved here.
I'm like the first braider thatI went to out, it wasn't even
out here, it was in Dallas,because I didn't know anyone out
here.
I was hashtagging because,since I live in a Killeen area,
I was doing more like Killeenbraiders and it's Killeen

(37:43):
braiders everywhere, braders andit's Colleen braders everywhere
, and I had no idea and I'm notsure if they were using hashtags
like that back then to marketbecause they were nowhere.
I had to do Dallas braders tosee a brader.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
I had been doing business since 2013.
I didn't even really starttaking Instagram seriously until
2018.

Speaker 1 (38:02):
See that makes sense.
Yeah, around the time we movedhere fall 2018.
I didn't get out to fall 2019,and then COVID happens almost
spring 2020.
And that's when I saw theblossom of the braiders.
I'm like, oh no, it's a braiderhere, it's a braider there,
it's a braider here.
I mean, just choose which oneyou want to go to check them out
.

Speaker 2 (38:20):
Yeah, and the opposite is true now, because
now I get people asking me allthe time do you, do you know any
silk press specialists, do youknow any natural hair
specialists?
And I'm constantly referringfolks out yeah, so it's evolving
.

Speaker 1 (38:33):
You know, the black hair industry in Austin is
finally, you know, evolving.
Yeah, finally people arenoticing you know you have
options now, you know, as I'veseen a salon just recently open
up and it's a nice cool vibevibe I was like, finally, you
know, people have selections nowinstead of, you know, trying to
fit in because people'sschedules are so tight,

(38:54):
especially if you're in highdemand, people's schedules are
so tight, they have nowhere togo, right, you know, because of
the limited resources of youknow black hairstylists out here
, when I first started here inAustin, every client I got said
that they were still driving toHouston and Dallas to get their
hair done.
To get their hair done.

Speaker 2 (39:10):
Yep Sure were, so that was really my primary
client source was folks who gottired of traveling.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
Worked out for you.
Yes, it did.
Yes, it did.
When you see the opportunity,take it.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
Yeah, that's true, yep.
What used to take you hoursback when you first started,
that you can fly through today,everything.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
Right.
Everything took me hours.
It took me a minute to realizethat most of my time was being
spent thinking about my nextmove.
Oh, every time you sit aroundthinking about what you're going
to do next, you're wasting time.
So what helped me gain thespeed that I do is realizing
where I can fill those gaps in.

(39:54):
So did it take me half a secondto think about that size of
that piece that I wanted?
Or did it take me half amillisecond to think about it,
and those little millisecondsadd up to seconds add up to
minutes add up to all of that.
So I learned how to multitask doseveral things at one time so

(40:17):
that by the time they get outthe chair it's time to go.
I have braiding has neverreally taken me a long time.
It was more so me um figuringout how to master, um, how to
make it look the way I want itto look.
I wanted it like I said.
When somebody walks through thedoor, I have a mental picture

(40:37):
of what it's supposed to looklike on their head, and once I
get that picture down and I knowwhat the final look is, I
already have the steps in theplan in place to complete it.

Speaker 1 (40:47):
Like I said, it's like a general contractor.

Speaker 2 (40:49):
Once I know what the final product is supposed to be,
I work backwards and I knowexactly what I need to do after
every, every single step, whichis why I think it's interesting
that some people say oh um, Ibraid faster because I pull the
hair.
I don't prep the hair well.
I've watched people pullinghair and it takes them much
longer.
Right, I was just trying tovisualize that it takes them way

(41:11):
much longer because I'mwatching the seconds that it
takes for them to look over.
Grab that piece, decide whatsize piece you need, pull it
Almost.
Knock the access off yeah,almost knock access off.
Yeah, almost knock everythingoff.
And then now you got shoulderpain and joint pain because
you're constantly doing this allthe time.

(41:33):
You done spent five secondsdeciding on one piece, when all
you had to do was just grab one,yeah.
So that's why I spend the timethat I do prepping, because I
can do a whole head of mediumknotless waist length in three
and a half hours Right.

Speaker 1 (41:49):
And I'm sure that pulling going to create some
inconsistency, like it's kind ofhard, it is going to create
inconsistency.

Speaker 2 (41:55):
And that's why I teach the way I do.
Everything is math based.
Again, I have two degrees inaccounting.
I was math minor in everything.
Yes, ma'am, everything is mathbased.
If you break everything downinto equal pieces, all you got
to do is add the pieces up tothe the end result, right?
So, for example, if one braidis going to take me six pieces

(42:16):
of hair, every braid is going totake me six pieces of hair.
It may not be the same aroundthe perimeter, if the hairline
is, you know, thinner, it may bedifferent in the middle, but I
know how many pieces I need foreach one.
To add up to 10, that's right.
That's right.
That make a lot of, as opposedto, let me grab this small piece
here.
Let me grab this big piece here.

(42:38):
Let me get grab this mediumpiece here.
Like you're spending too muchtime thinking about it, that's
right.
You just need to, like, fill inthose gaps.
Or I had to tell somebody theother day hey, why are you
waiting until the end of theappointment to style their edges
and wrap it down?

Speaker 1 (42:53):
and dry it, and this is the one in your salon.

Speaker 2 (42:54):
Yeah, why are you waiting until the end of the
appointment?
You're already spending 30minutes braiding the ends down.
Her hair could have been, heredges could have been laid and
dried by the time you finishedbraiding those ends down.
That's right, yep, do thatfirst, and then you won't have
to make up for that time later.
So that's why I teach what I doon YouTube, like find those

(43:23):
efficiencies, find those thingsthat help you get to where you
need to be, because there's abig difference between doing one
client a day and four clients aday.
That's right, it sure is.
That just separates thebraiders from the serious ones,
that's true.
Yeah, and income wise, I wasabout to say, and don't forget
the income we talk about fourclients opposed to one in one
day you can master doing onehead a day for $250 a day for

(43:44):
four days a week?
Right, that's $1,000 a week.
That's $52,000 a year.
Imagine if you could doublethat, yeah absolutely Imagine if
you could double that.

Speaker 1 (43:55):
Y'all better start taking it serious.

Speaker 2 (44:01):
I must say, when I was doing all this, when we were
in the growth process, I wouldget to points where I'm like God
, how do I grow this thing, like, how do I figure out how to
master this time thing and growthis thing into something that
is sustainable?
Because doing one head a day atsix hours a day just ain't it,
it don't make sense.

(44:21):
You might as well go back toaccounting.
Exactly, I didn't know.
And then that's when I decidedI needed an assistant.
And even then I was like, lord,how do I pay for an assistant,
you know?
And once I did the math andfigured out the time and got the
efficiencies down, figured outhow to do rotations, that's just
when things started to open up.
Yeah, and by the time I wasdone with my first assistant, I

(44:45):
had two chairs in my house and Ihad six clients a day.
We were rotating heads out thatmuch, and this was at the height
of COVID, so people werebooking left and right and at
that point two chairs in myhouse.
I got to go.

Speaker 1 (44:58):
Yeah, you do.
That's when you know it's timeto expand, it's time to expand.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
But even then I was like Lord how am I going to pay
rent?

Speaker 1 (45:07):
Especially it's time to expand.
But even then I was like Lord,how am I going to pay rent?
Especially because you didn't.
You didn't go into a suite,right, you went straight to
front store.

Speaker 2 (45:11):
No, my, when I first started it was at my apartment.
Then that was too much.
So I shared a salon suite upnorth and I did that for a while
where I built a lot ofclientele, but even then that
was expensive.
I was sharing a suite withthree people.
I was still having to pay $125a week.

Speaker 1 (45:29):
But how were y'all managing the time?
Were y'all able to be in thereat the same time?
Well, there were two chairs.

Speaker 2 (45:35):
One was a barber, one was a hairstylist.
Like yourself, she only workedduring the day.
I worked in the evenings, andso we would split that chair.
Yeah, that's still pretty steep.
That was pretty steep, yeah,but it was worth it for my peace
of mind, because I got peopleat my house and I could separate
my job from you know all thatstuff, sometimes, that peace, it

(45:56):
don't come with a price.

Speaker 1 (45:57):
Yeah, it's priceless.

Speaker 2 (45:59):
Exactly.
And then when we moved to thehouse, I turned my whole dining
room into the actual salon space.
But then it just got crowded,like it got to a point where,
like there were too many peoplein there.
And then too, when you'reworking from home and you got
that many people running in andabout your house, it's a lot to
deal with, especially for therest of your family.

(46:20):
So everything worked outperfectly.
I was able to find a space andI planned everything in advance.
So again, I'm an accountingmajor.
I made sure that I didn't haveany debt.
I made sure that everything waspaid for cash, because I knew
that if I moved into a largerspace I was going to have this
liability of rent.
I don't want to have to dealwith rent and having to pay a

(46:42):
loan payment.
That's right, you know.
So I worked really hard to justsave up as much as possible,
moved into the shop and then Ididn't do what most people do
when you move into your firstsalon suite or you move into
your shop, you can't wait todecorate it Not me.

Speaker 1 (46:56):
Oh no, you know that's the part.
That's a part of the process.
Yeah, I mean, you know it'slike building as you build.
Yeah, yeah, no, yeah.

Speaker 2 (47:04):
And then, too, when you're working with leaseholders
, you think you want to do onething, but then you get in there
and they're like no, you can'tdo that.
That's right, you can't do this.
So many limitations.
We forgot to tell you that wedon't have that.
You know that's true.
Yeah, so it was just been awork in progress and I've been
really proud of the fact thatI've been taking my time with

(47:27):
building this one space so thatit can become the blueprint for
the next space, right, and thenI can just carve and copy that
to the next space, and then Idon't have to worry about that.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
Exactly, absolutely, yeah.
What's one mistake you madeearly on that taught you a
lesson today, as, as you werebuilding and you know, know,
moving into your new space.

Speaker 2 (47:49):
Deposits changed the game.
Mm-hmm.
Changed the entire outlook ofmy business.
So when you were at home youweren't accepting deposits,
mm-mm.
Nope, it was all you know,because back then hairstylists
didn't do that.
That just wasn't a thing.
But, like I said, back thenbraiders weren't a big thing

(48:09):
either.
So people were treating us likeregular, everyday hairstylists.
Um, and then too, I had like aset group of clients who were
consistent.
But the new people girl, that'sthe one of the new people I
would.
I would go to 10 different hairstores looking for something
that they needed, only for themto not show up.
And at the time I was stillworking my nine to five.

(48:30):
I got young kids.
You know I got a lot going on.
Like I said, the worst thingyou could do to me is disrespect
my time.
So one day I remember I camehome and somebody just did not,
just no call, no show.
And I said you know what thishas got to stop?
I said if I implement thisdeposit policy and it works, I'm

(48:51):
going to stick with hair.
I'll stick with it and showenough, it works.
Yeah, I went from having likethree no call no shows in a week
to nobody no call and no show.
Because I set the expectationup in front and I let them know
hey, you pay this deposit.
It will definitely go towardsyour service.
This is just to ensure that youshow up.

Speaker 1 (49:11):
Yep that you're going to fulfill your commitment.
And that's just serious, yeah,and we'll go out the ones that
are not, because if they don'twant to pay a deposit, I'm
telling you and that just weedsout the serious candidates from
the non-serious candidates.
That's right.
Like I said, we're basicallycontractors.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
You're hiring us to perform a service.
You wouldn't hire somebody tobuild your house without paying
a deposit.
You wouldn't buy a housewithout putting some escrow down
.
That's how it goes they needgood faith to know that you are
in it to win it, especially ifthey don't know you.
It'd be one thing you know.
If it's your sister, yourbrother, you know where to find

(49:48):
them.
You know where to collect.
You know, but people you don'tknow Exactly, like people you
don't know, like you got to havea good face.
You know payment something tolet me know that you're serious
about this Right Now.
The ones who accept depositsand say it doesn't go towards
their service, that's adifferent story, I know.

(50:09):
Do you know why they do that?
I'm curious.
Most of the I'm going to tellyou right now, I would say 80%
of the time they're scammingno-transcript.

Speaker 1 (50:36):
All deposit deposits went towards your service, and
so when they would ask me, I'mlike, I have no idea I'm and
that's why I'm asking you likewhat?
What is it Like?
Why is that a thing you knowyou?

Speaker 2 (50:48):
know and into.
Everybody's relationship withmoney is different.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
That's true, they may .
That's a good one right there.

Speaker 2 (50:54):
Yeah, they may just say, hey, I got to take this for
X, y and Z, or they just didnot take the time to research
how to word it properly.
I noticed that some people havechanged their wording.
They've actually gotten someadvice from some real legal
people, some lawyers.
You get one too manychargebacks.

(51:14):
You're going to changesomething.
That's right.
But I think everybody'srelationship is different with
money, especially those who areliving.
You know, client to clientRight.
You know I had somebody tell methat they got paid for a
service and that money wasalready spent.
But then the client complainedand they were going to offer

(51:34):
them a refund, but they didn'thave the money to give them back
the refund because they didn'talready spend the money.

Speaker 1 (51:38):
Oh well, it's kind of spending deposit money.
You know you have to kind ofleave we're doing it left and
right all the time when itkicked off, you know, because
they just saw it as this is amoney grab.

Speaker 2 (51:51):
I'm gonna get money in the account, it's gonna hit
the cash app.
That's why a lot of peopledon't take cash up anymore
either.
Yeah, um, and, and they justaren't financially literate that
part.
So I'm hoping that, um, I canstart doing more educational
classes on financial literacy,because how you view money and
how you bring it in and how itgoes out makes a huge difference

(52:12):
on how you grow in yourbusiness.

Speaker 1 (52:14):
That's right what you have in that accounting
background.
That would be amazing to likestart because I feel like a lot
of us in the industry we, youknow, you go to hair school
they're not teaching financialliteracy and most of us now they
should start incorporating itbecause most of us now are
breaking out to be businessowners you know, so I think it's
so important, even though it'sso overlooked.

(52:35):
And, like you said, yourrelationship with money will
determine how that business isgoing to grow or not.
You know, if you have a badrelationship with money already,
personally don't expect to havea good one business-wise.
It's not going to work.
But so many of us, even when Ihad tried to start doing

(52:56):
something like that, they werescared.
I'm going to tell you right now, the number one reason why
they're not going to inquire isthe fear.
Reason why they're not going toinquire is the fear, the fear
of you seeing how careless theyare with their money and how
they're not budgeting and howthey are not setting so much
aside to invest.
It's like embarrassing for them, I'm like.

(53:16):
But the moment you start today,you'd be surprised what it's
going to do for you later on,you know.
But that was.
It was like a scare tactic.
It was, uh, the emotional, theuh, the unhealthy emotional
connection that they have withit.
They were not open at all.

Speaker 2 (53:35):
And don't get me wrong, there are still clients
that I don't take deposits frombecause I know them oh yeah,
they're going to show up totheir appointment.
But when it comes down to yourmoney and business, there's a
difference in mindset.
Some of us have the financialwealth mindset where we're
thinking big, we're thinkinglong-term, we're willing to set

(53:57):
aside that extra money everymonth because we have a bigger
goal.
And then there are some of uswho are in a financial place
where they are living head tohead.
And then there are some of uswho are in a financial place
where they are living head tohead and there's nothing wrong
with that.
But when are you going to gettired of living head to head?
Start doing your research,start watching those videos.
There's so much information outthere.

(54:18):
You just got to be willing toseek it out.

Speaker 1 (54:21):
Yeah, that's right.
It's everywhere now.
For me, I say if you don't knowthe information and you haven't
tried to find information, it'sbecause you don't want the
information Exactly, you know,versus when we were coming up.
We had to really hustle andgrind for that information.
Today they have Google, youhave ChatGPT.
Now there's no reason.

(54:42):
Don't get me started on that.

Speaker 2 (54:45):
When I say I use ChatGPT for everything and I
still see people who don't evenbother with it.

Speaker 1 (54:52):
No, it's going to free up so much time.
You know something that yousometimes it takes time to like
curate an email, to say it theway that it needs to be
delivered in order for the toneto make sense and for it to be
deliverable and receivable youknow, let me tell you something.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
That is the whole reason y'all see me on these, on
these social media streets moreoften because it saves so much
time, so much professional time,so much time.
But at the end of the day, youcan't help somebody who don't
want to help themselves.
No, so if you're not willing toseek out that information on
your own, don't ask me to helpyou, because clearly, you're not
willing to seek out theinformation on your own, don't

(55:27):
ask me to help you, becauseclearly, you just asking me for
me to flap my gums?
Yeah, because you won't evenreceive it here.

Speaker 1 (55:33):
That's right and what you say about your time.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
It is mine, it is valuable, it is my most valuable
gift on this earth, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (55:46):
What's one brave myth you want to bust?

Speaker 2 (55:51):
I'm gonna get so much backlash for this.
No, you're not somebody.

Speaker 1 (55:55):
You know, sometimes I say it, just take one person to
say it.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
People are already feeling that way, but just say
one person to just say it, allhair types can have braids hair,
but you can't get flulanibraids.
Oh, absolutely not, If you wantto be bald get flulani braids,

(56:23):
get tribal braids, depends onwhat you want Now the two, three
, four braids.
We add a little color in there,that's doable.
It sure is, but there arecertain things you have no
business getting and don'tcomplain when all your hair fall
out.
That's right.
That's right?
No for sure, but no, all hairtypes can be braided.

(56:44):
All hair types can be braided.
Um, it's just a matter of oneare you culturally sensitive?
And two, do you know whatyou're getting yourself into?
Right period like do yourresearch?
There's been so many times I'vehad somebody sit in my chair
and they're like this is what Iwant.
I'm like your hair is not goingto support that.
Your hair will not support that.

(57:07):
Yeah, and we need to come upwith another plan, yeah, so take
that.
I don't think you're going tocatch any backlash.

Speaker 1 (57:16):
I think if people understand hair texture and what
in density and you know what itcan handle, what it can't
handle, they know.
That's all facts, you know,like you say, it just depends on
what it is that you're askingfor.
But if you want braids, you canget braids, depending on the
circumstances and the situation.

(57:37):
You know.

Speaker 2 (57:38):
It depends on the circumstance, but what I've
learned from the time I was akid is that most people just
don't understand hair at all.
No, they don't.

Speaker 1 (57:47):
They do not understand hair at all and they
don't care to understand.

Speaker 2 (57:51):
That's why they come to you like clockwork every
couple of weeks.

Speaker 1 (57:55):
Yeah, um, and that's okay, but don't don't sit in my
chair asking me for somethingthat you just booked on a whim
that's right we're gonna have alittle talk yeah, and then also
they should be able to receivethe information just knowing
that I'm just trying to help you.
You know this isn't me tryingto decline a service, you know,

(58:17):
because I think sometimes theclient hear that more than I'm
just trying to help you.
Keep the hair on your head.

Speaker 2 (58:23):
Oh, I love those ones , because they start bringing up
all these excuses about.
You know, I didn't do this andI didn't do that and I'm like,
well, at the end of the day, Istill can't perform this job
because you didn't meet mehalfway, that's right, it's a
collaborative situation.

Speaker 1 (58:37):
I don't think they really understand that.
You know we're collaborating inorder to meet the goal for you.
You know this isn't a one sidedjob here.
You got a job to uphold, and Ido too, and when we work
together we make things happen.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
Another thing where we kind of get a bad rap as
braiders is that we don't knowhow to mitigate those situations
.
We don't know how to talk topeople and educate them.
Instead of saying, well, youshouldn't have did this and you
shouldn't have did that, youneed to ask the right questions
and say, hey, I think we we needto change our plan.
It's how you deliver it to theclient Most of the time.

(59:15):
If you deliver it in a way thatis a teaching moment, they're
more acceptable to it.
But if you are sending textsback and forth talking about,
well, I'm not doing this and I'mnot doing that, and you should
have did this and that's why Ican't do that, then that's how
you build animosity between inthe client relationship.
So if y'all need a class onthat, no, seriously, like

(59:38):
etiquette.

Speaker 1 (59:39):
You know, yeah, because it's not what you say,
it's how you say it.
You know all the time, in somany situations, you know so and
that that can be across theboard.
In the beauty industry, I feel,you know, not just braiders
hairstylists get backlash forthe tone and delivery of what
they say to via text, via, youknow, even face to face.
You know, um, that's anotherthing that they should start

(01:00:02):
incorporating.

Speaker 2 (01:00:02):
These classes like how to conduct, yeah, you know
all those modes of communicationland differently and us, being
millennials, we understand.
We understand how communicationcomes off differently.
Remember when text messagingfirst came out and you used to
get an argument with your manover some text you sent, but

(01:00:25):
they took it the wrong way,wrong way we learned that yeah,
we did.

Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
Growing up, we sure did.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
Folks these days are not in tune to how those things
land on people.
So, for example, look yourclient in the eyeballs.
Yeah, stop talking to thembehind the chair.
Yes, yes, seriously, like eyecontact is proven to build
connection with people.
Yeah, so stop doing that it'sOK to sit in front of them and

(01:00:53):
have a conversation with them,make them feel human.

Speaker 1 (01:00:57):
And sometimes too, if I can feel like some tension,
you know, with the client, I'lleven grab my stool and sit down.

Speaker 2 (01:01:04):
I do it all the time.
Yeah, because if you'restanding up.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
that's also like this demeanor of I'm the one in
charge and in power and makingthe final decision.
So, girl, I'll grab that stooland I'll sit down, and anything
to kind of alleviate anddecrease the animosity that you
feel brewing.
It's like, oh she getting mad.

Speaker 2 (01:01:20):
It's a proven fact that when you're standing above
somebody, they feel lower thanyou, so they already feel like
you're scolding them aboutsomething even though you're
saying it in a different way.
Subconsciously, their bodylanguage is feeling, oh, you're
saying it.
In a different way,subconsciously, their body
language is feeling, oh you're,you're looking down on me.
So get to them eye level, getto them a little bit low level,
like that.
All of those little things makea difference, and there's

(01:01:43):
thousands of classes on youtubefor you to learn these things.
It sure is.
But at the end of the day, ifyou want to be better, if you
want to provide better services,these are like the little, tiny
things that make a hugedifference, it sure is.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
I'm glad you touched on that girl because that's a
good one right there.
That needed to be said.
Any braid care tips?

Speaker 2 (01:02:08):
to keep hairstyles longer that you recommend?
Everybody asks that question.
At the end of the day, it'sabout your hair.
We still have to add anextension to the foundation of
your hair, so your hair is goingto grow.
I've never dealt with a clientwho didn't have hair that wasn't
growing.
Right, that's right, absolutelyso.
Like the first, I would sayjust wait some time to wash it.
Um, if you're the type ofperson who needs to wash it

(01:02:31):
often, wash it.
Yeah for sure.
Please, for the love of god,wash your to wash it often.
Wash it.
Yeah for sure, please, for thelove of God, wash your hair.
If you have cerebriaticdermatitis, like I do, and your
scalp is prone to buildup, isprone to, you know, excess oils
and dirts and stuff like that,shampoo it.
That's right.
Put some shampoo on atoothbrush, rub it on there.
Go on YouTube and understandhow shampoo shampoo works.

(01:02:56):
It's just like soap on yourbody.
The molecules have to attach tothe dirt.
The dirt has to be carried outby the water, yes, and then, if
it's still there, if you havelayers and layers and layers you
gotta do it um, but again,that's a biology chemistry
course that a lot of peopleskipped.
that's true, yeah, it is, um.
Or it, like I said, a lot ofpeople just doesn.
That's true, yeah, it is.
Or, like I said, a lot ofpeople just don't understand

(01:03:17):
hair and it just doesn't clickfor them, which is fine.
But if you want better hair foryourself, most of the work you
have to do on your own.
I only see you once every sixweeks, that's right.
That's right.
So there's plenty of tips andtricks.
That's something that Ispecialize in.
I'm always posting tips on, youknow, how to maintain your
braids, how to wash them, how tomake them last a little bit

(01:03:40):
longer, like, especially ifyou're on your last leg and you
want to look a little bit moresnatched.
You know, in the last weekThereall got to stop one wearing
these braids for six monthsplus you got to change it out
and make sure you're washingyour hair.
Get all that stuff outAbsolutely.

Speaker 1 (01:04:01):
For sure.
What type of braid style isbest for someone growing out
their edges, like if they aresuffering from traction alopecia
?

Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
Actually, you can get any braid style you want.
You just got to get comfortablewith leaving your edges out.
There we go.
Yes, for example, I have areceding hairline and I have
hair loss, you know, due to ageand genetics.
So now, these days, I justleave a little bit more, yeah,
and I just get used to stylingit on a daily basis, because if

(01:04:35):
I were to pull all that hair up,I ain't gonna have no hair by
the end by the end of this time,right, um, because not only is
it the tightness of the braids,but gravity takes into effect as
well.
So a lot of people love to getlong, long braids.
The longer the braid, theheavier it is.
So that's another skill setthat a lot of braiders have not
picked up on is okay, you havefine hair, I'm not going to put

(01:04:58):
this much hair in your head,because this is going to cause a
lot of weight and due togravity over time, and it's
going to cause, you know, issuesand breakage.
So these are things that youjust learn over time and you
realize that you need to saythese things to clients
especially, you know, beforethey leave.
Set those expectations becauseyou don't want them coming to

(01:05:18):
you six weeks later talkingabout their hair fell out and
it's your fault, and it's yourfault, yeah, so yeah, you can
really pretty much do anything.
You just need to get used to theidea of leaving those areas
alone.
Yes, you've got to let itbreathe.
Absolutely Leave it alone.
So it's okay to leave youredges out.
I know the girls, the littlegirlies, are just wearing on

(01:05:39):
like extra edges and cuttingtheir hair and all that stuff
edges.

Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
Now we were fighting for our edges and they're like
intentionally cutting thatperimeter out to create baby
hair.

Speaker 2 (01:05:51):
but you also got to keep in mind is your whole head
is a situation, so it's not justyour edges.
People do too much at themiddle of their head, the back
of their head, and they losehair in those spots as well.
Yeah, so your whole head needsto be tended to.
Sure does so.
No, there's no styles thatyou're really limited to.

(01:06:11):
It's really just based on oneyour personal preference, what
look you're trying to achieve.
And two, are you comfortablewith, like leaving it out and
maintaining?

Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Yeah, for sure, especially those who are trying
to grow their edges out.
They usually get like a hairgrowth oil or something like
that, or they're massaging thatarea a lot.
Yeah, I don't stray away fromthat.
Now, if you have a full head,that is just breakage and
brittle and all of that, like wemight have to come up with a
different solution.
Yeah, but that's what.

(01:06:43):
That's why we communicate,that's why we have these
conversations and that's why youneed to book that consultation.
That's why you need to book theconsultation.

Speaker 1 (01:06:50):
You don't waste your time too.

Speaker 2 (01:07:07):
You know, would you advise them spending more time,
I guess, in treatments beforethey come see you?
If you know these people andyou work with these type of
people in those professions, youcan talk to them and say, hey,
this is what they're doing, whatstyles hey, they get, they can
do.
And they'll say, oh well, let'smake sure that we don't put
anything in this area, let'sjust make sure that we are using

(01:07:29):
the least amount of tension inthis area, like at the end of
the day, it's still aconversation, for sure.

Speaker 1 (01:07:34):
Yeah well, we cutting it close on time, so we're
gonna wrap it on up.
Um, make sure you, uh, shoutout your social so that the
listeners can follow you again.
We have more listeners now, sowe have a new audience, so we
want to make sure that they stayconnected with you and what
you're doing and how you'regrowing, especially with your
second location.
You you know and works, soplease shout out all your

(01:07:56):
socials so that they can stayconnected.

Speaker 2 (01:07:59):
You can find me everywhere under Vandy Vanity,
on YouTube, on TikTok, onInstagram.
The professional pages are VLSHair ATX.
We have the Braided BeautyCollection, which will be
dropping next month, and we dohave Braid School.
So if you can't remember VandyVanity, you can remember Braid

(01:08:20):
School.
Search that anywhere.
So, yeah, that's where you canfind me.
Oh, and if you need to book anappointment, go straight to
VLSHaircom and I'll be sure toleave that information in the
show notes so that y'all canhave it as well written.

Speaker 1 (01:08:32):
Well, thank you for your time, girl.
It's always a pleasure forsharing with us.
Girl, of course that's too easy.
Like as soon as you, I was likeyou know we need to get you
back in here, especially all thetrouble we did you know we
experienced initially I was likewe got to get up and get up and
congratulations on the globe.

Speaker 2 (01:08:50):
Thank you, girl.
It looks amazing on the globe.

Speaker 1 (01:08:55):
Thank you, girl, it looks amazing.

Speaker 2 (01:08:56):
Thank you, I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:08:56):
To your point.
You've come a long way in ashort amount of time.
Google, I was like podcaststudios in Austin, Texas, and
that just goes back to our pointResearch research, research and
then put it into action.
Absolutely, because I wasn'tdoing that ever again.
You was the last person I triedto do that like a whole segment
, like I did snippets just topromote on social.
Ever again you was the lastperson I tried to do that like a
whole segment, like I didsnippets just to promote on

(01:09:17):
social media.
But you was the last person Iever tried to record a whole
segment with.
I was like I quit.

Speaker 2 (01:09:22):
Yeah, yeah, that one just ended up being a flop.
The audio from the video wetried, we tried.

Speaker 1 (01:09:28):
Yeah, you were, because you was like I'm going
to let my husband do this and itjust, but this one's going to
be great.
I'm going to share this onewith you so you can upload it.

Speaker 2 (01:09:36):
I really appreciate you Of course, girl.

Speaker 1 (01:09:39):
All right y'all.
That's a wrap on my time withFandi.
Big thanks to her for sharingher skills and good energy.
Much love to VLS Hair ATX andFlu Reveal.
If you're close and want yourhair cared for with love, check
them out.
Thanks for vibing with us today.
Stay glowing, stay confidentand keep loving yourself.

(01:10:00):
Catch you next time.