Why Change Doesn't Work (And What Actually Transforms You)

Send us a text

We draw a hard line between change and transformation, then walk through six practical steps salon owners can use to lead from the inside out. The staircase moves from awareness to celebration, supported by resolve and belief, and grounded in systems that turn habits into culture.

• change vs transformation in the salon context
• step 1 awareness turning on the inner light
• step 2 intention aiming at a clear target
• step 3 decision cutting off other options
• step 4 discipline practice over perfection
• step 5 recognition gratitude that multiplies momentum
• step 6 celebration cementing identity and progress
• resolve and belief as the foundation
• be–do–have roots trunk fruit model
• reflection prompts to locate your current step

Please text the word pro to 469-283-5590

Do you have a question for Salon Success Secrets Podcast?

Send a text or leave a voicemail at [phone] or send us an email to [e-mail]. We would love to hear from you.

Start growing in business and leadership with powerful tools, advice and resources in your inbox every week:

Learn more about Salon Business School Events:

Upcoming Events | Salon Business School

Learn more about Salon Business School Coaching:

https://keap.app/contact-us/4732115411329800

Learn more about Salon Business School for Salon & Spa Owners:

https://keap.app/contact-us/8468267787462617

Are you ready to go all in? Join Salon Business School:

Apply to Join Us! | Salon Business School

Listen to all the Salon Success Secrets podcasts anytime, anywhere here:

Podcast | Salon Success Secrets

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
What if I told you that most people don't actually
transform, they just change.
And in the salon industry, we'resurrounded by change every
single day.
You know, new trends, newstylists, new formulas, new
seasons.
But transformation that'sdifferent.

(00:43):
Change is external.
It happens to you.
Transformation is internal.
It happens in you.
So change can either alter howthings look, but transformation
alters how you see.
So change is temporary, buttransformation is permanent.

(01:05):
So today we want to walk youthrough the six steps to
transformation, a framework thatdoesn't just help you grow as a
salon owner, it helps you leadand transform your team.
And before we dive in, let'sstart, let's start with this
thought.
You can't transform your teamuntil you've been transformed

(01:27):
yourself.

SPEAKER_01 (01:29):
So good.
Reminds me of a butterfly,Lindsay.
You know, it starts as thatcaterpillar and transitions into
a cocoon, and then the big,beautiful butterfly is released.
And you know, that's truly atransformation because once that
caterpillar transforms into abutterfly, it can no longer
become a caterpillar again.

(01:50):
So I love the idea oftransformation.
So let's start with the firststep of transformation, which is
actually awareness.
And awareness is you noticewhat's happening inside of you.
So it always starts there.
It's like when you finally slowdown long enough to notice
what's happening, not aroundyou, but actually inside of you.

(02:12):
You know, think about this inthe salon world, it's so easy to
focus, you know, on the outside,you know, the numbers, the
marketing, the new stylist who'sstruggling, the product order
that didn't show up.
So, like true awareness isn'tabout fixing everything out
there.
It's about asking, you know,what's actually happening in
here, inside yourself.

(02:32):
Because your outer world isalways reflecting your inner
world.
Let me say that again becauseit's so good.
Your outer world is alwaysreflecting your inner world.
And so if your team feelschaotic, maybe there's chaos
inside of you.
It's a huge opportunity tobecome aware of.
And if you feel like no one'slistening, maybe you've stopped

(02:54):
listening to yourself.
And so awareness is simplyturning the light on.
So think of it, walk into a darkroom, you turn the light on,
that creates that awareness.
And you cannot change what youwill not look at.
You know, when you're aware,like when you're truly aware,
you move from reaction toreflection.

(03:14):
And that's the foundation ofleadership, leadership
transformation.

SPEAKER_00 (03:20):
Yeah, I love that.
When you're aware, you move fromreaction to reflection.
Um, I think that's so good.
And and it's and it puts us intothat stage two of you know, the
stages of transformation, whichis intention, you know.
So you have already created thatawareness, you see what's

(03:41):
happening, maybe what needs totransform in your life, but now
you've set an intention.
So once you're aware, the nextstep is intention.
And the word intention comesfrom the Latin entender, meaning
to stretch outward, or to, I'msorry, to stretch toward.

(04:03):
So I like to think of it likethis.
Imagine you're pulling back abow and you're aiming an arrow
at the target.
That stretch that you feel, thattension is in tension.
You know, you're pulling back onwhat you know now so that you
can aim towards somethingbetter.

(04:26):
In your salon, intention mightsound like this.
This quarter, I want to buildmore trust with my team.
I want to raise our guestexperience.
I want to spend more timecoaching instead of correcting.
You know, intention gives yourawareness a target.

(04:46):
Because if awareness is seeingwhere you are, intention is
aiming at where you're going.
Without intention, awareness canlead to overwhelm.
But with it, you're stretchingtoward your future.

SPEAKER_01 (05:03):
So good.
So I think of this like astaircase.
We're aware of now, of somethingthat we were not aware of
before, the lights on.
Now we're setting thatattention, like Lindsay was
saying.
And the third step is actuallywhere you make a decision.
And this is where you're cuttingaway everything else.
Um, the word decision actuallycomes from the um from the Latin

(05:25):
sidere, which actually means tocut off.
So listen, that's so powerful ifyou think about it, because when
you decide, you're not choosingone path, you're cutting off
every other one.
You know, if you think about it,a choice keeps the door open.
Like you can actually change achoice that you make, but a
decision closes that door andlocks it behind you.

(05:48):
And so in business, in the salonbusiness, a decision might look
like this.
Hey, we're no longer discountingservices, or maybe, hey, we're
committing to team meetings orteam celebrations no matter
what.
Or, hey, we're shifting fromchaos to clarity and we're doing
it now.
And listen, you guys, the momentyou decide this, something

(06:08):
shifts because nothing else cancome in the get in the way.
Because truly energy followsdecision.
And when you cut off all otheroptions, like your brain and
your team stop negotiating andthey start executing.
And that's the point wheretransformation starts to move
from theory to reality.

SPEAKER_00 (06:31):
Yes, so good.
So as we continue this journeyup the staircase, you've done
step one, which is awareness.
Step two, which is drawing backand setting that intention, step
three, which is you've made thatdecision, like Jen mentioned,
which literally means to cut offall other options.

(06:53):
And now you go into step four onthe staircase, which is
discipline, you know, and thisis where you start following the
system.
Because once you decide,discipline keeps the decision
alive.
So the word discipline comesfrom the same root actually as

(07:14):
disciple, and it means to be alearner.
Let that sink in.
You know, discipline isn'tpunishment, it's practice.
Discipline is the bridge betweendecision and transformation.
And in your salon, disciplinelooks like showing up to the

(07:34):
system, even on the days thatyou don't feel like it.
It's having the morning huddle,it's role-playing the
consultation script, it'sholding the coaching session
when it would be easier tocancel.
Discipline isn't aboutperfection, it's about pattern.
It's doing the reps that turnyour system into second nature.

(07:56):
You know, so that's why insideof Million Dollar Beauty Pro, we
talk about following the systemlong enough for the system to
start leading you.
Because the truth is systemscreate safety, and safety
creates consistency, andconsistency creates trust.

SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
So good.
All right, so let's move on tostep five.
So after we are disciplined, Ilove what you said, Lindsay,
that disciple actually means tobe a learner.
I love that.
Like a disciple for life, to bea learner for life.
Um, once you've made that uhdecision, now you're
disciplined, then you want torecognize.
And then this is where you wantto acknowledge and reconnect.

(08:44):
You know, recognition literallymeans to know again, to reno, to
become acquainted once more.
And this is where you pause tolook back and see, hey, what's
been happening?
Not just what's still missing.
You know, it's a lot owners, Ithink sometimes are quick to
notice what's wrong, but slow torecognize what's right.

(09:05):
You know, recognition means yousay, hey, wow, six months ago
our pre-book rate was 45%, nowit's 70%.
That's growth, that'srecognition.
Or, hey, you know, she handledthat guest situation so much
better this time than she didlast time.
Our recognition could be like,hey, I didn't react this time.
Give myself a pat on the back.
I actually responded.

(09:25):
So when you think about it,recognition is actually rewiring
your brain for gratitude.
And gratitude, you guys,multiplies momentum.
You know, it's how you keep yourteam energized instead of
exhausted.

SPEAKER_00 (09:41):
How you keep your team energized instead of
exhausted.
I love that.
That really, you know, onceyou've gone through that
recognizing that it's happening,you get to that last step on the
staircase, which is celebrate,you know, and this is where you
honor the progress, you know.

(10:02):
So you're finally like, yay, weget to celebrate, we made it.
And you know, celebrate comesfrom the Latin celebrere,
meaning to honor.
Whew, that feels good.
So this isn't about throwing aparty for every small win.
It's about honoring what it tookto get here.
It's saying, we showed up, wepracticed, we grew.

(10:27):
Celebration cementstransformation.
It's the moment your nervoussystem says, this is who we are
now.
You know, and celebration isn'tselfish, it's sacred.
Because when you celebrate,you're agreeing with the
progress you've made andinviting more of it.
So, yes, celebrate your beautypros, your service providers,

(10:51):
celebrate your guests, celebrateyourself because when you
celebrate growth, you multiplyit.
Yes, so good.

SPEAKER_01 (11:02):
And you know, what's the foundation of all this too?
Because what we do know is thatit's easy to quit at any of
these steps.
Like you can be at an atintention and be like, throw my
hands up, I'm done, or you canbe at discipline, be like, I
don't have time for that, I'mdone.
Right.
And so this only works if thisis built on one foundation,

(11:22):
which is called resolve.
And so actually, resolve comesfrom uh the root word meaning to
loosen or to release again.
And so resolve isn't aboutgritting your teeth and pushing
harder, you know, it's aboutreleasing doubt and recommitting
to the vision.
You know, it's that that innervoice that says, Hey, I don't
quit when it gets hard.
I remember why I started.

(11:44):
You know, once upon a time wedid um an ice bucket challenge
with our teams.
It's real fun.
You could just get like a littlebucket of ice and um it really
fit into the theme we were themewe were doing, but like cold
ice, and like you could do thisyourself too, and set a mimic um
a timer for like start with oneminute and you can always go up

(12:05):
to three minutes, but put yourhand in that bucket of ice, and
the second your hand hits thatice, like your instinct is gonna
be to pull away, like, oh mygosh, my hand's gonna get
frosted by, or I can remembersome of the things that have
been said before, or like, oh,this is not possible.
I was not designed for this, buttruly at the end of the day, the
ones who last, the ones who allhold on to that, they actually
build strength.

(12:26):
And so resolve is the same thingin leadership.
It's what separates those whotalk about transformation from
those who actually live it.

SPEAKER_00 (12:35):
Yeah.
And you know, truly, under allof that transformation is it's
really rooted in belief.
Belief that a favorable outcomeis possible.

Because here's the truth (12:49):
you won't stay disciplined without
belief, you won't recognizegrowth without belief, you won't
celebrate what you secretlydon't think will last.
You know, belief is the soiltransformation grows in.
And when belief and resolve worktogether, transformation becomes

(13:10):
inevitable.

SPEAKER_01 (13:13):
So good.
You know, one of our mentorsteaches uh thinking of
transformation like a tree.
And I love this because he saysthe roots represent who you're
becoming, that's your bee.
So if you've ever heard of theanalogy of bee, do you have?
This is a beautiful way to thinkabout this analogy and think of
it like a tree.
So the roots represent whoyou're becoming, that's your
beingness, right?
That's your bee.

(13:34):
Your trunk, which is yourshoots, represents your action.
So that's your doing.
And then the roots representyour results, that's what you're
having.
And so most people focus on thefruit, the having this.
Like, how do I get more revenue?
How do I get more clients?
How do I get my team to buy in?
But the fruit is just evidenceof what's happening in the

(13:54):
roots.
If you want different results,you guys, you have to nurture
different roots, and you get tobecome the kind of leader whose
habits match the harvest theywant to see.
Because transformation doesn'tstart with what you do, it
starts with who you are.

SPEAKER_00 (14:10):
I love that.
So here's a great reflection fortoday.
Where are you in the six stepsof transformation?
Whatever it is that you'recurrently trying to transform,
are you in awareness, you know,starting to notice what's
happening inside?
Are you in intention?
You know, you're stretchingtowards something new.

(14:32):
Are you at decision?
Did you decide to cut off allthe old ways?
Maybe you're in discipline,you're learning and practicing
the system, you're being adisciple, a learner.
Or are you in recognition?
You know, you're taking in theprogress that you've made.
Or are you ready to celebrateand honor the leader you've

(14:54):
become?
Because no matter where you are,remember this transformation is
never a one-time event, it's acycle.
And every time you complete it,you come back stronger, wiser,
and more aligned.
Because true transformationisn't about changing what you

(15:15):
do, it's about becoming who youwere meant to be.

unknown (15:21):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (15:21):
And in today's episode, Spark Something Inside
of You.
This is a great episode to sharewith your leadership team.
Share it with another salonowner who wants to do amazing
things.
Um, you know, watch it together,re-re-listen to it together,
talk about the six stepstogether and identify where each
of you are and how you cansupport one another in the

(15:42):
process.

SPEAKER_00 (15:44):
And if you're ready to scale your transformation
into systems that grow yourpeople and your profits, join us
inside Million Dollar Beauty Probecause that's where we teach
the frameworks that help youbuild discipline, belief, and
systems that multiplytransformation.
So please text the word pro to469-283-5590.

(16:12):
We'll send over more informationbecause transformation isn't
about information, it's aboutapplication.
And when you apply these sixsteps, you don't just lead a
salon, you truly lead amovement.
Thanks for tuning in.
We'll see you soon.