The Click

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Release. Okay, so to formally start the episode, Welcome to
the Big Quit with Chris. Everybody, I've got a really
special guest here with me, Miss Alice. I'm so excited
to talk with you today. To get started, tell everybody
you know a little bit about yourself. Where you're from, Well,
your name first, let's tell them that. Tell your name,

(00:32):
your business, where you're from, where you're at if you
at a different spot, and then we'll get into some
more cute little personal questions.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Oh yeah, so my name is Elise Burnett Boyd. I
am the founder and CEO of Text Tour Curl Studio,
which is in Akron, Akron, Ohio. So from Akron, still
in Akron. That's why I travel a lot.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
You know.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
But yeah, other than that, you asked one other question
I forgot.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
No you named all those you got the first part?
All right, tell us your zodiac sign. If you know
your Sun, moon and rising, share that too, and then
tell me what's your favorite song right now.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
That one's a hard one. So zodiac sign, I'm a Pisces,
but I am like Aquarius Pisces cusped and then Libra
rising Libra Moon, So so it's one of those like
go with the flow to a certain point, you know,
and like don't start no one will be none, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Because aus we will get.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
With you exactly and just like for the most part,
very easy going, but like I don't align with the
Pisces like wishy watchy kind of a thing, like my
career history would say otherwise, but it was for a reason.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
What about the emotional stereotype of a Pisces like not.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
So my wife would disagree, but not entirely. So I
prefer to think of myself as like a teddy bear
in a glass box, so like you might have to
break the box, but like it's soft on the inside,
Like yeah, I'm pretty much mush on the inside, but
like the Aquarius won't let it come out all the way.
So I'm like, oh, don't it's in there, but don't

(02:21):
tell people.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, I've got a querious mood and it's like, what
are these feelings? And why do you even know about that?
Stop asking me about that feelings. I am feeling things,
but I don't want to tell you.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Right, I'll tell you later. I got stuff to do.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Literally, and when I tell you, you better not tell anybody, right.
I love that what is favorite song right now? Where
are you spinning? Oh?

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Man, literally spinning. So I'm obsessed with vinyl and I
recently found after like years of searching, the Tony Braxton
namesake original album on vinyl, and so it was like
a million dollars but I had to buy it because
I did. And so my favorite song right now is

(03:08):
the whole album. And also Tony Brackson is a Libra
and her birthday just passed a couple of days ago,
so like it's just it's all it's for amazing.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, yeah, bay, Oh my gosh. I've got a friend
Ray who is a big vinyl collector, and hopefully when
he hears he seemed like, oh, where is the link?
Send me the link.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
There's no link. It's the only one I've ever seen,
and it shipped from Japan like I've never seen, Like,
prior to it arriving at my house, I had never
seen another physical copy. Like that's how rare it is.
Because part of the thing, I'm also a big nerd.
So part of the thing is at the time, like
artists were transitioning away from vinyls because they wanted to
be on cassette because that was like the New Training,

(03:53):
so like a lot of like they did make vinyls
but not a ton and also it's a thirty year
old album.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yes, like who's old. I'm sorry what I remember.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Same.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
I'm so glad you found that.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
I cried, Like, so that's where the emotion is, you know. Yeah,
the price has just jumped out a little bit. It's okay,
at the water, like that's exactly how it happens.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Oh my goodness. Okay, shout out to Tony because that album.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Everything she's ever made first of all, but that album,
like that one is like my favorite. And then the
heat is like right under that, like because the heat
is heat.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
So okay, okay, come on, now, come on, now, come on.
I love it. I love it so much. Okay, I
love this last. We are already on a good track.
You know what I mean. It's speaking of heat. I know.
It's a stylist. You work a lot with hair, and
he in helping people figure out when to youth eat
and whennot. So I'm really looking forward to get our

(05:05):
conversation and we'll get to texture a curl studio. But
looks set the scene a little bit. Tell us what
your work life before texture was like.

Speaker 2 (05:15):
Oh goodness, where and how to condense? So, like a
lot of millennials, I started working when I was like
fifteen and a half, Like as soon as I could work,
I did right, literally that work per me. But even
before that, like I was the kid in second and
third grade selling like I used to take the posters

(05:36):
from Word Up magazine and sell them to people, like
I would source images and sell them to people. And
then I started selling like fruities, you know, like candies
and stuff in the bag. And then after that I
started balloon twisting for like people's birthday parties. Like I've
always just been I guess a lot of people say
that they just kind of got it early, but I've
always just kind of been entrepreneurial minded. And so when

(06:00):
I got my first real job, I of course wanted
to do something that was relevant to me, so sneakers
and and it was perfect because I worked at a
sneaker retailer that was directly across from a nail shop,
and being fifteen and a half sixteen, I was like,
this is all I've ever wanted in my life. And

(06:20):
also I work at them all with all of my friends,
so like what more could you.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Want yes, oh yes.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
And at the time I felt like I had like
kind of two options, like either retail or food service,
and food service wasn't going to work because I just
don't have the emotional capacity for other people in that way.
So I went retail. So it's a little bit different,
a little bit easier. So I was working at the
shoe store for a while, and then eventually I realized

(06:49):
that my friends that were working at the department store
were a making way more money, and b they were
actually learning more like they were learning about customer service.
They were learning like different like department skills, like like
things in the home store even and like bridal registry
and stuff like that. And I was like, I want
to make three dollars more an hour. Why wouldn't I
do that? So apply at the department store, get my

(07:12):
foot in the door, and of course I randomly end
up in the home department. I don't know anything about
sheets towels at the time. There were no air friers,
but air fryers.

Speaker 1 (07:21):
Airfriars, okay, and got out of the high threadcount sheet
like all right, yes Egyptian.

Speaker 2 (07:27):
So literally, so here I am like seventeen, and I'm
with a bunch of eighty year old women and they
were awesome, but they were all in their like eighties
at the time, and I'm like, I don't have anything
in common with these folks, but I'm going to make
it work, you know. So I'm in the home store
and I start talking with one of my elderly co workers,
whose name was Nancy. And so Nancy and I get

(07:50):
to talking, and at random, she goes, what do you
want to do with your life? And I'm like, oh, Nancy,
I don't know, Like I'm going to college, duh, And
so like, I don't know what you're talking about. So
Nancy says, well, the one thing you can't do while
you're here is just be a clerk. You have to
find something that's a specialized skill. You have to be
good at that thing or they're going to fire you.

(08:11):
So she proceeds to tell me this story about how,
over the last like almost fifty years, like she had
gone through all of the mergers and like the ownership
changing hands and like all of this stuff, and she
survived because she was so knowledgeable about these textiles and stuff.
And I was like, oh, my goodness, And because her
sales numbers were good. That was really what it is.
But they were good because she was knowledgeable. So I

(08:33):
took that little gem and put it in my pocket
and I was like, how can I be more specialized?
So from the home store, I went to Bridle Registry
because that got you a little pay bump, you know,
and it was something that a lot of people knew
how to do. And then after that I went downstairs
to cosmetics. So the folks and cosmetics were making like
even more per hour pluck exactly, always chasing it, you know.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
I know, you're like, okay, so if I'm moving, I'm
moving up.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
I'm moving and grooving, you know, like I like I
got a climate, you know. So when I was in retail,
not now, and so I got a different ladder now. Yeah,
So I go to cosmetics and at the time, I
had zero interest in makeup at all, Like didn't wear
it myself, didn't care about it, didn't particularly want to

(09:21):
do it. But I knew that the folks and cosmetics
got to go off site for trainings, which was a
big plus. And also like they had super cool uniforms,
like it was the perks for me.

Speaker 1 (09:32):
The full package. It was like, yes, the money and
I'm leaving and I.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
Get a nice beauty bit exactly. So I go to
cosmetics and then I start to really develop skill and
makeup artistry, which was kind of strange because before that
I didn't do anything that was really working with my hands.
So I start to kind of like develop this skill,
and I'm like, Okay, I'm getting pretty good at this.
What can I do now? So I start freelancing. So

(09:58):
I'm still working in retail, and this kind of where
all of the parallels start to branch off. Okay, so
I'm still working in retail, I'm doing like retail cosmetics,
I'm taking freelance jobs, which at that point was mostly weddings,
and then like homecoming and things of that sort. And
then I'm starting college. So all of the paths kind
of happened in tandem. So in college, I start as

(10:21):
a psychology major music minor, because my original plan was
to be a music producer. My parents thought that was ridiculous, so.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
I said, but they were like, yeah, jobs, Please get
a job. And they're like no, no, no, not a creative job.
Maybe a job in a stone that bills yeah, one
that has a health plan, like.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, So my parents thought that was absolutely ridiculous, and
my mom was like, well, what about music therapy, because
then you can still be a doctor. So at that
point my plan was I wanted to be a therapist,
but a music therapist, you know, and like kind of
go that route. So eventually it gets to the point
where I'm kind of at this crossroads and I've skipped

(11:07):
around a little bit. So I decide that makeup is
a thing that I want to keep pursuing. But at
that point, I'm not really sure how far it can go.
So I start approaching people for different sorts of jobs,
like commercials, like I did a small like a low
budget film, and then eventually I started going to New

(11:29):
York Fashion Week, so that wow, very like progressive and random.

Speaker 1 (11:36):
You know.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
It's just one of those like you just you meet
someone doing one thing and then you meet someone else
doing another thing, and that person is like, hey, do
you want to also try this? And you're like, sure,
that sounds good. So keep in mind, I'm in my
early twenties and just like being a pisces floating around, yeah,
and so also in college, then I just side that

(12:00):
I don't want to be a therapist. I want to
do sociology instead, because at that point I was over
the psychology department, didn't want to be a therapist, and
I was taking so many sociology classes that I could
like basically have both degrees. So I do that graduate
with that. So I graduate. I'm still in retail, and
then I started to pursue retail management because I thought, Okay,

(12:23):
like neither of these degrees are super profitable, and I
don't really want to go back right now for my PhD.
So how can I use what I already know to
make decent money? You know, So start pursuing retail management.
But at the time in cosmetics, there was nothing available.
So it's just kind of one of those in certain places,

(12:45):
once you get into a role, people just stay. So
the counter managers at a lot of the departments have
been there like thirty years, you know.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
There was no yes Nancy juniors.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, literally yes, And so there was like no possible way.
I was like breaking that ceiling, you know. So I
leave retail cosmetics and I worked at Dick's Sporting Goods
of all random places, because at the time, I was like,
I need management experience on my resume, and it's not
going to come from this, and from the moment I

(13:16):
set foot in that door, I was like, how do
I get back to cosmetics because I had to sell firearms?

Speaker 1 (13:22):
So like, oh my goodness, A life, A life, a
journey least literally. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
So I was the manager of the it's called the
front end. I don't know if they still even use
that term now, but it's called the front end. And
so in order to buy a firearm which they now
don't even sell it Dick Sporting Goods, which that's a win,
you had to go through like the hunting sales associate,
then the hunting department manager, and then I was the

(13:49):
sign off at the end. And so upon getting the job,
they're like, yeah, if you ever get subpoenut in court life,
didn't sign up for that, didn't sign up me. Oh.
So I start like feverishly looking for anything to get
me out of that and back into retail cosmetics because

(14:11):
I was like, this is the thing I know, and
if I can keep kind of moving up on this
management track, that would be preferred. So finally two years
go by and I finally get a job at a
major cosmetics freestanding retailer, and it was interesting. It was
It was one of those things where I felt like
I had finally reached what I was trying to do,

(14:34):
and then when I got it, it was awful, Like
it was so terrible, and partly because those folks are
grossly underpaid and underappreciated, like by a long shot, and
what they demand of you is not even possible within
a the scope of your job and b what you
get paid to do it, you know. So that was

(14:57):
that was an experience. So I did that for almost
three years, and the whole time I'm thinking, like, maybe
this is what I'm supposed to do, Like maybe this
is you know, like not how the story ends, but
kind of you know.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Like this is about it.

Speaker 2 (15:12):
Yep. And so I wasn't happy, but I also didn't
see another way around or through or anything like that.
So I start like really thinking about this, and at
the same time, so still like, so we've dropped off
the one parallel, I'm no longer in college, but we
still have this other one of I'm doing these freelance jobs.
So the freelance work is taking off more. I start

(15:35):
working more consistently with a haircare brand, so when they
would travel and do shows, I was doing the makeup
for their models. So I traveled like across the country
with them for like a year and a half and
was taking time off from my like full time retail
management job to go do that. And I'm like, what
if I actually did this, Like what if this was

(15:57):
my job? So I start putting those pieces together and
then I meet my wife and I'm like, well, shoot,
I can't move because the plan was I had all
but decided to pack up all of my stuff and
move to New York. Then we literally met like the
next week. So like I was in New York for
fashion Week the spring one February, or like well the

(16:18):
one that is in the spring kind of February, and
I'm just looking at like things in New York and
I'm like, you know what, I should just stay here.
Because I was back and forth a lot. I was
like I should just stay, like that would be maybe
a good life choice. And two weeks later, I meet
who is now my wife, and I'm like, well, shoot,
I can't leave. But I kind of did it to myself,

(16:41):
Like I truly think I manifested meeting her when I did,
because when I was in New York, it was over
Valentine's day, and so I remember being in like the
I don't know what floor, but like high up in
my hotel and like watching everybody like running around the
city in New York with like their balloons and like
all of this stuff oh so adorable. Like I'm just

(17:02):
happy for everybody that has found love, you know. And
I was like I want that one day and then
boom two weeks. Don't say stuff you're not ready for,
because because I like the timing was perfect, but I
also wish like maybe I would have had the opportunity

(17:23):
to move. But it worked out exactly how it was
supposed to, you know, And I was like, man, you
trapped me, you.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
Know, like you.

Speaker 2 (17:34):
Right, like literally was plotting to sell my car, like
that's how because I was like, I'm not driving in
New York, why would I do that? So right, So
oh goodness. So I end up like we meet. I'm
still considering at least traveling and doing these other jobs
and that kind of a thing. And one day I
come home, I got into this like big argument with

(17:55):
my boss, which that's a whole aside, and so gotten
to this big argument with my boss, and I came
home to my then girlfriend and I was like, I
hate this job, like I really hate this job, Like
I can't do what I need to do with this
kind of a person being my boss. And largely it
was because through all of my varied experiences, I have

(18:18):
a great deal of business acumen, which is helpful now,
but at the time I didn't know it would be helpful,
and so part of my role was like profit and
loss statements, making sure we were reaching the budget, like
planning events so that we brought in enough revenue to
reach the budget. And so I would say things to
her like we don't have the payroll that matches what

(18:39):
I need to bring in in revenue for this event,
and she would say, I can't give you any more payroll.
And I was like, ma'am, how am I supposed to
do my job? Like why are you? You're an enemy
of progress? How am I supposed to do anything like that?

Speaker 1 (18:53):
Progress? There are many people in the world.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
That need to be labeled with that, and they need
to have like a stick across their forehead so we
just know offside.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
Yeah, I'm thinking like the Gucci man, like ice cream,
like that style.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
Eop, yes, that's exactly what it should be, because like, oh,
my goodness. It was just the most frustrating experience. This
is why it was my last one. It was the
most frustrating experience trying to navigate like these specific roles
and responsibilities with a person telling you like, no, you
can't do that. No, I'm not gonna give you what

(19:28):
you need in order to do your job effectively. So
I go home like basically in tears. And part the
funny thing is like I was getting paid fifteen dollars
an hour, and these folks had me in tears, like
like uh uh now listen.

Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yes, that moment when you take a step back and
you're like, wait, I'm crying because I'm putting so much
effort and energy into like trying to do a good
job at this job that it's maybe fifteen dollars an
hour and.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
Where they could literally write and they couldn't care less
about me as a person, about what I was bringing
to the table. I was like, I am grossly overqualified
for this job. I just wanted to be back in
my industry, you know, element yes, right, and so like
there were parts like what I appreciated about that job

(20:26):
other than like really honing in that the business acumen
piece was I had a great staff, Like, I had
amazing folks that I got to work with, and it
honed that responsibility too, like being able to lead a team.
So that part was great. My boss absolutely not. I

(20:46):
go home and I'm like, listen, I have to quit
this job. I don't know how, I don't know what
it's going to look like. I don't have a plan,
but like I have to get out of here. And
my wife goes, put your job. Oh wait for.

Speaker 1 (21:00):
God, she said, okay.

Speaker 2 (21:02):
Oh yeah. She was like, say less, why are we
even talking with your job? And I was like, yo,
but like we have bills and what am I supposed
to do? And I'm like panicking, Like as soon as
I like set it out loud, I start panicking. And
she's like, we'll figure it out. Like you whatever you
need to do, you figure that out. But you need
to quit this job because, like you, I think she
was just tired of me complaining, quite honestly, because because

(21:25):
every day I was like, well she said this, and
this happened and this was terrible and this was a mess,
and like I think she honestly just got sick of
it and was like, if this is gonna work, you
need to not be this animated about work every day,
every day in facts, because it was terrible. So I
put my two weeks notice in the next day. And

(21:48):
that was wild because since my boss, like, I don't
know what her deal other than racism. I don't know
what her deal was, but hated me, and so she
put in gigantic less Elise's last day on like the
office calendar.

Speaker 1 (22:04):
What the hr lady and me is screaming, like, man,
what are you doing so terrible?

Speaker 2 (22:13):
I acknowledge every year, I acknowledged those two days. So
like the day that I quit was July seventeenth, So
I call that I quit my job adversary and that
I didn't even give a full two weeks because I
felt like she didn't deserve it. It was almost there,
but I was like, I'm not stepping into a new
month still in this job. So July three was my

(22:34):
last day, yes, Like you know what August, like, August
is the eighth month, eight is new beginnings, Like that's
what I'm walking into August away from.

Speaker 1 (22:45):
You know, I love this and at least I'm having
a hard time putting worse together here because this is
so dope. There's so many great things that you touched
on in this first piece, right talking about the supportive
partner to stop and take a moment and like shout out,
shout out, Chris, and very much like having a partner

(23:07):
that sees you every day and knows you well enough
to say, like, baby, I know you're not happy, like
I want. I want you to be happy, and if
that means quitting your job, we will figure it out.
That's so beautiful. And I think a lot of folks
take that for granted or not take it for granted,
but they don't necessarily have that support and folks really do.

(23:27):
Like you said, you started to panic as soon as
you said it out loud, and that panic can spread
between partners and then it's like, okay, well maybe I
should just stay. But you know in your spirit that
you can't like that type of unhappiness doesn't just settle,
you know once the direct deposit hits. Because there's some
jobs where you're like, oh I hate it here, and
then twelve am on direct deposit Dave hits, you're like,

(23:51):
I could deal with it.

Speaker 2 (23:52):
This was not that job.

Speaker 1 (23:54):
Not it.

Speaker 2 (23:54):
Those checks were embarrassing, but yeah, like I could not
I say all the time, I could not have done
any of this and I could not have built this
company to where it is now if not for Chris,
because I several times was like what if I fail,
Like what's gonna happen? Like this is like horrifying, And
the whole time she was like, you can do this.

(24:16):
I don't even know why we're talking about this, Like
she's a tourist. So that's part of it, and so yes,
we love it. And I think part of it was
she was like, you made this decision and we're going
to see it through. And the other part was like
you can do this, and I know you can do this,
so like why don't you know you can do this?

Speaker 3 (24:34):
You know?

Speaker 2 (24:35):
And so that they're like I really value that, you know,
because I haven't had that from anybody else. And she's
been constantly like as soon as I start to like
question myself, She's like, Nope, we're doing this. You can
do this. You've always been able to do this. Just
get it done.

Speaker 1 (24:52):
Let's do it. This is a perfect time for us
to take a break, and when we come back, we're
going to find out how you transferred all of this
business acumen into what you're doing now.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
Please like.

Speaker 1 (25:10):
Great things, my friend plan. All right, y'all, welcome back.
We're still here with Elise, and we just wrapped up
talking about all of the dope skills that you've picked
up in the journey of the career path that you
had before before pursuing entrepreneurship and your super supportive partner

(25:31):
that was like, yeah, let's save douces to that job.
So we're coming back and July thirty first has passed.
You were done with that job. We're celebrating it with
big bolt letters because what the fuck is your boss doing.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
Creating numerous HR nightmares? Because that was her jam, you know,
like that she was just out of pocket all the time.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
Are some people at work with HR that I'm just
like I already know, Like when somebody brings up their name,
I'm like, oh no.

Speaker 2 (26:04):
Jame, I can only imagine. And the best part about
that boss like so I worked for her previously too,
so right before I took the job at sporting Goods,
you know, like it was so so I leave the
department store, I ended up trying to go into this

(26:24):
management training program with like a women's like business attire
retailer that now doesn't exist, and so she was my
boss there, and so because she didn't choose, she was
trying to handpick the people she wanted for the management
development program, and I was obviously not one of the choices.

(26:47):
And so I made it there three months and I
was like, you know what, the experience from here is
not going to be worth whatever I have to endure
to get it. And so left there ended up going
to exporting goods. And then when I went to my
final retail destination, I had a boss originally who was great,
but she was so great she got promoted and so

(27:09):
when the like women's business entire retailer got I think
they went bankrupt so shut down. She was friends with
the district manager of my new place, and so she
just kind of like slid into there. Like it was bad,
It's like something out of all horn. I was like,

(27:30):
oh no, I think the worst part, other than her
just being like a really difficult human being, the worst
part about it was she didn't understand that her client
hell was very different from our clientele. So like it
was such a niche down store, which is another kind
of like interesting thing about my journey and being in
a niche Now it was so niche down that, like

(27:53):
it was a very specific like thirty five to fifty five,
like like pretty decently high earn, like a very type
of person because they really only had like slender cut
clothing like that kind of a thing. And then go
into my retail cosmetics store, and we were like everybody

(28:13):
because we had stuff from like a dollar to five
hundred dollars like and everything in between, and like just
a very high volume store in comparison. So when I
would bring those kinds of things to her attention, she
just like wasn't hearing a word that I said. And
I was like, man, you are in a different world now,
and you're just not hearing. From my experience, you're not

(28:35):
hearing the things that I'm trying to help you with, like,
and we were supposed to be so the hierarchy there
was kind of strange. So she was like the manager
of the whole store, and there were two of us
directly under her as like co managers, and then from
there there were like other department managers. But like the
store wasn't that big, so like they've sent it was big,
but it wasn't big enough to have all of those all.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
Those Yes, well, we used to just have wild amouth
and haeg count.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
Yeah, so like they've since gotten rid of that model,
which was a good call, but like when I was
still there, they were starting to slightly change my role.
So then I had like additional responsibilities that I was
not getting additionally paid for. So it was just like
time to go.

Speaker 1 (29:18):
It was time to go. So it's now August first,
We're gone. It's August first. Tell us what that was like,
it's a new one. Knew you literally like, okay, we're
fun employed.

Speaker 2 (29:30):
What now depression? Here's what happened. So the plan was
to start cosmetology school, and when I first made the
decision to leave that job, they were starting a July
cohort at the school that I wanted to attend, and
so I was like, okay, well, if I quit it
enough time, I can maybe start in July, but they

(29:52):
were full and so I had to wait until the
October cohort. And that was difficult because it was the
first time in my life in general, but mainly my
adult life, that I had a period of time that
I wasn't working and I did not know what to
do with that. Like everything in my body was like
we're not being productive and what are we gonna do?

(30:12):
And we have bills to pay of what's happening, and
like it was just like system failure. Like I just
had no idea what to do with myself. And so
what that looked like is I went back into retail
for a little bit. So instead of like a store
manager and stuff, I was doing freelance work within the stores.
So like in cosmetics, a lot of times if you

(30:33):
go to like an ulta a support or something like that,
or even if you go to like sex, like, there
are often people that work in the stores and cosmetics
that don't work for the store, and so they work
for the brand. And so I worked for a couple
of different brands and would fill in and take hours
and stuff. And then I was still doing like my

(30:53):
other freelance work. So during that time, I'm still traveling
with the hair care company, doing up for their models,
still kind of doing weddings, but trying to get away
from that a little bit. And then I did two
commercials during that time, and then I did one more
fashion week before I stopped. Oh but yeah, so I
was trying to like, huh, I don't know, like it

(31:17):
well Another interesting thing that I got into during that
time was creative directing, so I thought that was going
to be kind of my next motion. So when I
went into cosmetology school. When I was thinking about going,
the plan was to do hairstyling along with the makeup
that I was already doing. So I was like, Okay, well,
if I go to a job, they can give me
two checks instead of one.

Speaker 1 (31:38):
Okay, again a leaf, where is the money? Listening?

Speaker 2 (31:43):
Where is it? Because I was like, listen, I have
these two degrees that I'm not using. I still want
to make enough money to sustain myself, have some like
upward mobility, you know, and all that kind of stuff,
but like where is it going to come from? Not
from retail. So I was like, okay, like I'm going
to have to build this myself. And so the plan

(32:04):
was to do hair styling along with like doing makeup.
But I hated it, and that threw me for a
loop because by that point, so fast forward, I go
through these three months of like kind of doing these
jobs but also like kind of freaking out. Didn't know
what to do. So, like most of August, I just
kind of spent confused, and then for like kind of

(32:27):
the tail end of August, and then like the whole
month of September. I was like, I got to do something.
So that's when I was doing like freelance work. And
then that's when other fashion Week is September, and so
did that started school in October, and I was like,
what a strange environment. Because keep in mind too, I
was considered a non traditional student because I was four

(32:49):
at the time. So I turned twenty five when I
was in school, and most there was a small group
of us who were like in our like mid ish twenties,
and then a handful that were like in their thirties
and above, but almost everybody else seventeen eighteen nineteen who different.
It was so interesting because the folks who had just

(33:12):
gotten out of high school or who had been out
for like a small period of time, they're kind of like,
maybe this is my career. Maybe not like I'm just
kind of trying it. Let's see those of us who
were on like our second career, We're like, this is
the plan. We're like yeaking around with these tests, We're
not messing around with these practical hours. We're getting things done.
And so that's those are the folks that I ran

(33:34):
with because I was like, I don't have a plan.
B Like, I've already paid to be here, and I've
discovered one thing that I hate. So I got to
figure out the track, you know.

Speaker 1 (33:42):
And this is now school for the second time. Why exactly.
I mean we're in school our whole lives. But when
you go to college and you get these degrees and
sociology and psychology, you know that, Okay, I'm studying something interesting,
but you're either gonna have to pursue higher education or
find a different path in every path and it's led
you back to school this second time. And so now

(34:03):
you're like, no, no, no, this, this is going to work.
This is what I want to do.

Speaker 2 (34:07):
Yeah, because I was like, I'm not doing anything else
but this, you know. So we we're in the middle
of school. I'm having a hard time, like kind of
figuring out where I want to land. And I thought
I wanted to go into hair color because I had
a strong color theory background from doing makeup and it
just kind of made sense. Hating it, I was like,

(34:28):
this is interesting to me. I don't want to do this,
and I could figure it out because I went to
in aveda school, and AVEDA is kind of known for
their Their hair color education is said to me among
the most difficult because of how they teach it and
how the color line is kind of organized. So most
of the time, when you have a hair color tube,

(34:49):
let's say it'll have a number and two letters, and
so the number is the level and the two letters
are the tone. So with AVEDA color, you have an
number in one tube, you have a level in another tube,
and then you might have to grab a level from
a different tube, so you mix it ostomized. And it's

(35:10):
difficult sometimes for people to learn it that way because
it is so there's so many ways to get to
the same place because everything is so customizable. But they say,
if you can learn that, you can use any color line,
and that has proven to be true. For like, the
brief period of time that I was interested in color,
that was facts. Okay, so that's what I thought I

(35:32):
wanted to do. I was like, well, I wanted to
keeping Nancy in mind, I'm like, I got to specialize
in something because that's what keeps you, you know. And
so I thought it was going to be color, wasn't
really feeling it, and then so many other people took
an interest in color, so I was like, it is
a specialty, but like not for real, you know. I
was like, what do I do now? And I'm still

(35:53):
kind of, you know, trying to figure it out, bouncing
back and forth, like trying to experience all of the things,
but still not really finding my fit. And then we
had a curly haircutting look and learn class. So this
is this is probably my favorite part because my instructor
at the time is now my mentor. So my instructor, Aja,

(36:16):
who taught the class, she had to beg the owners
of our school to be able to do this class
because it's not in the curriculum, Like yeah, so a
lot of people don't know that. So when you learn
haircutting and cosmetology school, first of all, it's on a
straight haired mannequin. Second of all, that's the whole scope

(36:37):
that it's taught through. So they told us, I'll never forget.
They said, imagine the hair as if it exists in
a fetitious plane, and I was like, why, Like what
kind of sense does that make? Like it's right here
in front of us, we don't have to imagine it.
And also hair exists in three dimensional space, so why

(36:58):
would we make it two dimensions all in order to
think about how we're gonna cut it. Like I just
couldn't wrap my mind around it. And so for the
longest time, haircutting was so difficult for me because that
piece just didn't make any sense, and I was just
like frustrated. I was like, I hate haircutting. I don't
want to do it, you know, like I'm not going
to practice because I don't know how, you know. And

(37:19):
then we had this hair like this curly haircutting look
and learn class and I was like, I don't know why,
but that's what I'm supposed to do. So that the click,
I get this like almost like all the engine gears
are like working together, but I call it. It happens in
my gut. And so like when that happens, I'm like,
this is exactly right. I don't know why. I don't

(37:40):
know all the pieces, but this is exactly right. And
so that day sold it and so I'm watching her
do this, and the most it still gets me now,
Like the most incredible thing about cutting curly hair is
you're watching everything kind of take shape in space, and
that doesn't really happen with cutting straight hair, not in

(38:01):
the same way. So I'm watching this happen and I'm
just like mouth to the ground, like in awe of
what she's doing. Wow, I want to do that. So
after the class, I walk up to her and I'm like, hey,
if I want to learn more, where can I go?
Like where is more information? And at the time and
continuing education, there wasn't a lot like now there are

(38:24):
more independent educators, so like I teach curly haircutting now,
so like there's more independent educators, there's more like organizations
that teach haircutting, so like cut It Kinky is a
big one. They started five years ago and they are
when I get to go no exactly, they are when
I consider to be the gold standard and like tight

(38:45):
hair care and cutting, like tight curl hair and cutting,
and so yeah, it's just it hasn't been around for
that long in this kind of a accessible way, so
like people have been doing it, you know. It's kind
of like the first boom of the natural hair movement
and like the early two thousands, but not in a

(39:05):
way that a lot of people paid attention to. Like
I've heard a lot of stories about people going to
hair shows in that era and they're being classes available,
but like people didn't take them like way back in
like an annex somewhere and you had to search for them,
and that is still true. I was just in a
hair show two weekends ago and there were like there

(39:27):
was maybe one class for texture hair and it was
how to straighten it?

Speaker 3 (39:32):
So no, come on, I know it so like it's
still it still is severely lacking, but it's better than
it was five years ago.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
So I go up to her and I'm like, hey,
you know, like where can I get started? Like what
can I learn? Where can I go? What can I do?
And she was like, there's nothing, and also that's all
I'm allowed to teach you, but we can do someone
on ones. Oh that's how I got started. So we
end up doing these one on one like kind of
haircutting lessons, and then I kind of started to get

(40:04):
funneled the curly hair clients. And this was a gift
and a curse because on one hand, I loved doing
it because that's what I had already expressed interest in
wanting to do. But it was because a lot of
the other students chose to opt out of that part
of their education. So they would say they were like yeah,

(40:25):
so they would just they would complain, or they would
go hide in the break room or they would Yeah.
So they would say, I don't want to do textured
hair today. I don't want to work with a textured client.
So like textured became this euphemism for black, and I
was like, y'all play like.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
Yeah, So it was textured with a hard R like.

Speaker 2 (40:50):
Texture hard r okay like And the worst thing about
that part too, was like a lot of the folks
had relaxers and just needed a block while like it
wasn't even like deep, they just didn't do it, you know.
And so they were able to opt out of those
parts of their education. And so as they're opting out

(41:10):
of that, they're learning expensive color services. They're learning like
things that you can like charge more for. They're learning
all of these things that like a lot of us. So,
like there were maybe three or four black students in
the program during the time that I was there, and
so we got the textured clients. Wow and right. So
at first I was like, this is helpful because this

(41:33):
is what I actually want to do. And then I
started to peep game and I was like, this is deliberate. Yeah,
So that was it was really frustrating because I wanted
to have a more well rounded school experience. Like the
whole point of school is that you're supposed to like experiment,
you're supposed to fail, you're supposed to be able to

(41:54):
ask questions. And they specifically missed out on those huge pieces.
And now a lot of those people, like if you said, hey, like,
can you do the same color that you've been working
on for five years on curly hair, They're like no, wow,
because of course they can, because they haven't tried, because
they aped it out because they didn't want to do it.
So yeah, So it's there's a lot of interesting stuff

(42:20):
that happens like in the schools, and that is a
big part of it because once you, once you demonstrate
any ability in something, that's what you get because they're
trying to churn the clients out. So as much as
it's a school and like a learning environment, it also
still is very much a business and so they're trying
to get the client's money too, you know. So it's

(42:42):
just it's it's interesting. And so some people will say,
you know, like the system is broken, and I'm like, no,
it's it's functioning exactly how it was designed to this
is exactly like, this is of like what was anticipated,
you know.

Speaker 1 (42:57):
So yeah, I mean, like you said, it's functioning exactly
as designed. So you're getting all these currently clients textured
right right, But you already had to click. You knew
like this is for me, this is what I want
to do. At least at the time when you're thinking
to yourself, Okay, I want to work with textured clients,

(43:18):
we're we thinking, okay, I want to work in someone
else's shop or was it entrepreneurial spirit already there and
being like no, no, no, I want my own I
want my own business.

Speaker 2 (43:28):
Oh. It kind of happens on the back end because
I knew ultimately, just because of how I am, that
that was gonna happen. But I was terrified. I was like,
I don't have a client. Hell, like I don't really
know what I'm doing, you know, like how is it
going to happen? And so toward the end of the program,
we went on these they call them salon tours, so

(43:49):
like right before you graduate, they take you and we
were My school was in Strongsville, so we were in
like various suburbs of Cleveland, like looking for salons to
interview at. So we go to to I think we
went to ten salons in one day, Like it was wild.

Speaker 1 (44:03):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (44:05):
So every place we go, I'm asking the owner like, hey,
do you have a curly clientele? Do you have need
for a curly hair specialist? Like is that something you
would think? Like is that something that could be a
good fit here? And every single person said no, They're like,
we don't have a curly clientele. We don't have a
need for a curl specialist. And I was like, well,
the reason you don't have a curly clientele is because

(44:26):
there's not a soul in here that can serve them.
That's why. And yeah. So I walked away from that
day and I was like kind of discouraged because prior
to that day, I had a conversation with a different
educator in the building and I was telling her like, hey,
like when we go on these tours, I want to
express my interest in doing curly hair. And she was like, well,

(44:46):
why would you do that. You're going to cut yourself
off to a whole group of people. Wow, you're going
and she was like You're never gonna make any money,
Like why would you do that? And so that coupled
with the fact that like it didn't look like she
was right. Like I didn't take it as like this
is confirmation that she was right. I took it as

(45:07):
this is a bigger problem than I thought, Like this
is like because at that point, I was like, I'm
trying to become the person that I've been looking for,
like a curly client, you know. And I struggled my
whole life trying to find somebody that could cut my hair.
Like I didn't have a good curly haircut until my
mentor cut it in school as a demonstration.

Speaker 1 (45:29):
Oh my goodness.

Speaker 2 (45:32):
So it took that long. I was twenty five. It
took that long to get a good haircut with curly hair.
And so cause I had been relaxed, like from maybe
like ten to eighteen. So like those haircuts were fine
because people.

Speaker 1 (45:46):
Know how to do that, you know.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
Yeah, But once I decided to embrace my curls, like,
it was very difficult to find somebody who could cut
my natural hair the way I wanted to wear it.
And so I'm listening to her and I'm listening to
these and I'm like, y'all don't even understand. And it
was because it didn't apply to them, every single one
of them, straight hair, you know, like not relevant to

(46:10):
them for their needs. So I'm like, Okay, what am
I supposed to do? So I go home again and
I talked to Chris, and I'm like, so I think
I'm gonna have to build my own and she was like, Okay,
well what do we need to do?

Speaker 1 (46:24):
And at that point, okay, so sill, okay.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
Literally okay, well what do we need to do? You know?
And I still panicking because at this point, so like
I had been in school for a year, like the
program takes a year, and I was kind of taking
like little like freelance jobs, mostly working for the brands
and stuff because I couldn't travel. So like, the whole
time I was in school, we were under a strict
attendance policy, so I was only allowed to miss two

(46:51):
Saturdays in the whole program and then write, oh my goodness, yeah,
and when do things happen Saturday? And so it really
limited my ability of like being able to take outside jobs.
So I largely didn't have income for that entire year.
So when I came home and told Chris, I was like, so,

(47:12):
I'm kind of setting us up for another year probably
of like being broke. And she was like, do it,
like if we have to set basically, like if we
have to set the foundation now for what you're going
to do later, like that's what we need to do.
And I was like, okay, So I start looking for
so before that. So I graduate from cosmetology school, I

(47:33):
get my license. The very next day, I take my
first client in the studio.

Speaker 1 (47:37):
Yeah, come on, the universe moving with you at least
like quickly, okay.

Speaker 2 (47:45):
And so the first couple of months were rough, you know,
like I didn't have like tons of clients obviously, Like
it was just like a slow build, and then all
of a sudden, it just like exploded. I don't know
if it was like we're of mouth mostly or what
exactly was happening. But I didn't actually have to push

(48:07):
that hard marketing wise, like I kept my social media active,
like I still do that, like keep my social media active,
like make sure that my reviews are good on Google,
you know, and like things like that. But I didn't
have to push as hard as I thought I was
going to. And that is probably the thing that has

(48:27):
surprised me the most. Like once I kind of built
a reputation and people knew I existed. They were like, okay,
so how can we find you? You know, And I'm
really grateful for that.

Speaker 1 (48:39):
Yes, And question for you, like, with you having that
background in the cosmetology industry already with makeup and whatnot,
were you able to bring any of those connections over
or these are like a different type of clientele completely.

Speaker 2 (48:54):
Yeah, this was like a whole new crop. So, like
I thought I was going to have a little bit
of overlap if I had stayed in the creative direction
direction that I was in for a while, and I
didn't really enjoy that, but it just kind of didn't.
It didn't It was missing something yea, And so I
was like, okay, this is fine, and like it wasn't

(49:16):
a yes, but but a guess and you know, and
I need something else and so no, these were like
totally new connections. So like the one connection that kind
of state was when I was working for my last
retail management job, the salon manager who worked in the
same building. We ended up going to the same studio together,

(49:37):
So like that was interesting and that was a whole debacle.
I actually ended up getting sued by that owner. Oh no,
so it hasn't been like it's been cool, but it
hasn't been a smooth road, you know. So I go
into this studio like I'm brand new. I'm like a
baby licensed cosmetologist, like literally first day on the job, right,

(50:00):
And so at first, like first couple of weeks were okay.
But I was sharing a studio with the owner, and
mostly because I was like I don't need a full week,
you know, like I just need like two days, like
two consistent days so I can tell people like this
is when I'm gonna be here, that kind of a thing.
So I was sharing a room with her to cut
the cost, because if I had gone into my own

(50:20):
separate room, it would have been like five times what
I was paying her. Okay, let's not do that. Let's
start with like small overhead.

Speaker 1 (50:28):
You know, all the skills are coming into play now.
I love it.

Speaker 2 (50:35):
And it's really because when you have to do with
somebody else's millions of dollars, not that I have millions
of dollars, but when you have to do with somebody
else's millions of dollars to keep your job, well you
have some money of your own, you know how to
deal with it. A little bit better. And so I
go into this situation working in like kind of in
tandem with the owner, and one day she just loses

(50:56):
it on the whole group of us and she's like,
the salon is not clean, and I wish you could
see this space because it was spotless, Like it was
a completely spotless, flawless place that everybody cared a lot
about because of how she had decorated it, like it
was a very like kind of feminine, whimsical, like very

(51:17):
like almost like a fairy would pop out at you
kind of a space. But there was stuff everywhere, so
we had to keep it clean, like little like knickknacks
and stuff. And so one day she just freaks out
on us and she's like, nothing in here is clean,
like you guys are like basically a bunch of slots,
and we're like, what are you talking about?

Speaker 4 (51:34):
Why?

Speaker 2 (51:35):
Yeah, just like out of nowhere. So then she goes, well,
I want to have a meeting tomorrow at eight am,
and we're like, well, first of all, all of us
are independent contractors, so you can't just casually schedule a
mandatory meeting.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
At eight am.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
And we're like, no, we're not going. So then by
the time everybody got there the next day, she had
put blue post it notes on everything we weren't allowed
to use until we had this mandatory meeting. She took
the time to put post it notes on every single
thing in the salon countertops, the toilet paper, the.

Speaker 4 (52:08):
Toilet paper, everything, any surface you can imagine, there was
a blue post it note on it, and then it
had the note that explained what was happening.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
So by the time everybody got there, which was around
like noon or something, we're like, Okay, if she wants
to have this meeting, let's just get this over with
and like, let's just get it done. So we call
her and we're like, hey, like all of us are here,
let's have the meeting. So for a while, she and
another stylist were kind of going back and forth, and
I'm sitting there, maybe this is my libra coming out.

(52:40):
I'm sitting there and I'm just like listening to what's
being said. And then finally I'm like, listen, you don't
think it's clean. We do think it's clean. Show us
what's not clean, so I can go this is a
waste of time, Like we need to figure something else out.
So we up. She couldn't show us, like she couldn't

(53:01):
tell us what wasn't clean, Like it was just an
old debacle for no reason. So on the heels of that,
four of us decide to leave. We're like, okay, this
is ridiculous, Like we're going elsewhere. So the person that
I originally came there with got the opportunity to open
her own space, and we're like sold, we're going yea.
So in the aftermath of that, the owner of the

(53:24):
first space, she thought that we were like in cahoots,
you know, like we were trying to like all open
this space together and we're trying to be her competition
and like all this kind of goodness, and I'm like, ma'am,
we are not even in business together. We just needed
to get out from under you.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
From your space because y'all never actually worked.

Speaker 2 (53:43):
For her exactly right, So like she was essentially a landlord.
And then she wanted us to be employees, and like,
if you want employees, then say that and fill out
the proper paperwork, like you didn't have employees. So then
fast forward, we get served. And so so she sued
us all and it was four things like like lost wages,

(54:07):
but like the business version of that whatever it's called,
because she was saying that she like lost revenue because
and I was like, we did exactly what our leases said,
you know, like we left and we followed the terms.
We did exactly what was outlined in the lease. So
make a long story short, we go to a mediation.
So we hired a lawyer who advised us all. And

(54:29):
so we go to the mediation and we're basically like
we had all of our paperwork. We're just explained it,
like here are the facts, like we didn't break any rules,
you know, like whatever. And so then she wanted to
keep pursuing it, but the mediator told her she was
going to have to sue us each separately because we're
all separate LLC. So she didn't want to pay for that,

(54:51):
so that she dropped the case. Wild. So that's how
I spent my first six months as a license Welcome
to the fam Wild. So it was not that was
not the plan, you know.

Speaker 1 (55:08):
My goodness, oh my goodness. So this woman sues you.
You're now in the space with your with the person
that you came with to that original place, and so
in this space, how does this now go?

Speaker 2 (55:22):
This goes okay to a point. So we had been
friends for a while, but Chris believes, and I'd agree,
but it's been hard for me to admit it. Chris
believes that she became jealous, and it's hard for me
to think about it that way because we had been
friends for so long before that, you know, like we
started at like we basically became managers together at the store,

(55:46):
and then we were together for like if something like
almost eight years, Like it had been a lot, and
to the point where when I was traveling with the
hair care company, she would come with me as my assistant.
Like we were rolling deep and my friends outside of that,
you know. And so what happened was so like I
get into this space, we start to like get more stable,

(56:08):
you know, I start working like twelve hour days because
I'm thinking, yeah, I'm thinking like, okay, my demand is up,
so i have to meet the demand because I've been
broke for two years, so I have to recoup you know,
what I'm missing. And so got burnt out real quick.
I was exhausted, and so yeah, I was working like

(56:31):
five twelves what actually, because at that time it was
taking me longer to do a whole service, but also
because I was seeing a lot of people in one day,
so it was just like it was out of control.
So I think what ended up happening, And what Chris
thinks is that she was seeing this and kind of wondering,

(56:53):
like why are you as kind of like a new person,
like starting to get so busy and like why am
I not doing that after as long as I've been
in the industry and like that kind of a thing.
And so that was uncomfortable and really just unfortunate because
I thought we had a different relationship, you know, So
that was hard to navigate. So I ended up leaving

(57:15):
there mostly because the building was like the actual salon
was in a building that it's kind of like an
office building, so we were on the third floor and
the water would randomly go out, so like so like
obviously in a salon, a thing that you need is water,
and so maybe right, and then in general, outside of

(57:39):
the salon, the building was just in disrepair. And so
as I start to like take more education, as I
start to like grow into my own and that kind
of stuff, I'm also then I need a price increase,
and so I'm like I can't in good faith increase
my prices when this is the environment that I'm asking
people to come to. And in general, it was just

(58:01):
like a very difficult to find building, Like I would
often have to go downstairs and get people from the
parking lot because they couldn't find it. So all of
those things considered, I was like, I gotta make a move,
you know. So at that point, I start looking for
my own space, and I'm like, I want to be
in my own space, you know, where I can make
the rules, you know. And I couldn't find anything. So

(58:25):
like that was during this was last August, so like
real estate was all over the place, like hard anything.
So I finally find this space and I'm like, okay,
I really like this, Like this feels like the right fit.
It was like nine hundred square feet, so not huge,
not too bad, but I didn't get the click. And
so I can say that now, but at the time

(58:46):
I was like this is probably fine, but it was
I wasn't sure, you know. So I go into the
space and I'm like this will do. And I talk
with the listing agent and stuff, and he's like, okay,
like if you want to move forward, here our next
steps and as we're on the phone, he gets a
call from this woman who owned a business at the
other like on the other side of it, and she's

(59:08):
telling him that she wants to take over the space
that I'm interested in so she can expand her business.
So I lost that space, and for months I was
just broken up over that because I was like, I
couldn't say where I was. But I also don't want
to go really anywhere else, like I don't want to
be back in like a studio owner kind of a situation.
So I end up going to salon lofts because I'm

(59:31):
at the time, I'm thinking I can do anything for
a year, Like I've survived worse for longer than a year,
so the least is only a year long, and like,
at least I won't have to deal with an owner.
At least I won't have to deal with like all
of the other things that kind of come with owning,
like knowing an owner personally and things like that. But
it has come with his own problems because it's pretty

(59:53):
much the corporate version of what I was in before,
So that has been interesting as well, but I'm almost
thank god. Yeah, So spoiler what happens then is back
in May, so like, I move into Salon Lofts and
I'm like, okay, I can survive this, Like it'll just
be a year. I'll be actively looking for things in
the meantime. So periodically I would google like salon for

(01:00:16):
sale near meat or salon for lease near me, and
my thinking was I won't have to fix the plumbing.
And so I was like, Okay, if I find a
place that's already a salon, most likely it will be
in a very visible area because that's where salon should
be and it will already have the plumbing I need.
So I'm fevershly googling for months and I don't find anything,
like not a single hit nothing. So I give up

(01:00:39):
and I'm like, okay, like do I because then I'm
thinking like quarter three, quarter four, and I'm like, okay,
am I gonna sign another lease at Salon Lofts. I
really don't want to, but if that, if I don't
find anything before that, I'm gonna have to. So in
May I google it again and I'm like, okay, let
me just let me just see me just try see

(01:01:00):
space pops up immediately and I'm like this was only
posted two days ago, so I hurry up, and I
email the listing agent and I'm like, are you taking
viewings for this? This was on a Friday night, and
I'm like, are you taking viewings for this? And he
was like, yeah, you can come by Sunday if you want.
And I'm like, sold, I will see you then yeah. Lit,

(01:01:21):
Then I go and I instantly got the click, and
I was like, I don't know how it's gonna happen, but.

Speaker 1 (01:01:29):
We're gonna make up this shape and you know we're
gonna We're gonna leave folks out of Cliffhanger for a
second and take another quick break and we come back.
We're gonna talk about this new space that was obviously
for you click click, recording in progress and we're back.

(01:01:58):
So we were coming off of a click. Okay, we
just have the click for the new space that was
only online for two days. We called and you're like, yes,
I'm on the way, I am in route. All right,
how does the new space turn out?

Speaker 2 (01:02:13):
So the interesting thing about it is like before we
got our hands on it, it was a salon, like
already existing salon, but it hadn't been touched. It needed
some love, like it hadn't been touched in a while.
So I'm looking around and I thought to test all
of the things that were important. I'm like, okay, do
all the light switches work? Does the plumbing work? So

(01:02:35):
I'm like doing at least a little casual because since
we bought a house, I know to check those things.
So I'm like, okay, like, let's at least make sure
that no major things are flawed. Yeah, a major flaw
came later. So kind of two parts. So the first

(01:02:56):
thing is that the washer and dryer, for no reason
at all, were in the bathroom. So here's a washer
and dryer, here's a toilet.

Speaker 1 (01:03:03):
Just casually sharing space to go.

Speaker 2 (01:03:07):
Yeah, And I was like, that will never do. So
that's what I was the most concerned about. And then
as soon as my contractor saw it, he was like,
this part is fine. The actual problem you have is
that the previous owners cut some corners on this part
of the plumbing. So there was a wall that was
actually a facade, like it wasn't a real wall, but
the wood of the wall and the plumbing were entangled

(01:03:29):
like this, like intertwined. And he was like, I tried
to rip this off the wall to replace it, and
I couldn't because it's not a real wall, and I
was like cool. So then he found something else on
the opposite wall, so he essentially had to rebuild two walls.
So he was like, yeah, I'm gonna have to increase
the materials budget. I was like, yeah, because you have
to build two walls. So now every time I talk

(01:03:51):
to him, I'll just casually say that's my favorite joke.
Now I'm like, because you have to build two walls.
I have to go to home depot. And I was like, yeah,
because you had to build two walls. Like, I love it.

Speaker 1 (01:04:03):
This is the part in the HGTV show where they
have to make the call, like we've got to increase
the budget, and you're like, I mean, I understand, go ahead.

Speaker 2 (01:04:12):
So like the click happens despite the bathroom being inappropriate.
So I'm looking around, I'm like, I love this location.
I feel like we could do a lot of things here.
But I don't know how it's gonna happen. Because usually
when I make I mean not the previous couple of decisions,
but when I make other financial decisions, I've saved for them.
You know, I at least have like a little little

(01:04:35):
nest egg that I can throw at something if I
need to. For this one, I did not have that.
So I was like, okay, well it clearly needs to
be renovated because the owner was trying to sell it
as like turnkey and I was like, have you seen
this space? Are we looking at the same space because
they haven't done anything to this whole thing in ten years. O, no,

(01:05:00):
you can just walk in here and start working. I'm like,
I assure you, I can't. I see three State board
violations right now. So immediately, so once I decided that
we were gonna take on this project, because we got
so Chris must have just known that I was gonna
do this, because she starts taking pictures. So I have

(01:05:21):
great pictures of me just kind of like looking at
the salot and then looking at it from across the street,
and so I'm gonna have to like hang them somewhere
because they are epic in comparison to like what it
looks like now, you know. And I was like, you
must have just known that I was gonna like do
this crazy shit again.

Speaker 4 (01:05:39):
And so so.

Speaker 2 (01:05:44):
So we get to the car and I'm like, so
this is right, but I don't know how I'm gonna
afford it. I don't know where the money's gonna come from.
I have no idea. And she was like, you're fine,
like typical Chris, like you're fine. And so I get
home and I'm like okay, okay. So this is Sunday night,
and I'm like, okay, like, let me take a second,
let me crunch some numbers, let me think about this,

(01:06:06):
and then I'll get back to him asap so I
don't lose the space. So by Monday, I was like,
like Monday evening, I was like, Okay, I feel decent
about this. It's gonna be you know, it's gonna be
a little tight, but let me see, you know. So Tuesday,
I tell him that I'm ready to move forward. Sign
the least boom done. So from there, the next call

(01:06:27):
I make is to try to get funding. So I'm like,
how does one get a business loan? So like, as
a person who did not grow up with very financially
savvy parents, I have had to teach myself almost everything
about finances, and that is difficult in this world. So
I can my personal finances figured that out, you know,

(01:06:48):
that's doing well. Business finances different ballgame, especially in terms
of like business credit, Like people don't really talk about
like how nuanced it is to develop business credit. And
so I started. First thing I did was reach out
to the SBA, because I was like, that seems like
a good start. You know they have Yeah, so they

(01:07:10):
have this like lender match thing where they'll pair you
with like different banks and stuff based on your needs
and all that kind of stuff. So I said, this
sounds like a decent place to start. Let me try that.
So I get matched with this bank and immediately the
person who is like the loan officer, he's like, well,
what kind of business is this and what do you do?
And like regular questions, it starts to take a turn

(01:07:33):
and the underwriter gets on the phone. He's like, do
people actually need the services you provide? And I'm like,
oh wait what? And I said, well, I've been in
business for four years and yes, based on these p
and ls, people do need the services that I provide.
And it just really I was really taken aback by

(01:07:55):
that question. So then he starts asking me more and
I said something in this storefront, I will be the
only curly hair salon in northeast Ohio, which is a fact.
So like there are no other freestanding curly hair centric
salons in this area. So he starts to googling and

(01:08:15):
he's like, okay, well, here are seventeen other salons that
say that they do curly hair. And I was like,
I can assure you that that is not accurate. The
people who are actively doing curly hair are largely independent
professionals like me. There is more of a curly hair
centric scene in Columbus, so like Columbus, and like a

(01:08:38):
little bit more towards southern Ohio too, But in northeast
Ohio there are not a few of us. We are
very few and far between. And so he thought with
a Google search he was gonna like, I don't know,
discredit my claim. And I was like, I don't really
care about being the only I would prefer if I
wasn't the only. Like, there needs to be way more
of us in order to serve the mass amount of

(01:09:00):
clients that are actually looking for these services. And you
do not understand that we go back and forth for
eight weeks. Hey, he's asking me for everything but a
blood sample, Like it was the most ridiculous request though,
was he asked me for a twenty four month projection
of my revenue. And I was like, sir, we are

(01:09:21):
in a ponderosa. I don't know, Like not a single
business owner on this planet can give you an accurate
plan on projection right now, Like nobody really can do
it in general, but not in a pandemic, Like are
you crazy? So that was a ridiculous question to ask,
And so we're going back and forth, and finally I'm like,

(01:09:43):
I'm sure this is not this difficult. So I find
a different bank by myself, and I send them half
the paperwork that the other bank wanted and I got
approved in two days. And I was like, so you
were playing games, is what I mean the two days?

Speaker 1 (01:09:58):
Yeah? Again, it's giving textured with a hard R. What
is the issue?

Speaker 5 (01:10:04):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:10:05):
And that was kind of what I gathered because part
of what makes it difficult is in general just being
a woman, just being a queer woman, and just being
a queer Black woman, and also a young one. You're
never really sure what the problem is. So like even
when I was working at Dick Sporting Goods, like being
a young manager was already a problem for folks, but

(01:10:27):
then she's a young black woman like woa, you know,
so when things like this happen. I'm like, which thing
are you mad about today?

Speaker 1 (01:10:34):
And I was.

Speaker 2 (01:10:39):
Yeah, And I was really just puzzled by it because
if I were trying to if if I were someone
else who identified differently, and also we're trying to open
like a restaurant or something, would you have still asked
me all of these questions? Or because you usually patronize restaurants,
would that have been more like regular to you? Like
would that had been more like stable to you? When

(01:11:00):
most restaurants fail, you know, So, like it just really
didn't make sense going through that whole process. So finally
I'm like, we got funding. Finally we're good to go,
you know. So the next call I make is to
an interior designer, which goodness for her. So her name

(01:11:23):
is Marie Cloud of Indigo pru It. It's her company,
and we are like on the same page. So like
we're just like I'll say something and she's like, I
already put it on the board. I thought you were
going to go that direction, Like that sounds good. We're vibing,
and I'm like.

Speaker 1 (01:11:37):
Yeah, now we love it.

Speaker 2 (01:11:40):
So the click, you know, click, So as soon as
she saw the space, because she is in Charlotte is
her like home base, which's originally from here. So she
was in town a couple months ago and saw the
space for the first time and we were just in
there like nerding out. We're like, okay, so what if
this was here? And what if this was here? And

(01:12:00):
the first question she asked me was how do you
want this space to feel? Exactly? That's exactly the question
that I wanted to answer. So that was my first call.
The second call was to find a contractor, and that
was a hot mess because apparently contractors don't want to

(01:12:21):
work in salons. I don't know. It was really difficult
to find someone, but we found someone, thankfully, so he's
amazing too. And then after that it's just been trying
to get all of the other pieces together. But that
first click is what set it off. And I was like,
I don't know how what's going to happen, but somehow
it's going to happen. Yeah, and here we are.

Speaker 1 (01:12:45):
So amazing and that click that just set everything in motion,
and not the click sets things in motion and you're like, okay,
I know this is right. Even when you don't know
what's a head, you're continuing to move and you're like, Okay,
I'm just gonna keep doing this and I know that
things will work out. And a good friend of mine, Kelsey,

(01:13:05):
she said, you know, the how is none of my business. Yes,
So I love it when things just truly just pan out,
you know, even in running into the issues with that
initial lender that wasted eight weeks of your time because
they did it's something that you're offering that they didn't
feel was valuable to themselves personally. But as soon as

(01:13:26):
you found people that saw like, oh no, she's got
a very defined niece, she's got a very strong business
in four years of experience. It's not like you're just
applying with buddies random like or for a random PvP
long with a made up social you know, it's not
it's not that it's very legit. And so that commitment
to being the person that you were always looking for

(01:13:48):
when you were younger and continuing to walk in that
and just seeing all these doors open for you, it's
so cool. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:13:56):
It's it's weird, and I think part of it is,
like I was saying before, like Chris is the first
person in my life that has supported me in that way,
you know, and so when you really don't grow up
with that kind of support in the same way, like
it's hard to number one, it's hard to accept it.
So that was interesting at the beginning, you know. But
also it doesn't feel like she always is going to

(01:14:19):
believe in me before I do. So I'm like, I'm
just kind of blindly like I know this is the
right thing, and I know I have to keep walking,
but I'm afraid, you know, Like and I'm afraid, and
I don't know how it's gonna work out. But it's
also not my business. But I know it's the right thing.
Like it's just a lot of like and so that's
why I just got to trust the clique because if

(01:14:41):
I don't see it, like it's not my business to
see it, you know. But I know that I'm walking
in the direction that I'm supposed to be going. So
like I never thought I was going to land here,
like I would tell people all the time, like I
don't I never want to work in a salon, Like
I'm not going to be behind the chair forty hours
a week, week or whatever. And I'm not behind the

(01:15:02):
chair of forty hours a week, but.

Speaker 1 (01:15:06):
I do.

Speaker 2 (01:15:07):
I am really grateful that I'm able to make that call,
you know, because before when we were in a very
different financial situation, like I felt like I had to
work in that way, and now like I work like
thirty two hours a week and I have freedom to
travel and I get to travel and teach and like

(01:15:27):
all of those kinds of things. So like it's really trusting.
The click has brought me really far, and thankfully because
there was a time where I probably wouldn't have even felt.

Speaker 1 (01:15:38):
The click before. True. Oof, that's really that is an
important note because I think a lot of folks push
it down or they ignore in favor of the structure
that was offered in the safe job with the health
benefits nine to five Monday through Friday, eight on the
fifteen to thirtieth, you know, and so they're like, you know,

(01:16:00):
there's a piece that feels unfulfilled, But why would I
forsue that. I don't know what that looks like. I
don't really know even the possibilities of it. So, like
you said, being in a space to feel the click
and like, Okay, yes, this is it. Oh that's so dope.
That's so dope.

Speaker 2 (01:16:16):
Yeah, because you just never know like how far and
like even still, like I say all the time, this
is only the beginning. I feel like I've come so far,
but this is just the beginning, Like I have so
much more that I can do with this, you know,
but you just never know how far you can take something.

Speaker 1 (01:16:35):
Until you try.

Speaker 5 (01:16:36):
And now look at you, speaking of looking at you, right,
So let's talk about this baby who just turned for
Right Texture World Studio just turned for happy fourth anniversary
to the.

Speaker 1 (01:16:54):
I can't even believe it, right, like you actually have
like a toddler walking.

Speaker 2 (01:16:59):
Or right like she's in pre k.

Speaker 4 (01:17:02):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:17:06):
I love that we had to pick out a backpack
and everything. It's wild.

Speaker 1 (01:17:09):
Yeah, what's in her backpack? Because I know, y'all you
are in your bag with this studio. At least, like
tell us some more about your offerings with Texture Texture
Curl Studio. Can I talk to me?

Speaker 2 (01:17:24):
It is very difficult for folks to say, I'm realizing
so so the way that I usually teach people to
say is it's like you're going on a tour, so
text Tora, and it usually is kind of easier to
remember that way. But when I first chose the name,
I didn't realize that it was difficult to say. But
I chose that name because all of the people who

(01:17:47):
were opting out of that education in cosmetology school and
saying like that hard are textured, Like I'm not working
with textured hair. I wanted to reclaim that word. And
so it's interesting because texture is actually a cognate, so
like in a bunch of different languages, it is basically
spelled almost the same. So I thought that was really

(01:18:08):
interesting because no matter what, it's like ten different languages,
very close spelling. I was like, so, no matter what language,
texture is like an important thing, like texture is like fabric,
texture is like you know, it's like energy, it's movement.
And so I was like, I'm taking that word back,
like they don't get to keep it. So now with

(01:18:30):
the studio, so we will be moving into our new
location in about six weeks, which is wild hopefully six
hopefully six and so because construction, you know, but he's
doing well. I checked him with the contractor and he said,
like if I don't hear from him, he's good to go.

(01:18:50):
And I'm like, don't call me, do not call me,
like please, don't. So he's rocking and rolling, you know,
like okay, like as long as I don't hear from you,
I feel better about it. So hopefully six weeks. And
originally the salon had room for seven stations, and I
was like, that seems to be more than I would

(01:19:13):
like to start with. So my plan is to have
three employees and so like even saying that is wild,
because when I first started this, I was like, I
like being solo dolo, like I don't want to work
with other people and being in a studio. Now for
as long as I have, I miss the energy and

(01:19:34):
the camaraderie of like being in a salon, and especially
like a black salon. But still, you know, like being
it's just different. It is.

Speaker 1 (01:19:44):
It's good for energy. It's really warm and friendly, and
you know, you just feel like folks to looking out
for you, like, oh hey girl, you know, how are
things exactly?

Speaker 2 (01:19:54):
So I'm really excited about just like being around like
energy again in that way, especially creative energy, and like
watching other people and like how they approach haircuts and
things like that. So the interesting thing about that is
that since there is not like a huge pool of
folks that like are actively cutting curly hair, that puts

(01:20:15):
me into a mentoring and teaching role so that is
exciting because I currently travel to teach. So over Labor
Day weekend, I taught a class in Chicago, and the
way I structure my class is it is eighty percent
not haircutting, like twenty percent haircutting, and mostly because I

(01:20:36):
think it's really important to understand the person, like the
human the hair before you approach their hair. And largely
I am teaching people who don't have curly hair or
people who are non black, you know. So I'm like,
we got some stuff to talk about before you approach
a human and touch their body. We have things to

(01:20:58):
discuss historical that you are unaware of before we go
and tet a person. So that's kind of how I
structure my education, which is also a unique thing. I
didn't think I would be in that direction, but I
kind of like grabbed my sociology and I was like,
oh yeah, so all the things come back around somehow,

(01:21:22):
you know. So, but I am really excited about finding
staff and like being able to like encourage them and
just kind of see where they go because in this
industry and really in any but especially in our industry,
people are very concerned about competition, and I'm like, I
don't have competition, not because I'm cocky, but because there

(01:21:45):
are so many people like looking for these services, Like
there are so many people that are like in search
of a curly hairstylist, and I'm like, I'm not the
right fit for everybody, Like I'm starky, I'm a little
you know, like I lead with my education, so I'm
a big nerd like all kinds of things, and I'm
not the right fit for everybody. And that's okay, But

(01:22:05):
I do want clients to be able to look at
a broad scope of folks and say I have my
choice instead of this is the only person in my
area and like right now, we're not there. So that's
really the base of why I'm opening a salon, so
that people can say, like, there are places to go
that exclusively cater to curly hair, and here's one of them.

(01:22:27):
But also we need so many more.

Speaker 1 (01:22:29):
Yes, Oh my goodness, that is so beautiful. Even thinking
about the education piece, where you're teaching folks the history
that's tied to this the theory, and then we're going
to get into the practical experience chef's kiss and having
folks there that people can choose from is something that
I think other folks that don't have curly hair or

(01:22:52):
don't struggle to find stylists and not just like a washing,
you know, wash and go, but like true style, style,
color cut, all of that they don't realize, like how
limiting it can feel and how difficult the search can
be to part someone and then to have options in
this one place is like, that's brilliant and it's so neat.

(01:23:16):
It's so needed, even in twenty twenty two, which is
both crazy and cool. You know, it's it's crazy that
we're still it's still a need, but it's cool that
there are people like you out there that are like, hey,
this is who I.

Speaker 2 (01:23:29):
Was looking for.

Speaker 1 (01:23:30):
I am now not only the person I was looking for,
but I'm bringing other folks with me. Right, yeah, let's
make the more. I love that you're not the only one,
you know.

Speaker 2 (01:23:43):
I love that.

Speaker 1 (01:23:43):
I love that you're bringing folks along with you. So
uh so, text Tora, I love the hint has been helpful.
Thank you. With text Tora, you offer education. Obviously you're
a stylist and one of my favorite things. Lease, we
have to talk about this is your Instagram, right If

(01:24:04):
you all don't already, please make sure you're following text
to her kill Curl Studio on Insta. It'll be linked
in the information below. But we got to talk about
these videos because you make some of the best videos
I see on the interwbs.

Speaker 2 (01:24:21):
So it was so accidental.

Speaker 1 (01:24:26):
It was please because you are okay, So please tell
us how you got into these and then tell please
tell us the craziest thing that you see where you're like,
I just you put what in your hair? You did?

Speaker 2 (01:24:42):
What? Oh my goodness. So the way that it happened
was like, I so on my regular Instagram feed, I
don't get videos like that, Like I never see them.
And so one of my clients was under the dryer
and she was just like scrolling through her Instagram and
she just kept showing me stuff. She was like this,
this is the kind of stuff that I see all
the time. And I'm like, why, what is wrong with

(01:25:04):
your algorithm? And so and I'm like, oh my goodness.
So then it started to put some gears in motion,
and I was like, if my clients that actively see
me and are getting like good information from me are
seeing it, what's happening when people who don't have access
to like factual information also see this stuff, and I
was like, well, I can't just see this and leave

(01:25:26):
it alone.

Speaker 1 (01:25:28):
Yes, help somebody.

Speaker 2 (01:25:31):
So I start making these reaction videos. And at the
time I didn't realize that like that was the thing
that other people did, like silent reaction video kind of things,
but people do. But I was like, how can I
make it educational? Like how can I like make this useful?
So I'm not just like making my face gets me

(01:25:51):
in trouble all the time. So like so, and because
we've had masks on, like I still wear a mask
in the salon, so nobody has seen my like if
I've met them in the last two years, nobody has
seen my face. So but usually I'm making all kinds
of wild faces under my mask because that's just my

(01:26:12):
normal face. And so I started like almost like like
impromptu reacting to this video. And I recorded myself and
I watched it back and I was like, these faces
are wild. So then under my faces, I explain what
I'm reacting to in the video. So people have said,

(01:26:35):
like it really it helps them to kind of debunk
a lot of the things that they're seeing. And that's
exactly like I didn't have an original goal, but that's
the goal, you know, Like I want people to be
able to look at things more critically because product lines
like not all, but some are just feeding garbage, like
out there on the internet. They're like, you need this
because it's going to solve all of your hair problems

(01:26:57):
that we've told you that you have, you know, h
And I was like, this is not like it's it's
my libra. I have a strong feeling about like justice
and like things that are just blatantly wrong, and I'm like,
this is unacceptable and we need to all acknowledge that
this is unacceptable and also think more critically about how

(01:27:18):
we consume this information. So that's kind of how it
started and what it's evolved to.

Speaker 1 (01:27:24):
Oh, that's so awesome. And so in these videos, we
see a lot of folks, whether they're salon backed, like
through partnerships or just influencers that want to put avocados
and oils and all these random things in their hair.
What is the wildest thing that you have seen on
the interwebs? And you were like, what the fuck? What

(01:27:47):
are you doing?

Speaker 4 (01:27:48):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (01:27:48):
Many things? Okay, More recently, I saw a video that
I think is maybe I don't know, it might be satire,
but the style it was out of salon, and the
style is in the video put an entire two leader
of root beer on this woman's hair to cover the roots.
And I was like, okay, so for a variety of reasons,

(01:28:09):
that is not going to work.

Speaker 1 (01:28:12):
And I know they weren't beer like roots.

Speaker 2 (01:28:18):
So I'm not sure what the deal with that one was.
But probably the worst one I've seen recently and I
posted it already, but the one with the lemons on
the scalp, So that one I hate because in the
video the person is saying like, this will cure dermatitis,
and I'm like, no, this will aggravate dermatitized. So keep

(01:28:38):
in mind, like cosmetologists are not dermatologists, Like that is
beyond the scope of our license. We can't diet no
scalp concerns. I refer people to a dermatologist constantly because
if I notice something i'm not, I'm allowed to tell
them what I noticed, Like, Hey, there's a spot on
your scalp that is read and raised. Are you aware

(01:28:58):
of this? I think you probably a dermatologist, you know.
So that kind of a conversation. But in the video,
the person the stylist is saying like this will treat
these various scalp concerns and this will blah blah blah.
So on the opposite side of the video, I'm explaining, like,
first of all, lemons are very acidic. The scalp is
not like the scalp is like weakly acidic, but it's

(01:29:20):
not as acidic as a lemon. And the point is
there's an acid mantle that kind of keeps that the
the bacteria and all of that kind of stuff at bay,
and we need that to happen. So the fact that
you're doing this as a service in the salon and
charging people money for it and it could also be
doing significant damage to their scalp unacceptable. Yeah, so like

(01:29:42):
that is a bad that. Yeah, that that's probably one
of the worst ones I've seen, because lemons can also
like if you do that and then go out into
the sun, you can have burns. Like there's just a
lot of issues with that specific video. Yeah, So that one,
that one's back, and then all of the other ones.
I posted a few where the styling was just really

(01:30:06):
misleading and trying to say like here's what this product
can do, and I'm like, no, not at all. That
is not even that person's natural curls, those finger coils.
Stop lying, Stop lying on the internet. I'm just sick
of brands playing in our faces, you know, like I
just and this is why I'll never be sponsored by

(01:30:27):
a brand.

Speaker 1 (01:30:29):
You know what, at this rate, the movies and I'm
putting this out there, at this rate, you're gonna have
your own brand, like you are already a brand, but
like you're gonna have your own line and products and
stuff that isn't somebody freezing an avocado mix into a
brush mold and brushing it through their hair hoterrorable, Like
I love this so much. At least, as we're getting

(01:30:52):
ready to wrap up, two more things or two more
questions for you, So first tell us what you have
coming up. It is October now, so let us know
what the back end of your year looks like. Or
are you traveling for any more appointments or classes or
more fashion weeks because everywhere, and then we'll get to
our last question.

Speaker 2 (01:31:13):
Yeah, so right now, my major priority is just getting
the salon like up and running, and then I'm actually
going back to my cosmetology school in December to teach
a class. So this will be my second time going,
so that's exciting, Like I like to see the like
new future professionals and all that kind of stuff. And
then the thing that I want to do most in

(01:31:35):
the like last quarter of the year is like I'm
already planning like Q one, Q two, of course, but
also I want to have some intentional rest. So recently,
like everything's just been kind of like repped up, Like
I have a lot of moving pieces pretty much all
the time, and there's a lot of things that are
coming out in October and November that I can't talk
about yet but soon. So because of all of that

(01:31:58):
and like things that have already happened, I'm like I
need to sit down. I need to sit down, and
I need to just first I need to actually celebrate
all of the good things, because I myself enough time
to do that, you know, And I just part of
it is I just want to like get onto the
next thing, and I'm like, there's so much more to do.
I have to do more. But Chris is the person

(01:32:19):
that always reminds me, you know, like you're doing big stuff.
You know, like you're doing big stuff and you need
to actually celebrate it. So I bought myself a watch.
I did do that, but now, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:32:30):
Treat yourself stuff two thousand.

Speaker 2 (01:32:33):
Yes, right, yeah, so nothing like super major well like
big announcements, but nothing I have to actually do, which
is helpful. So I want to like put some intentional
rest into Q four so that I can hit the
ground running with the beginning of the year.

Speaker 1 (01:32:51):
So that's that's beautiful and a reminder that rest is productive,
that part everything that you've built one user celebrate. I
think so many of us are in that same mindset
of what's next, what's next, what's next, and not taking
a moment to be like, oh, I'm not still on
my way. I have arrived, like I am here and

(01:33:12):
I'm still growing, but like, wow, I look at this thing.
So again, deserve to celebrate all that you have accomplished
in a very short amount of time, to be honest,
and then that that productive rest is another reminder that
things are still moving even when you're still you know
things are going to be coming to you. I'm sure
it'll be to the point where like you're actually resting

(01:33:33):
and you're getting emails and offers for different things, because
that's just how it works. So oh, I love that
so much. Again, I'll be making sure to put the
links to connect with the leaks in the infomation, the
information YEP, in the information.

Speaker 2 (01:33:49):
Bob, I like information that could pop?

Speaker 1 (01:33:53):
Can we can keep information? Keep it asy? And we've
been talking a lot about ours today, So that works
out at least to wrap up what is the motto
or message that you want to leave with the people?

Speaker 2 (01:34:07):
Oh that's a hard one, Okay, So I guess I
have two separate ones.

Speaker 1 (01:34:14):
Okay, you got to.

Speaker 2 (01:34:16):
So the first one is gonna be trust the click,
you know, like wait for that click and when it's
the right thing, like even if you don't know how
it's gonna happen, like even if you can't see but
a step and a half in front of you, like
just take it when you feel like it's the right thing,
because you never know how far it's gonna take you.
And the other one would be take care of you

(01:34:39):
because through all of this, like we've had a lot
of like different things happen over the last like five
years that I've had to kind of navigate like personally,
like in tandem with all of the business stuff. And
what I've realized is that I can't be one hundred
percent for any of the other things if I'm not
trying to be one hundred percent for myself. So like
and it's never perfect, but you have to take care

(01:35:01):
of you, you know, above all, above a spouse, above kids,
above a pet, above the work, above everything. Sometimes you
just have to shut it all down and just take
care of you.

Speaker 1 (01:35:12):
So now you over everything, right, So that's real because
you can't give to anything if you're not giving to yourself.
So beautiful, Thank you so much for your time, Elise.
I love this episode. I really am looking forward to
all the stylists that are like girl, your here is
feeling sea because I know, lady, so I love this.

(01:35:36):
Thank you for sharing your entrepreneurial journey with us and
cannot wait to see what is next for you and
text tour Curl Studio, So thank you so much. And
all right, y'all, that is it for this episode on
the Big Quick with Quick with Chris good lood. All right,
the Big Quit with Chris. This is it for our episode, y'all,
and remember twitters when to see y'all the next one.

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