*DO NOT JUDGE ME JUST READ THE FULL POST.”
I had to share this photo. I feel like it says so much.
At first glance it looks like a real meme. It looks like a 9-11 hair emergency. (Actually it was.)
The hair industry has never been paused, halted or just plain old brought to a screeching halt. Hair salons and stylists made it through depressions, World Wars and complete economic falls.
Did clients spend less money in the salons at those times? They may have. They might not have. But regardless they got their hair done.
Nothing stopped a determined woman from doing what made her feel her best.
She may have been financially hurting. It may have meant going without lunch for a week. She might have had to stash money on the side that her husband did not know about. She figured it out. She would make that appointment happen because she knew nothing would break her spirit more than not showing up at the hair salon. That appointment meant connecting with her best friend and getting her hair done. It was her time that made her shine for a long time.
Today is different.
Today she can’t leave her house.
Today we have clients with extensions in their hair. That they don’t want to let go of. It is a part of them. It is their beautiful self. It is their guiding light. It is their hope today just as much as it was the day you put the extensions in their hair that things are going to be better.
It is their lipstick.
It is their high heels.
It is their Louis Vuitton.
It is their diamond ring.
It is their shield of armor.
It is their heart and their soul right there on their head.
For most it is unimaginable to be without.
We know these clients. We know what they will do to keep them till we get through this. Or do we?
Today I talked my client who was not taking her extensions out for any depression, world war, economic failure or a virus.
Today that conversation was not “can you help me?”
Today that conversation was “My hair is in a clip and sectioned off. FaceTime me so you can tell me how to raise my extensions. I have some pliers.”
So it began. I talked her through it. I explained she was going to lose some hair because the method I am certified in does not have a “raise the bead” type of raise.
She could have cared less about the hair loss. In her eyes it was minimal in comparison to the 2 rows coming out fully. I had to figure out a solution for her. This is where we are at.
Yesterday, today and tomorrow we have to figure out a solution.
Solution to to remain safe. We social distance.
Solution to not being able to social distance and complete our work. We closed.
Solution to distance. Figuring out proximity. Zoom and FaceTime.
Distance is dangerous but proximity is power.
Don’t stop posting.
Don’t fall into the dark.
Your clients are your people.
Figure out how to create solutions and bring proximity back to your life with them.
Connect. Even if it goes against what you thought you would never do.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would be MY post. But it is. And I am pretty damn proud I made her happy today.
ISN’T THAT WHAT WE DO BEST??!!