Hairstylist Life; How The Unexpected Retired Me From Behind The Chair.

The hairstylist life can be like joy and pain. Sure it's a great business where you can be your own boss and if you work hard it can bring you much joy. It can also bring much pain if you don't put in a plan to protect yourself from a disabling injury or an unexpected market shift.

Again, I’ve made plenty of mistakes, now I can teach you how to avoid them so you can learn how to think and grow rich from your beauty / barber business. (or any other business!)

Ask yourself this question because I didn't!

What would happen if you had a serious injury or got sick to the point where you couldn't work for 2 to 3 weeks, months or even a year? How would you maintain your family's lifestyle, or keep your business going?

Now to be honest, I did think about it sometimes, but I was young and undisciplined. I was making my own money, thought I was invincible. I didn't even do a business plan, I just jumped right out there!

Every stylist has that point in their career where you're on top of your game learning & earning, "styling and profiling". Working hard and playing harder. Then one day you're not!

This is the story of how the "unexpected" retired me from behind the chair, and shifted my beauty shop business online.

One day while ridding on one of those razors (I call them skateboards with handle bars) with my daughter, I fell and fractured my wrist and couldn't work for 3 months.

The plan was to race to the end of the driveway on the scooters and we did, but when I planted my foot to try to stop at the end of the driveway, my shoe rolled over.

Like a scene from a cartoon when someone slips on a banana peel, I went feet first dangling in the air (at least 4 feet), with my head falling back to the concrete, my natural reflexes kicked in to try and break the fall by putting my hand down behind me and BAM!

So as I sit there, wrist numb & throbbing (severely embarrassed and in a lot of pain), I'm thinking it's just a little sprain, I'll be ok in a week or so, no big deal. Unfortunately the little sprain tuned out to be a fractured bone in by wrist.

I think I was more in shock because I'm thinking "nothing like this could ever happen to me, this only happens to other people. Boy was I in for a very rude awakening.

The Reason You Need Disability & Life Insurance Now!

Just like that, my beauty shop cash flow was cut off. Most households operate on two incomes, and mine was no different.

Imagine having to deal with the stress of one of the incomes suddenly being cut off.

This was just the beginning of one of the most stressful times of my life. Man, I wish I had followed The 10 Beauty Shop Commandments things would have been much better.

We look happy on this picture, but because I failed to put a plan in place to protect my income in case I got hurt., we went through some really tough times. 

Life Lesson: If You Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail (or fall in my case!)

Let me tell you, it's not fun to watch your hard earned emergency fund get sucked up when those bills start rolling in.

Seems like the 1st of the month rolls around extra fast when you don't have a steady income. You run out money way before you run out of month when you have personal expenses as well as business expenses.

Imagine the pressure, the stress, the embarrassment of not being able to have money to socialize and go on trips with friends and family.

Then when the mortgage started doubling even tripling, I had no choice but to start dipping into my retirement fund trying desperately to keep the roof over our heads, keep the business running, and pay our personal everyday expenses like food and gas.

Now imagine having to loose your house or you and your family having to move in with your parents or relatives. (Yikes!)

How The "Unexpected" Natural Hair Movement Affected My Business

To make matters worst, another "unexpected situation" that hairstylist had to deal with was "The "Natural Hair Movement" that was taking place across the nation.

African American women started embracing their natural hair textures and all of the natural hair care products that where coming to market.

Women of color stated turning away from the relaxer service, which was great for the culture! But devastating to my bank account as the relaxer service was my main product or revenue generator.

No Money, No Honey!

I also learned "No romance without finance" is very real. No cash flow will definitely effect your personal relationship bigtime. Experience is a good teacher and after this experience, I can definitely give some good relationship advice too.

As I moved forward, to help myself recover mentally, physically, and financially from that major setback, In 2017 I decided to change my business model & empower myself by getting licensed as a financial professional to increase my knowledge with the intent of:

Teaching black self employed hairstylists, small business owners & entrepreneurs to change your money mindset!

Let's Run Your Business Don't Let It Run You, So You Won't Be Broke By Age 62!