Hairstylists Challenges with Dallas Christopher: an Experience of Training 10,000 Hairstylists

Dallas Christopher is the hairstyling guru, it’s a no-brainer.

He has been styling since he was 16 years old, and he has trained 10,000 hairstylists at Paul Mitchell Hair & Beauty School over the years.

I have known him for around 10 years, and it has been a blessing.

We partnered with each other in Private Label on many events and occasions.

And a lot is yet to come.

He shares with us today his inspiring story that made him who he is today.

Passing by many milestones that shape his craft. Let’s dive into it together.

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Networking in the Hair Industry

Dallas Christopher met me unplanned; I was among other vendors showcasing hair, he wasn’t into it with other people that day, but we clicked.

He didn’t count on this relationship evolving into any business bonds.

But here we are.

In the hair and beauty industry, you need to network, not like a parasite, or with an intruder attitude.

Although you can feel sometimes like you’re being overestimated.

But you have something that I know nothing about, while I have something that you don’t have. It’s an exchange.

You have to be strategic, even if you just swapped business cards.

You can nurture that into something bigger and long-lasting by offering value that seems like a win-win situation.

Values of the Hair Industry

Despite educating hairstylists in the Paul Mitchell Hair & Beauty School for more than 18 years.

Dallas is a life-long learner.

He gets up very early in the morning and trains himself in his private time.

Life is the extended version of the Train Day movie except you’re actually learning and training.

Preserving this mentality over the years with a positive outlook on life can sculpt your craftmanship into a solid ground of experience.

Loyalty is another thing, everything about hair is personal.

People become loyal to their brands for that reason, and to their stylists for the same reason.

Loyalty is heavily valued, especially if work for a place with room to grow.

It fuels your journey and makes you stick to it.

Challenges of Opening a hair Store

Together, we had a go for a location in Greenville.

Eventually, we preferred to go back to Georgia.

But in this phase, we built a name for ourselves there and satisfied many customers.

Back then, we decided not to pay any money to ourselves.

For Years! The strategy is to take the money to get the place better or to open other locations.

So, when the day arrives, you get a good chunk of money.

Your business is a baby that you need to continuously feed him.

Money is the business’ blood so keep sure it never loses any and never loses it quickly.

Check our Opening Hair Salon Experience!

Finding Your Own Pace

Don’t come out of the gate all hot.

Entrepreneurship is a marathon that takes time, patience, and the need to pace yourself down to make it through.

They paint your delightful pictures on the internet with roses and kisses.

The business has for sure its good days.

But they won’t tell you about worrying at night about debts or strategizing your survival out of slow months.

Consistency always wins, that means putting effort and money incrementally without gambling.

You can plan what you don’t want to do and then plan what you want to do.

Take each goal and do baby-step tactics to reach it.

All of that is under the umbrella of a strategy with a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based goal.

Hair Purchasing Cycles

You can launch your hair business at the beginning of the summer.

Most people could have been getting their hair done by this time to have the summer look.

They can forget about hair products for a while.

It doesn’t mean it’s the end for you.

Each customer buys hair products every 6 to 8 weeks.

So meanwhile you can invest the time to resonate your brand within their mind.

Target them with ads and ensure a high level of frequency. Publish blogs, demonstration videos, and valuable content.

It’s a good preparatory period to be on the wave when things get back up again.

When they decide it’s time to buy hair again, or the sea salt tampered with their wigs too much, they think of you and come back to get the offers you’ve been putting out.

Finding Your Role Model

Dallas tells us about how at some point, his role model was a young 21-year-old kid.

He was the master of coloring in the salon, and Dallas respected that.

Each coloring he made fascinated Dallas so he would ask him about the formula and apply it to the next client.

He worked beside him for a year then Dallas became the master.

It’s not about age, wealth, or fame. Some people are born with the talent for it, in my opinion, Dallas is one of them.

A lot of hairstylists or entrepreneurs on the internet are fake gurus.

It’s part of their personal branding that somehow is more like propaganda.

Be realistic about your capabilities then recognize what you’re missing.

Scrap the web and the books to find someone to resonate with.

He or she speaks your mind and within your logic and your way of seeing things.

Without eliminating anything, find what you can benefit from this mentorship.

That helps you to handle bad hair salon experiences.

Being an Entrepreneur with No Experience

I built Private Label based on a conversation with a friend whose girlfriend spends $3000 on her hair each year.

I knew nothing about hair, but eventually, I made it to the Inc. 500 list to be the 278th fastest-growing beauty company in the U.S.

You don’t have to be the master to open a hair business.

People will come to buy specific things; you need to focus on business solely.

On the other hand, a hairstylist needs schooling because she has to recommend and consult with the client.

You just need to be professional and representable.

That means getting your legal side set up with an LLC and EIN.

A long with social media accounts for your business separated from the personal ones.

And the consistency to grow a seed into a gigantic profitable business.

Learn to Set Up Your Hair Business Legally!