#WINNING
#WINNING
Unlocking the Secrets of Salon Success with Kristie Leslie
Step into the world of hairdressing mastery with Kristie Leslie, the entrepreneurial force behind Luxe Beauty Company, as she traverses the path from stylist to salon owner to a mentor for retail excellence. This episode stitches together the rich tapestry of Kristie's career, revealing the complexities of team management, the exhilaration of launching new ventures, and her dedication to setting industry standards. As she shares her narrative, we uncover the relentless drive necessary for triumph in the competitive realm of haircare, and the indispensability of fostering a community spirit.
Kristie Leslie and I take you behind the salon chair to discuss the transformative power of unparalleled customer service. We delve into the philosophy that each customer interaction, be it a haircut or a product recommendation, is an opportunity to imprint a memorable experience. Kristie's enthusiasm for exceptional service echoes throughout our chat, as we confront the common dread of sales and highlight the significance of a positive, service-driven approach, where the intent to benefit the customer overshadows aggressive sales tactics.
Ending on a note of introspection, Kristie opens up about the personal side of entrepreneurship, illustrating the profound growth that comes from the courage to reinvent oneself. Her words offer a roadmap for embracing change, staying humble, and finding joy in working within one's passion. This episode is not just a conversation; it's a wellspring of inspiration for anyone craving to infuse their business ventures with heart and authenticity while keeping their personal well-being in sight. Join us for an enriching journey through the peaks and valleys of the salon industry as Kristie Leslie imparts her wisdom on maintaining balance and chasing entrepreneurial dreams.
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Mackenzie Kilshaw:Welcome to Winning. I'm your host, Mackenzie Kilshaw, and today's guest is Kristie Leslie. How are you today? I'm great. How are you Good? Thank you so much for being on. So Kristie is the visionary behind Luxe Beauty Company in Saskatoon. She has over 23 years of salon ownership and a passion for retail. She's actually also has a new business, which is the business of retail business. She extends her salon success to empower others, elevating their retail sales and their customer care standards. I'm so excited to have you on. I had a retail business. It's very close to my heart with retail and customer service, so I'm really excited to have you here. Why don't you just tell the audience a little bit more about yourself?
Kristie Leslie:You bet. Thank you so much for having me when to start, where to begin? Well, I have been a salon owner for about 17 years. I've been behind the chair for 23. I have two little girls who also love everything about their hair and all the products and all of those things. It's been an interesting journey. It's so cool to look back and to see how everything kind of connects and all the dots kind of come together. But it's.
Kristie Leslie:I find that forties are kind of a place where you really like settle into life and I feel like that's where I'm at right now, just kind of finding my niche, finding the things that I love. Um, I did not think that I would launch a new business this year or in in and around this time of life, but yeah, I think that's just kind of the entrepreneurial brain. It just never stops, always new ideas and new things. And I had a friend say to me this morning like you know, what do you think you could get rid of? Like, what could you take off of your plate?
Kristie Leslie:Because life sometimes feels pretty overwhelming and it's hard to decide what you're going to remove or take off, cause I think when you're passionate about what you do you just kind of get moving with all of the things. So, um, that's kind of who I am. I'm like organized chaos, all things on the go, always running and driving places and and uh, gymnastics and baseball and kids and life. Um, yeah, it's a bit of organized chaos, but it's, it's fun, life is good.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I love that. It's so true. We were talking before we recorded and I said I feel like everything is just going on right now. It's so busy. How do you keep up? And I know you really understand that too. I think people listening to that, yeah, people are listening.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:It's like you own a business, you start another business, you have two small kids, like oh Lord. But I love what you said, where the entrepreneurial brain never kind of stops right. And obviously you saw, you saw a need for specializing in retail and teaching other people how to do it. We're going to talk a lot about that today, did you okay? So you started out as a stylist. That transition from stylist to owner is a big difference, right? Huge.
Kristie Leslie:Huge.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah, huge. So was that your first entrepreneurial journey that you had?
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, it would have been. I was 24. I had been in the business.
Kristie Leslie:For, yeah, and I went in it at 18, right out of high school, and so I'd been in it for like already six, seven years and, looking back, like I don't ever have any regrets, but I don't know if that, if I could do it over, if that would have been my next move, because it is very different. I think you can be a, you can be great at whatever you're doing, but to lead a team and to manage people as a whole other, it's a whole other game. It's a whole other set of rules. It's a whole other. It's a huge learning curve and just a very different thing. So I was very young. I don't feel like I even know that person anymore.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:When you said 24, I like cringed a little, cause I think I was like 32 when I opened my business and that I thought it was young, and 24 is just, I feel like you're still a kid really, but I mean you made it.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah, but I mean you have a very successful salon and now the transition into teaching other people really how to have a very successful salon. That's another journey all on its own, because you still have your salon. It's not like you've its own Cause you still have your salon. It's not like you've changed right, you still have it, yeah, yeah. So how has that been?
Kristie Leslie:It's been great because it's such a deep rooted passion for me that I just felt the need to share it. And I think, like that's kind of always, my mentality in business too, is like nothing great in life is ever done alone. I don't hold my cards to my chest, I don't. I'm kind of an open book that way and I think that for me, doing this and not just doing it with my team like there are many salons that do really well with retail, but the industry average retail to service is like 12% and looking back on my business, especially in the last four years and in this stretch of time, like my business wouldn't be alive if we didn't have strong retail. So just like helping other businesses with that, I think, elevates the industry as well.
Kristie Leslie:It's it's a really important piece of the puzzle.
Kristie Leslie:It's it's hard, to hard to have any type of profit without it. So I just felt like I couldn't hold it in my body any longer and the program sat on my desktop for over two years. I would build it, switch out the headshots, grow it a little bit more like help my friends with their salons and teach it on Zoom every now and again, and it was kind of just a thing where people are like, oh, you're really good at this, can you help my team? And I say sure, and and then, like this year, I was like, no, this, this needs to come out. And it's really amazing to connect with other businesses and, you know, in that organized chaos feeling too, just to know that like you're not alone and and to have somebody help. I think is it's. It's been really interesting and, I would say, like vital to growing and maintaining my passion too for the business and and, um, just so many different facets of it that keeps keeps my passion growing and alive. So I love it that's good things in life, you know.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I love that because if we don't love what we do every single day, what is our life about? Like you spend more time working than you do with your kids or with your spouse, or right. So you have to love it and I just love that. You said you're keeping the passion alive, especially with um hair industry, because it is physically demanding, right like to to do hair all day, every day for 20 plus years. Um, that's hard on your body really.
Kristie Leslie:It's hard on a lot of things if I'm being honest, it's hard emotionally, it's it's hard on your body. It's uh, it. It takes a lot from us. It also gives a lot, which is a great exchange, but but it does it takes a lot out of you. So you have to find a way to to keep it moving.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:So it's been one of my pathways for it well, I'm so glad that you've been able to branch out, um when you're going to other salons. One thing I think that's kind of notorious about the salon industry is that people are very competitive, which I always think is funny. Like, you can't change your hairdresser, it's like cheating on your boyfriend, right? Um so, but clearly, though, you've found a way to um make it more of a community, right, because you're going to other salons and teaching them. You have a salon too.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I mean, yeah, so how has that been? Obviously, you've been welcomed, but it's just a change from kind of the norm of the industry, isn't it?
Kristie Leslie:It is. It definitely is, and I feel like I've always been one to kind of push the limits on that comfort zone, even just with like open, like shared collective education and things like that. But yeah, it's interesting and some people are really welcoming and open to it and some people are not. And I think that's been cool too because it's really helped me to find my niche. And I know after these last it's been 90 days since since I launched this and my niche is teams Like I love the salon teams. I also like teaching open cluster classes, um and independence, but my niche is really the teams and um. I think just like those people will be open to it and and those are kind of my people.
Kristie Leslie:And the cool thing about this program is that every salon is going to take the information and run with it in a different way, so it's not a competitive thing like twice now in two cities, Edmonton and Winnipeg, we've taught in salons where you can essentially see the next salon down the road and so there's such a close proximity to them. But they both ran with it and both well, all four of them were just so successful because everybody's going to just use the information in a different way. A lot of it is about mindset and attitude and customer care, so it's not just teaching one thing that you don't want somebody else to know, and so I think that's helped a lot with the acceptance of it and Salon's inviting me in definitely. I think as I go further west there's even more acceptance because they're like oh, you're not close to us, you're pretty far away, so we're safe.
Kristie Leslie:But yeah, it takes a while and you know, even though we love something, it doesn't mean it's not challenging and not hard like this has been a really it's been a very challenging thing to get moving, and I think when you're in something too for a long time and then you start something new, it's like, oh okay, I forgot what these beginning stages feel like. Yeah, so, yeah, um, but yeah, it's different, it's unique and, uh, not everyone's open to it, so definitely trying to create a bit of a ripple there, but it's, it's got its challenges.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah were you? Were you um, concerned or apprehensive about that before you started um, or were worried like, did it not worry you? I'm a worrier, I think the worst case and then try to mitigate that and sometimes it's not even an issue, right, so maybe you weren't, but I just feel like I would be nervous.
Kristie Leslie:I was definitely nervous. The first day that I, the first two days that I was teaching in salons, I was so sweaty that like my jacket, like my blazer was not, even my shirt was like wet, but my blazer was pretty sweaty. I was definitely nervous about it. I really tried to focus on what I was doing and why I was doing it and just kind of had that as my North Star just to kind of guide me into that. But yeah, I was definitely nervous and there was a point too, probably like maybe a month ago, six weeks ago, where I was like you know, maybe I could just pull down all these posts and just forget about it and just like scrap it. Maybe nobody would notice if I threw in the towel.
Kristie Leslie:But yeah, I definitely thought about it for sure. And it's still there, it's still. You know people will ask about it for sure. And it's still there, it's still. You know people will ask about it and then ghost me and there's always those types of things. But I am really just trying to keep my eyes on that north star.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah, for sure well, and at the end of the day, you're trying, well, you're trying to help people I mean, it's a business for you too, but you're literally trying to help them get their business in a better spot financially, right. And so, yeah, you're, yes, you're coming at it in such a positive way that I think that really lends it to your success, because you're not coming in there to try to change them or whatever. You're trying to teach them how to be more successful, right.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:So if they're, especially if they're reaching out to you, there's a reason definitely yeah, yes, yes and finances in the salon business, I know, are one of the the hardest things because you have, yeah, so much overhead. People don't realize the cost, you know. They think, oh, how much does color cost? Or how much does it cost me to, um, go go there and get a haircut? But I think people don't realize, first of all, as a hairstylist, you're a trades person, the same as a plumber or electrician or anything else. So you're not, your team isn't getting paid $20 an hour like those. Those days are long gone, right, and so without retail which we're going to get into here, like you said without that key component for a lot of people, they're really struggling financially.
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, definitely, and I mean we're in a different, different kind of like time zone too, with economics and things like that, so you really have to maximize all the corners of business and the profit margins are different. It's just the nature of the beast. So, yeah, it's interesting. I love the business side of it, I love that piece, so it's great to combine them. And you know, as a young hairdresser and salon owner too, that was what I did not understand and I had a partner who understood it and we still ended up closing our doors um eight years later because the the money just didn't line up, profits didn't line up. So, yeah, yeah, it's pretty, pretty deep yeah.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah, well, and at the end of the day, if you don't have profit, you don't have a business, and that's a really hard pill to swallow, right, but it is. Um, let's, let's talk about your program a little bit more. And really, retail and customer care go to hand in hand with any. Don't have to be hairstylist or own a hair salon to know how important these are. But why don't you just give a little bit of an overview of why retail and customer care are so important and how they impact your business?
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, you bet. So when I started putting this program together, I started thinking about kind of all of the pillars of success with sales, and my dad was a salesman at Sears for 37 years and before he died I asked him like what was one of the major keys to success for you? And he just said to me he was so clear about it. It was such an easy question for him to answer and he just said, like Krist, sales is just helping people get what they want and need. That's all that it is. And so that was a really impactful moment for me because he just it was so simple for him. It wasn't you're just helping people and you're just helping them get what they want and need. It was so clear.
Kristie Leslie:So in this program I really dive into, we start off with the feelings of sales and how sales makes people feel, and it's so interesting because the same words always come up, the exact same words. It doesn't matter if I'm east west wherever it is, um, you know that it feels pushy, it feels gross, it feels um, weird, it feels awkward, it feels this, that, and and so many different feelings come up for people, and you know it's kind of that law of polarity where if one side exists, the other side can exist. So some people feel excited, they feel happy, they love it, they get just so pumped up about it, and I definitely live on that side of it. I love selling, but a lot of hairdressers to feel like they're they're not in the, they're not there to sell and in, I think in any business, you're selling so many pieces of it. We're selling services, we're selling ourselves like really in life, you're selling yourself right. And so in bringing all of that together, you know, starting with the feelings, we go into the experience and then we go into tools. So it's, it's a really beautiful collection of all of these different pieces.
Kristie Leslie:We talk a lot about mindset. We talk a lot about, just like your attitude, best and worst sales experiences you've ever had. You know, like where you like to shop, where you like to go for dinner and, and you know, even you go for dinner and even your waiter or waitress is selling you. Would you like a dessert? You know there's always things that are life is selling us every day, and so this brings together all of those little. We literally put shed light on every corner of it and just how to create a better experience and I really think, sadly, right now the world is pretty mediocre. You know, like you go to a restaurant, services it's okay and it's really expensive. You know you go anywhere the grocery store, people are grumpy, and I think that the negative experiences in life definitely outweigh the beautiful, like really amazing experiences.
Kristie Leslie:So in my business and in this program, I just really wanted to create exceptional experiences and bring in that exceptional level of customer care and you know, that was something that I always felt when I walked into your store too. It was just that enhanced exceptional level of care and I appreciate that in life. I love that. I love going to a beautiful hotel and the service is amazing and they take care of you and they you walk in and, oh, welcome, Mrs Leslie. You know, like those are the pieces of life that really like it's the light, you know it's the, that's the good stuff in life and, um, when people get their hair done, that's one of their favorite things that they look forward to, and so capturing that and bringing those pieces together, I think is so great and for me too, like that should happen with hair care as well.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yes, for sure.
Kristie Leslie:You ask. Probably, like you know, 99% of women have this graveyard under their cabinet that they don't use, but it's probably just because they haven't received a proper recommendation. Yeah, so for me it's, it's just like that's. That's a part of what I do. That's equally as important as cutting my client's hair, because you can't style a great haircut without what you have, and just brings it all together. I'm kind of getting off track. My mind just goes in all the different directions because I get so excited about it. I love this. You know, customer care in in customer care in any business is just so valuable and it's kind of become. It's lost. Maybe it's just like you know, out lost in the woods and it's going to come back soon. But I don't think that there are as many great experiences out in the world right now as there are exceptional. So I agree, I fully agree.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Trying to be that one, yeah, but you know what that 1% is, what sets you apart, which is what brings you the customers, which is what brings you the profit. Right, and that was mentioned, my store, and thank you because when I hear that.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I've sold my store, I don't have it anymore. But when I hear that, that does bring me joy, because when I set out that was one of the things I said I want to create an experience like nowhere else. And whoever comes into my store I don't care who they are, how much money they have, you know their background, anything I want them to feel that experience. And now that I've closed, unfortunately, I get so many messages exactly what you're talking about the experience there's no experiences anymore.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:No one cares. People don't greet you when you come in, people don't suggest things. You know it's, and I agree with with you, it's an art that's really gotten lost, and I don't know if that was COVID, you know, those things kind of went away because we couldn't. You know, we maybe didn't have face to face or you had a mask in front of you or whatever it was. Um, but I'm with you, like when are they coming back? Because they should be here, right, right.
Kristie Leslie:Yeah.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:It sets you apart.
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, A hundred percent, and those experiences are so memorable, you know, like years later people remember that, years later. Um, you know, people still talk about my dad when he worked and he was. You know, that's the thing, too, is like you don't have to do anything in life. That is really like so grand and magnificent, Like I mean, I'm just cutting hair and selling shampoo, right, my dad sold TVs and appliances at Sears, and but you can create a beautiful experience and a memorable experience in anything that you're doing in life and, um, yeah, it's that's, that's the good stuff.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:That's so true for sure. Okay, I want to go back to when you said you asked everybody how they feel about sales and most people it's all the negative things and it is really that like used car salesman, quote, unquote. So many people are right and they're like, well, I don't want to ask and I'm like, yes, I always said, because I've done lots of sales training to what's the worst. They can say to you no, so what? Move along, you know. But if you never ask, you're never going to get there.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:So let's start with the mindset, because I feel I know you talk about that in your program. I feel it's so important. Um, so, starting with that positive mindset, how does that help you with sales?
Kristie Leslie:Well, I think you have to have a good attitude and a positive mindset to be successful with anything in life. You know, if you have a terrible attitude, you're probably going to get terrible results. So that really is the starting point to anything and you can. There's always two sides of the coin. You can, you can be grateful for something, you can be resentful towards something, you can be excited about something, you can be fearful of something. There's always like those two sides. So just you know, seeing the good in something and and having that positive attitude and coming at it with a great energy that exchange of energy is so important too and they kind of go hand in hand. You know, like positive mindset, positive attitude, great energy. I think that that's what's going to really connect the dots and really close the sales. Like people don't want to buy from people that are grumpy. People don't want to buy from somebody who's not genuine and authentic and excited about what they're doing. So you have a positive attitude. You're almost all the way there.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah, I think so too, and I I think too, then that kind of that positive mindset, positive attitude then kind of changes your feelings about sales, right, because most people are like I don't want to, oh yeah, like I don't want to be salesy, like I don't want them to just think I'm trying to sell them something, to make a commission or whatever it is, which really those go hand in hand, don't they?
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, they do. Yeah, what have you? And I think, just realizing no, that's okay, go ahead. Um, just realizing that, a lot of times too, people are coming to us because they need something. Yes, and um, that's so just just doing what you can do to the highest level that you can and just giving as much as you can. It's about the give, I think.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah, for sure yeah, because, like you say, like your dad said, helping people get something that they need right, um, helping people, yeah, solve a problem. Like I come in, geez, my hair is dry, what do I need? Right, and I think to you, your group of people, as they're the experts, like I don't know what kind of shampoo I should use for my hair, like I don't, I don't know I'm, I want you to tell me what to buy, because you're the one that knows Right. And I think, for a lot of times, as the customer, kind of like flipping it, I maybe I might say, oh, I need a new shampoo, or I need a new conditioner, which I buy and you recommend, and I buy it and I go home. But a lot of customers, too, they don't really want to ask either, because they're like, oh, I don't want them to suggest like seven things now that I need to use, you know. So there's kind of that barrier. Yes, as well on the other side, yes, that you have to overcome, yeah.
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, definitely do you promote. I think like just being.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I was just going to say do you promote the education part, like educating them, more than, like I know you don't promote being salesy. But how do you like, how do you say is the best way to sell them something?
Kristie Leslie:It starts with the education, for sure and that's always the other word that comes up with every salon that I'm in of what you know, the things that we need to sell, and everyone says knowledge, and that's a really important piece of the puzzle too. So, pairing up that knowledge and that you know, extensive learning and ongoing learning too, with being genuine and authentic always and solving the problems, that's really what it's about. And when those couple things come together, those three pieces which I think are the most important, but when those ones come together, you're not coming across salesy, pushy, you know, awkward, weird, weird, any of those things, because you're you really have like you're coming at it with an approach of of customer care and taking care of them. So it's it kind of takes all three, though it doesn't really.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:You've got to, yeah, I agree and I think too um, especially with most places that you go, um, you're gonna have, you have different offerings, right. So you might have, especially in the salon, you might have, Ori be, that's a higher price, and you might have R and Co that's a lower price, and you've got different offerings for people, right. And so I think too yeah, like absolutely. I always thought too. There's no reason why you can't say, like is there a price point you had in mind or a budget that you need to stay in, especially now we're talking about everything's costing more, you know, and maybe I can afford to spend $30 on a shampoo, but not $60, right, and then you can still tailor your experience to that customer, which really is that relationship piece absolutely clarity.
Kristie Leslie:It's the clarity is so important. We talk a lot about money and we talk a lot about budgets and we do it right from the beginning of the service, in the consultation. I think that's when it gets weird, too is, as a hairdresser, you go through the entire service and then you get to the end and then you ask about it. But it needs to be a part of the entire experience. Any salon. You walk into it, right at the front of the salon and everyone is the retail and at the styling stations and at the backwash, and then you're styling and finishing their hair and then and then we get to the end and we're like, oh, we make it weird, but it doesn't have to be that way. Right, it's when it's a part of what you do. Let's make it a part of what we do and and that's yeah, it it's a whole other. It's a whole other ballgame when you're taking that approach with it and really intertwining it into all of the pieces of the service.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:And at the end, if in all reality, kind of that, like I think these would be great for, like these would be great for your hair, and making suggestions to them, that really does finish off that whole circle, doesn't it? Yeah?
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, yeah, I know, even for myself as a consumer like sometimes, if you've had a really beautiful experience too, sometimes I just want to leave with something to treat myself and to experience that experience over again at home and to have that feeling and to you know the smells and the feelings and and it really kind of connects you to that experience. So a lot of times it's it's not even about anything that you need, it's just something that you want to, and I would feel disappointed if I left and somebody didn't kind of wrap up the whole experience with that. So it's another, another's another, another part.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:That's a really good point that take home and that reliving, even just like the scent of right. Sometimes you're like oh that reminds me of that. Yeah, when I got my hair done, and how good you feel. I mean, nothing feels as good as going to get your hair cut and for me now colored, because of course I've got a nice little white patch coming in and but really you feel so good when you leave the salon, like to relive that.
Kristie Leslie:That's such a great point, so good yes, I go for these really beautiful facials and at the end she puts this amazing lip balm on and and that was that was it for me. That was the thing that, like, really caught me and I was like, oh my gosh, like I just feel so good right now. I had to take that lip balm home it was like $70, but I needed it because I wanted to feel that feeling again, you know. And so I think that sometimes we forget that it's it's feelings for people too, and that and you got to keep that moving for them and that's how you connect with people for sure.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:And relationships are so important in business because when you have that relationship with your customer or client, that loyalty, they come back, they tell their friend, their friend starts coming right. That's really how you build your business and sustain it yeah do you think honestly I mean, I know, retail is a product and a relationship is is a a thing, intangible thing, guess but they're probably equally as important, aren't they?
Kristie Leslie:Yes, and there are actually so many statistics too in our business I would imagine in other businesses as well but that when there is a retail purchase, that happens, the level of loyalty and the percentage of clients that will return it just skyrockets. It's a whole other level because there's a deeper level of trust. There's a different conversation that happens, there's a different point of connection that happens, and then you're just you're connected to people so much deeper. So, yeah's, it is actually like a statistic and the numbers I don't know what the number is, but I think it's like 86 as opposed to like 14 or something like that. It's a very, very big gap. So that loyalty is everything and if you're not having returned customers, you're going to be spending your 10 years for a long time in business and yeah, yeah, and that same thing doesn't matter what your business is, whether you're going to be spending your tires for a long time in business and that's yeah.
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, and that same thing.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:It doesn't matter what your business is, whether you're hairstylist, hair salon, me with my clothing store, or restaurant, whatever it is. You want those repeat people because having to spend money to go out to find a new person is way more than keeping who you have and keeping them really happy.
Kristie Leslie:Oh yeah, absolutely yes, than keeping who you have and keeping them really happy oh yeah, absolutely yes.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:What are the best ways? The best ways to either, like, grow or maintain those relationships. Definitely trust, which you hit on. Are there other things, um, that really stand out to you that keep that relationship strong?
Kristie Leslie:I think, um, like reconnecting with people and the kind of like I guess you could say like the aftercare that happens, or um, like we always send people home with like a little thank you note, at least to mail them but you don't really mail anything in life anymore but, um, just like the gratitude and the appreciation I really, I truly never take for granted that somebody chooses to shop at my business or spend money at my business or sit in my chair.
Kristie Leslie:Um, I have lots of clients that are still within my business, even though I don't do their hair anymore, because my time behind the chairs is pretty short now. But you can't take that for granted because people can go anywhere. There's hundreds of salons, there's hundreds of boutiques, there's you can pick up your phone and you can order something online immediately. You can pick up your phone and you can order something online immediately. So I think just expressing that gratitude and just having letting people know how much you appreciate them, I think is a really, really big thing, because I think there's also a lack of appreciation in the world too. So I think that's a big one and just being present you know, life is really busy and just when you're, when you're there, be where your feet are, be with people. Um, I think that's probably.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Those are probably a few of my that comes to mind that, really that gratitude and appreciation and you mentioned before being genuine and authentic, I think those go leaps and bounds. Um the gestures I love to, like the thank you note or the message after that you get. But that's why, if we think for ourselves, that's why you go back to the same hairstylist or the same store or the same restaurant where the waiter knows your name. That's why, because you feel special and important and like they know who I am and they know my life and they know my husband and kids and and that's that's really it, isn't it?
Kristie Leslie:It is, yeah, such a major key and everybody in life wants to feel valued, important and, um, just like they, like they, matter, matter. So it doesn't matter who you are, everybody else it's so true, I think do you have a most important lesson?
Mackenzie Kilshaw:That you've learned along your entrepreneurial journey that you want to share oh, I feel like I could talk about this for days.
Kristie Leslie:I know just one. I think the yeah share a few. I think my top ones would be partnerships are everything. Partnerships are absolutely everything in life. I don't think that anything in life that is remarkable or really you know, kind of the big, the bigger things Well, I mean anything but nothing in life is achieved alone, and greatness I think that's where greatness comes from is from doing things with people, and that would be one of them is, if you want to go further, you know, go with people. Two, you never know it all. Never, ever stop learning, because life is a continuous progression of growing. And I think that maybe this would be my first one.
Kristie Leslie:This one landed very deeply with me, with a business coach that I had. I always have a coach, but she coached me a few years ago and this was a very pivotal moment in my life. She said you don't have to be who you were, and that was huge, because when I closed my other salon and I opened a new one, I had to make the decision to leave that behind. Kind of reinvent who I was as a leader, as a salon owner, as a hairdresser. Kind of reinvent who I was as a leader, as a salon owner, as a hairdresser, and but we don't have to be who we were.
Kristie Leslie:People in life are always like oh, you're amazing, don't change, don't ever change, don't ever change. But that's a lot of. The point of life is to change and to grow and to learn and develop and progress. Progression is what keeps people happy and evolve, right like evolution is. Evolution is everything. And what comes along with all of those great things in life is reinventing yourself and becoming a new version of yourself. And so I think we hold on to these old versions of ourselves and in business and in life. Life, business, same same, same, same same. Um, you have to keep, you have to keep reinventing yourself and growing as a human to keep moving through those things. And you don't have to be who you were. You can grow, you can decide differently, you can change, you can leave things behind, things, people, places and um, that's what keeps us growing. So I think that, yeah, that would be my number one for sure. I love that advice.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I usually ask one thing you wish you had known. But maybe that's it. I don't know if you have something else, but it's true. Who you were, yeah, it's a big one. Or I'll say, if you're going to give your your 24 year old self advice, when you opened your salon, is there something you'd tell yourself?
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, oh, I would tell myself a lot of things. Uh, I think mostly just like just to stay humble. You have to let the ego go in life. You don't know everything. People are going to have to help you. You know, I get that a lot. I think, especially as a woman and especially as a business owner, like, oh, how do you do everything and I do not do everything? I don't. I have somebody who cleans my house, I have somebody, you know, we have a nanny starting with us next week because we, especially in this last stretch of the school year, we need some help with the kids and schedules, and I've been traveling every second week, so every second weekend. So, um, we, I don't do it all, but there's this perception that people do do it all and um, yeah, I think just like asking for help and knowing that you're going to need help along the way and just being okay with that. That's again, that's where the greatness comes from is you work with people, you collaborate, you create beautiful partnerships and that's where. That's where the great.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I couldn't agree more, and we talked at the beginning about having a passion and joy in life, and I always think I'm on the exact same wavelength as you. You can't do everything, and it's okay, just know, it's okay to have somebody that cleans your house or cuts your grass or whatever it is, does your books, but why do you want to spend the time doing the things that you don't even want to do or like doing Like? Wouldn't you rather have somebody else do that, even if you have to pay them, and you get to do the things you love? Oh, yeah, somebody else to that, even if you have to pay
Kristie Leslie:Oh yeah, and imagine if everyone worked in their zone of genius and everyone loved what they were doing. Like there's so many pieces of my business I don't even want to touch, I don't want to, like I I wish that I didn't need to know about it. I do need to know about it, but there's so much that I don't. I don't want to do it and I'm so much happier when I'm not doing it. If I'm in transition of hiring somebody new or delegate or reorganizing. You know you're always reorganizing things in business and making adjustments, but I get real grumpy if I'm doing things that I don't want to do and that.
Kristie Leslie:I'm not good at I'm not good at everything. So, yeah, just like find those people that are cause there are people that are really good at those things.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:I'm enjoying it and they're good at it and they like it. Imagine that.
Kristie Leslie:Yeah, I know.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yeah, yes, I'm with you on that boat. Get rid of the things you don't like.
Shauna Foster:Do what you you love your life is going to be so much better right?
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Yes, exactly thank you so much for being on this time has just flown. I don't know how you. We just kind of visit on here and it goes by so fast. So thank you, um, I know people are going to want to know more about your salon and more um about your new program, so where is the best place for them to find you or find more information?
Kristie Leslie:The best place is always instagram. I'm always living on Instagram, uh, and so that's where you can find me and the salon, and so either Luxe Beauty Company or Kristie@Luxe Beauty Company, and our website has all the info, but Instagram is usually the best place for everything that's up to date, because you know it takes also a person to update the website, so I'm not good at that either. It's a social media website.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:You can have one person just doing Instagram now. It's just wild, hey. So, yeah, I will tag you and the salon, both so that people can find you easy if they go to our social media. So thank you so much. This was such a great conversation and I really loved having you on.
Kristie Leslie:You're welcome, oh thank you so much for having me. It's great me also. You on, you're welcome. Oh, thank you so much for having me great and for everybody listening.
Mackenzie Kilshaw:Thank you so much and we'll see you on the next episode. Thanks for listening to winning. Be sure to subscribe to get all of our new episodes. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about on social media and leave a rating and review wherever you listen to it. To catch all of the latest from us, you can follow Winning Podcast on Instagram @winning_ podcast, Facebook @winning podcast and on Twitter @winning pod. Winning was created and is produced by me, Mackenzie Kilshaw. Music, created by Summer Firby, editing by Seth Armstrong. Special thanks to Shauna Foster for voicing our opening and, of course, a huge thank you to this episode's guest. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you on the next episode.
