Ep. 117 - From Bankruptcy to Boss: How This Hairstylist Built a 6-Figure Empire

🎧 WARNING: This ain't your typical business success story.

Meet Red - the tattooed, no-filter hairstylist who went from bankruptcy to building a $148K business by breaking every "professional" rule in the book. In this raw AF episode, she spills the messy truth about:

• Why filing bankruptcy (twice!) doesn't mean game over
• How she turned social media authenticity into cold hard cash
• The real talk about being a breadwinner while building an empire
• Why your mental health matters more than your follower count

Ready to cut through the BS and build something real? This episode is your wake-up call. No sugarcoating, just pure fire and actionable truth bombs that'll transform your hustle.

Connect with Red: 📱 Instagram: @beautybyredd 🧵 Threads: @beautybyredd 📌 Pinterest: Beautybyredd 👥 Facebook: Noelle02

New episodes drop weekly. Follow for more no-filter business truth bombs that'll light up your journey to success.

As always we ask you to comment, DM, whatever it takes to have a conversation to help you take the next step in your journey, reach out on any platform!

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DISCLOSURE: Awards and rankings by third parties are not indicative of future performance or client investment success. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investment strategies carry profit/loss potential and cannot eliminate investment risks. Information discussed may not reflect current positions/recommendations. While believed accurate, Black Mammoth does not guarantee information accuracy. This broadcast is not a solicitation for securities transactions or personalized investment advice. Tax/estate planning information is general - consult professionals for specific situations. Full disclosures at www.blackmammoth.com.

Chapters

• 0:00 "Act a damn fool" Intro
• 2:08 Red's journey from water polo star to business owner
• 5:07 The truth about toxic beauty industry
• 14:45 How social media changed everything
• 20:31 Dealing with business anxiety
• 25:42 The bankruptcy story that changed everything
• 31:15 Real talk about being the breadwinner
• 35:22 Money mindset transformation
• 39:02 Final truth bombs

Transcript

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 0:01

Just act a damn fool. I just got off with Red. We were just talking about this pre and this is our intro. She said, just act a damn fool. And that's exactly how people follow you and who we are. And guess what? No BS wealth. That's what we're about. So today we're going to act a damn fool with Red herself and go through everything that she's gone through in life to be as successful as she is. Um, and there'll be some hot takes, I guarantee it. There'll be some fun points and ultimately at the end of the day, if you don't like what we're saying, at least you get to look at her beautiful tattoos. So without further ado, Red, welcome to the show.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 0:31

Hi, I'm so excited to be here. Like I, and I love that you just started it that way. That was so epic. Um, I am so excited to be here. It's an honor. Thank you so much.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 0:41

Well, talk us through your journey. Obviously you didn't start out probably with the name red. You probably didn't start out with these tattoos and thousands of followers and everything. So start at the beginning of life. Like where are you from? How did it all start? Go from there.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 0:54

So a lot of people think I'm from the East Coast, because I am so goddamn loud. Like, I have a microphone here and I literally have to turn it down or my voice starts to echo. Um, but yeah, I'm from Sacramento, California, so everything says hella and dope. Don't come for me, that is just how it is. I grew up in a very crazy family. Dad was a cop. Mom was a server and a teacher. She was a Spanish teacher, which is really funny because Jewish mom from Brooklyn becoming a Spanish teacher. Don't know how that happened, but it totally worked in my favor. Um, I have a lot of siblings. I have three, well, three siblings, but I have 14 nieces and nephews. Um, but I have no children of my own. It's not for me. I'm a. Dog mom love my dogs. Um, and honestly, I was not supposed to be a hairdresser. That was not in my plan Um, I was actually the red hair came in the red name came from high school I actually naturally have long black curly hair, but I wore red lipstick And every water polo game I played because I thought it was good luck. We all have our good luck ways, right? So red just kind of stuck throughout high school. And I became an all American junior national junior Olympic water polo player. I was scouted by UCSB at a very Non legal time of high school. I went to their summer camps. I went to UC Davis summer camps, like all this stuff. And in my senior game, I pulled seven muscles in both rotary cuffs and my career was gone. And they basically told me you either can do surgery and be out for one year. You can do physical therapy and be out for two years. Either way, I was losing any scholarship opportunities given to me. And it was my mom who said, you know, You've always played with makeup and hair, why don't you go to hair school? And I was like, but I was supposed to be a teacher, like dad, like I was supposed to do this. And she was like, yeah, but you've always, you've taken every art class you were ever offered by the time you were a sophomore in high school. And I was like, yeah, okay, like I'll try it. And, you know, I ended up working for MAC Cosmetics right out of high school. I was with them for about 10 years. Um, I went to beauty school right out of high school, but I got into a really bad car accident. And. My mindset just wasn't there. And I ended up dropping out of school at around 900 hours. And from the age of like 18 to 24, I lived with my parents. I bartended and served and worked at Mac. I drink and did make dumb decisions. And then I woke up at 24 and I was like, what the hell am I going to do with my life? Like, it's late in the game for hairdresser. Most hairdressers started at a really young age. And so, um, I ended up going to Paul Mitchell and they transferred some of my hours in Sacramento and then. Went through another bad experience, and I ended up transferring to the Paul Mitchell School in Santa Barbara, got my license there in 2010. And pretty much for the next five years, I ran my own wedding business. I got it off the ground through the knot. Um, and I did hair, I bartended, and then in 2013, Paul Mitchell came to me and was like, Hey, We would love for you to come teach a makeup class. Like you've always been really good at makeup. And I, what I didn't know that that was like my interview to be a teacher. So I ended up teaching for Paul Mitchell for about seven years. I was, uh, I did platform work for them, moved out of Santa Barbara, ended up in Pasadena and Pasadena was. I will, I'll just put it out there. It was just wasn't for me. I lasted eight months and I moved down to San Diego. My dad got sick. My mom needed help. And Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm giving my whole life story and not taking a breath. And then it's a lot and I'm sorry, but yeah, so like from 2006 to now I've been in San Diego in that time I worked at multiple salons, I worked for another hair school and then in 2020. Like late 2020, I realized I didn't want to be a teacher anymore, which is so crazy because like growing up, that's all I ever wanted to be. But I got lucky and managed to blend the hair industry with being a teacher. So I felt like I was close to my dad. I still was like doing those things, but the new generation just wasn't as appreciative, especially since we did everything through zoom because of COVID. So I was like, you know what, I'm done. And I opened up my own business. So it technically is my birth name, which is Noelle Denny Inc. Was my, uh, was my, uh, S corporation. And I got a suite at, uh, Salon Republic. And at the time I was making around. Like 50, 000 a year being a hairdresser, and then I also had a salary for being a teacher. So when I gave up teaching, it was literally running to the wind. Because, if anybody knows, San Diego is one of the most expensive cities to live in. Um, it literally just, I think it just got named, it was the most expensive city to live in. And, um, for the first year was, It's very, very, very hard because you believe in yourself and you want to run. And like, I love watching Shark Tank and they always talk about how entrepreneurs are going to be yelled at for being no and what's your ROI and what's your customer acquisition costs and all this stuff. And I love that because like, I never really looked at business that way. And I filed bankruptcy twice in my life because of it. One of them is still on my credit to this day. I only have two years left, but it is still there. I still battle with that. And then social media took off for me. I started to showcase videos of taking someone who has really messed up hair, like from COVID from doing it at home and kind of just showcasing how to fix it. And I did it. How do I fix it at home? How do I fix it as a hairstylist? What would I do to maintain it? Like, what is the price point? Like I broke down everything and that started getting me more clientele. And so for my first year of business, where I only did 61, 000 in my second year, I did 148, it was just solely on like. Reading the room. Like that's the best way is just reading the room and everybody messed their hair up during COVID. So that's, I guess like the best way I could describe where my life kind of went in the past, like 20 years.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 6:27

Just a lot of like, just full circle shit that you're like, no, I was a teacher. I love to be a teacher. I'm supposed to be a teacher. Now I'm done. Like that's amazing. And the most empowerful part for me for that story and listening to you was you, yes, I'm sure there was naked times in your life, but you were always positive. Like, I'm just going to figure out like what fits for me, like what, what is mean, who am I? And you went through a lot of different ways to get there, right? A lot of different cities, a lot of different things. What do you, if you think back to it. And you're going through all those emotional things and you're trying to figure out who the hell you are. What was that driving point at that point of time that truly made you recognize that like, Hey, I want to go do my own business and I want to help people with their hair. Like, do you, was there a certain moment in time that that happened? Or it was kind of just like, it is what it is. And let's jump.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 7:19

Yeah, there was a moment, you know, one of the things that I will honestly say is. You're not a true educator unless you're truly willing to educate and give help where help is needed. And one of the things that I loved is I didn't make a lot of money as a teacher. You know, cosmetology school instructors, especially, I think we made like 20 bucks an hour. Like it wasn't anything to like balk at, but I loved giving my knowledge. I loved being able to help. And it took one student who, Accused me of something that was so farfetched and so off the wall and put me in a state of shock and, you know, I don't like to talk about it cause I just don't want to piss anybody off. Um, but it definitely, it was found in my favor. Like my, my owners and my bosses were like, we know you didn't do this. We have proof, you know, but at the same time, it sort of kind of blew out the flame I had. To help the next generation of stylists, even though I love to teach and I still teach to this day. I just teach licensed stylists. Now it's more along the lines of, it just took that flame away from me because I felt like I wasn't wanted or needed. And I was like, you know what? There are people out there. that are going to come to me for either my skill, my personality, or for both. And they want to be there, so I want to help them. The minute you lose that need of, not need for want, but more along the lines of like, I didn't feel like they wanted to learn from me, I felt like I was no longer in the best position for me.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 8:48

Takes a lot to recognize that though. I had a business partner that we'll just say, we don't see eye to eye either anymore. A couple of years ago. And then like it, it drained me and it just wasn't fitting who I was. And I was like, you know what? I'm just like, here, I'll pay off the debts. Here's money. Like, get me out of that situation because ultimately you just don't feel like you don't feel recognized. You don't feel wanted, needed all of those things. And then yet. You've got people communicating with you on social media or your friends, your other family. And they're just like, what the hell are you doing? Like why? Why? Right. And you take that leap. What is, what's the most difficult part of your day? today. Now, right? You're a lot of badass things ob don't know, she got a new the way I've seen is dope what does your day look l happy. You're joyful. You I have

Noelle "Red" Denney: 9:44

stresses. Oh God. Yes. Um, well, because like, like I said, I teach for a company called dream catchers, hair extensions. I travel the nation teaching licensed stylists and even some that are still in beauty school and you know, traveling is hard, you know, obviously, but like in a day to day situation, I think the hardest part is dealing with, and this is going to sound so cliche because every hairdresser that's listening to this gets it. Is when you get the clients that cancel last minute, you know, and then they like, I even, I had a girl go as far as canceling her card. So I couldn't charge her my fee. Like it's, you're basing your business on other people having their shit together. And that is the best way I can put it. Like you are literally counting on a certain amount of money a day that you have scheduled that you have mentally prepared for as well. And then you're like, Oh shit. You just no showed you didn't call like, like that is my day to day issue, you know, and what, you know, a lot of people feel that not a lot of people talk about is, are you the breadwinner in your relationship? Like I am, I literally, um, I take me and my husband, like we. But mostly everything, but, you know, anything extravagant like that is something where I come in like vacations or stuff like that. And my husband does something that he loves so, so much. And I support him in that. And he knows that what I do, I love, love so much. Um, and it's finding that right balance because I love what I do. I, I do not look at it as a job except for blow drying, blow drying sucks. I don't care. Anyone says that is the hardest part of my job, but also. It's all the stuff behind the scenes that no one talks about taxes, taxes for a hairdresser is one of the most ridiculous things that we have to deal with because we don't charge tax in what we do, you know, so I was very lucky to find a great tax person a couple of years ago and I talked to him once a year and that's it, which is fantastic. Um, and it's just. Managing all of that, you know, and then managing personalities too and understanding that you have to be a chameleon So like for me being a bartender for 10 years and dealing with drunk idiot college kids I feel like I can literally talk to anybody and hold a conversation and that is not a lot. That's not a quality That like introverts have, you almost have to be an extrovert to have that quality, but if you are going to run your own business and your business is based on other people giving you money, you have to adapt to your audience. And I think that's something that so many people forget when owning a business.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 12:13

Oh, I agree. And you just nailed two things that I talk about in literally almost every podcast episode known to man that I'm on. Um, and that is one, you need a team, right? Tax professional, mentor, mental therapy, physical therapy. It doesn't matter. You need a team around you as a business owner, specifically in the areas that you just don't want to touch. Right? Like, uh, no, I, my team and my day to day job at black mammoth is that's what we do for people, right? For those business owners. We are their team. We get all that other shit done. So you could focus on what you really want to do. And so it is so important to have a team, whatever that looks like, find some badass people on your team. So I always want to talk about that too. I always talk about the fact that as a business owner, and I'm luckily enough because I am light skinned, right? I am not black. I'm not white. Growing up. I had to be a freaking amoeba and a chameleon myself. Now, part of that's negative. It's not great growing up that way, but it has given me the skill set to like, like you said. I can talk to anyone. I was also a bouncer and ability to adjust and adapt is what's important in your business. Doesn't always mean that you have to get every client under, under the sun and you have to change who you are. But you need to be able to adapt your conversation and the things that you were doing for the benefit of them to relate to them. Because guess what? We're humans and we're very emotional and a couple words trigger us, right? And so you have to be able to, like, just meet people where they're at, ultimately.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 13:38

No, yeah. And I think that. You know, when you, when you stand out in the world, like I look like a walking cartoon character, like the best, one of my clients said, I look like anxiety from inside out too. I'll take it totally fine with it because I literally live in the world of anxiety. Um, but, and I, I'm very, I didn't believe in it for a really long time, but mental health. Was something that I thought I never I was like fine. I love everybody. Everybody loves me. I'm fine Oh, that was so far fetched. I was delusional on top of anxiety ridden I started therapy about a year and a half ago I do it every week and I talk about my my family. I talk about my relationship I talk about my clients my my business and even though sometimes we'll talk about something that I felt like was totally irrelevant for what? We did, I reflect on it and one of the things that she constantly tells me is she was like protect your peace and give yourself grace because what you're doing not a lot of people can even think of doing, you know, and so that resonated with me a lot and I never would have even thought about that without that support.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 14:45

Yeah, I agree. I also go to therapy and talk about the craziest shit that I'm like, what are we, where did, what is not why I came in here for and then ultimately, if you reflect what, for me, what it does, it allows me to slow down my brain to slow, slow somewhat down. I mean, it doesn't stop because this is how my brain works, but to slow down just a little bit to breathe in and take out what's going on. But also it makes me recognize the fact what you had said earlier of no one has a shit together. Not a single person in this earth. Has their shit together and guess what people actually don't Think you do. No one's perfect. They don't have their shit together. And so as a business owner, when you're trying to perfect things, whether it's a launch of a product, a service, or you're just trying to be that perfect version in your brain, stop, don't do it. It's not real. It's delusional. And you don't have your shit together. Let people know that just be you.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 15:38

And I also think that, you know, like I was saying earlier about how I love my job, except for blow drying, whatever, whatever, I needed to find an outlet because I think what started to happen was I was so excited about the numbers I was seeing. Like I was so excited. I was like, this is great. You know, I was doing great on socials and, but I was literally getting up, showering, going to work, coming home, watching TV, eating dinner, passing out. I love to read. I read a lot. And, um, you know, I didn't, Do anything other than those things like my husband and I would go to Disneyland like twice a month because we had annual passes We lived very close to it and that got really expensive after a while And I was like, I need like a hobby like something to balance the creativity and the psychosis of it all and I ended up Starting to me and three other women started a dark romance book convention and fantasy ball in Boston. And after our first year, when we did our ticket sales for year two, we sold out in seven minutes and broke a Vemprite and we just launched our second event for the year, the 2026 will be in new Orleans and that's where I was this weekend and I don't really have to spend a lot of money for this cause it's just helping put an event together, but it's the fact that I've made three. And we get to support other women that were embarrassed about reading a book that in public that no one would be okay with and people ask me all the time, well, red, how does that coincide with your business? And I was like, it doesn't, it doesn't coincide with my business whatsoever, except for me helping the owner that didn't even know what a. Uh, DBA was, so I helped her with that, but no, and it's, it's that outlet where if I'm overwhelmed with my clients or orders or whatever, I can sit back, listen to an audio book, get onto the socials for our event and just talk to people. And I think that's what people forget sometimes when you get into the throes of your job and like, even if you love it and you're, you're creative and you're happy and you're whatever it may be. You need an outlet, whatever it may be.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 17:40

Cause if you don't, you're going to burn out. I have

Noelle "Red" Denney: 17:42

1000 percent

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 17:43

burnouts, real people.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 17:44

Oh yeah.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 17:45

It is terrible. It's not a good spot to be in. Um, so, so don't, don't let yourself get burned out. How do you, this happens, right? Some days we'll just. I have lighter weeks, lighter days, or you go on vacation and every business owner goes through this. How do you overcome that when you don't do shit for the day, right? Like you're not doing anything for business and there's that little part of you, that anxiety, right? Comes up on your shoulder and goes, you should be working on this and this and that and this and that. And now you're like, mother, now, now you're stressing. How do you deal with.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 18:19

The best way I can relate to this question is when I go on an actual vacation, like when I go on vacation, I go every year with my husband for seven days. The first two days are so exciting. Like, Oh my God, I'm so excited. Then the third day I am literally looking at my schedule on my phone. I'm and my husband yells at me. He's like, get off your phone. This is a time for you to decompress. Um, but like even this morning, doing this podcast, like I'm, I literally am already at the salon working a halfway through a client right now, you know, and so like getting up and I was like, I didn't have to set an alarm this morning. That's nice. But then literally the hour before I got on here, I was messaging clients, confirming clients, you know, doing stuff. I think when you get into your brain that you're like, I need to be doing something, I need to be doing something. Give yourself grace. There is going to be times where you need to turn off the worksite of your brain to give yourself that health. Of just being able to live in your own space and that and some of us like to just hold our kids or take a walk or play with our dogs or play fortnight. I don't know. Like it's just being able to give yourself that space to turn off. And it doesn't have to be long. It can be an hour. It can be two hours. It can be a day even, but I know that feeling of being a business owner and worrying about your baby and making sure that it does not fail.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 19:40

And guess what? It, they don't fail in 24 hours. Possible. And honestly, think about your business. Like, is there anything in your day that is so emergent that you have to be on 25, 24, 7?

Noelle "Red" Denney: 19:53

No. And like, I get text messages from clients, not DMs people, text messages at 1 30 in the morning. Hey red, can we try this next time? I'm like, what? Why? But it's because it's because they're TOK and they see something new and they literally want to try it. And I have to be, I always call fall the ledge time of year. Let me explain. So for some odd God forsaken reason, all of my beautiful San Diego blondes. Want to go copper in the fall. I don't, I guess it's the fall leave. But I call it the ledge because I'm trying to talk them off a ledge, right? And I unfortunately have responded to said text messages at 1. 30 in the morning. Being like, girl if you go copper you won't be blonde for a year. Your hair is going to fall off. Or you're going to have to spend thousands of dollars on extensions. And literally my husband will roll over and be like, What the fuck are you doing? It's 2 in the morning. I'm like, Sarah's trying to make her hair copper, like, so I don't take my own advice sometimes, but it's just being aware that you're going to have needy people in your business. And you're going to have to just step back and be like, you will need to wait to a non ungodly hour.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 21:03

Yeah. Yeah. I'm guilty of it too. I mean, I wake up at five and I'll have conversations with my clients all the damn time at five in the morning and like why? But it's because majority of my clients are business owners. So our brains work very much similar, but still it's like, what are we, what are we doing? Like nothing we say now matters now or in seven hours, 12 hours, it doesn't matter. Like it's going to be okay. Let's, let's get to the social media part of it. Right. Because one. You have a couple of followers here. You're, you're doing all right. I

Noelle "Red" Denney: 21:34

have six.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 21:35

You just, you're doing all right. How important is social media to your industry and to you now? So then it was, let's go with a decade ago.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 21:46

Um, you know, I was one of the MySpace girlies. I had the, the, the zebra with the pink sparkles and blink 182 plane. I'm 41. I was that era. Um, but no, in all seriousness, when our industry is one of the most toxic industries out there, I don't care what anyone says. And some people may not take kindly to that, but I will. I have worked for corporate companies, small companies, I have traveled with all of them and I have found that there is not a single person that won't agree with me that our industry is toxic. And so I had to find a way to keep my little corner in the industry through socials and not get canceled. Cancel culture on social. Especially for hairdressers is kind of a weird place to live. Like, I don't know if you heard about toner gate on Tik TOK. That was a big thing. Um, Brad Mondo is one of our biggest people in their industry. Like, Oh God, Brad Mondo. And it's not a bad thing. It's just. You have to make a presence and be happy with the presence that you present. I know that's kind of a wordplay there, but for me, I was stuck at a certain amount of followers and I wasn't getting big clients. I wasn't getting, I wasn't getting that income revenue to support what I wanted to do with my business. And I mean, you talked about this a little bit where if you went to my profile, you know, three years ago. I had 7, 500 followers, but every single part of my profile was just pictures of hair. There were no videos. It was just hair, hair, hair, hair, hair. Now, for those of you that now get what I say when I'm loud, like, and I'm colorful and, you know, all these things, it was one of my friends who were like, Just be yourself, dude. Act like an idiot. And I'm like, I am an idiot. And she goes, I know. So I did one of the voiceovers over a dumb video and it blew up. So then I started posting it like once or twice a week. And all of a sudden I hit 10, 000 really quickly now between 10 followers. Two things happen, your clientele will grow because you're in that sweet spot where you're considered relevant. You are not relevant on Insta, especially unless you have 10, 000 followers. I don't know where it came from, but that's just how it is.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 23:58

First of all, I love that you called it Insta because that's, that's, that's our generation. Yeah, IG, IG.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 24:03

Yeah, no, it's Insta. Just, just get it out of your brain. It's Insta. Um, and a lot of the people that I engage with, Danielle, who I'm obsessed with. You know, we're all a different generation because we did come from the MySpace, Facebook days into Insta. And one of the things that I started to notice is the second thing that happens after your clientele starts to grow, you start getting hit up by companies. They're like, Hey, we want to send you some product. You know, could you do some content for us? And I was saying yes to everything because working at Paul Mitchell and some of you who listen to this may know this man's name. His name is Sam Burns. He was with Paul Mitchell since it begins. Like he is one of the most. Integrated amazing humans in the hair industry. And he was my mentor for many years. And he said to me, say yes to everything, because even if you fail, you can say that you tried. And I was like, okay, okay. So I did that. And then I had to learn the power of no, because what happened and it still happens to this day, and I still have to say, no, you get into what's called the PR black hole, where people send you PR for content, but they're not going to pay you. And your time is money, honey. Like if you are going to take the time to make said content, you should be paid for it, not for just a product. Now, again, if you are a baby influencer and that's how you want to do things, more power to you. It just doesn't work for me anymore. Where a lot of people get discouraged is. When you start to grow on social media, you become, and there's people that become entitled. They think, Oh, well, I have, well, I have this many followers. I should be getting this, this, and this my motto. And I learned this very quickly after starting to grow. Is understanding that it does not freaking matter how many followers you have. It does not matter. Companies actually don't care anymore. They care more about your engagement. They do not care how many followers you have. And for me, I could have five followers or 500, 000. If my books aren't full, I don't care. And it took me a long time to realize that. And. One of my friends in the hair industry, who is someone who has a lot lower following than I do says, you can say that now because your number hasn't moved. And I was like, but I've been saying this before my number budged, you know, like I could go on my phone and be like, Ooh, I have so many followers, but my bank account hasn't budged. How is that helping me? You know, like I think there's that big miscommunication there with understanding where the money lies.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 26:29

That's a generational thing. I swear. I swear. They care about engagement. Like, like is not an engagement in my opinion, nor is a follow like cool. That's cool. Bravo to you. Um, but like our generation, older generations are like, but did it make you money? Did it change your life? Did it, did it give you an experience before that's the true value? And your time, like you had said, your time is your value. That's the only thing really asset you have that you need to hold near and dear to your heart because we could be gone tomorrow. We could be gone right after this podcast. I might drop that in the podcast. What should be the crazy thing, by the way. Uh, anyways, I digress. What I'm saying is you need to know your value and you need to understand that that matters. What I loved most about your message is how, how humble you are.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 27:15

You didn't

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 27:16

do it to go grow and get, you know, Tens of thousands of followers, you did it. You're like, Hey, I'm just going to be me. I really love helping people with their hair. Cool. Win win. It's not about, Hey, I want to get to a million. Uh, I want to get to 2 million. That stuff kills me when I see it. I'm like, cool. What does that mean though? Like what, what does that, what are you doing for people? You're not, you're being fake. And so I love that you're very real and humble. I'm not

Noelle "Red" Denney: 27:41

saying that you can't make money either, you know, with your followers. Like one of my, there's, uh, one of my friends, Lydia, she's a beautiful soul. Love her to pieces. And she literally, the minute she hit 50, 000, she got taken on by Olaplex, which is a huge company. You know, I've got friends that don't even have that who got brought on to L'Oreal because of their content. There are ways to make money that way, but not every hairdresser wants that lifestyle. So you have to know if you're like. My goal this year is I'm gonna hit 10, 000. Okay. What are you gonna do with that 10, 000? Are you trying to work with companies? Are you trying to get free stuff? Are you trying to get on more podcasts? Like whatever it may be like, what is your goal with 10, 000? Like I had no goal because I didn't I just wanted to do hair and have fun while doing it and in my mind this generation right now that we have these girls between the ages of 18 and 30 Care about that number. So I wanted to grow my socials to get them in my chair, not because I wanted to gain anything from it. It was more along the lines of how can I bring myself from this tier to this tier financially and support my family? You know, like that's, I feel like you're right. I feel like that's our generation. It's that millennial, like understanding, like. I'm doing something to make the money to help support my lifestyle. It's not because it's a popularity contest. Like we're no longer in top eight people. It doesn't matter. We're not my space. No more.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 29:06

I swear. It's because it's how we were raised. Our anxiety levels and shit we went through is totally different. It's totally different.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 29:12

I'm like, you'll never understand unless you do MapQuest and print out your directions. You'll never get it.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 29:19

Yeah. You need to get, you need to draw your, you need to draw it out. That's what you need to do. And wait until you miss that turn.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 29:25

I think the funniest thing is when I asked my client's kid, I was like, can you show me the hand motion for phone? Cause like when I say, show me a phone, we do this, right? They were like this.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 29:35

Oh, no, no

Noelle "Red" Denney: 29:36

joke, dude. Hand up to the ear. That was, yeah, it was the funniest thing in the world.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 29:43

We'll try

Noelle "Red" Denney: 29:43

it

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 29:44

because that's ridiculous. Um, geez. All right. So we're getting into the questions where I always ask, okay. I want you to answer this one. What was the first money memory you had? In life.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 29:56

What do you mean by that? Can you be a little bit more specific? I'm so sorry, No,

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 30:00

just what is the first thing you remember about money? What is that? The first thing I

Noelle "Red" Denney: 30:03

remember about money, that's actually really easy now that I think about it. Both my parents worked two jobs growing up, you know, and I will never forget the day. I was 15 years old, you know, and I knew about money here and there, but like, my parents didn't teach me about credit. Like, I didn't know what that was. But the first money memory I had was my dad came home and said, your, your grandpa's passed away. We have to go down to Santa Barbara. Um, and I was like, okay. So we all went down there and this guy who I'd never met before, but my dad knew was like, so you're going to get 120, 000 when you turn 18. And I was like, why, because that's your inheritance. I was like, for what? Like, cause I was 15. I was a dick. Like, I don't know. And at 18 years old, I got that money. And you want to know what I, I bought a 3. 0 Acura CL, lowered it, blacked out the windows, got a bow system. I got 20 inch rims. And I literally, that money was gone in three months. Because no one taught me about wealth. I filed bankruptcy at 19 years old. Because my mail was filled with credit cards and I got them all and I went on a shopping spree. The one thing I will say that I've learned, and like I said, I filed bankruptcy a second time in my life when I moved to San Diego, is bankruptcy can be a horrible thing. It's a horrible thing. No one should have to go through it. I feel horrible for everyone that does because I know the feeling. But teach everyone you can. If you are good with credit, if you are good with money, teach the younger generation. Because that is something I wish was part of our curriculum. Because that moment when I was told I was getting that money, I felt like the richest person in the world. You know, and nowadays that's nothing. And it's crazy that I can, that I can say that. Crazy

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 31:45

to think the 120k is nothing, but it

Noelle "Red" Denney: 31:47

is. It is nothing. Like there are the fact that you used to flex, man. When we were in our twenties and people were like, I make six figures. Like you're a millionaire. You know, nowadays. If you're not making high six figures, especially in major cities like LA, New York, San Diego, you know, you're not going to really be able to survive, which is crazy to think about.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 32:09

It is. How do you think that, that money memory has now gotten into your life now? How has it integrated? Has it changed you? How like think through that memory and where you're at today. And how much of your day to day now with money still is reflected from that, that memory?

Noelle "Red" Denney: 32:27

Um, I always reference back to that memory because that memory is linked with my very first bankruptcy. And, you know, coming back from a bankruptcy is one of the hardest things in the world. And I have come back. I have like a high 700 credit score. You know, I just got a new house, new car, you know, I'm doing really well. But every time like I have a very slow week this week, right? Like, so I'm used to making a very certain amount of money. I'm making a quarter of that this week. It's just a slow week for me, for the hair industry. And. But when that one client comes in and that one client pays 350 for their hair, I'm like, at least I made that. And so that's going to go into my bank account. I'm not going to touch that. I don't have excess funds this week because I tell myself every goddamn day, do not fall back into old habits. My mom was a shopaholic. My parents filed bankruptcy three times because my mom would hide credit cards from my dad and that my mom would always say, just hide it. You can pay it off later. And that was something. Unfortunately, the therapy has helped. I sometimes just want to buy whatever I want to buy, and I cannot do that anymore. And not just because of my family, but it's also because I run my own business. If I fail, my business fails. And the one promise I made to myself, I will never work for another human being. This will be my business for the rest of my life. I will make the good and the bad decisions, but I will learn from it. And that is why that money memory is so important to me.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 33:48

Yours is going to be powerful. Yours is, this, this is, this is going to be a good one. I can, I can promise you that because, and it's something that I talk about in my practice all the time. Money is money. Okay, most of my conversations I have with everyone has nothing to do with actual dollars 1 because you can always make more, but 2 really doesn't matter at the end of the day. If you don't figure out. You know, your star player and where that trauma and stuff comes from. We all have a money trauma conversation, right? Obviously, you know, yours, cause it's, it's your first one, right? And it's going to be locked in forever. And we, we all have them. And it does reflect on how you operate with money today and your relationship with it. Some go positively, right? Like yours. Some go negatively and then they end up doing it again and again and again. A lot of people, and I use this analogy too, it's kind of like being addicted to drugs or alcohol. There's no difference. Money is the same thing. The money is the root of that. The problem is, is because we used to put money on a pedestal, right? We used to say, Hey, I got to work everything I can for this, and if I have it, I'm going to spend it. That's it when realistically it should be flipped you want money to go to work for you So you can have the experiences of life that you want not necessarily because that's what society told you or back then are my spice My you know Joe over there got new new J's. So guess what? I gotta get new J's like, you know what? I mean, yeah, allow yourself to dip into that. So I appreciate you telling that story.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 35:13

Of course I think I think it's important to just reiterate that like Money comes and goes so quickly. And like, that's one thing that was my like resolution this year. I have no investments or 401k. I just have a savings account. And so like I told myself, like, I'm going to be smart this year and get someone to help me with that. Um, I wish I would've done it sooner, obviously being 41, I'm kind of a dumb dumb, but put your money to work for you is such a, such a loud message. I wish would be louder, you know, because what I. I don't know. That just really resonated with me because that's something that I've been trying to do for the past couple years. I just keep putting it on my back burner, but I'm like that 300 I made on one client. I could throw that into something and that could be like 5, 000 in five years and wouldn't even knew it happened. Like I think that's just so important. I just wanted to like highlight that because as hairdressers, we don't think about that.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 36:07

We just

Noelle "Red" Denney: 36:07

don't,

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 36:09

you don't, I've worked with a few. You don't

Noelle "Red" Denney: 36:11

never put

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 36:12

anything away. And that, and let me back up to what I mean, put things away. There's different places for it, right? There's one investment that most people forget about and you're doing it already. So it'll be interesting to see your, your reaction to this. The most important investment that anyone can make is in themselves from a mental.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 36:29

Yeah, I didn't believe in therapy for so long. Like my therapist is in my phone is actually at Dululu. She's my favorite. She's from Canada. So every time we talk, she always says about at least once to make me happy. Um, and she's my age and she drops F bombs. She's amazing, but her little one liners and the, the little quips. That is her experience in the psychiatry world, but her personal life experiences and her hearing and truly listening to me and then just putting five words into a sentence, it changes my whole perspective and that's why I think people are just so one sided thinking of how all therapy is. And I'm like, I interviewed seven therapists before I landed on her, you know, like interview them, find someone that works with you. I just, I love therapy so much. I'm a big fan.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 37:17

No, you're right. That's what I mean. That's the first most important investment. So you're already doing it. So don't think you're not putting something away because you are. Then, yes, we can go 401ks and all that. But as business owners, there's so many tools that we can use. So don't think that you're behind because there's no such thing as being behind when you're on your own journey.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 37:32

Yeah.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 37:34

If there's a goal, like, like me and my wife, we want to end up living in Hawaii, we might want to start putting money away. That's funny

Noelle "Red" Denney: 37:43

you said that, because that's where me and my husband vacation every year. Oh, so that's

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 37:46

where we go. Where do you go?

Noelle "Red" Denney: 37:48

Uh, so we stay at the Marriott in Ko'olena and O'ahu, because we love the resort life only for one reason and one reason only. You don't have to leave.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 37:56

That's fair. It's

Noelle "Red" Denney: 37:57

fantastic.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 37:58

That's fair.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 37:59

Don't have to leave.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 37:59

Ours is Kauai. We go to Poipu. Oh

Noelle "Red" Denney: 38:02

yeah! I've never been to Kauai. I really want to go. But like, we always just go to Oahu because we know how to get to everywhere.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 38:07

That's fair. That's valid. Our tattoo artists are in Kauai. That's the only place I go to get my tattoos. So we go back, one, to get tattoos, and two, um, in Poipu, every night, the turtles at about 6. 30 p. m. come from the ocean and go and sleep on the beach. So you can watch turtles come in every night.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 38:23

That's one thing you will not see in Oahu. Wahoo doesn't have a lot of turtles. So when we went to Maui one year My friend who took us to the Airbnb, she's like, I've got something to show you. It's a five minute walk. And I was like, all right, cool. We walked down, walking down to the beach and she's like, look to your right. And I just went like this. And there were 30 turtles just on the beach. I was like, I can't touch them. Right. She's like, no, I was like, but I can stare. And so I just stared,

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 38:47

I want to talk so bad when we digress, but as we end up at every episode, we end this with this question. What is one piece of advice item, whatever you can give to our listeners that will help them take that first next step on their journey.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 39:02

I've already said it, but I live by it is, you know, protect your peace and give yourself grace. You know, have a goal in mind, no matter what it is. And if social media is your goal, what is your goal with that, said social media? Remember that it's your business that is meant to support your life and your family's life. So whatever that looks like for you, just fucking do it. Just do it.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 39:25

Don't, and we're not going to steal it from Nike and say, just do it. We're gonna say, just fucking do it. Yeah,

Noelle "Red" Denney: 39:28

exactly. Cause I drop F bombs. You don't

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 39:31

want to be in trouble with that. I like that. Um, but seriously, everyone just, just go out there, reach out to us. I say this at the end of every episode too, is a simple fact. We don't care about, I don't care about the algorithm. I really don't, but you liking, sharing, commenting allows us to change our content, allows us to bring you more resources, but ultimately if you really need help. And we're the ones for you. You got to reach out to us. Cause I don't know your phone number. I don't know your DMS. I can't get in there. So why don't you come to us so we can have that conversation and, and read. I appreciate the hell out of this. Uh, we're going to have to have you back on. Uh, we'll probably have to get you get on the let's get real and let's just get at something. A

Noelle "Red" Denney: 40:08

thousand percent. Cause I think we can

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 40:11

get off, you know, unhinged real quick. And I do appreciate you. So thank you.

Noelle "Red" Denney: 40:16

No, thank you. This was great. And I, I don't know who this will reach. I don't know my story, what if it'll affect anyone, but I am always constantly answering DMS. So please, if you have any questions, please DM me. I know he's going to drop all my info. I'm not worried about it, but if my business story can help anyone, I'd be more than happy to be there for you.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 40:35

Thank you. Recognition by unaffiliated

Black Mammoth: 40:42

third parties or publications are in no way above the advisors future performance or any individual client's investment success. No award ranking or recognition should be construed as a current or past endorsement of black mammoth. Information regarding specific awards, rankings, or recognitions is available on the Black Mammoth website, www.black mammoth.com. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Investment strategies such as asset allocation, diversification, or rebalancing do not assure or guarantee better performance and cannot eliminate the risk of investment losses. There are no guarantees that a portfolio employing these or any other strategy will outperform a portfolio that does not engage in such strategies. This broadcast should not be construed by any client or prospective client as a solicitation to affect or attempt to affect transactions and securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice due to various factors including changing market conditions. The information discussed in this broadcast may no longer be reflective of current positions or recommendations. While information presented is believed to be factual and up to date, Black Mammoth do not guarantee its accuracy, and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. The tax and the state planning information discussed is general in nature and is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Listeners should consult an attorney or tax professional regarding their specific legal or tax situation. Past performance is not indicative of future results.