The Real Secrets to Scaling a Team & Launching a Product | Evelyn Kershaw | Captivate the Mic

Chasing a passion isn't always smooth sailing, especially when you're managing teams, scaling a physical salon business, and navigating unexpected industry crises.

In this episode of Captivate the Mic, I sit down with the fabulous Evelyn Kershaw—a powerhouse salon owner, entrepreneur, and product creator—to uncover the real, unvarnished truth about leadership, resilience, and business growth. From dealing with team walkouts to sourcing natural ingredients directly from long-time friends for her upcoming product line, Evelyn drops pure wisdom on what it takes to stay grounded and keep building when the going gets tough.

Key Takeaways:

• How to navigate sudden staff walkouts without burning down your business or losing your core values.
• The reality of launching a physical product line and sourcing authentic, farm-fresh ingredients.
• Why staying in your lane and serving your core clientele is the key to sustainable expansion.
• Lessons in resilience learned from navigating pandemic closures and tenant management.

About Our Guest: Evelyn Kershaw is a seasoned salon owner, entrepreneur, and product creator known for her expertise in hair care, business leadership, and authentic storytelling.

Connect with Evelyn:

• Website: https://www.evelynkershawsalon.com/
• Email: info@evelynkershawsalon.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvelynKershawSalon
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evelynkershawsalon/

Connect with your Host, Elaine Williams:
Check out Captivate the Mic Podcast on Elaine's YouTube Channel
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Want to schedule a free chat with Elaine? Click here to book a zoom date!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Hi everybody, this is Activate the Mic with Elaine Williams, and I have a tweet. This woman is so powerful and beautiful and lovely, and I know her from our Danes community. Please help me welcome Evelyn Kirschhaff. Evelyn! I'm super excited to be here. I'm so excited to for those of you listening or watching, we have been trying to do this for like forever. And you know, it's just two very busy entrepreneurial women. So I have goosebumps. I'm so excited. You've you've always been so beautiful and kind, and you've been so generous with your products. I'm always like, oh, Evelyn brought something. Let me, I can't wait to try it, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Well, good, good. I'm glad that excites you and and it um fills you up in one way or another.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

Yes. And I I you know, I've always been friends with people who own salons, and I think that's such a unique and cool and challenging business niche, right? And you know, so we're gonna uh if you're just listening, Evelyn has gorgeous curly hair, and mine is just as curly when I wear it down, and in the summertimes I'm just like it's going up to a messy bun, I cannot deal with it. But um, I wanted to tell her, so I, you know, I was in New York City doing commercials and stand-up and running around auditioning, and I booked this commercial and I flew down to Wilmington, Delaware, and I'm excited and I'm nervous, and I get off the plane, and the producer, he was like this huge Italian guy, he walks up to me, he doesn't say nice to meet you, he goes, I'm worried about your hair and you look too young. Like that was it. I was like, and thank God for my comedy chops because I said, Oh, honey, you just tomorrow morning I'm gonna look 20 years older in the morning, and don't worry about my hair. Like I made some funny comment, but I feel like, first of all, how rude, right? And we did the commercial and my hair was fine, everybody. Um, but it just makes me laugh because curly hair can be such a challenge, right? Uh growing up, I couldn't have the Fara Faucet wings. I have some horrible-looking pictures. My stepmother was always trying to get me to practically shave my head. She hated the unruliness of my curls. Um, do you have a curly hair story you could share with us, Evelyn?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

I don't know that I have a specific story, but it definitely brought some things to mind. Um, one, I find it very fascinating how curly hair tends to make you a little more approachable. I don't know if you've noticed that.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

You know, I um I was on a mother-son-in-law, uh, mother-in-law son-in-law date with my son-in-law one time, and we were walking through this place, and I don't know how many people stopped me to take their picture. You know, like a group picture. Right. And he's like, you know, he starts to get kind of a little annoyed because we're like, we have our little thing we're doing. And um, and I'm like, it's the curly hair. He's like, what do you mean? I'm like, there's just something about when I wear my hair curly, people just think you're just kind of nice and you're just a little more approachable and will always stop me to ask to take their picture or whatever. Straight hair gives a whole different, you know, different vibe. Vibe. It's so interesting. So I find it interesting that he felt even you know comfortable enough to say something to you about your curly hair.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

And it's so true. Like I had a spin teacher who had crazy curls, and she would blow out her hair because she said in the business world, people respected her more. She was in a male-dominated field. And I know um my sister blows her hair out, and I used to do it a lot. Um, but as I've gotten older, I just I don't want to take the time. It's it's fun to do every once in a while. Yeah, it's so interesting. So, Evelyn, I know that you own a hair salon and that you're launching some products. Can you tell us about your entrepreneurial journey? How did you end up being a salon owner?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Well, um, you know, it's just a very, you know, humble kind of organic process, really. Um, my mother was a hairdresser, so I grew up in a salon and um remember being picked up from school, and actually sometimes the receptionist would pick me up from school and sitting in the break room doing my homework while mom was working on her clients. So definitely a fond, you know, memory of my childhood. And um, although when I got into high school, I thought I wanted to be a marine biologist, so very different um direction I took, obviously. I think in hindsight, I just wanted to play with dolphins. It had nothing to do with marine life, really. I like sea world. I like SeaWorld, right? I like the entertaining part of it, right? You know, very cool. But I I also loved fashion. I loved clothes. Went to the mall. There was a store in the mall that I, you know, I don't know if you remember layaway back in the day, right? So the idea of layaway for you know, a kid in high school that wants really nice clothes. So um I took advantage of that and put, I don't know, $1,500 worth of clothes on layaway at a store at the mall. My mom was furious. So she made me um come work for her so that I could pay for the clothes. And um, that was all she wrote. I was making more money in one day a week on a Saturday assisting her and the salon owner, helping them shampoo and sweep and all the things, you know. And um, I would get tips from the clients and they would pay me for helping them. And so, yeah, I made more money than my friends did working all week at McDonald's or wherever it is they wanted to work. And um, I liked that.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Yeah, you were like, sign me up. That sounds fun to me.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Yeah, absolutely. So that's where it started, and then the high schools offered a vocational program, you know, where you could get your license while you were in high school. Love that idea because I was not a great student, did not like being in school. Right, and so the I yeah, to be able to spend three hours of the day doing what I want to do was very attractive. So I graduated from high school with my diploma and my license. So I started started doing hair. Well, if you don't include my mom, with let's just say professionally with a license in '88.

unknown 7:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

So I've been in the industry a long time and went to work for a local chain, started cutting hair for eight dollars a haircut. I got a lot of experience really quick, you know. We were a walk-in type place, and you walked in here and you were doing a haircut every 15-20 minutes. Wow. So yeah, you do a lot of like trial by fire kind of thing, you know.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Have you ever been have you ever done like a horrible haircut and you were like, oh no. Oh yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

In fact, you know, of course, early in your career when you're first starting, of course it's gonna happen, right? It's kind of expected. But this was a little bit later. I mean, I was by then married and had some kids, and we were actually at McDonald's right by the salon, and I was looking at the person in front of me, and um, it's a texture hair that's very straight, very wiry. And I looked at my my husband at the time and I said, Look at his hair. His haircut's not very good. And he's like, Yeah, it's not very good. I'm like, I think I did that. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was terrible. It was uh yeah, that's terrible. Um, but you know, you gotta be able to look at that. You gotta I I thank God, you know, that I for some reason had that in me, that I could look at my work and be objective, judge it, and not kill, you know, not be upset, judge myself on it, right? And go, oh, I I want that to look better. Um I did a lot and saw in my mom's salon a lot of hairdressers um kind of winging it, you know, you kind of fake it till you make it for a long time. And um I did that probably the first 10 years of my career. Um gravely, I started managing pretty quickly. Uh I was 19 years old and started managing my for uh the chain that I worked for, one of their salons. And I had a girl come in to teach us product on product, and I just there was something about her that was so dynamic, and I just loved everything she had to say. I learned so much, and it it just did something to me. And I'm like, that's I want that. I want to be able to teach people like that, I want to be able to train like that. Like, she's answered so many questions I didn't even know I had, you know, right questions for. And so that kind of started this like whole idea of like, how can I how can I be better? How can I learn from people so that I'm not guessing um on how to do hair? And um went to work for uh Paul Mitchell as an associate for them in the 90s and got a lot of training with them, which was really great, and um uh was managing the salons, you know, struggling, not making enough money. And at one point my mom looked at me because she always was the independent contractor, she never wanted to own a salon, but she just looked at me one day and she handed me some money and she's like, Go be on your own. You know, you're doing a lot. You know, she saw something in me and she just she's like, Go go do it yourself. And back then it's when all the suites, multi-suites were first opening up, and you could rent your own space, and and so I took the leap of faith, you know, with her encouragement and said, Okay, I'm I'm gonna do it. And that first two weeks was pretty good, and then for six weeks I didn't see a whole lot of people. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I just every client. Yeah, every client that's gonna follow me, right? At that point. And so, you know, from there I just kind of built and built and built. I continued to just grow and learn, you know, I was exposed to uh through Paul Mitchell, exposed to personal development and the importance of that, and um I just I just took it and ran with it, you know, and it just grew. It grew my business. I went from one little suite to two to three to eventually even hiring my own esthetician. And so I was in this multi-suite salon, I was like a salon within a salon, and it just didn't make sense anymore. It's like I need to open my own storefront. And I started hiring assistants and then found this love for hiring them. Um it Plano went through a time that um a lot of it was a lot of IT EDS, you know, a lot of IT stuff going on, and they had a lot of layoff layoffs. We went through some hard economic times, and there were some of my clients that um both husband and wife were at a job. Oh wow. And so at that, I was thank god growing, and then I had hired an assistant, and so I just kind of came up with this thought hey, I need to train her to be able to do hair. You know, I can I will if you're okay with her doing it for you, I'll even do it for free a few times to train her. And then it um and and they totally agreed. They were being because they had to keep their hair looking good to be able to get a new job, right? Yeah. Interviews and things like that. So it was a beautiful relationship. And then like people at the church I was a part of, they started sending people to me. So it got to where like they kind of had to be referred so that you know, because we were small and we couldn't do all haircuts for free, but we, you know, we were they would send people that were really in need, you know. We kind of filtered it through that, and then from there it just grew into eventually an apprentice program that had lower pricing. Um, and then people could come. I mean, it was really pretty dirt cheap for people, and they could take advantage of that. My we could train our staff on them. From there, it developed into a whole um level system that we have at the salon where depending on how much experience the uh stylist has, depends on how much you pay for the service, right? Okay, so yeah, I love it. Natural growth.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

I love it that it was just kind of this the the next right thing. You know, I I dated a hairdresser in the 90s and um I got to do hair shows for Paul Mitchell, and the the number two lady, she was like this short blonde lady, she would do like Tai Chi before she was going on the stage. And one time they had my hair in this huge turban, like they would make it crazy because I have I do have a lot of hair, like if it, you know, anyway, which is fun. I would get free product, so I loved it. I did it and now it's an office.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

How fun is that? What are the chances that I'm maybe I saw you? I know we would help with this because we're at the same horse. It sounds like it was Gene Bra that was doing it. Gene, yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Yeah, she was so cool. She was so cool. I love it, Evelyn. And what, you know, how did you learn how to manage people? Like that to me is so hard.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

Well, again, you know, I I do everything the hard way. Trial and error.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Me too, sister.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

Let's just do it. Let's just do it. We'll figure out as we do it, which uh exactly, exactly. And you know, it's it's uh you have to really love people. You know, um being an entrepreneur, that's what it's really ultimately all about is is it's not so much about the money. It's about loving people, working with people, building them, building relationships. Um that to me, relationship has the the highest return on investment, right? And um, but the tough part is finding the right people and the people that that align with how you think and you know see the bigger picture and um so yeah, that that's the that's the struggle. That's the hardest part, at least in when you have a industry a business that relies on mostly people for it to keep going. You you've got to learn how to to love them where they are and find gentle ways to train them up. And um I mean there was a time I played too much the role of mom, right, you know, and then um tried to back away from that and got to a point where I even kind of resented because nobody appreciated or felt like nobody was appreciating the things that were being done. And um then I got to a point where I kind of resented that I had to be their moms, you know, because you kind of hear I start learning and trying to figure out okay, where am I going wrong in this? Um this shouldn't be this hard, you know, all those things you can tell yourself, and um and you'd hear corporations, you know, they they hire people already ready, you know, they don't do a whole lot of training and they don't they want if you're gonna get paid this amount of money, you should already know what you're doing, so to speak. So I kind of went through this phase of like, okay, maybe I need to think a little more that way, you know, like quit hiring people right out of school or quit, you know, or have a combination of both. It's where it kind of ended up for a minute. And then you come to find out, like, okay, I have to get over that. Right. You know, I have to get over that thinking. It can't be that way either, because really truly what I loved and were, you know, what put a smile on my face when I was doing it. What made all the headache, you know. I went because I've been doing this. We opened the my own retail store in 2004 is when we opened um my storefront. And um to make it all worth it, all you know, paying the bills and you know, wondering how you're gonna make payroll and you know, all the things that we can go through, especially when you first open, to make what made it all worth it was seeing the aha moments these girls had. Right. You know, when we were when we were teaching and training and knowing that they didn't have to do all the trial and error I had to do in the beginning, that I was helping them advance in their career quicker than I was doing it. And um, and I just love that. And I wish that for myself. I wish someone had done that for me. It was the the few people that did, or the places I positioned myself so I could get it, you know. I felt like I had to like almost steal it, you know, like take it from people, you know, so that I could learn. And and it wasn't my nature. Um, I wanted to be able to offer it to people, and in those moments, that's what makes it worth it for me, is mentoring those girls and seeing those aha moments. And part of that requires, you know, kind of life coaching. You know, I ended up getting a life coaching certification um over COVID with everything going on for myself, um, ended up getting a spiritual direction um certification. And um, yeah, I just had to own that that's that was my purpose, right? Is to to be a light in some really dark times, you know, with for finances is a hard thing for people. Yeah, you know, and there's some of it that's out of our control, and so together is how we all win.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Right. Oh, what a beautiful lesson. Did you have to close your salon or do very limited during COVID?

SPEAKER_00 19:25

We closed for six weeks. I was um we're in Collin County, so Collin County did a six-week kind of shutdown of all of business. Um, yeah, that was that was a very interesting time. You learn a lot about yourself and about others.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Oh my gosh. Yeah. It was so hard. Like I was I, you know, I have a a multifamily house in New Jersey and I wasn't sure what was gonna happen with my tenants, right? Because and it was I was terrified, so I was taking any extra work in addition to my coaching because I had this huge mortgage payment. And so I was caregiving for this woman. We had become unlikely friends, but she was 87, and so you know, her daughter was like, You can't go to the gym, you cannot go to yoga, like you have to, you know, we don't want you bring bringing anything home to her. And I was like, You're absolutely right. But for me, not being able to go to the gym or yoga was so hard. Like I worked out on my own, but I just love people and the yoga studio, you know. So that was a really tough thing to endure. And and I did it, and she made it. You know, sh she unfortunately passed away from some other things, but it wasn't from me bringing COVID to her. But yeah, that was such a hard time, but also inspiring too. It's seeing people helping each other out, and there's a lot of stuff in the online world, lots of coaches were donating time and programs, and so I I lived on Zoom because that was like my connection, you know.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

So yeah, yeah, so much positive came from it, you know. I I mean, not to not to not recognize the tragedies that came from it because they're different ones, but I I know in in my world, my life, it gave me a moment of reflection. I was really pissed for the first couple weeks. I was mad. I'm like, I'm constantly struggling to keep this business afloat, you know. And um, you know, just I asked a lot of questions why that's what I ended up hiring my own spiritual director rather than a coach. I had been in a like a mastermind group where we got a lot of coaching, but now it was it was deeper than just what was happening in this world, right? And so um, yeah, it was it was um a tough pill to swallow, you know, and and just before COVID happened, I had had a walkout on a bunch of stylists. Um everything kind of blew up in my face.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

And uh yeah, happens to a lot of salon owners. Um, it's it's a nightmare. What does that mean? What does that mean? A walkout. A walkout. Well, you kind of have one person, you know. I don't know if you've ever met some people who they can't just leave. They kind of have to like destroy everything on the way out so they can't come back, or you know, I don't know. There's a part of me that feels like they have to burn it. Feel like well, they you know, it's like if if it doesn't go well for them once they're gone, it can't be it's not their fault, it's it's my fault. Right? Like it's how it felt. I'm not saying that's how it is, but it's kind of how it feels. I mean, to the point where um I was actually asked to be be part of a a book of a bunch of authors, that and every author got to uh write a chapter in the book. And um, so I wrote one of the chapters, and I actually wrote it, it was around the time this had all happened, and I and I wrote it um uh to really kind of work out everything that was happening happening, you know. I if you'd have told me 15 years ago I'd be a published author someday, I would have thought, uh-uh, I'm not a writer, I don't know those things. But I think what freed me for one is I was in this place of surrender that um whatever God threw my way, I was just gonna try it, you know, quit resisting things, you know. And so I was asked to do this. I'm like, okay, I if this is what I'm supposed to do, I'll do. And so I thought, what am I gonna write on? And I I had read uh read a book by David Brooks, um Second Mountain. I think it was in that book. Oh, I hope I'm not mistaken, but that's what's coming to mind. Um, that said that authors were basically people just writing out their stuff on paper, you know, like, and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go with that. I'm just gonna write what I'm going through right now, you know. And it's funny, it took me probably a year before I ever read my own chapter out of the book once in a year. It's hard to do that, yes. Yeah. And then when I read it, I was like, oh. I see what you were doing. You were revealing my pride. And I would have never thought I was a prideful person. You know, I thought to me, pride was being egotistical, and you can't be humble, and you only see things, right? And I didn't think I was any of those things, but that goes so much deeper than you realize. Like, oh, you know, so I don't even know if the chapter means anything to anybody else who reads it, but I know what it means to me, right? It's like pride, that's something that we have to really understand on a deep level. And when you're in business, you you've got to let that go.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Right?

SPEAKER_00 24:38

You have to let that go. If you are not evolving and changing and recognizing the things where you're holding on to that you should not be holding on to, you know, and so yeah, um, that walkout was a huge lesson. I mean, typically any problems we're going through as entrepreneurs are usually a lesson for the leadership. Right?

SPEAKER_01 25:00

I'm like, can we slow down? Do the lessons have to have so many zeros behind them? No, no, but I I a part of me is like, Evelyn, I bet that's it's a because I don't know for me, you know, I've had successful businesses, I've been a performer, I've gotten to tour nationally and I'm award-winning, you know, I'm I'm I've had some cool stuff happen. And I never feel like I've ever been on top of the mountain. I always feel like I'm still climbing, I'm still climbing. Or like, oh, that's a summit. No, it's a false summit, Elaine. And so for me, when other entrepreneurs are vulnerable and they are talking about like the bad times, I so relate to that because you know, I've never but I I've had tenants go rogue on me. I had tenants try to get all the other tenants to band together against me. And luckily, some of the there was always just like one instigator. And and but I had to learn painfully, like I cannot be friends with my tenants. And some people, you could bend over backwards, you can fix every single thing for them, and they will still just keep demanding more, and they will never be happy. And that was that was hard. I was like, But don't you love me? Like, I'm the landlord, I fix everything. But you know, I've I've really learned some painful lessons, and that there are some people who are entitled or or whatever, and unfortunately, there's alcoholic people, you know. I had this couple when they first moved in, I thought, oh, they must have had a party because there were like three huge, you know, recycling bins of cans and bottles of liquor and beer and stuff. And then the next week I was like, oh, they had another party. And then I realized, no, no, no, that's how much they drink every week. I mean, it was it was stunning. So obviously there's some issues later on down the line with that one, but you know, I I know there were important lessons of me separating. Like I'm doing my job as a landlord and I'm not a mother, I'm not uh an a resident assistant, I'm not the camp counselor, you know, because I had to really, you know, f learn those lessons. They were painful, but you know, they're steered into my soul. Sounds like that walkout would be too.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

And yeah, yeah, and I I've had a little taste of what you're talking about as well. Because when I first opened the business, I thought, you know, you'd see the struggles of commissioned salons where, you know, the salon owners will train the stylists or whatever, they're there for a year or two, you know, stylists don't really recognize how much time, money, and effort they cost us those first year, couple years, right? And um they they just leave, they go rent a station, they go whatever, you know. Um, and it's so frustrating. So in my mind, I thought, okay, I can solve that problem. I'm gonna open up a hybrid salon. So I had part of it that was commission, part of it that was tenant, right, you know, renting from me. And so um, yeah, what I didn't realize is that I was gonna train them up so quickly that they would want to rent so quickly that I never got returned on my investment. You cannibalize your own stuff, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And then what they were paying me in rent didn't cover what the salon's expenses were. I wasn't quite big enough, you know. There's that problem between being, you know, you want to kind of start small so you're not over you know taking on too much, but then you can't start so small that you don't have any room, you know, it just doesn't pay for itself. Anyway, so yeah, that was a hard lesson to learn too. And so eventually I just said, you know what? Oh, and I also had a small area. So essentially I was trying to open four businesses, and I didn't recognize I was trying to open four businesses at the same time, right?

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Wow, I thought I was a high achiever.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

Well, don't be impressed because it was just ignorance on my part. You know, I had the retail area, right? You know, I had it was all under one roof, so it seemed like one business. Right. It was actually you you've got the retail area, I had the commission area, which essentially had a, you know, it's had an apprenticeship program. Within that, there was a lot that had to be built, a lot of systems that had to be built there. Then um, I had the the tenants, you know, so now I'm a landlord to them. And then I had the spa area, which the spa world is a completely different world, you know. The way they want to work, I want them to be like hairdressers, just be there so when clients are needing you, you're available, and they just want you to call them when you have somebody for them, right? Right. And so, so eventually I thought, you know what? I gotta stick, I gotta know what I love and I gotta stick with what I know. Stick in your lane, yeah. Yep, yeah. And so it was like, I know hair. That is where I really thrive. I know hair. That's what I'm teaching these girls. I know hair, and I love to mentor, teach, and you know, raise these girls up for their girls and guys, raise them up for um their career, you know, not just a job to actually build a career. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Yeah, that's a lot of hard lessons to learn. I love it. It's so great. Uh so many great things. Thank you so much, Evelyn. And now I know that you're also bringing a product to market.

unknown 30:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

Is that scary? Exciting?

SPEAKER_00 30:44

It's exciting. Um, yeah, I haven't felt scared at all. Um it's it's very exciting. It I guess if I do feel uh any kind of way, a little anxiety or fear from it, it's just okay, how do we, you know, juggle all of it? Right. You know, but I'm in this place that's so beautiful that I have lots of connections. You know, we're talking about relationships earlier. Um, I'm really starting to get that return on investments from relationships, just being kind to people, you know, like um, so I've we're I I'm partnering up with a girlfriend of mine, um, which is super exciting. Uh if it's one of those things too, if you'd have told me years ago I'd have a partner, I'd thought you were crazy. You'd be like, no way. Yeah, you see what happens with partnerships, right? All the time. Again, you know, I think we've checked all the great boxes of for one, we've known each other for 30 years, friends, and she's been my client. Um, we've seen our kids grow up together. Uh, our values really align, and I think that's huge, you know. Um, and they're very hard workers, they're in the farming industry. Um, nobody works harder than our farmers.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

And man, that's a whole that's a whole podcast in itself, right? Like talking about what they do and and they're not appreciated. I mean, they feed us, yes, they feed us, yeah. And so, um, yeah, so it's very I feel very honored and privileged to get to partner with them and um hopefully give back to our farming communities, especially here in Texas. Um, and then uh so we we just thought it just kind of made sense, you know. We're both girly, we've both raised a lot of sons. We each have one daughter. Um she likes the idea of getting to do something a little girly, and um, I love the idea of being able to participate in that um and bringing my side of it, the you know, 36 years of of doing this, and um with their 40 years of being in the farming industry, and so we're combining that and hopefully designing a really cool cosmetic line. We're gonna be we're starting with a curly haired line. Okay. Um for sure. Yeah! Woo! Yes, we're starting with the curly haired line. Um, there's a lot of great products out there, but they're still not great enough for me, especially my type of curly hair. Um, so uh what is your type of curly hair? Well, I say my type is just so I have a lot of hair, but it's a fine texture hair. It's it's really curly. Um, so I need something kind of weighty, you know, but I still like body. You know, there's like I have all these things that I I want, and I find like there's quite a bit of people out there that are like that. That's either, you know, they some of the products geared to too curly, too, you know, that are so weighty that you can't get the body, and then other types that are so lightweight to help create curl that they don't do enough.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:45

So we need that in between. So that's what I'm hoping to to um produce for us is that kind of in-between, and something that will probably cater to a lot of people, I think. Um, and then we're doing um some men's uh hair and skincare that we're reaching into through we're having fun with that, probably be more of a little bit of a tallow line. We'll have a little tallow in that because they're also ranchers, so we're hoping to be able to source most of it from their farm and ranch. And then um we're doing women's skincare, um, doing some exciting things with some peptides. So I'm excited about that. And then we're also gonna do like a glamour line, hair, uh, makeup, you know, all the things. So our two daughters, our daughters are gonna kind of head that part of it up. I think that'll be fun. It's gonna be a fun legacy thing for all of us, you know. Lauren, my daughter is already part of the salon, she's been a hairdresser there for 12 years.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

So it's a third generation now.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Yes, it's so it's I feel so blessed, honestly, because to be able to work with your kids and and um my partner Debbie and her kids, they all work together. Um, it's just it just seems to be it's gonna be a really cool thing, I think. I'm really excited about what we're doing and what I'm hoping to do, because I mean, let's face it, there's a lot of good product companies out there, a lot of good ones, right? And so we're going into a very saturated market, but I think I don't know, I I feel like there is a need for some clarity. You know, like, okay, what do I pick? I mean, I'm in the industry, I kind of know what I'm doing. And I am going through TikTok, going through Instagram, constantly being sold, and I get to the point where I'm like paralyzed, I don't even know what to buy. Right. You know, and so I'm like, I'm hoping that we can kind of be that um that voice of reason or that voice, you know, that trusted voice where people go, well, let's go see what they have to say about this. You know, they're you know, they're we're out there investigating, helping people do the research, seeing what really works, what doesn't work, you know, and and telling truth, you know.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

And also you know, this is what I do for some of my video clients is like when you can tell the story of your product, that is a unique differentiator. And you know, the fact that you've been friends with this farmer lady for 40 years and that you're gonna be sourcing stuff straight from her farm. So that's that's unique and cool. And then well, you talked about like the body, but not too light. I could relate to that because I've had I felt really super weighted down and I like it that I didn't have any frizz, but then I put other stuff in, I still got the frizz, but it was lighter. So I feel like you know, maybe this is gonna be a total sweet spot, you know. So I'm I'm excited to learn more about that. And Evelyn, I've been thinking about like what could I offer you? So, you know, you are great at speaking and great at telling your stories. And I was just thinking if I could give you a couple of little tips about the bad haircut at McDonald's guy. Yes, yes, please. When we're telling a story, we want people to be there with us, right? We want to help paint pictures for them. So if you wanted to use this story again, which I hope that you will, you could talk about like the smells. You were in line and you were dying, you couldn't wait to get the French fries, you know, that smell. You were so so hungry. And or you kept thinking about I can't wait, what am I gonna order? And then you're in line with your husband, and then you look up and you're like, oh my gosh, and then maybe you could describe exactly how it looked. Like you said what super straight and wiry, and maybe if you could describe, like, was it like cross things, was it fraying? Like, I just want a little bit more image of this guy who has like straight wiry hair, but I want to paint the picture because like how bad was it? Right. Like, and so I think, and it you know, to help with the drama of it is like, you know, you're like, I'm with my husband, we're about to have a yummy, you know, decadent meal or whatever, and then all of a sudden you're like, you know, and it breaks your your good mood, and then you're like, oh my god, what a horrible haircut, and then your husband's like, yeah, and then you're like, I did that. Like, so to me, that would be even more of a reveal. Does that make sense if you add it a little bit? Anytime you can add taste, touch, smell, color, when you're telling a story, like she was walking on the damp, freshly mowed grass, that smell, or when you can tell like it's gonna rain and the air is heavy, but it hasn't started yet. You know, like some of those times when you're, you know, it really helps the the listener or the audience like be there with you in the line.

SPEAKER_00 39:06

Does that make sense? Absolutely. I I love that. Um, you know, this is the beginning of all this for me. We're taking things to the next level, scaling, we're franchising the salon. So this is gonna be way more, I'm gonna be doing a lot more of these kind of things. And so, yeah, it's it's again, I'm so into business and personal development that anywhere I can be better. And so what I'm hearing is, you know, appeal more to the senses when I'm telling my stories. Um so let me ask you this. So then when I'm trying to do this, right, and it's not in my nature, you know, I I often I speak all day long, right? Like I say to people, like I come into this situation that I've never been into before, and I'm like, it's like we're just you know, girlfriends chatting, and or like you're sitting in my chair at the salon. How do we right? I mean, even so I'm single today, and so I even do that if I go on a dating app and go on a date. I kind of go, I start getting a little weird and nervous, and I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna pretend I'm meeting a new client, you know. Turn on that side of me. So it doesn't come natural for me. So how how do I learn to do that and not feel like I'm being scripted? Because then that then I get a really kind of certain feeling and way when I feel like I'm being like scripted.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Right. That's that makes sense. That's such a good question. And you know, I always tell people you don't get sick of your story, and if you can keep practicing telling it, and it can come out slightly different times every time, I don't want you to feel like it has to be scripted. I'm more interested in can you think about the feelings? And, you know, first this happened, and then this happened, right? Or, you know, so I will say sometimes, you know, my name's Elaine, I had three addictions, I'm an assault survivor, domestic violence survivor, you name it. It happened to me, accept fentanyl, thank God. Anyway, so today I want to talk about so that's like I phoned it in. Because I personally, I've said that story a gazillion, gazillion times in 44 states and six countries. But it's not fair to you or the listener if I tell a story like that, right? If I just go, blah blah. So, so I will let me try to do it in a, you know. So part of my story, Evelyn, that you might not know of is I grew up highly dysfunctional. I had eating disorders, drug, alcohol. I was assaulted many times as a preteen teenager, and then in my early 20s, and then went on to have domestic violence as well. And I never thought I would be talking about it or using my story for good, but that is part of the evolution that is my life. And so I always pray if I can save one person from addiction or depression or cutting or suicide, then my life was worth it. So, you know, that's a version, a different version. And I'm gonna say that probably slightly different the next time I do that. And so there's always uh it's I love bullet points. So it's I don't like whole scripts because it just sounds weird and awkward. I just made a bunch of content when I was waiting for us to do this. And I I'll think about what I want to say, and then I'll turn the recorder on, and sometimes I'll do two or three takes. And then everyone's a I'm like, ah, that today was not the day, right? But the more you do it, the better you're gonna get at it. And so I'm gonna challenge you, invite you, and challenge you that when you have clients in your chair who really know, like, and trust you, maybe you can practice a story on them. You know, how do we get better at things? We practice. I just shot content with one of my VIPs, Tracy Steelman, and I was blown away. Like she was like, Do you like this? Do you like this? So anyway, and the she was just so comfortable and present and authentic in ways that six months ago she was not, because we've made a lot of videos. So she's gotten used to being on camera, she's gotten used to hearing her voice, she's gotten used to thinking, okay, what do I want to say? What's this point? And knowing, like, you know what, that was off. Let me try it again. And so there's something so powerful in doing it. And and like, you know, you should start be thinking you get to start thinking about what stories you want to tell that make people want to work with you to have their own franchise, right? And you know, part of it is you can say, I've spared you, I've done all the heavy lifting, I've made every mistake. I have done this, this, this, and this. So I'm gonna help you not do that, that, that, and that, right? And so, you know, and and stories don't have to be super inspiring or powerful every time, but when they're told authentically in the moment, they're often very inspiring, right? Yeah, because you're being truthful in the moment. Like that's how comedy was for me. Like I wasn't, I was trying to be funny, wasn't funny, wasn't funny, not funny. And then when I just started talking about my dysfunctional family and like the frustrating craziness of it, and I was just being truthful in the moment, that was funny. And so the more you can speak from your authentic truth about I want to share my mistakes and foibles with you so that you can make your own more creative ones or whatever. Does that make sense? Does that help? Absolutely. I really appreciate the feedback. I need that. There's one more tip for everybody listening and for Evelyn's people too. Practice speaking into your phone. Let's say you go, you get to your you have a date, but you're early. Sit in your car, turn on your video, and tell a story to your phone. And if you're in a negative space, do not watch it. Don't watch it until you're in a really good space. Because we're our own worst enemies. But that's a great way to practice getting used to this. Is how I sound. This is how I look. Okay, this is really close. Oh, maybe the camera, the angle could be a little up. Oh, I look better that way, right? So that's a great way to practice your stories too. So, Evelyn, this is so fun. I could talk forever, but I know we're all busy. Is there one super tip you want to leave our audience with today? Anything. It can be hair, salon, entrepreneurial, anything.

SPEAKER_00 46:07

Well, let's let's speak to the entrepreneurs, right? I think that's why we're all here. Um work on yourself as much as you do on your business. That's where it all, that's where it all is. I mean, you're you are a reflection of your business. And um your your business is a reflection of you, I think is better said. But yeah, so whoever you're becoming is what your business is becoming.

SPEAKER_01 46:38

That's beautiful. Thank you. Well, thank you, Evelyn Kershaw. It was such a pleasure to have you, and I will have all of her links and bio and stuff in the podcast show notes. Thank you so much for joining Captivate the Mic. I would love to hear from you and tell me what else you want me to interview people on. Tell me what you want to hear when it comes to speaking and video and being more visible. Thank you so much for being a part of this community, and we'll see you next time. Bye everybody.