Small Changes to Big Results

This episode is all about what you can accomplish in a matter of years. Setting goals and educating yourself can seem hard. When I look back at my results from implementing small changes over time made a huge difference. 

You can't grow and change your future without adding new habits and mindsets. 

Where were you 1 year ago, 3 years ago, and 5 years ago? Personally, professionally, and financially? Can you remember a step you took to grow and take new information in? What results did you have from that? Has it changed where you are now?

It may not seem like much has changed until you analyze where you were. 

Maybe it's time to make some changes in your life? 

I know that my life has changed for the better because I made a big jump into a learning more. Let's dive into what I discovered, hopefully it will help you make a decision.

Thank you for listening. Share this episode with a friend that you think would enjoy it.

I would love it if you took the time to leave a rating or review for the show.

Want me to go more in-depth about anything? Let me know.

Send an email with questions to skahrhoff@live.com.

Transcript

Shannon Kahrhoff: 0:01

Hi, welcome to the Decoding Clients for Stylists. I'm Shannon Kahrhoff. Today I want you to think back about where you were last year. Where were you? 2024. Can you picture it? Where were you personally? What was your life like financially. Where were you professionally in your career? Have you progressed any since then? How about three years ago? Where were you in 2022? Anything that pops out in your mind of where you were? Think back on your personal, your financial and your professional life. Okay. About five years ago, 2020, what did your life look like? Was it your best year ever? Was it a struggle? Was it life changing? Think about it. Now I'm working through educational platforms right now, and I'm actually going through three segments of it at the same time. It's very overwhelming, but it's also putting me into a whole new mindset because I'm working on everything in my life right now while I'm working my full-time job, while I am creating a podcast and still trying to keep my life rolling and my house somewhat clean so it doesn't look like swallor. I had to make out my goals for the next year, three years, five years, and it made me think about where I was last year when I went through this program the first time and, well, the first two programs of it. And I can tell you there was a goal that I had to figure out finances a little bit for my goal going forward and. It blew me away thinking about where my finances were even last year, where my finances were three years ago. When I took my first class with this company and it is night and day difference. Not only is it financially different, I'm professionally different, and my personal life is so much different. It's calmer. It's not as stressed. I am not as stressed with everything. I feel like I have a grasp on my world a little bit more than I did, especially five years ago. It got me thinking, and it's amazing when something that you're working on trying to progress you in the future makes you look back in hindsight because one decision made the world of difference in my life. Because I made a very, very hard decision because it was a very financial struggle for me to make that decision. I have never spent that much money on my education ever other than college probably, and it has made a huge difference in my life, and I can guarantee that it's well worth every penny, every road trip, every struggle along the way. Because it has made such a huge difference in my life. So I want you to think about your life right now. Is there something that you are thinking about doing, but there's an obstacle in your way of something in your mind that's telling you, God, what would my life be like if I did that? That would make such a huge change. What's holding you back? What is that thought or excuse? Because I can tell you I did not have the money in my bank account to pay for that. Financially, it was a huge struggle. I had to sit and figure out how I could make this money because if I sat and stashed cash for a while, it's gonna take me quite a while to jump into it. And I felt to the core that I needed to take this class, it was happening around my birthday. I don't do much for my birthday. But the other thing is it was in Arkansas and I deep dove into researching this company and I can tell you there were things that kind of made me question, but overall I loved the process of the education. I loved the process of the hands-on part and it made me so scared to figure out the finances and take that leap. Then to take the leap to drive seven and a half hours to another state to walk into a class by myself. That is a huge struggle for me because I didn't know anyone. That's not easy for me to start up a conversation with any stranger. And it might be shocking for most people, but hairstylists can be the most shy, quiet people ever because we don't have to entertain anyone when we're one-on-one. And we have a lot of hesitation with just reaching out there and saying hi to people and starting up relationships, conversations with people. So going into that classroom solo was a huge jump for me Also. Now everyone was wonderful. Everyone's friendly. I got to talk to the people at my table and it was great. It was a wonderful experience, but I had so many obstacles that it could have totally stopped me. But why did I take that leap? Yeah, because I knew that if I didn't, I probably wasn't gonna survive in this career because my whole career has been about learning new things, increasing my knowledge and my hunger for more, and to become better. Do you have that in your life? It might be your career, it might be your personal life, it might be your faith. There might be something of just about parenting. I can tell you through my years, it has changed from one aspect to the other. My career as a stylist, yes, my hunger has always been there. I've always wanted to become more and achieve more. I always wanted to validate myself by knowing that I am becoming the person I want to be. So think about your life. What area of your life would you like to improve, change, add value to? Just feel more knowledgeable about something. It doesn't have to cost you a lot of money. It doesn't have to be something extreme. You can baby step it. I baby stepped into hair extensions. Not even sure if it's something I would enjoy, but holy cow did I enjoy it. So think about where you want to adjust some things. At that time in 2022, I wanted more knowledge on how to build my business around hair extensions, and I got it. More than just my business. I learned every realm of my life because it helped me think about things. Now here's my big knowledge that I took to this week because I deep dove into education Thursday on my day off, and I, I did a little bit of three different areas of education. Two of them I have done before. This third one is the one I'm actually jumping into now this year to become a mentor stylist. So I had to go back and get refreshed on one of the programs I took last year. But here's the difference. Last year when I did this, I did it for me as a personal stylist. Renting my suite and just focusing on what's my future gonna be as a hairstylist. I'm knocking on 50 man. I got a few more years before the big five Oh. And I know what hairstylists look like in their fifties, and that kind of scares me. I know that their bodies don't hold up well for most of them. So. Last year I was focusing on me knowing I never wanted to own a salon. I'm happy just running my own business. And half of the stuff I learned last year, honestly, I didn't think pertained to me at all. So I did things, I learned things, but it was a very limited mindset. So some of this stuff just went over my head. Well, this year it's a whole different perspective. It's me and someone I want to bring into my suite and teach them. I want them to be in my assistant. I want to guide them and create good thinking and habits for them in their career. I want to jumpstart their career so that they can go out on their own after a time and they can go be successful. They're gonna have that beautiful mindset that this company teaches us. And hopefully guide them into the direction with the hunger to learn, improve, and to spread it to the next generation of hairstylists too. So I am understanding that my mindset has totally changed this year. I am learning and processing everything just a little bit different and a little bit deeper. And I heard this years ago about how you can read a book and you get what you can out of it for where you are at that moment. Now if you read that book again, a year later, they always told me that you're gonna take more out of it. You're gonna read that book and you're gonna be like, I don't remember reading that last time. There's no way they could create a whole nother book that I've owned for a year. If they don't, it's your mindset. Your mind is totally different. You're thinking totally different than you were the year before because you're growing, you're progressing. You're putting to use what you read in that book for where your life was then, and you're becoming different and better and you're growing and changing. Same thing with any kind of education or any kind of improvement you put into your life. You might only take a little nugget out of it. But you're growing and changing. You are changing the progression of your life because you chose to put new information, new thinking processes, new goal planning into your life. You can do this anywhere with any subject matter. It's no big deal. I was sitting through this week and I'm working and I'm doing everything, but there's little snippets here and there, and I love listening to other podcasts. I love learning about their, their paths and their struggles and where they came from because they all have different aspects that they like to educate because it was life changing to them. And people want to know the information about how they changed their life from this point to becoming successful in this point. Because if you learn from someone that actually has the growth, they've changed their lives, they have the results that you want, you're more likely to pay attention, you're more likely to want to sit down and learn from them, because that's the kind of results that you want in your life. That is amazing to understand that if you find someone who has the results you want. Figure out what they're learning, what they're teaching, how they got there, and try to implement it into your life in some point, because it will make a difference. Everyone has their own path. Everyone has their own timing on everything, but it's possible. All you have to do is be willing to take a change. Maybe a leap change can be hard. Acknowledging your weaknesses can be even harder, but. If you sit back and you look one, three, and five years back to where you've gone, hopefully you've gotten better results. You're becoming better in your job as a a person, and hopefully your finances are getting better. If they're not, that's where you need to look at it and like, oh, oh, that's not good. I kind of missed a step here, so let's figure out how I can take control of the situation again and rework it. Because anything can be changed at any point. You just have to make the decision, make a game plan, and work on it step by step. You're not stuck, you are not ever stuck anywhere. You have options. You might not like your options, but there are options out there. So I have a newer stylist in my salon, and. I've helped her a little bit here and there with just figuring out ways to trick yourself into success. And I honestly forgot I did this until she was telling me her struggles, and so I taught her a little bit of how I did. When I worked at a full service salon. And there were some days and nights where we had people coming in. There was a dance studio next door. So the moms would drop off their kids and the siblings could get haircuts. The moms could get haircuts because they had this downtime. It was very short timing, but you could do it. So I got so freaking bored sitting behind the desk waiting for someone to call, someone to walk in. But I was there most of the time. I was there 10 to 12 hours a day. Why? Because I needed money. I knew I needed to sacrifice my time to slowly build up clientele. Now you can post on social media, you can be word of mouth, you can post on town community pages. You have so many more options now to get seen and heard, so it's so much better. So I was realizing that I had to play mental games with myself to sit there and wait and be bored. I would read books, I would read magazines. I would water the plants. I would clean. But there were some times I had to trick myself. So I had a financial goal every week that I needed to achieve. I at least needed to pay rent. Right? And. Profits after that were a bonus. I could save, I could do this, I could go out, I could whatever. But I had a financial goal in my head that I didn't tell anyone about because it wouldn't have made sense to anyone else. They probably would've thought I was a freak, but I knew how much I needed to make by the end of the week. Minimum. So I would go on every day, and if I did a haircut, great. That took down how much money I needed to earn, and then it kept going down through the week. So I knew by Saturday, which was the highest profit day for me. That's how much money I needed to make. So I knew that I had to make a certain amount over rent to cover taxes also. So there were some times it was very little profit at the end of the week as I built up. But knowing my goal for finances at the end of the week made me sit there. It made me validate my sacrifice, knowing that if I just sat there long enough. And was ready for someone to call in saying, I need a haircut. It was gonna be worth it because I had this goal, weekly goal that I know I needed, and I actually broke it down by the five days I worked. And so I was like, okay, so Tuesday I need to make this much money today to get towards my goal by the end of the week. Did it work every time? No. There were some days I didn't do anything but towels and answer phone It's okay because it gradually progressed. People recognized me by working there. I'd have conversations with them. I would talk to'em. I'd help out one of the fellow stylists that worked in the salon. I'd rinse color bowls and sweep up hair. They were running behind. It was one of those things that if you make yourself valuable in your space, it pays off. Those stylists are gonna know that you're reliable and trustworthy, and if they have to get someone in for a color or a cut and they know they can trust you and that you're going to be a valuable coworker, they will ask you to help them in a pinch. And then once you do it, you are helpful. You do a good job on their clients, you respect their client and the stylist. It'll go so much better from there. So it's slowly building it up. So I told my coworker this in the salon this week about my mental trick for myself. It made me remember the struggle that I was in at that point, and then I remembered how I tricked myself. Do you ever trick yourself into achieving a goal, putting the work in? I know people do this with exercise. They understand how much they need to achieve through the week, and they plan out which days they're gonna exercise and which exercise they're gonna do each day, and they have a mental plan. Do they write it down? Who knows Everyone's different, but who does the mental juggle in their head? Okay, if I let myself slack off today, well, I'll just do it tomorrow. Well, this is the problem you're proving to yourself that you are not reliable. If you're not reliable. Do you believe yourself whenever you set goals? No. So the biggest trick for me was holding myself accountable. No, I did not wanna go to work every day. No, I did not wanna be the first one to get there and unlock the door, turn on the lights, start the towels, fold the towels, be there when their first thing in the morning clients walk in and the stylists not there yet. Why did that matter?'cause I was proving to myself, I have good professional habits. I was proving to myself that it's okay if I'm the first one there. Because it doesn't matter. I feel good about myself and they know that they can trust me that if they're running behind in the morning bringing their kids to the babysitter. Shannon will be there and unlock the door and welcome their clients in. Maybe the salon will be warmer whenever they walk in the door because Shannon's there. What does that do? I'm building the trust in myself, but I'm also building the trust in my coworkers to know that they can count on me. I'm not a flake. I'm not stupid, and I'm not lazy. I'm proving to myself and to my coworkers, that's a valuable piece. Every time you jump into something new, it's scary, it's unsettling because you don't know how it's gonna go. You don't know if it's gonna work or if you're wasting your money or if it's the best thing in the world for you. But you have to get over the fear because if you get over the fear, it actually gets easier making new changes. Because the first time I went to this class. It was hard walking in. I did not feel comfortable. I, I wore the clothes I felt comfortable in. I felt like I was great. I redid my makeup. I. Learned how to update my makeup to go into this class. Why? Because I knew it made me feel more comfortable, more confident in myself. So if I feel confident, it's gonna do better as I walk in that door all by myself, not knowing a freaking soul. And it's gonna be okay.'cause I feel like I'm put together and I am good. So the second time I walked into a class was easier. It was still in the same location. It was so different because I knew faces, I could not remember their names, they taught us how to be on social media and they taught us to follow people at our table and the educators in the company and some of the stylists that I talked to. So I was familiar with them through following them on Facebook and Instagram. Actually it was Instagram more, but I became more comfortable using social media and becoming more confident because I was surrounding myself with the like-minded thinkers from this company. We all had struggles, we all were different. Some people owned salons, some people were just suite stylists like me. So it was all different and it got easier every time we walked in the door. I felt like I had a relationship, a friendship with some of the stylists that were in this company, and it made it so much easier walking in that door. But I also know that they made it so fun to learn. That you almost missed it when you walked away because it's so exciting. Everyone was so excited about learning new things. Were we frustrated? Oh, heck yeah. We were so frustrated because they raised the bar so high. They know that we can achieve it because they achieved it, so it was fine. But you have to make yourself uncomfortable and be okay with it to try new things, to reach more heights in your life. Because if you limit yourself to what's comfortable, are you okay not really changing anything? Are you okay with staying where you are right now for the rest of your life? I personally am not, but I like to make myself uncomfortable in the new habits, in the new creations that I'm trying to become and grow. I have the time kind of, I create the time to learn and to grow and to challenge myself because I don't wanna be complacent. I don't want to just stay where I am now. I do love where I'm at right now, but I know there's more in my future that's ahead and I just have to hold on for the ride as I figure out where I'm going. Taking on new challenges. Challenges can be scary, but if you work hard enough and you know that you won't quit because you trust yourself, you know that you're gonna put in the work, you're gonna put in the time, then you can't fail. It might take you longer than some of the other people that are in the program or whatever, but you don't need to compete with anyone. Some people are a little bit farther ahead than you. It doesn't mean you can't, but the first class I went to, I read this little quote on the pamphlet, the booklet that we were given to give them basic information about the company and, and some procedures. And there was one quote that stuck in my head. And I was like, oh my God, if I could do that, God, how in the heck could I do that? That seems so unachievable. Guess what? Two years later, I was going to a class and they wanted us to do little interviews and different things and figure out the percentage of increase in your business. Through different aspects and I did not pay attention. I am not good at figuring out percentages of increases and stuff. I'm getting better. I still have to search the mathematical formula for it every time. But I can tell you, I started crying when I did that formula because I achieved what I first thought wasn't gonna happen that first class. And then they put me in the commercial that they put on social media. It was unbelievable because that one quote changed my life because it gave me a possibility of something to focus on and to grow on because my, my income through that point had been stagnant and it was a very low, stagnant, horrible, scary number that was always financially challenging for me. But that one class, that one year of me putting in so much work and slowly changing here and there, all of a sudden I got it in reality. And I didn't even realize it until I sat down and did the financial numbers. I did the detailed program to figure out how to do that. It's incredible because of one decision and then the little decisions along the way to put my investment into me and my company into action. Slow, steady. Definitely not as fast as they were hoping, but you know what? It doesn't matter. Because I worked at my own pace. I had to figure out a lot of stuff personally and mentally to get me past my own mental limitations in my life because I never thought it could happen for me. Oh, of course. Anyone else? That's great. You're fantastic. You're so smart. You can achieve it. No problem. Me, it's just me. So I did classes. I, I worked on the program last week and I sent in some assignments in the practice stuff, and I got feedback on Saturday from one of'em and said, I love this part, but you need to tell them more about you. You are the person that they wanna learn from. They need to know more about you personally, your professional career, who you are, what you stand for, what you like to do. And that's my hardest struggle is seeing my own accomplishments, my own everything. This is my hardest part. I am not one of those pat yourself on the back kind of person. I have a hard time acknowledging my own progress, but through this. Training through this year, the new one. It is making me realize how far I've come with everything, and it's okay to reward myself to take that moment to realize how far I've come from one foot in front of the other, from one sitting in front of my computer to the other because it's a great achievement. It's a great accomplishment. Because I finally have the information in an area of my life that I actually wanted in, and it's incredible because they're guiding me along the way one step at a time. But understanding how far I've come is pretty crazy. So I'm going to learn how to talk more about myself, more about my accomplishment, my education, more about the personal mindset and struggles and the thinking that I have walked through because I have gone through a lot of stuff. I have put myself forward on a lot of learning paths and becoming better and more, and it's okay that I can brag on myself a little bit about how it has been achieved and how one foot in front of the other. Overcoming my limited thinking has brought me this far. It has brought me on my path to the financial situation that I'm comfortable with, that honestly, I wasn't comfortable with. I never thought it was gonna be possible, but I'm getting there and I had to raise my goal for the next year. So it was stretchable. So what would stretch me? Make me uncomfortable and grow more, become more challenge myself because I'm within touching distance of the goal that I had set a few years ago. I am learning and growing and becoming better. So think about where you are, where you wanna be. Get past your own limited thinking, your own belief lids, and understand one step in front of the other, one little progress step as you can and you can become anything. So do some work for yourself. Where were you last year, three years ago, five years ago? What has changed? What have you modified? What have you become? Celebrate some wins. Realize what you want in the future, what you wanna become, and what is the passion that you want to modify into your life. Have fun with it. Reward yourself with the progress you've made. If you have any questions, let me know. Thank you guys. I'll see you next week. Bye.