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Unknown
Where are your hosts, Aaron Backus and Jason Kindler? We like to sit down with our guests to hear their journey, their challenges, and how they impact the local community. So grab a seat. Tune in and let's get inspired by Jacksonville's everyday workforce. Welcome to Hometown Jacks.
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Unknown
This is going to be amazing.
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Unknown
Stephanie, thank you for coming to our podcast today. Stephanie Grant's hair guru. Social media butterfly. Just amazing presence on social media. And your hair looks beautiful, by the way. Of course. Thank you, thank you. I can't be the hair lady and show up with. Well, not so good. Yes, you have a reputation to uphold. I'm wondering if you can do anything with my hair.
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Unknown
Is there anything special or. You know what? We'll talk about that, okay? Okay. We don't want to put too much pressure on that. So I'm so excited to have you here. This is going to be a fun podcast. Because I always like knowing what hairdressers know all the secrets. Oh, and you own parlor. Salon suites, right?
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Unknown
Yes. How long have you known that? So parlor salon suites, they're like, a bunch of, like, individual, like, hair salons. Okay. And I've had mine since, honestly, Covid kicked off 2021. Awesome, awesome. Covid really showed me that I could, you know, be my own woman and, you know, own a business. And it literally took off after that.
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Unknown
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And, you're also a celebrity. You probably don't want to admit this, but you're on TV all the time. We'll get into that. Yes. River city Live. Channel hairstylist. Yes. News four. Jax. That is so awesome. That's so special. Did you know you were famous? No, I did not know that. The. See, somebody already wants.
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Unknown
It's already got out. They already want an appointment, that's all. Oh, my goodness, someone's out. Good lord. Yeah, sorry about that. That's okay. So you have three kids? Yes. That's awesome. Tell me their ages again. So I have 19 year old twins Amari and Marion. Awesome. My daughter, she goes to, Florida Atlantic University. Awesome. Boca. Okay. And my son, he runs track with my daughter two years.
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Unknown
Two. She'd be mad. I didn't say that. Awesome. But my son, he runs track at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach. Oh, wow. That's really cool. And then my 14 year old Zoe there you go. Well, that sounds awesome. That's great. Congratulations. Thank you. So let's get into your history a little bit. I want to talk about hair okay. And I want to talk about your TV.
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Unknown
I mean what a cool, unique talent set that you have. So where are you from? Born and raised. Jacksonville. I'm a Navy kid. So all over. Okay. And originally California and Texas and Delaware. And then my dad actually went overseas and my mom is from Daytona. Wow. So we went ahead and we lived with my grandmother for a little bit while he went overseas.
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Unknown
Okay. We kind of just like stayed here and he ended up retiring. What are some of the places you lived overseas? Oh, see, I didn't go. That's what I'm saying. Okay, okay. Got to go. Yeah. Okay. Stay here. Okay. So go. I wish. And so how long you been in Jacksonville? Gosh, I'm. Oh, Lord. I'll be 40 in October.
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Unknown
I've been here since about fifth grade. Okay, so you consider Jacksonville? Pretty much. Yeah. Absolutely. Awesome. Awesome. That's really cool. So I have to ask you, I've always wanted to ask hairdressers in there. I had a barber in before. It's not the same thing. He was a friend of mine. So do you know the secrets of everybody in Jacksonville, or how does that work?
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Unknown
Gosh, maybe you don't want to comment. I don't know, I know it's funny. I feel like I'm Switzerland. I have to always remain neutral, you know, I good neighbors and so on. So. And like, oh, do you know someone so. Oh well let me tell you about them. Like interesting interesting. And it's almost like the attorney client privilege.
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Unknown
What's the hair stylist client privilege. Absolutely. And then Covid that was that. That was crazy. It was, you know, so so they don't wear their mask. And I'm like, okay I'll remember that. Yeah I'm right. You know things like that. Yeah. People. Yeah. And then it's not sometimes when you know I've had divorced couples as well. Yeah for sure.
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Unknown
You know, hey make sure you take so-and-so's car off my, you know, profile, like, okay, guys, smile and keep cut. Absolutely. That's fine. Really. But do you primarily cut females or. I normally do females and like I'll do the husbands of my client. Okay. But, you know, when I became a hairdresser, I really put like my education into, like, color.
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Unknown
Okay. Awesome. And how I found about you is you cut my daughter's hair, actually, which obviously that's amazing. And what? Ashley's. Can I go to grad school? I've been doing Ashley's hair since she was in high school. I know, so that means she's aging. But we're not. We're not, we're not. You know, we get to a certain point.
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Unknown
It doesn't go higher. I I'm like, time is just flying. It does fly. It does fly. You have kids just like I do. And it's just it's it's weird. So I also wanted I wanted it it was really cool. I was reading about that. You were styled here at, Major League Baseball All-Star weekend? Yes. How cool is that?
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Unknown
Tell us about that. Okay, so that was down in Miami. You know, it goes to different cities. And that was actually my first time in Miami okay. And you know are we are it's already Florida humidity. And I just remember oh my gosh like literally getting out of our Uber. And it was like literally walking in a van.
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Unknown
Yeah. Oh my goodness. But when like everyone in Miami is just fabulous right. I was like there is no way that I'm going to be able to like recreate all of these looks. But well, it's very interesting though. But, a lot of the wives that was honestly like their first time seeing their husbands and like so many like months because they're always traveling.
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Unknown
So it was really special, you know, getting them ready. So I was doing the wives for the, professional athletes. Yeah. What a cool thing. So they, they bring in stylists like you. It's kind of a benefit to. Wow, what a really cool thing. That was a pretty big honor. I imagine it was a little nerve wracking. Yeah, they're honestly a lot of them.
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Unknown
They were just happy to, like, be here and actually get pampered on for sure. You know, I'm thinking like professional athlete. They do this all the time, but a lot of them really don't. Oh wow. What a cool thing. And then also I read you did New York Fashion Week. Yes. Tell us about that. Yes. That was a lot of fun.
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Unknown
Oh, amazing. And so is this where they walk up and down the runway all week? Yes. Okay. That was actually very interesting because I was, you know, it's high fashion. I can't recall the designer's name, but I just remember it was with Bumble and Bumble, but, we were watching the lead stylist and he was like, okay, this is what I want, you know, done.
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Unknown
And I want everybody to look the same when I tell you it was literally just a three strand braid and he put a ribbon on it, but it was the other people like, oh, oh. And I was like, oh my goodness. So you didn't really. It wasn't that complicated is what you're saying. Oh, but it was the fact that he thought of this like fancy name.
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Unknown
And I was like, oh my gosh, I was talking to my friend. I was like, that's a braid. So you're literally the one behind the stage getting the hair ready for them. And that's that had to be amazingly fun. Oh, it was so much fun to meet so many people. And I'm sure, I'm sure. And it's funny, like on camera, everything just looks so well put together.
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Unknown
But it's crazy mayhem in the back. Madness. That's fun. That's fun. Well, those are really cool. So we talked about where you got. So tell me about how you became cutting hair. Was that something right out of the gate you thought about or what? No. You know, I've always like to do hair, but, I became a young mom, so I had to go ahead and start, you know, big girl life.
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Unknown
Yeah. Big girl job. Yeah. Benefits at 9 to 5. And I got a job working at the IRS. Okay? The IRS, I know I would've never thought you worked at the IRS. IRS downtown. But there was at the. It was the Motus building then. Okay, it's the Wells Fargo building. Okay. And it was a great job until it just started to not become one.
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Unknown
Nobody wants to talk to you. Everyone's mad at you. Right? And I was in the balance do department. It's so. Oh, boy. And honestly, by the time the IRS starts, you know, seizing things, you've kind of ignored some things for sure. But again, nobody wants to talk to you. So it was like, all right, here's my coffee, here's my little radio, here's my headset and go, you guys did this.
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Unknown
You did this. And it was just, you know, eight hours in that, right? Right. Monday through Friday, it became like very draining. Yeah, I can imagine, I can imagine. So how did you take the leap to something more fun, a commercial? Okay, I saw a commercial for Aveda Institute. Okay. And of course, you know, has all the glitz and glamor.
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Unknown
And I was actually I was 29 at the time. I remember that. And I was like, oh my gosh. And I was like, can I go like back to like hair, you know, can I go back to school? That whole environment. And I was like, you know what? Let's do it. And it was actually around tax time. And I got like a nice refund and I paid my bills ahead of time.
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Unknown
And I just went, you jumped off the ledge and quit. I just did it. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Something just led me to it. That took a lot of guts. But I remember the very first day of hair school again. I'm 29, so a little bit older. And yeah, there's girls that are 18 and they're like, I don't know what I want to do.
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Unknown
Like my mom made me do something and so I don't want to be here. Can we have a break? And I'm like, I'm actually here because I need to learn something. Right? All right. This is serious, right? I have kids to be. And I'm like, I'm trying to, like, turn this into something. So that definitely put me back in, like, high school.
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Unknown
And I was ready for that. Wow. That takes a lot of, Man, I bet that was scary. So what, how long is school? So I was on like a fast track. So it's about eight months. That's a long time. It is of eight hours a day, five days a week. It was three days eight hours a day.
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Unknown
Okay. So I did like little part time stuff. Yeah. My parents on the days be with the kids. Wow, wow, wow. So eight months and then. So you go through school. What was the hardest part about school? Probably when you start actually, like, being with, you know, clients because it looks easy when I'm in the classroom, I'm like, yeah, let's do it.
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Unknown
And then they actually give you real scissors. And here's someone that wants a haircut. I'm like, wait, do you know that I have a student like, you know, you're having a student cut your hair, right? Right. And so I was amazed at how many people actually do that. That's what I was going to ask you about. So kind of how does that process work?
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Unknown
Did they just say, hey, free haircuts come here? They were like discounted haircuts. And, is right off of there, off a San Jose. It's next a Whole Foods. They would we would go out there, pass our card around. Hey, do you want a free haircut? And I was just surprised at how many people were like, yes, because I don't know if someone gave me like, hey, you want me to cut your hair right now?
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Unknown
I'd be like, oh, are you? Yeah, gonna we're not going to let you experiment. Exactly. But a lot of people do. Yeah. For sure. And so, you know, I, I it was very easy a lot of like one link cuts. I remember one lady wanted a bob and she's like, I want it really short. I'm like Dora the Explorer short.
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Unknown
But she loved it, Bob. But see, I don't know much about haircuts, but I feel like that's a long time ago. Haircut. And that's probably where I really like learned about color because again like you know I do the husbands and of my clients. But there wasn't a lot of like men that came in there. They were probably really stick to their barbers.
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Unknown
But with men they were sure, let's do it. Did you do you ever remember a time where you're like, oh, I don't know if they're going to like it? Like right in the beginning? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. One lady I remember specifically shout out to my best friend chutney. She was my teacher. One lady specifically wanted copper hair and what's that's that's one thing.
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Unknown
And I also I learned about being visual. What's copper to me may not be copper to you. So copper to me was a little bit more reddish. She was thinking like, really like orange. And I gave her fire engine red. I'm not very happy about that. And my thankfully my friend helped me out with that. But yeah, I was like, oh my gosh, maybe I should be a mechanic.
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Unknown
Maybe, you know, hairdressing is not for me. It's is hairdressing thing. That's funny. So how do people I'm assuming now it's pretty easy. They just bring in a picture. Oh yeah. Hey this is what I want to look like. You know, honestly, I like when people bring in pictures of themselves and I'm like, you know, show me a time, you know, because, you know, ladies, we have like, a thousand pictures.
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Unknown
And I'm like, show me a time that you, like, really loved your hair and I usually helps a lot too. Yeah. Because sometimes, you know, people will bring in a photo and I'm like, okay, well, your hair is nothing like that. You know, hairstyle is not a magician. Yeah, right. So that always helps. Do you ever run into like, man, I don't know if I can do that.
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Unknown
Oh, absolutely. And an honest no, I'm honest. I'm like, you know what? I did somebody that would actually probably be really. Well. And if there's like a precision cut, you know, I'm like I said, I'm not Edward Scissorhands, so I don't play around with that one. Yeah. Yeah. You're pretty you know we're in a review now. We're old right.
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Unknown
Right. Stephanie did this know? Well, I can imagine it's pretty sensitive in your line of work for sure. So you get done with school eight months, and then what do you do? Oh, gosh. So then I actually, I, what did I do? So actually, while I was in school, I found a job working at a salon in Ponte Vedra, okay.
00;13;05;23 - 00;13;25;18
Unknown
And so I started with just, like, doing receptionist work and hair washing and getting to know people, you know, getting over that whole, like, you know, that barrier of, they don't know me, just actually like talking to people. But I think that really helped me with like, being like a Navy kid of always being like the new kid, like being able to, like, start conversations first.
00;13;25;18 - 00;13;46;05
Unknown
And, you know, actually, yeah, military kids are generally never shy. Yes. Yeah. You know, you have to you're always the new kid. So you always have to introduce yourself. So that definitely helped. And I was there for like my whole time like from because I've only worked in one salon. So whenever I was in school until when I went out on my own.
00;13;46;05 - 00;14;09;03
Unknown
Wow, wow. And you went on so you started. So you graduated school, started working at salon. And how long were you there kind of before you started your own? Eight years. Wow. Okay. Eight years. Social media really built my salon. Sure. And they were very, the salon, they were like, okay, we'll start you off with some clients and this is the kind of you want a repetition business.
00;14;09;03 - 00;14;28;24
Unknown
You don't just always want new clients. You want people to come back. That's the whole thing of that way, for sure. So they start you off with that, and then it's up to you. But Instagram really blew my business up and your Instagram is awesome. What's your handle again? Style by Dot Stephanie. That's right. Yeah. It's amazing because there's really colorful stuff on there.
00;14;28;24 - 00;14;52;27
Unknown
Really cool. Just kind of pops. So I imagine that's kind of the evolution with the hair stylists. You go work for somebody, you give it time and then you develop your clients out and you go out on your own. I mean I, I'm assuming that's kind of everybody knows that's the progression. Well I guess and the naturally the people that you know help you are supposed to be happy for you when you want to move on, not try to hold you back.
00;14;52;28 - 00;15;18;19
Unknown
Right, right. That's when we know we know how that works. So oh my gosh. So, That's awesome. That's great. So, Iris to the hair world, I know, I know what, that that that's awesome. So what? So what made you want to start your own business? Okay, so Covid happened, and, you know, the whole world just, like, shut down.
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Unknown
Yes. And I don't know if you know, I, I can I had a lot of, like, professional clients that were still going to work or still appearing, you know, on zoom. Remember, that's on zoom. Like I'm really popular and they're like, hey, Stephanie, can you come by? And I'm like, really? Right. You know, I'm like, oh my gosh.
00;15;36;01 - 00;15;55;23
Unknown
I'm thinking that, you know, you're getting your hair done for the whole experience of, you know, being pampered on. But a lot of people, they just need their hair done. Right. And I was like, okay, so I'm like, you like me? It's not the salon. Yeah. It's you. So I did a lot of like, home appointment. Interesting. I was putting together a lot of like, kits.
00;15;55;23 - 00;16;14;03
Unknown
I put together like a little video and I would send people like, okay, you section your hair like this. Your first haircuts. Oh, my gosh, I was doing those on porches. I was a lot. I remember I did like, I was a bunch of Jaguar executives, and I had a client whose husband worked for them, and they were literally one by one.
00;16;14;03 - 00;16;36;00
Unknown
I was down in Jack speech and I was just doing it outside. Yeah, it's amazing how, you know, horrible Covid was, but it really made us all kind of reinvent ourselves a little bit. Well, it made me like really see and like, okay, so I was doing well in a salon where I was only getting a percentage. And then here I am out on my own, you know, getting the actual 100%.
00;16;36;02 - 00;16;54;16
Unknown
And I'm seeing, you know, of course, everything there takes products and I'm like, okay, so I'm spending this on this and this. I'm like, what am I doing? So that really and I think Covid really popped up. All those like individual suites and some people like that. Some people again, they just want their hair done. And that's kind of the majority of my clientele.
00;16;54;19 - 00;17;17;06
Unknown
Some people want, you know, the bougie, pampered experience, roll out the red carpet. And I do that sometimes. Ashley gets that. Yeah, right. Right. Of course. Of course she does. Like, how often would you say someone visits you? Okay, it really depends. So, like hair or like, haircuts? If you if I just have a client just for haircuts about every 12 weeks.
00;17;17;09 - 00;17;34;00
Unknown
My color girls, we're we're covering gray roots. And what, you want to get into all of that gray cover. But, yeah, they're about 4 or 5 weeks, and I highlight girls are about 8 to 10. Interesting, interesting. And then there's the lived in color looks. You know all about that. I do not tell me about it okay.
00;17;34;00 - 00;17;52;23
Unknown
So there's our regular highlights that Ashley's my regular highlighted lady where we take it all the way up to the roof. Okay. But then now we become more, I think, more kind of like a romantic kind of style. I call it the very lived in. And they kind of leave a little bit of their route and almost looks like, you know, Jesus himself colored it very like light.
00;17;52;23 - 00;18;10;06
Unknown
And just so people are scared of showing their roots now, this is what it is. No. Right. That's part of the style. No. And that, you know, it's funny, you know, the whole Coldplay thing. You know, that whole thing. Right? Right. I was like, oh my gosh, my hairdresser brain went into her hair. I was like, oh my gosh, I bet she was.
00;18;10;06 - 00;18;27;15
Unknown
She had her hair done. I she knew she was going to be plastered, you know. I'm sure she did. I was like, oh my gosh, your air breath. I'm like, somebody give her my number. That is funny. It makes me think of like, I interviewed a football coach and he's like, he can never watch football because he's always trying to analyze it.
00;18;27;15 - 00;18;50;03
Unknown
Like I'm thinking like, that's your whole life. You see people's haircuts all the time. Yes. That is what I always zone in on. I'm like, hi, how you do? That's my style. That is funny. That is funny. So Covid hit, you figured out you could do your own business. You started your own business. Okay? And you've been doing that for since Covid.
00;18;50;03 - 00;19;09;19
Unknown
What, four years or so? Yeah. 2021. Wow, wow. And was that a big jump off the ledge for you or you kind of had proven the concept out already? Yeah. I mean, it was definitely it was a stressful time because the salon that I was with was not happy for me at all. And, you know, everyone has free will.
00;19;09;24 - 00;19;30;29
Unknown
And when I left, when they came with me and, that was a huge like problem to them. Yeah. And they definitely they would come to where I was at and feel me and make a lot of, you know, ruckus. Ruckus, man, I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah. Because I just, you know, just like we said before, I just would think that would be something you would expect that's going to happen.
00;19;31;04 - 00;19;49;23
Unknown
Well, absolutely. To. And you know, it's crazy because, you know, especially you never know what could happen and what my career, of course, thankfully went up. And, you know, that could have been an opportunity for me to be like, oh my gosh, this place, you know, gave me the stepping stones. But, you know, you should be happy for when people micro, right?
00;19;49;23 - 00;20;10;16
Unknown
Right. Well, I mean, based on what you're telling me, you're a tough girl. I mean, you quit your job to figure out to be a hairstylist, and then you decided to go out on your own after doing that. Well, I think being a parent gives you that bravery. Yes. You always want the best, and you always strive, you know, you always want to give them things that you maybe necessarily didn't have, right?
00;20;10;16 - 00;20;29;11
Unknown
Yeah. Or if anything, in my case, I had a great childhood, so I wanted to match it right. Right there for sure. Well, I bet your kid's hair looks pretty good. You know what? I have the best friends. Do their families the worst clients. It is funny. Like, you know, the paint. They always say the painter can paint everybody's house but his own.
00;20;29;13 - 00;20;50;06
Unknown
You know, his family's the worst clients. They're like. Everyone's always like, oh, Stephanie, you're so gentle when you're brushing where I'm like, tell my daughters that they think I'm just the roughest. That is so funny. That's so funny. What? What do you think your favorite part is about owning your own salon? I think the flexibility. I really love the flexibility of.
00;20;50;06 - 00;21;06;00
Unknown
Oh, I have an appointment here. Let me in again. Like my clients, they've been with me, you know, for a long time, so I love that. Hey, can we move this date I can come in on sometimes on Sundays. I just really love the flex flexibility. Yeah, that would make a lot of sense.
00;21;06;00 - 00;21;20;12
Unknown
We'll get back to the story in just a second. But while you're listening, here's something you should know. If you live in Northeast Florida, if you're self-employed and trying to buy a home, it's not as hard as you might think. We work with business owners, freelancers, and creatives every single day, people who don't fit the traditional housing mold.
00;21;20;12 - 00;21;36;20
Unknown
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00;21;36;20 - 00;21;38;27
Unknown
What's. What would you say your typical day is?
00;21;38;27 - 00;21;57;28
Unknown
Are you are you are you booked out for a week or kind of how does how do you do that? What should I look like? Oh, I see that's one thing that they always teach you in hair school is, you know, when you're done with your client, you go ahead and set them up for your next one. I don't know, I just sometimes feel like I don't want to like, obligate people like, well, you know what?
00;21;57;28 - 00;22;16;27
Unknown
If they didn't like it? And I'm like, here you come this time, this time, this time. But they always do on their own, thankfully. And I'm thankful for that. So I always I'm usually put out like a month ahead. Wow. And then but sometimes. But that's the whole thing. You know social media makes entrepreneur or entrepreneur. But there's some days where everybody will cancel.
00;22;16;29 - 00;22;34;00
Unknown
You know, there is days where the bad weather is bad, especially like hurricane time. Yeah. And, you know, there's people that aren't from Florida and they're like, Stephanie, I don't think I should leave and let me know that you'll be okay, sadly, that I'll be here. But it's, you know, it's totally up to you. That's a really good point.
00;22;34;02 - 00;22;55;03
Unknown
Being an entrepreneur is not all, super sexy all the time. There's a lot of uncertainty and change that you have to have to deal with that. There's some days where you can make a whole lot of money and then some days you're like, all right, you know, I spend it all on product. So again, you know, social media gives us all that glitz.
00;22;55;05 - 00;23;12;20
Unknown
You know, everyone quit your 9 to 5, go do it. But I really think it takes a certain personality to own your own business. Oh. For sure. Yeah. I mean, you just not everybody's cut out for you. You got to deal with rejection and, you know, the ups and downs and things like that. And so they always say, it's like, you know, I'm self-employed.
00;23;12;20 - 00;23;28;23
Unknown
I work 60 hours a week. But nobody tells me I have to so I can take off whenever I want. But I work more because of that. So that's exactly you. Really, what you put into it is what you get out of it. Yeah, really? Well, you've talked a lot about hair products, so tell me some what you mean by that.
00;23;28;23 - 00;23;48;12
Unknown
And like what are some of the, some of the tools or tricks of the trade that you do. Oh gosh. Hair products I can't I've really stuck to like one line that I really love. Shout out to Redken. I love them and I really love Olaplex. I uses with a lot of my clients. I do a lot of blonds, so there's a lot of like sun damage products that I like to do.
00;23;48;12 - 00;24;09;25
Unknown
Those companies will they sponsor you? Yeah. Is that kind of how it works in your world? You can, but they expect like a huge volume to come back. And so I'm working my way up to that. Right. Right. Well I imagine with, with doing the business and also your social combined with that. That's a pretty powerful I know somebody dressers that that's their business.
00;24;09;25 - 00;24;29;09
Unknown
And I'm like, wait, you know I'm looking at their videos and they're looking all nice and like, there's no way you're doing hair because I every time I leave the salon, I'm like, dang, I got, color on this. And I could be, you know, where I'm smock, but I still end up with color right here, right? I always say I could never be like a server because I'd be like, ma'am, your fingernails.
00;24;29;12 - 00;24;49;19
Unknown
Actually, you know, it's color. Well, are you using any kind of specific tools or do you use I don't know, do you put their hair under a thing or anything like that? Dryers. Yeah. Yeah. There's dryers. I just really, started using I bought this new Dyson here. Has actually asked for one of those. I think so, yeah, it sounds familiar.
00;24;49;25 - 00;25;12;07
Unknown
Dyson sounds familiar on that. So I just recently got, like the little air app. It was $600, and I was like, oh, my gosh, if it's $600, I better not have to do a thing. Right. And you still do. I think I'm like a little bit of a gimmick, Absolutely. Right. Right. By the time it took to do that, I could have definitely just use a regular curling iron, right?
00;25;12;08 - 00;25;32;18
Unknown
I just recently did a show on River City Live, but we were talking about like, TikTok hacks. There's this one machine that the girls could put their, like, hair into, and then they just press the button and then it creates a braid. Wow. But I mean, it was kind of weird. All you have to just do that sounds like, okay, I guess that's the new generation.
00;25;32;22 - 00;25;50;18
Unknown
Yeah. For sure. Dispelling all of those little hacks. That's funny. That's funny. Well, speaking of River City Live, I mean, what a cool thing that you do. So I want to know how it what it is and how you started with that. Like, that's such a cool thing. So, so tell us like how it got in the play.
00;25;50;25 - 00;26;14;21
Unknown
Where River City Live is a lifestyle show on channel four. When does it air? Every day at 930. Cool. So Monday through Friday at 930, the host are eating candle and Rance Adams. Okay, but Eden Kendall actually replaced my friend Jana Angel. And she's the reason why I got started on it. So she was actually from South Florida, and she got the job to come here, and she was researching.
00;26;14;21 - 00;26;35;01
Unknown
She typed in, because she knew she's moving to the Nocatee area. She typed in blinds. Nocatee stylist. It was just a bunch of my pictures. Social media, free, for sure. A bunch of my pictures. And it was attached to the salon that I was working at, but I had already had left. And so she reached out to the salon.
00;26;35;03 - 00;26;56;12
Unknown
I was like, hey, I'm trying to get in with Stephanie. Oh, Stephanie's not here. Stephanie's on vacation, so and so can do your hair, but I'm actually, like, completely gone, right? You know, and they're like, well, so let's jump into your hair, you know, and she's like, well, I'll just try back. I'll try back. And then she actually reached out to me individually and she was like, hey, I've been trying to get in with you.
00;26;56;18 - 00;27;11;08
Unknown
And I'm like, this is my first time talking to you. I'm like, well, come on in. And so when she actually came in and she was like, hold up, this is not where I thought I was going to be. And then so, you know, I had to tell her I was like, oh yeah, I laughed and she's like, oh my gosh, you're still using your pictures?
00;27;11;09 - 00;27;34;28
Unknown
And I'm like, that's the way it goes. That's the way it goes. And so she hadn't told me exactly what she does. She just said that she was starting a new job and and so, you know, this is before you were friends or you were friends before. No, we were not. Okay. So that's really funny. Yeah. No. And so she comes in and I do her hair and we have great conversation like literally talking to, you know, a long lost friend.
00;27;35;00 - 00;27;58;05
Unknown
And as I'm checking her out, she's like, so, you know, I'm getting ready to like, I'm going on air. She's like, I'm a new news anchor for Jacksonville. And I was like, oh that's awesome. Yeah. Congratulations. And she's like, you have like such a personality. She was like, I think you should really come on. And especially to like really boost my business since the previous salon that I was at was trying, you know, basically like, she's not here, she's just not working.
00;27;58;05 - 00;28;16;04
Unknown
And she's like, you can really boost yourself up. And I was like, well, I don't know. I'm behind the scenes. You know, I had already did New York Fashion Week, I did MLB. I'm like, I get you guys ready. I'm like, are you sure about that? Like, what can we talk about? And so I finally, you know, I went ahead and did it.
00;28;16;06 - 00;28;35;10
Unknown
And I was just so nerve wracking that first one because I imagine know you have the camera even though there's not very many people there, but, you know, like there's thousands of people watching. Right. And you know, you have to smile, look, interact and also do something. I my mind was going like, right. But then it was really good.
00;28;35;11 - 00;28;53;13
Unknown
Now is it live when it was live. Wow. So what was your first segment? Do you remember? My first segment was curly. Curly hair. I knew that was easy, but I was like, Stephanie, you know, just don't burn the girl. Just don't burn the girl. And, you know, talking about like, flicking of the wrist when it comes to, curling.
00;28;53;13 - 00;29;09;18
Unknown
And again, you have to still be engaged with your host and have a conversation. And I'm still trying to do her hair and then smile and then don't slouch, you know, you don't want to. Yeah. Pleasant. You know, look on camera. That's funny. So who was the person who did the hair? Do they pick somebody up in the show?
00;29;09;18 - 00;29;31;23
Unknown
That was a client of mine. A friend of mine? Yes. Oh, that's funny, that's funny. Now, do you come up with the content or the. Okay, I come up with everything. I normally I go on, like, TikTok or Instagram and see, like, you know, what are people really talking about? Interesting. Again, I saw my daughter, like, her shining car was full of all these little hair doohickeys.
00;29;31;23 - 00;29;50;11
Unknown
And I'm like, well, do these things even work? Right? So that was a TikTok, one that we did. And, some of the stuff was good and some of it was like, you know, and I'll viewers really liked that one because they're like, you know, everything looks great on TikTok. But we actually like, put it to the test, right, to see if it actually is even worth it.
00;29;50;11 - 00;30;11;28
Unknown
That's a good segment. People really love that one. Yeah, I would imagine a lifestyle show at that time of day would be pretty interesting with hair like that would be a very popular subject, and at first it came on at 11 a.m., but then they changed the show to 930. And that's actually really interesting. That's a bigger like market that are watching TV at that time.
00;30;12;00 - 00;30;31;11
Unknown
So it's so many times I, you know, when after I have my show, I saw you. I really liked your outfit. I'm like, okay, well, the outfit was my point. The content. That's right, that's right. That's really awesome. So when was that? How long ago was that? You did the first one? Oh, gosh. I was about three years ago.
00;30;31;11 - 00;30;53;08
Unknown
Wow. It was over the summer. I remember specifically because I brought Zoe with me and she thought she was just a little celebrity. It's so crazy because, you know, when you're watching at home, it just looks so nice and put together, but it's just crazy. Exactly. Yeah. Yes. That is. And the fashion week and everything. You did this before you got on TV?
00;30;53;08 - 00;31;12;23
Unknown
Yes. Okay. Yes. That's really cool. Yeah. So you didn't really want to do it. You were nervous to do it, but you just took the step. I took the step because I really wanted it. Because, you know, she made sense. Why not? You know, it's a show geared towards Jax locals. And, you know, you go there and broadcast your business, and I'm like, you know what?
00;31;12;26 - 00;31;31;29
Unknown
Let's do it right. And then, you know, a lot of people I always feel like sometimes, when it comes to things on TV and the comment section, it's always usually, sometimes negativity. But I got a lot of positive feedback. Yeah. And then so we did another one and another one and then it just became a thing. Well congratulations.
00;31;31;29 - 00;31;52;08
Unknown
Well that fits in the trend of you just stepping outside the box because I know that had to be nerve wracking. Oh absolutely. But you know, you you sometimes have that inner voice like I know there's something like really great. Yes. Like destined for me. Well, I mean, that meant to be like, you know, the way that she had to find you and all of that stuff and her being new.
00;31;52;08 - 00;32;15;00
Unknown
I mean, that's really cool. Did you see a spike in your, Instagram in your business, like, immediate? Oh, yes. My, when I first did River City Live, I saw immediately it was about about 70 something followers because and that's another thing too, when you have like giveaways like, hey, come in like comment, share, tag a friend.
00;32;15;06 - 00;32;34;03
Unknown
And that's a good way also to get people. And then I would just go to, you know, the salon store and they always are gifting things for me. So I'm like gifting ones to get to the other. So yeah, well I think you have like over 7000 followers or something. And that's not easy to do. No. Like we, we, we do it for our business.
00;32;34;03 - 00;32;57;01
Unknown
And getting the followers up is hard. It's hard work. Oh absolute. Absolutely. But I really think, like I said, every time I go on my show, hey, like, come follow me here, tell me what you like. I'm having a giveaway. And that always people. People like freestyle. Oh, yeah, that makes sense. So every 2 to 3 weeks, you do a segment up.
00;32;57;02 - 00;33;17;00
Unknown
Yes. Do you go in and record that segment or do bunch of segments at one time? So I've just done some prerecorded ones. I just did a prerecorded one that was actually, you know what, I think I prefer the live. So when you're prerecorded you're kind of like, wait, I don't like that, right. Scratch that too much analyzing exactly, exactly.
00;33;17;06 - 00;33;36;28
Unknown
And, you know, we're just in like the cancel culture. So I'm like, oh my gosh, let me not say anything. Right, right. But that's not my personality. So it wouldn't come out. Yeah. So how much like how much time does it take. Like you have an appointment at 940. Are you there by 830. You're like, walk us through it.
00;33;36;28 - 00;33;52;25
Unknown
Like, how much time is a day? So I usually get my place ready the day before. Okay. So if I have a 9:00 and by this time I know who who comes early and who doesn't, I have some people I show up a half hour early, so I try to be there a little half an hour early for them.
00;33;52;27 - 00;34;08;08
Unknown
But yeah, that's that's the main thing is making sure you're prepared the day before because you don't want to just rush, kind of don't want people to feel like you're rushing to get them. Like, I've been waiting on you. Right? Right. Exactly. You know, your experience for you. But some of them beat me and I'm like, well, hello there.
00;34;08;08 - 00;34;24;25
Unknown
There's always early birds. I'm one of them. You out your early bird. But yeah. So like but like the show like how do you you're going to the show like, is there just kind of a line of segments. It's like, okay, it's your turn, it's your turn. Is that how it works? So I'm always first. Okay. Well that's good.
00;34;24;26 - 00;34;45;15
Unknown
Yes. No, it's I'm like what? I want to see other people get going, but they're watching me. A lot of times it's people that have never been on TV before. Yeah. They're like, well, you've done this. So. But it's crazy. Every single time I get like that nervous pit of my stomach and but then it's always, you know, I stumble, not I well, I don't really stumble, but I feel like I stumble at first, but then I get going.
00;34;45;21 - 00;35;04;16
Unknown
Do you watch yourself now anymore? I'm more than you are. Is this funny? This last time I was on, actually, on, channel, 12, First Coast news. Yeah, I was just on. Good morning. Jacksonville. Oh, wow. And I had this, like, orange outfit, and I was like, you know what? Let me go ahead and rewatch it.
00;35;04;16 - 00;35;22;12
Unknown
I was like, oh, my gosh. I look like a pumpkin. I look like a pumpkin. I was like, this is why I don't rewatch. Yeah. So I, I'm now you're kind of migrating to different stations. And that's a cool thing. They don't care. You're more of a mom of a of a guest. Yeah. So you're not under any obligation correct?
00;35;22;14 - 00;35;40;15
Unknown
Correct. That's really awesome. That's really awesome. But I always remember the home team. Yeah. For sure. For sure. Is it hard to come up with topics? Oh, yes. I feel like I've done everything I, I'm just got to figure out something for next month. Well, do you feel like though, that you can't kind of go back to some old topics?
00;35;40;15 - 00;36;00;05
Unknown
I mean, it's been a long time. Does anybody know? You know what, I probably could. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, well, it's kind of funny. The same thing with social media. We always think. And these with me. I'm not as much of a pro as you. It's like you post something nobody's going to remember a month later what you posted, except you know, reuse it, right?
00;36;00;05 - 00;36;19;01
Unknown
Because, you know, this is back to school. I've already done back to school, but we're back to school again. To school again. You're right. Thank you. Well, you know, I'm glad I'm asking you something. Thank you. Is, I would imagine, though. Have you actually done hair cutting on TV? Yes. I imagine that's a lot of pressure. I cut bangs.
00;36;19;04 - 00;36;40;26
Unknown
Oh, I had two ladies, actually. The trend was like the curtain bangs. And then we wanted, like, the faux pas bangs. And we had to, like, you know, there's different face shapes. I had two girls at different face shapes and different textures. And again, talking to the host. Yeah. Looking at the camera, you know, engaging. But it all worked out.
00;36;40;26 - 00;37;02;26
Unknown
Oh yeah I would imagine that's some pressure. Well, that's really cool. And a lot of times I already have like the style halfway done. So I'm only finishing it kind of like the cooking saying like most of it's already done because I do the cooking. So because I mean, four minutes can go by very fast. Oh, I know, I know, I know, well, we've talked about how great it is for your business, your Instagram channels.
00;37;02;26 - 00;37;31;08
Unknown
Amazing. What do you think the hardest part about being on TV is? Oh good question. The hardest part probably. Oh, probably just making sure that what I say makes sense. And I mean, I guess they always say just, you know, you've got to just be confident in what you're saying. And they don't know any better. Right? They you could say, oh, what is it I used to ask, you know, they don't know any better.
00;37;31;15 - 00;37;55;27
Unknown
So yeah, it's just I remember one time I was just I'm like, Stephanie, what are you talking about? I'm just going. But you know, they don't know, right? So that's probably just making sure that everything flows. And also to the hardest thing is beforehand like, okay, I want to see this. And then when you get going and then, you know, TV just happens and they get completely go off subject and next thing you know you didn't get your point across, right.
00;37;56;00 - 00;38;16;24
Unknown
Can they, can they run something on a prompter just to give you to remind you what you wanted to talk about if you want it? So it's funny. Okay. So, there is an example. I was funny with my friend Janna. I said, we're getting a teleprompter from now on because we became really good friends, and I had actually just, like, redecorated my suite.
00;38;16;24 - 00;38;34;07
Unknown
And she was like, I'm going to tell everybody, you know, that, you know, everything's great. You know, you did this and do this. And I had just recently started dating someone and so she was like, so, you know, to the viewer, she was like, so do you want to tell everybody your good news? And I'm like, Well good news.
00;38;34;09 - 00;38;54;06
Unknown
I was like, are we talking about Michael? I was like shout out to Michael. She's like well shout out to him. All right. But I was talking about your hair thing out, I wanted to die. I was like oh my gosh that is funny. I was like, so from now on we're planning it exactly like that is so funny.
00;38;54;09 - 00;39;12;21
Unknown
We talked about a little bit about how your typical day looks like, I saw that you went out to Denver and, tell me about that. That's pretty cool. Oh, that was so much fun. Oh, my gosh. Yes. That was actually my first time really going, again. I was like, born on the West coast, but it was my first time going back over there.
00;39;12;24 - 00;39;30;11
Unknown
And that was interesting. As soon as I stepped off that plane, like, I immediately feel that altitude. Oh, that was a lot. But, that was really fun. I went over there again to promote my business. I had hired an agent to like, help put me out. Very cool to really help get me out there.
00;39;30;19 - 00;39;56;10
Unknown
And she set me up with that in Denver. And that was a whole nother, like, demographic of people. Yeah. And one thing that really, really, I loved about that segment was, again, I did the whole giveaway of like and comment, and I guess the area that I was in was like, kind of like older. And so it was a lot of, you know, comments that were on my I'm so glad that you had someone young on the show.
00;39;56;13 - 00;40;18;09
Unknown
I'm here and I'm like, oh my gosh, okay. And so they invited me back. I just have to go back. I'll be back, guys. Oh man, that's really cool. What a what a neat thing is that. Does the hairstyle change a little bit based on kind of location or is it more. Yeah a trend. Well, I feel like I'm always gearing more towards like humidity, like hair styles, hair, you know, in Florida.
00;40;18;11 - 00;40;38;03
Unknown
But in Denver they don't have that problem. Right? Right. So it's just different. What I actually talked about, what I talk about there, things that like you buy on Instagram, like is it worth it or nine. That's really cool. And that was fun too. That was actually my first time actually having a male co-host because I usually I'm always with the female.
00;40;38;03 - 00;40;53;04
Unknown
Right. So it was nice talking with the male about the does he know what to ask her? I thought I thought female was like leading it. Yeah. He was like, oh wait, I was like, yes, you could totally do this for your wife. He's like, wait, so when she gets out of the shower, I don't even like that.
00;40;53;04 - 00;41;14;22
Unknown
It's like, that's funny, that's funny. So if you could cut one famous person's hair, who would it be? Kim Kardashian. Kim Kardashian didn't even hesitate. Kardashian. Wow, I love her. What makes you two? What makes you? She's just style all together. She is style. Just style and looks like any. I don't think anything looks bad on her, right.
00;41;14;24 - 00;41;37;06
Unknown
So I know anything I do will look good. That is hilarious. You didn't even hesitate with that. So what? What are some long term goals that you have? What are some, what's, some long term goals here out in the future for Stephanie? Oh, that's a good question. You know, I wanted I was thinking, you know, for the longest said I wanted salon.
00;41;37;06 - 00;41;57;07
Unknown
I wanted to, you know, actually branch out and have a salon with, you know, a bunch of chairs. It's a great environment, but I kind of like being responsible for myself. Yes. Not managing others. Yes, yes. You know, I think I feel like, you know, managing my three children and their what they have going on and I can only imagine for other people.
00;41;57;14 - 00;42;18;25
Unknown
So I think I really kind of want to stick to, more of the on air broadcasting and like my ultimate goal is to be on the Good Morning America. Oh, wow. One day. Well, why wouldn't you? I mean, you've got all the tools for sure one day. I mean, I think that I think you've really kind of fell upon a niche, you know, that I think should be pretty popular.
00;42;18;28 - 00;42;37;22
Unknown
I think so too. Are you still working with that agent, the. Yes. Okay. Yes. So that's just get me to New York. But you know that's one thing about, you know, our industry, there's a lot of us in it. Right, right, right. Confident. Yeah. Well I why wouldn't you. You've, you've been successful in every jump that you've taken.
00;42;37;25 - 00;42;59;19
Unknown
What's, what's a hair myth that everybody that you would want to dispel like what's a wives tale. Kind of a myth about hair stylist. Oh my gosh. The biggest one. Whenever I'm doing weddings they're people come with dirty hair, oily hair. Just they haven't washed their hair in a couple days, and they're like, well, we thought you dirty hair was best.
00;42;59;19 - 00;43;17;11
Unknown
And I was like, I don't know who told you that. So that is the thing that people think that dirty hair is easier to cut or order to style, like for weddings. Interesting. A lot of people show up. I have to constantly make sure I have dry shampoo with me. Wow, I know who started that. I don't know either.
00;43;17;11 - 00;43;37;06
Unknown
I've never heard of that. Yeah, so you definitely clean hair, ladies. Clean hair. I mean, she's it seems like, common sense, but, that's why I ask the question. I love that, finally wrapping up, what what would be your advice to somebody? That was the young Stephanie that was thinking about opening up their own studio.
00;43;37;06 - 00;44;03;06
Unknown
Like what? What advice would you have for that person to it? If you're meant it's meant to be, it will be. Do it. Follow that inner person. Follow that gut. What's for you will always be for you. Interesting. I love that confidence because that's I mean, wrapping up your your short story here of, you know, IRS. I would never have picked IRS.
00;44;03;06 - 00;44;21;21
Unknown
By the way, that is the funniest thing. I think of the whole interview here that you work for the IRS. You are definitely too exciting to work for the IRS. So IRS, you said I'm done. Do the hairstyling. You went through school, worked at a hair salon, said I'm doing on my own. You did that. Covid kicked off.
00;44;21;21 - 00;44;45;13
Unknown
Covid kicked off. You reinvented yourself again. You said, I can do this on my own. You did it. You were nervous about TV. You never thought you would do it. Never. You did it. And now your star is rising rapidly. Rapidly. And I'm so thankful, so blessed. And again, what is for you is for you. Keep going. Yes, yes, yes.
00;44;45;15 - 00;45;03;12
Unknown
Well, make sure and follow Stephanie on Instagram. She's amazing. Amazing hairstylist. It was so nice to meet you. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me. It was awesome. You have such a great personality. A very positive mojo. So thank you. It was great to meet you. Thanks.
00;45;03;12 - 00;45;17;18
Unknown
The Hometown Jack's podcast is recorded and produced by First Coast Mortgage Funding. Located in the heart of Jacksonville. Do you want to be our next guest? Visit our website at Hometown Jack's podcast.com. We can't wait to hear your story.
