Here is the audio version of the post, thank you so much for listening.
There is so much awesomeness happening on Instagram, thus my obsession with the platform and writing about it. One of my obsessions at the moment, well, not just at the moment but every day, is the bad ass barbers of Instagram. I am so freaking inspired by how they create awesome each day, so here is my take on what they are doing right and how you can learn from them to help you create more awesome in your biz.
1. Culture
Culture is everything. And the barber community has nailed it. They work together, play together, celebrate their communities, and use the same language. They have a shared passion and work ethic. They live their culture. And it shows.
2. Brand Identity + Messaging
This is the one area that continues to blow my mind. The look, feel, sounds and sights are so insanely consistent. From logos, to colors, to fonts, words, sounds, styles, shapes, tools, merch, storytelling via content, and most importantly, culture, these bad ass barbers not only understand branding, it is clear they value and respect how it can create awesome in their business.
3. Engagement
As my biz hero Gary Vee says, “Best marketing strategy ever? Care.” And these barbers care. The reason I know this is based on their engagement on Instagram. They listen, they respond, they give shout outs, they love and support each other, they build relationships and in turn, they have tens of thousands of passionate followers.
4. Generosity
These bad ass barbers are collectively very generous with their lives and minds. They share tips, offer education, host events and more. As Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
5. Passion
Well, this one goes without saying. However, what I will say is many of us may say we are passionate, but does it show through our online and offline presence? Can it be felt through a screen and through the stories we tell from the content we share?
Generation C, the connected customer, as defined by the genius Brian Solis, is passionate about shared experiences. About stories, about culture, about going behind the scenes. And these bad ass barbers get that. Do you?
If you want to learn how to create more awesome on Instagram, follow these bad-asses, I do, and I am so grateful they exist.
Passion is defined as a strong and barely controllable emotion, be it love, or hate. And squared is a multiplier, meaning taking a number and making it bigger (well that is my way of understanding the meaning of squared at least). When you look at the Passion Squared logo, there is a heart, symbolizing LOVE. My purpose and the purpose of Passion Squared is to multiply love and empower awesome in people and business (with love).
You see, I am a big believer in love. Love of self, love of animals, love of people, of business and the planet. I believe that love is the answer to everything.
The Esteem Epidemic
One of the greatest challenges I see when working with people in the beauty industry is not that of love, but of insecurity and unloving actions. When I speak with hairdressers unhappy in the workplace, and sadly there are many, the same theme comes up over and over. Which is so strange as you would think in the business of beauty it would be the opposite. But there is a reason.
There is an alarming level of low self esteem or what is known as “other esteem” in the beauty biz. The reason I know this is because if everyone had strong esteem and were love focused, there would not be so much negativity and bullying. But the thing is when we do not love ourselves, we cannot love others. No matter how much external praise or false sense of awesomeness we feel, it is not real.
There is NO reason in the world to put others down to feel better. There is NO excuse to be mean or bully others in the workplace. There is NO reason to be hateful to others just because you are unhappy with your own self. Think about it.
I Have A Dream
My dream is to have an industry that is love centered. But there is still a lot of work to do. And it begins with each of us. You see, love is an inside job. And if each of us focuses on being more loving, to ourselves and others, we will all be amazed what can happen in our businesses. There needs to be more discussion around this incredibly important issue, and I am committed to doing my part to help make our industry a more love centered place.
What are you going to do today to be more loving to yourself and others? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. It matters. You matter. Want to share your thoughts with me? Click here. I am listening.
“Your job is to surprise and delight and to change the agenda.”
Seth Godin
I am a huge fan of Seth Godin, as many of you know by how many times his message and books are discussed on my blog. He is not only super smart, but I love how simply he presents meaningful and important business concepts which apply both to small and big business. His post earlier this week really resonated with me, then while sitting with a dear friend at dinner the other night, she brought up the exact same post he wrote, which to me was a sign I needed to blog about it and share it.
Here is Seth’s post from January 28th in case you missed it.
Beyond showing up
“You’ve probably got that part nailed. Butt in seat, smile on your face. We often run into people who understand their job to be showing up on time to do the work that’s assigned.
We’ve moved way beyond that now. Showing up and taking notes isn’t your job. Your job is to surprise and delight and to change the agenda. Your job is to escalate, reset expectations and make us delighted that you are part of the team.
Showing up is overrated. Necessary but not nearly sufficient.”
Wow. Awesome message, right? Now here is my take-away from his post, something for all of us to consider as team members and leaders.
Are You Just Showing Up?
As a team member, you have a responsibility to your leaders, teammates and customers to do more than just show up. If you have an idea, an aha or a breakthrough, it needs to be shared. If you have a way of making a service, product or system better, it needs to be shared. If you have a skill, a talent, or a way to make the customer experience better, it needs to be shared. Your job is to escalate, as Seth says.
Now, this is different than bitching and complaining. That is not the message here at all. This is about being an active participant in your world, and to help make it better.
Have You Created A Just Show Up Culture?
Now on the flip side, if you are a leader, manager or owner, have you created an environment where your team members can participate in the business and be part of delighting your customers or one that shoots down anyone who offers ideas, solutions and better or different ways of doing things? Be really honest with yourself on this one. You see, what happens when you stop listening as a leader, or brush off your teams ideas and suggestions time and time again, they naturally will become spectators, not participants. Wouldn’t you? Think about it.
What do you really want? Butts in seats that just show up ready to take notes or passionate participants wanting and needing to make a difference?
To get more daily wisdom from the awesome Seth Godin, I highly recommend subscribing to his blog.
“I had decided to stop chasing the money, and start chasing the passion.”
Tony Hsieh, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
When it comes to providing service (with their own unique brand twist), few companies can come close to Zappos in “delivering happiness”.
Both online and off, it’s so important to remember why we are in business in the first place, to deliver value, an exceptional experience, and more importantly, to ensure our team feels the love, cause when they feel the love, most likely your clients will too!
This is also true when it comes to how you are engaging your clients and team members on your social pages. How cool is it to know that your job is to deliver happiness, doesn’t that make engaging online a bit more fun?
We heart this video, a fun glimpse behind the scenes of this incredible company, produced by the Zappos team. Awesome!
Delivering Happiness, the book by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, is about the connection between passion, purpose and profits. We LOVE. Click here to purchase this awesome book, you will be so happy you did!
