A School Stories- Meet Priscila Soriano

A School Stories: Meet Priscila Soriano

April 11, 2016Nina KovnerA School Stories, GROW

“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” Friedrich Nietzsche

It is such a gift to be connected to so many courageous and passionate humans like Priscila. In listening to her journey and passion for both the art of hair and the art of self care, I am beyond inspired. You see, at the end of the day, as leaders and awesomeness creators, we must learn to find our rhythm, and that includes how we will take care of the most important asset we have, ourselves. What an honor it was to get this glimpse into the awesomeness that is Priscila Soriano.

N. What does passion look and feel like to you?
P. Passion to me is an energy that comes from this unknown place within myself. An un explainable energy that pushes me to continue going even when I want to give up. Passion is what gets me up in the morning. Passion is what makes me accountable. Passion is what keeps me on check. Passion helps me believe in the growth of myself and others.

N. Why did you join A School?
P. I joined A School because I felt like I needed to get out of my comfort zone and make very important wise decisions on where I want my career to take me. A School was the perfect match for my personality.

N. What have you learned on your journey in A School?
P. Not only have I learned more about technical computer tech-y stuff but learned to do more soul searching, and just how important it is to stay true to yourself and be authentic to your audience in order to truly brand/market your business and engage. I had never felt more connected (and understanding) to the lessons I learn here.  I love that it goes deeper than learning the “technicals” on how to market your business but the understanding of WHY you want to put yourself out there. A School really makes you think about how you want to create and authentic connection with whomever you’re trying to reach instead of just selling them something or selling yourself. Learning how to create value. Continued education is a priority in my career.

N. Why did you become an owner?
P. I decided to become an owner of my own brand because I want to share my knowledge with the world as I continue to learn and grow. I want to mentor and inspire other stylists to continue going even when things get tough. Being surrounded by so many ass kicking women in our industry was a big push to pursue my dreams. I don’t think I would be where I am and headed where I’m going if it weren’t for them.

N. What is your biggest lesson so far being an owner?
P. My biggest lesson (which I am still learning) so far has been finding the COURAGE to be my true self, making myself vulnerable, And coming to terms with the fact that I am NOT perfect and I will never be able to please everyone! Learning to not take things personally.

N. How do you handle difficult situations with clients or team members?
P. I try to take myself out of the situation and look at it from a neutral perspective (leaving my ego out, yet staying human) so I can better come up with a fair solution in order to move on.

N. What ONE tool would you say is the most effective in marketing your business and why?
P. The modern day CELL PHONE!  You can take pix of your work and post them on SOCIAL MEDIA for the world to see and build a connection with your audience! All from your handy dandy cell phone!  I have been taking pictures of my work since I was in beauty school and have always put my work out there. It’s also really crazy to see how much my hair and photography skills have improved.

N. Where does your inspiration come from?
P. Rap music, travel, philosophy  and, FASHION! I am obsessed with fashion and it is EVERYWHERE! I love all forms of fashion from high to street to decades. Everyone in this world has their own personal style. I love being able to create a fashion statement on someone’s hair. Every single detail counts because how decorate ourselves whether it’s clothes, makeup, tattoos, or hair, subtle or dramatic. It allows us to express inner emotions without having to say a word. I’ve started to do more traveling and my favorite thing to do is people watch! I get so inspired just by slowing down and paying attention to my surroundings and little details that create a bigger picture.

N. How do you practice self-care?
P. Self care is always number one! How are we going to take care of anyone else if we can’t take care of ourselves? Self care is something very personal and sacred to me and it’s taken me a while to put my well being before anything else.  I had been battling depression and addiction since I was 11 years old! Both my parents are Mexican immigrants and were always working hard to provide me a better life. Being first generation Chicana I hope i can inspire anyone out there that can relate. When I was in middle school they weren’t around much so I decided to find a family somewhere else and disconnected myself from my parents. My friends and I started ditching school drinking 40’s oz. at the rail road tracks by school and just wanting to feel a part of something. Life has a way of guiding you in the right direction, if you allow it.

I started beauty school when I was 15 years old and ever since I started my career I had to continue to get my shit together because I didn’t want to loose the ONE good thing I had going for me. All I wanted to do was create beautiful hair. I saw that when I actually took care of myself things got better in my career and that felt so much better than and high! I slowly came to realize that what I was doing in my career was changing lives, helping build up another human being self esteem. I began to feel a lot of pressure trying to live a double life was becoming too much for me to handle. I knew something needed to change so I slowly changed my lifestyle until I got completely sober! On my journey I’ve learned to take better care of myself. Eating right, drinking water, exercising, going to the chiropractor, being more conscious of my thoughts and actions, feeling all the feels, all that shit. I learned that your mind and body are connected. Our emotions can create physical illnesses.

I practice self care every single day even between clients. That can be anything from drinking a big ass glass green juice, to stretching my body between clients and being mindful of my posture when working on clients, to meditation, taking the time to reflect on my emotions, thoughts and actions. Staying in tune to what your body needs is crucial! Being persistent my self care routine and balancing personal life and career has been the key! I had to surround myself with like minded people who love and support each other. I’m back in great terms with my wonderful loving parents and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have a life worth living. I get to call Concrete Rose Salon my home and get to inspire and be inspired by my salon family! I’m just trying to do some killer hair learn as much as I can, pass on my knowledge and INSPIRE.

N. Coffee Bean or Starbucks?
P. Gotta shout out to all my VERVE girls!

N. Favorite quote?
P. “To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” Friedrich Nietzsche

You can find Priscila on Instagram, and on the Concrete Rose Salon website.

A big shout out of love + gratitude to Priscila for sharing her story with us. You are a true inspiration and we are so grateful to be on this journey with you!

Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

If you are a creative small biz owner in the pro beauty world and looking for a ton of love, support and help with creating an awesome biz + life, A School may be a good fit for you.

Change The System blog Passion Squared hd (1)

Change The System, Change The Experience

March 28, 2016Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent that will survive but those who can best manage change.” Charles Darwin

As a young businessperson, one of my coaches once shared a simple yet profound concept; change the system, change the result. And today, I would add experience before result. Change the system, change the experience, which changes the result.

Simple, yes. Easy. OMG no! That is why businesses suffer and become irrelevant, that is why so many small biz owners feel angst instead of excitement at the thought of change. But guys, I am here to tell you, I know this first hand. I have lived it. This is the truth.

While I am thinking of biz models pretty much 24/7, and how I can help empower the people I love with ideas, concepts and actions, this one thing has been weighing heavy on my mind, so here it goes…

The Client Journey Has Changed, Have You?
As a paying client of two hair salons @sugarskulls @larisadoll and an eyelash extension salon @ilianaladma, and as one who is an awesome social listener and student, I have witnessed what is awesome and not so awesome in many of the salon business models. The one thing that stands out so much to me right now is how clients are booked. And no, I am not going to shove online booking down your throat again, you can read that here and here.

Passion Squared Glam Squad Sugar Skulls Larisa Love Iliana Ladama

No, what I am talking about is creating space and time for the “new” client journey + experience. The one that includes capturing the experience in order to create a relevant and compelling story to share, as well as help your clients facilitate the story they want to share about their experience.

If we want to capture the empowering opportunities of the social + digital web, we must change the way we do business. And that means changing the amount of time we give to that experience.

But Nina, I Don’t Have Time!
If you find yourself saying “I don’t have time to capture pictures, I don’t have time to Instagram this experience, I don’t have time to Snapchat this story, I don’t have time to pre-book the next experience”, then I say it’s time to take a big step back and look at how you are managing your time and the amount of time you are giving to each client.

Now, I know you will say, “but Nina, this is how I make money, more clients, more money.” I get it. And I will say back to you, if you understand the social + digital web, and clients passion around sharing experiences, and want to provide the best experience possible, then if you create space to do that, you will actually make more money because your experience is more awesome and your clients will share it.

Change Is Constant, Period.
Change happens. The only decision you need to make is if you are going to fight it or embrace it and re-think how you can capture your awesome experiences.

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina

PS: If you are an owner and want to learn more about how to create more awesome in your biz + life, and learn how you can create awesome on the social + digital web, check out my A School for Owners program.

PPS: This idea of client experience in the age of social + digital has nothing to do with the age of the salon, the stylist or the client. In fact, it has nothing to do with age at all. As defined by the awesome Brian Solis, it has everything to do with Generation C, the connect customer, who is not defined by age but by behavior. And “their” passion is sharing experiences, whether it be via a social platform, a review platform, or any other way they can share. If you need more proof then what we are witnessing every day as humans, I highly recommend you read The End of Business As Usual by Brian Solis and The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk.

#QandAwesome Personal Posts On Social Platforms

March 26, 2016Nina Kovner#QandAwesome, ENGAGE

In this episode I share the truth about “personal” and social platforms. The truth is, nobody can nor should tell you what is right for your brand or audience. But until you have clarity around your brand and audience, it will continue to be difficult to know where the line is. Thanks so much for watching!

A School Stories Marcia Beck HIVE a natural beauty collective

A School Stories: Meet Marcia Beck

March 21, 2016Nina KovnerA School Stories, GROW

“The mind is like a parachute…if it’s not open it doesn’t work!” Frank Zappa

What an honor it is to empower the people I love, each and every day. And that is what we do every day at Passion Squared, because we are in the empowerment business. How cool is that? #bestjobever

While most of the work I do is obviously confidential, I wanted to find a way to share the stories of the beautiful and passionate humans I get to work with every day. In this new blog series, A School Stories, we will be sharing a closer look into the passionate and courageous small biz owners that work tirelessly to live their purpose and empower those around them. I am so stoked to kick off this series with the beautiful and awesome Marcia Beck, owner, color specialist and creative director of HIVE a natural beauty collective in San Luis Obispo California. Meet Marcia Beck…

N. What does passion look and feel like to you?
M. Passion looks like diversity and it feels like an unstoppable desire to create.

N. Why did you join A School?
M. Like a lot of small biz owners I have the passion and the vision but I don’t have a business degree. I’m a hairdresser first, biz owner second. I realized that kinda needed to change. They both are different aspects of myself and I really wanted to honor both of them I just didn’t know how. I had the question, “how am I going to learn how to be the best biz owner I can be?” and then POOF… A School appeared in my IG feed. It was like a bolt of lightening…this is my answer!! It spoke directly to my heart…that’s how I knew A School was it!

N. What have you learned on your journey in A School?
M. I’ve learned that I’m not alone. Everyone out there deals with the same insecurities, questions, challenges that I face on the daily. It feels so good to have a tribe and to know someone’s got your back!

N. Why did you become an owner?
M. Well, there are several reasons I became an owner. First, I wanted to have more control over the environment that I spend the majority of my life in and I wanted to create a clean air salon. For me that meant not only less chemical toxicity but also less drama, less negativity, less noise pollution …the whole shebang. Second, I was tired of feeling like a victim. At the time I was working in a salon that I felt totally unappreciated, unloved, unimportant and unsupported….so I thought “how do I empower myself in this situation?”. The answer was clear…creating your own environment! It was the BEST decision I’ve ever made!

N. What is your biggest lesson so far being an owner?
M. Shit, there’s been so many! But if I have to choose one it would be to trust my gut…you always know what you need if you just listen. 

N. How do you handle difficult situations with clients or team members?
M. I try to approach every situation with an open mind and heart. I literally have a visualization technique that opens the heart right up! This helps to discover the truth in the situation. Which is ultimately what I’m after. I also listen to everyone’s story, spend a bit of time mulling it over (aka. consulting with my council…my hubs and my BFF) and then trust my gut on the best way to handle the situation.

N. What ONE tool would you say is the most effective in marketing your business and why?
M. As much as I want to say Instagram…it’s actually been Facebook. Facebook has allowed us to reach our local audience through post boosting. We can target in a very specific way. So as much as Instagram is taking over our industry it’s still Facebook that works best for drawing our target market.

N. Where does your inspiration come from?
M. My inspiration starts with a question. How can I accomplish this? How do they do that? What color creates that? How, what, why. The question is the ignition…it’s what stokes the fire of creativity. Then before I know it the fire is in full burn mode! Sometimes I can hardly control it!

N. How do you practice self-care?
M. By SETTING BOUNDARIES! I’m still working on this one but, for me, it’s the most important self- care there is!

N. Coffee Bean or Starbucks?
M. Def Coffee Bean!

N. Favorite quote?
M. “The mind is like a parachute…if it’s not open it doesn’t work!” Good ol Frank Zappa

You can find Marcia and all the awesomeness that is HIVE on Instagram, and their website! And be sure to check out HIVEU, which features awesome education for clients + pros!

A big shout out of love + gratitude to Marcia for sharing her story with us. Love you woman and so grateful to be on this journey with you!

PS: If you are in the SLO area, I am doing my Creating Awesome Brands + Biz + Life Workshop at HIVE on June 27th! For more info + tix, click here.

PPS: If you are a creative small biz owner looking to create more awesome, A School may be a good fit for you! Click here to learn more about this special + sacred program.

#QandAwesome blog header

What Do I Post On Social Platforms?

March 18, 2016Nina KovnerAWESOME, ENGAGE

“Your content is your marketing.”

In this episode of #QandAwesome I answer a question I get every single day. What the heck do I post on my social platforms? It begins and ends with getting clear on your brand and your audience.