Girl, where have you been!?

Life is wild. Sometimes you feel like you have it all together, and other times you have a list so long you don't even know where to start. Somehow I always find myself toward the more chaotic end of the spectrum.

I've recently announced that I'm opening my own hair salon. I know I know, YAY! This is something I've been dreaming of since I started hair school. I've always wanted to create my own space for my guests to relax and receive a five star experience. I want to be Neiman Marcus, not Walmart. No shade toward Walmart, that's just not my vibe or my vision. I envision my guests walking into a clean, bright, welcoming and esthetically pleasing space and instantly feeling like they're at home. I want the entire process from checking in, to sipping champagne in the waiting area, to getting loved on in the shampoo area to have a "laid back luxe" feel. I want guests to feel fancy, but not so fancy to where they feel like they can't touch anything.

So I've started renovations on my space! I signed the lease on March 1st and so far we've done demo, and a little bit of electrical. the amount of paperwork it takes to get the ball rolling is insane. From applying for a small business loan to making sure contractors have all of the forms they need before they even step foot into the space requires paperwork as tall as Mount Everest. Getting the loan finalized was a task in itself. It's a little different than buying a home or a vehicle. They're investing in a person, a dream, and someones word. It's not like they can come foreclose on my home or repo my car. They're trusting me with what I'm telling them I will do with my business plan. With that, comes a ton of forms, paperwork, filings, lawyer fees, meetings, background checks and much more.

But its ALL WORTH IT. I wouldn't trade this process for the world. I'm getting to see all of my dreams and visions unfold. I lay in bed at night going over every single detail and reconfiguring things to make sure it's all as close to perfect as I can make it. for example: I'm building my shampoo area where the stylist will stand behind the bowls and shampoo our guests, instead of to the side. This will eliminate the weird twist motion we do while we're shampooing preventing future back issues. I'm making sure there is 7 feet between each chair; I want to be able to dance around my chair without coming close to touching my neighbor. Ya girl likes E L B O W R O O M. I'm installing a 9'x3' island smack dab in the middle of the salon to color hair extensions on. This way we won't be using space at our stations or tucked away in the back room coloring hair extensions. And clients love to watch us do this part! They're fascinated and feel like they're a part of the process. I'm having lockers installed so that guests can put their belongings away and not have to carry around their purse while bouncing around from waiting area, to salon chair, to shampoo bowl, and so on. I'm putting necessary thought into every detail, measurement, spacing, color, size, and functionality of my space. But not so much to where I'm driving myself crazy. That is where my "momager" (mom/manager) comes into play. She's been a godsend and I truly couldn't do it without her helping me make decisions and running errands for me while I work behind the chair servicing my clients. Thank you mom, I love you.

So what have I been up to you ask? Let me list it out for you:

1) Full time job physically behind the chair 50+ hours a week

2) Managing a full list of clientele. Reschedules, new clients, questions, redo tweaks, etc.

3) Training/Managing my assistant and making sure she's "good" and being fulfilled

4) Remodeling a salon. coordinating contractors, keeping the ball rolling, answering questions constantly

5) Being a family member

6) Being a girlfriend

7) Being a friend

8) Managing some lower back pain I've recently developed

9) Trying to get back into the habit of working out

10) Trying to not eat like shit and be more kind to my body

11) Somehow find time to sleep

Needless to say, my phone STAYS lit up and my brain is constantly racing. Inside of all of this though is a divine romance with myself. I'm learning how to manage my time, my thoughts, my energy, my sleep and so much more. I'm learning a lot about business and my nonnegotiables. Things that I used to bother me and keep me awake at night aren't worth my time or energy. Don't want to participate in our friendship? See you around. Want to reschedule your appointment? Perfectly fine, what works for you? Didn't have time to go grocery shopping? That's fine. Thank the LORT for HEB pickup. The maid tucked my brush away where I can't find it? no problem, I'll borrow Billy's until it turns up. Life is too short! I'm content with change and growth. My journey and surroundings will change many many times. It makes me excited thinking about the things I'm going to learn about my business, employees, new/old friends and myself. This is only the beginning!

I'm learning to surrender certain decisions and leave some things up to people that know what they're doing. Like the paint color on my walls for instance. I want white walls. Clean, white, crisp walls. Do you know how many different shades of "white" there are? Dove white, antique white, snow white, cool whip white, eggshell white, paper white, bright white, I can go on and on. I literally grabbed my purse and told my mom to choose one and left because I was too overwhelmed. At the end of the day, does it really matter which shade of white is on my walls? No. Nobody is going to come hold up all the different white swatches from Sherwin Williams and criticize my paint color. Small things like that are things that I just have to surrender. Because if I overanalyze every detail it will drive me crazy. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have an idea of what I want and I'm very particular in my vibe and overall esthetic, but I'm not going to stress about all of the little nit picky stuff when I can just make a quick decision and move along. There are more things to construct and build within my business that will require my attention.

I feel like this can be related to anything in life and whatever you may be going through. I had a client a while back that found out she was pregnant, she was so excited and more than ready to be a mom. So, as I do, I ask questions about whatever my clients are telling me is going on in their life. "What diet are you on?" "Are you finding out the sex?" "Are you watching your seafood intake?" She looked back and said "You know, I'm trying not to have everything figured out. If I obsess over every little thing it will drive me crazy and I really want to enjoy this experience." I never forgot that. I always think about that sentence that she told me and I hold a lot of value in the message she was trying to deliver. She probably was trying to get me to shut up and do her hair so she could scroll on instagram, regardless she had a good point.

All this to say, if you're going through something monumental in your life that is requiring a lot of your attention and you're having to create some sort of circumstance for yourself...try to consider surrendering certain things and live your life. Try not to obsess over the small stuff and drive yourself crazy. Because at the end of the day the details matter, but so does your sanity. Enjoy your different seasons of life and don't sweat the small stuff.

Xo-KP

Logo by: Elisabeth Tatum DDM Marketing & Consulting

Photos: Caitlin Higgason