Changing The Culture

Culture is defined as the way of life for a group of people.

Currently a majority of people hear about salons or spas and immediately associate them with gossip, drama, judgment, an easy way to make money without a degree, etc. When I opened Blu, I knew I wanted to CHANGE THE CULTURE in the Beauty Industry and make it something great.

The values I want the staff at Blu to live by are:

1. No Judgement. It is our job to make our clients feel confident, not to talk down to clients that don’t understand different services we provide, or anything else. We are here to help our clients to feel good about themselves and feel comfortable in an industry that can be overwhelming, judgmental, and sometimes even condescending.

2. Work as a team. I want a place where stylists work together to reach goals, teach each other, and become the best in the area that is their favorite. NO COMPETING. A safe place where everyone wants to go to work each day, and be creative as possible.

3. Work hard and live purely for our clients and our families.

4. “Be the best version of yourself.” – Kobe Bryant (the Blu girls hear this quote almost daily 😉 )

The biggest things I have personally learned while working in the industry are:

1. Entitlement is the root of EVIL. There is no place in this life for it. You deserve NOTHING more than the person next to you. You DESERVE nothing more than what you EARN.

2. Living life purely and with loving intentions, sets your soul free. Free from distress, even that is brought on by others. Do you and be pure with your intentions and nothing else matters than the light you shine for others.

3. Work harder than anyone in the room. Hard work gives you confidence, knowledge and time to be distracted by unnecessary things – such as drama. I fully believe that I should work harder than anyone on my staff because I only set an example by leading.

With that being said, all those things take time and are learned by life lessons. It takes even longer when you’re trying to change a culture that has been common in our area for so long that people begin to think it’s normal and common. So, how do you find the motivation and inspiration? I am going to tell you about three motivators that you probably haven’t heard of or even considered influential. In my opinion, three of the most underrated influential people around.

The first and probably most well known throughout the US is Andy Friscella. Now, the man swears worse than a sailor and he has a political party favorite, but I ignore the politics. (FYI – I am not political and shamefully, I did not know anything about politics until 2020 – but at the at the same time I am glad that it doesn’t affect me.) The biggest thing Andy influences is – HARDWORK! A hard work ethic is one of the most important qualities a human should have. Hard work and hard life situations make you react. Your reaction and ways of overcoming these obstacles are what makes you weak or strong. You’re a shark or a minnow. Be a Shark! Work hard. Make a plan A.B.C.D.E and all the way down to Z. Andy’s podcast is called RealAF. If you listen to it you will no longer make excuses for yourself. You will accomplish your goals. He

doesn’t sugar coat shit, but will get you thinking and keep you from thinking you don’t have to work hard. He also swears A LOT, so don’t say I didn’t warn ya. Be the HARDEST worker in the room!

The second individual you need to go follow is a politician. YES, I KNOW… but you would not know his party affiliation unless you looked it up – really! Sioux Falls, SD Mayor Paul TenHaken. I do not know him personally, of course, but from videos, social media, and his pure enjoyment with it all is captivating and motivating. I first started following and watching his things when he started doing videos with his daughter who is a touch older than mine, but if you’re talking hard things with a kid on live anything, then your heart is pure. His ability to have good, clean fun in life without hurting or degrading someone is refreshing and entertaining. He is one of those people who is extremely involved and does the things he says. He goes out into the community instead of sitting behind a camera in an office. He actually goes and meets business owners,

and asks them the questions and really learns. Even though he is super involved in the community, he seems to put his family and kids first. This is pureness. Purity sets the soul free and allows you to selflessly live life in a full and pure state!

Finally, if you live in SD then you most likely know my last, but not least, individual. Mr. Don Meyer, a NSU Men’s Basketball Coach who is an incredibly humbling/inspiring human. The culture he created within his basketball teams was unmatched, but others were also inspired by him. His faithfulness and trust in God after being involved in a near-death car accident which lead to the finding of cancer was beyond admirable. His love for God and dream to inspire his players never wavered, even amidst the trauma he was facing. You can only get through the awful with the LOVE and GRACE of God. Don had pure love for his players, but pushed them to be the best versions of themselves. At an awards ceremony, Don quoted another great Basketball coach – John Wooden. “Don’t wine. Don’t complain. Don’t give up.” I believe that Don NEVER gave up!

There’s so much to take away from Don, but to sum up things:

– Entitlement is giving up and it will not get you where you want to be.

– Don’t wine. Don’t complain.

– Don’t give up. Keep going.

– You can only get through the awful with the LOVE and GRACE of God.

Follow these people and you will have a great foundation.

Changing a culture won’t happen overnight, but… Learn from good people. Keep going. Be humble. Work Hard. No excuses. Love purely. With these things maybe one day we will get there! The world needs some simple reminders and these are simple things that EVERYONE can do. So, are you ready to help the change?