Intro: Do you feel like you were meant to have a kick-ass career as a hair stylist? Like you got into this industry to make big things happen?
Maybe you’re struggling to build a solid base and want some stability. Maybe you know social media is important, but it feels like a waste of time because you aren’t seeing any results. Maybe you’ve already had some amazing success but are craving more. Maybe you’re ready to truly enjoy the freedom and flexibility this industry has to offer.
Cutting and coloring skills will only get you so far, but to build a lifelong career as a wealthy stylist, it takes business skills and a serious marketing strategy. When you’re ready to quit just working in your business and start working on it, join us here where we share real success stories from real stylists.
I’m Britt Seva, social media and marketing strategist just for hair stylists, and this is the Thriving Stylist Podcast.
Britt Seva: What is up and welcome back to the Thriving Stylist Podcast. I’m your host, Britt Seva, and today I want to talk about the four zones of business growth.
One of the things that I think is my advantage when coaching the industry right now is that I’ve been doing it for a long time. At this point, I’ve been doing it for over a decade. And when you are trying to be an inspiration in any area of focus or expertise, generally you start off as an expert and then you become an educator. It takes time and longevity to really be a coach. I think that I crossed this point simply because I’ve had the chance to really coach stylists and salon owners at a massive scale. I’m up over 15,000 at this point, so I have run a lot of reps and I have the advantage of seeing a lot of the industry in pattern. Not everything is pattern, there’s always nuances to everything. This is not a cookie cutter type of industry. Every situation’s a little bit different. However, the longer you do anything, the more you see pattern in it.
Unlikely for you if you specialize in cutting. Every head shape is a little bit different. But you’ve likely developed some tips, tricks, strategies based on the fact that, well, 70% of a haircut, if the desired result is X, is going to look like steps one, two, and three.
It’s the same for me as a coach. There’s these patterns I’ve been able to pick up on over the years that give me a bit of an advantage when I’m trying to help somebody break through, have an aha moment, realize the error in their ways, have clarity around something that’s been holding them back. And one of the things that I’ve more recently identified is four different zones of business growth and/or stagnation.
When we say growth, sometimes people grow backwards. It would be called recessing in your business. Not all growth is positive growth. Sometimes we grow bad habits, sometimes we grow laziness, sometimes we grow anger, frustration, disappointment, right? This is a bit of a cycle and I’ve talked about it in different terms previously. I’ve talked about the four part inspiration cycle, how people get out of the zone of overwhelm or burnout, but this is going to be a bit of a different take.
This episode is going to be for you if you’d like to see stronger results, if you’d like to see better results faster, if you feel like the results you’ve achieved are good but not great, if you’re feeling lost, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, if you’re feeling defeated, if you’re feeling confident, but you’re curious about what your what’s next, this is for you. Hopefully we’ve included everybody on this one.
As we dive into each of these four zones, I’m going to be using six points of data and/or criteria to help you understand what choices you are making when you’re in each of these zones. Most of us end up in these zones by default and we are shocked by the repercussion of them and we really shouldn’t be because they’re very simple, they’re very transparent, and once you understand them, you can then overcome them and choose to shift zones at any time that you would like.
The six data points we’re going to be looking at as we talk about these zones are going to be control, level of challenge, short-term growth potential, long-term growth potential, effort, and stress. Do those six areas sound like the key factors in your business? I thought so. Let’s dive into the zones and we’re going to use those same six key points over and over and over.
Now listen up because I’m going to talk about each and I want you to identify where you are today and where you’d like to be in the near future.
The first zone is the zone that the vast majority, I mean 90% probably of our industry chooses to live in on any given day of the week. It is the zone that we default to. It is the zone that we were taught to aspire to be at when we first joined the industry, and that is the Comfort Zone. Probably the zone you anticipated me saying.
Comfort is a really tricky word because even as I say “comfort,” I want you to think to yourself what image comes to mind as you say the word “comfort.” The human mind is really interesting. So when I say the word “comfort,” I picture myself at home on the couch with a big oversize—we have these incredible fluffy, furry blankets from Target that I’m obsessed with. One of those big furry blankets, maybe a couple of them snuggled up with my eight-year-old son who’s just the best snuggler on the planet, drinking milkshakes. When I think of comfort, it’s visions like that. That sounds great.
And this is where the mind will f you up is because when we think about life in general, we seek comfort. You get home from work, you want to get comfortable, you change your clothes ’cause you’d like to be comfortable, you settle in at the end of the night, you hope to be comfortable. I can’t sleep tonight. I’m not comfortable. Comfort is something that we as humans are always seeking. That’s been ingrained in us since the caveman time. It is also the thing that keeps business owners small and weak, unfortunately.
When we look at survival, yes comfort is great, but do you want your business to survive or do you want it to thrive, right?
If you settle for comfort, you’ll barely get by, you’ll barely pay your bills, you’ll likely be in debt, your business will kind of grow but kind of stagnate. You’ll be comfortable but you won’t get the desired result you’re looking for in business, and that’s where the word comfort can really mess you up.
When we look at the Comfort Zone and we look first at control, right? Comfort Zone gives us a false sense of control and we think “when I’m comfortable, I’m in control”. You’re actually not. What’s in control is whatever previous business decisions you’ve made, good, bad or indifferent, they’re the boss. You’re not the boss. You’re living and dying by the result of your previous actions, whatever it is you woke up this morning and did today.
Generally, when we’re in our Comfort Zone, we’re living in Groundhog Day, like tomorrow’s going to be more or less how today was, which was pretty much how yesterday was. Not much is changing on the regular. This month is fairly similar to last month, which is pretty similar to six months ago ‘cause you’re comfortable, right? Or you’re doing, “I’m just trying to get by.” Those are things we say when we’re comfortable. False sense of control.
You’re actually completely out of control. You’re at the mercy of your past decisions, but in your mind, your mind tricks you and makes you think comfort and business is control.
When we look at challenges, there are very few challenges skill-wise, which is why comfort feels so good. No challenge, no pain, no problem.
When we look at growth potential, you have average short-term growth potential. It’s comfortable. You’re generally not struggling or maybe you are. Some of you struggle in the Comfort Zone. I don’t know why you’re staying there at all, but you do for some reason. But when you look at short-term growth potential, it’s average at best. You’re never going to make anything miraculous happen. Long-term growth potential, very dismal. If you survive, you’ll be lucky, right? This is surviving, not thriving.
Effort is medium and this should be the red flag to you. It’s not actually easy in business to be comfortable. Can I get an amen? It actually takes quite a bit of work to stay comfortable in business. You’re like, “I’m working my booty cheeks off and I’m still not making the money I want to.” Can anybody relate to that? That’s what being comfortable in business looks and feels like and that’s when the resentment builds, right? The effort is medium to be comfortable, which stinks.
Then when we get to stress, stress is also medium. Most people who are comfortable in business still carry a great deal of stress. They still lay awake at night, fingers crossed, hoping that things go well. Does that sound about right to any of you? If it feels like I identified you, you’re currently living your business in the Comfort Zone.
What you might do is hear this podcast and be like, “Yeah, Britt lit a fire under my ass, and what I want to do is I want to shift to the Growth Zone,” which often happens when we take incredible education, when we learn something, when we see somebody who inspires us, we push to the Growth Zone.
Let’s use those same factors as we analyze the Growth Zone. When you are in the Growth Zone, your control is very low. Generally when we’re in the Growth Zone, we feel incredibly out of control. You’re pushing through fear, you’re walking into an area of unknown, you’re getting a little bit uncomfortable, right? We’re out of the Comfort Zone, we’re in the Growth Zone. Maybe you took a class or you heard a podcast or you saw somebody do something rad or you are planning some big life thing and you’re like, “I want to buy my first house. I really need to get into that Growth Zone to make it happen,” you’re going to feel out of control.
Generally when we’re in the Growth Zone, we have to work more. There’s only two resources we have to build our business with: time or money. Generally in the Growth Zone, you’re going to have to use a little bit of both, which again makes us feel out of control. ‘Cause in the Comfort Zone things are pretty easy peasy and now we have this push that’s uncomfortable.
There are many challenges in the Growth Zone, skill-wise, mentally, physically, emotionally, relationship-wise. Challenge’s quite high when we’re in that Growth Zone compared to in the Comfort Zone, challenge was quite low.
When we look at the short term growth here, it’s variable. Some people see quick results in the Growth Zone. Sustaining it is a bit more challenging, like quick money’s easy money, longevity is for the badass in business, and we’re going to talk about how to get there in a second. But when you get into the Growth Zone, there’s variable short-term growth potential, extremely high long-term growth potential. You will not reach the upper limits of your career unless you push yourself into the Growth Zone. It is fully impossible. You cannot Comfort-Zone-cruise control your way to success. It ain’t happening. I’ve never met somebody who’s done that in the 15,000 people I’ve coached up until this point. It’s just not happening.
Stress is also high as well as effort. So when we look at Growth Zone, I’m like, “How does that sound to everybody? Who wants maximum stress, maximum effort, loss of control, tons of challenges?” It sounds terrible. As I describe it, your body language is probably getting smaller and smaller and smaller, ‘cause you’re like, “Oh my gosh, it’s like all of my worst fears coming true.” Yes, but the payoff of the Growth Zone is variable short-term growth and extremely high long-term growth.
That’s why, even if you decide down the line I’m not the business coach for you, any business coach worth their weight will always tell you you’re going to have to get uncomfortable until your business grows. It’s literally impossible. If you could grow from the Comfort Zone, everybody would be doing it already. But then why is it that over 90% of our industry is in struggle right now? Because over 90% isn’t willing to push through the pain of the Growth Zone.
Every successful stylist and salon owner I know who’s making multiple six figures, absentee salon owners who are only in their salons 10 hours a week or less, making great money, living the good life, push through the Growth Zone. Every single one. We need to get through that pain, walk through that fire to get to the good part.
But what usually happens is people are like, “All right, I can do that. I can walk through fire, I can walk on the hot coals, I’m down with the burn. If you’ll hold my hand, I’m in.” I’m like, “Okay, great, I’ll hold your hand, I’ll walk through the coals with you. Let’s do it.” We’ll start walking through the coals. You’ll get a little bit of that burn under your feet. You’ll start to feel the loss of control. Your stress is going to start to bubble up. It’s going to feel like a huge investment and you’re not sure where it’s going to take you.
The very easy thing to do is to hop off the coals, make a jump to the left. No matter how hard I try to pull you back in, you make a jump to the left, into the Stagnation Zone.
What are the signs that you are potentially in the Stagnation Zone? Burnout, social media breaks, slow growth of clientele with very minimal efforts to change it. You are losing team members, you’re resentful of your team members. You are feeling uninspired. Welcome to Stagnation Nation, my friends. You are in the Stagnation Zone by definition without a doubt.
When you’re in the Stagnation Zone, you have very low control and you almost don’t care. You have an effort mentality, you don’t like it, see it tomorrow. I don’t care. You’re burnt out. You’re mentally, physically, emotionally exhausted, which is different than the Comfort Zone, right? There’s not a lot of progress in the Comfort Zone either, but your stress level is pretty chill. When you’re in the Stagnation Zone, stress is very high. Your mind races, you’re considering everything and nothing all at once. It’s the weirdest position to be in.
When we look at the challenges, there’s many and that’s the irony is there’s as many challenges in the Stagnation Zone as there are in the Growth Zone. Let’s just choose Growth ’cause I’d rather have the outcome there but a lot of people don’t.
You still have challenges in the Stagnation Zone, extremely limited short-term growth potential, extremely limited long-term growth potential ’cause you’re cruise-controlling. But you’re not even cruise controlling at a Comfort Zone level. You’re at an “f it” level, which is never great. Effort is still medium just like it is at the Comfort Zone. But like I said, the stress is very high.
Stagnation hurts. Stagnation is where I see a lot of bitterness in the industry. A lot of resentfulness, a lot of catty comments, a lot of stylists wasting their time, tearing people down on social media rather than focusing on what they need to do to build their business. Like oh my gosh, if you put a quarter of that time you spend scrolling feeds and looking at other people’s stuff as you did on building and growing your business, my gosh, you’d be so busy you wouldn’t have time to worry about anybody else is doing. And you know what? Everyone will be worried about you ’cause you’d be the next inspiration.
But instead you choose to stagnate and waste your time on things that don’t get you to where you want to be because your happiness is low, your control is low, you have tons of challenges, short and long-term growth is low, effort is still medium, and stress is high.
Whose part of Stagnation Nation? I see you and I feel you. The only way to get out of Stagnation or Comfort is to push through Growth. Do not pass, go do not collect $200. You have to push through the pain of the Growth Zone in order to get to zone number four, which is what I’m going to call the Abundance Zone.
I call it abundance because—I actually initially called this success, but I think when I use the word “success”, people think lots of money. The older I get and the more experience I have in business, the more I learn that money is not the key to happiness. Trust me, I remember myself living in our 700-square foot duplex, my husband and I sleeping on the couch because we didn’t have enough bedrooms for everybody in the family. There was no AC. Summers got up to 107 and we were struggling. I look back at that young woman and she would tell you money was the root of all her problems. I deeply relate. I know.
The older you get then the more life you live. If you have anybody who’s older, they’ll always tell you money is great. Money is the tool. Money can definitely make you more comfortable. Life is made up of a lot more than that and it’s why you see a lot of rich miserable people. Money is good. Abundance is what matters.
When I talk about abundance, a life that’s abundant is one where you don’t have to worry about money. You’ve got the money. That’s not a problem. You might not be driving, I don’t know, a Range Rover or whatever your dream fancy car is. You might not be wearing Italian leather shoes. You might not have a $3,000 handbag, but you can pull out your card and buy anything that you want to at any time, not incur debt, and not have to worry. That’s what abundance feels like. It’s called financial peace of mind.
It’s also where your relationships are great, your stress is low, life is really damn good. Rather than calling this the Success Zone, I want to call it the Abundance Zone because for a lot of you, you’re making really good money and maybe you’re still stagnating, right? So money can’t quite be the indicator on this one. I’m going to call it Abundance.
When you’re in the Abundance Zone, you have very high control, fully in the driver’s seat.
I keep saying I’m in a season of no. I’m saying a lot more nos, like nos to really sexy speaking opportunities, nos to really incredible partnership opportunities because I’m very much in control of my life and business at this point, and I don’t need to make leap-of-faith, wild decisions that don’t perfectly align with my North Star. I just don’t need to. That feels really powerful. That’s an Abundance Zone kind of feeling.
Very few challenges skill-wise. You can’t get to the Abundance Zone until you’ve been a student for a very long time. Those in the Abundance Zone checked the ego a long time ago. They realize they don’t even know a fraction of everything there is to know and they live life like a sponge.
High short and long-term growth potential growing now, growing for the future, future looks bright. Effort is high. I want to be really clear on that. Part of the influencer culture that really pisses me off is this idea that you can build a business on a mega yacht. I have some very successful friends, none of which are building their business on a mega yacht. I know that looks really adorable on Instagram. I don’t know of a single person in real life who’s doing that and everybody I know who’s truly abundant works their ass off. I don’t have an example of somebody who does it lazy. I don’t know anybody who’s living off passive income.
I want to be honest about that. Just because you get to the Abundance Zone doesn’t mean you get to kick it.
But the interesting thing is those who get to the Abundance Zone don’t want to. It’s really difficult to get to the Abundance Zone unless you really love what you’re doing and you’re well-educated in it and you’re praised for it and it makes you feel like you found your life’s purpose. Why would you abandon that, right? You work hard, the effort is high, but remember you also have high control and few challenges skill-wise, so even though you’re putting in the effort, it’s all very aligned. None of it feels like a waste of time. Burnout does not happen and stress is very low.
When we look at the six factors, all of them are very in alignment. It’s not a place and space of laziness or complacency. Laziness and complacency exists in the Comfort Zone. We already talked about that. The Abundance Zone is very different than that, and that’s where it differs from the Comfort Zone is that the effort is still there. It’s just that the control of the alignment, the education is also there as well.
Wrapping it up, what pushes people into the Stagnation or the Comfort Zones, which is really where we want to avoid and where unfortunately the bulk of our industry lives: excuses, ego, lack of knowledge, and, the biggest of all, fear.
I made a post on social media recently, I actually think it was on Facebook and it was about leadership. I made a comment about how unfortunately poor leadership is really plaguing the industry right now, and it was a salon owner who was like, “You’re wrong, you’re wrong. It’s lazy stylists who are plaguing the industry.” And I said, “Challenge accepted.”
I looked at this salon owner’s website and it was terrible. I looked at the salon owner’s social media, terrible. It made me question are the stylists lazy or are you? You’ve not put any effort into building your brand reputation. No online reviews. We can say adorable things like, “My clientele likes to keep it old school.” Does your clientele have a smartphone? Do they use the internet? Then they’re not kicking it old school, you’ve just not evolved.
When we do things like making excuses, it comes down to lack of knowledge. Like I talked about, fear of changing the way we run business, fear of learning new skills that we’re not aware of, and so it’s very easy to blame others for our lack of growth, right? We don’t want to get into the Growth Zone, so we stay in Stagnation or Comfort.
This is where you project outward, right? I had a podcast a few, probably a couple months back now where I talked about self-awareness, external and internal. If you’re in Stagnation or Comfort, you’re likely lacking some self-awareness, either externally or internally. Would love to help you through that. But that’s probably a part of what’s going on. What pushes people to the Growth or Success Zones? Consistent education, willing to work hard with focus, willing to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gain, quit chasing that quick money, literally forget it, and start to get long-term.
Then also your North Star. I talked about this—it’s a Wealthiest Year Yet concept. Something I started teaching to in 2019 that has literally changed lives. It’s completely changed mine, which is why I started teaching it outwardly. But being a sponge, checking the ego, realizing you have so much more to learn.
Every time I roll out my personal education budget to my team, I always wait for them to choke because if you knew how much I spent on personal development every year, it would probably be shocking. It’s because I am so painfully aware that I’m just getting started and I have so much more to learn.
The only person I’m competing with is myself and I think that so few people in the world today are willing to admit how little they know. I’ll be the first to say I’m like an infant when it comes to business. I’m just getting started. In my lifetime, my goal is to be a master and to hopefully inspire all of y’all to come along with me in that journey.
I hope this episode’s been helpful to you. I encourage you to identify what zone you’re in today, where you want to be tomorrow, and happy to help you get there however I can.
As always, leave me a rating or review in the comments. If you have any follow-up questions, you could always find me in the DMs on Instagram @brittseva.
So much love, happy business building, and I’ll see you on the next one.
