Embracing Accountability: Navigating the Anxieties of Change and Growth as a CEO

Hello, my friends. Welcome back to The Modern Hairstylist Podcast. I'm gonna be introducing to you today a concept that honestly it's a little bit of a tough love concept, okay? It's a little bit of a kick in the ass.

So if you are feeling like you need a- a kick in the ass right now to get geared up for achieving your goals in your business or getting back into the swing of things, then this one is for you. I'll be honest with you, um, you guys know you hear me talk about all the time, like, you are in your own space in your own journey, and there's no such thing as behind, and you shouldn't be comparing yourself to this person and that person and what they have going on and how much further ahead they are, et cetera, et cetera, right? And while I believe that is completely true and you need to keep your blinders on, what I also believe is, is that you need to take full responsibility for yourself, for your growth, and the circumstance that you're in when it comes to your business, because nothing is going to change unless you are the one who decides to take action. And furthermore, even if the circumstances of the world, um, of people, um, even if a circumstance is something that you feel like is completely out of your control, at the end of the day, you are still the CEO of your business.

You are still the driver of every single decision that you make, and you're the one who suffers from the consequences of not showing up or whatever circumstances happen. So it's up to you as the business owner to take full responsibility as the CEO for every single decision you make and every single thing that happens to you. So if you're ready to dive deeper into these concepts with me, if you're ready to get a kick in the ass to make sure that the rest of this year is one that you are proud of, then let's get into it. Let's go.

What's the tea, friend? My name's Hunter Donia, industry business educator for hairstylists, but my friends just call me Hunty. Whether it be growing your clientele, making more money, or automating and streamlining your systems, in the next 20 minutes or so, you'll be hearing realistic, actionable strategies to create a beautiful career for yourself behind the chair. So if you're ready to get into it, welcome to The Modern Hairstylist Podcast.

So the first thing that I wanna talk about, you wanting things to change, right? Like, you want something in your business or in your life to change, but all too often, we aren't willing to either put in the work or confront the fear and uncomfortability of the work or the rolling out of the change, right? And this is completely human, and it's completely, you know, normal, and I'm not shaming anybody for this at all because I go through this all the time by going through this right now. Every single evolution of growth, every single moment of your journey as a business owner, you're going to have these feelings of fear and uncomfortability and not wanting to approach certain circumstances because you know you're going to have to go through an uncomfortable evolution, and it's completely normal, and it's completely understandable that if you want to raise your prices, like, if you wanna make more money, or if you wanna raise your profit in your business, then you are going to have to raise your prices, you know?

And if you want to raise your prices, then you either know one- you're sc- you're scared of one of- of two things. Number one, you're scared of the uncomfortability of the work that it takes to get you to the place where you deserve a price increase because maybe you're scared about showing up on social media, showing your face, handing out your cards, asking for referrals. Um, maybe you have imposter syndrome of, um, making an excellent next-level client experience that breeds, uh, organic referrals into your business, right? Maybe you're like, "Oh, who am I to, um, have these next-level amenities in my suite?

Who am I to do all this extra stuff?" Right? Um, that's all uncomfortability of change. That's all uncomfortability- uncomfortability of evolution.

Maybe you are even insecure that your efforts of- that you'd put into those things, you may fail in them. Maybe they wouldn't give you the, uh, steps forward that you needed to get closer to that goal of raising your prices, right? And that's completely understandable as well, too. But here's the thing.

It's so important that you fail. It's so important that you fail. There is no such thing as success without failure. You have to learn those lessons.

You have to have that experience, or else you will never be equipped with all of the knowledge and experience that you need to actually achieve that success. So if you're sitting back right now and you're waiting for somebody to come save you, for somebody to come pull you out of your seat and walk you through this uncomfortability, they're not coming. They're not coming. And if the fear of failure or the fear of change is stopping you from going ahead and taking that next step, then it's only up to you to take responsibility for yourself and the circumstance that you're in and the changes that you wanna make and to step the hell up for yourself, because that's what you deserve, and take the relevant steps forward.

I've done a lot of therapy over the past couple years, and what I- what has been really helpful for me in moments where I am down on myself or whenever I am, like, having a difficult time getting motivated, I- I... This might sound corny, but it works for me, and maybe it might work for you.I think about my younger self, and I think about him and what little Hunter would want me to do right now, or what can I do for little Hunter right now, right? Like, what would he...

What, what, what kind of person would I want to be for him, and what kind of person do I want to be for my future self as well when I am... when I'm 10 years ahead from today, right? Do I wanna look back and say, like, "Oh, he didn't make any moves because he was too scared," or do I wanna look back and say, "Oh, my God, thank God younger Hunter stood up for me and put me into this position that I'm in now, although it may have been challenging or scary or uncomfortable?" Right?

That's the type of Hunter that I wanna be for my younger self and my future self. So, think about your younger self. Think about your future self. Think about your family in the future.

Think about your best friends in the future, right? Who do you want to be for them? And if that person is somebody who is willing to take uncomfortable, scrappy action, who's willing to deal with the emotions that come with growth and evolution, then step your freaking game up and take a step forward. It does not have to be perfect, and it's okay if you fail.

Actually, I want you to fail, like I said. So, take the next step forward. This is your sign. Whatever you've been holding off, whatever you're lagging on, whatever you got overwhelmed by and you stopped and you gave up on in the middle of it, pick it back up, and take it head-on and kick its ass.

And use resources, community, use your friends, use mentors, use people, use your resources. Be resourceful to get the damn thing done, okay? So, the other thing that's kind of, take into consideration versus the uncomfortability of change and what you will need to do to get there is the actual rolling out of the change itself, right? Rolling out changes, standing up for yourself, setting boundaries, um, making really difficult decisions can be really scary.

It can be painful. It can be uncomfortable. And yeah, sometimes when you roll those things out to people, it is going to be painful, and it is gonna suck, right? Nobody ever said that being a business owner and doing the things that you have to do to get to your next evolution and level of growth were going to be all comfortable roses and daisies.

And that's exactly why I talk about a lot. I talk about how entrepreneurship is sold as this really sexy and beautiful thing, and it's really not. It's really not a sexy and beautiful thing. It really sucks sometimes.

But the benefits that you can reap from it, I believe, are worth it for me. But you're never going to feel that way unless you're willing to work through some of the pain that comes with the difficult things that you have to work through, such as rolling out things to your clients, your customers, or even maybe your family and your friends, setting boundaries between you and them that you know are essential for your next level of growth, right? So, let's say, for example, you know you need to roll out a price increase. You deserve it.

You know that there's n- there's so much demand on your time, but you're so nervous that the rug is gonna be pulled out from under you, or you're nervous about actually having to confront your clients about it, or you're sad, and you're nervous that you may grieve a loss of a client who, uh, can't afford you at your new price. This all sucks. Yes. And there's not really any way around it.

What you can do is you can be as prepared as possible. You can do these things as strategically as possible to mitigate the fallout as much as possible, and I teach you all how to do that within my programs and give you the strategy, give you the tangibles, give you everything that you need to be as prepared as possible, right? And to make sure that it is as successful as possible. But that pain and the uncomfortability is not gonna go away.

It's something you have to confront at one point or another. It's something that you have to go ahead and, uh, build up the courage to be able to do. You may never feel confident in it. You may never feel really good about what you have to do.

But what you do have to have is courage because the confidence does not come from you doing a bunch of mindset work and doing a bunch of this strategy stuff, although it can help. Confidence comes after you've built up the courage to actually take action. You will never have confidence in any big, scary, next-level thing that you do because you've never done it before. So, stop waiting for you to feel ready, because if on paper you are ready, then you need to go ahead and do it if you ever want to take responsibility for your own growth and get to where you wanna go.

Are you running your business, or are you letting the clients and the universe run your business? Are you letting your family and your friends in your ear with advice that is completely irrelevant and unknowledgeable about what you have going on get into your head and stop you from taking the next step that you know in your soul is the right next step? I'm going off. I'm going on a rant today, honey.

I'm just so fucking sick of seeing people hold themselves back from success. It's really frustrating. As a mentor, my, my... I- I don't give a shit about anything that I do.

Nothing here matters to me unless I see you make steps forward.Unless I see you succeed in the goals that you want to achieve. But you have to do the damn work. You have to take responsibility for your life, and the business that you've created, and the decisions that you make in it moving forward.

So, F anybody who isn't going to stick with you on this journey or is who, or who is going to give you grief for a change or something that you are going to roll out to them. They do not belong in your life. You are no longer the right fit for them in their life anymore. Because guess what?

You can't operate on the level that you deserve to operate on if they are sticking around and dragging you down. And they may need somebody different in their life, a different hairstylist serv- service provider, who can, who is in that space of their journey where they can affordably exchange services and exchange money and have a great relationship moving forward. Stop holding people back from finding their right fit. Stop holding people back from going to somewhere else and something else to find more happiness and joy, and hold y- b- and meanwhile, you're holding yourself back from more happiness and more joy by holding onto these people, and by being scared of the change that you want to make.

So, if there's anything that I want you to take away from this episode is that, like I said, and like the title, you are fully responsible for your business. Nothing is going to change unless you take action. So, go fucking take some action. Whatever that looks like for you, whatever you're trying to achieve in your life and your business, I want you to take action now.

Do not wait. Do not wait 'til tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. It's time right now. You are ready.

The world has prepared you for this. Every single experience that you've had in your life has, it has prepared f- you for this. And if you've built out the strategy, if you're doing things in a smart way that you know are strategic and you know will work well, then guess what? You've done all the work.

It's just time for you to show the hell up for yourself and get her done, okay? 'Cause you deserve it. 'Cause your family deserves it. 'Cause the people that this affects deserves it, because your younger self and your future self deserve it from you.

All right? So much love. I hope that you enjoyed this episode of the Modern Hairstylist podcast. Peace out, girl scout.

Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2023 Hunter Donia LLC.