How to Be a Customer Centric, Modernized Business with Angel Robinson

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.

Hello, my friend. Thank you so much for tuning into the Modern Hairstylist podcast. Today, we have a very special guest, a very special guest that I happened to meet on Clubhouse back in the day when Clubhouse was, like, the popping thing. And this woman is just absolutely so brilliant and has done really badass things in her own business and has a strong mission and intention to revolutionize this industry and equip people with the tools that I want to equip them with as well too.

And I just think it's so inspiring to, uh, to have people come on here and share with the audience and continue on with, with those efforts. And so, I have Angel Robinson, a stylist, barber, holistic trichologist, and multifaceted entrepreneur badass within this industry, might I say. And, um, Angel, welcome to the show. I'm super excited to have you here.

Hello, beautiful people. I'm, like, so geeked right now to- ... be on here 'cause you're, like, one of my favorite youngpreneurs. Like, like, I look up to you, you get what I'm saying?

Because I wish it was more people like you, young pioneers that's stepping up to the plate, making a difference in our industry, so I applaud you right now. Thank you. Thank you so much. And I would not be able to do it without amazing leaders like you who are paving the way, so thank you.

That means a lot. I appreciate it. Would you mind giving the audience just a little bit of a background of who you are and how you got into the industry? Or, and maybe, like, a little bit about what you got going on right now and how you serve people?

Well, yes, I would. First of all, I was born a barber stylist. Like, born. I feel like I'm really big on, um, my mother, the things that my mother raised me on, some of the things, some of the traditions.

She really seen a youngpreneur in me when I was seven, and I thank God for having that type of mother because I feel like my mother fed my gift. She watered it and gave it sunlight. And as I grew into what I, my mother knew I was becoming , you know what I'm saying? So from birth, I felt like from, from birth, I was supposed to be a barber stylist.

And not to mention, I am a fourth generation barber stylist. Wow. Yeah. So- That is so cool.

Yeah, four generations. My great-great-great-great, um, grandfather actually worked for Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone. Okay. The or- the original person that started the beauty and barbering industry.

Madame CJ Walker- Whoa. actually worked for her. Wow. That's crazy.

Yeah, a lot of people don't know that, like, Annie was... She owned a school called Porro. She had 75,000 Porro agents all over the world that worked for her, but nobody knows about her. And I'm so happy that my family was connected to that, so I know now.

So whenever I come into contact with people, I let people know- That's cool. that Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone is the lady that started it, and Madame CJ Walker was one of her agents. So we go, we go way back, my family and I. So we were, by...

I believe my DNA was built to be a barber stylist. And not only... Not to mention that my mother also watered it, gave it sunlight, and fed it. But as I grew older into what I was becoming, my mother told me to walk, talk, and conduct myself as the person I wanna become because I am the person I am right now.

And I have always been able to walk in those shoes. I always wanted to be who I am now, like, intentionally, you know? And whatever else God got for me, right? But yeah, that's how it all started.

So I've been doing this... I've been licensed since 1988. Nice. And, uh, and I'm sure that tells my age.

I'm originally from Cleveland, Ohio. I live in the Queen City of Charlotte now. I've been here 13 beautiful years. I am a mother, I'm a aunt, I'm a sister, I'm a grandmother of seven, uh, so- Wow.

Yeah, and a business owner, guys. Yeah. And I own multiple businesses. I actually own a business called Charlie's Angels.

My husband name is Charlie, and we're both barbers. And we... Charlie's Angels been open six years. Mm-hmm.

We both own... We're partners with two other people, and we're the owners of No Greeze Barbershop, one of the first African American barbershops to ever franchise in the United States, and we're super proud of that. We actually have 17 locations. We have locations in Charlotte, we have locations in South Carolina, we have locations in Georgia.

We just opened up new lo- new locations in Maryland, Arundel Mills Mall. So yeah, we're, we're doing pretty good. And I also have a online school for holistic trichology. I certify beauty professionals in holistic trichology through my eight-week online school.

Yeah. Yeah, no, and we are so excited to hear from you and to have the privilege of learning from you. Thank you so much for sharing that. And, and obviously, you must have learned a whole lot of lessons and had trials and tribulations to get to where you are today, right?

And- Definitely. And... Right? And, and had to show up in intentional ways and learn so much.

And I think that the lessons... And f- coming from, like, a younger generation person within this industry who's trying to be a leader, right? I think that my generation has a little bit of a difficult time sometimes really, like, doing their homework and really wanting to learn from, like, the lessons and, like, the people who came before them. And so, I'm really looking forward to hearing that essential experience and information that you have learned, if you're open to sharing it with us today.

Like, some of the things that... The... Some of the most important lessons or some of the most important things that you wish that you would've known or that you did learn through your journey of getting your hands into everything that you have within this industry. And so, I don't know w- I, I know that's, like, a big, like......

throw it on you. W- I don't know where to start, but I think that would be, I, I think that's where we should steer the conversation, if you're down for that. Absolutely. If, what I would tell my younger self, I would tell the younger Angel to seek wise counsel.

If you can hear me when I tell you, I'm gonna say it again because I want all of you to understand this. Seek wise counsel. When I first came outta school, the first thing I wanted to do was open up my own business. I did not know business.

I did not understand business. I didn't understand my target market. I didn't understand my brand. I didn't understand what I was br- the value I was bringing to a customer.

I didn't understand any of that. I didn't understand systems or structure or automations. All I knew is I had a skill. But it takes more than just a skill to operate and run a successful business.

I did not have a plan, so I tell all of you guys that got great talent to get under someone that has structure and stability and a foundation, and ride their coattail until you can't ride it no more. And then open up a business, so then somebody else can ride your coattail. Right. The problem is, is we're opening up businesses based off our skill and our talent.

Mm-hmm. But, but not the business, because the beauty and barber industry guys, understand me when I say this, is 80% business and 20% talent. We are not in the hair business. We are in the business of hair.

And most of us haven't created a torch or a baton to be passed down, and I think that's, that's where we made the first mistake in the industry. If we don't create a blueprint for the now, not the next, because things are trending too quick, we need to create the blueprint for the now, and then the now creates the blueprint for the next. So we didn't create that torch and we failed, our generation, my generation. I'm Generation X.

So with that being said, uh, I, I'm t- I'm gonna tell my age. I was born in 1972, so I'm 50 years old, guys. 34 years of industry experience, and I- I- I'm gonna say this, I feel like I have been very successful. I am now a global educator.

I became a global educator this year. I taught, um, two classes in Johannesburg, South Africa. But I will tell you, if I had someone to sit me down 34 years ago, sit me down and say, "Hey, this is how you supposed to do business," that all the people that I had under me when I was running all those businesses, I felt like I did a disservice to. I felt like if I knew what I knew now, that those women and m- young men woulda had a better chance at their businesses, because they're all business owners.

So even though the little things that I did do right, they did pick that up, but I still felt like it was some things that I did wrong that they also picked up, and I, I beat myself up every day for that. But we're here today and I, I am holding myself accountable for doing my part, making my mark in the industry. So yes, what would I tell my younger self? To seek wise counsel, get under someone else that understands business, that understands customers, and the value that we bring to the guest, right?

I feel like customer service is starving right now in the industry- Ugh. with all the tools that we have, right? Create boundaries. I have created them.

When they book and they're new, I call them. That's a boundary. I call 'em when I feel like calling them, not when they tell me to call them. That's a boundary.

Right. Is that not a safe boundary I created for myself in my business? Yeah. And on our voicemail too, everything is automated, right?

Even on our voicemail, we have a cancellation line. So you gotta make it, make it smooth. If you don't have these- Yes. things in place for your guests, then you need to be on the phone with them, because you have indeed your part as a service provider to make sure that these people aren't interrupting your so busy day.

But if you call Charlie's Angels voicemail, it say, "Hello beautiful people, and thanks for calling one of the best hair salons in the Queen City. By the way, we have a 4.8 and a half Google rating." And then I go into cancellation.

"You can call us at this number." And then before I hang up, I say, "Hey, by the way, we have buy one get one half off this week on products. Make sure you mention that to your service provider. Have an amazing day.

Thanks for being the best part of our business." Come on, our email response, we have automatic er- e- email response on our email. Soon as it... The automatic e- email response is a marketing and a stay in the know opportunity as well.

Right. Like we don't, we have email marketing on our online booking, but we have separate email marketing that we use to market to our clients to make sure that our client is staying in the know of upcoming events, making sure she know about salon closings. You think my client gonna get to the salon and find out the salon clause- close? No, we're gonna let her know at least 30 days or 14 days in advance.

We are professional, but what is your definition of professional? Because all of our definition of professional is different, like even our perceptions, because I'll never forget when I was younger, my mother said, "Whenever you're speaking to somebody, you're both wrong and right, because of, because of perception." Right? Mm-hmm.

And perception is how you see yourself, how you view the world, and your life experiences. So we're all different. Like- Right. it's common knowledge, but it ain't always common sense.

Mm-hmm. Fair. And common sense is only who you got it in common with. It ain't always, it ain't like I don't have common sense.

I just don't got it in common with you. We gotta make sure if we're gonna take the industry back, make sure we're structuring it where it still caters to the client that we serve. Yeah. We are service providers.

My mother, I'll never forget, my mother had said, um...... who y'all believe is the job that serve the people the most? And I'm in my head like, "The job that's serving the people the most, who is that?" I'm thinking like, "Me, I'm a barber, it's me."

She said, "No, it's people that work at the shoe store." And I said, "Why?" She said, "Because they're always on their knees ready to serve, and they're..." It's like, I wanna be that humble where I can bow down on my knee to a guest and serve a guest.

But the beauty industry is changing and it's because of battered barber and beauty syndrome. The industry is beat up because the industry hasn't created anything to make things seamless and systematic. You're burnt out because you don't have systems. The reason why our guest is treated the way they are treated is because we have systematic ways of operating and running our business.

In everything we do, we are the arteries and the veins of our business, but guess who is the heart? The client. Our guests are the heart and whatever we do is to make the heart beat. So instead of me complaining on social media about what the guest isn't doing, wh- I am a problem solver.

I am not selling problems, I am selling solutions. So I show up as a problem solver, and when you show up as a problem solver, guess what? People flock to you. You know, I've been...

I got four kids that I raised in the industry, 24 years old with four kids, and we ain't missed a meal nor a bill, and never punched a timeclock, never had a job, never had a job my entire career, 34 years, and been through five recessions, five of 'em. Recession-proof, I want you guys to hear what I'm saying. If you structure your business right, your business will become recession-proof. And the reason why I can say that is because when a recession happens th- it only means inf- inflation is happening, right?

And people start juggling and people start looking at what matters the most to them. If your business isn't structured the way it need to be to serve that guest, you're gonna be an option. She's gonna release you. And that's how come the natural hair boom happened.

People don't understand that people was going natural because the recession happened and nobody could afford to get they hair done, so they went natural. It wasn't that they were getting away from relaxers, it was that, that, that stylist, whoever they were getting served by at the time was not an option. She got tak- she was taken off the table Mm-hmm. So like, but my business did fine during all five recessions because my business is catered, we cater to the guest.

The- Right. guest is the heart and everything we do makes the heart beat. I love it. I absolutely love...

I was I... Nobody can see me on video right now but- Right. me and Angel are on video and you should've seen me like freaking out, screaming like, "Yes!" Like silently in the background.

Yeah. Because I'm fully in alignment with that message of like, you have to take responsibility- Mm-hmm. for your own... for how you are systematized in your business and how- Right.

you're interacting with your customers instead of complaining about it- That's right. on social media. Like, when I see somebody post on social media and say like, "Well, ca- when you li- canceled on me last minute then that makes me lose money," like yada... And like they, they complain and like go off and...

It's like, what are you doing in your business- No, tighten up your- ... to reduce this? Tighten up your policies. Yes.

Tight... You know, it's... Whenever s-... Listen, guys, I want all of you on here to hear, I've been doing this for 34 years.

Whenever something shows up in your life, life is a classroom, you're... It's a lesson that it's teaching you. The problem is, is you're not learning the lesson, you're complaining about it. And what happens when you're in kindergarten and you don't pass kindergarten?

You repeat it. So I want you guys to understand this, life is a classroom. Whenever things like that come, arise, I want you to say, "All right, what part did I play? How can I make this better so it doesn't happen again to me?"

And that's how I look at the industry. You can ask me anything that got something to do with the beauty and, beauty and barbering industry and I got a solution for it, not another problem, not another complaint, but a solution for it. I think the best CEOs, I hear it from them all the time and I'm hearing it from you, is the best CEOs are problem solvers. Like- That's right.

that is, that is... Would you agree with me? Like- Of, of course. problem solving is going to be your- Yes.

your greatest, most important skill- Yes. It is. that you develop as a business owner? It is.

And I suggest you guys start working on problem solving 'cause if... And stop talking to people that don't have that same mindset. I think the problem is, is you keep talking to s- other people that's complaining, y'all, y'all comparing y'all complaints. I'm like, "No, I'm...

I n- no, I'm not. I don't have time for that." Right now, in order for me to operate a successful business and leave legacy for my children's children's children, I have to be in position now to come up with solutions to make it better for all of us. You know, like, my business is, is customer driven, but my team are the arteries and the veins that makes that heart beat.

So how, how am I even treating them and responding to them? Like, they're set up for success as well. Like, when I opened up my business I created a ecosystem of a business for growth, not just for me but for the people in my business, and that's how come evaluations are important quarterly. Don't wait six months to evaluate yourself, and for some of you guys you need to do it every 60 days to stay on top of things so things don't lag behind.

So I'm telling you guys, this is the best thing I could'a done, was audit myself and audit my business quarterly. Go look at what the people are saying about your business. That's how you know if your customer service stink or not. A lot of times you guys don't even wanna hear from the clients.

Like- Mm-hmm. all you wanna do is post all your good reviews. Post some of your bad ones and then let's see what the response, the response is. Mm-hmm.

And that's how come I made a post the other day like, "Can a client tell you they don't like they hair and get no smoke?" I loved that. Yeah. I, I- I shared it.

No, seriously, can a client tell you they don't like their hair and get no smoke from you? Can you take that as constructive criticism? Right. 'Cause last I checked, um, I only take constructive criticism from people that has constructed something.

And the reason- Yeah. And the client that's sitting in your chair that's paying you, that means you're for hire. She chose you. She coulda chose anybody else, but she chose you.

Mm-hmm. You got all right to hear that person out without getting in your feelings. What you, let me tell you, let's, let's role play. "Ms.

Smith, do you like your hair?" "No, Angel, I don't like my hair this time." "Ms. Smith, what can I do to make th- make it better for you?

Is there anything you need for me to change, Ms. Smith? 'Cause I really wanna make this right for you. You're a great customer.

I respect you. I appreciate your time. How can I make this better for you?" And Ms.

Smith will answer. And it doesn't always go well depending on how they feel. We gotta remember, these are people we dealing with too. They might have lost a loved one.

Somebody... Their dog might have died, you know. They might have got... Somebody might have raised their voice at them at work.

They might have got written up at work. They sat through rush hour traffic to get to you. They might just be having a bad day and they need somebody like you to step up to the plate to say, "What can I do for you? How can I make it better for you?"

Do you know how that changes everything? When your business becomes customer centered, watch everything about your business change. The problem is, is we opening up businesses for self. Every time I go to a conference and I open up and I say, "Tell me, can you guys tell me how come you're in business?"

And all the hands will go up and everybody say, "Freedom," you know. Um, you know, f- you know, "I w- I wanna make my own hours. I wanna dress the way I wanna dress. I wanna say what I wanna say.

I wanna play the music I wanna play." Nobody got into business to develop other people. That's what I'm a... We're in business to develop other people.

Yes. That's what we're in business for. We're not in business for freedom and to make our own hours, 'cause we still don't make our own hours. Because we still gotta make sure that whatever customer we serve, that our hours are conducive to that c- that target market.

Yes. No, you can come in... You come in any hour of the day you want. Let's see what customer gonna come.

You... Anytime we create our schedule... And, and two, we gotta stop saying on social media things that you can create healthy boundaries if your business is structured for healthy boundaries. The boundaries has to be built in the structure and the ecosystem of the business.

Yes. The problem is, is the stylists don't understand how to create a business that's gon... How to structure a business to create the boundaries within the ecosystem and the structure and the culture of the business. Yes.

You know, like, our clients literally 15 minutes late is... We, in our policy, say if you're 15 minutes late, that there is a $15 late fee, right? And you can choose to, to pay that and get your hair done or you can reschedule and still be charged full price, because our booking, when you, when you, um, go to our online booking, you have to acknowledge that if you're tw- if you cancel... If you don't cancel within 24 hours, that we charge your card completely, and, um...

And it's legal here in North Carolina. So you guys gotta make sure whenever you're doing this, that is legal in your state. Yes. 'Cause every state, it, it isn't legal.

Different. But this is legal. So check your laws, 'cause these people can do charge-backs and they'll win because of... You guys don't know your state laws.

Mm-hmm. So make sure that you're structuring your, um, policies according to your laws. So I will always say seek wise counsel. Get, get an attorney .

All right? But anyway, once they acknowledge that, they already know what it is. So built into the structure of our business are rules that keeps us safe, keep our boundaries healthy. You know every time we hire someone, we send out emails that say, "Get to know Tanisha."

The last person we hired, her name was Tanisha. "Get to know Tanisha." Within the structure of that email, it says, "Tanisha loves to spend quality times every Sunday with her family, so if you want to reschedule or cancel, you can call this number." Mm-hmm.

We're letting our clients know- Yes. in advance that on Sundays, it's off limits to call Tanisha phone. But you can call this number because Tanisha loves spending quality time with her family on this day, and you got to know her through this email called "Get to know Tanisha." Right.

You know? And it's a number of things that we put in there. That's just an example. You get what I'm saying?

So we create healthy boundaries from the jump. Like I said, it's in... It's sewn into the very fiber of our ecosystem and our culture. Right.

And we have to start figuring out how to create a business that's conducive for growth, not just for our, our, um, team members, but for the clientele as well, right? Yes. Because y- your clientele evolves too. Yes .

Yes. Yes. Look at you. Hey, y'all.

He was stuck, y'all. He was like, he was like, "Yes." That's all I... I mean, like, uh, yes.

Like, literally yes to everything. Like, I, I just feel like if we want certain things, right, if you, if you wanna create a business that is going to serve yourself, you also have to make a business that's serving the customer. Yes. Yes.

And you have to look at yourself in the mirror and be like, "How am I creating systems? How am I making this business conducive for not only my success, but also the clients' success as well?" Absolutely. And I truly believe, and I'm so glad that I'm...

I, I truly believe that there is the best of both worlds by leverage. Mm-hmm. And by the way, like, what I hear a lot is, is that, that from your experience and what you're doing is you are leveraging the tools that are- Yes. available to us nowadays.

Right? And, and you are leveraging the tools. And I think that there's a lot of people out there who want to skip leveraging the tools to be able to create these systems in their business, and then they won't make all the money. Well, that's why they ag- that's why you aggravate it.

That's why you aggravate it. Yes.Yes. Like, you'll spend less time aggravated if you just set everything up.

And you will see how seamless the business... You, you know only gotta set it up one time. I change, I only, I change the voicemail quarterly, and I pre-record it. So all I gotta do is just upload it, guys.

Like- Right. come on, listen to what I'm saying. Right. I literally pre-record my voicemails and then I just upload 'em to my, um, platform whenever, w- when it, whenever it changes.

I want you guys to start working smarter, not harder. Like, and guess what else I do? I'm... Now that you can get paid from YouTube Shorts, we start, we monetize YouTube Shorts and we monetize YouTube.

Create a YouTube channel for your salons and barbershops. When you create this channel, make sure that everybody is participating. Create short two-minute videos just saying how much you appreciate, appreciate your client, how grateful you are. Put that link inside your emails, let 'em click on it.

You gonna get paid from YouTube. And those guests are gonna be so happy that you did that. So you're getting that viewership and you're promoting your business. Yeah.

So like, it's... I, I teach my coworkers and the people that I coach so much and everything is centered around that heart. Yeah. Which is the guest.

How do we keep the guests, you know, like, um... It's a book I read years ago, um, that s- it structures a business in nine blocks. And the first block is value proposition. So your unique value proposition means what, what's the unique value that you bring to a guest?

So for us, we're highly educated and we pride ourself on time management. Right away, we're, we only need those two things. We don't need, we don't have to go farther. And I can even talk about our impeccable guest service.

First of all, our mission statement. Charlie's Angels Beauty Bar mission is that we serve the multitude with integrity and respect while using professional products and maintaining impeccable guest service. So that's our mission statement. If your business does not have a mission statement, then where is it going?

Because that's the internal GPS for your business. Where is it going? And the people that you bring on board, where are you taking 'em? You have to be a leader.

My husband said, "If you think you're a leader and nobody's following you, you just somebody taking a walk." Mm. I want... So get that, right?

So what I'm saying is everything that you do in your business is supposed to lead back to the heart, which is the guest in the business. So value proposition is number one. What's the value you bring to your guest that separates you from everybody else, else out here that's doing the same thing? Because all of us can do hair.

All... You think, you think somebody down the street from me can't do a great balayage or a great haircut? They can, but they cannot serve the guest, the... They will not get that same experience that they get, get in my business that you have in yours.

That's the difference. Then it talks about the customer segment, and then from the customer segment, it goes into customer relationships, and I love that part, right? We don't think about that part. What is it that you're doing to make sure that you're maintaining a healthy customer relationship in your business?

So we're doing YouTube videos, we're doing emails, our voicemails, our greetings when they come in the salon, our greetings when they, we answer the phone, our, when... Our outros when we hang up the phone. Like, you gotta consider all of that when you're in business. I'm telling you, we're probably the only salon in Charlotte that say, "Thanks for being the best part of our business.

Be safe. Hope to see you soon." That's a standard greeting. Yes.

How many of you guys on here have standard greetings in your business and outros? How many of you guys? 'Cause that's a system. Right.

That's a system. A standard greeting is a system. A standard voicemail is a system. A standard email is a system.

Yep. The problem is, is your systems are out of balance. Come on guys, get your systems in balance. And then the systems create the healthy relationships.

Period. Point blank. No, period. I'm a therapist.

I'm serious. Angel, thank you so freaking much for spilling all that tea. It was so good. And I could hear you talk, like, for hours and hours and hours.

Yeah. But I like to keep these episodes short because whenever- Yes. we make them too long, our consumption rate goes down. But I doubt that- Yeah.

that would be the case with this episode because I could listen to you forever. But, um, if there was any, if, if there's any way that you could wrap this in a bow for people, right? And, and, uh, leave people off with just like a little short statement to go off of, to take action right now, what do you think that would be before we sign out of here? I want you guys to stop looking at your businesses like they're babies, first of all.

Yes. Because if you look at your business like a baby, then you will remain a babysitter. So just like your mother raised you to become an adult, 'cause she knew you was gonna be an adult longer than you was gonna be a baby, I want you to treat your business the exact same way. I wanna leave you with that.

I love it. Thank you so much, Angel. I really appreciate it. If people want to work with you, find out more about you, follow you on...

Uh, where can they find you and how can they- They- ... work with you? They can go to angelrobinsonteaches.com.

That's angelrobinsonteaches.com. And two guys, I wanna say this before I leave, don't... I'm, I'm dropping a scalp care line for all hair types.

Ooh. It's called... Yes. It's for scalp care.

So it's for people that's suffering from seborrhoeic dermatitis, uh, hard water mineral buildup, product buildup. It detoxifies. It removes medication from the hair shaft. It's called Deeper Than Roots and you'll be able to find that on deeper, deeperthanroots.

com. I appreciate the time, hunty. Absolutely. Thank you so much for coming on here and sharing with the audience and me.

I learned a lot and I really appreciate you so much and what you do for the industry. We will leave those links in the show notes below for you, my friend, listening to this, to check Angel out. And thank you so much for tuning into this episode, and we will see you in the next one. Yes, I love you.

Thank you, Angel. Mwah. Mwah. So much love to you.

Peace out, Girl Scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2023 Hunter Donia LLC.