Good evening Rockstars + Lambs,
I am happily sitting here sipping a Perrier and reflecting on my life.
Can I be honest with you?
My life as a CEO has gotten busier. Lots of books, budgeting, etc. Seriously, I have been number-crunching since January 1st. I don't think I've ever crunched this many numbers EVER!
Recently, I've taken my schedule and done a complete overhaul of how I look at business. Whether or not I'm with guests 6-days a week does not mean anything. I was advised by Stever Robins (author of "Get It Done Guy" podcast, column and book) to look at my schedule and take two of my days and make them "admin" days. So, I decided Mondays and Fridays would be those days. Even if I'm with guests, I tend to book-keeping, bill paying, payroll, ordering and inventories those days. Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, I think purely salon and sometimes my creative life.
As you know, this past year has a been a year of transition for me. I opened the salon and continued to grow my brand as a writer, blogger and educator. With all four facets of my life, we add in radio-show guest host and sometimes event guest speaker, presenter and host. So.... how do we get this balanced. The fact is, I'm doing twenty jobs and managing my own career crazily because I'm at the bring of "will it" or "won't it".
If I get busier and starting touring with this company heavier, obviously, there's more income coming in. The blogs and my column do not yield me any income. They do propel my business forward and help keep me relevant though, so they are important. My creative life is very important to me.
Something I've pulled away from for months now is going out with friends and buying things for them. Funny how they vanish, huh? No buy, no friend. Experiment complete.
Wanna know something funny? I'm not even sad about it.
I'm too fucking busy to be sad about shallow bitches, anyway.. but I digress.
As I've propelled myself into my business and it's many facets, I've taken time to work in my salon at the desk nightly and balance the books, look at profits and losses in great detail and even had my first "administrative" day of the year today. It wasn't too bad! I worked a good six hours (4 at Studio JRy and 2 at Rockstars and Lambs). It helped catch me up when I know an hour after I'm finished with clients just won't suffice.
There have been events and invitations brought my way that I have declined more than normal. We're taking declining 8/10 events at this point and even my family has gotten in on it. Really, what more do you have at the end of the day? Your partner, your children, your family is what matters. Alot of the time we do what we need to for the well-being of our families.
I used to be prey to anything my clients wanted, at this point in my career, I'm not. I have a life too. I have business hours. I saw a very good former client of mine that said she left me merely because I'm "not convenient" to see. Sorry. You have a life and so do I. I respect your time, please respect mine.
With all the hussle and bussle, I have to say, my intern/assistant has been a huge asset for me. Sometimes, it's boring and we do not always get to doing hair, but her helping me with tasks around the salon helps me greatly! I love it! I need an assistant for my house.
Today as I was walking down the street to the salon, a girl stopped me and asked me if she could apprentice to be a make-up artist. I said she needed to register in a program, gets some months in on the floor and come see me. She looked at me with her marijuana-tinged person and said, "gees. I just want to do make-up!"
Well, we all wanted to be whatever it was we set out to be, the fact is that there's a way to go about that. Either you are made for this industry, or you are not. At this point, she isn't. She's not serious. She smelled like weed and was sitting outside a coffee shop in a camisole with her greasy hair pulled back revealing her greasy face. Gimme a break, baby girl. When you get serious, I will too! That was her answer.
At one point today, I went through part 1 of 4 education DVDs from Joico. I am so proud of this company and can't wait to grow with them. As someone that prides themselves on being a top-notch colorist, I learned that there is always places to refine once's self. For me, it's my presentation and verbiage.
I've taken to new procedures in my salon to reflect what it is the company is looking for. So, if you notice something different, it's merely a reflection of my growth. Comedically, I had a close friend of mine tell me recently she didn't like it/- it's not "her Josh". Well, my love, yes it is. This is just the big-boy Josh. It means no ranting on Facebook, not validating what people say on Facebook, not tweeting as much or even spending time validating behaviors and comments I find unbearbable.
It's not being a snob, it's being professional.
Don't think it's just my professional life that has changed. Since November 1st, I have lost 18 lbs and have started to look at my wellness seriously. It doesn't mean I don't drink still, it means, I watch my intake. I meditate twice daily and have learned that turning off my phone is a good thing. I don't always want to be made available. I'm sorry if you've known me for year (some of you have) and I don't answer Facebook messages and texts anymore, it's not that I don't love you, it's that it's not a union we need to have anymore.
What I'm saying, very kindly is, I have no time for games. I do, however, have times for people that like to work hard and play hard and can respect my time when we're not together without gossiping about me, bashing me or trying ot tag me 20x on Facebook.
The world is not Facebook. It's a beautiful tool to share projects and events in our live and funny little pictures, but it's not everything. My family is my everything. My clients are my most important asset and my relationships outside the internet are what matter most to me.
Respectfully,
Josh Cooley
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