Christie Myhand shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Christie, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
My days USED to be 10-15 hour work days at least 5 days a week. If you don’t already know, the beauty industry is a bustling one that tends to glorify the hustle culture- and I was totally addicted to it. I didn’t really know who I was outside of being behind the chair in a salon. Once I found out I was pregnant with our first, something switched and I knew it was time to start working smarter and not harder.
A normal day for me now maintaining balance with two very important parts of myself. I start the day with catching up on any admin tasks and emails, and answering any messages or questions from my team. I am a huge systems girlie, so it makes my business almost completely automatic with minimal managing. I spend most of the day being very present with my children, being intentional to keep them involved in daily tasks. My hope is that one day they can remember their mom not only be devoted to owning a thriving business, but being balanced and present with them in all the little moments throughout the day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Christie Myhand and I own Superbloom Hair Studio in Charlotte, NC. We are a time-based, commission salon offering freedom and 1:1 coaching in an emotionally intelligent work space. Unlike most commission salons who usually tend to exert control over prices, schedules, client information, and education, we offer a totally autonomous stylist experience. They come and go as they please, only take clients that fit their niche’, have unlimited time off, and control their prices. This model is not only a really strong offer that ensures retention with my team, but allows them to really blossom into their most authentic selves as individuals and stylists- which is my favorite part of coaching them. You really get to see them transform over time and build their dream careers.
More recently I have expanded my salon space and my team this passed year, as well as started my own product line that will be available to purchase online in the next few weeks!
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I was told that being a creative would never be lucrative, that you HAD to have a college degree in order to make any money. I noticed that society always had a tone of sarcasm or superiority when it came to artists, hairdressers, anyone who dared challenge the status quo. That those people were beneath them and didn’t deserve to make a decent living doing what they loved. I also never really thrived at science or math, and for that was always made to feel stupid and like my interests were less than. School was difficult for me, not only with fitting in as kind of an odd duck, but also feeling really defeated with classes that I wasn’t strong in. My mom and I knew that the right course for me would be to go into a trade, and my high school had a cosmetology program that I enrolled in at 16.
Now as an adult with a thriving salon, I no longer have those beliefs about myself. I watched my peers bury themselves in mountains of college debt, wasting time taking courses because they didn’t know what they wanted to do when they graduated. I have learned the real nitty gritty business side of owning a hair salon. I’ve negotiated leases with big wig commercial lenders, done the 2 hour budgeting and planning meetings with my accountant to know every single number like the back of my hand, worked then re-worked then re-worked again my business plan to send to banks for a loan… I can tell you now I am not stupid. I have grit. I work hard for what I want, because none of it will be given to me. That’s the example I want to set not only for my kids, but to every hairdresser who was made to feel less than by their peers and society. You are not stupid, you are not beneath anyone. You are a creative, and you transform lives every single day.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Finding the space we are in now was…. a process. An almost 2 year process. I toured around 30 spaces all over town in all conditions- total shell spaces, beautiful, new builds that would require an upfit, and total dump heaps that would require a lot of sweat equity on my part. Then… there was negotiating leases. I can think of 3 particular spaces that I was super excited about where negotiating an LOI (letter of intent) totally took the wind out of my sails. You start dreaming of this space, all the things you would do to it, how you could make it yours, the team you would build in it., only to have the landlord make really outrageous demands. You can be going back and forth for weeks, only to end up having to walk away. Then you start that process all over again. There were many moments in that process where I thought “is this even for me? Should I even be doing this?” I knew my team was ready to expand, we were bursting at the seams in our 200 square foot studio. But the waiting was worth it when my agent found this total gem- a second generation hair salon that was not even listed, and half of what I was expecting the price to be for the area. All the doubt, sleepless nights wondering if I’m doing the right thing, and feeling like I should give up was just preparing me for this precise moment.
Prolonged gratification is the best kind, though it might require some pain and suffering. It makes us the victory that much sweeter when you cross the finish line.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I can think of two big ones- the first being that you can’t charge your worth or a liveable wage. Although this concept is changing due to social media, I still see so many hairdressers struggle to charge what they need to in order to actually profit. They’re so scared people will leave that they would rather work themselves ragged for next to nothing than raise their prices (I did this for YEARS actually). As if they don’t deserve a vacation or to be able to save for a home or a new car and not live paycheck to paycheck. Many owners are complicit in this by not allowing stylists to charge their worth or offer a competitive commission rate. The fear of not really knowing your numbers (especially if you’re booth rent) is a fear that keeps hairdressers broke and tired. This is something I really hope continues to change as the industry evolves.
Second, that there’s only ONE way to do something. Especially if you went to a very designer brand school, you are not taught nuance at all. You are told you can only do something one way and that is the only way. What happened to us being creatives? What happened to us being able to think outside the box? To be inventive and try new things? To be bold in that process even if it totally flops? Yes trends are important, but its also important for you to be able to think for yourself and try something against the grain. Start exploring that part of your craft and how you do business, and I think you will surprise yourself!
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I thought I wanted to be a business coach for the company that coached me. I love talking about my industry and how I found a way to make it work for me. I love giving my staff the tools to grow and watching what they do with it. I was in the middle of my salon expansion, freshly pregnant with my second child (and all the exhaustion that comes with it), working behind the chair, being a mom and a wife, running a team of 7- basically being everything for everyone already. And for some reason I thought “why not do this too?” Well, I know the reason. Everyone was telling me how awesome I was for juggling everything and it did something for my ego. “Oh my gosh you’re superwoman! How do you do it all?” I ate it up.
But a month or so in, I was beyond burnt out. I was on team calls 3 times a week, doing free discovery calls for stylists that would last an hour or more sometimes, filming content and doing instagram lives every day, on top of everything else I was managing. I thought this gig was what I wanted, but it turns out I needed to learn a lesson in slowing down and listening to my body. To be alright with feeling bored sometimes or find a hobby that fills me, instead of incentivizing everything that interests me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.superbloomhairstudio.com
- Instagram: @superbloomhairstudio
Image Credits
Madison Harney
