From $200 Studios to Salon Educator: Liam’s Candid Sit-Down with Erica Garza
December 4th, 2025
You know those conversations where you hop on a call thinking it’ll be a quick chat…and an hour later you’re still talking because the stories are too good? That was my chat with Seattle-based stylist and educator, Erica Garza. She’s one of those stylists who’s been in the game long enough to have seen every version of this industry—and still shows up with heart, curiosity, and a total love for hair.
We started with her origin story, and it felt like a movie: little Erica growing up in Tri-Cities, taking trips to Seattle, looking up at the city and thinking, “If I can ever do hair here, I’ll know I made it.” Fast forward 30 years—she’s literally doing blowouts in a salon by the Space Needle, working nights and weekends, and also leading education for a major brand. That full-circle “I actually did it” moment? You can feel how proud she is of that. And honestly…that’s the energy I want every stylist to have.
What I loved most is how real she was about the path. She’s done it all—chain salons, leasing, tiny independent studio for $200/month (yes, really), working from home during COVID, and now corporate education. Her takeaway? The thing that kept her in the industry wasn’t trends—it was people. She said if she wasn’t doing hair, she’d probably be a counselor, because for her it’s always been about connection, listening, and helping someone leave better than they arrived. Tell me that’s not the core of great salon work.
We got into how different the industry feels now, especially around self-care and boundaries. Erica and I laughed about working 10-hour days on concrete floors…in heels…because dress codes said “no sneakers.” Now she’s walking into salons and seeing 20-something stylists in comfortable clothes, protecting their schedule, charging properly, and saying “I can book you next week” without guilt. And she wasn’t salty about it—she was inspired. She said, basically: “I wish we had done that 30 years ago.” That’s such a good reminder for all of us who’ve been behind the chair a long time: the new generation is doing some things right.
One of my favorite parts was when she talked about education and this moment early on where she totally botched a color (we’ve all been there) and instead of getting support, she got shamed. That could’ve been the moment she quit. Instead, a rep invited her to a class, sat with her, followed up, and literally changed the direction of her career. That’s why Erica shows up as a mentor now—because someone did that for her. And she dropped the best teaching nugget from one of her mentors:
“You were nervous because you made it about you, not about them.” That’s the educator mindset right there. It’s not about being the star—it’s about making sure stylists in your class walk away feeling capable.
We also talked about how wild it is that building a clientele today can happen with one reel, when we used to stand in malls handing out business cards to strangers who definitely thought we were creepy. Erica’s take for newer stylists was so simple and so good: DM the people you admire. Say hi at events. Follow up. The people who respond and stay in touch? Those are your mentors. Not the ones with the most followers—the ones who actually write back.
If you’re a stylist who’s ever:
wondered if you should go commission first or jump straight to renting,
felt exhausted by the hustle,
or needed a reminder that it’s okay to love hair and want more…
…then you’re going to love watching this full convo. Erica is proof that you can stay in this industry for decades, evolve, lead, teach, and still geek out over foils and blowouts.
🎥 Watch the full interview to hear the whole story, the green-hair disaster, the $200 salon, and her advice for finding mentors in 2025. It’s one of those conversations you’ll want to keep in your back pocket for the days when you forget how far you’ve come.
Liam Shea (00:01) Let’s do I hear myself? Hey, it’s working. you hear me okay?
Erica Garza (00:07) No, I can see. now I can. Now I can. Yay. Can you hear me okay?
Liam Shea (00:08) No? Okay. All right.
I can hear you just fine. Right? Champions. Well, I’m here with Erika Garza. Welcome.
Erica Garza (00:19) We did it. Love it.
Thank you, thank you.
Liam Shea (00:28) Fantastic. Why don’t you just tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do in the industry.
Erica Garza (00:34) ⁓ wow. So I live now in Seattle, Washington, and I get excited about that because I grew up in Tri-Cities and we were just talking earlier in Eastern Washington. And I feel like the little small town girl, like who had big dreams of doing hair in the city. I remember being like seven and my mom always used to take me to Seattle like for, you know, spring break or a little vacation or, you know, good grades, that kind of thing.
And I remember like looking around and just getting starstruck. And I always said in my head, if I can ever do hair like in the city, I know I made it. literally the like six months ago I’m doing hair and I still do hair in a salon. I have a corporate position with a company, a big company that I love so much in the education department. But throughout the years, you know, I’ve done different things, but I remember I was, I still work at night in the salon. I still work on the weekend. And I remember I’m like doing a blowout and just kind of like daydreaming. And it hit me.
You’re doing hair in the city, like right by the space needle. You can’t get any more Seattle than that. I made it. So I kind of feel like I get to put a check mark by like a childhood dream and it makes me happy. But yeah, I’ve been doing hair 30 years. I was doing the math and I was like, I’ve been doing hair longer than some of the stylists that I meet on a everyday basis. Like I’ve been doing hair longer than they’ve been alive. And that’s like, whoa, where did time go? So 30 years.
Liam Shea (01:35) Yeah.
Good.
It’s super strange.
Erica Garza (02:00) In the industry, I started in my hometown at a little beauty school that’s now actually a dress shop. And so it’s kind of like cool to go down there and see everything involved. I worked for a big chain when I, that was like my first experience behind the chair and you you just do the chain life. And then I remember I met like all these other people who didn’t work for the chain and they like leased and I’m like, what is leasing all about? And then I learned.
Liam Shea (02:24) Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Erica Garza (02:29) self-employment was all about after I had kids and I mean you know I kind of went back and forth sometimes I was commissioned stylist sometimes I was a leaser business owner sometimes I just like wanted to do hair in the kitchen you know so for COVID we got to do that a little bit and experience what that was like and then I’m like yeah I like the salon culture much better so I kind of I kind of like I think as someone I get bored sometimes and so I kind of want to be like well what’s what’s what it’s like there
But there’s a few things that I love about our industry altogether is like, we get to express our creativity and ours is through hair. But we touch people, we get to talk to people. I’m really big with the heart. think if I didn’t do hair, I would want to be a counselor or some type of therapist. And I would be first in line to get it first. And so I like the connections with my clients that I’ve.
Liam Shea (03:20) Yep, yes, I hear you.
Erica Garza (03:26) I’ve made and that I’ve kept for lots and lots of years. And then some are brand new and it just kind of fills me. So when I’m doing hair, you know, like actually blow drying, I like to think about like, wow, this client’s come a long way, baby. Or wow, I’ve come a long way and like just sharing stories and stuff. So it fills me. And that’s my favorite part about what we do. But right now I work for a company and I get to be in the regional education department.
Liam Shea (03:45) Yeah.
Erica Garza (03:55) or education department, I’m a regional manager. So I get to work with other contract artists, freelancers, and people who represent the brand, but really they get to show what they love and they get to use their favorite color brand. And I get to work with them and salons like that, and that like fills my cup. And that’s how I met my friend Annie, who actually knows you. And I was looking at her social media like I always do. And she had, you know, shared something with Salon Monster. I was like, what’s this?
Liam Shea (04:12) That’s so cool.
Erica Garza (04:23) And I’m like, you’re just so super cool. And I was looking through your page and I like to stalk, you know, like I’ll go way back, like a hundred pictures back. I’m a stalker. And I was looking, I’m like, this is really cool. And he just seemed like a great person. And I’m glad that we could connect and talk. Cause that’s what it’s all about too. I like that. Yeah.
Liam Shea (04:27) Yeah.
Me too, I love it. Yeah, we’re big
fans of Annie and Erin. We followed them for years before we actually connected with them and it’s been such a treat getting to work with them. They’re even nicer and cooler than we thought and we thought they were super nice and cool.
Erica Garza (04:45) Yes,
you
No, it’s cool to meet like I get I’ve always been this way I a little starstruck, you know, you watch like celebrities on social media or people who have like more than a thousand followers So it’s like wow, know the hair nerds that’s so cool and I had heard about the hair nerds, you know a few years ago and never met them and then you know working with contacts and and being with salon owners and then actually meeting
Liam Shea (05:03) Yeah.
Hmm.
Yeah, I’m with you.
Erica Garza (05:26) And I’ll never forget like Douglas McCoy, House of Pop. You he introduced me. He’s like, this is Annie and she’s part of the Hair Nerds. And I’m like, no way. Like it hit me. my God. I get to meet these people in person. And then, yeah. So this is great. And now that I know Annie and Erin, it’s like, I can’t wait. My dream, my next thing I want to check off that list, you know, like I made it a Japan trip with the Hair Nerds. They’re there right now. Yeah. We should be there.
Liam Shea (05:39) Right.
I know. ⁓ it looks so good. I know. I want to go there
more than anywhere. I met with I met up with them in New York in March, and they took me to the sort of the hairbrain video awards. And I felt the same way the starstruck thing. There was a bunch of people in the room that I knew only from social media. was like, my God, that’s that’s Andy does your hair and there’s
Erica Garza (05:58) We should be there.
Yeah.
Yeah. yes.
Liam Shea (06:20) There’s Mari and just a bunch of people I follow and really like. Yeah, it was a treat.
Erica Garza (06:24) I like it like that. It’s really cool. you know, when you talk to people like we’re doing now, they’re stylists that grew up in a little town too. They had dreams too. Like, I’m sure they have their list of like, when I get to do this and this and this, I’ll know I’ve made it. And I feel like that feeling, it’s common with a lot of us. It just feels really good to connect with people who have that same love and are still here. Because so many people, they don’t last, you know, 30 years in an industry.
Liam Shea (06:49) No. Yep.
Erica Garza (06:51) They’re
selling houses or cars and that’s awesome. But, and I thought about that too. There’s a few times where I’m like, maybe I should sell Mercedes instead. This is hard.
Liam Shea (07:00) it I’ve
thought about being a mail carrier, driving buses, all of these. it has a salary and you get a retirement pension. I want that. Yeah, the hustle does. Yeah, yes, I know within the industry that is amazing. There’s, it’s a hard thing to find the hustle does get exhausting sometime I’ve been self employed as a hairdresser as well as this for
Erica Garza (07:04) Yeah!
Yeah, yeah, me too. I’m glad, I’m very blessed I found that, but you know.
Yeah.
Liam Shea (07:30) 21 years doing hair for 26 and yeah, the hustle sometimes gets exhausting.
Erica Garza (07:34) Yeah. I know I you know what’s funny did you experience this too like when I was in my 20s we never talked about self care. We I didn’t know what that phrase I’d never heard that phrase until you know
Liam Shea (07:47) No.
Erica Garza (07:51) a few years ago, to be honest. And I remember I walk in salons and it’s so cool because I see stylists who are young and brand new in the industry and they’re wearing sneakers and they look great. And they’re wearing comfortable clothing and they’re wearing clothing that doesn’t restrict them or bind them in any way. Like they get to be them and they get to perform on their clients and build relationships and do their cool hair. I remember it wasn’t like that.
Liam Shea (07:52) Yeah.
Erica Garza (08:18) for me when I was in my 20s starting out, especially with the company, you know, we had a dress code and we had to wear slacks or heels or dresses or, you know, some type of dress attire, you know, and I’m like, you know, there I am on cement floors from age 20 to like 37 wearing heels. And like my feet hate me today. My feet hate, they are paying me back in full, trust me. But I remember thinking like, I…
Liam Shea (08:39) Yes.
Erica Garza (08:46) remember specifically in dress codes, it would say no sneakers allowed or you would get sent home. You get sent home to change and you know, please put on something more professional. And so I think it’s really great that people are taking better care of themselves at younger age because I’m telling you right now, the self care thing I wish I would have started 30 years ago.
Liam Shea (08:50) Yeah. Yes.
⁓ what a difference it would make.
Erica Garza (09:09) I know, but it’s important. I’ve been self-employed the majority of my career. And it’s like, you know, we take care of our clients and we take care of our salon space. We take care of our accounting or inventory, our budget. And then we take care of our family when we go home or our dog or our cat or whatever, our pets, and then our people in our circle. And then we go to bed and then we hit repeat and repeat and repeat. And I never…
Liam Shea (09:16) Mm-hmm.
Erica Garza (09:38) really like took care of myself. So I think that’s why like looking back, think therapy, gasoline, some type of mental health, mental health, couldn’t even say that word or that phrase. It was kind of taboo, you know? So I love where our industry is right now.
Liam Shea (09:45) Yes. Yes.
No, totally. We were, we were, me too. We were
other people’s mental health. It wasn’t about us. We were their mental health day. Absolutely. For me, it wasn’t until I dropped down to four days a week that it became easier to do. was the first time I realized, maybe I don’t have to do this six days a week, 10 hours a day. Maybe I don’t have to fit everyone in.
Erica Garza (09:58) Yeah, we were.
We have all the secrets. All of them.
Yeah.
Liam Shea (10:18) And it made me love my job even more because there were, you know, there are times where if you do it too much, you get a little burnt out. And I didn’t find I did my best work. So it was actually when it started affecting the work that I produced that I made the change, not when it took a toll on me personally. But.
Erica Garza (10:36) I did that too. My blowout started not looking so great. Color placement was slipping. No, but you you get exhausted. I love, learn a lot from, I feel like, I don’t know what to say. They’re not kids. They’re not young people. I learn a lot from this generation, I guess I could say. I sound so old now, but they have self-care in mind. They have themselves in mind. And you know, they put restrictions on, I’m sorry, I’m booked. You know, can book you for some other day and they’re nice about it.
Liam Shea (10:39) Yeah. yeah. Yep.
No, I know what mean.
Yes.
Erica Garza (11:06) but they hold their boundaries and I admire that. like, ⁓ I need to be like that more in my life. Like for real, how do you do that?
Liam Shea (11:13) It’s
such a good idea. A practice, I mean, I guess each generation maybe gets better at it if you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by people. I know my friend Britt, who it’s gonna be hard to see her, but she works in my chair the day I’m not doing hair, or the days I’m not doing hair. And she finished hair school last year sometime. And it’s one of the things I sort of was trying to help mentor a little bit and worked on with her was just…
Erica Garza (11:16) it.
Nice.
Liam Shea (11:42) Set your boundaries immediately. Just build your clientele around your boundaries. You’ll just, you’ll be so much, charge properly out the gate. Yeah, that’s not an easy thing. Did you come through a hair school or an apprenticeship?
Erica Garza (11:47) What a concept.
No, I did. So I go through the hair school. I went through the local beauty college. It was called Claire’s Beauty College. And it was cool because I met some really great people there. the only thing is I was, I think I was like 18 at the time. And I remember looking back, I was late every Monday, left early every Friday, skipped every Wednesday. So it took me a little longer to get through. And I’ll be honest with you, I went to beauty school as a fallback because
Liam Shea (12:06) course it was.
Hmm?
Erica Garza (12:28) I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and it seemed fun. And I remember my aunt, she was a hairdresser and my aunt, her name was Sandra. She was the most beautiful tía I had. She passed away a few years ago, but so incredibly beautiful. She always was best dressed. She always had heels on, big hair, you know, just gorgeous. And she always had cash in her pocket. And she always had the ladies, cause her husband, my tío, he built like a little studio in her home.
Liam Shea (12:28) yeah.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (12:55) and she used to work at JCPenney back in the 70s and then built a studio in her home so all the ladies would come to the house. Now I’m like five, you know, at my aunt’s house or after school, whatever, and I wanted to hear all the cheese mail, the gossip, they were talking, they were having fun, she’d make them coffee, they’d have tamales and little treats and, you know, it was just like this fabulous time, it reminds me of Steel Magnolias. It really was like that.
Liam Shea (13:09) Mm-hmm.
Yeah, totally.
Erica Garza (13:22) And I remember she always had cash in her pocket and I was just thought she was rich. So I wanted to be like her. But I went to the local beauty school and I didn’t know what an apprenticeship program was. And no one told us like, you know, these are options that you could have. This is what I remember hearing. You can lease or you can go work for the chain in the mall. But my teacher was like,
Liam Shea (13:32) Yeah, well there aren’t many of them.
Erica Garza (13:48) Erica, don’t lease, you’ll starve, you’ll never make any money your first year, you need to go work for the chain. And I’m like, okay. So I made a little resume and then applied and I went to work for the chain. And I was actually with them for like my first three years of my career. And I learned systems, that’s why I learned like the art of systems, the art of booking. And you know what, really, that’s why I learned how to sell retail. And so…
Liam Shea (14:07) Yep. Yes.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (14:14) I mean, I remember my first job was in the mall, you know, at age like 16 and a half and stuff, but I applied the retail skills and I learned how to like systematically and intentionally position retail, where in the service, what is an open, what is a, you you do the service and then how do you close out the service? Not just like, do you need anything? Okay, bye. Like there’s intention behind it. And when I look back now, I’m like, those are some pretty impactful systems that stay with me. I didn’t.
at 19 know what I was just selling product, it’s like there’s a reason for that and I still utilize that today. So even though like looking back, I wish I would have done things different, but I didn’t know you don’t know what you don’t know. And so I went to I went to the chain and then I got pregnant with my son and I remember people were like you should lease, you know, then you could be around your baby more and I’m like, really you can do that and I found this really cool. We were living in
Liam Shea (14:45) Yeah.
No, you can’t.
Erica Garza (15:11) the Dalles, Oregon of all places, like this tiny little town. at the time my son’s dad, my husband at the time, he was a logger. So it’s perfect. Like he worked for the big logging company and I found this tiny space right on like Main Street and second. And it was, I think it was maybe like 500 square feet. And it was, I just was like, my God, I could put a little studio in here. And I remember I called the company on the sign.
Liam Shea (15:13) Okay.
Perfect.
Erica Garza (15:40) And the guy was so cool. goes, honestly, we’ve moved to Portland. How’s 200 a month sound? And I went for the spaces that like how much utilities he’s like for everything. And I remember I said, you know how much water I’m going to use? just so you know, like you know how many blow dryers and things I would have plugged in? He goes, it’s 200 a month. I said, And I remember thinking like.
Liam Shea (15:47) Ugh.
For the keys? Like what is that?
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
Erica Garza (16:07) If it wouldn’t have been for that little, I kind of had, you know, my own space, like right out of, you know, having a baby and only three years in the industry, but it worked for me. And I hustled out of that little place. I made some good money there. Kind of want to go back, especially at that rent.
Liam Shea (16:23) It’s such an interesting thing. I’ve been talking to Annie and to my business partner, Steven, about wanting to put a video series together about how to build your clientele, how to get busy, how to be self-employed. And Britt, my sweet mate here, she went straight to self-employment. Like I convinced her to go right to self-employment. But I knew she cut my hair.
Erica Garza (16:38) Wow.
Liam Shea (16:53) I knew she was good at cutting hair, but we both know that talent doesn’t equal success. Like there’s no, there’s like a vague correlation between the two of them, but not really. Like the most successful hairdressers I know aren’t the best hairdressers I know. The best hairdressers I know are in tax difficulties. Do you know, do you know what I mean? Like just seems like this is like, you can be good at one or the other. It’s hard to be good at both. ⁓ and she’s a hustler.
Erica Garza (17:05) Yeah.
Liam Shea (17:23) And I knew I said that to her. said, you know, being good is great. You will enjoy being good at it and you will be good with time. But but hustling is how you’ll get busy. But I’m but I’ve been realizing as I’ve been thinking about how to talk to new people about this, that hustling is important and luck is just as important. Some of that luck comes from hustling. But like those of us that made it and survived.
Erica Garza (17:27) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Liam Shea (17:49) usually had moments like you’re talking about with renting that space where the luck of a $200 a month space is why you could go self-employed. Like if it was a thousand dollars a month, I’m not sure that would have been a great financial decision for your family at that time. Yeah.
Erica Garza (17:59) Yeah, yeah I Would have lasted one month literally,
but you know and it’s funny that you mentioned that because we were talking about this the other day I said it is so amazing how social media
has impacted this industry with building clients alone. Just that pure little fact alone. I can reach so many people by one video, one reel, one clip. I can repost, I can share, share, share. I can pass around and then I can send and be specific. I mean, I can target an audience. I can even pay to boost. There’s so many options, right? So when I was 19 and brand new hairdresser, we had, we would go to the mall and I would, I business cards.
Liam Shea (18:21) Yes.
amazing.
you’d walk around.
Yep.
Erica Garza (18:46) I made business
cards and I would, this was, we had one mall, you know, in the thing. And of course the salon I worked at there, but I would go on my days off and I would stand in front of like the cool stores. remember Mariposa and like, of course Macy’s, you know, the big one, but like, I can’t even think back. I remember Jay Jacobs, that was my favorite store, but like I would go in front of the coolest stores. I could find Hot Topic even. And I’d say, hi, I’m Erica.
Liam Shea (19:00) Hmm?
Mm-hmm.
Erica Garza (19:14) Can I give you my card? I’m new. I would love to do your hair. I work right at the end by pennies, you know, in that salon. And you should come see me. And I would have to do that all day long. And then, you know, it’s funny is we were, was telling my daughter who’s 20 now, this is how we, and she’s like, okay, that sounds like creepy. If somebody walked up to me and said, hi, do you want to be a model for me? Come in three o’clock to my place. You know, she’s like, mom, that’s creepy. I go, but that’s how we did it. We had to go and ask people.
Liam Shea (19:24) ⁓ yes.
That’s
Yeah.
Erica Garza (19:44) You want a cop?
Liam Shea (19:44) And there was a
there was a creepy I mean, I, I did an apprenticeship. So I had cutting classes every week and had to go find my own models for the cutting classes. And walking up to people on the street. And then as a male trying to walk up to females on the street and be like, Hi, I’m a stranger. I’d like to give you my business card. You should come see me at this hair salon. I don’t know what I’m doing. Would you like haircut?
Erica Garza (19:52) Yes!
Yeah.
Yeah? Yeah.
Liam Shea (20:13) It was like one out of 100 people. was such a grind to make that work. And it’s amazing that you could just, yeah, toss out a post. Yeah.
Erica Garza (20:17) That’s what we did. That’s what we
did. And I feel like there’s like a group of us that are our age. We’re kind of like the warriors that made it.
Liam Shea (20:28) Yep. Yeah.
Erica Garza (20:30) We pounded
the pigment in heels or in dress pants and know, it’s a shirt type, whatever your dress code was, but I feel like being self-employed, that was really cool. I didn’t wear heels when I was self-employed, so.
Liam Shea (20:33) Ugh.
Got it.
Yeah, exactly. Me neither, you know,
maybe at one point. So you’re working with Schwarzkopf right now, is that correct? And when did that gig start or how did that come about?
Erica Garza (20:52) ⁓
cool because like really it is all who you know, no joke. So I was with another brand for a long time, loved, loved and still love them. And I was just feeling like I needed more. Do you ever feel like that? Like, God, I love what I do. I just need more. And I didn’t know what that more was. And you know, I’m, I’m kind of in a period of my life where I’m feeling like
Liam Shea (21:01) Mm-hmm.
yes.
Erica Garza (21:20) I’m going to be 50 in January. So it’s like, feel like I’m halfway over, right? But I still have a whole nother halfway to go. And so what do I want to do? And I was, I was actually with this other company, I was working in sales. So I was a brand manager on the sales end, which was fabulous. And I would still get to work with salons and the stylist, but the only way I know how to close a deal and convert people is through education, through a demo. Let me show you, let me share with you a formula.
Liam Shea (21:25) Mm-hmm.
Yep. Yeah.
Erica Garza (21:48) Let me share with you a great coverage trick I know or whatever. I’m not one to, know, people would say, well, what’s the percentage and cost of application for the, I’m like, I don’t know. And I would just be like, ⁓ let me find that for you. And I’m thinking in my head, who cares? Like buy the color, mix it equal parts, put it on, don’t waste and you’re gonna love it, right? And so my heart has always been in education and I feel like that’s where I’ve been most impactful. So.
I wanted a role in education and there just wasn’t one available. Like you said, it’s very hard to get those roles and there just wasn’t one available with the company I was with. And my friend from years before who I actually met at this former company, one day out of the blue messages me on social media and says, hey, I was thinking about you. There’s a position open with our company. Would you be interested? It’s in education. And I was like, what is it? And he’s like, you’d be the regional education manager.
you this would be your area, you’d work with this and it’s kind of looks like this. And I said, send me the link, send me the link. So I applied, it took months. I thought, they’re not gonna want me. There’s like probably a bazillion people applying. And I kind of felt like after, you know, 90 days, it’s bye, they ghosted me. And no, they didn’t. It’s it’s a process, you know, there’s so many people that did apply, but also it’s a process. There’s like multiple interviews. Yeah.
Liam Shea (23:08) and a corporate process.
Erica Garza (23:11) And I hadn’t been with a big corporation like that before. And so it was family owned, the one I was with prior. So it’s a little different, but I’ll never forget. I’m like literally in the car driving and I get this phone call and I’m like, this is Erica. And it was like, hi, we’d like to offer you the job. And I was like, yes, yes, yes, yes, 100 yes. And I was so excited, so excited. But here’s what was interesting is I hadn’t used Schwarzkopf.
Liam Shea (23:31) Get it.
Erica Garza (23:39) like the actual color in the salon behind the chair. And I didn’t have that like deep love like I had for my other one for it yet. And then I was like, when I interviewed, I thought I better look at the brand before I have my first interview. What if I don’t like it? So I did and I liked it. And I went ahead with the interviews and I thought I better practice and learn while I’m waiting. I’m like, no, they’re not going to call me. Nevermind. I have other work to do. And then when they called me, I was like, cram session, but it was great. And it was easy. It’s very user friendly and I had a lot of support.
Liam Shea (24:04) Yes.
Erica Garza (24:10) and I’m using it behind the chair now and it’s great. But I love my job. I like my job a lot. it’s, people say like, you just work a lot. I mean, we all do, right? In some capacity, I feel like we’re either working from home in our domestic stuff or we’re working with our families or we’re working in our careers or whatever, but I wanna like my work, you know? And I like the people that I talk with and I love educating. I love facilitating. I love.
Liam Shea (24:13) amazing. Yeah.
yeah.
Erica Garza (24:38) helping others learn how to educate and facilitate and be even better. So like the mentorship thing. And I feel like after, sorry it’s loud, after 30 years in the industry, I have some experience to share. And so I like sharing that with people who are like, I wanna be an educator, this is my first year, or this is my third year, and I wanna elevate myself. I’m like, yes. I had some really good mentors in my life. I remember my very first regional education manager,
Liam Shea (24:47) It’s
Yeah.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (25:07) She, ⁓ man, she spoke so much life into me and she was the very first person ever that wasn’t related to me that was honest and real, but from the heart. And I’ll never forget, I called her after this class I did and I used to work for RedKid and that was my very first gig ever. And I called her and her name was Linda and I was like, Linda, this class was horrible. I hated it. It didn’t go well. And she’s like, what happened?
Liam Shea (25:30) you
Erica Garza (25:33) I’m like, they didn’t participate. They were boring. Like, I don’t know. I just didn’t vibe with them. And I said it differently, but that was like, in essence, you know what I was saying. And she said, were you nervous? I said, yeah, I was really nervous. And I don’t know. It just wasn’t a good class. And she’s like, there’s two reasons for you being nervous. One, you were not prepared. And I was like, why did she say that to me? And two, you made it about you and not about them. And I went, what? And she said, when you’re nervous,
Who are you thinking about and looking at? And I said, well, me, I want to do a good job. I need to be the one. I need to have all the answers. I, me, me, me, me, me. And she’s like, it’s not about you. It’s about them. You’re going in there to help them understand the color more. Give them inspiration. Give them the tools they need to be successful behind a chair. You are helping them. You’re not there for you. And I’m like, And I’ll never forget that. And to this day, I still try to ask myself, like, if I’m feeling nervous, I’m like, are you grounded in the information?
Probably not, or you wouldn’t need to be worried about, And then sometimes the answer’s in the room, you know? You can always ask, like, that’s a great question. How would you approach that? And there it is. But also, this is the best part. She taught me how to understand it’s not about me, it’s about them. And servant, to be, not a servant, but to serve with your heart and to serve with your creativity and to empower others, that’s what makes me go, yes!
Liam Shea (26:56) Hmm.
I love it. I love it.
Erica Garza (27:01) anything like that. Yeah.
So I think it’s like, that’s what kept me in the industry. And as much as like, I love the idea, I had a client, she was a manager for Mercedes Benz here locally. And she’s like, Erica, please come on my team. I could really train you. You would make so much money, six figures in two years. And I’m like, what? And then I’m like, well, I could do that now if I would blah, blah. And she’s like, come on. And I’m like, do I have to wear heels?
Erica Garza (27:36) Yeah, yeah, but the heart thing, that’s what, no matter what we do, I feel like the people that connect the best, we usually have that in common, you know? Yeah.
Liam Shea (27:40) That’s big.
Absolutely. Did
you, how did you find your first mentors? Was it luck or were they just around?
Erica Garza (27:56) I kind of feel like I always hear like you don’t you don’t pick who you mentor they pick you is how I’ve always heard and I believe that personally I kind of I wanted to be them so I would gravitate to them and I would want to work with them like for instance Linda you know she was the manager and I was brand new educator brand new in hair brand new everything and in fact the only reason I even wanted to be an educator was because
I didn’t tell you like the first four years, know, when I was doing all that, figuring out like from the chain to the independent and that little rent space, I was just cutting. And I would always ask, know, like, do you color? And I would say no. And the truth is, cause I didn’t know how. At the chain place, I had an experience where somebody with really light, light hair blonde comes in and she said this exact phrase, I want to be medium ash brown. I’m like, yeah, no problem.
Liam Shea (28:32) Mmm.
Erica Garza (28:48) I go to the back and I looked for the box that said medium ash brown and it was like a level seven ash. And I remember in beauty school, you mix equal parts, you put it on, no problem, forget about it. And that’s what I did. And when I went to rinse her, she was like martini all of green. And I thought, well, I remember there’s this word like oxidize or something. Maybe it’ll change once the water hits it. I don’t know. I was making up all these stories.
Liam Shea (28:59) Mm-hmm.
Hahaha
Mm-hmm.
Erica Garza (29:13) and it didn’t change and my eyes were like, and I remember at the time I told my manager of this place, I was like.
You know, and she’s like, instead of saying like, okay, we have a learning opportunity. I’m going to share with you how to correct this right now. She’s like, no, she said, my God, you turned your client green. So the lady literally like sits up with all the water still. And I’m like, wait, she runs to the mirror and she’s like cussing me out. And that was the first time I wanted to quit. And I remember I went home, I got in trouble. Like I got written up. I had a plan of action. I don’t know what the plan was. It never was a plan. I got sent home.
Liam Shea (29:31) Ugh.
Erica Garza (29:49) because I messed up. I said to my husband at the time, was like, I’m never, I don’t want to color. I don’t even think I should do hair. And he convinced me not to quit. But he’s like, well, don’t color then. So I didn’t for four years, but it was a, here’s where I love sales. Like, and people who take their salon accounts, with their heart, it’s, it’s about like the salons and the people. She came in and she’s like, she worked with, I think at the time it was Jacob Miller and
They got bought out by Maylis and then Sloncentric. But she comes in and she says, where’s your color? What do you use for color? I said, I don’t color. I’m so busy with haircuts. That’s all I do is design. And she’s like, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. And in my heart, I’m like, I don’t know how, but I didn’t want my pride. And I was like 22 when I was like, just, or 23, I was like, I just don’t, I don’t have time for color. And then she looked at me and she’s like, Erica, we’re having a class. I really think you should color. And then finally I’m like, okay.
Liam Shea (30:36) Yeah.
Erica Garza (30:50) told her the story and she said come to the class. said no because there’s gonna be other salon people there and they’ll know and I don’t want to be talking about me like I was insecure and she said I’ll go with you. Okay, first of all, didn’t know she had to be there anyway, but she made me feel special was the point and she said I’ll go with you. Dude, she picked me up. I met her at the salon. She picked me up. We went to the class. She introduced me to the educator.
Liam Shea (31:06) Yes.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (31:17) And I was so like nervous and she’s like, I’ll sit with you. You got this. And they answered my questions. And then at the end, she like gave me a bunch of samples and some swag. And then she touched base. followed up and then she brought a brand manager. didn’t know they were detailing. I didn’t know that world. I just thought I was special. She comes in my salon with this big corporate person and she’s like, this is Erica. They brought me more samples. They talked to me about color. bought my first intro and I went to every class.
Every class she’d give me a flyer if it was free. I was at it. I went to every class I drove from the Dallas to Portland, which is just like an hour every other Monday to go take the same exact intro class It was an intro class and the educator finally one day goes Erica You don’t have to keep coming to this class. Like you got the info like you’re great with your answers I go no, I learned something new every time I have to be here She’s like you should just educate and I go. I don’t know how she goes. ⁓ yeah, you actually are already
Liam Shea (31:58) Awesome.
Erica Garza (32:15) like, but with your participation and your input. And I went to a new hire training and I’m still here. So that’s the impactful part that like really like changed the trajectory of where I was going. Cause you know, I just thought education was about light smoke and the platform artists at the hair show, right? And the cool person doing the model on stage. They’re so cool. Like I’m not that cool. I’m never going to be there. And that’s part of it. That’s the entertainment piece, right? And you need that. And there are cool people that do that.
Liam Shea (32:22) Yeah.
God. Yep.
Mm-hmm.
No, I’m with you.
Erica Garza (32:45) But everything that leads up to that one moment where those cool people are up on stage, there’s so many things that happened before and after and behind the scenes and paying it forward and just the mentorship that comes with that. I wanted to be like them. And so I gravitated to my REM and I wanted to be like her because she was professional, she was beautiful. She had a good income. I went to her house before and I remember saying,
Liam Shea (33:02) Yeah.
Erica Garza (33:13) Wow, what does your husband do? And she looked at me, she was, I hate that question. This is my house and I married my husband and I own this home. He moved in with me and she checked me. And I was like, I didn’t know that that was possible, you know? And yeah. And I remember the educators that I wanted to be like, would like try to sit by them or around them. I would introduce myself. I would have to just remember like.
Liam Shea (33:17) Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Erica Garza (33:39) It’s okay if they think you’re corny, just go up and say hi. So I’d be like, hi, I’m Erica Garza. I’m from Pasco. And then when, you know, the biggest compliment is when you’re at a show or something big and they’re passing by and they actually see you and wave and they’re like, my God, they remembered me. And as someone young, getting remembered, like, so I’d want to be like them. And then I would, I would try to just like, not just mimic their behavior, but like find out like.
Liam Shea (33:54) ⁓ it’s the best.
Erica Garza (34:08) like the why behind what they’re doing, you know, like the Redken mentors that I had back in the day, there were some that I connected with and some I didn’t. So the ones I connected with, I noticed that they were really patient. They were soft spoken. They were very encouraging. They weren’t just like, you’re doing it wrong. You know, no, they would come up and they’d be like, can I coach you? And I’d be like, sure, that’s why I’m here. And I’ll never forget, there was an artist, she’s still an educator. She’s in New York. Her name’s Lori Zabel. She’s still with Redken. Lori Zabel taught me how to do a blowout.
I didn’t know how to blow dry with a brush. And I’m a red can artist embarrassed and I’m just fast drying. And then I thought, smooth it with the flat iron. She’s like, no, no, no, no. Where’s your brushes? And I go, I don’t know how Lori. And she’s like, okay, I’m going to show you. And then I would practice in front of her and my hands shaking. And she’s like, don’t wimp out on the ends. You’re wimping out on the ends. Go follow through. And she stayed with me. She sat with me for an hour while I blow dried a mannequin. And nobody, you know, who does that? Especially when your Lori is able, but she did.
Liam Shea (34:41) yeah.
Yeah, finish it.
That’s amazing.
Erica Garza (35:08) And I just, it’s people like that who impacted me, know, Sam Via watching him, you know, assisting, being in the background as either an attendee or as a, you know, artist assisting a major artist. He was so kind and patient and it was never about ego when he was working with us. You know, I never had that experience with him. He’s great. There’s so many artists that I wanted to be like, and so I would just try and copy and do what they do.
Liam Shea (35:14) Yeah.
Erica Garza (35:34) And I would remember how I felt when they’d wave or how I felt when they say, hey, do you need help? I can help you. Let me show you a better way or another way, know, verbiage, all that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Liam Shea (35:43) So you want to be that for people? Yeah, I’m with
you. I know education. mean, yeah, yeah, it’s a tough one. I mean, I never delved into coloring the way I would have liked to. I never understood. The people who are around to teach me, I didn’t know what anyone was talking about. I never got it. I heard somebody interviewed in a podcast once and they said they ended up going to this place for a class and somebody managed to teach them color.
It was more through math, like they found a different way to teach them color and it worked for their brain. I’m like, I wish I’d found that person. wish I’d found, cause it never, it never clicked for me. Like I know what underlying pigment is. I understand, you know, this color neutralizes that color. understand those
Erica Garza (36:16) Okay. ⁓ yeah.
Liam Shea (36:30) things, but I could never look at a head and work that formula out. Most of my coloring was based on memorization of, last time I did this on that type of person, this happened.
Erica Garza (36:35) Hello?
Liam Shea (36:41) and not a genuine understanding of what it was that took place and how to replicate that on someone with a different underlying pigment. Even though again, I understand, you know, this cuts that. I never found the right type of education that worked for my brain. And I had a tendency, was talking about the ADHD thing, turns out what I would do, the masking that I learned to do was,
Erica Garza (36:41) Yeah. Yeah.
Thank you.
Liam Shea (37:13) I would feel bad that I didn’t understand because I knew this person knew what they were talking about. So I would make sure they felt like the best educator in the world so that we could get past so we could just move on. So it’s like, don’t know what you’re talking about. So I’m going to use some techniques to give you the impression that I learned it and make you feel good about yourself so we can get to the next part. Let’s just move on, which is not a great way to learn. It’s not actually learning. It turns out it’s just coping.
Erica Garza (37:13) No, but.
It’s kind of that survival, like I’m just, go ahead and do this so we can move forward.
Liam Shea (37:45) Yeah. Yes.
So I’m very pleased that there are people in this world that have someone like you to educate. Yeah. What would you what would you say to a new a new like a recently self-employed hairdresser that wants to find some mentors? How would you what would you what would you tell them to do? Yeah.
Erica Garza (37:53) Thank you. Thank you. No, it’s true.
⁓ write a message and
find the people that you admire on social media first. If that’s where, I mean, I always ask like, because we didn’t have social media. So I had to do it on people I had actually met or paid to go see, you know, like, so and so is doing a class in Seattle. I want a ticket. I’m going. I love them. And it was only because I had seen them. So now with social media, if anybody’s new and they’re following people that they really admire and love, you know,
Liam Shea (38:16) Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Erica Garza (38:33) hair celebrities or local people or just anybody they connect with, I write a message. Start by writing a message and hitting send because I get those sometimes. I get messages from people I’ve never met, have no idea who they are, but because of social media, we’ve connected and we’re in the same industry and it’s beautiful to have the courage to write the message and then there’s always that thought like, if they don’t see it? Or what if they don’t have time for me? Okay, well then they didn’t see it and they don’t have time.
But for the people who do, for the people who do open it and read it and write back, it’s worth it because they can give you some great pieces to hang onto and move forward with. For instance, like, hey, thanks for this message. I always say, I thank the person for taking the time to message me. It’s like, wow, I’m here, what can I do? And they’ll be like, what do you love about Schwarzkopf? And I share it with them, like, hey, I’m pretty new to the brand too.
So as a new person looking at it, I know it looks really big, but it’s beautifully categorized. It’s very user friendly. There’s some really great formulas. Here’s a few of my favorite. I give them recipes. Try this on someone. send them pictures. mean, technology is so awesome. You can literally just send everything right then. And I take advantage of that because I know what it is to not have that, right? And so I would really just encourage them, write a message. Start with a hi, it’s me, hi.
Liam Shea (39:43) Hmm.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (40:00) And maybe even like when you’re at an event, like if you’re at a class or you’re at an event and you see someone that you really, really admire and you love how they work and you want to know more. mean, oftentimes those people are really busy and they don’t have the time to stop and chat. But when they do and you see them interacting, maybe like at the after party or something, go and say hi. Like we’re all people and we’re all here for each other. Go and say hi. My name’s Erica.
Liam Shea (40:23) Mm-hmm.
Erica Garza (40:26) I was in your class earlier today at two o’clock and thank you because I always have a problem with my foil slipping and that technique you shared, that’s really gonna help me behind the chair. Like, love hearing that because it validates us and our information. Cause you know what we think, I know you know this, like, what if these attendees don’t wanna hear this? What if this doesn’t help them? What if this is dated information and they don’t need it?
Liam Shea (40:39) Yeah.
Yes.
Erica Garza (40:53) What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t look good on there? All these like, but it’s not about me, it’s about them. So when they come up and share those like, hey, I really love that technique you passed on that you learned from someone else or that formula that you shared on the swatches helped me see it. Like the head sheets, thank you for the head sheet. Like that was awesome. I needed that. Cause like, I didn’t know how you section that model. When we talk like that and people have the courage to walk up to the person and say, Hey,
Liam Shea (41:09) Yeah.
Erica Garza (41:22) You know, I’m, hi, we love that. We love that. And it’s not about like, it’s not for the ego or the big head. That’s not at all what I mean. It’s just for like building new relationships, you know, and getting in touch and keeping in touch, staying in touch. And I would really just say, write the message, go say hi, start there. And the people that stay in contact with you, those are your mentors. Those are the ones that care about you. The ones that say, hey, how did that turn out?
⁓ wow, you remembered that I messaged you. It turned out great or didn’t turn out so good. had to redo it. But I learned this and this and this, know, honesty and all that. I feel like the people that keep in touch are the ones that really can offer you the most to grow in your career. And I had people like that and I still love them to this day, you know. That’s really cool.
Liam Shea (42:00) Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, there’s nothing I like more than helping someone succeed. That’s honestly why we, when Stephen and I started Salon Monster, we built it for me to begin with. And then it was just about wanting to help other people offload some of the work that they have to do. When I first left the salon I did my apprenticeship at, I went to a
Erica Garza (42:26) Yeah.
Liam Shea (42:40) true chair rental, almost booth rental, so, like there’s no receptionist, nobody handles anything. And all of it. And I remember I’m sitting there trying to do hair and my phone keeps ringing. This is, it’s not before text messaging, but nobody did text message at this point. And yeah, and it would just, it just took up too much time. I’m like, this can’t be.
Erica Garza (42:45) Yeah, yeah, you do your own towels, your own back bar. Yep, yep.
Yeah, especially for professional purposes, right? Yeah.
Liam Shea (43:09) There has to be a better way than this. This seems like a, I don’t like taking time away from my clients. One of the people I apprenticed under, he was not into book backs. He was not into, he came from a salon. The first salon he worked at, it a really big deal salon at the time. And he had an assistant and this was the type of place where he’d do a consultation, he’d wrap a perm.
And then he didn’t see that person again until he was finishing it at the very end. They’d be, yes, offloaded people, different people. And so when I met him, he had a few big rules. Never turn your client away from the mirror. Don’t take people in between. you’re not just doing their hair. You’re there to be with them, to walk them through it, to spend time with them. And so his customers loved and adored him. They still do. Yeah. Yeah.
Erica Garza (43:39) ⁓ so it’s departmentalized. Yeah.
Wow. I bet. No, that’s huge
because, you know, a lot of us think, well, how do I make money if I don’t double book? That’s the system I learned on double booking. Like, go, let’s go. Let’s move it. Let’s move it. Yeah. But that’s a beautiful concept to really focus on that one client, you know, and charge accordingly.
Liam Shea (44:07) Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah, he was all about service.
Absolutely. Yeah. And he charged accordingly at the time. Later on, he got worse at it, but he did a good job at that point. Yeah. Yeah. If you, if somebody came up to you and said, I’m interested in getting into hair, how do you think I should start? What’s your typical suggestion?
Erica Garza (44:23) Yeah. Yeah.
Right now.
⁓
say absolutely you have to do it if your heart is telling you to do it you have to do it so I always find out like what is your like in your area what schools do you have what what learning centers can you go to sometimes a small town like local beauty college where you’re you know putting rollers in the hair and then that’s it and then other times like there are some really cool academies and apprenticeship program afterwards so I always find out whatever you win and then I’m you know
Liam Shea (45:04) Yeah.
Erica Garza (45:09) Google if I have to real quick to find out what they have. And then I’ll even make suggestions. And sometimes too, like this is real talk because this was me in my life financially. There are great academies that do not have state funded, you know, financial aid. So I say like, you know, if you need a financial aid school, there’s an option here in your hometown. Like I went to one of those two and just because you go to the not cool academy.
Liam Shea (45:35) Yes.
Erica Garza (45:35) or the
state funded academy does not mean you’re not gonna be grounded. And that’s why ongoing education, link with a brand, link with your sales rep, find out where the classes are, go to the stores and ask them, where’s your next class? Where’s the flyer where I can look and see the dates online? You don’t even have to go to the store. See, I’m so old. Get online and look for education. Because that’s what after you graduate beauty school, I feel like that’s where the learning begins.
Liam Shea (46:04) Absolutely.
Erica Garza (46:04) You get
your fundamentals, you learn about your barbicide, your measure, all the state rules, you do that. And that’s important. There’s definitely a place for that. But for the rest of your life in your career, ongoing education and some type of mentorship from someone in the industry would be such a helpful bonus. So I would start by saying, know, what kind of schools are around you in your area? And do you need financial aid ones? Can you afford an academy? Like whatever you can do. And then afterwards,
I never recommend just cold turkey jumping in like your partner did. Just that’s too hard for me. But I would say, like, look, a great resource is the sales consultants because they know every salon in the area, right? So I would say find out in your area who has an apprenticeship program because chances are there’s one or two commission salons that do and it’s becoming more and more like common now to find a good apprenticeship program. And I would say start there. It’s not glamorous.
Liam Shea (46:36) No, no. it’s too hard for most people.
Yes.
Great. So nice.
Erica Garza (47:02) But it’s not bad. It’s actually super fundamental. And I feel like that part of your journey is going to be the one you always go back to in reference and be grateful for it. I didn’t have that. I wish I would have, but try to find that. And then worst case scenario, if you don’t have that, I always recommend commission salon first because you don’t have to provide your own product. You use what they provide. You learn, you get free education in salon education.
because half the time the owner is bringing in the educator based off rewards or whatever, and you get to benefit from that. So your education at least is going to be free ongoing. You get to have your clients given to you. You don’t have to stand in the mall and recruit. Yeah. And you learn systems and then you learn how about culture and salon life with other people. And you can actually even find mentors in your own network if you…
Liam Shea (47:44) It helps, but yes.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (47:58) have a place like that. And then if it’s not a good fit, you find another one and you just keep looking for your home until you find where you’re grounded and always start with commission salons if you can. Then if your dream is to be an independent, you know, business owner or a studio suite owner or just a stylist in a network with other independents, that’s cool too. So I feel like you really need to have the experience first though in a commission setting so you understand like our culture.
Liam Shea (47:59) Yeah. Yeah.
Erica Garza (48:27) We talk different, we act different, we are different. And it’s good to have somebody helping you along the way. And then when you feel like, got this and I can do this, go do it, go do it. And if you’re like, I love this environment, why would I ever leave? There you go, you stay. So either way, you find your home where you belong. That’s what.
Liam Shea (48:28) Yeah. Yes.
In fact, my
friend, I told her this at the beginning. the reason, the luck that she has is, I was just saying, why don’t you just come use my days off to do models and stuff and practice. So I actually just gave it to the chair for free for six months, which is why that was possible. It made, I wasn’t using it. And you know, I…
Erica Garza (48:52) Ha ha!
That’s such a good gift.
Liam Shea (49:13) because I focus on salon monster as well as doing hair, but I still have a clientele two days a week. I’m aware that if things continue to grow, I’m not gonna be able to do as much hair. And I didn’t wanna just say, good luck. I wanted to say, hey, I’ve got this person who comes from the service industry. She comes from restaurants before this. So she has the skillset. I can’t teach you how to be good with people. I can teach you how to be better with people.
Erica Garza (49:18) Yeah. okay. Yeah.
Liam Shea (49:39) but you either already know how to talk to people or you don’t to a degree. So she rents this for three days a week and works at a barbershop two days a week. And I had told her she’s picking the hard route. Like if you go right into chair rental, you’re missing a bunch of things. You’re missing a certain amount of education. You’re missing, I even noticed when she, we both do the laundry, we take it home, we don’t have it here. And I even noticed when she’s rolling the towels,
Erica Garza (49:43) Yeah, yeah, no, not a percent. believe that.
Yeah.
Liam Shea (50:08) Like, well, that’s a little bit loose. That’s not that doesn’t like that’s not as clean as I would like to see it. Like that’s right. When you work at a commission salon, there’s all these systems that are in place to like, no, it’s done exactly like this a thousand times in a row. Do it over and over and over again, and then you’ll get it. ⁓ so yeah. Yeah.
Erica Garza (50:17) Yeah, yeah. totally, yeah.
Foils, cutting foils. The best place, you wanna be the best foil cutter of your life and that helps when you’re independent. Cut foils for another artist or another stylist. When you’re the assistant.
Liam Shea (50:29) Yes.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (50:40) In any capacity, like whether you’re in education and you’re assisting a grand artist from the stage or you’re in the salon assisting and it’s your second week, cutting foils, that’s one system like over and over and you’d be like, my God, if I have to cut another foil, it’ll be too soon. But you know when you’re on your own and you have a color placement come in and you’re like, she’s got fringe, she’s got multiple lengths, she’s got long, I need different size foils and I’m gonna place them this way and that way, cutting foils, I got it.
Liam Shea (50:56) Yep. Yes.
Erica Garza (51:10) And I felt so good. I remember I’m like, I hate cutting foils. I’m not the foil servant. I was so glad that I learned the why behind a long foil, a narrow foil, a wide, short foil, a big foil. Like, my God. So I have my foils.
Liam Shea (51:16) Yes.
Yes.
Yeah. Well, and it’s, you
know, I talk to my like eight year old regularly about this. Not everything’s for you to like. Like not everything is for you to enjoy. It’s not all built for your personal entertainment. There’s there’s reasons that are hard to understand at a certain point in life why you do things a certain way. Eight is probably a young age to try and convince them of that. But I do my I do my best. Yeah. Yeah.
Erica Garza (51:28) Hahaha!
Hey.
True. Keep saying that because somewhere
along the line, I think we were lied to that everything in life is going to be enjoyable and fantastic. And if it’s not, the world is ending. Right. And I’m like in hair and in our world, you got to have like some thick skin, you know, sometimes clients aren’t the nicest or sometimes
Liam Shea (51:54) ⁓ it is not.
Erica Garza (52:08) you color doesn’t happen the way you thought it was gonna and user error, whatever, you know, there’s lots of things, but at the end of the day, I think too, if I could say this to somebody starting out, just please plan into your day that you’re gonna get frustrated and please understand that it is normal to feel like I suck, I can’t compete, the other Instagram hair looks so much better than mine.
Liam Shea (52:11) Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, yes.
Erica Garza (52:35) those thoughts are gonna flood your head, they’re never gonna leave, but you don’t have to believe them. And worst case scenario, even if they’re true, okay, what do I need to work on? Where do I need to begin? Where do I start and where do I go? And I know I love the saying that YouTube is not cosmetology school. Like I love that, cause it’s true. But on the same token too, like for instance, like the company I work for, Shortscout, they have a whole YouTube page and there’s so much education on there and little bites, you know?
Liam Shea (53:02) That’s amazing.
Erica Garza (53:04) And then other people that you admire. Like I know I watch other salon owners, even though they’re not with my brand, that has nothing to do with it. Like they’re amazing. I like to watch them cut and design and style. And what did they do for curling iron? And how did he cut our bangs like that? Yes!
Liam Shea (53:16) Ugh.
I watch other people, I could watch
haircut videos to the end of time. If I, I love process, like I just love process. And if I can watch somebody else’s process, my goodness, that’s the best. That’s the best. I do it all day long.
Erica Garza (53:25) Yes.
Yeah.
work on it. And you know what’s cool? I love this. I actually learned this from younger stylists who I went into the salon last week in Colorado and we were doing a haircutting class, you know, and that’s not my strength. Cutting is not my strength. Like I’ve been a colorist, like lover since day one, but cutting I get like, ee, let me just double check, you know. And he…
Liam Shea (53:55) Mm-hmm.
Erica Garza (53:56) He had a tripod in front of his station and he records every single haircut and he’ll hit time lapse or slow-mo or he’ll do different ones. And I said, that, so you have content for social media? He goes, yeah, but the real reason why I started recording is because at night when I’m sitting, I used to just sit and eat and watch Netflix and chill. He goes, now I sit and I eat, but I watch my video and I’ll slow it down.
Liam Shea (54:22) Yeah.
Erica Garza (54:22) And I watched
my finger angle and my elevation and my positioning and how ergonomically am I holding my palm to palm or am I, you and I’m like, you do? And he’s like, yeah, I’ve four years in the industry and I’m already having carpal tunnel issues. So if I want to keep my working, I have to be aware of my body position at all times. And he goes, ⁓ I changed my tools. They’re ergonomically friendly. I changed it. And he started sharing with me and I was like, just like blown away. That’s cool.
Liam Shea (54:43) Yeah.
Yeah.
Erica Garza (54:52) That’s really cool. like, I need to record myself more and watch myself to improve. Yeah.
Liam Shea (54:53) Yeah. Watch yourself.
all athletes watch film. Do know what I mean? All athletes watch film of themselves afterwards. You can’t know what you’re doing wrong in the moment like you can when you watch yourself. You’re like, my goodness, why am I, why am I doing this? Why do I keep doing this over and over again? Why don’t I move the chair up? ⁓ yeah. Why are my elbows down here? Why aren’t they up here? Yeah. All those things.
Erica Garza (55:01) Yeah.
say ⁓
Yeah. Yeah.
Liam Shea (55:23) Yeah, I love it. Well, I’m cognizant of your time. I know we’ve
Erica Garza (55:23) So that’s a great. learned from that. Thank you.
Liam Shea (55:27) spent an hour here and I know you probably have a thousand things to do.
Erica Garza (55:31) And you as well, but I enjoyed connecting with you. This was the best conversation. Thank you. I love you too. Yeah, that’s why I live. When I’m home, that’s where I’m home. Yes. You better because Canada and Seattle are neighbors. Yeah, Canada and Seattle.
Liam Shea (55:35) Total treat. I love it. Yeah, thank you. I’m hope. you based out of Seattle right now? Yeah, okay. Okay, fantastic. All right, I’m gonna come down and visit at some point and see if there’s a class or something that I consider. Yeah, yeah, well, I’m
in Vancouver, so I’m, you know, I think three or four hour drive. Yeah, love it. I love it.
Erica Garza (56:00) Perfect. We’ll have coffee. Gotta do that.
Liam, thank you for your time. I appreciate the call. Yeah. I’ll see you soon. You too. All right. Cheers. ⁓
Liam Shea (56:05) Erica, thank you so much. Yeah. I hope you have a great rest of your day. You got it. Okay. Bye. ⁓ when this is…
