Andrew Does Pandemic
This is an incredibly difficult topic to discuss, and I don’t just mean finding words to put on a page, but I mean that every facet of what we’re facing right now is difficult— for everyone. There isn’t a single perspective on any of this that doesn’t come with a deep emotional charge, some fear, and uncertainty. This is religion, politics, and art, all at once. I don’t think we’ll find an answer, a stance, an approach, or a perspective that will make sense and be fully satisfactory to a majority, at least not until we’re reading about this pandemic in a history book. I hope that any of my views and opinions here are taken with a grain of salt and held with an open mind against your own views, and I hope that they age gracefully as we work through this thing, as I am no less clueless than anyone who is reading this.
Over one month ago
After seeing some salons and barbershops opting to close for a couple weeks, there were actions that made sense to take, which might not make the same sense today, given the way the situation has been evolving into greater uncertainty. Within my own small product company we immediately discussed setting up a sort of influencer program, allowing stylists and barbers to continue making money through product sales while they couldn’t cut hair. We planned to send them the profits from their online sales (not all of the profit, but equal to what they would’ve made selling in the shop, because we still have expenses to cover and have NOT been immune to this!). I was skeptical about moving forward with it, as I didn’t want it to look like a stunt to increase sales off of a growing hardship. I have friends with small brands who did do this, though, and while I think the motivation behind it is genuinely aimed to help, I didn’t feel like it would have ultimately been a move that would help my own team of resellers in the way that they really needed help. As things went from bad to worse and businesses were forced to shut down for longer periods, and stay-at-home orders were put in place and continually lengthened, I decided not to move forward with that plan.
A huge part
of my decision not to implement a profit sharing campaign was that my one and a half employee business might not have been able to take on the complexities of launching a large scale influencer program, especially under difficult circumstances and quickly, as people needed relief fast. My thoughts were that barbers and stylists were beginning to worry about bigger things than making maybe a hundred bucks a month off of asking their clients to use a promo code. With as much or as little help as a few extra dollars may be, I did offer some very small help that will remain a private agreement between my customers and I, but I really felt like a greater concern would be simply keeping spirits up, through leadership, pep talks, and light-hearted displays of optimism. The plan also fell because I knew that it is a real weakness of mine to build and implement convoluted business plans, but it is much more of a strength of mine to write things like this, or to talk in front of a camera, and so I went about offering as much inspiration and encouragement as I could through my instagram and youtube channel. I posted (and will continue to post) about everything I can that is relevant to the current situation, from keeping busy without being able to cut hair, to trimming your own hair at home, and even openly discussing my own battles with depression, in case any of us find ourselves slipping in that direction. The point being, that financial help isn’t always so cut and dry, especially with a small or probably with mid-sized company operating with slim margins and limited staff, but there are other ways to help, and I hope to keep exploring them.
I don’t have a firm stance
on any companies helping stylists and barbers financially. I honestly can’t fathom the budgets and inner-workings of a multimillion dollar product conglomerate, and therefore I have a very hard time setting my expectations on what “should” be done by them. I don’t know if a company has been running super lean but maintaining a grand image, and I don’t know if the economic downturn is tying the hands of companies who might actually want to do more than they are. So I reserve judgment for the time being. I do, however, have a firm stance on maintaining patience and civility as anyone who can give or share figures out just how they might be able to, especially since the twists and turns of this pandemic keep rendering plans obsolete faster than they can be implemented. I do have a firm belief that financial compensation is not going to solve the root of our bigger troubles, but that will more so come from keeping a strong grasp of who we are, what our purpose is, and more than anything maintaining the belief that when this is over we will have seen generosity pouring out of the most unexpected places— even if it can’t be in the form of a check.
While fearful, it’s easy to demand help from whoever you believe is in the best place to offer it. While I’m in no way defending anyone who can but won’t help, I think it’s more important to our own personal peace to stay constructive— and I say that deliberately instead of “stay positive.” Staying constructive requires action, staying positive is just hoping, and showing up at a big corporation’s instagram account with pitchforks and torches is action, but it’s not necessarily constructive. I believe the big enemy we’re facing here, specifically as passionate hairdressers and barbers (not the ones who just do it for money), is not missing our rent, as the whole world is also missing their rent, but it is losing our motivation and losing our purpose. We might think our problems will be solved if someone gives to us, but I think the real problem is that we love to give (amazing service, life-changing haircut, etc) and right now we can’t. If I may be so egotistical as to offer some blunt advice, set down the pitch fork and grab your own boot straps.
To be completely honest
I think that whether or not any of us receive financial assistance from a big product or tool line, we will all be okay. We’ll all look back at this and some will say “I cussed out L’oréal” while others will say “I went through my books and saved $10,000 a year by implementing a no show policy, then I found a love for photography that later helped my hair career grow, then I wrote a curriculum that grew into my career as an independent educator, then I started a youtube channel that eventually grew to pay me more than cutting hair does… etc. etc.” You get the point. You will worry about money, as much as any other human is worrying about money right now, we hairdressers and barbers are not special in our need for income. We are special, though, in our need for output. Keep sight of that fact, and keep yourself busy painting, drawing, taking photos, playing the guitar or piano, having riveting conversations with clients through a video conferencing app, sewing, acting, dancing, and otherwise just creating! When this is done and every client you ever had wants to get in with you, back to back to back for several weeks, your finances will recoup. If you lose hope, lose sight of your unique calling as a creator, that doesn’t grow back as easily, and it doesn’t have to dwindle in this time!