ep10 – Candy Shaw

Candy Shaw literally grew up in the beauty business as the daughter of former world-champion competition hairdresser Jamison Shaw. Trained in Paris, Candy’s been a French Cutter and Balayage Highlighter her entire life. 

An icon that wins over the hearts and minds of everyone she meets, I wanted to sit down with Candy and talk about how it felt to grow up with a famous father and how she made her own stamp on the industry. 

• Candy explains how she got her start in the industry
• Candy talks about what it’s like growing up with a famous father
• Chris and Candy discuss her wedding
• ‘Get in a classroom where you can actually smell the energy that you put into the hair’ Candy talks about teaching cutting
• ‘If you lose, don’t lose the lesson’ Candy talks about learning lessons in life and business
• Chris and Candy discuss body positioning and the importance of the mirror
• Candy tells Chris what she wants to see from the industry

Complete Transcript

Chris Baran 0:09
How great would it be to get up close and personal with the beauty industry heroes? We love and admire and to ask them how did you learn to do what you do? I’m Chris Baran, a hairstylist and educator for 40 plus years, and I’m inviting all our heroes to chat and share the secrets of their success.

This week’s episode is with a charming lady who I believe is one of the icons that wins over the hearts and minds of absolutely everybody, every person that she talks to. So I want to just give up some of her creds here, so I think it will probably well give it away almost right at the beginning, but she was one an early believer in Bali, asure wink wink nudge nudge. And she couldn’t find a person who shared her passion. So she found a chemist, and developed and spent years researching and developing and developing this brand and no one in her own techniques called sunlights. It’s an American American made 100% woman owned, family owned and she’s built it in no catch this a multimillion dollar and a multinational biz. And I love this and when soon as you hear me talking to her, you’ll know what she’s about as this was she was voted as the maverick of the urine startup company by the year by Cosmo Prof. And 2017. She was the recipient of the Jerry Gordon salon Business Leadership Award. And was Atlanta Small Business Person of the Year. My friend, the Bali, llama, Candy Shaw. Now let’s get into this week’s ad case. Candy Shaw, I mean, OMG I have to say, I’ve been a distant admirer for years now. And just to get to talk to you in person, I think really, we’ve sort of passed each other by the night and we’ve been No, when I finally got into the room next to you, when we were at beauty changes lives and on stage together, it was just a real joy. You know, when when you when you see somebody and you always imagine them, you see them in this light, and then all of a sudden you meet them in person and you’re just a regular human being. And that’s what I just got an instant connection with you when we met at at beauty changes lives. So I’m just absolutely honoured to have you on here for a couple of reasons. And I’m gonna throw this because, you know, I’ve often been introduced as Chris Baran, the name that the person that can say in 10 words, what other people can say in one. But you know, you come from a long family lineage of hairdressers. So I want to I want to kind of talk about a little bit about that. And we’re going to just go a little bit back and forth on this. But I think even just before I talk to you just a little bit about when I first got into hairdressing, reading modern salon now you have to imagine this young kid in Canada, Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Sound of about 3000 people moved up big city up to Saskatoon town of about 100,000 people. And then we would get modern salon and all the industry magazines that would come out and your father, Jamison Shaw was everywhere. So the mere fact that I want to talk to you a little bit about that, but what it’s like just to have him and even if you can give us all of I read on some of the things that that he went to Paris and studied under Antoine now is that where all of the French cutting and the French style of hairdressing came from I’m I’m grabbing at straws here, but I’m trying to put two and two together.

Candy Shaw 3:57
Well, yeah, yes. And no. I mean, my dad has an eighth grade education. I mean, he’s, you know, he does a lot of those fishing stories, right, you know, I caught a fish and the fish keeps growing. So I’m not really sure how all that got started. But really, the love of fringe cutting has been ingrained in me for my whole career. My father was a competition hairdresser. I don’t know if you know that Chris, but no, I knew he world. Yeah. So with all of that he was the first American to win the world championship for the Marcelle iron which nobody even knows how to use anymore. Coincidentally. I mean, you know, we’re all gonna spring iron and it’s so barns and all that and you know, we drive carpool with, you know, practising the iron as he was driving me to school. But, but the reality is, yeah, I was really lucky to be raised and reared in this haircut. immunity by a world champion and a man that really sort of paved the way for so many people out there. I mean, the new generation doesn’t even know what competition hairdressing is really, to the level that it was back then. But I can just remember my father travelling his whole life on the road doing shows, teaching for brands, and I basically just followed in his footsteps, just out of the love of everything that he was doing.

Chris Baran 5:30
Yeah, well, so let’s go there. Well, first of all, what was it like with having? Let me ask you this first. Did you want to become a hairdresser? Was this something that you I’ll give you a little bit of my history my kids both saw, that saw me working, they saw the as we all do, everybody’s listening out there. This is nothing new to even anybody listening or watching that. When you’re hairdresser, sometimes you’re putting in 1214 hour days. And I think my kids mistook that work, as opposed to loving what you do. And they both said, that anybody that’s working that hard, I don’t want to do that. And so neither one of my kids are in the industry. Do you have two questions? Two? parter. Number one, did you have something else you did before hair? And then second part of that? What was that? Like, when you got into it having a famous father? Well,

Candy Shaw 6:30
first and foremost, I did it for survival. I had a learning disability. And I always talk about I feel like a broken record. But I think everybody really needs to know that. It was my only choice. I was a creative person, I have dyslexia, I could barely pass school. So I literally cut hair in my locker room, and tried for math homework, you know, so that I could get through school. And I’ve been cutting hair since I was 13 years old. And, and that was just a matter of survival. It was just my entrepreneurship at that moment, if you will. And you know, I remember the moment I never went to beauty school, by the way, you know, enjoy, don’t have to go to beauty school, you can actually train an apprentice, which is kind of what I did was the path of training under so many of the greatest of, of this industry, my father and my uncle being to have the grades, you know, horse record back or all of those guys that were back in the day from Vidal on down, but the reality was because I never went to college, and I never went to Beauty School. I mean, hair was all I knew. So you asked me did I have another job? I was a cheerleader. Does that count? You know? Or maybe a beer leader is a better thing to say. But anyway, with that being said, I just never knew anything else. I loved it so much. I mean, the industry was just so great. Now you asked me what was it like to be the daughter of a famous hairdresser. My father never thought he was famous, not for a day still does. And if you talk to him right now, he would deny when somebody says you’re iconic. He’s like, whoa, you know, okay, you know, he doesn’t even think he’s famous, you know, and but he’s like the EF Hutton, of hairdressing. I mean, when he spoke, everyone listened. And to this day, people run up to me and tell me Father stories, so it’s really cool.

Chris Baran 8:30
I would I think we need to do one of these again, and have you and your father Oh, yeah. On there, that would be so much fun. Just to go I mean, it because I was on you know, I’m first of all, I’m gonna say what I’m gonna say, and it’s gonna sound I’m not tooting the horn. And you’ll find out real quickly why after that, I was on the Canadian team going to the going to the world hair world, Canadian of the Olympics, the Paralympics, etc. And that was in Austria. And I think if there was some place around last, that’s about where I would have come where our team would have come in. So it was certainly not of your have your father’s quality, but I do know that if people knew what went in to competition hair and the practice, just the same as as an athlete has to go through, and practice and hours and hours and hours and hours of work, just to perfect the muscle memory. So you can do that look over and over again. And it looks right. It’s it’s it’s actually phenomenal. And I think the other thing that that I find super interesting, was especially when we were training apprentices, we would train them on roller sets, and etc. But not just putting a roller in the hair, training for competition. With rollers. You have to be able to get the shape you want with mouldings and And the way that you put your bases of the curl in, et cetera. And it all relates to everything that you do each and every day with a brush, you know, and I think that if people could see that practice that that’s why some of the greats were so great, especially when the industry changed. When it went from roller sets and went into cutting, all of those people knew how to handle bases, they could make anything out of a blow dry that they would do with their cut. I just, I just have the utmost utmost respect

Candy Shaw 10:34
for that. There’s nothing new anymore. I think that would be something that you would say like, I remember my own father going into the garage and literally taking a thing and trying to shorten his scissors like he was. He was trying to file his scissors down because he had barbering chairs that were wrong. And he was trying to make them short, because the short scissor was the hot thing because the Dow had cut off with his hair. And, you know, it’s like, wow, you know,

it was three and a half hours, nothing

new. Yeah, there’s nothing new. But I think what you asked me was really about, you know, what was it like being with a famous father, I took so much for granted back then, that I didn’t even know when I was around. I had no idea that these people were staying at my house that were so iconic. But I do remember the moment that things sort of shifted in my career because I was always candy Shaw, Jamison’s daughter, daughter, right. Jamison, shawls daughter. And I remember the moment that it was like,

Unknown Speaker 11:38
Oh,

Candy Shaw 11:39
your candy shawls father, you know, and I mean, and it was like when that happened. It was just kind of strange. I thought, wait. Yeah, that’s right. Like, now you are, you know, my dad, like, I’ve kind of moved on and you’re my dad versus I’m your daughter.

Chris Baran 11:58
I know. Exactly. I was very Barans boy. That’s why I moved. But what I loved about that story that you just told it was almost like the passing the torch. Here’s the generation passing it to the next generation which so your son, your son carries on the Jameson name as well.

Candy Shaw 12:18
My son is in a business but he’s not a hairdresser. Oh, runs all of our product line and our salon. I still work at the chair, which is something you should duly note, you know, I was there today and ran over here. That’s why I have hair like all over my jacket and everywhere because I’ve had it all over my hands but and why we were black. And why we were black. It picks up everything but men and money but anyway. But with that being said, you know, we have a 50 chair salon in Atlanta, you know, obviously my dad’s name. So we were huffing and puffing today, having a great day, started my day teaching class doing what I love. My son is in the industry, his wife is my top producer in the salon. I love that. I work with my husband, which is great. He’s not a hairdresser. But he is an attorney. So it’s really comforting, you know, to sleep with counsel, you know, yes, nice, because I don’t ever have to worry so much about our business and all the trademarks and intellectual properties that you have to protect when you start a brand. But nonetheless, it’s great. It’s a family affair. We love it.

Chris Baran 13:30
I’m glad you brought up your your husband, because you know I was stalking, and I went on Instagram. And I was looking back at some pictures. And I found two pictures that I want to set this first one up and I was immediately drawn to this picture. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen I think it was on Instagram. There was this young couple getting married. And he the bride says some of the groom says something. And she starts laughing and she’s laughing hysterically church laugh and and they they she just can’t regain it. She’s laughing all the way through. And it was it made me giggle every time. So Lee, if you can bring up that picture. I just want to know, this just reminded me so much of you with your father. And you almost don’t know if you’ve ever seen that clip. But if you haven’t looked it up because you look like even like the girl is there and so tell me like what was going on here?

Candy Shaw 14:36
Well, first of all, how about that hair? Okay, look at that. I’m like, oh my god the 80s but my hair is really curly. That’s what people don’t believe when they see the block Bob. They’re like really? But my hair is super super curly. My dad tears curly. So I have my hand in my dad’s pocket.

Unknown Speaker 14:56
I’m like,

Candy Shaw 14:57
Do you have any more money left and he’s like, I’m out. Money. This was the most letting you know, he used to laugh every anniversary. I’ve been married to my husband for 35 years. Thank you. And he used to laugh that he’s just every anniversary and say, Well, I just tore the last payment out of the coupon book to pay for your wedding. Yeah. So that’s just me saying, Do you have any more money left and my hands in his pocket?

Chris Baran 15:29
It’s such a great picture. And you know, and so, again, I continued on with the stalking. And I saw this one. And so it obviously is on the same day, but I saw this premise going on. And I understand I hope you don’t mind I did a little Photoshop only because there was there was a lot of the glare from when you took the pictures of the, from the wedding book and I and I, the way that I took that other stuff out, I wanted to give your husband a shape back rather than just being black. But I want to know what was the grimace about here? Because I went you went from this hysterical laughter no AC was this. What’s this about?

Candy Shaw 16:08
Okay, so this was our dog. And our dog’s name was we we like French Oui, oui.

Chris Baran 16:15
Oui, oui, oui, oui.

Candy Shaw 16:17
And they brought her brought her to me in a hot box and gave her to me as a gift. And I didn’t know that she was at our wedding. And of course, they put a broad veil on her. I mean, come on. And so I opened the hot box and my dog came out. And so I started crying. It was so cute. They brought my dog to our wedding at you know, your

Chris Baran 16:44
before that you had the dog whistle for that. It’s not that it was a surprise. They gave you a no, they didn’t

Candy Shaw 16:51
give me a wedding. It was our dog. And we obviously were crazy about our little Yorkshire Terrier and missing her. Obviously, you’re at a wedding venue in the weekend. And I had no idea that they had snuck her in for the weekend. And then they gave her to us at our wedding. So I was crying.

Chris Baran 17:11
Oh, that’s so that’s a crime, not a grimace. So no, I’m

Candy Shaw 17:15
crying. It’s a good I guess I am kind of grimace thing like you poor. You’ve been in a hot box.

Chris Baran 17:23
You know, it’s funny. So let me ask you this. How many people was it? Was it a big wedding? A small wedding? What was it? Five years of payments?

Candy Shaw 17:34
Yeah, so it was it was a it was a big wedding by standards. And that moment and that time? I mean, I don’t know some of these Indian weddings that you could do now. Six and 700 people at them. But I mean, I think it was probably like 250 people back then. Yeah, but you have to realise I mean, we are Atlanta staples. So my father if he did, he was inviting, like everyone, you know, the dry cleaners, the, you know, the people that cleaned our pool. I mean, it’s like, stop. You know, nowadays, actually, one of our sons is getting married, I have three children, and our middle son is getting ready to get married. And it’s really funny. Like, I look at the guest list now. And it’s really all their friends. Yeah, you know, and a few of ours, it’s a lot different than it used to be your parents used to have a spectacle for them, like come watch, child get married. And I think that’s all changed now that he does it a lot differently. I think.

Chris Baran 18:36
I remember when, when Reed and I got married. And I’ll say that was more than three years ago. But I remember my mum didn’t have huge hairdresser didn’t have tonnes of money. But we read and I put together a guest list and we had with the aunts and the uncles and all of the friends and the friends friends. We lived in that small town in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. So about three quarters of the people from Humboldt was there. And, and we gave the guestlist to my mother and single parent and she she looked at it and went okay, and because I know we must probably had an 100 150 people that were invited to it and

Unknown Speaker 19:19
and she said, look at all

Chris Baran 19:22
you can have that if you want, but if you do that, I can’t afford to give you any gift. So she said, but if you have a small wedding, I’ll make sure that your rent is paid for the first while for the for that for your apartment. I’ll I’ll buy all your furniture. And I’ll I’ll put all the furnishings into your apartment. And we went done. So we ended up I think with I think there was a total of about 38 people at our wedding. And some of the people had to be there that were uncles that had to be there but the point is i I can only make And now, that now is sort of kind of what we went through it was just more important about having immediate friends and, and just being able to have a nice time and a good party.

Candy Shaw 20:10
Well, if anyone’s listening, take the money to do over again, I hate to take

Chris Baran 20:20
the money, take the money and elope for God’s sake. Yeah, yeah.

Candy Shaw 20:24
Weddings are insane. Yeah.

Chris Baran 20:26
So how now so I want to switch it kind of you went with your families all involved? What happened? Like there was always a teacher? What happened to the to the How did you get involved in education, so you’re successful behind the chair did what came first the teaching, and then the product line or it was at the product line, and then the teaching what happens? Well, I

Candy Shaw 20:51
like to think of myself as an education company, because I was always an educator that created a product instead of a manufacturer that decided to get a product, make a product, and then find an educator to teach on behalf of that product. You know, education has been something that my uncle and my father, you know, we’re all along at Jamison, Shaw, hairdressers, and back when it was Jameson and Don Shaw, hairdressers when they were partners. Yeah. And it was all about, you know, training and growing your own staff. As I said to you before, you didn’t, you don’t have to go to Beauty School in Georgia, right? So we grew our own crop. So teaching was part of the birth, or not the birth, but the fabric of who we were our whole. I don’t ever know it not being that. So I was always an educator for our own salon. That morphed into starting to teach for intercoiffure members, which, you know, I would go and teach another salons because I was, I guess pretty good at it, you know, and people people enjoyed it. And then you know, and then uh, you know, one thing led to another and what people don’t know about me was fringe cutting was something I was teaching long before I was teaching about the power of the paintbrush, and you know, Bali OSH. So a lot of people know me as the Dalai Lama, but really, cutting was my real first love so but back with a vengeance is cutting and that’s what my classrooms are packed with now, because you know, we’ve all kind of gotten a lot of education in Bali OSH and so now we’re focusing more on the art of the hair cut, which I think you know, long beach waves and curls are, are going to go away. And these young anglers, the younger generation needs to know how to do an incredible short hair cut or Bob or, or other types of looks. So really, ultimately, I’ve always been an educator. And I think that just comes from I cannot like the greatest thing that ever happened to me was IKEA, right? When they had a picture. And then they said, Take a, put it with B and you’ll get to see. Like, that’s how I learned so because I learned like that. That’s how I that’s why I love so much teaching because I just feel like that’s how the creative mind grasps

Chris Baran 23:12
exactly what. So the Yeah, that was something I had just had my Marine couple it was right there. At my flailing age, it’s gone. But the reality is, is I know what it was, you hit on a really what I think is a really critical point right there. And you said that hair cutting is making its way back. And that said that some of the things that we’re doing currently that are making a lot of people a lot of money. But still things are changing. And I really want to get on to that. Because there’s probably people that are out there right now that are listening to this, watching it and then saying, Well, what does that mean to me? What do I need to do? Would you agree this is things that I’ve noticed when I’ve got out there as people are terrified of short hair. They’re not everybody, I don’t want to paint everybody with the same brush. But the reality is, is there’s people that are out there that are afraid of cutting and particularly we own a chain of beauty schools and they do they’re terrified of men’s hair because that’s even with fades and things as such are really terrified of doing that. It what would you tell people that they should do right now so that they keep up? With what’s going on? And they stay like just? No, I don’t think that people have to be 1000 miles ahead of everything. But just to stay one step ahead. What would you tell people to do now for cutting? Well,

Candy Shaw 24:39
first of all, Beauty School and training is not all on the internet, I would say to get in a classroom where you can actually smell the energy that you put into the hair. I mean, I know that sounds so crazy. It’s just like getting that hands on experience I think is awesome. What I’m finding that I mean, I have folks in my classroom, I had seven students that flew and spend the day with me today and have five of them were from schools. One was an 18. year veteran, one was a 10 year veteran, and they paid a does shadow me and stand around. And what what I love about that is it really shows people fundamentally how you can work at the chair to not only earn a better living, but have a better life. And so I would say to you, if you’re out there and you’re struggling, or you’re trying to look for some answers, find what it is you’re not good at, and go find the class that can help overcome those insecurities that you have, and go out and practice it. And, and, and, you know, get reignited with your craft. I mean, I think we, you know, the art of hairdressing people have like five haircuts, you know, and they just do them all day long, five versions of those five haircuts, and it’s really boring. It’s laborious ly boring. I mean, for me, I want to teach people not a haircut, I want to teach people how to cut hair, there’s a big difference. So the understand would say, if you’re out there, try to find somebody that can mentor you. That’s why we both love a lot of so much. And so many other organisations that are out there that allow people like you to coach me to coach and just to really find that person that you connect with that can sort of reignite your soul.

Chris Baran 26:35
Yeah. And I think people just from talking to you right now, I think people can tell that you care. I think that, um, might have been just my background, but I think when people trained, I’m just gonna say a few years ago, like if you can imagine, be younger, so great after dirt, then there was me young. But the training that happened back then was not necessarily what you’d call safe. It was always about, you know, I’m the teacher, you’re the student, and you shall do what I say, and you can’t hang around with me, you can’t do anything with me because I am the teacher. But what I’m noticing nowadays, like people like you, like Sam, like other people that are out there that really care about our industry, is that whether you’re teaching to 510, or 10,000, they’ve got a, they’ve got a sense that they’re safe in your environment. Because the reality is, is that when you’re coming to a class, and I loved what you said about that, you’ve got to just get out and do it. Because you can’t, you’re never going to learn what it is until you make a mistake at it. And the beautiful thing is, is if you’ve got your mentor, a coach or somebody that’s teaching you, the cares about you in the room with you, they you make a mistake, and they can help you get through it. So you don’t feel like you’re having your soul torn out. While they correct you on it just making sense. I think it makes

Candy Shaw 28:04
complete sense. I think that as an educator now, there used to be education was the teacher demands right now the teacher in my book commands, there’s a difference. And they can command you to like, learn and have a love of learning again. I mean, you want to talk about getting out there and really getting fuel to your soul. I mean, these, these students came in town, I took him to dinner, or took them to my son’s house last night. You know, had appetisers with him, took him to dinner, took him to Jenny’s ice cream, had ice cream with them, and just asked him questions like What is your fear? You know, what are the things that you struggle with? You know, Where where are your? Where are your hot buttons where what makes you happy? You know, how are you fulfilled? Like the biggest hot topic right now is self care. What frustrates me about that, however, Chris is like now nobody wants to work at you know, they’re like, oh, you know, okay, well, I don’t want to work Saturday. I don’t want to come in early. I don’t want to stay late. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to No, no, no, no. I mean, yet you want to be successful. You can’t demand that. Yeah, you have to learn to command your career in a way that yes, you own your time. And yes, you can call your shots but at the same time, you still have to put the work in Yeah, to get good. Yeah. You can’t just walk up and go Well, I work at a great salon and I expect you all to pack my book and I expect you to keep me busy. You know, that’s kind of falls on us. So I just I feel like as an educator, I try to teach with love and kindness but I also I hug them And I spank them a bit. You know, the truth? You know, I tell the truth. Like if I’m going to tell you that’s great. And it’s not I’m not doing you a service. Yeah,

Chris Baran 30:08
yeah. And I think I love what you’re saying, because especially when you’re talking about the command, and I wrote that down, and I promise you, I will always give you credit for that. The I think they love I loved what you said, is that command? And I think it’s about a strategy, right? You, you have to think about, and whenever I’m talking to people about getting what they what they want out of their business, is I tell them to try and think way ahead, you know, and some people don’t really want to think about the now but, you know, let’s face it, do you want to be 60 years old, still doing the same haircuts behind the chair? You know, and just regretting coming into work every morning? Or do you want to set up a strategy command your career, by the SU might have to give up a little bit of that time and energy right now. But if you strategize it properly, and you’re taking that, that money that you make, and you’re setting some of that aside, so you’re actually creating something that you can either a invest in B, start your own business, if that’s the investment you want, or C, just be able to put away money so you can take care of your family. I think we’d all agree, whether you’re a family of one or a family of 10, your job in life is to take care of your family. And you can’t do that spending all the money that you make, or just having a fun weekend every time just because it seems the cool thing to do.

Candy Shaw 31:37
Right? living paycheck to paycheck, you know, it’s really it’s true. You know, I say that often. I mean, I don’t ever really focus on the money, I focus on myself and my focus on the self, you know, the money sort of comes now. Look, I didn’t sign up to be a starving artist, either. I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t sign up saying, Oh, we’re so creative. So it’s okay for us to be dead broke and live from paycheck to paycheck. No, no, no, no, no. I mean, I run my chair, like a business, I run my salon, like a business, my academy, like a business or product line, I, I look at those things. But I also know that I had the ability to love what I do. And I have the choice, I make those choices. Not to be cynical about it not to be angry, because I have to work hard. I say all the time, when I’m on social media, you know what it’s like rant over, you know, I say well, whoa, timeout, Timeout, timeout, you signed up for this, you know, you signed up to own your own suite, you signed up to have your own business, you signed up to be a salon owner, don’t you cry, but this you just need to find better solutions to command your career. So that you can ultimately have the success that you’re seeking. You know, don’t be so angry at all the reasons why yeah, there’s gonna be frustrating moments. You know, my dad has a lot of sayings. And this is maybe not too good for the podcast, but oh, what do

Chris Baran 33:15
you find the right

Candy Shaw 33:18
to say, Hey, be in a bird, and all singing and shit and from high places. And basically, it’s like, if you want to fly to the top of your tree, great, but it’s not all going to be singing up there. You know, you can have some things that are gonna happen. And I feel that we owe it to ourselves to, to have you know, I’m tired of making excuses for people for what I do. You know, I don’t want to walk into a party and have to lie and say, Oh, I’m a beauty consultant. Yeah. Because I’m not proud to say I’m a hairdresser. Right? And I’m a dang good one, actually. And come on over. And, you know, check out what we do here. You know, my father used to lie. And when I was a kid, to people, you know, not lie in purposely way. You know, he would just tell a firm he’d say, Oh, yes, I’m a consultant. Yeah, I’m a consultant because he didn’t want to tell people who’s a hairdresser because the they they would think he was, had lost his mind. Like, why are you in this industry? Yeah. Are you this industry in the world?

Chris Baran 34:30
Exactly. Because where else can you go that you can literally write your own ticket to make the amount of money that you want to make? You know, that’s what I just can’t get over with people what they sign up for jobs, professionals love whatever percent profession but they get hooked into it. And you can just make six figures so easy and that’s everybody in our industry gets lumped into this thing where, oh, you poured here, you’re probably only making about 25 G’s a year and I always want to go, Hey, do you want to put out your tax return? and I’ll pull up my tax return. And we’ll have a little as a matter of fact that I had to have that conversation, it was somewhat like that with a with a gentleman who was one of the CEOs for United Airlines when I was having a conversation with him on a plane. And he was in great depth telling me about what he did. And he asked me what I did not set up my hairdresser. And it was like, the end of the conversation. And, you know, that’s when I wanted to go like, listen, let’s pull out yours, let’s pull up my tax return and see what this is, if you’re just doing it from a money standpoint, you know, and I’ll bet I enjoy my job a hell of a lot better. Do yours. You know, well,

Candy Shaw 35:37
I mean, my husband works in our company now, because he had one of those high powered attorney jobs worked for this largest law firm in the southeast, you know, I’ll just put you this way. They, they handle, you know, Coca Cola, and, you know, big, big, big things, right. And then one day, he turned over, and he said, I am so tired of you getting out of the bed every morning. So happy. Like, I go to work, and I am miserable. You know? He’s like, I’m just so sick of it. And I said, Okay, well, I got How about if I I make you a job offer? And so he likes to tell everybody that? Why is he not practising he still practice law, but not obviously, for a large corporation? And he said, Yeah, my wife gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. And I’ve never been happier. You know, and it’s just, you know, happiness is, is where it’s at, you know, quick, quick, count your coins, just do the right thing and the coins and you know, the bees will fall out, you’ll be fine.

Chris Baran 36:40
Yeah. And what I liked that you said was just about because it is, you know, I think people that are just going after the money, it’s not going to be there. But you still have to have good business savvy, you know, and that’s why I tell people anytime care whether you’re in a suite, whether you’re in, you’ve got a you know, a multi million dollar business, you need a business coach, get business coaches, with people that can tell you what they, what you need to do, and be straight up with you about what you need to do to grow and scale. That’s right, it’s

Candy Shaw 37:10
just another zero. So think about it, Chris, like if you’re in a suite, and you’re struggling, and you’re saying, Oh, my gosh, where am I gonna get the $1,000 to pay for that? Well, it’s just another zero, I’m looking at where I’m gonna get the $10,000 pay for that, or the $100,000 to pay for that, or the, you know, what I mean? Is everybody has the same problem. Yes, we’re not money makes you more of what you already are. Right? You know, so I have the same problems as anyone has. They’re just scaled at a different level. So don’t think that we all reach a pinnacle of success. And we’re there and it’s like, okay, it’s great. You know, I’m so successful. Now. I don’t have any problems. Your problems just get bigger.

Chris Baran 37:57
That’s right. That’s right. And what were some, let’s, I want to dig on to some of those. What were some of the things that really, I can tell you some of the things when I I just they happened and I just wanted to go back to my home, crawl into bed, get my Wahby pull it over stick my thumb on my mouth going over foetal position. But we know we have to work through them. What was it was there things in your life as you went through to get to where you are now?

Candy Shaw 38:27
Oh, I love to tell the story behind sunlights because I kind of created this product really out of a need and a niche. And I, you know, had a dream that I could create this Lightner that had clay in it. I’m from Georgia. So the natural resource is red Georgia clay. So I thought, oh my gosh, maybe I could put clay in the lightener and paint hair with it and wouldn’t be dusty and Okay, all this great stuff. So I go to the manufacturers and I say, Hey, I got this idea have already come up with this concept. This is what I’m gonna do. This is how it should be done. I’ve been painting hair for 25 years. Let me show you. And they looked at me and they said, crickets. Yeah, yeah. You know, and they said, Now, you know, barley is just a trend. No, I don’t think this is gonna work. And I was so deflated and literally got in a taxi that just tells you how long ago it was because there was no Uber. I did stick my thumb in my mouth for a minute and I cried to the airport and I thought I can’t believe nobody believes me what is wrong with them? I’ve been dreaming this up for two years. I’ve been an r&d with a chemist I know this is going to work I know this is going to work and no one believed me. Like I always say you know I built a foundation on all the nose. You know the bricks that were thrown at me it’s like oh, noes. As a matter of fact, if you haven’t told me no Chris, you’re probably a no body. Yeah, here here because everyone has told me now I I was just like, No, I can do this, I could do this. So I took 50 grand of my own money on a whim, I was scared out of my mind, scared out of my mind. And I thought, okay, you know, it’s like shooting the craps table in Las Vegas, you know, I’m just gonna take this money, and all I could think was, okay, if it doesn’t work out, at least my own salon can take all this product that I just ordered. And we can use it in our salon. And I just remember thinking in that moment, I might have just done the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life. And I might have just done the smartest thing I’ve ever done in my life, you know, and there’s just nothing more disheartening to live in that kind of fear that you have really stuck your neck out. But, you know, scared money doesn’t make money. And, you know, if you don’t take a risk, there’s no reward, you know, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. And I thought that I’d say it because I beat my chest over it, because I could have very easily failed, you know, but I was taught by my dad, my whole life, you know, if you lose, don’t lose the lesson. There’s always a lesson. And I just knew that if I lost, there would be a lesson there. And God would protect me, I would be okay. And at the end of the day, there’s just $50,000. You know, and I know that sounds like a lot, but to somebody else, it might be 5000. Yeah. You know, and, anyway, it’s been a great ride. It’s been a lot of fun. And it’s been really amazing. The biggest thing I’ve loved about doing this is making my father proud.

Chris Baran 41:46
Yeah, wow. Wow. A great man, I love where you’re going. It is interesting how things that you somebody says, tweaks, what just happened in that day for you, we’re having a, our team was having a meeting with our business coach this morning. And we were, you know, we’re making some decisions right now that, you know, require, you know, some thought and and he said these words to me, and I might mess them up a little bit. But he said, When you get to the point of the the largest resistance, that that’s that that moment is when you’re just about to have a breakthrough. So you’ve got to get to that point where you you put in your own resistance, but you got to come through it. And when you do that, you’re going to have a breakthrough on the other side, and you’ll never be the same again, you’ll always be better in what you do. So that’s great. I love that. God bless you for that. We’re did now sunlights and and the Dalai Lama. Was that coined on you? Did it come from somewhere where? I mean, I see you as all you know, you’re an entrepreneur, you’re a mom, you know, you you’re working behind the chair, your educator, Bali Lama, Lyonnais, my son, we’re talking about this just before the programme, and he went, that’s probably one of the best best handles I’ve ever seen.

Candy Shaw 43:11
Well, actually a student named me you know, you think about the Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama, and, and I think, honestly, if I’m just kind of having a humble moment, it’s really hard for me to say anything, you know, of why, but I felt like I, you know, I give a lot of my classrooms, spiritually, you know, and, you know, really trying to get in the trenches with people and make them the stars and make them the ones who really can believe in themselves again, I really pride myself and turning the key for somebody who really needs that extra leverage and love and maybe has been told no, or, you know, I spend a lot of time in my classrooms sharing those stories of my nose and my falls and my screw ups and my terrible mistakes. And so one of my students one day, they were just said, you know, you’re, you’re like the Bali Lama. You know, I mean, you’re just like the Bali Lama. And that was like, right at the time, that Instagram was coming out, and everybody thought, Well, let’s find a cute handle, you know, looking back on that now, I probably would just be candy Shaw. Because, you know, a lot of people don’t, don’t get it, you know, and I’m a lot more than just a painter, you know, I do a lot of other things but, but in the moment, you know, everybody was coming up with these cute handles and so on. Hey, how about the poly llama

Chris Baran 44:42
up but I think that it’s almost like we’re the the handle and the name goes synonymous. You know, I think what is one because you very few have, you know, a handle it people call you and and it transcends into becoming what everybody knows SOUNDS LIKE SHARE. You know, you No. But the Bali Long Island? Yes, she is.

Candy Shaw 45:05
Well, thank you. No, I don’t I don’t take it very seriously how people feel about me. And that, that is, you know, something that I will go to my grave always being so humbly proud of how I have left this industry in a better place than I found it. And I think that’s probably my reward, you know, is that if somebody does see me and they’re like, oh, my gosh, you’re the Bali llama. And I’m like, Look, I don’t take myself so seriously. I am not some, you know, Queen of Sheba over here. I just am a hairdresser like you that had a dream. And that was an entrepreneur that overcame obstacles that still loves her craft. And, you know, and I hope that I just celebrated 40 years, you know, it’s a big deal. And I love it. You know, everyone always asked me, Why are you still at the chair? And I’m like, Oh, my God, are you kidding me? Like, that is the greatest thing for me. I love it. And it keeps me relevant, relevant as an educator. You know, I know what Sally’s like, I know what Susie’s like, I know what it’s like to deal with the things that you’re dealing with. And so I still love that part of my business, I don’t think I can ever give it up. Even though I don’t need to do it, you know, I don’t need to work as the Chair. I just love it. I won’t give up on my industry.

Chris Baran 46:38
I think that that’s critical is the when, when you know what’s going on. And I we’re going to be showing some of the some of your work as we’re talking about this in here. But they’re what I love about your work is, is that there’s work that is commercial, that looks like everybody else’s. And then there’s commercial work. That still can be that is stunningly beautiful. And different was something in it. And that’s what I was I was looking at that particularly I looked at a picture of you cutting a blonde. And I’m assuming it’s the same girl, the one that has this little undercut and I think she’s got that yellow, God knows why you put yellow in her hair. But she has that yellow piece in the front really short blonde, with that yellow and and I went see that’s stunning. You know, and it always gets me when people say that you have to have long hair, nothing against long hair, but that you have to have it to look feminine. Because that is such a strikingly beautiful, strong look on that on that beautiful girl. And I just think congratulations to you that you can bring that beauty, femininity, and strength to a woman or gentleman.

Candy Shaw 47:59
Well, I love that you said that. And that is the greatest compliment you could ever give me Chris and and the reason why is because I have never lost sight that I am in the beauty industry. I’m not in the freak show industry. Right. You know, I’m not looking for, you know, the shock value. There’s a place for that on the show stages and competition work and competitions. It’s fabulous. What you’ve done has been incredible. I’ve admired your work for ever. And those that’s the place that it lives, you know, and I know where I live, and I know my lane, you know, and I’m in my lane and I’m okay with my lane. I don’t I can’t be Chris Baran. Yeah, I can’t be Sharon Blaine. Right. No, I can’t be some of these folks that can you know, Nicklaus, French, you guys are like, like, Ah, you want to talk about Holy, I mean, my gosh, you know, these people that are incredibly talented. You know, and not to say this to be more of it, but it’s a dying breed. And in scares me to death, you know, because I think, oh, my gosh, are we never going to have classic hairdressers anymore? Yeah, we never going to have beautiful avant garde work anymore. Are we not? Is everything going to be? You know what I’m saying? I mean, so that’s why I’m, I’m I your compliment about that work. You know, that’s why I love French cutting is because it is so feminine. It’s so timeless. It’s so classic. You know, it’s things that could be I won’t even tell you that that that hair was done probably 10 years ago, and it still looks as relevant today. As it could, you know, 10 years ago,

Chris Baran 49:50
you know, and I’m, I’m, I’m confident. I think that our our industry has taken an interesting term, a turn, I’m just going to call it that. But I, I’m really confident that it’s going to come back into I don’t like the word precision, but to do quality work that has a foundation that can be replicated and did like examples. And I think that’s where what is going to change it is getting the youth involved, that understand well how to create those things and understand like, I’ll give you a for instance, Sam and I were doing a seminar in LA, just this last weekend. And, and just to take people that have there was one gentleman that was in the, in the class with us complaining about carpal tunnel, and we spent probably half an hour with him, just getting him back to learn how to hold a pair of scissors, so that they’re straight in your hand, and you’re not cramping and bending and, and he has said he had been to doctors, et cetera. And probably what happened in there was just being able to spend that half an hour to straighten this out, not going to probably cure his his carpal tunnel, but it will help them and just to give people the why behind things and the understanding of doing it properly. I always equate, like, when you watch people like, like, you may or may not know, I always say Kenny Burke is Kenny Burke was an artist that worked with us. But when he was soon trained, and when you watched him cut, it was like watching a ballerina dancer. It was just so beautiful. To watch him flow. And when you see people that can really cut hair and like yourself and you and you’re doing this work. And it’s like a dance. Not because it’s theatrical, but it’s because it’s correct. And it looks so beautiful. Because all of the foundations that you learn, are there to protect your body to make it easy to do. And quite frankly, if you don’t know how to do it, it just looks good. Looks like what watching Dance, you know?

Candy Shaw 52:08
That’s a good way to put it. Yeah, well, I teach that if your body position, hand position, shoulder position, scissor position is correct. Even if your head position meaning what’s in your head is not. You look better and more confident. Therefore you will perform better and more confident. You know, part of the challenge in hairdressing is we find a mirror all day long. Think about it. And that Mira is that third party that comes into play when you are working at your chair as a stylist, that mirror is somebody who doesn’t lie. He shows you he or she shows your sins. shows if you don’t dress well shows, if you’re talking behind someone’s back, that mirror tells every detail of your shortcomings. And so when young kids get out of school, and they don’t that mirror is like the devil looking at them. They’re like, ah, you know, and that’s why they turn the guest away, they turn things away because they’re so nervous. So if I can teach people how to step on a stage, which is obviously right behind your chair, right, and be able to look in the mirror with confidence, then I can plug in the necessary tools to understand shape and balance and fabric. No. And I know that sounds kind of interestingly weird, but I just think there’s not enough psychology of hairdressing that is taught out there that folks can take away now this is no offence to any schools because I’m in the schools constantly teaching, I teach constantly in the beauty school environment, and I love it. It’s just my one of my favourite things in the world to do. But, you know, teachers can’t teach you that awareness. They can’t teach you how to run a better business and how to look in that mirror with confidence. So for your listeners out there, you know, challenge your mirror more, you know, face it and be and stand in it and stand with confidence dress better, look better, be better. You know, my buddy went live I love to quote this quote in his book be nicer outside when it’s a really great friend of mine. And he always says, you know, be better not bitter. Yeah, and I love that, you know? And so if we could just get our industry better and not so bitter.

I think we’re gonna be better. Honestly,

Chris Baran 54:51
I agree. Because it’s sometimes it’s just about is the jealousy that goes on, you know, the FOMO Fear Of Missing Out I’m in I want what you have, but I can’t have what you have, but I can have the best of what I have. And I think that’s, that’s a critical part of our business i It’s why I love my, our buddy Sam is being able to say look at its, you know, we’re hairdressers, we got to help one another. And it’s, you know, like we all love. We all love our brands or manufacturers, whether it’s our own or whether it’s other people, but hairdressers have to help other hairdressers. Were the ones that that are gonna make sure that we get our education, and we get to be better by what we learned from another.

Candy Shaw 55:35
Absolutely. I’ve taken a nugget away from every single great educator out there and I welcome I still go to class. No tears stop going.

Chris Baran 55:45
Yeah, that’s I think the teachers, teachers often make the best students I think I’d love to find out what’s your you’ve been on the road a lot.

Unknown Speaker 55:54
Yes. And you see these bags? Yeah.

Chris Baran 56:00
Yeah. Yeah, that didn’t help on me. But the interesting stories that happened to you like I took for me I can just think about when we used to sit around and tell war stories at the shows beforehand, we’d get together with the hairdressers around them. And I’m just trying to remember on on, I can remember going oh, I remember going into doing a seminar

Unknown Speaker 56:28
at this

Chris Baran 56:31
was doing a seminar at this salon, and I was teaching them how to do just a broomstick Bob, you know, like no tension, everything was broomstick, just so it sat down perfectly straight, and taking down in these really super small sections. And, and the hair was dark and I was cutting it and I think I can’t remember if I layered a fringe first or did something on that. But I can remember having my comb and and you know you when you cut hair and you can see some hair cuttings, little hair cuttings that fall on the scalp, and I I didn’t want to blow to get rid of them on the scalp because I believe that would be rude and unsanitary. So as I’m talking to it, and now I’m on stage talking to people and talking to the audience. And it’s a small crowd and I’m they’re gathered arrayed around with their feet on the stage. And so I’m, I’m just trying to do trying to do this to get rid of these, this hair flex.

Unknown Speaker 57:24
And so the

Chris Baran 57:30
I had somebody working on the side with me and they kept looking at me like what’s going on and i i Finally I picked up the hair and how you’ll pick up the hair and just bend it to see what’s going on. And these out of this hair clipping these legs came and grabbed on to grabbed on to the hair. And I freaked I just didn’t know what to do. So I remember being there and I went, Well, no, I didn’t want to put my hands in the hair anymore. And so I remember I said all this hair on top now is broomstick, it should be just taken elevated up. We want some softness on the top layers, and I just cut that off. And then I said and this blow dry. And I went over I think I went over to them and I went this person walks in her hair. And so I took my blow dryer and I said you can’t you got to make sure no tension when your blow dried has been doing this. And in the meantime, she went down and sat sat by the front of the stage. And as these hair pieces are falling over, she’s going trying to get these things off thinking it might be this thing, whatever it was, I never did find out what it was. I’m assuming it was probably just a what do you call them dig for the price? No, no, it wasn’t like it was. Oh, come on. They often live in trees and they just plant their head in your in your Speedos. Well, something like that. Whatever the hill it was. Anyway, I just remember getting off of there and they just felt like I had them all over me by the time I was done. weird stories that have happened to you. Well, gosh, I

Candy Shaw 59:04
mean, after you share that it reminded me of a weird story. I was cutting a model’s hair and on stage one time and I brought the length up and she had a bee tattoo on the back of her neck and I did not know that and the minute I saw it, I started hitting it with my towel.

Unknown Speaker 59:21
Thinking that she had a bee or a wasp on her neck. I had totally forgotten about that.

Candy Shaw 59:33
The worst thing that’s ever happened to me was I was doing a class and realised and I’m sure it’s happened to a colorist out there that I was painting the live model with the 10 volume and that I use on my mannequin head instead of the 40 volume that I use on live models. So here I was going to try to show them how my product performed and then And I didn’t realise it until I was already finished that I had mixed, you know, with the roll thing so I had to kind of come clean but you know what was really funny? Was the hair still look great, but you know, you’re always gonna get those little funny

Chris Baran 1:00:14
worries little trickles going down your back and we don’t

Candy Shaw 1:00:18
want to sweat drips, for sure. Well, there’s

Chris Baran 1:00:21
a couple of things I just want to I just want to ask you before we sign off here is that if you if you had one wish, that you could grant our industry, not not to for any fulfilment for you and I but just for the industry as a whole?

Unknown Speaker 1:00:38
What would you wish for? Hmm. Wow,

Candy Shaw 1:00:43
that is such a loaded question. Because I feel like I would just wish that we could all like, I think it’s important that I am friends with every salon owner in my city, I literally am I go, I have a salon owners association I, we we meet we go to dinner, we talk on the phone, I just wish that we could blur the lines between competition. Yeah, and really just elevate and help each other, you know, there’s enough hair to be had in every city. You know, back in the day, when my dad was doing business it was all about I’m not going to share my trade secrets, because I wouldn’t want anyone to know how I did that. So my wish would be that we could all just, you know, give with our hands down instead of with our hands of expecting something in return. Yeah. And that we could just blur the lines and just all literally help each other.

Chris Baran 1:01:45
Yeah, I love that good with your hands down. As opposed to up that’s amazing. The ID again, this, I’m gonna ask you actually one this just came to my brain here right now. Cuz I’m getting to know you more and more. And I want to come and hang out in Atlanta.

Candy Shaw 1:02:02
While I’m waiting. I’ve been telling you you can use my academy is demo now teach us a class and have tonnes of people here.

Chris Baran 1:02:11
I would love that. I would love that. But if somebody doesn’t know you, if you if there was

Unknown Speaker 1:02:19
if you were an author of a book, and the book was written about candy Shaw, and you had to tell the story of who candy Shaw was as a person. What would you say? That I am to a fault

Candy Shaw 1:02:46
of a great lover of people and I to a fault loves so hard sometimes that it ends up hurting me. My My weakness is allowing the lack of affection of others to affect me and to take taking that personally sometimes, that’s probably my one thing. But I think if you were to ask my friends, you know, describe candy Shan three words, I think the first word would be hard working. I just I never stop. I think the second word would be very giving. And the third word would be someone who is a visionary that constantly looks at what she can do better. And what she how she can be better. I talk about my takeaways every single day of my life, like what can I do better? What why? You know, what did I learn from this moment? And I think that people that really know me know that I am all about, you know, the learn, you know what I’ve always got my learn on.

Unknown Speaker 1:04:05
And, and last thing.

Chris Baran 1:04:08
There’s so many times that people just can’t let go of something or something that they that people would just listen to or watch. If anybody was listening or watching right now what would you tell the listeners and the people that are watching right now that they should either do or they could let go?

Candy Shaw 1:04:35
Well, I always say that some of the best decisions I ever made in my life, were the ones I didn’t. And so I would say to folks that if you’re struggling with decisions in your life to just let go and let love know and just try to not always have an answer. You know, because sometimes there is no answer. And so I would I would definitely I would definitely say that you know, some of the best decisions I ever made were the ones that I said no to and I just didn’t you know, because you can’t be all things to all people and that’s that’s the challenge of being a hairstylist is you want to say yes to everything but the power of no has carried me and my career in a way not a negative No, not Oh,

Unknown Speaker 1:05:24
no, you know, just a

Candy Shaw 1:05:27
commanding my career and knowing when to say no, I think is really truly freedom. Yeah.

Chris Baran 1:05:36
Truer words Truer words. Well, I have my three words that I’ve got for you. I think when I think about candy Shaw, especially the person that I’ve learned to know after especially after this last whatever it’s been 3040 50 minutes, I don’t know is that visionary is comes to my mind from the industry spec aspect as well. And I think leader, educator and learner that’s where I that’s where I get in candy. I can’t tell you enough how numb how much number one respect I have for you and how Oh, oh, glad and grateful that I am that you’ve been on to share with the people that are listening and watching right now. So candy, I do want to set another one of these up. Stories that I want to hear with, with you and your dad. lovin, never

Candy Shaw 1:06:33
nothing would give me greater privilege and to see my father’s stories be heard, and certainly to this next generation to not forget the forefathers that paved the way for all of them. And Chris, right back at you, my friend, you’re you’re you’re one of a kind. I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity to be heard. And, and to be able to just sort of share some of my stories. It’s been an absolute blast.

Chris Baran 1:07:00
Absolutely in the next time is going to be with us over a glass of wine in Atlanta

Candy Shaw 1:07:05
buddy. Grandpa had to go anywhere.

Unknown Speaker 1:07:10
Samling come up for it. We’ll drive up.

Chris Baran 1:07:13
We’ll make it happen. We’ll make it happen. I just I love you. I adore you. Thank you so much for being on the programme with us. Thank you very much. And I promise I will be down there to visit and have that glass of wine.

Candy Shaw 1:07:27
I would love it. Have an awesome day and thanks for listening everyone.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai