We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eileen Kantor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Eileen, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
By constantly challenging myself. One way I do this is by practicing Yoga. Almost every morning, before the sun is up, I’ll go into the yoga studio or hit the mat in my living room. Working into postures has helped me to get out of my head.
Also-reading. Mostly stoic philosophy. The value there is to focus on what I have control over . All we have control over is our attitude.
A quote from Andy Warhol –
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
What I do is not as straightforward as people would think. I have been a hairstylist for 22+ years. So, it is obvious that I love doing hair. The river runs deeper than that though. In 2017 I opened my hair salon, Kantor & Company. In 2021 I opened a private hairstyling academy – Kantor & Company Academy. The Academy is a part of the Registered Apprenticeship program. You may find yourself wondering what a Registered Apprenticeship program is. Many people do not know that Hairstylists are categorized the same as a plumber, electrician or HVAC professional. The joke I like to tell is that we hairstylists just have cuter outfits. Kantor & Company Academy works with The Office of Apprenticeship, a national organization, to make sure that students are paid while they are learning our trade. This is a large shift in the beauty industry. What is special about what I do is that me and my team teach people how to do hair in real time. Not school first and then the real job. The real job, right away in real time. Just the same as an electrician has an apprentice, so do we. We want to make the industry more accessible. We want to make it so people can learn and not go into debt. Another reason we are special? Our apprentices get to see the professionals doing the job in real time in our salon. In our salon we love to talk formulas, patterns and placement openly. The team has a diverse set of skills and levels of experience. We are the merger of art, science, math and mental health. We are coaches, teachers and friends. I love my team and am so proud of where our business is heading.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The areas of knowledge, other than the art of hairstyling, that were most impactful in my journey: 1) Stoic philosophy, which can be summarized in one phrase, Momento Mori. Momento Mori is the idea that we could die at any time. This is not to make us sad but rather to inspire you to be the best that you can be today and in this moment. We don’t worry about what already happened because it is over. We don’t worry about what is coming because we have no control over that. We do the best we can everyday knowing that tomorrow is not promised.
2) Consulting other professionals. I am not a marketer, IT person, lawyer or accountant. My job is to be a kick ass hairstylist who can train other stylists to be the same. It is important to focus on our strengths. When I am not an expert in something, I ask for help.
3) Going to therapy/ going to the gym. There is another concept in stoic philosophy that I like to remind myself of regularly, Sympatheia. What is good for the bee, is good for the hive. If i take good care of myself, I am also able to show up best for all those who encounter me.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
The largest challenge I am facing is making people aware of my Academy/Apprenticeship program/Trade school. Ironically many people have remarked how cutting edge what I am doing is. When in fact the way I teach is the oldest way to do it. It is true renaissance style learning. Another joke I like to tell when making a comparison between the way I teach and renaissance style art is , “I am Leonardo, hold this brush till you know how to paint. Currently when a person goes to beauty school in Colorado it costs $20-$30K. Typically the programs are scheduled in a way that the person could not go to school and work. It costs $16K to go to my academy. While the student is doing their related instruction, theory, with me they also have a job as an apprentice in a salon. Since I am a part of the Registered Apprenticeship program it means that I make sure that my student/the apprentice is paid on a wage scale while they are learning. Let that sink in a minute. The person is in school for the job that they are working at. This means that the student will learn how the business likes things done while they are learning. For the salon owner it means that we don’t have to untrain bad habits. My academy and the professional mentor salon work together to make sure the apprentice is growing in the right way. The way I am trying to make more awareness is to reach out to salons that I am familiar with in the area. So far I have one professional mentor salon that I am working with, Ember Hair Salon in Boulder. Their apprentice, Lesley, is my 3rd student. We are looking forward to having more salons in the area be excited about how we are training the new professionals in our career. We can’t wait for when aspiring beauty professionals learn that they can be learning to do hair while they are in a salon. This learning experience will be a winner as opposed to what is considered traditional beauty school. In traditional beauty school the student will pay x2 in a classroom of 25+ people trying to learn how to properly take care of a person. Why not instead learn it the right way, right at the beginning?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kantorandcompany.com
- Instagram: @kantorandcompany
- Facebook: @kantorandcompany
- Other: You can listen to me talk about my business and philosophy through my podcast @smallbizhappyhour . You can find the podcast on Apple or Spotify.
