Meet Gisell Ale

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gisell Ale. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gisell below.

Gisell, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I didn’t realize I was experiencing imposter syndrome until I heard other creatives discussing how they were dealing with it. My imposter syndrome stemmed from my lack of confidence in myself. I made a plan to shift my mindset by building up my confidence in my work, not focusing on the negative, and not comparing myself on social media.

I started by really focusing on my education. If there is ever a service or topic I don’t fully understand, I take classes and practice until I feel confident in it. There are countless resources available online.

I think it’s important to understand that in life, there will always be ups and downs. When I’m experiencing the “downs,” I remind myself that everything is temporary and just ride it out. I also try to see the good in situations. A simple mindset shift can do so much! When I catch myself focusing on the negatives, I make it a point to stop and find a positive in the situation.

I also learned not to hold myself to impossible standards—much of what we see on social media isn’t real. We are all humans doing our best to navigate a messy world. Give yourself some grace.

My imposter syndrome was really holding me back from showing up for my clients as my authentic self. I was trying so hard to mold myself to look like the successful hairstylists I saw around me. Once I became confident in myself and my work, the response was more positive than I anticipated. I realized that my clients would rather see authenticity than perfection.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Hi, I’m Gisell! I’m a hairstylist in Las Vegas, Nevada, specializing in hair extensions and color. I help my guests gain back their confidence and feel beautiful, with hair extension solutions customized to them.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three most important areas of knowledge in my journey so far are: marketing, money management, and customer service. If any of these were missing in my business, I wouldn’t have made it this far!
Early on, I realized that I would need to market myself if I want to succeed. I have taken advantage of countless free resources and guides for tips in marketing, such as podcasts, audiobooks, and articles found online. Social media is free, and is a great tool for marketing.
There are also countless marketing classes available online, specific to whatever industry you are in.

Money management as a business owner has been crucial. Between taxes, licensing, rent, supplies etc its really important that you keep track of everything going in and out of your business, so you know how much to pay yourself! In year 2 of my business I invested in Quickbooks and it was a game changer.

Having good customer service is crucial in any industry. When you are building a clientele, retention is just as important as getting new people in the door. Happy clients will return again and again, and send you all of their friends. Also keep in mind: According to several studies, a client with a negative experience will tell about 16 people, while a client with a positive experience will tell about 9.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

Its easy to feel overwhelmed as a business owner. There is always something you can be working on or improving. My advice is set a schedule. For example, mondays at 9am I work on my social media content for the week. Tuesdays at 3pm I track all expenses. I also heavily rely on my phone calendar. I will create events to remind myself to follow-up with clients, pay taxes, etc. Notion is a great app for this as well.
I also make it a point to take breaks- not taking time for yourself will lead to burnout.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Hairbygisell.com
• Instagram: @hair.by.gisell

Image Credits

Veronica Ale