ep. 014 • Have the Gurus Given You Bad Advice?

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Chelsea Stevenson: Welcome to the Hennapreneur podcast. The exclusive podcast of its kind, dedicated to giving you an honest look at the reality of making a living as a henna professional. I'm your host, Chelsea Stevenson, professional henna artist and business strategist. I teach budding henna artists and seasoned henna pros alike how to build vibrant, profitable businesses doing what they love. I went from being the girl who could barely piece together a fluid design to being owner of the most celebrated henna boutique in my city. And with years of experience growing my own business and helping others to do the same, I'm here to spill all the tea on what it takes to be a bonafide hennapreneur. Our show starts in just under 60 seconds, but first, here's a quick shout out to my sponsors.

This episode is sponsored by the Hennapreneur eMagazine! Whether you're just getting started, you're ready to go pro, you've got a solid business, or you're ready to scale, Hennapreneur has a free downloadable e-magazine that's ready just for you with insights on how you can better build your business in that phase of the game. Each volume features articles specifically for that particular part of the henna journey. So head on over to hennapreneur.com and download your free copy today!

All right, let's get to the show! Hey, hey hennapreneurs! So as you guys know, not only am I a henna artist, not only am I a henna educator, not only am I business strategist, but I'm also a homeschooler. And part of my experience as a homeschooling mom is that I constantly have my nose in books. And so what does this mean to you? Well, I'll give you a little bit of a story, okay? So, a couple of nights ago I was looking up, just, some stories that I could read with my kids and, you know, I really try hard to introduce them to things that I remember growing up. And one of the books that I recalled was, of course — if you— look, if you're a bookworm, you're going to really appreciate this. If you hated English class growing up, then you're going to roll your eyes entirely — but I was looking for Aesop's Fables. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Oh, I love Aesop's fables! Those short, sweet stories; they all have, like, a little bit of a moral about them and they just teach little life lessons. And so I was looking through an old copy of Aesop's Fables just so that I could, um, you know, bring them back and sit and read a couple of them with my kids. Now, I don't know if you remember reading Aesop's fables, but they're really short, very, like, concise stories. There's not a ton of, like, fluff in them. It's really just straight to the point. And what I love about them is that because they're so, like, small and bite size, for me, as a parent, it's super easy for me to sit down and be able to tell the story to my kid and then get up and move on with life after I've made my point, right? And, um, what's fun is that, of course, with the fables there's always the moral of the story that you take away and it just opens up lots of opportunity for conversation and discussion.

So I'm flipping through this old copy of Aesop's Fables and as I'm looking at the stories that, some of them I remember, some of them I don't remember ever seeing, but one of them caught my attention and when I read it I was like, "Ooh, okay. This, this is something that sounds really familiar to me." And so I'm just going to preface right here and say: you guys, this episode, it's not intended to be shady, but if the shoe fits, it fits. So here we go, okay? All right. So this story is called The Quack Toad. It's super short. It's super sweet. Let me tell you this story, okay?

Here we go! In this fable, this is a story of a toad who basically got his kicks off on telling everyone in the forest how he was a learned doctor who could cure anything, right? And so, of course, the forest animals are like: Right. Okay. Toads, Toads doing his thing. He's a doctor. He says he's the doctor. And so word gets around that toad is the doctor and he's got all the qualifications and he can cure you of any ailment that you might have. So what happens is, a fox comes along, right? And this fox needs a checkup. And so the fox comes running into the clinic and he— when he gets there, he looks at the toad and he's like, "Ooh. Okay. Uh, Mr. Toad? Mr. Toad," he says, "I've been told that you can cure anything," he says, "but just take a look at yourself and then try some of your own medicine. If you can cure yourself of that blotchy skin and that rheumatic gait, then someone might believe you. Otherwise, I should advise you to try some other profession."

Now, I don't know about y'all and I don't know about how petty Aesop was, but I have to tell you, the shade of this fox's comment was enough to put me overboard. Like, I was kind of dying. But the fact of the matter is, it's kind of, it's kind of true, right? Here you have this toad who's running around the forest telling all the forest creatures that he's the doctor and he can cure anything and don't worry, and so then you have someone who's willing to come and take him up on his services, who's never met him before, never seen him before. And then he gets there and he looks at this tone and he's like, "Dude! How are you going to cure me of anything? How are you going to give me a checkup and you've got all of these issues going on? Why haven't you taken your own medicine? Why haven't fixed your own issues first?"

And so this kind of tripped me out and when I read it, it made me shake my head and it made me laugh. And it made me also reflect in ways that just, mmm, that I have to share with you here, okay? So what does this have to do with you as a hennapreneur? What does this have to do with the henna industry? What does this have to do with henna in general? Let me break it down, okay?

Over the past few weeks, I have had multiple people reach out to me with questions about their business or I've had multiple people reach out to me with questions about policies that they can place in their business or strategies that they can place in their business or ways that they can market their business and grow their business in a sta— you know, in a way that's going to build them a profitable and sustainable income, right? Like, they're wanting to grow their business. They're wanting to increase their revenue. And when they've reached out to me, they've said things like, "Well, I tried this thing or I'm doing that thing or I heard this thing." And the thing is, the things that they were saying were all really, really similar. And so it started to become clear to me that these artists have been following or taking advice from the same person, the same platform, the same... I don't know. But wherever they were getting their information from, it was not a good source, okay? And even recently in having had the opportunity to sit with a number of henna artists and to hear some of the questions that they had and to hear some quote/unquote "experts" provide feedback to them about their businesses. Um, I've gotta be really honest. There's a lot of info out there that's really not worth listening to.

I'm just gonna— I'm just going to be, just, straight, open, honest, and straight forward about it, okay? You see, the questions that I'm hearing and the suggestions that are being provided by way of whatever platform or by way of whatever, uh, "masterclass" that might have been out there, um, the common thread is that the information that's being provided, the feedback that's being provided, the suggestions that are being provided are not going to build sustainable business practices and they certainly aren't going to build profitable business practices because they weren't based in strategy, they were based on feeling. They were based on, um, just, answers kind of given off cuff. And so today, hennapreneurs, I want to talk to you guys about those gurus who are giving you bad advice. Now listen, I recognize that this is not always intentional, okay? People don't intend to, like, lead you astray in general.

People— when you ask someone for advice, they give you advice from a good place, right? And most people give you advice based on what has maybe worked for them or what they think might work or... You know, genuinely they want to be helpful. And what's a shame is that many times in the want to be helpful, people will also be willing to provide advice despite not having the qualification to do that. Um, sadly, instead of just saying, "I don't know about that," or "I'm not sure about that," or "Maybe you should check out this thing over there," or "Maybe you should read that over here," or "Hey, let me get back to you because I'm really not sure about what you're asking," instead, most people, sadly, will just come up with something on the fly to say that they answered the question again. It's not meant to take you off the beaten path and down the road of destruction.

On the contrary, it really normally comes from a good place to someone wanting to be helpful, but they just don't have the tools to be able to provide the help that you need. And, um, unfortunately, when that happens, the one who suffers is the receiver of that feedback and the receiver of that suggestion. Sadly, most people who are willing to provide you advice don't have a ton of experience. Sadly, most people who offer advice, they may have tried one thing or two things, or they may have tried a thing, like, I don't know, three years ago and it worked then, but it may or may not work now. And while they're providing you feedback that, again, comes from a great place and they're really genuinely wanting to be helpful and perhaps what they're sharing was helpful, you know, three — again — three years ago, five years ago, whatever, when it was relevant. The world is changing. Marketing is changing. Social media is changing. And the way that you run your business has to change and evolve as well.

I'm here to tell you, hennapreneurs, that there is no secret method to becoming a successful henna artist. If you want to become a successful henna artist there are a couple of things that you are going to have to do. One, you're going to have to learn how to prepare fresh, natural, henna paste. Two, you're going to have to dedicate time, energy, and resources to building your technical skill. Three, you're going to have to learn what marketing is. You're going to have to learn what business management is. You're going to have to learn what marketing strategy is. You're going to have to treat your business like a business. There is no secret here. These are the three things that you must do if you're going to be successful as a henna artist. And unfortunately there are people out there who are more than happy to take your money in exchange for advice on how to do any of those three things and they may or may not be qualified to do so.

So, I'm going to give you a little bit of a recommendation, if you will. When you're looking for answers from these quote/unquote "gurus", when you're looking for answers from these quote/unquote "experts", when you're looking for answers from these people who you think may be able to help you, there are a couple of questions that I want you to ask yourself. The first is, does this person actually make their living as a henna professional? Meaning, is this person actually doing what you are wanting to do? Like, not has this person been doing henna for three months? Has this person been doing henna for a year? Has this person been doing henna part time for— like, no. Not, does this person have a bunch of henna photos on their website. Not, does this person have a bunch of henna photos of— it doesn't matter.

Listen to me, my love. I need to make something increasingly clear. I have had— I have in the past, been hired by henna artists with thousands of followers who are producing content constantly, who always have new, fresh photos of henna on skin and aren't making any money because they're working on models. They're working on friends. They're working on themselves. They're working for free or they're working for dirt cheap and so they're not profitable. And so what might look on the outside, like a very viable business, what might look on the outside, like an expert, what might look on the outside like someone who's successful as a hennapreneur, on the back end they're not able to make ends meet because they don't actually have a viable business. So please don't just believe the hype.

You need to be asking yourself and you need to be vetting: Does this person actually make money? Does this person actually make a living doing the thing that I want to do? Because if you want to be a hennapreneur, if you want to be a full-time henna artist, if you want to—heck, even if you want it to be a part-time henna artist and you wanted to, you know, just have it as a side hustle, that's fine. Then you can learn from someone who's doing henna as a side hustle, but be sure that that person is doing it and is doing it successfully and not just looking like they're doing it successfully. So, are they making money as a hennapreneur? Are they doing the thing that you want to do in your business? Because if they're not there yet, then they're not qualified to tell you how to get there. The next thing you need to ask yourself is: does this person have real experience as a henna artist for more than like a year or two? So this, I understand that this, people might be like, "Mmm, what are you trying to say? Are you trying to say that new artists can't teach? Are you trying to say that dah, dah, dah, dah, dah?" And in a way, yeah, I am. In a way, I am. Why? Because, while the art of henna may be something that you can learn over that time and there are artists who have been working for a year or two years, who, from a technical perspective, may be doing very, very well — and that's great. That's excellent — but, when it comes to teaching you how to build a business, when it comes to business strategy, when it comes to learning how to take that skill set that they've had and harness it and make it into a profitable machine, if that person only has a year or two of experience, it's likely that they don't have enough experience to speak to all of the aspects and the different facets of business ownership that you need as someone who's going to be following directions, following guidance, and following recommendations from them.

And I'll be honest, even from a business perspective, right? At one year, you might be doing fine. At two years, you may be doing fine as well. But do you realize that most businesses don't make it to five years? Like, most don't. And the number of businesses that make it to ten years is significantly less. So if you're dealing with someone who's, just, you know, they've done well for the first year, they've done well for the first two years, respectfully, those are milestones that aren't that huge. And so, when you're considering taking advice from someone, when you're considering investing in a program, when you're considering investing in mentorship with someone, you need to be very, very clear that that person has enough experience to be able to speak to you from a place of knowledge, a place of "I've been there", a place of "I've seen that", a place of "yes, I've seen—" and not just seeing it once or twice, but has seen that situation, has seen that scenario, has seen that thing that's challenging you or, um, proving to be a struggle for you and your business. They've seen that in multiple facets and in multiple circumstances and they have different ways to get around and they have different ways that they've been able to navigate it. Yeah, that doesn't come with a short amount of time, uh, in a field. That doesn't come with a short amount of time in business. That takes time and that takes experience. And then the other piece that I would encourage you to ask yourself is: does this person only teach, like, one thing that worked, like, one time for them back when, who knows when? Yeah.

If this person hasn't stayed relevant — this is the thing, okay? — If you're running a business— when you're running a business, when you're managing a business, if you're talking about, I mean, we can be talking about marketing strategy, we can be talking about social media marketing, we can be talking about, um, the intricacies of running the back end of a business, we can be talking about email marketing. There are so many different aspects to marketing your business. There are so many different aspects to, um, maintaining and operating a business, not just owning one, but operating one, right? And the fact of the matter is, as time changes, as technology changes, as the consumer perspective changes over time, the resources, the tools, the things that we're using, also have to change. They also have to evolve in order to keep us relevant inside of our markets and in order to keep us relevant with our clients and serving them in the best way.

So, if your mentor, or coach, or teacher, or whoever, that you're looking up to and that you're willing to go to and ask for help is just teaching this one thing that worked this one time, who knows when ago, then that person hasn't also spent the time to educate themself, immerse themself, and dedicate themself to the intricacies of modern business ownership. And if you're going to be learning from someone, then it would behoove you to guarantee and ensure that the person who you're taking from is also someone who's knee-deep in the thing that they're teaching. Not just dabbling around the edge. Not just skimming across the surface. Not just regurgitating something that they heard on, I don't know, a podcast one time.

When you look for a mentor, you have to look for someone who's qualified. Look for the person who's doing the thing. Look for the person who's experienced it. Look for the person who has the time under their belt, the knowledge under their belt. Look for the person who can provide you with insight from a vantage point that you can't even imagine yet because you haven't been— you're not close enough to even sense it. That is the type of mentor that you look for.

Again, recently I had someone who reached out and she said, "Listen, I have been working as a henna artist for a certain amount of time—" She's a newer artist. Um, but she had a couple of years under her belt and she said, "I've been looking for a mentor and someone reached out to me and she said that she had some classes and so I signed up and I paid her. And what I got back was not what I was expecting. And honestly, it really wasn't good. It was not a good experience." She said, "You know, this artist was willing to take my money and she said that she would be able to help me to grow my henna business. But the advice that she gave me really didn't, it didn't sound right and it didn't feel right. And after we actually had our talk, I could see that she didn't know what she was talking about." And you guys, we have to do better.

To the artists out there — and I'm just going to be, I'm just going to be really real — to the artists out there who are wanting to make the transition into coaching. To the artists out there who are wanting to make the transition into teaching other people — whether you're teaching technical skills or you're teaching business mentorship — truly, if you are in the position where you feel that business strategy is up your alley, then you need to be solid in your business. That is not a space for you to just jump in and occupy and play with other people's time, money, and livelihood. When you're teaching someone how to run their business, you are teaching them also how to successfully put bread on their table and you cannot take that lightly.

And so, I take a serious issue when I hear stories like this. Like, when I heard this complaint that was brought to me, I— it literally made my blood boil because as someone who is here to educate henna artists, here to teach and mentor artists, my primary objective is to make sure that the henna artist who visits me leaves with something tangible, leaves with something actionable, leaves with something of value that they can immediately implement into their business to see change, to see progress, to see transformation. And so to hear and to understand that there are artists out there who are willing to step up and say, "Oh, sure! I'll help you build your business or help you build your brand," and then totally not deliver, makes me so freaking angry because, you know what? That's playing with someone else's life. That's playing with someone else's means. And it's so unethical. And I'm not even trying to be funny, though it's a little bit funny, but, you know, honestly, some of the instances where I have heard of this happening, these are henna artists who have been doing henna for less time than some of the food that's in my refrigerator, for real. And, like, I'm not saying I'm proud of that, I'm just saying that it's a fact.

So hennapreneurs, this is me issuing you a little bit of a warning. I want you to avoid visiting these quack toads. I want you to avoid the headache and the hassle of spending time, and money chasing after advice that was poorly given. And even if it comes from someone who might seem to be legit, I want to encourage you to do your homework before just taking up anyone's advice. Even those people who might be poised as an expert can give you incredibly poor advice. Always consider the source.

By the way, you don't have to pay money for any of these secret methods. You don't have to pay money to learn how to grow your business. I tell my students always, you get to choose. You can invest with money or you can invest with time. If there's a thing that you'd like to learn about henna, if there's a thing that you'd like to learn about business, if there's a thing you'd like to learn about marketing, it's going to take you one of those two things. If you choose to invest with time, it's going to require you taking your time to investigate, to read, to research, to listen. Listening to the Hennapreneur podcast, reading blog posts, reading up on business strategy, watching classes online, things like this. You know, taking advantage of the Ask Me Anything sessions that are held on Facebook. These are ways that you can get the answers to your questions, but it's going to take time, and it will take you piecing together the information that you need and hoping that you put it in the right order, right? And for some people that's fine. I'll be honest, this is the method that I took for many, many years. It took me time, but I had time, right? I shared with you guys how I got started with henna. I had the time available. I was willing, I was able to spend time because I didn't have the money and that's the other thing.

You can choose to invest with money if you know that you want to have quick results. If you want the step-by-step, if you want the intricacies from someone else who has the experience, that's where you have to invest money. That's where you hire a coach. That's where you hire a mentor. That's where you sign up for an online course or a class. That's where you pay for an hour of consultation. That's where you have business coaching. When you choose to make a monetary investment, that's where you get fast tracked, because then you get to tap into the brain of someone who's been there, but you don't have to do that.

Hennapreneur was created to be a resource for henna artists all over the world, bringing online education, bringing professional resources, bringing a supportive community, and bringing you the information that you need in order to harness your skill set as a henna artist to be able to put food on the table. That's it. That's what Hennapreneur is here for. And my goal through Hennapreneur has always been to be able to create resources that benefit the henna artist who needs them. Whether or not you choose to enroll in one of my paid programs, whether or not you choose to hire me for mentorship, for coaching, for consulting, it doesn't matter. There are resources that are available out there that are for free and those are resources that work.

So, if you haven't already, I want to invite you to check out hennapreneur.com. You can access the free community on Facebook. You can submit questions for Ask Me Anything sessions, everything goes unbarred. And, if you visit hennapreneur.com and you check out the online classes, there's one there that's free just for the Hennapreneur Community with a ton of resources that are available, including expert classes brought in by other professionals outside of the henna of the industry to give you insight on different ways that you can improve your business. I mean it when I say it doesn't have to cost you a penny. I want to support you through Hennapreneur and I want to support you in a way that's going to give you results.

But in the meantime, I want to be really, really clear that, who you listen to? Make sure you know who they are. Make sure that what you're seeing isn't a facade. Do your homework. The last thing that I would want is for you to take a piece of advice from someone who was not qualified to give it to you to begin with, and then see negative impacts on your business to a place that perhaps becomes irreparable. If you ever have questions about Hennapreneur, if you ever have questions about me as a henna professional, about my experiences, if you ever have questions about any of the things, if you ever have questions about how I can support you in growing your henna business, feel free to reach out. You don't have to be shy. You can send me an email at hello@hennapreneur.com or hit me up inside of the Facebook group. It would be my pleasure to help you come to clarity on the things that you need in your business right now. All right, I'll talk to you guys next time.

Hey babe! I wanted to give you a quick thank you for tuning into the show today. That was super cool of you to hang with me all the way until the end. Of course, I've got all the links that you might need from this episode inside of the show notes that you can find at hennapreneur.com/podcast.

If you enjoyed the show and want to stay in the loop with Hennapreneur, be sure to subscribe to the podcast too. You'll get all of the new episodes as soon as they come out. I'd be so grateful if you'd take the time to rate or leave a review on Apple Podcasts while you're there. That tells iTunes that, "Hey! Hennapreneur is about something good!" and it helps us to reach more artists who would love the show. All right, that's all for today. I'll be back soon with another episode but for now, let's get back to work, hennapreneurs!