Hey, it’s Carlye!

And I am the owner and founder of Bombshell EDU. I’ve been really excited to share with you all what it actually looks and feels like to develop a brand while simultaneously working full time.

Bombshell EDU is an expansion of Bombshell Beauty Bar and our mission is to elevate the art of hair design one creative mind at a time. We believe in sharing our knowledge with our professional community to empower them to grow and reach their full potential. Making friends and building relationships through this process is just the cherry on top.

While I have so much excitement about my vision and a constant drive to bring it all to life, it has simply been overwhelming and exhausting. But hey, that’s what starting a new business is like and this isn’t my first rodeo. I have quite a bit of experience with starting new businesses so I’ve learned what to expect. You need to have the confidence to keep going, even in the face of fear.

My workweek is spent behind the chair with an assistant and leading a team at Bombshell Beauty Bar. When I’m not behind the chair, I am focused on a number of different things that come with being an entrepreneur. Many of which are not necessarily my cup of tea.

Here is a list, just to name a few:

Designing a website to keep my start up costs low
Designing graphics and templates for our printed material and social media
Brain-storming over coffee with team members and my assistant to decide what our brand feels like and in what order we prioritize each step of the launch

I often think back to when I first begun as a stylist and I was building my clientele. Things seemed to just workout for me, as I was referred client after client through good relationships I had. Then I chose to embark on the journey of owning my own salon and even that went fairly smooth. I had built great relationships within my community of stylists and when word got around what I was doing, the perfect ladies jumped on board. But building a brand while running another one? That is another story altogether.

Building this brand has been the most challenging thing I’ve done so far. It involves many different factors and I’ve realized it’s something I cannot always have total control over. But I have found that being consistent is the most important part- though it may very well be the hardest. Consistency is crucial to developing a successful brand in real life and on social media and we have just the right team that allows us the luxury of doing it ourselves. But whatever it takes, we are invested. We know our why and we believe in our purpose.

Over the years, I have learned a few things that I am finally able to put into action for my benefit and that feels really good! I want to share them with you to save you the time of figuring them out the hard way like I did:

First, you must learn to enlist the help of others!
I know… that’s a hard thing to do when you know you can count on yourself to get the job done the way you want it. But delegation is a quality of a great leader and it empowers those around you to take part in what you are doing, thus creating other leaders! And just knowing I am not doing this by myself and that I can rely on others to make good decisions to help lead our education team feels so good! I am grateful to have strong leaders all around me, with their beautiful, creative minds contributing to our team. Two of the stylists I work with in the salon, Ashlee Renee Hair and Katie Hinds Hair, have stepped up as founding members of our team and have taken on an executive leadership roll. They share the responsibility of growing this brand with me and I am so grateful for their commitment in building Bombshell EDU with me! And my assistant, Kelsye Corbett, is a huge part of developing this brand with me on the daily. We work side-by-side, designing and creating new content for marketing.

Secondly, learn to accept what is not working and keep moving forward.

I have always put huge expectations on myself and starting this business was no exception. I felt like I needed to do everything myself since I was the business owner after all, and I fooled myself into thinking I could do it alone and make it all work. But I soon realized I could not go on that way forever. That creates burnout, am I right? And we’ve all been there at one stage of life or another. Nowadays, I set deadlines for certain things that need to be met and I acknowledge the ones I know I cannot meet. I often hire professionals to help me with the things I know I cannot do as easily.

Lastly, I have found that having a business coach you can turn to is priceless. I personally love Nina with Passion Squared and I encourage you to check her out if you haven’t already. I can get honest direction from Nina when I need to figure out what steps to take next. She helps me gain clarity with her years of experience and wisdom in our industry. I have so much gratitude for relationships like the one I have with her. So get out there and find people who will be in your corner rooting for you and guiding you. You will be better for it!

For now it seems like our website is ready to roll! We’ve already had our fist class (“Tie One On” Hand-tied Extensions) and we have an awesome lineup of classes coming to you in May and June. We’re going to be hosting some of the best educators in our industry (check it out at the bottom of our classes page) and we’re so proud to bring them you and our community of hairstylists! So stay tuned for great education coming your way and we look forward to getting to know you!!

Xo,

Carlye

Ps, You’re never too cool for school. Education will always be in! ;)

Written by Carlye Trogdon, @carlyetrogdonhair