the ramblings of a chronic over thinker

money, money, money, money

get into my account!

wow you guys! what an amazing response to my message last week! i don’t think i’ve ever had that much engagement on here! whoo! also, big thanks to all the readers who emailed and even gave some ideas for what i can write about as this progresses. i’m blown away by all of your supports! many thanks.

this looks like njerep…

this week i’m working on the financial statements for fresh. documents like profit and loss, balance sheets and cash flow statements. all of it is swahili (shout out to my african readers).

::: side bar :::

why do we use swahili as the word to say that i don’t understand something? i wonder why it’s swahili and not gaelic or njerep? i mean, why can’t we just say, ‘i don’t get it’? ALSO, maybe it’s swahili because i’m 45 and that’s what i heard growing up and it was a common term used to say, ‘i don’t get it’. yeah, that’s probably it.

::: side bar closed :::

i know that this is one of the ways i can improve my business but it is DRYYYYYY. it is BORRRRRING. it is ‘not a waste of time’ but feels like it is. all of the columns with money going in and money coming out is a lot. bank service charges? CRAZY! salon supplies and sundries? that seems like it goes up every month (things cost more, we all know that). wages and salaries? cost of goods sold? professional fees? i could keep going. i won’t.

these bankers are pumped to help you!

it does make me realize though, how badly i am in need of this understanding if i want my business to succeed at all. business is like a formula with an amazing equation. revenue-cost of goods sold= profit. seems pretty straight forward but then….

when i opened freshair, i had no idea about any sort of business sense. i knew i needed bookings (revenue) and that my staff and products used (cogs) would be deducted from the bookings and tadah! richie rich! ok, i didn’t think i would be instantly rich, i just thought that was it.

hustle hard, closed mouths don’t get fed on the boulevard (ace hood lyrics)

well, things went badly and 5 years in, i took a business course and it helped me understand the real process of that equation. i learned about taxes (folks, pay your taxes). i learned about banks and lenders. i learned that when it comes to money, the structures that support this country are really relying on you not knowing anything when you open a business. they are banking (you like that double entendre) on you figuring it out as you go so that they can capitalize on your lack of understanding. i know this, because i lived it and i am currently working it out.

what if there was a different structure? what if there was a way that we could be vetted BEFORE opening a business? maybe just a course about what you’re about to get into? like gun ownership or a drivers license? wouldn’t it be cool if that was an option? maybe i would have never pulled the trigger on this shop if i began with more knowledge about the way REAL business works in a capitalistic culture. maybe i would have found something else to do?

i just know that this system needs help. from the documents i mentioned earlier, to the banks and lenders, it’s flawed. maybe next week i’ll talk about my idea for business fund raisers like a go fund me but not? it’s bizarre…stay tuned. i’m just tired of the banks and their ‘no solutions’ all they want to do is give me loan which solves nothing. what about angel investors? yipes! don’t get me started on that! next time… next time.

-p

the ramblings of a chronic over thinker

i’m not really in the mood for introductions and ‘get to know me’ type talk. if you know about our shop, you might know about this blog. this blog, yipes. if you know about this shop you might also NOT know about the blog. it’s like a thorn, not in my side, just there. thorn. looking thorny and useless. i’m hoping that writing again will turn the thorn into something nice like, i don’t know, a flower or a cookie or something calm-ish.

this space is calm

leah and i signed up for a 4 month business course and one of the items i must complete is to spend 90 mins a week on my business and all the things that my business entails. i have taken it on to also, during this 90 min session, write here. i love to read and sometimes i dream of writing. i’m not sure I have what it takes to be a legitimate writer, but the internet and this platform make me feel like i may have a little something?

when we first opened 14 years ago i was diligent with the writing and i did some decent work (i wrote an opinion piece on george zimmerman that i was really proud of. it’s lost now. thanks wordpress 😐). then life, kids, stuff started taking up the time. i began to slow down with the writing and then every once in a while, i would come back to it. this course, i’m hoping, will help me maintain the writing and in turn, boost me somehow? who knows…

bathroom selfie from the past when i may have been boosted, by youth…

so I’m gong to be here once a week, chronicling my limp digital life (and actual life as well). there is the hope that i could be growing something helpful, useful and maybe a little supportive? i mean, i won’t know if anyone will read this or will care, but i can at least start. if you do read this, please drop me a line, let me know you exist. it would be really nice to know that i’m not just writing into the abyss. tbh, i should be working on taxes right now and then making a video… should i post those here? …i dunno.

these sunday posts are going to be just like this, random thoughts that rattle in my brain. not fully edited thoughts and concerns, probably some weird judgements and ideals that only make sense to me but i think that’s the point? this post is a sorry excuse for an introduction but boom! have a good week, and…. that is all.

-p

I am not my hair analysis

I like to think about hair a lot. As a hairstylist, this should make sense, but sometimes I think hair might be taking up too much of my brain space. Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of it in music, so I’ve decided to analyze a few that mention or talk about hair, in a short and simplified format just to put a little rock in your shoe. So that maybe next time you turn on your favourite Spotify playlist or absentmindedly turn the radio on in your car, or while you’re walking down the aisles at Safeway and you hear a song you know arbitrarily, you’ll stop and think a little bit more about the words.

I’m writing about the song “I am not my hair” by India.Arie featuring Akon. If you’ve never heard this song, I would suggest you stop reading now, go listen to it, and then come back. 

The song opens with rapper Akon taking us back to a time in his younger life, trying to get girls and trying to land a job, but having problems with both because his hair is deemed unattractive for one and inappropriate for the other. What would you do it this situation? Style your hair so you can land the girl? Cut it all off so you can nail that job interview and impress the big guys in suits? Either way you’re sort of forced to compromise what you really want right? He says so himself at the end of this verse; he didn’t see success, until after he cut it all off anyways.

Then bops in India Arie. She she gives us a timeline of hairstyles in her life from a young age up until adulthood, dealing with harmful hairstyles, harsh chemicals, and dealing with hair loss. All of these are very common scenarios for young black women with tight afro hair. And along with that comes, shame, embarrassment, sometimes bullying, all in an effort to conform to an image that other people want you to be. 

Later on in the song, India asks a very important question: does the state of her hair actually matter? And that question can be extended to us, and even beyond hair. Does our appearance inherently change our value as human beings at all? I think the easy and obvious answer is no. But if we all believed that as a society, songs like this wouldn’t be written, right? 

There are people who look different from us, who behave differently from us, who speak differently from us, and we judge them. I think all of us are born with prejudice towards others not like us, whether we like it or not. 

The answer to this question is given in the song specifically in the chorus as India sings: 

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am not your expectations, no 

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am the soul that lives within

One of my favourite things about this song is that the answer is in you. 

It’s 2024. We all know racism exists, that’s not a secret. If you pay attention to the news, you will know that there are still children in the U.S. that have been suspended from school because they refuse to change their hair to meet the standards of the school dress code. Standards that are inherently racist. You may know that we’ve come very far since this song has been released. There are laws that have been enacted so that people with different hair textures can’t be refused jobs based on their hair. (For more information on this, I highly recommend you Google “the Crown Act”). 

This song is almost 20 years old, and its message is still incredibly accurate to today’s society. But I think this song is really trying to get across the message that it’s about self acceptance first. It’s about the soul that lives within. It’s not about placing the blame on the people that create the expectations, or even making them change their perspective. It’s about you accepting you for who you are, knowing where you’re worth comes from, and that your hair has nothing to do with that.

Chanté 

💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵Happy Valentine’s Day💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵

The Fresh Perspective...

Get ready for it!

protect yourself

We’re here! We made it to June! As most of us know, Winnipeg is heading for a pure and certain heat wave. It’s looking like nothing but 30’s and up from here on out. I’m here for it because I love the heat! But even me, sun worshipper number 1, is aware of it’s dangers.

dehydration will set in…

Hydration is the name of the game here folks! For healthy hair, skin and nails, we need water first. *Consuming a proper amount of water daily will help keep your hair skin and nails balanced with moisture as well as keep you cool! I would call this the first step. Keep hydrated with water and you’re already doing more than you know

I use spf on my skin and I’m sure to apply cuticle oil to my nails as much as I can. I have a bottle in my office and one in my car. At red lights, my cuticles get some love! Honestly, if I don’t have a few bottles of cuticle oil kicking around, I would never use it! When it comes to my hair it’s a little bit tricky because I can’t always wear a hat. (sometimes the afro is really poppin off and nothing can hold it down) All of that to say, the best way to protect your hair from the sun is to cover it up. Wear a hat! If you can’t cover your head, opt for some heat protection products and serums to keep from dehydrating your mid-lengths and ends.

I love you

In store we have a great variety of heat protecting products that not only protect from your hot tools but the sun and her rays as well. Unfortunately we don’t sell hats yet, but I may be onto something. Stay tuned and stay cool! If you really want to make my day, subscribe below!

-peace

*there is a specific amount of water everyone needs, do what’s best for your body.

The Fresh Perspective...

Just shut up and clean already!

if all my supplies looked like this?

It’s Spring!  We must get ready! Everything will be fresh and new soon so let’s get prepared!  Ugh!  Like we don’t know?! Marketing ploys to get you in the season for more spending and purchasing and ‘buying’ into themes and concepts that make a difference? Really?  My cynicism is on fire this post!

Get your life together, throw out those old things.  Get your closet in shape, get ready to show your flesh! It’s all too much but yet, I can say that I look forward to all the “spring” marketing.  I love a new beginning and an excuse to make a to-do list.  What do you like?  Does this time of year make you want to be better and accomplish more?  Does it make you want to vomit? 

does this ‘spark joy’?

This is the time we take stalk of how much more we need to accomplish before the sun warms all things and we are in full on summer mode. It almost seems like we live for this? We live for the preparation of the seasons ahead. We are always looking for the next thing to motivate us. At least I am… Humans, we are the best, subscribe below!

-peace

The Fresh Perspective...

ARE YOU NICE?

Winter is coming to an end and we all know what comes up next, SPRINGTIME! For some of us, this is our jam! For others, it’s another change that is dreaded. Puddles, rain, remnants left from the various snowfalls hardly seem springish but in Manitoba, you know how it is. When stages end and new ones begin, it’s hard not to look back and see where you were. Life hasn’t been easy as of late…

what a nice smile

so nice!

I haven’t been that nice actually. For real, somewhere during the turmoil of 2022 I began to stop being nice.

I was annoyed 9/10 times everyday. Folks weren’t kind, folks weren’t nice and it drove me crazy! I began to realize that I too was part of the problem! I would focus on whatever task I was into and wouldn’t look up to engage anyone or anything. If I was on a run, I would never look at the oncoming runner. Walks too! My eyes just face forward. NOT NICE.

There were a few times I smiled at a face and was met with nothing. Even at times I would say ‘hello’ and not an answer at all! Nothing! I think that’s when I became less nice. Tired of people being tired, I too started slipping and I started being unkind or rather, out of touch and out of connection.

This entry is reminding me that I actually like being nice and I like engaging humans in real life. I do. Sometimes though, it’s easy to forget. Be nice and subscribe to this blog. Hehehehe 😉

-peace