The VIP Suite at IMAGE Studios with Matthew Landis

Anyea Garrido, Curly Hair Specialist and Entrepreneur, Has a Plan and Is Always Ready for What Life May Bring

• IMAGE Studios • Season 2 • Episode 8

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Anyea Garrido, military spouse turned trailblazing curly hair entrepreneur shares the uncertainties of military life to becoming a formidable force in the world of hair.  Anyea's journey is nothing short of inspiring. Discover the driving passion and unwavering purpose that propelled her to become a sought-after curly hair specialist. She doesn't just offer hairstyling expertise but creates a sanctuary where clients experience transformation and education hand in hand.

Explore Anyea's unique approach, which prioritizes active listening, collaboration, and emotional well-being. Gain valuable insights into her techniques, carefully crafted to cater to clients with diverse curl textures, fostering a personalized and supportive environment.


Whether you're a seasoned hairdresser, military spouse, or aspiring small business owner, this episode is a goldmine of inspiration. Anyea's journey embodies resilience, authenticity, and the pursuit of a fulfilling career, making it essential listening for anyone navigating their path in the dynamic world of beauty and entrepreneurship. Tune in now and embark on your journey to success with Anyea Garrido!

Matthew Landis:

Welcome to the VIP suite. The podcast exclusively designed for independent beauty, health and wellness professionals. Brought to you by image studios the luxury leader in the Salon Suite industry. I'm your host industry expert and certified business coach Matthew Landis. Each episode will bring you insightful interviews with solo entrepreneurs who forge their own path to greatness. From sharing inspiring stories of triumph to practical tips and strategies for growing your client base and building your brand. This is the place to thrive and take your business to the next level. Welcome to the VIP suite podcast with me Matthew Landis, industry expert for image studios. And joining me today is Anyea Garrudo, curly hair specialist from Image studios in Alameda, California. Welcome to the VIP suite.

Anyea Garrido:

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Very excited to be here.

Matthew Landis:

I'm excited to have you now we met through the image pro success courses. Yes, you took the marketing course and business course before you got started before the location was even built, how are things going?

Anyea Garrido:

Things are great things are consistent. I feel really at home here. I wish I did this sooner. But I'm glad I'm here now. Now what motivated you to make the move to a Salon Suite, I had this internal surge one day I woke up and I just had this gut feeling that I needed to jump on the opportunity to try and create something for myself, I just I went in and got everything I needed to get done in a matter of maybe like a month. But if you want to backtrack a little, I never thought that this was something that was attainable for me. Because I am a military spouse, my husband is active duty. So we move every three years and I never thought I'd be able to own my own business. It was something I kind of had never really let myself want because I didn't think it was ever going to be possible. And now we've been in the Bay Area for going on six years. And we have a couple more more years here. And that's when I was I got was just like we need to try it before I lose this opportunity.

Matthew Landis:

And you are a curl specialist. Tell me and the listeners a little bit more about what that means and what drove you to that specialty.

Anyea Garrido:

So as a curl specialist, I work with all textures I work with natural texture and specifically I work with clean beauty products as a curl specialists, anyone from wavy hair too tightly coiled course, earliest of all the curls, I service I got started as a curl specialist about eight years ago, I've been in the industry for 15 years. But I got into the industry because I struggled so much with my curls as a child that I always knew deep down that there was someone out there that understood my hair. And if I couldn't find them, I was gonna become them.

Matthew Landis:

That's great. So you saw a hole in the market and you sought this out for yourself and then created a business around us. And I've you know, I've looked at your Instagram and if you don't follow her, her Instagram is @emphasisoncurls. That's also the name of your business. And you've done some really incredible work and you know, your looks like you're really killing it, what would you say is your superpower?

Anyea Garrido:

I like to do some detective work. I like to troubleshoot. And I love to listen, I think all of that coupled together, I've created such a beautiful space for my clients to have that time to come in and really offload all their challenges. And I love to just kind of find those little fine details that can completely shift the outcome and have those aha moments together. I love that you said Listen, tell me why that's so important. In the curl world, especially especially with curls, we have a lot of trauma that surrounds us in the salon environment. Because salons were never really set up for us. We don't really feel safe going into a salon. We don't know if someone knows how to do our hair by listening and giving them a space to really just offload all that trauma we can really get into how they're accepting their curls and how they can best embrace it with their lifestyles. I'm a big like lifestyle is what determines how you wear your hair. So I think that's so important because I think a lot of where we go wrong as professionals sometimes it's not listening. Definitely I do. I do let my clients know that our time together is also very collaborative. And that I want to just kind of eliminate the guesswork and meet them where they're at so that they can become their best. There's a lot that goes into curls emotionally. I learned to cut curly hair when I was living in New York, but I didn't specialize in that. So sometimes, you know, if somebody wanted that like extra specialization, it was so great to be able to have those referrals to refer people to as an as a curl specialists. My goal is really just to simplify it. I believe that there's a very simple way to approach how you're doing your hair, your routine how you're sleeping. And there's also just these these verbiage, and that that happens with the curl world that a lot of people don't understand. So I like to make sure that we're always on the same page, our very first meeting together, I often spend about three hours with each client, because I want to go over everything from just terminology to how do I wake up? Or how do I, what happens on day five, if I don't wash my hair, so they we get a full education, everything that I do is also education based. So I'm learning with them, I'm learning from them, and vice versa. And together, I'm showing them how to do their hair, I do a section they do a section. And it's very collaborative. That way they walk away knowing that they have the full support, and they can definitely do this at home three hours is a long time.

Matthew Landis:

That is so great. Now, how do you price yourself for those three hours.

Anyea Garrido:

Each service is priced at a certain amount, I don't do hourly, because I find that a lot of my clients, like just knowing they have this session blocked out because again, with curls, there's so much emotions that go into it, you know, sometimes there are, they need a little bit more time. So for me, it's not always a three hour service. But I allow three hours for us to have that time together. Sometimes it does go all the way to three hours. And if it doesn't go to three hours, and I get some self care moments for me to prep for my next client.

Matthew Landis:

What a gift. And I'm sure you know, you talked a lot about trauma like people with curls, they've had, I'm sure almost everyone with curls, we've all had bad hair experiences. But especially for people with that specialization with the curly hair to be able to give them that time I think is so important. And I'm willing to bet that they are willing to pay for that time, because of some of the bad past experiences that they've had.

Anyea Garrido:

Yes. And again, with my services, everything's education based. So not only are they having that time, that personal time with me, they are also leaving 100% confident I don't really like to focus on a brand of product, I like to focus on consistency. So I always encourage them to send me photos pre you know, pre appointment or bring products with them that they do want to work with. Because sometimes it's just the technique that you need to shift not so much the actual brand of something, this is a very skirl safe space. And I love that I have the opportunity to have it be so private and luxurious. A lot of my clients that have followed me from my commission salon, or my employee based salon, love how private it is, they love the aesthetic of it, they feel really safe. I just feel like every time they come in, they're looking at something new. They're seeing other stylists through the glass windows, and they just say the energy here is amazing. And I feel it too. And I think all of us here affiliate as well. There's just something so unique about this particular studio, like about image studios specifically. So I love that I have created this little curl home for them to come and feel safe, and then really just have that time to just dig deep into what it is that we want to achieve and how to also continuously achieve that a lot of my clients come to me because they are struggling with their curls, or they are trying to transition either they're growing out or relax or they're growing out a keratin treatment, anything that it may have over manipulated or over processed the curls. So oftentimes, I'll see my clients every like three, two to three months until we get them on a plan where we can then go every six months. So it is there is a big commitment that happens when you come to a curly specialist. And I am very transparent also with my clients. So right up front, I let them know what it's going to look like over the course of a year, what services and what price points are going to serve it you know, that they can expect to be paying in the coming months. And together we craft a plan that works for them financially or lifestyle based love that collaborative way of doing things.

Matthew Landis:

I think that's so incredible to create that space to give them that time to create a plan to plant those seeds from the very beginning and work together and think long term. And it's not just this appointment, it's going forward. Like that's so smart. It's not only smart for them and their their hair and their sense of well being about it. But it's so smart for you and your business, because you're setting both of you up for success long term. And I think that is really something to powerful.

Anyea Garrido:

Thank you. I appreciate that. And it's something that was really born, I think out of the need what I needed. You know, I also transitioned my curls. I was wearing relaxers and keratin treatments for years. And I only started going currently about seven to eight years ago, which is why I then had this aha moment to be like why I got into the industry to do curls. And I'm not even doing my own curls, like I need to change. And so all of that kind of just came full circle. And I feel like now I'm honoring that little girl inside of me that was struggling in front of the mirror. And she has her home now. for all the Curley's,

Matthew Landis:

You have a lot of really great pictures on your Instagram. So again, I encourage people listening to this to check you out on Instagram and see your work because it's really inspiring. And speaking of inspiration, I want to know who or what inspires you?

Anyea Garrido:

Music, I get really inspired by music, there's something about when musics on my mind can think. I'm also really inspired by my clients that come in, and they're just so excited, or they're just so like they have all this like hope they're like I finally found someone I've been looking, I've been looking and now I'm here. And that brings me a lot of joy and and then it just inspires me to want to just create and craft something that's very unique and very simple for them all at the same time. But I would say I would say it's music, it's music, it's traveling, it's staying outside of my box actually is really inspiring as well. I try to take a lot of classes that have nothing to do with curls, because I want to make sure that I'm kind of staying really fresh, and I'll take curl classes here and there. But I really try and push myself out of the box. It's something that's very difficult. Because I find myself being I am very introverted. I'm very shy. I just love a challenge. I probably take like six or 10 classes a year myself. So that keeps me really inspired to I just I've always loved the beauty industry, the hair industry and so anything hair, like just someone walking down the street with hair, I will just like, follow them. Andbut yeah, I mean, give me a good playlist, give me some anything from the 90s and a bunch of stylists. And like I just love to create I love to collaborate with other artists that always always fills me up.

Matthew Landis:

There was some good curls in the 90s too?

Anyea Garrido:

I wanted to wear my hair out when I was in second grade. I knew I wanted like Diana Ross hair.

Matthew Landis:

I'm always curious, who's your favorite client or just give me one. I'm sure you're like, oh, I have 10. But tell me about one of your favorite clients.

Anyea Garrido:

My favorite client is probably my mom.

Matthew Landis:

Probably mine too.

Anyea Garrido:

Because she she wears her hair. So uniquely, she doesn't have curls. She wish she had curls. But she wears. It's interesting because she's had the same hairstyle most of my life, but it's the way she pins it up. And the way she likes the top to open up. It forced me as someone that was when I was brand new out of the industry very precision based. She was like I want it asymmetrical or I want you to just cut this one little hair, but don't cut anything else. And I'm like, How do I cut that one little hair, I gotta cut the whole section. And so it's all these things that she I don't think I'd never even told her this that she doesn't realize she kind of helped me pivot and see things differently. And so it made so much sense when I started cutting curls, because sometimes I'll cut just one curl, sometimes I'll cut a group of curls. And every time I have my clients tilted over in all these different positions, so I can see their curls in their true form. I'm always thinking of my mom and how she was like, just cut this one little piece. Because it's it's my anchor piece or it's my it's my like piece that's going to make everything do the due out dude make everything kind of be collective. And now so he's like, I don't get it. And now I get it.

Matthew Landis:

That's amazing. I love that. I love that she pushes you and challenges you. And I know sometimes during family that can be really sticky and awkward for some people. And I love that you love her and you accept the challenge. And you have pushed yourself outside of the box and really become a better artists, right? Because you you allow that in and you you know you you worked with it?

Anyea Garrido:

Yeah, my family's tough on me when it comes to their hair. It gives me more attention to clients to dive deeper into what is it that you really want to see in the mirror? Because oftentimes, you know, when they're here, they'll say, Oh, it's great, it's fine. And I always tell them, No, I want you to put your hands in your hair, I need you to put your energy back into your hair and do whatever it is that you're going to do when you're sitting in your car looking in that rearview mirror, do that here in front of me. Because that's how we're going to be able to really craft something that's truly customized for yourself. And it's because my family members are so particular that it's like okay, if you guys are thinking this and I think I'm doing this everyone else's too. So let me bring that into my service.

Matthew Landis:

What I love about families in situations like this is unlike some of your clients who are probably going to be a little too shy to say, but family is not afraid to hold back. Because you have that relationship that goes back years. And so they're going to tell you exactly what they think.

Anyea Garrido:

For sure, yeah.

Matthew Landis:

And I love that you take that as a gift and incorporate that in, you know, it's made you better at your craft. It's funny when I hear people complain about clients that are super picky. I'm like, I love super picky clients, because I know exactly what they want. And all I have to do is give it to them. Yeah, it's so much easier than somebody who just doesn't know.

Anyea Garrido:

Yeah, over the last 15 years, I have been the new stylist every three years. And when you're the new stylist in a salon, people are like, Oh, take this client, take her, I hope you don't mind, you know, because I'm always having a challenge. I feel like I'm never able to service them. And so I always get the clients that a lot of the other stylists just didn't really understand how to work with and they're my favorites. Like, I feel like we always match and we blend. And it's goes back to just that listening. And I also think I've been so fortunate to move every three years and be in different areas from Hawaii to the east coast to now the Bay Area and seeing how just different cultures and different people respond and want their hair the different, like the blonde, I don't do color anymore. But like the blondes were so different on the East Coast versus like the west coast and then working with a lot of the girls in Hawaii that were doing the hula dancing, you know, all of that. Just really, I've had my hands in amazing hair from all over. And I think that's what's made me such a cultivated stylists today, because I've had so many experiences that's talking about making you a better listener. I mean, when you're constantly changing.

Matthew Landis:

Yeah, you really have to be on your toes, what is your secret to building a clientele?

Anyea Garrido:

I don't know if I have the secret. But I can tell you what helps me when I get to a new place is I know that I give myself some time to settle in. Even when I moved here five years ago, I was already a curl specialist and I asked my former salon owner, like can I assist you because I want to make sure that we're a good fit. So I really give myself a lot of time to just find my way, I do want to make sure that the clientele aligns with me, that the other employees align with me. And that, you know, we this is something that we can be collaborative on another thing that I would say what like helped me be successful was also after classes, I would send thank you notes to the teachers, whether it was email or a DM, and I felt like it helped me build that relationship with them too. Because a lot of what I have today is also because I've made connections with some of the industry leaders, for example, I work exclusively with inner sense organic beauty. And I was a consumer before I was a professional with them. And then at the classes, I would stay in touch with the educators that came through, and then the educators and I would build relationships. And then they reached out to me to join their team just because I was in their classes, you know. And then I took another class with the local salon here and ended up teaching almost two years later, because we've kept in such great contact, too.

Matthew Landis:

That's so smart that networking, and really, a lot of it is about being seen by the people that inspire you, you know, you want them to also see you and think about you. And it's a great way in a class to show up your work to show off your knowledge to really be seen.

Anyea Garrido:

Yeah, definitely after you take a class, hang around and talk to the educator. Yeah. I mean, I remember so many people over the years that were in my classes, and you know, I'll never forget you as one. You've been in my classes before. And I yeah, I will never never forget you. So that I think that says a lot. Yeah, I took your class with the mindset of like, I want I want to take this class, but I don't want to raise my price, because I already felt like I was cat. I felt like that's already high. And then you're like showing us the chart where you could actually input the numbers and it shows you like over a year. And then I raised my prices.

Matthew Landis:

I remember you saying that. And I was so proud. Anyea is talking about our raising prices calculator, which is a worksheet that we use in our raising prices workshop, which is the coolest tool ever.

Anyea Garrido:

Yes, it makes you want to raise your prices because you see the big picture of actually making what you could make.

Matthew Landis:

And even not only make more money, but sometimes you want to make more time. You realize, oh my gosh, I'm spending way too much time on this particular thing that isn't making me any money that I don't often enjoy. It's a great way to create freedom through your pricing structure.

Anyea Garrido:

Oh my gosh, and the pricing is freedom. And niching down is freedom. I work two days a week. I did pick up a third day, because I just love it here so much. It's interesting. Now that I'm by myself, I thought I would be exhausted, but I'm actually more energized. And I think it's because I stay in such a net I my train of thought, never gets distracted in a salon where I loved it. I was a team, I was part of a team. And I was also educating our assistants and just constantly making sure that their education was they were having constant education through me educating them on my days off, but also just as shadowing throughout the work week. And I didn't realize how much I was giving until I got into my own suite where like my thought process doesn't end it just kept growing and extending. And it was never interrupted. I felt like my mental health was a little bit not better. I don't want to say better, because I was never in a place where my mental health was compromised. But there was just this, I don't know what to call it, it was just this surge of energy and creativity just started sparking. And I actually physically had more energy. So I was like, Well, let me work on Thursday to but then now I'm gonna go back down to just back to two days a week. But being in here has really catapulted my career because I'm able to really be creative and stay in that creative flow.

Matthew Landis:

That's really powerful.

Anyea Garrido:

Yeah, it's weird, it feels like I've been doing this, I felt like I've had my own space for a long time. And yet, it's like, it's still so brand new, and that my space is still growing. And every time my clients come in, they're like, what's new, because they know, I have like album covers over here. And I have plans and every I just like to I like to sit in my space and take that time and look around and see what do I want to put up next, like what's going to what's going what needs to happen here, you know, so it's really fun to decorate it as well and watch it grow from where it was when I first started. And to just now and it's just like little things, but they're making such a big difference.

Matthew Landis:

How do you handle bumps in the road? You know, we've all had days where we just want to quit? How do you overcome those days?

Anyea Garrido:

By having more self care days, so that I'm not I'm not overwhelmed on the days that I do work. My price point allows me to take two to three clients a day, and to work two days a week so that every time I show up, I'm having the best day and then being able to pivot to whenever I feel like something is going wrong. And I'm not like I'm like, Oh, why am I just not clicking today, it's like, I just want to take a breath. And I just take a minute and I'll tell my client to like, something's not clicking here. For me, I'm having a little bit of a challenge, I just need to take a minute, I'm just gonna sit back here and just look at you know, look at your hair, I give a lot of space, I give myself a lot of space to not stay in that anxiety mode, I do have a lot of anxiety. And so I find that when I talk it out. And again, having this suite helps me feel more comfortable to say things like, I'm not really understanding what's going on right now with your hair. So I just need a minute, can we wash? Or can we can you just give me a second, I'm just going to stand back here and just kind of look at your hair and just kind of take it in or I'm just going to start all over from the haircut like all these little chips have helped me stay really focused and helped me keep that energy up.

Matthew Landis:

I love that you know what you need, and you give yourself permission to take that space. That's pretty amazing.

Anyea Garrido:

I know what I need. Now, I didn't know what I needed when I was early on. But it's definitely you know, that's what the being seasoned and having more years of experience and having a place like this where you can listen to other artists and share what works for them so that you can start to implement that into your life sooner. And so you know, it's like with my kids, I I've made those mistakes that you don't have to.

Matthew Landis:

Let me ask you just one last question. And that is, what does the future look like for you? I don't really know what the future looks like for me. But I do know that having my self care practices, staying grounded, staying true to who I am in the now is going to give me the opportunity to have whatever it is that is aligned with me for the future. I'm practicing focusing on the now again because with my anxiety I live in the future. So I'm I'm doing a lot this this year has been a big self care journey of staying present trying to also not let all my thoughts overwhelm me trying to just have those moments where I try not to think of anything, which is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, is to just try not to think of something for five seconds is extremely difficult. But all I know, especially with my lifestyle of constantly moving a husband that deploys, and I don't know where he's at when he deploys. And you know, we also don't know when we're going to move. All I know is if I stay ready, I stay present I stay grounded and I take each day and do my best I'm gonna be able to set myself up for whatever success comes down the road. I never knew I was going to have this suite, I never knew I was going to be able to go into business for myself. But I always knew that I wanted to make sure that I had a savings that I saved money, I always knew that no matter what I didn't want money to be the reason why I had to stay in a situation that is wasn't working for me. You know, like if, if you're in a salon, and you know that the culture is not aligned with you, but you can't leave because of a financial situation and never wanted to be in that type of situation. So I knew that just saving and just kind of curating who I was, would set me up for whatever was going to be available to me in the future. And so when this sweet opportunity happened, I was able to jump on it immediately, because I had already done that work, not knowing what that work was for my husband's in the Coast Guard. And their motto was Semper Paratus, which is always ready. And so that's just the lifestyle I live. I'm just always ready for whatever. A lot of people are gonna listen to this and be so inspired by you. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart so much for this conversation.

Anyea Garrido:

Thank you. This was great. I've always wanted to be on a podcast. So this is a box I'm checking. a box.

Matthew Landis:

You are You have so much to offer that I can't wait to see what happens in the future, where you go, what you're doing. I love what you're doing now. I love that you said being in the now because right now you are doing incredible things. Thank you.

Anyea Garrido:

Thank you so much.

Matthew Landis:

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of The VIP suite. I'm Matthew Landis and I hope you found the insights and inspirations share today truly valuable for your journey as a solo entrepreneur, and independent beauty, health or wellness professionals. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @imagestudios360 And if you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe to the VIP suite on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an opportunity to connect with our vibrant community and to discover more incredible stories and strategies. We love hearing from our listeners. So if you have any questions, topic suggestions or want to share your own success story, feel free to reach out to me at Matthew at image studios three sixty.com Remember dear listener, you are the heartbeat of the beauty, health and wellness industry. Your dedication and passion make the world a better place one client at a time keep shining, keep growing and keep making a positive impact. We'll be back with more engaging conversations and valuable content in our next episode. Until then take care stay inspired and continue to create your own VIP suite. For more information about becoming a part of the image studios luxury Salon Suite community, visit our website at imagestudios360.com.