Genius Barber And Content Creator, Emmanuel Garcia, Offers Advice And Inspiration For Reaching Your Ideal Clients

In this episode of The VIP Suite, host Matthew Landis sits down with Emmanuel Garcia, The Temecula Barber and owner of The Storm Room (@emmvnvel2) to explore his remarkable journey from cutting hair in his parents' backyard during COVID to becoming a successful salon professional at IMAGE Studios in Temecula, California. Garcia shares his unique approach to barbering, emphasizing the importance of truly listening to clients and helping them achieve their desired look, especially for those who want to maintain longer hairstyles while getting a professional cut.

Emmanuel reveals his innovative content creation strategy, breaking down how he uses minimal equipment like an iPhone, strategic lighting, and free editing apps to produce high-quality social media content that attracts clients. 

As a new father, Garcia discusses how becoming a dad has motivated him to continue building his business and create a legacy that inspires others to pursue their passions, regardless of traditional career expectations. His story is a testament to creativity, perseverance, and the power of believing in oneself in the beauty and wellness industry.

Follow Emmanuel on Instagram: @emmvnvel2 or TikTok: @emmvnvel

The VIP Suite is the official podcast of IMAGE Studios, created for independent beauty, health, and wellness professionals who want to grow their businesses and thrive in salon suite life. Hosted by Director of Education, Matthew Landis, each episode shares real success stories, marketing tips, and business strategies from top beauty entrepreneurs and wellness leaders.

This episode is sponsored by GlossGenius, the all-in-one salon software designed to help independent professionals book appointments, accept payments, manage schedules, and build strong beauty brands. Learn more at glossgenius.com.

Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Connect with us on Instagram @imagestudios360 and visit imagestudios360.com for more information about IMAGE Studios luxury salon suites. New episodes drop every two week. Subscribe to hear how beauty and wellness professionals like you are building powerful, independent careers.

Transcript

Matthew Landis: 0:00

Welcome to The VIP Suite, the podcast for Salon Suite professionals who are building bold, brilliant businesses. I'm your host. Matthew Landis, former salon owner, business coach and lifelong advocate for entrepreneurs in the beauty and wellness industry. Each week we spotlight industry MVPs, from hairstylists, estheticians, nail and lash artists and a wide array of solo entrepreneurs who are creating success on their own terms. You'll hear strategies for marketing, client, growth mindset and overall Salon Suite success, plus honest conversations about what it really takes to thrive. This season, we're going even deeper into growth, grit, community and all the messy magic that comes with carving your own path. So hit subscribe, turn up the volume, and welcome to the VIP suite where independent beauty and wellness pros come to shine. Joining me on The VIP suite today is Emmanuel Garcia at The Storm Room at IMAGEStudios in Temecula, California. He is also known as The Temecula Barber. Welcome to the VIP suite, Emmanuel.

Emmanuel Garcia: 1:01

Thank you, Matthew. It's good to be here. Thanks for having me on.

Matthew Landis: 1:05

Yeah, of course. Well, we met at the grand opening for IMAGE Studios Temecula, and I saw what you were doing there, and it's really incredible. Emmanuel has this setup in his studio with a full videography studio happening, and he's crushing it on Instagram and social media, and I've just seen how he's really integrated all of these things into his business, and it really impressed me. So I knew that I had to have you on the podcast. So before we get started, if you could tell our listeners a little bit more about your business, that would be great.

Emmanuel Garcia: 1:36

It's a one man company. It's just me, right? I've been cutting hair for, I think, just over 11 years now. So I started when I was 14, and I'm 25 now, wow. So definitely, but my ongoing joke is, like, when people ask me, like, so you any good I'm like, I mean, I'd hope so. I've been doing this for ever. Like, it's the one thing I can do. It's my only skill. So, yeah, I am pretty good at what I do. And really, I just lean into that. Um, I grew up in Escondido, California, so, So Cal always that is, like, really my, I guess, initial network of clientele that I started at just way back friends, friends from high school and all that, as a lot of people do. I mean, that's your audience when you're younger. And so started from there. COVID helped me, kind of, it really made it so I didn't have a choice but to cut hair, because I got furloughed COVID, no one could go out, and it was just like, the only thing I could do was cut hair. So I turned my parents backyard into this, like, underground. Hey, I know you've been growing out your hair. Let me at least buzz it, because it's probably a better buzz cut than you can do yourself, you know. And so it was the bar was set really low for me. It was either they just mess themselves up, or they let the guy that actually knows how to cut hair do it for like, 10 bucks, five bucks, whatever they got on them. Like, I'll take it, whatever. And so it definitely allowed me to just get my reps in all the way, even though I'm cutting forever. It just pushed me off that little cliff and made me just go all in and so that's really like the the initial kind of struggle, sort of force thing that propelled me forward. Did barber school got the license and moved on with that my I guess initial, first real job was in Vista, which is just 30 minutes a little higher up between where I grew up and where I am now, kind of inching my way up here. Did you know, four years there, working at a barber shop with some really awesome people that I personally believe are better than me, and that's why it was such a scary but humbling and motivating thing to be there definitely forced me to just refine, you know, my brand, and really decide what I'm trying to offer to people and so definitely build that confidence to where, you know, when I saw that there was this private studio opening in Temecula, which is where me and my wife had always talked about, hey, down the road, we're going to retire here. This is where we want to raise family. First things first, I got to move my business there some way or another. And believe it or not, for like, a year or two, I'd already made up my mind, and I've been looking up on Google and everything to see, like, what's out here? You know, what's what's worth maybe branching out and doing, and it's just nothing really stuck out to me. I'm familiar with all the chains of studios, and, you know, there's a lot of barber shops, but I was like, I'm not gonna go from one barber shop to a barber shop. It's just, I'm gonna offer the same thing, just farther for my clients. Like, it's just not worth it. It doesn't feel like an upgrade for them. And I had them as as, like, the the focus, at least the ones that are going to follow me. And eventually I saw the ash for image studios. And I was like, this is clearly, clearly, that's all they care about. Was simply offering more than everyone else is offering for not just the professional, but the you know, whoever you're servicing. And so I was like, I could see my clients here. I got all my clients excited about this thing, and then I did the interview and looked at it, and there was nothing there. It was just dirt of the building still. But, you know, Tom and Dee really laid out the vision. And I was like, I think we're I think we want the same thing. It really looks like something that I pretty much envision before it happened. It literally hadn't happened yet. The building wasn't up yet, but I think that made it more exciting. I was like, that's a real leap of faith. I can't see the building. There's nothing here. And so I was getting my clients excited way back in Vista. Eventually, when I finally, you know, announced the transition, it was a pretty scary thing to move from one county to the other. I think number wise, I said, probably kept about 60% of my clientele because I was able to stay busy and just build on top of that. And so now it kind of rekindled memory of like when you're first starting in the backyard with, like, just broad sunlight and 110 degree weather sweat sticking on the head, you know, just really uncomfortable conditions, nothing like that in the studio. But that kind of anxiety of like, where's the next client gonna come from? Definitely came back. And I was like, whoa. This is I forgot that feeling, you know, it's I had to rebuild on top of that. And you know, you mentioned social media forced me to just go all in on that. I was like, the one thing I always tell people, the best thing about a studio is there's no walk ins. The worst thing by the studio, there's no walk ins, you know, no one's promoting for you. It's like, all right, except that there's a lot of benefits, a lot of call it like luxury, you know, with the studio. But also, face the fact that it's, you know, unless you're, you're reaching out yourself, you're gonna starve, and it's just not gonna happen.

Matthew Landis: 6:18

You're such a perfect fit there. You know, Tom and Dee, the Wwners there inTemecula - incredible people. And I'm so glad that you saw their vision, and you saw what IMAGE Studios could do for you. And so we're really glad to have you, and your story is really inspiring. I watched your videos on Instagram, and you have an incredible eye. You have an incredible technique. You know, I'm a hairdresser by trade. I've taken 1000s, or, you know, hundreds, probably hundreds of of cutting courses over the years. And I have to say, looking at your technique, I was really blown away at your ability to see the end result and get there in a really unique way that I don't know that I've that I've seen that is uniquely yours, for sure. Yeah, and not only incredible haircuts, but incredible videography, like you, you could, you could quit doing hair and be producing videos, because the videos themselves are really incredible. So you're just a very artistic, creative person, and it, I think watching your Instagram and following that you get, you get a real sense of that. So you said you started at 14. Now, what drew you to hairdressing at 14? And tell me about that, because you weren't in school at 14. You weren't licensed at 14. So, you know,

Emmanuel Garcia: 7:38

That's a story on its own. That is a really, I tell me about that. love talking about that. So I was 14. I was a freshman. It's not that unbelievable now, because I'm kind of full circling back to long hair, and that's just my that's my whole brand, right? But 2014 I was born in 2000 so that's 2014 I love alternative music, Emo, metal, like, back in the day, screamo, the whole thing. So I was a dude with, like, the flippy hair and the beanie, and it just like, I literally flat iron it, cover my eye. The whole thing that was just me, like, I was a dude, you know, I got made fun of for irony it by my own friends. And I was like, well, that's my thing. I gotta own it. Now. I got made fun of it, and I lasted this long with long hair. Never gonna cut it. You'll never see me with the Fade. And then I was in a really close friend of mine, quinceanera. I don't know if you ever been into those, but they're very clean cut, and you gotta wear this. Wear this really nice suit and everything for the ceremony dances, right? You know, they're spending a lot of time and money on on us to get, you know, data choreographer. And there's the whole, you know, the whole process. Her birthday was end of the year. We started the practices like middle of the year. So there was a long time of doing work. I don't like dancing, but I was doing the work, you know, long story short, her parents to me down, and they're like, you know, everyone has a clean haircut. You're gonna need to cut your hair. And I was like, no, like, that's not my thing. I don't I'm gonna just wear the the suit with long hair. Even they didn't really make sense, because it just didn't fit. But they were right, it would have looked horrible. Long story short, I didn't want to let them down. And two, I didn't want to just give up, because I put in so much work. So I was like, I'm just go to some random place and cut it, because last time I cut it, I was like, 11, and I got a bad haircut. And that's the only place I know, and it's this random unisex salon in my my hometown, and it was, like, the day before the party. So I'm like, it's an emergency haircut. I need this haircut no matter what. I'm like, I still remember I was probably number eight in line, just a random walk in unisex salon. It's not really a salon, it's just ladies with clippers and scissors, like they just know how to remove hair. You know, they're good at that. And so I'm watching guys go ask for some basic stuff. Hey, can I get a 2 on the side, 8 on top, and they just start with the 2 on top and then just skin on the side, like they're not listening. And so the longer I wait there, the more anxious I'm getting. And I just told my mom, hey, I know how to not shave my head. I'm just go home and do it myself. That night, I just figured it out. I gave myself a clean haircut, nothing super complex, super basic. I just knew it was a safe haircut. Showed up. Everyone loved it. I thought it looked clean. I got to buy my first pomade, flick my hair, you know. Just get really into, like, the Hey, this is what hair styling is, you know. This is you cut your hair real short on the side. You style it, right? It was an undercut, no fade, nothing. Just, you know, simple. And then I had to face the reality of, do I grow it back out over the courses, like, four to six months, or do I just kind of rinse and repeat? Because that's easier, and so every weekend, I just rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, and then little by little, I'm like, Well, I mean, I have the materials. I'm gonna just do a little taper, I'm gonna just do a little fade, I'm gonna just, you know, figured it out. A little by little, I can only be so mad at myself because it's, you know, it's my own, my own work, and me being already artistic, and I got a pretty steady hand. I figure it out. You know, the cool thing about that haircut, I just flicked it straight back into the back of my head. You can't see it. And so I show up to school. Super fresh lineup. Cool, fade. At that point I do my full skin fade, you know, no one can tell that the backs like, just botched. It's just like Minecraft looking like the Patagonia logo just on the back of my head. And no one can tell, because it's like a cover up, you know. Yeah, you know, that was pretty much got my initial reps in. I got to screw up as bad as I could on my own head. No one can see it. It built a lot of credibility, like a whole lot, because everyone was just like, Dude, where do you go for haircuts? There just been, like, the first cool barber shop in my town had kind of opened up around that time. So, like, there's really only one place that can kind of do a cool haircut. So everyone was like, you go in there. I'm like, No, it's just myself. And then I never ended up cutting any of my friends from my own high school. It was always people outside of there, but it was never them. And yet they all had so much trust. Like, oh, he's a barber. He's like, they just knew I was because I could cut my own hair. And the proof was there, like, every day I showed up clean haircut. They're just like, if I ever need a haircut, I know he got me kind of playing those seeds. So when I actually did start cutting hair, man, there's a line out the door. They're just like, oh yeah, he's finally doing it, you know, yeah. I mean, if you can cut your own hair like that, it's no wonder that you're so good at it. Because I did hair for 27 years. I cannot cut my own hair. You know, during COVID, my husband cut my hair for me. And, you know, like you said, I couldn't really ever see the bag, so I was, you know, just trusting that it was fine and nobody else was gonna see it, either, you know, we were all inside or, you know, doing our own thing. So it was a safe space. But you really have a unique eye. I mean, I really love the craft of barbering, and I'm so in awe of that. I'm trained as a cosmetologist, as a traditional hairdresser, so I am just absolutely blown away by the architecture and the design of it and but your your point of view, your craft is really unique. There is a lot of longer styles in your repertoire than than than we might be used to in a barbering so how would you describe your particular point of view as a barber? It goes back to my story, right? I started with long hair. I was the kid that's crying in the barber shop. I hated barber shops. I don't even think I wanted a barber shop. I think it was just just random ranking unisex salons, you know? So I I started not liking haircuts. I mean, my story, it wasn't just like I decided to cut my hair. I had to, and then it became easy, and I got good, and I just fell in love with it, right? It didn't come from me wanting to get into this. It was kind of situational, you know? I just life just happened, and I love it. I understand the point of view of someone wanting to leave still with long hair that was like, so impossible to do, not just at a barber shop. Apparently, some some salons too, like, you're like, hey, I don't need a makeover. I just need, like, some layers, a light trim, you know, something pretty minimal, just freshen me up. And just, they just gravitate towards, like, shaving it off or something. You know, I went through that too many times, and so I for sure, prioritize, like, understanding where the client's coming from, what they actually want. I I've kind of it helps. When you're in a private studio, you can read body language they're describing they, a client wants something, and you can kind of read they they're kind of insecure in what they're asking for. And so I kind of find them help, find them in their own head and their own words. And then we come to the conclusion, oh, that's not what they actually wanted. They actually wanted it, like, longer than they were describing. They didn't know that was even an option. They're like, wait, you can do that. You can, like, have me leave with, like, a better haircut that isn't short. I'm like, Yeah, that's what I do. You know, don't get me wrong. I I do fades, like, I'm still a barber. I do fades, skin fades, shaves, straight razors, like, all day, every day. But what I market and, like, the big specialty thing is simply like, hey, we can make your hair look really good, and not have you look like Dora the Explorer, or having like, skin exposed. You know, that doesn't have to be that, you know, we're laughing at it. And it's, it's so simple. And yet, every person that sits in my chair like, I just can't find someone that really like believes it, like everyone believes you got to shave the entire head or something. And I'm just like, this isn't complicated, but I get to make my whole brand that. And it's like, you know, I'm not saying there's like, people just falling into my lap, but there is, it almost feels like it some of the times, you know, because it's like, I crack the code, I just listen to the Client

Matthew Landis: 15:00

That is huge. Listening to the client, and you said something about giving them what they want, I think being able to empathize with them and trying to understand what it is that they are saying, what it is that they are seeing. Because one of the things when I became a hairdresser, you know, I didn't start hairdressing until I was 25 so I started really late. So I had been a client for many years. I loved getting my hair cut. I loved going to the salon, but I would say, 90% of the time, I never came out looking like the person that I wanted to. You know, I always sort of was like, it'll grow out. It'll grow out. And I remember always going with a picture, or going through those old hair styling books and showing the hair stylist this is what I want. And I knew that I wasn't going to come out looking exactly like the picture, but I never came out looking even in the same ballpark as the picture. I'm like, so you saw the picture and you just did whatever it was that you knew how to do. What was upsetting to me was I just didn't think that most of them cared. They were just like, Oh, I'm just going to cut this kid's hair, and he's going to be on his way, and it'll be fine. So I really admire that, that you care, that you listen and that you help them sort of realize the vision that is in their head. And I think oftentimes, a lot of times, guys get sort of, you know, shuffled to the side that we don't care that much. And yeah, I have found that men care very deeply about how they look. They just can't be. They just will never tell you that they care.

Emmanuel Garcia: 16:27

Yeah, yeah, but they'll complain afterwards, you know?

Matthew Landis: 16:31

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. So I really, I think that's incredible, and it really shows in your work. Hey, IMAGE Pros, your business deserves booking payment and client management tools is elevated and modern as your space. That's why GlossGenius's top-rated salon software is included in your lease at all inclusive locations, giving you everything you need to grow your business with less busy work. With one flat 2.6 payment processing, you can save 1000s on hidden fees while offering your clients a smooth checkout experience. Clients can book in just 30 seconds with no app downloads or login so you never miss an opportunity, plus AI powered marketing and automated wait list helps fill your schedule so you can focus on what you do best. Managing your business has never been easier. With unlimited appointment reminders, forms and waivers built into booking, payroll and time tracking, performance, insights and goal setting tools and more, on average, businesses see a 27% plus increase in revenue within the first year on GlossGenius, no extra cost, no extra setup, is a powerful tool to help your business thrive. Your IMAGE Studios membership includes the best technology to support your success. So sign up today with coupon code IMAGEPROALLIN and select your location to start making the most of GlossGenius. Your Instagram is really incredible. And I mentioned this before that your videography skills and your production skills are pretty incredible, and you have this whole setup in your studio, which is something that really stood out to me. So tell me about how you approach your social media and content creation and why that's important to you.

Emmanuel Garcia: 18:05

Man, it is like, even on days where I take a lot of time off, when I'm working from home, I'm just, I'm editing. I'm not just, you know, attending clients through text. I'm doing a lot of video stuff, it. I think people that have never really attempted to like create a lot of it, they might think it is like, I have to take an entire day to do this, as in, like, Oh, here's my content creating day. I believe it or not, I think everything you say on my Instagram, I'm pretty sure 99.9% is all shot on the iPhone that I'm talking to you on right now, everything and it's that's I made it streamlined for that reason, I as much as it would be cool to have cool cameras and all that stuff, I'm also primarily the client. The chair wants their hair cut and they want that conversation. I get to multitask and have just my phone rolling on a tripod out of my way. I get to maneuver it wherever I want. I made it easy for myself to just make this a part of my job. It's just a part of not every service, but most services that I'm doing, I'm recording. I'm, you know, moving the angles and clients, don't I think it's a lot of people might get scared. They don't really care, like, at least the ones that I'm comfortable with, especially if they're second, third haircut. They're like, dude, do your thing. This is awesome. Can't wait to see the video. It's that simple. And then you saw my studio, like, I have lights hitting from one angle of the wall against another one with like a color light, and so online, it looks like I'm at some sort of cool set. I'm not. It's my studio. I designed it in a way that it's a cool set. If you could just tell the listeners exactly some of the equipment that you have, yeah, set up there. I think they would like that. Yeah. So it's a small studio. It's Friday studio, right? My chair is pretty much against the corner. Ish. It's like a Yeah, it's kind of on the corner one wall, despite everyone telling me, why don't you just paint that one too? There's a reason it's white because I can bounce. It's called the newer brand. It's like, $200 it's like used for movie sets, you can change the color like, kind of like, on a spectrum, and hit it against the white wall. When you hit color on a white wall, the entire wall looks like it's that color. And I like the option of changing color whenever I want, however. I feel like, some days it's blue, some days it's purple, like, so that's the ring light that's bouncing off the it's basically, it's on the ground. It's, it came with the tripod. I removed the tripod, and it's sitting on the ground, pointing up, kind of like a projector picture, a projector of light. And it's like, today I feel blue. I'm gonna put the blue projector against the wall and the entire Okay, yeah, like with your eye, it doesn't look blue. But on camera, the camera is gonna pick up all these blue tones on a wall, and it's like, it's not rocket science. There's literally just a black projecting light bouncing on a wall and a white wall, yeah, on a white wall. And everything else is, you know, decorated however I want, but that white wall is pretty crucial to the backdrop of the video. And so the phone's just gonna be on the opposite side of the client. So it's like phone client, white wall with the blue light bouncing on it. Let's say it was blue that day. And then there's a ring light above my head, because that's where I stand. That's where I actually cut hair. Obviously, I can't just be cutting like neon blue hair all day, right? So the color light can't be bouncing on the client. It's just the ring light above me so I can see and work. By the time the haircut is done, right. Clean up the client. Make sure they look presentable, fully styled. You know, they feel good. They already saw the haircut. They're soaked on it, the finished product. The cameras on the left side of me, the clients on the right side. Just make sure the positioning is right. Hit roll, hit play. You know, not a fan of tilting the chair. I move my camera if needed, just because it kind of, it's hard to explain. I think it just focuses, focuses a little bit better. And then there is a, like, a soft box on that side as well. Because I've come to understand from, you know, talking to other content creators like the face is important. Yes, we're not, I'm not doing facials or anything, but the face is very important because it's captivating. It's what you see when you're scrolling on social media. The haircut could be amazing. It could be immaculate, but if the face is all shadowy, you kind of do in one the client a disservice. I don't think they like having all shadowy, darker tones on their face when they don't really look like that, when they walk out while the haircut is important for me. I mean, the fade isn't very common in my post. It's more about the silhouette. I you know, the haircut flares out, or it scoops around the ears, whatever. So my focus is the silhouette. I need their face lit up because it's like, as long as their skin looks glowing, and it's not direct beaming light that makes them look oily. It's not very complicated, but it is a, like, a $40 softbox off Amazon. I clipped off the tripod legs because I already don't have that much space. I'm working with limited space right? Chopped off the legs, mounted it against the wall, because I'm, like, this softbox never has to move. I'm never going to be recording opposite weight because, like, I don't want my tools in the way. I need the background to be completely empty. So the only focus is the client. That's pretty much my setup. It's soft box backdrop, white light or white and my tripod with iPhone, everything is iPhone.

Matthew Landis: 23:11

So for listeners, your Instagram is again @emmvnvel2, all right. It'll be in the show notes, so look for it there. We will make sure that your Instagram is there. And what kind of editing software do you prefer?

Emmanuel Garcia: 23:28

So I that's a really good question that's like the stuff that no one cares to ask me ever, and I can geek out about it all day, because that's most of my job. Now, I used to do video leap, and I've come to find it. It's a little outdated, and I was living under rock, because, believe it or not, Instagram dropped an editing video called Edit, like edit, plural edits, and it's super streamlined. It has what I used to pay for subscriptions on other apps. It has all of that in one and it's free. So, like, I'm big on that app, just because I'm like, guys like Instagram made it so easy. They want us making all this content all day, and it's free, and you can put captions on there. You can do you can clip your stuff. I'm not a big fan of CAP cut. I know that's like, big. Never really got into it. I like my more outdated stuff before cap cut, and then when this came out, I'm all about edits. My like content pool of like, random clips and stuff all fits into edits. And the coolest thing, you could also post directly from there. So if you want to kind of like archive all this content, just kind of like, today, I'm gonna post this one today, I'm gonna post that one. That's also an option. Instagram is not paying me. I'm just big on that app as far as like thumbnails, because I've also come to find thumbnails everything no one's gonna click on it unless you're giving them a reason to get excited. And as much as I might love the haircut and the client loves it on Instagram, on a tiny, little square, it's hard to get excited about something, you know, it's one of those as an artist, you know, we have all these emotions tied to it. It's one of those things. I had to be pretty cutthroat with all that and be like, Hey, someone, I got to give them a reason to stop scrolling. And so when it comes to, like, editing and, you know, this big old bold font, neon caption and and maybe, like, create a glow around the client's head to kind of stop what they're doing and click. I use Lightroom. It's like a blue colored app Lightroom. I use that for pretty much any sort of editing, for thumbnails, for science, for all that sort of thing. So it's really just those two. I think I used to use an app called veed, V, E, E, D, for captions. That's just for the videos where I'm like Mike Duff edits now has captions. So it's really just those two, to be honest. That's great advice, and I know a lot of our listeners will really appreciate that, because your content really stands out. It's really unique. And one of the things I like about it is that it's really consistent, and so I think that that's also something that people can learn a lot from looking at your your stuff. And you know, every, you know, everybody should have their own style and their own their own voice. But I think sometimes it's kind of hard for people to figure out what that is. So what advice would you give barbers or other beauty and wellness pros who want to step up their content game, but they feel overwhelmed by it. That's a really good way to put it, overwhelmed, because even today, I'll see someone's page and it's like, like, just so much flashier and like, way better produced. And like, the thought of even wondering how they got there is overwhelming. Because you're like, I don't see it. I'm not look I just see the finished product. You don't see it. I gotta juggle all that on top of cutting the client's hair and talking. It's just like a lot to wrap your mind around. I would say the first thing, and it's like the cheesiest, most annoying thing to hear. Just get put yourself in front of the camera. That's like the one that's very scary. And if you're not used to it, feel all weird. You're trying to focus on the client while there's a camera pointing at you, right? It's a lot to juggle. Get comfortable doing it. The other scary thing is getting the client on the camera. I think people think the clients just gonna, like, leave a bad review and just like, hate you. It's like they're you got them excited about your work already. They're excited to be a part of it. Obviously communicate you're not just gonna put a big camera in their face to set the set the general expectation, and clients are comfortable doing that. I think when you get one really just excited client that's, like, more than willing to be on camera, it kind of drops your guard and like, Okay, I think, I think I can make some really cool content with it, just like, it's your cousin, it's your brother, whatever, you know, start there, and then you're like, Wait, this isn't that hard. I can do. I can do this with, like, my regular. I can do this with my less regular. I can do this with a brand new client. And then when you get that brand new client that's, like, super excited. Off the bat, it makes you realize, oh, it's all in my head. People don't hate having a camera on their face. It's not that scary. As far as comfortability, that's like, baseline. And then outside of that, as far as advice, I would say, I think I already touched on it. Make sure your content makes you excited, not just as a professional, not just as a hairdresser or Barber, because it takes very little for me to get excited about a haircut. I see the you know, if you're in a hair, you nerd out, but you I can watch someone in a random country doing it with like a rusty blade, and I'm so stoked. I'm like, This is so cool. Most people, it takes a lot more. So I think if you can separate yourself and be like, hey, I need to create something that will get the consumer excited about what I'm doing. More importantly, they want to be a part of it. They want to come sit in my chair and be serviced by me. Then, if you can do that, then, then now you're you're cooking something really cool. And then obviously, know who you're trying to get in the chair. You know you're not for everybody, sure to someone out there, that's their business. They want to be for everybody. I think if you're in a studio, you probably have an ideal client and market. Know who that is, and make sure you're catering to that get that person excited.

Matthew Landis: 28:35

You know, that is the that is the best advice. That is the number one advice that I give in our image pro marketing course is who is your ideal client and what do they want, and how are they going to find you, and what problems are you solving for them? All right, I'm going to switch gears here. First of all, congratulations on becoming a dad.

Emmanuel Garcia: 28:53

Thank you. I'm in her nursery right now.

Matthew Landis: 28:56

Yeah, is this your first?

Emmanuel Garcia: 28:58

Yeah, it's our first girl.

Matthew Landis: 28:59

Yeah. What is that like?

Emmanuel Garcia: 29:02

It's, you know, she's about three weeks old now, and he's like, being on his wall right now with mom. Obviously, it's life changing. It's everything they say. It really is. I think people, they meant well, I think they try to scare us. I think if anyone's telling you that having a kid is like, the scariest, most insane thing that's you'll ever do, like it is, but it's also not that bad. And obviously, I didn't have to push the baby out. And, you know, even my wife agrees. Like our dog, our rescue dog, was a million times more of a nightmare than having the baby have it. She's also, she's super easy, she's awesome, she's she's very predictable, very she's a baby, you know. But, yeah, it's amazing. I think work wise, it definitely puts that fire on you, like, I really got to make this work, you know?

Matthew Landis: 29:48

Yeah, I was going to ask you how that may have changed your mindset about your your business and your career.

Emmanuel Garcia: 29:54

I don't think I had to, like, change that much. I don't. I didn't have to do a rebranding or anything like that. You get this random energy when you're like, I almost don't... that's my dog.

Matthew Landis: 30:04

Hey, I love dogs.

Emmanuel Garcia: 30:06

Yeah, big old, big old, bad wolf protecting the house right now, I think I got more quick to say yes to clients that maybe I didn't think I had energy for when you're like, hey, there's another amount to feed. I'll say, yeah. You know. Definitely gonna work a little bit more.

Matthew Landis: 30:20

What kind of legacy do you hope to build with your business, for you and your family?

Emmanuel Garcia: 30:25

I would like to think that, and I don't want to speak for my wife, but she already tells me it's cool to see that I made something out of nothing, and that the vision that I had from day one in the backyard, under like 90 degree weather with horrible conditions is what I'm living out today, regardless of how far along I've developed my business. And it's, you know, the relocation is pretty recent too, so I'm still building. I don't want to sound like I've like, made it by any means. I'm still in that building process, but I think it's just, I don't want anybody around me that I love to, like, hold themselves back just because they don't think that it's for them. They're like, Oh, that's, that's for you. That's not, that's not for me. That's for people that already have an artistic vision. That's for people that, in my case, that started really young. And, I mean, you know, your testimony, you start at 25 there's, you know, there's always going to be an excuse. There's a lot of pre existing ideas of what success is. You grow up in a place where you know they're telling you, you got to go become a doctor or you're just gonna be homeless, like they, they kind of, they don't really give you that option. You know, against all other recommendations and opinions, I did what I really wanted, and in 2014 I don't know how much people were charging. I mean, I was charging like nothing, so technically, I was not going to make a living off of that, but I went from that to like I'm now providing, and I get to do what I love, and you know, I can continue to scale this business. There really isn't a limit to it. So, yeah, I think it'd be really cool to have an entire portfolio of things that I did that really all stem from just me believing and just me putting in the work and just being patient.

Matthew Landis: 32:00

I have to say, and I know I've mentioned this before, but I think that you are an extremely creative person that comes through clearly, and I know that whatever you set your mind to in the future, that you will be successful at it. Thank you so much for this conversation tonight. I know you've inspired me, and you're going to inspire a lot of our listeners. Could you remind them where they can find you?

Emmanuel Garcia: 32:24

Yeah. So as far as Instagram, it's, it's really my name with the two at the end. It just spelled really weird. So it's @emmvnvel2, like the number two, and then TikTok it's the same thing without the 2. So it's EMMVNVEL, that's my my TikTok. If you're ever wondering how I get people in the chair, it's just off those videos which, believe it or not, when if someone does look them up, they're going to realize, Wait, they're not even viral. They're not even trending. Maybe that's another random thing I'll throw in the video. Doesn't have to blow up. Someone's going to see and they're going to come pay for a haircut or whatever service.

Matthew Landis: 33:09

Well, you don't have to have a million followers to get the kind of clients that you want right to have a successful business. Are you open to people reaching out to you if they have any questions?

Emmanuel Garcia: 33:13

100% Yeah. I'm all open book.

Matthew Landis: 33:15

That's great. So if you have any questions for Emmanuel, just send him a message. Anyway, Emmanuel, thank

Emmanuel Garcia: 33:30

It's been a pleasure. Matthew, thank you for having me.

Matthew Landis: 33:32

Thank you for tuning in to The VIP suite. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe and follow you so much for this conversation tonight. You are us on Instagram @imagestudios360 for more inspiration from our community of independent beauty and wellness pros. Interested in truly inspiring. I'm so glad I met you, and I look forward to renting your own luxury studio or becoming a franchise owner, visit imagestudios3670.com to learn more and take the next step toward building your dream business. Until next time, the next time that we meet. here's to beauty, health and wellness and building the life that you want.