The Kitchen Table Podcast hosted by Kenny Baden is an informative, inspiring, and entertaining show about success in life. It features exciting hair and beauty professionals and entrepreneurs, like Mina Hannah, a co-owner of an upscale hair salon in Annapolis, MD. Mina shares how she started cutting hair at 15, how she overcame her drug problem to be successful and how she found balance in her life. Mina's advice is to never stop working on yourself, learning and not to be competitive with others in the same industry. Adam Champaign is another guest that shares his path to success from having a hair salon in his basement to a thriving shop located in the Minneapolis Market. His advice for people trying to start their own business is to stay focused, work hard and push a little bit further than their skillset. The Kitchen Table Podcast will help you get inspired and get creative ideas on how to make it in the hair and beauty industry.
The latest edition of the Kitchen Table podcast features Kenny Baden and Mina Hannah, a co-owner of the Annapolis, Maryland up-scale hair salon. Kenny and Mina share their journey from the beginning when they started cutting hair at 15, to where they are now. Mina discussed his struggles with substance abuse and how his recovery helped further guide his life. He believes victims should not use their past experiences as an excuse to not grow and believes that with persistence and diligence you can go 5% past your skill set.
Adam Champaign is also featured on the podcast and shares that he has found balance in his life. He and his girlfriend, Kimi Ari, work hard to meet both of their needs. Adam started his own hair salon in the basement of his house, and eventually grew it to 8 chairs, all full. He has some tips for entrepreneurs looking to start their own business: Focus on the top 20 percent of your business, don’t rely on your own money and stay diligent on the task at hand.
Nina's advice is to take something from this episode and never stop working on yourself, learning and don’t go into a salon in competition to the person you work with. You can find Mina on Facebook and Instagram under bi weekly hair maintenance. The next edition of the Kitchen Table podcast will be at an actual table, so come check it out. A great episode for anyone looking for success tips, coming out of struggles and how to empower yourself to do more.
Blog Post
Blog Post #1
Welcome to The Kitchen Table podcast featuring host Kenny Baden and his guest Mina Hannah! From conversations about the importance of having a positive business casual swag to the best kitchen tables for an upcoming live podcast, this episode is a must listen.
In this episode, Kenny and Mina discussed the importance of having a “business casual swag”. Whether it be at a formal workplace, discussing business plans with colleagues, or simply meeting someone in public, the right “swag” is a great way to make a statement. A quote from the episode states: “We got the business casual swag. About business casual swag.” This means making the right fashion statement to show off your bold personality!
If you’re looking to make an impression at business meetings or social gatherings, here are three tips to help you get the proper “swag”:
1. Be mindful of your color scheme. When deciding on an outfit, ensure the colors you wear don’t clash and complement each other.
2. Pay attention to the details. Accessories such as jewelry and watches can be subtle ways to accessorize and complete a look.
3. Show your confidence. Having a positive, confident outlook on life is a choice, and that translates to your attire as well.
If you want to learn more about making the right “business casual swag” impression, don’t miss out on Kenny and Mina’s episode! Listen to the episode to get informed and stay in the know.
Blog Post #2
Welcome to The Kitchen Table podcast featuring host Kenny Baden and his guest Mina Hannah! From getting the perfect kitchen table for an upcoming live podcast to discussing the importance of tearing down the podcast studio; this episode is sure to provide plenty of new knowledge and insights.
In this episode, Kenny and Mina discussed the importance of finding the right kitchen table for future live podcasts. A quote from the episode states: “We should do that. Yeah. Or we could do, like, Moroccan style sitting on pillows. We'll put it in our podcast studio that we tore down.” This quote emphasizes the importance of finding the right setting for live podcasts.
Here are three tips for finding the perfect kitchen table for your next live podcast:
1. Choose the right style. Find the perfect style of kitchen table to match your setting. Sleek modern designs are great for a more professional event, while antique or vintage decor is great for a more relaxed atmosphere.
2. Think about space. Consider the space you have available for a kitchen table. If you’re looking for a larger space for more people, look for bigger square tables, while smaller round tables work great for more intimate events.
3. Plan ahead. Give yourself plenty of time to plan out the perfect kitchen table. Researching different designs, materials and wood finishes are important to get the perfect look.
If you’re looking for tips to find the perfect kitchen table for your next live podcast, don’t miss out on Kenny and Mina’s episode! Tune in to find out more and stay in the know.
Best Quotes
[00:01:00] "We got the business casual swag. But yeah, that would make a lot more sense."
[00:02:49] "My Insta handle has been an ill barber since o 3. You know, me and the barber, I guess I just always have gone by that since, you know, I've been doing hair since the age of 15."
[00:04:51] "It's also just such a blessing to have that opportunity to just grow with each other, have the community support that it brings it's just as much therapeutic as it is, you know, for me as it is for them, you know, So what I do is just not just a job. It's a passion of mine. It's something that has saved my life along the way."
[00:06:43] "I'm a very big visual learner as a kid. I, you know, watching Michael Jackson dance, I would try to do his moves. You know? So when it came to cut and hair, I would just tell myself you know, just emulate this person, stand like him, move the Clippers like him. He had some cool little maneuvers. So I adopted those and made that mine as well, you know, and I"
All Quotes
[00:00:44] "On the next live edition of the kitchen table podcast, we will do that at an actual table."
[00:01:00] "We got the business casual swag. But yeah, that would make a lot more sense."
[00:01:08] "We can get a really dope kitchen table too. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah. Make it real gotti?"
[00:01:32] "Or we could do, like, Moroccan style sitting on pillows."
[00:02:49] "My Insta handle has been an ill barber since o 3. You know, me and the barber, I guess I just always have gone by that since, you know, I've been doing hair since the age of 15."
[00:03:25] "K m salon is just simple and sweet, clean, couldn't do much with the asterisk as far as No. K m is way way easy."
[00:04:08] "So Mia, you know, is co-owner of arguably 1 of the most happening salons and all of the Annapolis Army. I'm serious. He's a modest dude, but he's not going to tell you that."
[00:04:37] "You're not a barber. You're a stylist. Right? I mean, you don't. It's all in the family kind of thing, you know, if I get the wife, they bring their husband and."
[00:05:59] "I didn't I guess, maybe a part of it was insecurity as well. I wanted to be the first 1 to tell you before you found out. Right. Yeah. There was any kinks in the armor."
[00:06:18] "I started cutting hair at 15, I just you know, my sister used to cut my hair as a kid and for some reason that intrigued me."
[00:04:51] "It's also just such a blessing to have that opportunity to just grow with each other, have the community support that it brings it's just as much therapeutic as it is, you know, for me as it is for them, you know, So what I do is just not just a job. It's a passion of mine. It's something that has saved my life along the way."
[00:06:43] "I'm a very big visual learner as a kid. I, you know, watching Michael Jackson dance, I would try to do his moves. You know? So when it came to cut and hair, I would just tell myself you know, just emulate this person, stand like him, move the Clippers like him. He had some cool little maneuvers. So I adopted those and made that mine as well, you know, and I"
[00:07:39] "School was not the priority for me. It was the social factor that I really thrived in."
[00:08:54] "So from there, I just learned how to make money with it, and I would have all my friends come to school after school and get haircuts."
[00:08:54] "So from there, I just, you know, I learned all the proper ways of cutting hair, you know, with the education. You know, how to actually cut hair, not just, like, in your buddy's basement or whatever. Not what I just did in my dad's garage."
[00:09:26] "Hair school brings a lot of people just coming out of prison to go to school and try to get a certification or you know, it was kind of a last resort trade for a lot of people the percentage of people that."
[00:10:06] "But I wanted nothing to do with women's hair. So I threw away everything that had to do with women's hair in the kit that I got from school and said, "You know, I am a barber and that's it."
[00:10:21] "Along the way, I had picked up a pretty good drug habit in Florida around that time. From partying. It went past the partying, you know, the partying was fun, and then it got the point where, you know, the pill mill scene started happening."
[00:10:41] "Oh my gosh. I forgot about that. Yeah. So, we drove down there 1 time. I drove 1 of me or my buddies, he's in prison right now, but he was doing what he was doing. I mean, there were a bunch of people in Maryland, and I assume all the states that were going to Florida Yeah. And they would take, like, hey, dude. David, you come with me, man, and say your back hurts, which is that crazy, bro. Which is bringing a body to Florida because, you know, I've exhausted what I can get on my own, but I'm going to bring you and you I'll pay you x amount of money or I'll pay you in x amount of pills to come down here and get your own script that I'm then going to take and sell and give you some of them. Just crazy dude."
[00:11:40] "And that was I was caught in that you know, in the full swing of that. I live there. Yeah. So you're, like, in the heart of something that was that simple for us to drive down and do that's the 1 that showed dope sick. Have you seen that? Yeah. Yeah. They go to a restaurant. They were living that. Holy shit. So that stopped me from finishing my schooling for hair as well."
[00:12:34] "He said, " I tell you what, you can come back 6 months from now, and I'll let you know if we'll take you back or not. And that was huge for me because I, you know, I was able to manipulate my way through life pretty good until I ran into people like that that, you know, saw me for what I was at the time, which you know, it was I was a shitty person. I would manipulate and it was just anything that had to do with my benefit. Is what was most important. Everything else was secondary."
[00:14:00] "My sister said to me, you know, once you get out, don't look up. Just go to the hotel that you're going to. And then don't look up until you're out of the plane in Maryland, you know."
[00:12:04] "So I, you know, in the middle of it, just stopped going to school. I was dope sick all the time and more worried about how I could get my next fix."
[Unknown] "I left jail with no probation, no papers at all. And so I came here and, you know, started my life over."
[00:14:33] "You bring your ass with you wherever you go."
[00:14:43] "I never knew what heroin even looked like until I moved to Baltimore, Maryland."
[00:15:13] "The pain got great enough. I had to do a couple of stints of rehabs in the Maryland area."
[00:16:43] "Any of those old behaviors kind of would start the pattern again. And that's where just God's grace came in and saved me the rest of the way."
[Unknown] "I so desperately wanted to be like, don't let me go in that rabbit hole because I might not ever come back out."
[00:19:34] "I stayed away from all of it. Yeah. All the things you're talking about."
[00:18:21] "I told myself, you know, I didn't. I didn't tell her this, but I'd so desperately wanted to be like, don't let me go in that rabbit hole because I might not ever come back out."
[00:19:40] "I would say that was what really helped save me at the time whether it was just keeping myself busy working on my spell self spiritually or just living with whatever was going on at the time and being okay with that was huge for me because any any other time prior I would try to dilute that somehow someway."
[00:19:55] "People are going to die. People are going to, you know, bad things happen. So, I can't use those little excuses to just, you know, dive back into and life's going to happen on life terms, a hundred percent."
[00:20:22] "It was as if I, like, didn't get, like, like, manual for life. You know what I'm saying? I'm almost uncomfortable being sober. You know what I mean?"
[00:20:40] "It's taking the replace of whatever is missing, which ultimately, like, you know, what we subscribed to is like a hole in the soul. However, you feel that -- Yeah."
[00:21:19] "I just had to find a way to endure that pain and not be a victim of it. You know? Those are the 2 ways of looking at it."
[00:22:45] "I would like to literally sit there and stay and look out this window. You know, just waiting for her to just leave. Yeah. Never ever saw her again till this day."
[00:23:38] "It was either good or bad, you know. Mhmm. With hair, I would say that that was a AAA good thing as far as it just took me away from everything. I like to draw. That's also another, you know, wonderful thing that can go hours and hours of just sketching and then look up and be like, you know, just felt like a minute and the whole day has gone by."
[00:24:00] "But then on the negative side of it, you know, use your imagination or, you know -- Right. -- well, you know, it's just the complete polar opposite. I can get lost in those things. So, you know, I'm sure for anyone, you know, as a human, we try to find that balance right, whatever that balance is in life."
[00:24:20] "We're not very fucking good at that, dude. No. We're just like I did a post about that."
[00:24:26] "It's like pedal through the fucking floor and everything. Good and bad. That's why we end up and we're so blessed to be here still, but if you point that in the same, that's how a guy like you, how long?"
[00:25:10] "Kim, you made that happen, but there are a lot of people, man, that don't move that way. It's like, damn dude, you guys. That's quick. You know what I mean?"
[00:25:17] "But for us, it's just like, applying our same whatever that gear is or whatever that obsessive mentality towards something positive, and it could really take off and quickly."
[00:26:12] "She just complimented each other in a lot of ways. So, you know, it would be in and yang. Yes. And, you know, so around the time that my father passed. We bought a house and, you know, I just came up with this, like, delusion slash dream of starting my own thing."
[00:28:08] "I don't even know him from Adam. You know what I mean? What's his name's up?"
[00:27:34] "So he's like, oh, don't worry about that. You could just pay me in house. We'll just do it for you."
[00:27:56] "My family has been there for me, but I felt like I've never even gotten support from my own family like that at the time."
[00:28:31] "It had its own It was, like Yeah. I'm trying not to say anything until you just but it was not just, like, if you're thinking, like, basement of I don't know. Dude, you're probably thinking about the basement. I don't know. But, like, it was , Yeah. Exactly. It was, like, when you walked in, If you didn't see the house before you walked in, you would think it was a salon. Yeah. A small salon, but it was set up exactly the same. Nonetheless, very professional, very functional -- Yeah."
[Unknown] "We didn't even know that we could do that in the state of Maryland, but just, you know, with all the right protocols and doing everything legally. We got it done and stayed there 2 and a half years."
[00:29:34] "What really built our confidence was we lived down a really windy path, you know, kind of just in the back. You know, it just seems like it would be very hard to get a group of people to come there realistically and get their hair done. But we were busy. We were busy to the point where we were, like, outgrowing it and we were, like, Alright. So let's see what the next step is."
[00:30:00] "Adam also helped me out with that as well as, as far as you know, what to do and how to get there. And, you know, his contract and company also built my storefront salon."
[00:30:37] "I'm trying to learn the business end of it, you know, for me. I'm very comfortable just being behind the chair, you know. That's my stick."
[00:31:20] "You're definitely the quintessential visionary from the EOS model, which is just it's a an operating system for entrepreneurs, but, like, they put, you know, visionary in 1 corner, and I definitely would fall on that."
[00:31:35] "And then they have the integrator, which might be like a kimmy. It's like that makes things happen, and we're very emotionally driven and all over the place. And we got all these big fucking ideas and the integrator kinda weeds through 80 percent, but then there's always the 20 percent that hit, you know."
[Unknown] "Right? Like, they do their hair or they or whatever. Right? Like, they're looking to start a business. What would you say is the most important thing to focus on?"
[00:32:58] "We're focusing on those. I mean, we do have a young lady that does lashes as well. Mhmm. But really, we just we wanna stick to hair and skin care."
[00:34:50] "You know, keep people around you that are just not always gonna agree with everything you say."
[00:34:57] "I wanted to have every service in that, you know, our salon is just about 2000 square feet, not that big. You know, so why I say I'm really just focusing on hair and skin right now because it just really works for that location."
[00:34:26] "As far as sifting through, you know, I'm a big dreamer. Right? So we had to sift through. All of that. And I try to keep people around me that will bring me down from the clouds. You know what I mean? And kinda ground me. That's just more realistic."
[00:33:28] "What would be your biggest you know, your few key points of emphasis, like, hey, watch out for x. Like, what are some of the biggest learning experiences you've had over the last couple of years? Because you've had this exponential fucking growth, dude. Like and for you, it's so tangible."
[00:35:27] "If they get 30 minutes you might be able to upsell it with 60 or 90 minutes. Right. But if someone's getting a color service, you can add highlights, sell them shampoo, and believe in skin care products. You know what I mean? So there's just so much more that can be done, you know, within person to person."
[00:37:23] "It just became evident to me that Stylists and barbers thrive in a community setting."
[00:37:46] "That's where people go to meet each other in the community as far as stylist to stylist talent shapes talent. You know what I mean? So I"
[00:37:38] "I also want to just, you know, wear the cornerstone of the community as barber shops and hair salons. You know, that's where people go to meet each other in the community as far as stylist to stylist talent shapes talent. You know what I mean? So I"
[00:37:58] "Would want to be around somebody that's more talented than me. Iron sharpens iron. Mhmm. And however you wanna look at it, you know, it's it's great to be around people that are great. It just makes you better. You know, so that to me is priceless."
[00:38:16] "You can just, you know, double, triple book. You thrive more on a community based setting as a stylist or in the hair industry than not being in a community based setting. Not saying, you know, there are those outliers. I'm sure there are those very busy people that are cranking and killing it in their own little, you know -- Right. -- 10 by whatever, 10 by 10 by themselves. But for the masses, you know, this information doesn't doesn't get to you by osmosis. You do the barbershop setting or or the salon setting to your point, man."
[00:38:57] "Like, everybody in there is just I don't know. But I wouldn't know where you're at. I just thought about this, but you personally have been getting into branding on yourself like, is there anything you could recommend or, like, dos and don'ts, like, for what are the biggest struggles number 1 for your industry?"
[00:40:00] "As far as the struggling part, I'm just kind of keeping my eyes on how the economy is moving. So I see now that, you know, at First, when we opened the salon, it was very hard to get workers, not just stylists, but workers in general."
[00:41:13] "Don't start a business with your own money. Okay. Let's see why. Right? Okay. When someone told me that, that was right before the shutdown. Okay? And they said, you never know the world might just stop. And I laughed at that. I was like, there, you know, there's no way. No 1 ever even thought that something like that would happen. Right? But we were able to keep our cushion that we had and it wasn't much at all. Right?"
[00:41:44] "But I would say that it just saved me from taking that advice. You know? Because if I were to, you know, I would say a majority of people when you hear the statistics of, you know, how quick a business will shut down, I would say, is because they put all their liquid into that blind faith of just throwing it all in there. You know? Right. So we were lucky with that. And again, you know, hold people dear to you that you can learn from that have had prior experience."
[00:42:22] "So that was 1 of the biggest things. I would say as far as skills for any stylists or barbers that are listening out there, there's these skills to challenge, balance that I've I've actually heard oh, man. His name is Let's See here. His name is Steven Koller. He talks about you know, just trying if you're trying to get into the flow state, the skills to challenge balance, at least we want to try to stretch our skill set by 5%"
[00:40:24] "Now it seems like it's shifting again. You know, the pendulum is swinging back to where job losses are happening. People are going to have to look more towards trade. Trade jobs than being easily replaced by some kind of computer? Or No. Whatever. Right. Right. Right. You know, it just seems like it's swinging back our way for the business owner to find the people that they need."
[00:43:24] "Try to just go 5 percent past your skill set. Stay diligent on the task at hand and get it done, and then push yourself a little bit more. That way, you know, you're moving slow to move fast. You know what I mean?"
[00:43:41] "And then when you see a look behind you, later on, you're gonna see that you've you've you've made it pretty far instead of trying to take it all at once overwhelming yourself and dropping it and then forgetting about it."
[00:44:16] "How do you eat an elephant? Right? 1 bite at a time."
[00:44:43] "Either I might be shaking my leg. And if not, I'm, like, adjusting my belt, like, you know, re-fixing my stuff. But he's like, dude, that's a superpower. But b, you can do as many things as you want to, as long as you have the team or the person to head it up. Right?"
[00:45:30] "But to that point, I just wasn't touching on that, but I also was thinking about good thing that would be good for this because it's not just, you know, where business is done, but there's other things that go into being good at business or being successful. And a lot of that is taking care of oneself, working out, eating right, all the shit that you've been really into lately."
[00:46:40] "I'm not beating myself up, though. I mean, you know, there's just this fine line of self mastery that I think some people that I talked to kinda get lost in it in the wrong way. Right. You know? And it takes just as much nourishment as it is to challenge myself Right? So recovery is also important."
[00:47:08] "Yes. I did lose a bunch of weight But when I first started that, it was more about, like, just being healthy and being able to do the things that I wanted to do and be capable of."
[Unknown] "But ultimately, as he's like, dude, you need the right person, systems processes, but you can do as many things as you want."
[00:48:17] "I want that level of discomfort. Right. I don't wanna be too comfortable. Because the growth is in the disc, is it uncomfortable? Absolutely."
[00:48:52] "I have made it to where I need to prioritize the work things first to earn my workout time because I felt, oh, I'm being productive. I'm going to workout. I do this every time I'm cold. I'm hot on it. I'm doing all this stuff, but other things started gradually getting pushed to the side."
[00:48:05] "My routine brings out any kind of anxiety. It keeps me also, it keeps me wanting that level of discomfort. Right. I don't wanna be too comfortable. Because the growth is in the disc, is it uncomfortable? Absolutely."
[00:48:37] "But you know, my workout routine reading. I, you know, I was so obsessed with my workout routine that it did start hindering me."
[00:50:05] "Dude. Young lady."
[00:50:16] "Prioritizing my time, marginalized. Time."
[00:50:39] "Have you ever broken down what your time is worth? What are your goals and a half?"
[00:51:06] "If your goals are really, really true and you really mean that. For me, there was something insane, like, that would mean then my time is, like, at 8000 dollars an hour, if that's genuinely what I believe we can do. Genuinely. That's my goal."
[00:51:34] "So I learned that just taking on everything and saying, fuck it. I'm gonna do it. Instead of telling this person to do it, it made me more emotionally distraught."
[00:52:03] "It came to the point where I was working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and I was busy every day. Every day. From the moment I opened the salon to the moment I closed, I was breaking my back in there, and I said, okay. Well, I can keep getting busier, but what good is that gonna do me?"
[00:52:23] "Now I have to work on growing the business. You know what I mean and eventually stepping away. And so going through those discomfort, shaving 1 day off at a time. Now I'm only there 3 days a week."
[00:53:08] "I learned very early on. Gosh. I can't remember the name of the author, but developing the leader within you. By Maxwell. Mhmm. John c Maxwell. Great book. You know, within the intro of the book I found out I was doing a majority of everything wrong in the business, and I was focusing on the bottom 20 percent of people that needed, you know, they're not bad people, but they needed a lot of work. They needed to get their skills a lot more."
[00:53:41] "What I needed to focus on was the top 20 percent that make 80 percent of the inventory of the revenue. Okay? And then from there, it just trickles down."
[00:54:52] "You have to be obsessed with success. In this case, obsessed with riches and ultimately what comes with that and then and then and then being such a powerful force of your subconscious that it manifests itself into the literal form of cash in your hand."
[00:55:07] "It's not just it's everything that you do throughout your day, and I know you do this shit. I mean, the cold plunges, the different tweaks to your diets, working out, finding in mind monitoring your time and reading all these different books, do self help books. Dude, you know what kind of temperature you're supposed to sleep and sleep studies. The amount of stuff that you put into and I know this because, again, we have these conversations every time, which is why I want people to understand, like, that's the guy who who goes from, you know, starting your salon 4 or 5 years ago to, like, having 1 of the biggest ones in the Annapolis market and now"
[00:54:18] "That's a good book. It's a good book. He's got a lot of good best sellers, though, great great author. On leadership."
[00:55:58] "It's so important because I have to do, I mean, everything, I do the same routine every single morning. And if I don't, it throws me all up. And I still struggle immensely. But if I didn't do those things, I don't think I'd be even a fraction of where I am now."
[00:56:18] "Mentoring mentorship. You hooked me up with that that we said earlier. Adam Champini texted me now. I mean, like, "That was such a big thing for me and I made that connection because I made a connection with you and ultimately I think the theme is really like relationships and you've got a relationship supermarket."
[00:57:12] "You don't move as quickly as you do. And I know you well enough to know, like, you damn well belong in that seat."
[00:57:21] "What piece of advice would you give if you could just impart 1 piece of wisdom? On to everybody that's listening out there, you know, 5 years, 10 years, tomorrow. It doesn't matter. What would be what you would say? Like, hey, man, this is my biggest contribution. Don't do or do or whatever. Whatever it is that you would wanna have well, yeah, to impart on the masses that could be your."
[00:58:32] "Work on yourself, never stop working on yourself."
[00:59:45] "The busiest most successful hairstylist that I have ever met has always told me never stop learning."
[01:00:10] "Go back to the basics again of a community setting even after, you know, what everybody went through with COVID."
[01:00:23] "United, we stand, divided, we fall. I wholeheartedly believe that in every situation."
[01:00:32] "We gotta raise the ties together, man. This isn't there's no competition."
[01:00:45] "Learn from that person. Teach that person. You know? And that could be applied to any trade or anything like that."
[01:01:01] "Let it be a friendly competition. Sure. You know what I mean? Try to outdo each other in the best way possible. In a friendship, brotherly, sisterly manner."
[01:01:19] "You don't wanna pull into a parking lot. No matter where you work or what trade it is, and sit in the car and think to yourself, man, what am I walking into today? You know what I mean?"
Topics
Success in the Beauty Industry: Samana Canbate's Story
Running a Successful Salon Business: The Story of Mia, Co-Owner of Annapolis Army Salon
The Impact of Hair School and Drug Use on Making Money
The Impact of Prison on Reentry into Society
The Impact of Traumatic Loss on Mental Health and Sobriety
Being a Victim
The Importance of Balance in Life: An Interview with Adam Champaign
The Power of Mentorship and Support.
Success Story of a Hair and Skin Care Shop in Crownsville, Near Annapolis
The Benefits of a Community-Based Hair Salon
The Benefits of Business Persistence
The Benefits of Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
Staying Healthy While Working From Home
The Impact of Working Long Hours on Mental Health
Secrets to Business Success: Focusing on the Top 20 Percent and Tips for Time Management.
The Importance of Investing in Personal Growth and Working with a Team Attitude.
Maintaining Healthy Hair with Dan on Social Media
Episode Links
Resources:
Connect with Ken Baden
Connect with Mina Hannah
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Kenny Baden 00:20
Welcome to the kitchen table.
A podcast about work business is done.
So pull up a chair and join your host.
Canbate.
What's up every and welcome to the first live edition.
Kenny Baden 00:37
Live kitchen table podcast, which would probably make a little more sense.
If we did it at a kitchen table.
I didn't I didn't think about that.
And we have a table back there that, like, would be much more well, You know what?
It'd
{Speaker 1} 00:40
have to come with a meal.
That's
Kenny Baden 00:56
actually a pretty good idea.
I guess the next 1, man, you know what?
On the next live edition of the kitchen table podcast, we will do that at a at an actual table.
This is like way more chill and casual.
This is in the office.
Kenny Baden 01:07
So it's like business related at least still.
Absolutely.
We got the business casual going on.
About the business casual swag.
But yeah, that would make a lot more sense.
Kenny Baden 01:12
We can get a really dope kitchen table too.
You know what I mean?
{Speaker 1} 01:16
Oh, yeah.
Make it real gotti?
Just
Kenny Baden 01:18
an absurd freaking, like,
{Speaker 1} 01:20
Saks real tall.
No.
Kenny Baden 01:32
Like, something like what's the I don't know.
Like, some freaking, like, medieval shit You know what I mean?
That would be dope, dude.
We should do that.
Yeah.
{Speaker 1} 01:35
Or we could do, like, Moroccan style sitting on pillows.
Kenny Baden 02:06
We'll put it in our our podcast studio that we tore down.
It took David over there.
David is our videographer and basically runs all this stuff.
And they can't see him because he's not on camera.
But we went over there to get the vet out was like, dude, y'all really did tear this whole thing down because him and his girlfriend's sister's company does all of our marketing stuff, and they made the kitchen table sign, and he helped hang it.
Kenny Baden 02:12
So when we went in there, he was like, Oh.
Tore it all down there.
There you go.
Right.
No.
Kenny Baden 02:29
It's just sitting on the wall.
We've got this corner in my office.
But, you know, it does feel like a little bit of a downgrade, but this looks pretty good, man.
But I keep checking my phone because I'm used to the format on Zoom, and I forget that there's something recording me.
But, dude, this is really easy because in house today, I have my good friend.
Kenny Baden 02:39
MENA from K and M salon, by the way.
So and wanna say is it MENA the barber or you have some really catchy.
{Speaker 1} 02:46
It's just, you know, MENA the barber was just very quick and easy email.
I came off.
Is it your
Kenny Baden 02:48
Insta handle, though?
I can't remember.
{Speaker 1} 03:03
No.
My Insta handle is ill barber since o 3.
You know, me and the barber, I guess I just always have gone by that since, you know, I've been doing hair since the age of 15.
That's what I was
Kenny Baden 03:19
actually I mean -- Yeah.
-- you know, the the format is pretty I mean, every single time we usually, like, dive into and I think I sent it to you.
But, like, you know, we got you.
So you own k m, Samana, you co own k m, somewhat KNKK
{Speaker 1} 03:19
Is
Kenny Baden 03:21
it k m or k and MKM.
{Speaker 1} 03:31
It started as k and m.
You know, we were throwing it around, but k m salon is just simple and sweet, clean, couldn't do much with the asterisk as far as
Kenny Baden 03:40
No.
K m is way way easy.
So K m with his beautiful -- Yeah.
-- better half.
Kemi, which is the k.
Kenny Baden 03:56
Yes.
K m.
Yeah.
So you own k m salon, which for reference is like just a beautiful upscale, very hip, salon in the Annapolis area.
In Annapolis, Maryland, there's a booming market.
Kenny Baden 04:26
And so to own a salon in that territory at all and do it yourself and not be like, I don't know, some chain or something like that is no small feat.
So Mia, you know, it's is co owner of arguably 1 of the most happening salons and all of the Annapolis Army.
I'm serious.
He's a modest dude, but he's not gonna tell you that.
But and then me and himself, the dude cuts like every bro's hair and I say that because I don't know.
Kenny Baden 04:38
I think just about everyone I know, it's a friend of mine.
That's a dude.
And even many females, my fiancee, Gwen.
I mean, dude, you cut everybody's hair.
So you're like, you're not a barber.
Kenny Baden 04:39
You're stylist.
Right?
I mean, you don't.
{Speaker 1} 05:21
It's all in the family kind of thing, you know, if I get the if I get the wife, they bring their husband and their kids, you know, It's a it's a wonderful way to build a community.
It's it's also just such a blessing to have that opportunity to just grow with each other, have the community support that it brings it's just as much therapeutic as it is, you know, for me as it is for them, you know, So what I do is just not just a job.
It's a passion of mine.
It's something that has saved my life along the way.
Yeah.
Kenny Baden 05:35
Talk about that, man.
That's actually what I wanted to get into.
I mean, I know your history.
I know your story, but, like, obviously, that's 1 of the most intriguing parts of this and 1 I was sort of excited to have you on.
Similar to myself, but tell us about where you come from and how you found hair, how it saved your life.
Kenny Baden 05:41
I mean, talk about it, man.
Okay.
Well, tell us the dirt.
Uh-huh.
The dirt.
Kenny Baden 05:46
Okay.
All your deepest darkest secrets that we're gonna air for all your clients to listen to.
{Speaker 1} 05:49
Man, I'm sure they already know about if they've had enough time with me.
Kenny Baden 05:49
Yeah.
{Speaker 1} 06:08
But I've also, along the way, you know, just wanted to be an open book.
Mhmm.
You know, I didn't I guess, maybe a part of it was insecurity as well.
I wanted to be the first 1 to tell you before you found out.
Right.
{Speaker 1} 06:12
Yeah.
There was any there was any kinks in the armor.
You know, but
Kenny Baden 06:14
I
{Speaker 1} 06:39
guess I'll just say where it all started.
For me, I started cutting hair at 15, I just you know, my sister used to cut my hair as a kid and for some reason that intrigued me.
And then once I went to a barber shop and saw somebody just do mean fades.
I was like, this is it.
This is what I want to learn.
{Speaker 1} 06:40
So
Kenny Baden 06:41
You
{Speaker 1} 07:01
know, I would just stand there and watch him.
I'm a very big visual learner as a kid.
I, you know, watching Michael Jackson dance, I would try to do his moves.
You know?
So when it came to cut and hair, I would just tell myself you know, just emulate this person, stand like him, move the Clippers like him.
{Speaker 1} 07:16
He had some cool little maneuvers.
So I adopted those and made that mine as well, you know, and I guess maybe any stylist or barber out there that's probably listening to this could relate, you know, we're big visual learners.
Kenny Baden 07:17
But
{Speaker 1} 07:21
even through high school.
Kenny Baden 07:25
When did you go to high school?
Were you was this Clearwater.
{Speaker 1} 07:48
So I'm a little you know, I grew up in Clearwater, Florida.
Went to Clearwater High School.
Unfortunately, didn't finish all 4 years, but, you know, I got my GED.
You know, I was school was not the priority for me.
It was the social factor that I really thrived in.
{Speaker 1} 08:26
And from there, I just learned how to make money with it, and I would have all my friends come to school after school and get haircuts.
So, you know, other than the trouble I got in along the way.
As soon as I got, you know, my GED, I went right into hair school.
And so from there, you know, I I met the owner of the hair school.
This was school that was just opening up, it was called Beauty, American Beauty Institute in Largo, Florida.
{Speaker 1} 08:37
They have grown amazingly.
But when I first started there, they were just a little hole in the wall school.
It was very cheap.
And I went there.
I went in there in the first day.
{Speaker 1} 08:52
I met the owner of the school.
And he said, so what made you wanna, you know, cut hair?
And I said, oh, well, I already know how to cut hair.
So And from there, you know, it was a pretty good but rocky relationship because, you know, he was like, oh, 0, okay.
I know it all.
{Speaker 1} 09:03
You know, we got So from there, I just, you know, I learned all the proper ways of cutting hair, you know, with the education.
Kenny Baden 09:08
You know, how to actually cut hair, not just, like, in your buddy's basement or whatever.
{Speaker 1} 10:03
Not what I just did in my dad's garage.
So, you know, I also had a big drug problem along the way with that.
So there was a lot of partying during hair school.
Unfortunately, you know, You know, hair school brings a lot of people just coming out of prison to go to school and try to get a certification or you know, it was kind of a last resort trade for a lot of people the percentage of people that even get out of hair school and use the certification is very very small.
But you know, since I was just, you know, doing it as a kid, I just had this passion for it and was willing to meet the challenge that came along with it to really hone the craft.
{Speaker 1} 10:41
But I wanted nothing to do with women's hair.
So I threw away everything that had to do with women's hair in the kit that I got from school and said, you know, I am a barber and that's it.
And then, again, along the way, I had picked up a pretty good drug habit in Florida around that.
From partying.
It went past the partying, you know, the partying was fun, and then it got the point where, you know, the the pill mill scene started happening.
Kenny Baden 10:43
Oh my gosh.
I forgot about that.
{Speaker 1} 10:46
Yeah.
So we were You drove
Kenny Baden 11:01
down there 1 time.
I drove I I was 1 of my or my buddies, he's in prison right now, but he was he was doing I mean, there was a bunch of people in Maryland and I assume all the states that were going to Florida
{Speaker 1} 11:01
Yeah.
And
Kenny Baden 11:27
they would take, like, hey, dude.
David, you come with me, man, and say your back hurts, which is that crazy, bro.
Which is bringing a body to Florida because, you know, I've exhausted what I can get on my own, but I'm gonna bring you and you I'll pay you x amount of money or I'll pay you in x amount of pills to come down here and get your own script that I'm then gonna take and sell and give you some of them.
Just crazy dude.
And I did.
Kenny Baden 11:39
I went I went with a friend of mine once.
I can't remember, dude.
I was so out of it, man.
But I went 1 time.
We drove all the way down there, went right there, and drove all the way back.
Kenny Baden 11:40
Yeah.
Yeah.
{Speaker 1} 11:45
And that was I was caught in that you know, in the full swing of that.
I live there.
Kenny Baden 11:51
Yeah.
So you're, like, in the heart of something that was that simple for us to drive down and do that's the 1 that showed dope sick.
Have you seen
{Speaker 1} 11:55
that?
Yeah.
Yeah.
They go to a restaurant.
They were living that.
{Speaker 1} 12:34
Holy shit.
So that stopped me from finishing my schooling for hair as well.
So I, you know, in the middle of it, just stopped going to school was dope sick all the time and more worried about how I could get my next fix.
Then about 6 months later, I go back to school and try to get my shit together and I tell the owner, I look, I'm ready to get back in.
And and that was 1 of the biggest lessons that seared in my mind today because you know, he told me you think you're just gonna come back in and we're just going to open the doors for you and make it that easy.
{Speaker 1} 13:11
He said, I tell you what, you can come back 6 months from now, and I'll let you know if we'll take you back or not.
And that that was huge for me because I, you know, I was able to manipulate my way through life pretty good until I ran into people like that that, you know, saw me for what I was at the time, which you know, it was I was a shitty person.
I would manipulate and it was just anything that had to do with my benefit.
Is what was most important.
Mhmm.
{Speaker 1} 13:26
Everything else was secondary.
So I came back 6 months later, you know, just wanna fast track through that part of, came back 6 months later, struggled to get through school while still having
Kenny Baden 13:26
this
{Speaker 1} 13:46
addiction, but I finished.
In the meantime, while that was going on, I picked up some criminal charges, went to jail for them, you know, in and out of jail, in and out of jail, went up the road, for a little while longer.
And then Why don't you
Kenny Baden 13:49
clarify with up the road me?
Up the road is pressured.
{Speaker 1} 14:05
Up the road is prison.
I I did a 18 month sentence.
That was the longest stint that I've that I've had.
And at the time, I was communicating with my family.
And my sister said to me, you know, once you get out, don't look up.
{Speaker 1} 14:27
Just go to the hotel that you're going to.
And then don't look up until you're out of the plane in Maryland, you know.
So that was 20 11.
I moved to Maryland to kind of get away from the scene there and and get out of trouble.
I I, you know, left jail with no probation no papers at all.
{Speaker 1} 14:49
And so I came here and, you know, the old classic AA saying is you bring your ass with you wherever you go.
So the struggle didn't stop there.
At times even got worse.
You know, I never knew what heroin even looked like until I moved to Baltimore to Maryland.
God.
Kenny Baden 14:58
Move from Pill Mill, Mecca.
Mecca shutdown.
So you moved to Baltimore, Maryland, the heroin capital of the world.
Oh, awesome, dude.
{Speaker 1} 15:08
Yeah.
You know, so I'm just so happy to be here to talk about it.
Yeah.
You know, we've we've lost so many friends along the way that you and I
Kenny Baden 15:09
know.
{Speaker 1} 15:22
But anyways, man, the pain you know, the pain got great enough.
I had to do a couple of stints of rehabs in the Maryland area.
That's 5 5 rehabs that I've been doing.
Kenny Baden 15:28
I've been to 6, by the way.
So I mean that -- Yeah.
-- in, like, any judge you were in.
Just yeah.
I can relate.
Kenny Baden 15:28
Yes.
{Speaker 1} 15:34
It was just the the chaos.
That life is of it's just animalistic.
Kenny Baden 15:35
Yes.
You know,
{Speaker 1} 16:01
priorities are skewed.
But for some reason, for some reason, I was still able to build somewhat of a career with hair.
That's where hair was at the time a gift and a curse.
It really wasn't, you know, it was a gift in that.
You know, I can kind of bounce back and get on my feet again.
{Speaker 1} 16:18
But the curse was that I could bounce back and get on my feet again.
Right.
Quick.
Very resilient.
But then, you know, it it got even quicker every time that I would lose things quicker as in, like, you would do it again and
Kenny Baden 16:21
respond to responses.
Yeah.
Way worse.
Way faster.
{Speaker 1} 16:48
Yes.
And I would lose everything.
And then, you know, the pain got great enough to wear you know, I just had to I had to let go completely of that old person and not hold on to any of my old behaviors for me because any of those old behaviors kind of would start the pattern again.
Kenny Baden 16:48
Mhmm.
{Speaker 1} 17:34
And, you know, and that's where just god's grace came in and and saved me the rest of the way.
There was no secret formula to it.
There wasn't anything overly special that I did.
I would have to say that, you know, when the pain got great enough for me, I was I was about 18 months sober, and then my dad committed suicide.
And I had to live with that and I promised myself to not let it pull me back in because for a person like me, I could use that as as an excuse and run with it.
{Speaker 1} 17:58
As chaotic as that seems, you know, when you're in that chaotic mind frame, it just some for some reason, it sounds right.
I don't know.
I don't know.
You know, but I I stayed away from that.
And at the time, I was starting to teach for L'Oreal and I had some travel plans to go to Tennessee.
{Speaker 1} 18:20
And the manager of the salon that I worked with at the time came up to me and said, look, you know, do you want us to cancel this for you?
This was around the time of my dad's funeral?
I told her no.
I said, I'm gonna go to this funeral, I'm gonna take care of everything, and I'm gonna just jump right back in and go on with life.
You know.
{Speaker 1} 18:31
Mhmm.
To me, I told myself, you know, I didn't I didn't tell her this, but I'd so desperately wanted to be like, don't let me go in that rabbit hole because I might not ever come back out.
Kenny Baden 18:31
Right.
{Speaker 1} 18:42
So that, I would say, just the impact of everything, man.
And, you know, again, you know, God's grace.
Kenny Baden 18:43
You
{Speaker 1} 19:09
know, I I just looked for a purpose.
You know, I I would say that's what really helped save me at the time whether it was just keeping myself busy working on my spell self spiritually or just living with whatever was going on at the time and being okay with that was huge for me because any any other time prior I would try to dilute that somehow someway.
Kenny Baden 19:28
Watch this time with passing your father.
I'm sorry to bring that up.
Sure that was difficult and I can only imagine, but I I don't wanna gloss over.
I'm assuming you did go down that rabbit hole when you were saying, like, Did you go you went back and relapsed?
No.
Kenny Baden 19:28
I
{Speaker 1} 19:36
did not relapsed.
I did not relapse.
I, you know, III stayed away from all of it.
Yeah.
Kenny Baden 19:40
All the things you're talking about.
Okay.
I wanted to make sure and clarify.
I wasn't sure, like
{Speaker 1} 19:55
I would I would say that was just another Oh, god bless you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And and it just sealed the deal as far as, like, you know, these things are gonna happen.
Oh.
{Speaker 1} 20:05
People are gonna die.
People are gonna, you know, bad things happen.
So I can't use those little excuses to just, you know, dive back into And
Kenny Baden 20:30
life's gonna happen on life terms, a hundred percent, but I get what you're I do.
Because for the longest time, it's like, guys like us, to your point, I mean, we we use that shit to it's like the best I can I can explain it?
People asked me is like, it was as if I, like, didn't get, like, like, manual for life.
You know what I'm saying?
I'm almost uncomfortable being sober.
Kenny Baden 21:04
You know what I mean?
Like But all coming up when you're kid, like you say, partying, you're doing things, you're smoking, you're drinking, whatever, like, whatever it is, it's taking the replace of whatever is missing, which ultimately, like, you know, what we subscribed to is like a hole in the soul.
However, you feel that -- Yeah.
-- you feel that with a higher power, you know, some force greater than yourself.
But anyhow, like, it's just almost impossible until you get broken enough to, like, really get to that point, man.
Kenny Baden 21:08
Yes.
At least for me, I mean, it sounds like that's what you're saying is that -- Yes.
-- you
{Speaker 1} 21:09
finally
Kenny Baden 21:14
got to that point and you realized through the death of your father that It might actually be possible to not go
{Speaker 1} 21:29
right back every time and numb yourself.
Absolutely.
I just had to find a way to endure that pain and not be a victim of it.
You know?
Those are the 2 ways of looking at it.
{Speaker 1} 21:50
And I was very good at being the victim, you know, it all started way before that.
I would say the first thing that I ever really got fixated on or obsessed about you know, I'm gonna take it a little further back.
When I first came here to the states from Egypt, Yeah.
Kenny Baden 21:52
I don't know.
Me and my boys from Egypt.
{Speaker 1} 22:18
Yeah.
And I, you know, I lived with my mom in Boston and her and her ex husband had, you know, they separated.
And my mom really was just mentally disturbed.
You know, she I didn't know whether it was drugs.
I wasn't old enough to know whether it was drugs she just had a lot of mental issues.
{Speaker 1} 22:45
But 1 day, you know, 9 years old woke up or was 10 years old.
I woke up and I was actually at a friend's house.
Sorry.
I slept over a friend's house and woke up to give her a call telling her I was coming home and never saw her again.
So going back to what I was saying that my first fixation or obsession was to be waiting for her to come back.
{Speaker 1} 22:50
So I would like literally sit there and stay and look out this window.
You know, just waiting for
Kenny Baden 22:52
her to just left
{Speaker 1} 23:05
just left.
Yeah.
Never never saw her again till this day.
You know?
Even now that, you know, I've come I've I've been a little more stable over the years, you know, I've hired private investigators.
{Speaker 1} 23:07
I've It's
Kenny Baden 23:08
gonna say it's just every
{Speaker 1} 23:40
resource that I could online to try and, you know, find her as far as, like, whether her social security is in any way, you know, just to see if I could help or even just find her death certificate, you know, and nothing.
Mhmm.
Nothing.
So So it all started way before drugs and all that, that I had just this obsession with certain things, you know.
So and it was it was either good or bad, you know.
{Speaker 1} 24:06
Mhmm.
With hair, I would say that that was AAA good thing as far as it just it took me away from everything.
I like to draw.
That's also another, you know, wonderful that can go hours and hours of just sketching and then look up and be like, you know, just felt like a minute and the whole day has gone by.
But then on the negative side of it, you know, use your imagination or, you know -- Right.
{Speaker 1} 24:20
-- well, you know, it's just the complete polar opposite I can get lost in those things.
So, you know, I'm sure for anyone, you know, as a human, we try to find that balance right, whatever that balance is in life.
Kenny Baden 24:23
Yeah.
We're not very fucking good at that, dude.
{Speaker 1} 24:23
No.
Kenny Baden 24:41
We're just like I I did a post about that this morning.
It's like pedal through the fucking floor and everything.
Good and bad.
That's why we end up and we're so blessed to be here still, but if you point that in the same, that's how a guy like you, how long?
I started getting my haircut by you.
Kenny Baden 24:47
And if you I mean, to your point, man, it feels like yesterday, but it's 5 and 4 years.
4
{Speaker 1} 24:49
and a half.
9 and 5.
Yeah.
Kenny Baden 25:10
But you were enough in the and I heard about you through the circles before even and then it's from the basement of your house to now.
These things happen as quickly as they do.
But for us, and we work our fucking ass off.
So it's not the discredit or like something happened for us.
Like, you made that happen.
Kenny Baden 25:29
Kim, you made that happen, but there are a lot of people, man, that don't move that way.
It's like, damn dude, you guys.
That's quick.
You know what I mean?
But for us, it's just like, applying our same whatever that gear is or whatever that obsessive mentality towards something positive, and it could really take off and quick.
Kenny Baden 25:30
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
{Speaker 1} 25:52
I would say the closest thing to that I could ever find to a balance also is just you know, Kimmy, my business partner, my girlfriend, she just she is the balance.
She's everything I'm not.
Everything she's not.
Right.
And we work off of that, you know.
{Speaker 1} 26:18
Of course, there's challenges just like any other relationship.
But, you know, when I first met her, we worked together at a salon for 6 years, and we started dating right away.
So our relationship together, you know, she just we just compliment each other in a lot of ways.
So, you know, it would be in and yang.
Yes.
Kenny Baden 26:19
And,
{Speaker 1} 26:46
you know, so around the time that my father passed.
We bought a house and, you know, I just came up with this, like, delusion slash dream of starting my own thing.
And I told Kimi Ari, well, we're gonna build a salon in the basement.
And what kind of sealed it was I had a buddy of mine come and get a haircut at the house.
It was just very makeshift.
{Speaker 1} 26:56
All I had was a chair, a shampoo station, and this guy, he owned a contracting company.
And Is that Adam?
Adam.
Yep.
Adam.
{Speaker 1} 26:58
Adam.
Champaign.
Needed.
Kenny Baden 27:06
1 of my mentors as well now who I met through MENA.
That's the kind of connections.
That's actually it really cool and I think about that.
{Speaker 1} 27:20
That's yeah.
That's I mean, that's the kind of blessings it brings.
You know what I mean?
At the time, I was still just learning about myself.
I said, you know, it was, like, you know, around maybe 20 months clean at the time.
{Speaker 1} 27:36
I told him what I wanted to do with the basement.
And he said, alright.
Well, you know, why don't you let me build it out for you?
I said, well, I don't think I would be approved for a loan.
So he's like, oh, don't worry about that.
{Speaker 1} 27:38
You could just pay me in house.
We'll just do it for
Kenny Baden 27:39
you.
I
{Speaker 1} 27:42
didn't trust myself enough that
Kenny Baden 27:42
amount of
{Speaker 1} 28:05
time.
So I was kind of held back of the people that have guided me along the way I mean, I hadn't really learned that kind of guidance.
So, you know, my family has been there for me, but I felt like I've never even gotten support from my own family like that at the time.
Kenny Baden 28:09
So this dude offering to help you out like this.
I don't
{Speaker 1} 28:26
even know him from Adam.
You know what I mean?
What's his name's up?
But But, you know, I I went up to Kimmy, and I said, look, you know, this is this is what he proposed to us.
And if we're gonna do this, I mean, before I even eat, I'm gonna make sure this man gets his money, you know.
{Speaker 1} 28:33
So we got the basement kinda really swagged out, man.
It had its own
Kenny Baden 28:45
It was, like Yeah.
I'm trying wasn't gonna say anything until you just but it was not just, like, if you're thinking, like, basement of I don't know.
Dude, you're probably thinking basement.
I don't know.
But, like,
{Speaker 1} 28:46
it was it was Yeah.
Exactly.
It was,
Kenny Baden 28:54
like, when you walked in, If you didn't see the house before you walked in, you would think it was a salon.
{Speaker 1} 28:55
Yeah.
A small
Kenny Baden 28:59
salon, but it was set up exactly the same.
Nonetheless,
{Speaker 1} 29:19
very professional, very functional -- Yeah.
-- set its own bathroom.
You know, we tried to make it the best we could.
And, I mean, you know, I I didn't even know that we could do that in the state of Maryland, but just, you know, with all the right protocols and doing everything legally.
We we got it done and stayed there 2 and a half years.
{Speaker 1} 29:44
And then So we started the company at 20 17, like late 20 17.
2 and a half years there.
We outgrew it.
And then, you know, we started looking for storefront properties.
What really built our confidence was we lived down like a really windy path, you know, kinda in the just in the back.
{Speaker 1} 30:07
You know, it just seems like it it would be very hard to get a group of people to come there realistically and get their hair done.
But we were busy.
We were busy to the point where we were, like, outgrowing it and we were, like, Alright.
So let's see what the next step is.
Adam also helped me out with that as well as as far as you know, what to do and how to get there.
{Speaker 1} 30:27
And, you know, his contract and company also built my storefront salon.
And we've been there now going on 3 years.
So the company's been established for about 5, 5 and a half.
Give or take.
And it's just been wonderful.
{Speaker 1} 30:37
You know, we have 8 chairs.
All chairs are filled.
We have 2 skincare rooms.
You know, and and we're just I'm I'm trying to build.
You know?
{Speaker 1} 30:48
I'm trying to learn the business end of it, you know, for me.
I'm very comfortable just being behind the chair, you know.
That that's my that's my stick.
Kenny Baden 31:06
Yeah.
But I think 1 thing I noticed from you and 1 reason I mean, So this is the kitchen table podcast where we talk about really fucking anything.
Quite frankly, whatever we want.
But but the idea being kitchen table is like where door to door folks are are trained to go, but the kitchen tables where business is done.
And Nina is a business.
Kenny Baden 31:35
He's an entrepreneur first and foremost.
But, like, 1 thing about you every time we talk, every time I get my haircut, it's like, we're always talking about something.
I mean, we always talk about life stuff too, man.
But, like, big idea, guy, man.
You're definitely the quintessential visionary from the in the EOS model, which is just it's a an operating system for entrepreneurs, but, like, they put, you know, visionary in 1 corner, and I definitely would fall on that.
Kenny Baden 32:00
And then they have the integrator, which might be like a kimmy.
It's like that makes things happen, and we're very emotionally driven and all over the place.
And we got all these big fucking ideas and the integrator kinda weeds through 80 percent, but then there's always the 20 percent that hit, you know.
And, like, those are the ones, and that's what we have our our place.
And, like, that's 1 thing I can say, man, because you're and that's my next question is, like, okay.
Kenny Baden 32:18
So you come from I mean, hair has always been your passion or it literally saved your life.
You're fucking good at it.
First of all, I mean, I'm not exactly encouraging.
Meaning, like, leave the booth selfishly, but I never bet it's gonna happen.
It's like, what's the future for can for can.
Kenny Baden 32:27
Right?
Like, Is it expansion?
Is it another store?
I mean, right now, you've got 8 chairs all filled in 1 of the hottest markets at least locally in Minneapolis.
Market.
Kenny Baden 32:41
I mean, I know you downplay or you're very humble, but the storefront is in prime location.
It's in Crownsville, which is just outside of City of Annapolis.
HR is full.
I
{Speaker 1} 32:52
imagine you've got some of the better or best stylists working there.
They're amazing.
Right.
You know, we couldn't do it without them.
We're so thankful for the team that we've built.
{Speaker 1} 32:56
Skin care.
Skin care as well.
Well,
Kenny Baden 32:57
really You gotta run some stuff there, dude.
{Speaker 1} 33:12
Well, we're focusing on those.
I mean, we do have a young lady that does lashes as well.
Mhmm.
But really, we're just we wanna stick to hair and skin care.
Kenny Baden 33:27
Would you say that's you and again, just thinking like business.
You know, if there's someone listening to this and they're do they do hair or they or whatever.
Right?
Like, they're they're thinking about going into business for themselves.
Yeah.
Kenny Baden 33:55
What would be your biggest you know, your few key points of emphasis, like, hey, watch out for x.
Like, what are some of the biggest learning experiences you've had over the last couple of years?
Because you've had this exponential fucking growth, dude.
Like and for you, it's so tangible.
Like, it's hard to see, I guess, in other businesses, but for you, it's just like so easy to see because we see you go from, like, the basement to this beautiful shop and it's a beautiful beautiful, like -- I appreciate it.
Kenny Baden 34:16
-- and, like, and then a couple people.
Now, 8 chairs, all full.
And then, okay, now we do this and and it's just It's awesome to see.
So, like, I know you well enough to know you're not slowing down.
So, 1, you know, what advice would you give anybody of his perspective lee doing what what you did.
Kenny Baden 34:24
Right?
Maybe they're doing here now and they're considering going in their own, like, what would be the big, hey, why child fours or this is what I would do.
{Speaker 1} 34:25
So like you
Kenny Baden 34:26
said -- Different.
-- maybe.
{Speaker 1} 34:37
As far as sifting through, you know, I'm a big dreamer.
Right?
So we had to sift through.
All of that.
And I try to keep people around me that are that will bring me down from the clouds.
{Speaker 1} 34:50
You know what I mean?
And kinda ground me.
That's just more realistic.
I I keep people that like that around me to challenge me on purpose, you know.
And III take that, you know, that's so valuable.
{Speaker 1} 35:24
So, you know, keep people around you that are just not always gonna agree with everything you say.
I wanted to have every service in that, you know, our salon is just about 2000 square feet, not that big.
You know, so why I say I'm really just focusing on hair and skin right now because it just really works for that location.
On a business standpoint, I mean, as far as upselling, upselling any kind of service, those 2 are gonna have the most upsells.
Right.
{Speaker 1} 35:48
As far as, like, you know, if you're doing a massage, you can you know, if they get a 30 minute you might be able to upsell it with 60 or 90 minutes.
Right.
But if someone's getting a color service, you can add highlights, sell them shampoo, and believe in skin care products.
You know what I mean?
So there's just so much more that can be done, you know, within 1 per what From person to person.
{Speaker 1} 36:06
Yeah.
Okay.
So and then and then from there, I mean, we do want to expand and have more services given the appropriate square footage and all that.
You know, these are the the business side, not so sexy things that, you know, that we would
Kenny Baden 36:13
Just the top premise of this show.
It's all Right.
So Not so exceeding.
No.
Nobody wants to hear about that.
Kenny Baden 36:14
Right.
I'm gonna go
{Speaker 1} 36:20
I think I think hearing about the struggles are are are of the sex previous things to be, you know, for
Kenny Baden 36:24
instance, of course, man.
I'm just joking.
I'm just joking.
{Speaker 1} 36:33
But I I also we opened our storefront during the shutdown.
You know?
So 20
Kenny Baden 36:34
20.
{Speaker 1} 36:43
Yeah.
20 20.
Everything which shut down.
My contractors were able to work, but we were not able to work.
So that was scary.
{Speaker 1} 37:11
And and it taught us a lot of things along the way.
There was a big dynamic shift in everything as far as just being able to get workers to come work.
There was a big shift in the hair industry as far as stylists and barbers just wanting to go on their own and have these little studio rental salons to themselves.
Is that still going on?
That's still going on.
{Speaker 1} 37:58
It's gone on long enough now to show statistics that might not be the best idea for all stylists or, you know, I I truly wholeheartedly believe that I mean, it it just showed evident to me that Stylists and barbers thrive in a community setting.
So that's 1 big thing that I wanna push as far as the expansion goes.
You know, I I also want to just, you know, wear the cornerstone of the community as barber shops and hair salons.
You know, that's where people go to meet each other in the community as far as stylist to stylist talent shapes talent.
You know what I mean?
{Speaker 1} 38:14
So I would want to be around somebody that's more talented than me iron sharpen's iron.
Mhmm.
And however you wanna look at it, you know, it's it's great to be around people that are great.
It just makes you better.
You know, so that to me is priceless.
{Speaker 1} 38:39
And you can just, you know, double, triple book.
You we thrive more on a community based setting as a stylist or in the hair industry than not being in a community based setting.
Not saying, you know, there are those outliers.
I'm sure there are those very busy people that are cranking and killing it in their own little,
Kenny Baden 38:40
you
{Speaker 1} 38:40
know
Kenny Baden 38:41
--
{Speaker 1} 38:42
Right.
-- 10 by
Kenny Baden 38:42
whatever,
{Speaker 1} 38:52
10 by 10 by themselves.
But for the masses, you know, this information doesn't doesn't get to you by osmosis.
Kenny Baden 39:26
You do is the barbershop setting or or the salon setting to your point, man.
Like, everybody in there is just I don't know.
But but I wouldn't where you're at.
I just thought about this, but you personally have been getting into branding on on yourself like, is there anything you could recommend or, like, dos and don'ts, like, for what are the biggest struggles number 1 for your industry?
So, like, specific to your industry, if anyone's listening that's either thinking about it or just getting started.
Kenny Baden 39:47
Well, could you say, like, hey, here, my biggest struggles or at least the biggest struggles in our industry, whether it's advertising, keeping clients.
I know that's not 1 for you.
Keeping talent, finding good talent, recruiting maybe.
Like, what have you noticed?
It's been, like, the hardest part about scaling because that's what you've been doing.
Kenny Baden 39:56
Right?
Like -- Right.
-- and you're kinda still looking at prospectively, like, the next spot.
So I know that's probably location.
Capital or like talent?
Kenny Baden 39:57
Or
{Speaker 1} 40:32
you mean tell us a little bit about?
Well, as far as the struggling part, I'm just kind of I'm I'm really keeping my eyes to how the economy is moving.
So I see now that, you know, at at First, when we opened the salon, it was very hard to get workers, not just stylists, but even support staff, you know, for shampooing cashier, all of that.
Now it seems like it's shifting again.
You know, the pendulum is swinging back to where job losses are happening.
{Speaker 1} 40:47
People are going to have to look more towards trade.
Trade jobs than being easily replaced by some kind of computer?
Or No.
Whatever.
Right.
Kenny Baden 40:47
Right.
{Speaker 1} 41:19
Right.
You know, it just it it seems like it's it's swinging back our way for the business owner to find the people that they need.
And I think persistence really, you know, what's a lookout for if you're trying to start your own business, you know, 1 of the best things that's ever been told to me was don't start a business with your own money.
Okay.
Let's let let's see why.
{Speaker 1} 41:28
Right?
Okay.
When someone told me that, that was right before the shutdown.
Okay?
And they said, you never know the world might just stop.
{Speaker 1} 41:43
And I laughed at that.
I was like, there, you know, there's no way.
No 1 ever even thought that that's something like that would happen.
Right?
But we were able to keep our cushion that we had and it wasn't much at all.
{Speaker 1} 42:06
Right?
But I would say that it just saved me for taking that advice.
You know?
Because if I were to, you know, I would say a majority of people when you hear the statistics of, you know, how quick a business will shut down, I would say, is because they put all their liquid into that blind faith of just like throw it all in there.
You know?
{Speaker 1} 42:42
Right.
So we were lucky with that.
And and again, you know, hold people dear to you that you can learn from that have had prior experience.
So that was 1 of the biggest things.
I would say as far as skills for any stylists or barbers that are listening out there, there's this skills to challenge, balance that I've I've actually heard oh, man.
{Speaker 1} 43:05
His name is let's see here.
His name is Steven Koller.
He talks about you know, just trying if you're trying to get into the flow state, the skills to challenge balance, at least we want to try to stretch our skill set by 5 percent.
Mhmm.
Kenny Baden 43:07
So
{Speaker 1} 43:23
you wanna just pay most attention to the task at hand.
Oh, so that you don't lose focus.
Right?
So a lot of things sound great until you try to do it.
You find out that it's hard and you just drop it.
{Speaker 1} 43:54
So try to just go 5 percent past your skill set.
Stay diligent on the task at hand and get it done, and then push yourself a little bit more.
That way, you know, you're moving slow to move fast.
You know what I mean?
And then when you see a look behind you, later on, you're gonna see that you've you've you've made it pretty far instead of trying to take it all at once overwhelming yourself and dropping it and then forgetting about it.
{Speaker 1} 44:06
And then, you know, it might pop again up up again as something that you have had to do before or, you know, So what I'm saying is is,
Kenny Baden 44:08
you
{Speaker 1} 44:18
know, I've done that many times where I would just try to take on too much in just kinda drop the ball and everything and, you know, how do you eat an elephant.
Right?
1
Kenny Baden 44:27
bite at a time.
Yeah.
I actually just made a post about that again.
To this morning where, like, my buddy, Adam Lyons.
He's ADHD.
Kenny Baden 44:40
If you can't tell, this is the first 1 we've done.
With live in studio and neither of us have sat still once.
I'm like always tweaking my wardrobe whenever and it's not because anything I just sit still.
I'm picking the fuzz off.
You know what I'm saying?
Kenny Baden 45:00
Like, I can't sit still, so I know I'm cognizant of it.
It's either I might be shaking my leg.
And if not, I'm, like, adjusting my belt, like, you know, re fixing my stuff.
But he's he's like, dude, the a that's a superpower.
But b, you can you can do as many things as you want to, as long as long as you have the team or the person to head it up.
Kenny Baden 45:12
Right?
Like, I mean, we can only do physically so much, but, like, if it's, you know, hey, I'd like to, for instance, we started a bathroom division, and that's great, but I would never have done that if I didn't have Matt.
You know what I mean?
And I know Matt.
I trust Matt.
Kenny Baden 45:43
I know what Matt is capable of.
I know that he can then I might have to devote some time to help start it up and have, but that it'll be self, you know, sufficient and he'll be able to head that whole thing up.
And we'll have systems and processes.
And then ultimately, as he's like, dude, you need the right person, systems processes, but you can do as many things as you want.
But to that point, I just wasn't touching on that, but I also was thinking about 1 good thing that would be good for this because it's not just, you know, where business is done, but there's other things that go into being good at business or being successful.
Kenny Baden 46:07
And a lot of that is taking care of oneself, working out, eating right, all the shit that you've been really into lately.
So, like, lost a ton of weed.
You, like, monitor sleep.
I mean, you do a lot of the same or at least research a lot, even more in-depth than me.
A lot of times, I'll ask you, but, like, tell us a little bit about as we're wrapping up.
Kenny Baden 46:24
Like, some of the things you do on a daily basis, and I know you, like, are a wealth of knowledge.
So, like, where people can find you, a, Right?
So they can ask you some stuff about this, but I know you do the coal plunge in the morning.
I know you do, like, you're just a wealth of knowledge and all these things.
So what are you doing?
Kenny Baden 46:38
Currently, you've lost a bunch of where you're doing, like, cold plunge in the morning still?
Yes.
Yeah.
These are things that I haven't believed that since you're not doing the things you were doing, these are things that are aiding you in your daily in your success.
Right?
Kenny Baden 46:39
Yes.
{Speaker 1} 46:57
Right.
Absolutely.
I'm not beating myself up, though.
I mean, you know, there's there's just this fine line of self mastery that I think some people that I talked to kinda get lost in it in the wrong way.
Right.
{Speaker 1} 47:15
You know?
And it takes just as much nourishing as it is to challenge myself Right?
So recovery is also important.
Yes.
I did I did lose a bunch of weight But when I first started that journey, I was just beating myself up.
{Speaker 1} 47:23
I wanted to leave the gym super Right.
Broke out.
You know?
And if I didn't leave that way, then I felt like I didn't do it right, you know.
Kenny Baden 47:24
Mhmm.
So
{Speaker 1} 47:48
finding the best way to keep that sustainable for me personally.
You know, I'll I'll just go as far as working out and stuff at 3 days a week full body workouts.
And mostly why that works for me is just because it it it guarantees that I'm gonna hit everybody part.
3 times a week.
Well, that's 2 times a
Kenny Baden 47:54
week.
I don't mean to, like, just but, like, do you think that that has anything to do with your success?
How you feel things like that?
{Speaker 1} 48:02
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I mean, if oh, even my girlfriend tells me, like, you must need to go to the gym or something.
You
Kenny Baden 48:02
know?
{Speaker 1} 48:21
My routine rings out any kind of anxiety.
It keeps me also, it keeps me I want that level of discomfort.
Right.
I don't wanna be too comfortable.
Kenny Baden 48:26
Because the growth is in the disc is it being uncomfortable?
Absolutely.
But literally
{Speaker 1} 48:47
with, like, muscles and stuff.
Yeah.
And I can I can use working out as an aspect to life in, you know, in every way possible, man?
But you know, my workout routine reading.
I I, you know, I I was so obsessed with my workout routine that it did start hindering me.
{Speaker 1} 49:08
And this is you know, I'll touch on this for a second.
I have made it to where I need to prioritize the work things first to earn my workout time because I felt, oh, I'm being productive.
I'm going to workout.
I'm doing this every I'm cold plunging.
I'm hot on it.
{Speaker 1} 49:21
I'm doing all this stuff, but other things started gradually getting push to the side.
So I was self aware of that.
You know, I told myself, okay.
Let me earn that time then.
Right.
{Speaker 1} 49:30
You know what I mean?
Because I do love it.
And I don't wanna lose that and I don't wanna be set back by it, but I just wanna make sure that I'm prioritizing the right way.
Kenny Baden 49:31
You're telling --
{Speaker 1} 49:31
Yeah.
--
Kenny Baden 49:40
because there sits valuable.
Have you ever done that and broken down?
Like, I had this young lady.
This young lady.
I had this girl I met.
Kenny Baden 50:04
When we were in Texas and she's here in Virginia.
She's a PR.
Or she she's in the marketing or, you know, my parents own this big painting company, real awesome awesome person.
But, like, she was talking to me about PR and all these different marketing strategies and damn it.
Why don't you know where where that just where where was it going with that?
Kenny Baden 50:04
I
{Speaker 1} 50:05
don't know.
A young lady?
Kenny Baden 50:11
Dude.
Young lady.
Mhmm.
Here he was my ADHD bro.
Way to finish up the show bro.
Kenny Baden 50:11
No, man.
There
{Speaker 1} 50:18
was something relevant to that.
What was the hell was that?
What were you talking about?
Just, you know, prioritizing my time, marginalized.
Kenny Baden 50:19
Time.
Yeah.
Okay.
{Speaker 1} 50:24
Time management.
Writing it down, I guess.
You were talking about recording.
He was talking about
Kenny Baden 50:43
well, in this time blocking and stuff.
But when she brought up, that's what I was gonna talk about.
Was that I was asking her, like, oh, I'm gonna I'll I'll just do that.
That's what it she's trying to help me find, like, a PR assistant or something and she basically broke down, like, dude, have you ever broken down what your time is worth?
What are your goals and a half?
Kenny Baden 51:06
I've done that exercise.
I was gonna ask you if you've done the same, but ultimately, like, when you do that, and then you do something super menial task because we have the bad habit.
I know you well enough to know, like, I don't know if a bad habit, but, like, we'll just do something versus, like, delegate because it's, like, well, I'm just gonna fucking do it because we're we're action takers.
Right?
But It's like brother, your your time according to your goals.
Kenny Baden 51:24
If your goals are really, really true and you really mean that.
For me, there was something insane, like, that would mean then my time is, like, at 8000 dollars an hour, if that's genuinely what I what I believe we can do.
Genuinely.
That's my goal.
And I break that goal down, and that's what it is.
Kenny Baden 51:28
And that guy's gonna do this task.
You know what I mean?
So and I
{Speaker 1} 51:43
get it.
So, like, do you I I prioritize on managing my emotions first.
So I learned that just taking on everything and saying, fuck it.
I'm gonna do it.
Instead of telling this person to do it, it made me more emotionally distraught.
Kenny Baden 51:44
Yeah.
It
{Speaker 1} 51:50
would ooze into things that would be outside of the work space.
So it didn't
Kenny Baden 51:50
make
{Speaker 1} 52:03
me feel better.
I was just aware of those kind of things.
Anytime I met these thresholds, I would take a step back and just kinda have a talk with myself.
You know, I don't record every single thing.
It's just Okay.
{Speaker 1} 52:26
It came to the point where I was working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and I was busy every day.
Every day.
From the moment I opened the salon to the moment I closed, I was breaking my back in there, and I said, okay.
Well, I can I can keep getting busier, but what good is that gonna do me?
Now I have to work on growing the business.
{Speaker 1} 52:41
You know what I mean and eventually stepping away.
And so going through those discomfort, shaving 1 day off at a time.
Now I'm only in there 3 days a week.
Having the 4 days to really, you know, work on the business.
And that right now is a challenge to me as well.
{Speaker 1} 52:50
You know what I mean?
It's kinda new.
It's a it's a only been a couple of months that I've been doing that.
Right.
But I'm meeting those challenges.
{Speaker 1} 53:04
I'm making it realistic.
And I'm just making sure that Kimmy and I are focusing on the task at hand.
You know what I mean?
As as creative as we wanna be.
We just wanna make sure that cash flow is in.
{Speaker 1} 53:13
Right.
People are happy.
We gotta focus.
You know, I learned very early on.
Gosh.
{Speaker 1} 53:21
I can't remember the name of the author, but developing the leader within you.
By Maxwell.
Mhmm.
John c Maxwell.
Great book.
{Speaker 1} 53:51
You know, within the within the intro of the book I found out I was doing a majority of everything wrong in the business, and I was focusing on the bottom 20 percent of people that needed, you know, they're not bad people, but they needed a lot of work.
They needed to get their skills hone a lot more.
But what I needed to focus on was the top 20 percent that make 80 percent of the inventory of the revenue.
Okay?
And then from there, it just trickles down.
{Speaker 1} 54:02
So that also that book also taught me a lot about the 80 20 rule of, you know, just marginalizing my time.
80 20 or what can be applied to so many things.
Would
Kenny Baden 54:04
you say it was developing the
{Speaker 1} 54:05
Developing the leader
Kenny Baden 54:06
within your
{Speaker 1} 54:11
Yep.
And he also has another book called
Kenny Baden 54:14
developing
{Speaker 1} 54:19
Oh, gosh.
I can't remember.
That's a good book.
Kenny Baden 54:20
It's a good book.
{Speaker 1} 54:26
He's got a lot of good best sellers, though, great great author.
On leadership.
Is
Kenny Baden 54:34
there an avid reader?
You read a ton.
I mean, I think these are, like and that was the point I brought that up.
It's, like, didn't fall into place here.
Right?
Kenny Baden 55:04
Like, you work your ass off.
You do a lot of the same things that I see because I'm kind of like I guess you could say obsessed with with success what you should be because of 1 of 1 of my favorite books is thinking grow rich.
And I mean, it quite literally says that you've gotta be fucking obsessed obsessed.
You have to be obsessed with success.
In this case, obsessed with riches and ultimately what comes with that and then and then and then being such a powerful force of your subconscious that it manifest itself into the literal form of cash in your hand.
Kenny Baden 55:05
But --
{Speaker 1} 55:06
Yeah.
Kenny Baden 55:48
-- for guys like us, It's not just it's everything that you do throughout your day, and I know you do this shit.
I mean, the cold plunges, the different tweaks to your diets, the working out, finding in mind monitoring your time and reading all these different books, do self help books.
Dude, you know what kind of temperature you're supposed to sleep and sleep studies.
The amount of stuff that you put into and I know this because, again, we have these conversations every time, which is why I want people to understand, like, that's the guy who who goes from, you know, starting your salon 4 or 5 years ago to, like, having 1 of the biggest ones in the Annapolis market and now looking at expansion.
It didn't happen by accident.
Kenny Baden 56:12
There's a lot of work that you put into yourself and your craft to get you here and that all that shit plays, man.
It's so important because I have to do I mean, everything, I do the same routine every single morning.
And if I don't, it throws me all up.
And I still struggle immensely.
But if I didn't do those things, I don't think I'd be even a a fraction of where I am now.
Kenny Baden 56:36
And by tweaking those things, I hope I'll get, you know, a lot further a lot quicker mentoring mentorship.
You hooked me up with that that we said earlier.
Adam Champini's texted me now.
I mean, like, That was such a big thing for me and I made that connection because I made a connection with you and ultimately I think the theme is really like relationships and you've got a relationship supermarket.
You know what I mean?
Kenny Baden 57:09
Which is so awesome because you've got everybody from, like, the owner to to him to I mean, all these great personalities and people are just like really good people that you interact with on a day to day basis and just I know that's probably gonna be the biggest thing you'll miss, but we're wrapping up with 1 tidbit, dude.
This is the caveat of the show.
So Imagine if you're sitting here listening 5 years from now and this is the whole premise is like we're speaking to the future business superstars of tomorrow, today.
Right?
Correct.
Kenny Baden 57:19
And I believe that.
And I really do.
I I believe that.
You don't move as quick as you as you do.
And I know you well enough to know, like, you damn well belong in that seat.
Kenny Baden 57:34
And so having said that, what piece of advice would you give if you could just impart 1 piece of wisdom?
On to everybody that's listening out there, you know, 5 years, 10 years, tomorrow.
It doesn't matter.
What would be what you would say?
Like, hey, man, this is my biggest contribution.
Kenny Baden 57:51
Don't do or do or whatever.
Whatever it is that you would wanna have well, yeah, to impart on the on the masses that could be your contribution as if it were coming from Zeigler or any of the greats, man.
I don't
{Speaker 1} 58:15
know.
Well, what's I was I've always been a very bad student growing up.
I did not comply I was very what's the word combative?
Mhmm.
So and now I'm just I'm completely the polar opposite of that.
{Speaker 1} 58:27
I wanna learn.
I want to help.
I want to comply.
I you know, all these things, you know, to a to a point, I I will comply, you know, if it meets I'm moral stance.
Right.
{Speaker 1} 58:50
Right.
Right.
But the thing is is work on yourself never stop working on yourself.
And I know that sounds so lovely, Shay, you know, you know, but that was what has helped me the most is just working on myself.
I can't I have to find out who Nina is.
{Speaker 1} 59:30
I can't be identified by the business.
I can't be identified you know, solely just by what I do for the 8 to 12 hours a day that I'm, you know, behind the chair.
And and I'm working on that still, you know, now that I'm not behind the chair so much, I want to do more networking out of the workspace and help the community more get onto the point where we're, you know, mentoring and just helping more people be of service to the community because that's a a big thing for the salon and barbershop world you know, in the hair industry.
Kenny Baden 59:31
It's a sense of community.
{Speaker 1} 59:33
And and and of service.
Kenny Baden 59:34
Right.
Okay.
{Speaker 1} 60:02
Being of service to others, you know.
So I would say that's my little giveaway, man, is just never stop working on yourself.
The the busiest most successful hairstylist that I have ever met have always told me never stop learning.
Mhmm.
They still go to many classes and even go to the ones that touch on the basics because the basics are so important.
{Speaker 1} 60:34
You know, and that's something that I wanna help relay as far as a message is to, you know, just to go back to the basics again of of a community setting even after, you know, what everybody went through with COVID.
It just seems like everybody's a lot more divided.
United, we stand, divided, we fall.
I wholeheartedly believe that in every single, you know, in every way possible.
So, you know, we gotta rise the tied together, man.
{Speaker 1} 60:49
This isn't there's no competition.
And for my stylists and barbers barbers out there don't go into a salon or barbershop ever thinking that you're in competition with the person that works with you.
Learn from that person.
Teach that person.
You know?
Kenny Baden 60:55
And that could be applied to any trade or anything like that.
If you if you hit, hopefully.
Absolutely.
You know what I mean?
{Speaker 1} 60:57
Absolutely.
You know?
But it just
Kenny Baden 60:58
Some sales
{Speaker 1} 61:03
all of it.
Yeah.
Sometimes it can get a little competitive.
Let it be a friendly competition.
Sure.
{Speaker 1} 61:13
You know what I mean?
Try to outdo each other in the best way possible.
In a friendship, brotherly, sisterly manner.
You know?
Mhmm.
{Speaker 1} 61:33
I would say that, you know, It's supposed to be a place that you look forward to going, not to you know, you don't wanna pull into a parking lot.
No matter where you work or what trade it is, and sit in the car and think to yourself, man, what am I walking into today?
You know what I mean?
So that's that's my little That's good, dude.
It's
Kenny Baden 61:40
a good takeaway, brother.
Yeah.
Where can we find you on Facebook, social media?
All the different all the different things, dude?
{Speaker 1} 61:50
Yeah.
K.
M.
Salon on Facebook and Instagram.
I'll barber since o 3 is my personal Instagram, if anybody wants to reach
Kenny Baden 61:53
out.
LILLILL.
{Speaker 1} 62:03
Yep.
Barber since o 3.
And, you know, also, I'm on LinkedIn at Mina Hanna.
Kenny Baden 62:06
What about your MySpace, dude?
What's that?
{Speaker 1} 62:09
I I deleted that 1 a long
Kenny Baden 62:11
time.
Oh, yeah.
Are your AOL stream?
{Speaker 1} 62:16
Be look be on the lookout for hair community podcast.
Kenny Baden 62:17
Dude, there it is.
That's what I
{Speaker 1} 62:22
wanted to hear about.
That's gonna be spelled out k m unity community.
Kenny Baden 62:27
Like that.
Alright.
Integrating the k m with command center.
{Speaker 1} 62:28
Right.
That's right.
So
Kenny Baden 62:29
I'm on that.
{Speaker 1} 62:31
Yeah.
Be on the lookout for that.
Kenny Baden 62:32
When's that coming
{Speaker 1} 62:34
up?
Just
Kenny Baden 62:38
stay on the lookout.
That's tight.
We're on the lookout.
Be on that lookout.
We're on it, dude.
Kenny Baden 62:51
Man, thank you so much for coming in person, man.
This is the first 1, dude.
Hope hopefully, it comes out good.
And if it does, then all things go to not in not either of us who David did all this.
So
{Speaker 1} 62:52
Thanks, Dan.
Kenny Baden 63:14
Yeah, man.
Hopefully, we can do some more of these in person and really get us into a nice fancy studio, but I really enjoy being able to sit here and just kick it with you, man.
Which we do anytime, but I'll see you next week because I'm a every other week guy.
In fact, I might have to switch it up to a week, but anyways, I'm a bi weekly hair, maintenance, you know what I'm saying?
You gotta keep everything fresh, dude.
Kenny Baden 63:25
You can't you can't go past it.
2 weeks is pushing it.
But and now I got Brett going every 2 weeks, and I've noticed he's but it's like my little protege and I can't seem to get rid of the kid, but I'm just kidding.
{Speaker 1} 63:26
Why would you want to?
I'm just
Kenny Baden 63:44
kidding.
But he ends up like now he's got, like, the same day as me getting hair I always know when mine is because he's like, oh, yeah.
I gotta get my records from him.
Like, it's the same day.
But anyhow, man, guys, if you're listening, like, subscribe, leave a review, please, by the way, because that is how people find the show.
Kenny Baden 64:03
And I know I know Sebastien's voice is gonna pop up.
At the end of this and say that, but that's so important because it's the only way people find the show.
You guys dig this and and, you know, help people about it.
Please help show some support for some fellow business owners.
And, yeah, we hope you guys enjoy it, and we'll see you next time.
{Speaker 1} 64:04
Thanks, man.
Kenny Baden 64:21
Thanks so much for tuning into this episode.
We sure do appreciate it.
If you haven't us already, make sure you're subscribed to the show wherever you consume podcast, this way you'll get updates as new episodes become available.
And if you feel so inclined, please leave us a review.
It is how new people find the show.
Kenny Baden 64:21
Until next I remember.
There's always a seat at the table for business.