Kati Whitledge and Britt Seva

Kati Whitledge and Britt Seva

In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, MODERN SALON hosted many discussions around the challenges created by the pandemic. 

After living with it for six months, we thought it was time to readdress the situation and take stock. We have moved from coping to adapting.  Now we wanted to talk about thriving.

We conducted a conversation with Britt Seva and Kati Whitledge, two industry leaders, and we asked them how a stylist can find opportunity and optimism in these challenging times.

Some of the questions we discussed in this interview include:  

  • At the time of the outbreak of the virus and the lockdowns that happened in many states in early March, we saw many stylists struggle and feel unprepared to be out-of-work for an extended period of time.   What do you think they were most challenged by then?
  •  What advice were you offering at the time?
  •  What do you think they’re most challenged by now?  And how has the advice you’re offering changed (if it has)? 
  • If a stylist came to you today and said, “I’m so burned out, so uninspired—help!”—what would you say?
  •  How can we point them towards some security and some certainty?
  •  And where do you two look for certainty?  How have you been able to negotiate this crazy time?
  • Finally, let’s focus on opportunity.We are hopefully learning a lot about ourselves and we are gaining something from this experience.How can we advance and come out better than when we came into this time?

Join the discussion and tap into more resources by listening to CHOOSE BEAUTY, MODERN SALON's podcast on the beauty industry.

Britt Seva is a business and marketing strategist for hair stylists. After spending years as an assistant, stylist, and salon director, she realized that cosmetology school left one major area out: business education. She began coaching salon owners in 2010 and launched her trademark hair stylist business education program, Thrivers Society, in 2014. Over the past nine years, Britt has coached thousands of stylists and salon owners to build wealthy businesses and lives, and she is determined to empower 1,000,000 six-figure stylists while changing the perception of the entire beauty industry. Britt hosts one of iTunes’ top podcasts, The Thriving Stylist Podcast, which, in 2019, crossed over one million downloads.

Kati Whitledge is an entrepreneur, speaker, author and podcaster.  Kati is the Creator and CEO of the Beyond The Technique podcast, the award-winning marketing tool, Meet Your Stylist, and the award-winning Be Inspired Salon, which is located in Madison, Wisconsin. Be Inspired Salon is a seven-figure business with over twenty team members. Kati opened her salon in 2010 and has gone through three expansions in eight short years. Kati believes she’s just getting started in her career and is eager to move the industry in a positive, progressive direction. Her mission is to equip salon owners and their teams with the most innovative business and marketing strategies. 

Anne Moratto

Anne Moratto

Director of Brand Content Strategy, MODERN SALON and NAILS

Read more posts written by Anne

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.