Navigating Success in Hair + Education & Brands with Heart & Passion | Beto Sanchez | Ulta Beauty Design Team Specialist & Elite Stylist | Wella, GHD Brand Educator

Robert Hughes: 00:00:00

Beto Sanchez is a 21 year industry veteran, originally from Mexico City and has been in the States for 11 years.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:07

He's a style folio brand educator and is an ULTA design team specialist.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:12

Today we're going to hear all about how he got to where he is and what he's thinking about for his future.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:18

Welcome back to the Hairs Strong show.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:20

My name is Robert Hughes and I am your host and today I'm with Beto Sanchez.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:23

How you doing today, Beto?

Beto Sanchez: 00:00:25

Very good.

Beto Sanchez: 00:00:25

Thank you, Robert, for having me.

Beto Sanchez: 00:00:26

Very exciting to be here with all of you.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:29

Awesome.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:30

Thank you so much.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:31

Well, so for everybody listening and watching, just to give you a little context, I met Bedos at Arbeto, at Beauty Gives Back.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:39

And I got to hear your story, pieces of it because I was running in, you know, in and out doing interviews with other people.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:52

But what I heard, I was very much like excited to when you said yes, you come on the show to share it.

Robert Hughes: 00:00:58

So I'm really, really excited and grateful in that.

Robert Hughes: 00:01:00

And Beauty Gives Back is an event that you all who are listening and following should definitely check out.

Robert Hughes: 00:01:05

It's a very inspirational and really awesome event.

Robert Hughes: 00:01:08

So.

Robert Hughes: 00:01:09

Okay, so Beto, tell us and tell us about your, your process of getting.

Robert Hughes: 00:01:16

I like to typically start with like, what was it like becoming a hairdresser?

Robert Hughes: 00:01:20

Where did you go through school?

Robert Hughes: 00:01:23

Did you do an apprenticeship?

Robert Hughes: 00:01:24

A mix of the two?

Beto Sanchez: 00:01:26

Yeah.

Beto Sanchez: 00:01:27

I think being a hairstylist was not something that I ever looked up to or thinking like, oh my God, I want to do hair.

Beto Sanchez: 00:01:36

I knew that I like doing hair.

Beto Sanchez: 00:01:39

I grew up with my mom and my sister and they would let me play with their hair and I would style it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:01:46

And you know, my little sister, she's five years younger, so sometimes I would do like bright braiding and styling where the flat irons came out in the market.

Beto Sanchez: 00:01:55

I was like, oh, let's play with this.

Beto Sanchez: 00:01:57

Was obsessed with some like pop culture references like Britney Spears and see that, like super straight hair sometimes.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:04

And I will try to recreate that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:06

So I had my real size Barbie dolls to play and do hair with.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:11

But for some reason, being a hairstylist never sounded like something I wanted to do.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:16

And to be honest, I think that happened because nobody in my family does anything artistic, artistry, creative related.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:25

I think that I grew up really close to my mom's side of the family.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:29

Everybody did banking and more like nine to five careers with all of that very like structured type of lifestyle.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:37

And I think that my mom saw something in me where she was like, I think you should try cosmetology school.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:44

And I was like, I don't know if I see myself as a hairstylist.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:48

I.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:49

I explored ideas about being an architect.

Beto Sanchez: 00:02:53

It's just that math and angles and all of that complex mathematics I think, that I was scared of.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:00

I also thought about being a psychologist and really fascinated about the way human brain works and why we do things the way we do.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:08

There were a couple other career options that I thought about, but to be honest, I was actually so confused.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:14

And my mom noticed that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:15

So when I finished high school back in Mexico, I'm originally from Mexico City, I should say.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:22

And when I finished high school, my mom was like, I'm not going to spend.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:26

We're not going to spend a ton of money in a career that you don't.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:29

You're uncertain about.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:30

So why don't you do something in between right now and then that help you decide?

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:34

And I know you like hair, so let me suggest cosmetology school.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:37

And I was like, all right, I'll do cosmetology school.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:40

So I.

Beto Sanchez: 00:03:41

That was really the beginning of my career because after that, I didn't do anything else that was not hair related.

Robert Hughes: 00:03:48

You know, the architecture and psychology sound very much like the perfect.

Robert Hughes: 00:03:53

Like, I mean, you know, if you.

Robert Hughes: 00:03:55

Unless you don't cut hair, maybe, maybe if you're just a colorist, but, you know, but even then, you know, cutting hair and listen to people talk to you about their lives and trying to figure out what, what they really want, you know, what.

Robert Hughes: 00:04:11

What do you really want?

Robert Hughes: 00:04:12

Like, how are you looking?

Robert Hughes: 00:04:13

Hair?

Robert Hughes: 00:04:14

That's awesome.

Robert Hughes: 00:04:15

Okay, so.

Robert Hughes: 00:04:16

So you go to school and then what happens after school?

Robert Hughes: 00:04:19

Do you get.

Robert Hughes: 00:04:21

Do you get a.

Robert Hughes: 00:04:22

Do you work in a salon?

Robert Hughes: 00:04:24

Do you just do hair mobily on the side also?

Robert Hughes: 00:04:30

Like, were there an apprentice?

Robert Hughes: 00:04:35

Was there an apprenticeship or anything like that?

Beto Sanchez: 00:04:38

Yeah, well, so when I.

Beto Sanchez: 00:04:40

Because I was not very convinced about being a hairstylist at first, when I started cosmetology school back in Mexico City, I actually was working as a customer service representative for a company with their customers here in the US So actually I think that's what helped me to practice English, which, you know, later on was.

Beto Sanchez: 00:04:57

Came in really handy when I moved here to the US But I was doing half of my day doing that customer service job and then half of the day doing cosmetology school, and I realized how much I liked it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:11

When I finished cosmetology school, I moved into a salon and I was being an assistant.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:19

I learned A lot of things.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:21

I always think that doing an assistant program is also one of the most helpful things that hairstylists can do.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:26

So if you're a hairstylist, listening to the podcast and you don't know what to do right away or you're scared, do an apprenticeship like it's best thing that you can do.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:35

Doing hair and experiencing what the salon environment is day by day, like in a real life scenario, it's completely eye openening and it really does help you to feel ready to take care of your own clients.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:48

So I did that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:50

And fortunately, a few years later, there was an opportunity for me to open a salon.

Beto Sanchez: 00:05:55

So me and my sister partnered up and she was a little bit more focused on the nail part of the salon.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:02

I decided to do fully hair.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:04

My sister's actually a makeup artist, so she started also kind of like starting to test like what makeup trends were and how to apply makeup and all that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:13

And it's so funny because now she's a makeup artist instructor and she's leading all the programs for school in Mexico City about makeup.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:22

She's doing really great.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:24

And I focused on hair exclusively and I just liked it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:28

I just love that human connection.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:30

I just loved how that communication, that connection that you have with your, with your client, with your guests in the salon, how it happens, it's kind of like intoxicating.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:42

It's very tiring and very exhausting when you have long days.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:45

But I think just having that feeling of I made somebody feel beautiful today, it just feels great and people are very grateful for it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:06:56

Fortunately, you know, all I've had probably 96% of my, my career, 98, 99% of my career, it's been all good experiences.

Beto Sanchez: 00:07:09

So it's always just been a good feeling to be in the salon.

Beto Sanchez: 00:07:13

And, and on top of that, I also feel the process is very relaxing, to be honest.

Beto Sanchez: 00:07:16

Like cutting hair, styling it, even doing a full set of foils, I find it relaxing.

Beto Sanchez: 00:07:21

So I think I did really find the perfect career for me.

Robert Hughes: 00:07:25

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:07:26

Love that.

Robert Hughes: 00:07:27

That's very inspiring and exciting.

Robert Hughes: 00:07:29

So when you, when you telling somebody to do an apprenticeship, do you have any advice for the person who's listening to this and be like, you know, maybe they're in school or just out of, recently out of school, or maybe they landed in a salon for an apprenticeship that isn't, you know, one of the big complaints that I hear from the students is that the salon owner, it says that they have a training program, but like they really don't and, or they're not consistent or whatever, and they're not growing at the same pace.

Robert Hughes: 00:08:04

So do you have any advice for anybody when they're out there looking for an apprenticeship or an employer at that point in their career?

Beto Sanchez: 00:08:19

Yeah, well, I might be a little biased because as you might have learned in the event, I currently work for Ulta Beauty, and it's been the best job that I've ever had in my life for many reasons that, you know, we'll go into other details about my job with Ulta Beauty, but we do have an apprenticeship program that lasts three to six months.

Beto Sanchez: 00:08:40

And the really cool thing about that program and what I think that it works really well for hairstylists is because we, we really do grow our apprenticeship well.

Beto Sanchez: 00:08:51

Our assistant, slash apprentice, to really learn all the skills that they learn in cosmetology school, but in real world scenarios, and we do put a lot of emphasis, and that's part of my job with design team specialists from Ulta Beauty, is to create programs that really grow hair stylists and make them feel like they're learning things that they can apply at the salon the next day after they learn it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:09:17

And so we do that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:09:18

We also don't drag our apprenticeship program for like two years.

Beto Sanchez: 00:09:21

And then we're like, okay, well, we'll give you a chair and we'll pay you 10% of what you make, you know, commission.

Beto Sanchez: 00:09:27

It's, it's, it feels pretty, like, solid that in three to six months you learn how to do it and then we give you a chair and then you start making either hourly or commission, depending on your services.

Beto Sanchez: 00:09:39

But it feels like you can use it like very real life, very getting you ready to start your career without sacrificing two years just washing towels, doing laundry, and, and washing hair.

Beto Sanchez: 00:09:53

You know, it's, it's more preparing you for the real world as a hairstylist.

Robert Hughes: 00:09:59

So go to Ulta Beauty if there's one nearby, and, and if there's not, it sounds like, and correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but it sounds like in a place you should be looking for some sort of structured program, because you said three to six months at least twice, which indicates to me that there's some sort of formal program.

Robert Hughes: 00:10:23

There's not just like, bring in models and I'll work with you every weekend until you're ready.

Robert Hughes: 00:10:29

It's like, it's like you're going to work on this and then this and this.

Robert Hughes: 00:10:32

Is.

Robert Hughes: 00:10:33

Is that right or no?

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:34

Yeah, that's.

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:35

That's right.

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:36

We have classes that we.

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:38

We have available through educational site.

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:42

So you can go to the salon in times when do you have a downtime or even.

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:46

Even if you're busy, there's classes that you need to finish before you start taking clients.

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:52

So we, like I said, we get you ready before we even send you out there.

Beto Sanchez: 00:10:57

And obviously there's techniques that you need to learn with a mannequin head.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:01

You.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:02

For example, for me, as a hairstylist, I have an assistant right now.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:06

So on top of helping me mix and doing all the different logistics that I have to do when I'm double book or triple book, I actually do care about showing my assistant what technique I'm doing, helping her with formulation, helping her with, hey, stay right by my side so you can see why I'm cutting this way.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:24

And I'm.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:24

And I also have, like, really good communication with my.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:27

With my guests.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:28

So nobody freaks out about, like, having another person just being, you know, right next to me and explaining what I'm doing with the color, with the cut, or the styling.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:35

So it's.

Beto Sanchez: 00:11:37

Yes, it's a program where we have structured classes that you need to finish before you're ready to start taking care of your clients.

Robert Hughes: 00:11:45

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:11:46

Okay, so moving on.

Robert Hughes: 00:11:48

So you said you open a salon, and so tell us about the salon, how big it was, how many people did you have working there, and how long did you do that?

Robert Hughes: 00:11:59

Because I'm assuming based on your timeline that you're still in Mexico City, so you haven't left for the States yet.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:05

Yeah, Right.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:06

The salon that I opened in Mexico City was named Posh Hair Salon, and it had three chairs.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:14

And first it was just my sister and I.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:18

We wanted to see how that would.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:20

That would work.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:22

And, you know, if one.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:24

If we work well together, but also if we actually had the talent and the skill to.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:28

To have people coming back to us, unfortunately was very successful from the beginning.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:34

In fact, my mom was the key piece in helping for the salon to grow because she is a very organized person.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:41

Like I said, all my family has that background of banking, so she's very organized, spreadsheets for life, and she's really good with money.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:49

So she was basically just being the manager for the salon.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:51

But on top of that, through her job, I always would style her hair before going to work.

Beto Sanchez: 00:12:58

So everybody would always compliment my mom.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:01

She was the one that always had her hairstyle.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:03

So many people would ask her, where'd you get your hair done?

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:05

Who does your hair?

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:06

So she was like, my son, and he actually has a salon, you know, in this area of the city.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:12

So, like, she started bringing clients right away, which was really cool and really convenient.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:15

And there was a lot of support from the family.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:18

Word of mouth started spreading out.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:20

So my sister and I got really busy with the salon really quick.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:24

I feel like that was kind of like the confirmation of, like, okay, we're on the right track.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:28

This is a career choice, and we're happy with it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:31

So, yeah, that was.

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:34

imeline, and that happened in: 2009

Beto Sanchez: 00:13:39

And I had it for about four years before I had to sell it when I had plans to move to the U.S.

Robert Hughes: 00:13:48

Okay, so tell us about that sales process.

Robert Hughes: 00:13:51

Like, what was that?

Robert Hughes: 00:13:52

Like, can you give us whatever information you can and have to give us to kind of let us?

Robert Hughes: 00:13:58

Because I feel like that's a conversation that I would like to have more often, is, how do you sell your business once you build it?

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:06

Well, this is kind of funny.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:09

It was very informal, to be honest.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:12

First of all, when I started making plans to come to the U.S.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:16

i even talked to my sister, and I said, can you handle this alone on your own?

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:20

You'll hire your stylist, but you already have clients that will come to you.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:24

She was not fully committed to the makeup yet in that part of her life or even her styling.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:29

So she said no.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:30

But at that point, I already had one of my clients who was a neighbor in the area, and I had my cousin interested in buying the business.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:38

They knew that it was successful.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:40

We had a set of clients, so they thought it was a good investment.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:44

And I don't know if you've heard of or if anybody in the podcast is familiar, but like it, Mexico is not as.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:54

How can I say it?

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:56

Not as formal when it comes to a lot of paperwork.

Beto Sanchez: 00:14:59

So there was really not a lot involved.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:02

It wasn't really hard, honestly.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:04

My cousin said, like, I will pay you this amount of money for your business.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:07

Like, basically, I'll just.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:09

You know, we signed a couple of paperwork, and that was it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:11

It was really easy.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:13

Fortunately, he was already interested, and he was one of our clients, and he always saw that there was people there, so he was very interested.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:22

So he kept us alone for a couple of years, and he had later on a little bit of trouble finding stylists to work with the schedules that he needed and all that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:32

So, unfortunately, this alone closed a couple of years after I sold it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:36

But it was honestly very easy.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:39

There was just very little paperwork to be signed, and my cousin came up with a strong offer, and I was like, let's do it.

Robert Hughes: 00:15:47

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:15:47

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:15:48

Okay, so.

Robert Hughes: 00:15:49

And then what prompted you to come to the States?

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:52

My ex husband.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:53

So I met my ex husband at a bar in Mexico City.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:57

We fell in love.

Beto Sanchez: 00:15:58

He was visiting Mexico City for only about six months, but we fell in love.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:03

We started dating.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:05

He ended up staying longer than those six months.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:07

So we dated in Mexico City for about a couple of years.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:10

And then he had a really good job offer here in Chicago, so he moved back and offered that I moved with him.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:18

And that was kind of like halfway through the salon life.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:21

So I had the salon for a couple of years, and it was very successful.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:24

I was really enjoying it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:25

It was a very cool project that I was very proud of, like, managing it with my sister.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:32

My dad was helping too.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:34

My mom was managing it, so I didn't want to just stop.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:37

So we did it long distance for about a couple of years.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:40

And then we decided that I was gonna move here to the US with him.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:45

But the one thing that I also knew for sure is that hair was what I was going to be doing.

Beto Sanchez: 00:16:50

So as soon as I moved here to the US I went right back to cosmetology school, used that money that my cousin paid me for that salon, and put it all in my cosmetology school, and it was great.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:03

I finished paying really quick.

Robert Hughes: 00:17:05

So your license, wouldn't you.

Robert Hughes: 00:17:06

You can get any credit?

Robert Hughes: 00:17:07

Did you get any credit for the hours of already having already been doing hair at all?

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:13

No.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:14

I think what really helped is that I had the experience of all those years beforehand.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:18

But there you don't.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:21

At least back when I lived in Mexico City, there was no official license to be a hairstylist.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:26

They were like, when I finished cosmetology school, I got a diploma from the school, and I had a recommendation letter for the two years that I was an apprentice, and I started taking clients.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:38

But that doesn't really matter as much because the US Board focuses a lot on the sanitation part and make sure that the salon is a safe environment for everybody and that you can see as many guests as you want in a day, and everybody's safe and everything is sterile and clean.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:55

Because of that, you can't really transfer any sort of experience.

Beto Sanchez: 00:17:59

But what really helped was the amount of hours that I spent in cosmetology school here in Chicago because they put me on the floor as soon as I finished my tests.

Beto Sanchez: 00:18:12

And just time went by really Quickly.

Beto Sanchez: 00:18:14

So I picked right up that experience, and I put it in practice as soon as I was able to do it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:18:21

So I went to Stephen Papa George school here in Chicago, and the owner was really nice.

Beto Sanchez: 00:18:28

He noticed that I had a lot of experience, so he helped as much as I could to put me in photo shoots and give me those extra hours so I could finish the school really quick.

Beto Sanchez: 00:18:37

So thank you, Stephen, for that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:18:38

That was.

Beto Sanchez: 00:18:39

That was really great help.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:41

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:42

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:42

Okay, so.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:44

All right, so then after school, so you're.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:48

You move, you.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:49

You build a business, you fall in love, you sell your business, you make a move, a huge move, you go back to school.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:59

School.

Robert Hughes: 00:18:59

Now you got.

Robert Hughes: 00:19:00

You got your license.

Robert Hughes: 00:19:01

You're in the States now.

Robert Hughes: 00:19:04

Now what are you.

Robert Hughes: 00:19:05

Are you, like, just in school?

Robert Hughes: 00:19:07

Are you working in a salon?

Robert Hughes: 00:19:10

What.

Robert Hughes: 00:19:10

How do you make that?

Robert Hughes: 00:19:12

What's that next move in the next transitionary period?

Robert Hughes: 00:19:15

Like, yeah.

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:17

When I was finishing my last hours of cosmetology school, one of my teachers recommended that I started searching for solons where I could either finish my hours because there was this kind of, like, program where you could work hours as an apprentice or as an assistant in a salon, and they will report back to the school.

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:36

So that counted towards finishing your hours.

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:39

And I found a salon nearby that I really liked.

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:43

And I went and I just said.

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:47

I literally just went to the salon and I said, hey, I'm in a school that is like a few blocks away, and I'm interested in being and assistant.

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:56

Like, what do I need?

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:56

What paperwork do I need?

Beto Sanchez: 00:19:58

So they book an interview with the manager at the time, and I had that interview, and he just said yes right away.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:06

So I started probably like a couple weeks later.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:09

And that's the salon where I started working as soon as I finished cosmetology school.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:14

And I was in that salon for about a couple of years, had a lot of fun, learned a lot.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:19

And actually, that's the owner of that salon pushed me to finish my program of being a wella master color expert.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:30

And through that program, I met the instructors and they encouraged me to be an educator because they saw how much I liked the industry doing hair and how much I learned.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:42

And I wanted to do that for other people and get them excited about the things that you can learn so they can make your salon time a lot easier and a lot faster and getting the results that you want.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:53

And they invited me to audition.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:55

So that's also how my WELLA journey started.

Beto Sanchez: 00:20:59

I feel like it was just the very one thing led to Another.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:02

And.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:03

But yeah, that's.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:04

It was.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:05

It was at that salon on.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:07

It's not anymore there.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:08

It's called Exo Studio, or it was called Exo Studio, but it was a good time.

Robert Hughes: 00:21:14

Did you have to do an apprenticeship or anything or were you able to get right onto the floor?

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:20

I did.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:21

And to be honest, my apprenticeship on that salon wasn't long because a lot of the people that I met at the salon in the school, they followed me into the new salon.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:34

So the owner was like, why am I going to keep him as an.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:37

As an assistant when he already has an appointment book half full?

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:42

So he gave me a chair probably, I would say just a few months after I finished and I got my license and.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:50

And yeah, I started getting clients right away.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:52

And.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:52

And word of mouth is really the best way to get clients.

Beto Sanchez: 00:21:56

If you make somebody love their hair and you do a good job and they get compliments that will like people around them will ask them, where did you go?

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:05

And they'll.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:06

They'll bring clients to your chair.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:07

So word of mouth is.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:08

That's how I started building my.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:10

My book.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:14

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:14

Awesome.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:15

Awesome.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:16

So.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:17

So you get into Wella and that really like that ex.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:23

Kind of your career sounds like your career is like.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:25

Has.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:26

Takes a major turn there once you get with.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:31

Well, is that.

Robert Hughes: 00:22:33

Is that correct what you're saying?

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:35

Yeah, for sure.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:37

There were a few things that I also never saw myself being an educator.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:41

One, I feel like what I learned in cosmetology school in Mexico, while that was good knowledge to learn the basics of how color cutting and style works, I don't think the education was so in depth as I have learned through the brands here, which is something that I always talk about.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:57

Here in the U.S.

Beto Sanchez: 00:22:59

you guys have, or I guess we have here, the biggest or bigger companies for coloring, for styling, hot tools.

Beto Sanchez: 00:23:08

And you really can get such good knowledge and such good education from them.

Beto Sanchez: 00:23:12

And I feel like once I was in the Wella, I auditioned and I got my job as a brand educator and I really get to understand in depth color, the chemistry, the application, how every single color line works.

Beto Sanchez: 00:23:28

I feel like I.

Beto Sanchez: 00:23:29

I just got really excited and I feel like my career promptly took that half behind the chair and half focused on education because I really liked it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:23:40

And I feel like also my excitement to share that makes my managers want to book me more to other salons because I get them excited and I feel like one.

Beto Sanchez: 00:23:52

I didn't know that I was so passionate about hair coloring and I would understand the way I Did.

Beto Sanchez: 00:23:57

And two, coming from a Spanish speaking country, English is not my first language.

Beto Sanchez: 00:24:04

I always felt very hesitant and very, I was second guessing my accent and if people would be able to understand what I was saying and things like that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:24:14

So I think I had to like really overcome that fear of feeling like I sounded different or sometimes stupid or silly or that I had to repeat myself for people to understand and just put myself out there.

Beto Sanchez: 00:24:31

And I under and understand that every time I teach a class.

Beto Sanchez: 00:24:33

What's really important is the message that I'm bringing and the excitement of helping other people learn what I already know.

Beto Sanchez: 00:24:41

So, you know, to make their lives easier.

Beto Sanchez: 00:24:43

And I feel like that's what I thought about many times and stopped thinking if my accent is really strong or if I sound a little different, you know, than, than Americans.

Robert Hughes: 00:24:55

Well, I think, I think it's pretty awesome.

Robert Hughes: 00:24:58

Like what you're talking about is like you're digging what I mean.

Robert Hughes: 00:25:02

You're talking about a number of things.

Robert Hughes: 00:25:03

So one of the things that I'm, I'm hearing you talk about is like the, the, the depths that one can reach in terms of their understanding about their craft is really going to be hard to match or challenge the depths that one can go if they're working with a brand.

Robert Hughes: 00:25:25

You know, like if a brand, A brand has millions of dollars and, you know, tons of resources to do research and development and hire scientists and stuff.

Robert Hughes: 00:25:38

So it makes a lot of sense.

Robert Hughes: 00:25:40

And I think that's a really important piece of information.

Robert Hughes: 00:25:44

I guess where I'm wondering is, I feel like this is like a great place to like ask you, like, what type of stuff you're working on now and what you're thinking about for the near future and maybe a little further out in the near future.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:01

Yeah.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:02

Well, I think that all that educational background led into me becoming part of the Ulta Beauty design team.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:08

I joined.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:10

I auditioned to be part of the design team and at the same time her status for the salon, because I met Nick Stinson in an industry event and we actually run into each other a couple of times.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:22

We have this mutual industry icon that we both know, which is Sonia Dove.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:29

And she introduced me to him and saying that I was a color educator.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:33

And Nick has this thing about always putting the best teams together.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:40

And the moment we met, it's almost like you're right away in a interview, like in a job interview.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:47

So he's asking a lot about like color and what makes me passionate about it and what did I do with color.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:52

So eventually I became part of the design team.

Beto Sanchez: 00:26:54

And I think that what, what got me in there and a key piece of the experience that I had was the educational background.

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:02

Because currently one of the things that we're working as a scientific specialist with three of my teammates and I is creating the programs, a program in particular called Transpiration.

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:13

So what we do is we are taking all the trends that are happening this current year, forecasting what's happening for the next year, and doing technical education about how to recreate it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:23

Because the people in the salon that see this images that my team and I create and the walls in every single Ulta beauty store, they want to know what's the formula that created that, what's the placement that you need to create that accent piece?

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:37

What is the type of texture that you cut in order for the fringe to lay in a certain way?

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:42

So my, my three teammates and I are working on that program really hard right now.

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:47

It's a really cool project that we, it's kind of like our baby because we created the first transpiration class last year.

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:55

It was very, very successful.

Beto Sanchez: 00:27:56

We got really great reviews from our hairstylists in the company.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:00

And so we're working on the one for next year.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:03

So that's what's taking a lot of my time right now.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:05

And it's very, it's kind of cool.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:10

And I think that's why it's such a proud thing for us because we really create this.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:14

Starting from zero.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:15

There was no previous program that looked like that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:18

And suddenly we're like, okay, how are we going to create the images?

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:21

How are we going to structure the class?

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:23

Obviously, even being a corporate salon with corporate rules, we have to even program our breaks at a certain time.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:32

So I feel like it's helping us to just really be very.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:37

Creating a class with all things being very thought of, including timing besides the content, and still working with my well up portfolio brands.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:49

Part of the well portfolio is well at gh, Willa, Nioxon, Sebastian and so doing events and educational things for them.

Beto Sanchez: 00:28:57

And I'm working with a really big, it's kind of like a hairstylist recommendation type of campaign for ghd, which is.1 of my favorite brands that I work for is styling tools.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:10

And I also believe that styling is like such a big thing as in a hair appointment.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:15

So working for a brand that creates really amazing tools is something that I really enjoy.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:20

Plus the perk of getting those tools and my door getting boxes every few months is just so beautiful.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:27

But working with a big campaign and just that campaign with GHD is what do hairstylists think is so great about ghd?

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:35

Why do we recommend that not just for other hairstylists, but something that the consumers can also use at home?

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:41

So just, you know, and then at the same time, also, like, still keeping a.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:45

A healthy salon book with appointments and with my clients.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:50

So I feel like every week looks completely different than, you know, the previous one.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:55

Even this week is.

Beto Sanchez: 00:29:56

Is every single day I'm doing something different, which I find it really cool, but working on so many projects at the time, and that's just how it usually goes.

Robert Hughes: 00:30:06

So if.

Robert Hughes: 00:30:08

If there's a lot of people that want to work for a brand and they want to like everything you're talking about, like, you're like, you're also course creation and like, structuring a day and like, thinking about, like, how long people's attention spans are going to be and like, do we need to change the method of learning and do we need to let them have a break?

Robert Hughes: 00:30:33

I mean, all that is, I think it's so such a strong and powerful exercise for, like, most people to go through.

Robert Hughes: 00:30:40

Just in general, I feel like it helps in so many ways, not to mention the fun stuff like getting the free stuff or just being on stage or being in front of a classroom and like, sharing your passion.

Robert Hughes: 00:30:52

So do you have any recommendations for somebody who is really hearing your story and be like, this sounds so cool.

Robert Hughes: 00:31:01

I want to do this.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:04

Yeah.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:04

I think the approach that I had when I started joining the educational part of my career, especially with Wella, is not to focus on the cool part of traveling or the free stuff that you can get.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:20

I think truly you need to love what you're teaching.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:24

You need to believe in what you're teaching.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:26

And for example, with.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:27

Well, I was just so amazed about understanding color and the chemistry and what different color lines do.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:32

So I feel like the rest is just a second thought or a second thing.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:37

But it's so important that you actually truly believe what you're teaching and that you're passionate about it.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:42

Because what you will see in my social media, what you will see in other people, social media that work for brands, is that they're in a different city every day in, like, cool hotels or do this, like, really cool events, and we're in airports.

Beto Sanchez: 00:31:58

And trust me, that is a lot more exhausting that what people read.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:04

People still come to me in events.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:06

They're like, you live such a cool life and it's so incredible.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:08

And I'm like, I'm also like, Most of the time just missing home and being tired of being in an airport, to be honest.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:14

And I'm, and I'm saying this with full honesty, the reason why I still do it and why even if after a week long trip that you come home and you're exhausted, you don't want to know anything about hair or talk to anyone because you've drained your social battery, you know, with people in the industry and giving you all in classes and to the interactions that you have.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:34

It's because I truly love what I teach.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:37

I truly believe in empowering hairstylists with the knowledge that you can give them.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:43

And so I feel like if that's the passion that you're seeking and that you're looking for, then definitely try to reach out to a brand that feels like it fits aesthetic, like it's a good connection and, and try to reach out to them, you know, try to learn a lot from them.

Beto Sanchez: 00:32:59

And I mean, what worked for me was actually reaching out to the people that led my trainings and let them know that I thought it was really cool what they did and how they got there and they helped me and connected me with the right people to get an audition with a brand.

Beto Sanchez: 00:33:13

So just put yourself out there, put your name out there, go to industry events, get to know people and, and if you're gonna do it, do it because you're really passionate about what you're going to teach.

Robert Hughes: 00:33:27

Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:33:27

That's really good advice.

Robert Hughes: 00:33:28

I love that.

Robert Hughes: 00:33:29

Okay, and then, and then as far as, like, as far as somebody who is maybe working and do, working with different brands and like a lot of people talk about like make content and tag the brand a lot and that helps get awareness.

Robert Hughes: 00:33:49

Like, is, is, is that still a thing or is, is it too saturated of the space?

Robert Hughes: 00:33:55

Because I know, I know, you know, I know social media, the realities of social media are constantly evolving.

Robert Hughes: 00:34:01

So can you tell us about that also, like, how has social media and what you do kind of evolved at all in terms of finding opportunities and growing yourself?

Beto Sanchez: 00:34:17

Yeah, I think it's a really great question because like you said, I feel like sometimes we get in this mechanical thing of like just tag all of the brands and tag, you know, use all of the hashtags where we're doing posts.

Beto Sanchez: 00:34:30

But if you're mentioning everybody, then nobody's seeing it or, you know, it's not, you have to aim to one specific brand and approach them.

Beto Sanchez: 00:34:40

But also it's almost like as you were saying it, I was almost visualizing showing up to a brand's desk in person and being like, hey, do you want to give me a job?

Beto Sanchez: 00:34:51

Or what can I do to post for you?

Beto Sanchez: 00:34:53

Right?

Beto Sanchez: 00:34:53

But then you have an incomplete resume or you just have like a piece of paper that is so wrinkled or like it doesn't have your information.

Beto Sanchez: 00:34:59

So I think that if you are going to do that and if you are going to reach out to a brand via DM or something more direct, because you really want their attention and you really feel passionate about it, I feel like there's some prep thing to do that you have to do.

Beto Sanchez: 00:35:12

You know, like if, if your Instagram is, it's pretty, looks nice, you're actually sharing important information.

Beto Sanchez: 00:35:18

The end results are beautiful.

Beto Sanchez: 00:35:20

If your content is working and it's pretty, then reaching out to a brand will actually help you because they'll notice your content and, and how beautiful you shoot your videos or your images and how you showcase their products.

Beto Sanchez: 00:35:34

But if you're just tagging them because you feel like it's what has to be done, I don't think it's going to really accomplish anything.

Beto Sanchez: 00:35:43

And the reason why I'm saying it too is because even working for a few brands and, and knowing in person the people that are behind, you know, running their social media, like, they love to be tagged, but they also won't respond to something that does not line up with their brands.

Beto Sanchez: 00:35:59

And obviously they will have an esthetic that meets certain almost like quality expectation, you know, So I think you, if you prep your Instagram to look like a nice, neat resume and then you reach out to the brand, that's probably the best thing that you can do.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:21

Nice, Nice.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:22

That's so good.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:23

Awesome.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:25

All right, cool.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:26

Well, I think this has been a really great conversation with you.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:31

I appreciate you taking the time to share your story.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:35

And before we go, I wanted to know, like, what are you like when you think about the next, like, three years of hair?

Robert Hughes: 00:36:48

Like, where do you see hair going in three years?

Robert Hughes: 00:36:52

Maybe five, three to five years.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:55

Like, do.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:55

What type of evolution do you see happening?

Robert Hughes: 00:36:58

It could be in anything.

Robert Hughes: 00:36:59

It could be in tech, it could be psychology, it could be prices, it could be.

Robert Hughes: 00:37:04

It could be design.

Robert Hughes: 00:37:06

And then also, like, what.

Robert Hughes: 00:37:08

What type of things should we expect to see from you as we pay attention to your career as you continue to do what you're doing?

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:18

That is a very interesting question when it comes to trying to forecasting what's going to happen with your head for three years.

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:25

One of the things that I would say, say is I really like how we have stopped putting such a strong gender label label to the things that we create with hair with cuts, with colors.

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:39

Like, boys wearing pink hair is not seen as like, oh, but that's a boy.

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:43

Why is he wearing pink?

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:44

You know, the cuts that we're doing, for example, right now, like flow cuts, jellyfish cuts, all of them are so gender neutral, gender fluid.

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:55

Just.

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:55

I like that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:56

I love that.

Beto Sanchez: 00:37:57

And I feel like we're definitely going to keep moving in that direction.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:00

I love that people have that freedom and feel that for themselves with their hair into.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:08

I would say I live in a big city, right.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:10

I live in Chicago and in big cities like New York and la.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:14

Like, I feel like you can feel free to wear whatever hair you want, and nobody's gonna look twice unless they're going to, you know, give you a compliment.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:22

And they say your hair is really cool.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:24

That's probably also, like, the very, like, positive mindset that I have.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:28

But hopefully that evolves into, like, smaller towns where people are a little bit more conservative and seeing those hair colors and creations becoming more popular.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:38

People embrace it and accept it a little bit more, or at least don't say anything negative.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:43

They see something that they don't like, because at the end of the day, hair is just an expression of who you are.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:48

And I feel like feeling free to do whatever you want with something that you're growing out of your own scalp.

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:53

It should be allowed and shouldn't be criticized or judged, you know?

Beto Sanchez: 00:38:59

So I would say probably, like I said, for trends, it's kind of, like, hard to know they change so fast, especially with social media being so big.

Beto Sanchez: 00:39:06

But I do like where this is going about stop genderizing haircuts, hair colors and hairstyles and allowing people to just be themselves and.

Beto Sanchez: 00:39:15

And expressing it through the hair.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:19

Well, maybe.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:20

Maybe it'd be cool to see some people in.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:26

I don't know, in.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:28

In con.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:29

What's the word?

Robert Hughes: 00:39:30

Historically conservative industries.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:35

Maybe some CEOs or some board members wearing, you know, something more expressive and individual.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:44

Individual, individual expression.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:47

I think that'd be cool.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:48

Or maybe even positions of government.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:51

I think that that's.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:52

I feel like for me, that's what we would need to see in order for people to.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:56

Like, really?

Robert Hughes: 00:39:58

Because I feel like we're.

Robert Hughes: 00:39:59

It's evolving and I.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:00

And I, and I.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:01

And I'm on board with what.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:02

What you want to see.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:03

I want to see that too, I think.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:05

And for me, if I was gonna add on to that, that's what I would like to see.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:09

I Would like to see people in positions of influence and power in historically conservative and conservative, not like politically but like how you have to dress and how you have to wear your hair but historic like banking and, and oil and gas and government and stuff like that.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:29

I'd like to see people like that in those positions to have pink hair and whatever, you know, do something different.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:39

So what, what about, what about your personal thoughts about your own future?

Robert Hughes: 00:40:44

What should we be watch looking at for.

Robert Hughes: 00:40:47

For you?

Beto Sanchez: 00:40:49

Well, I think I'm at a point where we.

Beto Sanchez: 00:40:57

I've done so much in the last few years and I've gotten to places where I never thought I would be when it comes to leading projects and doing educational.

Beto Sanchez: 00:41:07

It's also a lot like it takes so much of my time to have a full career as an ultimate design team member, a full career as a brand educator, full career in the salon.

Beto Sanchez: 00:41:22

So I feel like right now what I've been focusing a lot is on not adding more to my plate than more like putting 100% my focus on the projects that I really love and that I really have right now.

Beto Sanchez: 00:41:34

I think that with, with this kind of like mental health acknowledgement of like what, what people are struggling with, sometimes I feel like it made me also look at like how much I can give of myself in order to, to actually enjoy what I'm doing.

Beto Sanchez: 00:41:53

So I used to be like a yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Beto Sanchez: 00:41:55

I'll do any project, I'll travel anywhere, I'll make any schedule fit and work seven days a week.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:01

And I do appreciate and I love, and I think that there's a point of every of some people's careers where they are willing to put that in there, that work.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:10

I already did that for so many years.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:12

And I'm not saying I'm slowing down, but I am just refocusing a little bit more and enjoying the things that like my personal time and my personal life and my dog and my partner in my apartment and things that are also not hair related that also require time.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:30

I don't know exactly what would happen, you know, in a year, 2, 5, 10.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:37

But one thing that I want to, I do feel like I've been putting a lot of focuses on making sure that I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now with work, not feeling so overwhelmed and everything that I'm putting out there work wise is with love and with passion.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:51

And then I still have time to put love, passion and time in my personal things.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:56

So that really has been my focus right now.

Beto Sanchez: 00:42:58

And, and I think that's something that you should probably, for all the people in the industry that also feel overwhelmed or, you know, like feeling like you're juggling too much, maybe just take a little moment and enjoy what you have right now and be a little bit more selective about the projects that you say yes to.

Beto Sanchez: 00:43:17

And because every time you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else.

Beto Sanchez: 00:43:20

So if it's something that is, like, personal important for you, maybe the yes has to go to the other side.

Robert Hughes: 00:43:26

That's so good.

Robert Hughes: 00:43:27

That is an incredible way to wrap it up.

Robert Hughes: 00:43:30

I think that message is a great sign off message.

Robert Hughes: 00:43:34

So thank you for that.

Robert Hughes: 00:43:35

Thank you for your time sharing your story and your words of wisdom and your pathway to success.

Robert Hughes: 00:43:45

And I hope to have you on the show again in the near future.

Robert Hughes: 00:43:50

But for now, thank you so much.

Beto Sanchez: 00:43:52

Of course.

Beto Sanchez: 00:43:53

Thank you so much for the space.

Beto Sanchez: 00:43:54

I enjoy so much talking about this.

Beto Sanchez: 00:43:57

And just like we, you know, when we met in that event, like just having hairstylists understanding other areas than just how to create the perfect balayage, I think it's really important.

Beto Sanchez: 00:44:07

We're all humans and we all have a personal life and we all want career inspiration.

Beto Sanchez: 00:44:11

So I'm happy to share this story and hope some of these things help other hairstylists to grow their own careers as well.

Robert Hughes: 00:44:18

Awesome.

Robert Hughes: 00:44:18

Well, thank you so much.

Robert Hughes: 00:44:20

And until next time, I'll talk to you later.

Beto Sanchez: 00:44:23

All right, sounds good.

Beto Sanchez: 00:44:24

Thank you, Robert.

Beto Sanchez: 00:44:24

See you next time.