The Starting Messy Podcast

What happens when a hairstylist gets tired of feeling tied down — and decides to do something about it? Leisha did not just change her schedule. She sold her house, moved into an RV with her husband, two dogs, and a cat, drove to a city where she knew nobody, and started walking into salons with a stack of papers and an idea nobody had ever heard of. That idea? Traveling Hairstylist — a first-of-its-kind service where stylists can hire a professional to come to their space, care for their clients, and cover 100% of their booth rent while they're on maternity leave, medical leave, or any extended time away. Coast to coast, all 50 states, with a team of five (soon to be seven) and a near-perfect client retention rate.In this episode, Misty sits down with Leisha, the founder of Traveling Hairstylist, and they go deep on what it actually looks like to start something that does not exist yet — the fear, the first salon door she walked into, the moment it finally clicked, and why she believes the beauty industry is the most creative space to build something that is entirely your own. In this episode, you will learn:How Leisha combined her love of travel with a real gap she saw in the industry — and why those two things colliding changed everythingWhat it actually looked like to launch with zero clients, zero connections, and one Instagram post in a city she had never lived inThe honest breakdown of how Traveling Hairstylist works financially — what stylists keep, what Leisha's team covers, and why it is structured the way it isWhy suite stylists are especially vulnerable during a leave — and what most salon companies still are not doing to support themHow Leisha thinks about team building, contracts, and what it means to run a business that is also a love letter to the industryWhat happened when she finally got a "yes" after two weeks of walking into salons and getting told noThe mindset that kept her going when the idea was still just hers — and why she believes when something really calls to you, it is embedded in youConnect with Leisha + Traveling Hairstylist:Instagram: @‌thetraveling.hairstylistWebsite: The Traveling Hairstylisthairstylist podcast, salon owner podcast, hairstylist personal development, beauty industry business podcast, hairstylist leave coverage

In this episode, I’m the guest on the Out of Step Podcast with my friend and coach Andrew Carruthers , and we go deep on something I know so many of you hairstylists and salon owners feel but rarely talk about: the invisible boxes we build around ourselves, and what it actually costs us to stay inside them.We talk about what happened in 2020 when everything that I thought made me “Me” was suddenly taken away — and what I found when I finally had to just sit with myself. We talk about the wild shift from being behind the chair (where validation comes in constant, beautiful waves) to coaching, content, and the long, quiet wait for it to all mean something.And we talk about the journey I’ve been on this past year of asking: what am I actually here to do? Not what sounds clean in an Instagram bio. Not what the marketing experts told me to say. What’s actually true for me — and what happens when I finally give myself permission to live there.hairstylist personal development podcast, salon owner mindset, hairstylist life coach, personal development for hairdressers, beauty industry burnout, stylist self-worth, hairstylist podcast

Get on the waitlist for the Costa Rica 2027 Retreat If you've been feeling like you're doing all the right things — taking the courses, going to the shows, following the educators — and still feel like something's missing, this episode is for you.Misty is talking directly to the stylist or salon owner who has already built something worth loving, but finds themselves buried under everyone else's opinions about how to grow it. The problem isn't that you need more strategy. The problem is you have too many voices in your head and not enough quiet to hear your own.In this episode, Misty breaks down:Why the growth-obsessed, relationship-oriented stylist is burnt out in a different way than the industry usually talks aboutHow constant consumption of education creates a false sense of productivity — without anything actually changingWhat you actually need more of (hint: it's not another podcast)Why connection with other ambitious women in the industry might be the most underrated tool for your growthThe announcement of something Misty has been dreaming up for years — an intimate retreat in Costa Rica, spring 2027, for the stylists who are done pretending they need another keynote speakerThis one's for the stylists who already know a lot — and are finally ready to trust what they know.hairstylist personal development podcast, salon owner burnout, stylist mindset podcast, personal growth for hairstylists, hair industry retreat 2027, Costa Rica retreat for stylists, overcoming information overload stylists, ambitious hairstylist podcast

If you've been wondering whether your AI use is helping or quietly hurting your business — this episode is the one you didn't know you needed.Misty sits down with her longtime friend, branding and marketing educator Jodie Brown, for a candid, no-shame conversation about how we're using AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude — and what we might be losing in the process. Jodie is a 15-year hairstylist-turned-online-business-owner who now works with beauty educators and creative entrepreneurs on branding, content strategy, and finding clients without chasing virality. She is a fundamentals girly — and this conversation reflects that.Listen to Jodie's Why you should stop using AI to edit your content Episode on Sought After Educator podcast. They talk about the real reason AI content feels flat (hint: it's not just the words), why outsourcing your ideas is literally atrophying your creative muscle, and the specific ways AI use can turn a creation process into a consumption process. They also get honest about where AI is actually useful — and where it's just expensive procrastination.This isn't an anti-AI episode. Misty uses Claude to edit podcast descriptions, pull clips, and organize voice note brain dumps. Jodie has AI tutorials inside her own program. But both of them agree: there's a version of AI use that is genuinely helpful, and a version that is quietly eroding your brand, your trust, and your creativity.In this episode, you'll hear:Why AI-generated content is flattening brand voices across the beauty industry — and why your clients noticeThe "intern analogy" for understanding what AI actually is (and isn't)What Misty realized when she stopped using AI to generate her own ideas — and what came backThe difference between a creation process and a consumption process (and which one AI can trigger)Why Jodie calls over-reliance on AI "the new procrastination busy work"The ethical line when it comes to using AI for knowledge you don't actually haveReal, practical use cases for AI that DON'T flatten your voiceWhy your opinion, your perspective, and your lived experience are non-negotiable in 2026The "show me instead of telling me" prompt that Jodie uses to unlock new creative anglesWhy Misty believes the real message is: stop outsourcing the human experienceFind Jodie Brown:Instagram: @‌itsjodiebrownPodcast for hairstylists: Hairstylist RisingPodcast for educators + coaches: Sought After Educatorhairstylist podcast, salon owner personal development, beauty industry business, brand voice, AI for hairstylists, content creation for stylists, Starting Messy podcast, Misty Jayne coaching, beauty business mindset, hairstylist burnout, salon suite owner, creativity for stylists

Learn More at www.Mistyjayne.comIn this solo episode, Misty gets honest about the one thing that separates the burnt-out in-demand stylist from the happy, peaceful, in-demand stylist: the inner work that happens before you ever walk through the salon door.This isn’t about a new booking system or a price increase strategy. This is about YOU. Because the calm atmosphere, the clear communication, the client retention, the boundaries that hold — none of it starts at your station. It starts with who you are outside of it.Misty breaks down the five habits that thriving stylists practice every single day, and why these skills aren’t salon skills at all — they’re life skills that bleed into your business in the most powerful way.In This Episode You’ll Learn:Why hairstylists are the center of their communities — and why that makes your personal growth a ripple effect that goes far beyond the chairThe 5 things happy, peaceful, in-demand stylists do differently (and how to build each one)Why clear communication is a self-development skill first — not a salon skillHow carrying a calm, regulated energy directly affects your clients’ experience and your retentionWhy your boundaries are a self-worth issue, not a business issueWhat it really means to be present behind the chair — and how to clear the mental and emotional ‘mess’ that gets in the wayHow creating a safe space for clients starts with your own inner security — and a real story of owning a mistake that built unshakeable client trusthairstylist podcast, salon owner personal development, hairstylist mindset, beauty business growth, hairstylist burnout, in-demand hairstylist, salon owner self-care