Twenty Years of Hair Care on the Internet.. Do You Know More Today? By Kerry Hines

It's been almost twenty years since I published my first newspaper article, Should You Trust Your Hair Care to the Internet?  That article inspired many folks to think about the hair care advice they were giving and receiving over the Internet.

The Internet was very new and not many hairstylists were actually on the Internet.  There were many who did not trust the information that was on the 'net.  It could be argued that we weren't very trusting of anything at that time, especially something brand new.  That didn't really stop the DIYers of the day to sprout out whatever they wanted.  This was before there were real search engines and long before other checks and balances were in place.  The 'hair highway' was open but not much traffic.

The original article really asked if you should have a virtual hairstylist and should you really give over the reigns to your hair care.  I realized that if this article were written today the trust factor wouldn't be a factor anymore.  Today, everyone trusts the Internet, at least in most ways.

Today, it's not so much whether you should trust your hair care to the Internet but should you trust any stylist who is not on the Internet with your hair care needs.  This raises the question, are we better off today than we were before the boon of the Internet?  We're talking about what's pertinent to hair care?

Twenty years ago, we essentially had to choose a hairstylist by word of mouth.  Today we can easily ask for advice via social media.  Twenty years ago, we were only familiar with the hair products that were in our bathroom cabinets that were handed down by our mothers.  Today, we are flooded with product companies vying for our attention -again via social media.

Twenty years ago, we had the picture books in the salons and barber shops that showed us the latest styles.  Today, there is Instagram.  Again, social media wins the day.

The elephant in the room would have to be the advice -itself.  twenty years ago you really had no option but to pretty much wing it.  If you happen to catch the advice on caring for your hair after you left he salon, you were lucky.  Today, you can Google it, YouTube it and just about every other social media 'platform it'.

Twenty years of speeding on the 'hair super highway'.. Do you know more today?

Part Two: How to Turn Your Mistakes Into Entrepreneurial Gold by Kerry Hines

PART TWO:  How to Turn Your Mistakes Into Entrepreneurial Gold
I wanted to thank all of you for the wonderful feedback on the original article.  I had to incorporate that feeling of helping to change lives into a follow up piece.  I've been told it was these inspiring words from the top of the original article that connected with so many of you.

It's hard to believe but even a mistake has a purpose..
How do you take your past errors and use them to your advantage?  Many of us don't realize that our mistakes are part of the success plan.  They don't realize that our mistakes are really elements of success turned inside out.  Yes. Even mistakes have a purpose.

I believe that your past serves the greatest purpose of all in connecting you with your success.  The reason that I believe this to be true is that, just
like a unique fingerprint, so is your past.  It belongs to you and you alone.  That makes your singular experience into the best learning tool in building a foundation for your future success.  No one can have a future who does not have a past.

Many think that there is a reason for everything and if that is true then your past also represents something.  There's more than the obvious correlation between learning how not to repeat mistakes from the past.  That's a good thing but understanding why those mistake have made you into the unique person you are is the idea.  It's that uniqueness that lends itself to your success.

I guess the first thing that we must do is learn to forgive ourselves from the things that you just didn't do right.  Have you ever noticed those who made a myriad of mistakes have made the most productive lives.

Learning to look at your life with an open mind and be grateful for the mistakes made.  Also, have patience and understanding when dealing with others and focus on a positive future.  You'll accomplish your goals with few missteps.

How Hitting the Bumps Can Lead to Success by Kerry Hines

Not many will say but life's bumpy road is one of the preparations of success.  An uneasy and often difficult and unpleasant journey should be anticipated.  The success should not be viewed as merely a financial reward at the end of a rainbow but the long arduous task of daily pursuing your goals.  I have always believed it is that pursuit that not just leads you to success but IS the success!

One of the other big preparations is the cultivation of many relationships along life's bumpy road.  I have come across many who are fantastic supporters of your ideas and those who are mystified by your guts to pursue your dreams.  I have said there are bodies everywhere and some have served as speed bumps.  And yes, there is a purpose for these and all kinds of relationships, too!

My favorite stop along the bumpy road is that of financial resources.  You never have quite enough and the road is definitely a lot bumpier without it.  I think we all can agree that one of the most important components of any business is that of financial resources.

The bumpiest part of the road of success may actually be your product.  It's not without trial and tribulation that you develop the 'perfect' products.  Market research is a beneficial tool but even that is not full proof.  I've been absolutely jarred by choosing products or services that just shouldn't have been part of a business model.  This is how you endure the bumps until you get to the smooth road.

Is there really a such thing as a smooth road in business?  No.  I guess you have to re-pave your own road by making your difficult and unpleasant challenges the success you anticipated.

NYC Salons & Barber Shops.. HaiRadio.com 2nd Annual Food Drive

The 2nd Annual HaiRadio.com Food Drive will be kicking off again in October!


The holiday season is right around the corner and there are many families around New York City who don't have much to eat, not just during the holiday season but everyday.  HaiRadio.com's home in Brooklyn, New York is spearheading efforts within the local hair and beauty industry.  As we get closer to the holidays, we're asking for area hair salons and barber shops who will be joining us this year to set up a box in October to collect canned goods like tuna and salmon, vegetables, fruits, packaged macaroni and cheese, peanut butter in plastic jars and packaged hot and cold cereals. Let us know if your shop will be participating, we'd love to hear from you!   We'll start gathering these items in October, 2014.  We'll collect and disseminate the goods as we move closer to the holidays.  Send an email to Kerry@hairadio.com to get more details and join us!


If you're outside of New York City but want to get involved ..  What else can we do to make a difference?  Please contact your local church or help center.  Let us know what you're doing in your city and cities across America.. Take pics and send the to us.  We'd like to share that on HaiRadio.com

Get involved!
www.HaiRadio.com

Are You A Hair Legend And Don't Know It by Kerry Hines

Could You Already Be a Hair Legend?  We're talking about from a professional hairstylist perspective.  We'll later take a look at some of those legendary clients who have shaped our culture with their own amazing style in an upcoming installment.  Now, I've been in and around the hairstylist  superstars for close to twenty years and I think I've finally figured it out.  These days you have the Internet and many hairstylists have literally built their careers and owe a great deal of gratitude to the Internet.  If you compare those times with these, you'll re-think what makes a hair legend most.

Let's define "hair legend" for the sake of this piece.  This is an industry professional who has been in the game for decades and knows what his or her value is in the hair and beauty industry.  It's someone whose talent is only surpassed by their commitment to their community.  The hair and beauty world would not be the same without this person as this legendary person has carved their own place in hair Americana.  Can we all name someone who would fit the bill?  I think we can.

Does being a celebrity hairstylist make you a legend in the hair and beauty world?  Probably not, right?  It probably does in the entertainment world, though.   Does it take a reality show to make you a legend?  I think early on when reality shows were first beginning to gain a foothold in the hair and beauty industry, we thought we were going to only see the best of the best.  Like many other areas in the reality spectrum, we've seen the worst of the worst and plenty of it.  There a few shining spots that we have to recognize that, too!  I am not so much talking about any particular hairstylist but the behavior we've witnessed.  It is not very legendary becoming, shall we say.

So, could you already be a legend?  I think the word fits a lot of great hairstylists out there in the game.  If you really don't know whether you're a legend or not, I guess you're probably not.  At least, not yet.  Keep working on it and you never know.

I love that there is a braiding legend, a loc legend, a cosmetologist legend, etc.  The diversity in our hair spectrum is really the celebration and I think that makes everyone a legend.

Are Men Left Out of the Natural Hair Conversation by Kerry Hines

                                                         Are Men Left Out of the Natural Hair Conversation?

I've asked many women and for the most part, they say, they weren't aware there was a conversation to be had that didn't include men.  I'm not quite sure exactly what that means but here we go.

The natural hair movement exploded on to the scene approximately 25 years ago.  Depending on your look at the time frame, that could certainly be argued. That's fine.  It's not a surprise that one might expect to have any conversations about hair as something that should be discussed by women.  If that's your mindset, then this would certainly make sense.  

I believe that natural hair is much more profound than the simple cosmetics of having your hair done. Your hair is part of a community statement and those statements include men who wish to wear their hair in a natural state.  By sheer tradition, that's every man, including those of other cultures. 

So, were men left out of the movement?  Is the movement still moving?  Does it now represent a bigger percentage of men that at the onset?  I believe the latter is true but with the emphasis in the media and in magazines, you really see a very uneven representation of men versus women with natural hair.  

Okay, so that's established what is the natural hair conversation about and is it too later for men to join?  The natural hair conversation has many layers to it and at the very root of it is acceptance.  I believe learning to accept your natural hair is a big part of the "big chop" process.  I've been around some men who say they wanted to start their own conversations about natural hair.  

Many men who wear their hair naturally are still fighting the good fight.  I did an unofficial poll and asked 5 men with natural styles,  Are men and women equal in the natural hair conversation?  4 out 5 said, "no".  I asked those men, "What will it take to gain entrance in to the conversation?"  They had no response and maybe that's the reason they are not part of the conversation.

What do you think?  Tweet Us.. @hairadio  or join the conversation  #menleftout

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How Much People Earn on the Internet by Kerry Hines

How Much People Earn on the Internet.. The better title of this should be, How Much People Can Earn on the Internet?  If you have an Internet business as opposed to a brick and mortar type business, does it generate more money?  If you're starting a business, should you create an online business instead?

How much are persons actually making with their homespun business ideas?  How do you generate the amount that's needed so that you can run a successful online business?  Do they also work from home?  There are many obvious answers that contribute to the many factors of earnings via the Internet.  I think this article will shed some light on the topic.  

I recall the first dollar that I made on the Internet, it was back in 2004.  I had just created the HaiRadio Broadcast Internet, the world's first 24 hour broadcast radio network on hair and beauty.  What I earned at that time versus the potential at that time was the size of an the Atlantic Ocean.  There are so many original careers that have transitioned from the traditional office setting to the Internet and the incomes have also gone along.  

If you're a writer, you can earn anywhere from $5,00 a year to over $75,000 a year.  It depends on the type of writing you're pursuing.  Someone who produces a web series that has a big following, has the potential to make 5 or even 6 figures a year.  This particular area depends greatly on the producer's effort to effectively market the show and make the necessary connections to possibly brand it with ancillary marketing, etc.

There are those who have started small businesses and are able to generate the high five figures to well over six figures.  We're not looking at the corporate giants who don't really count in this regard as there online efforts are just a continuity of their brick and mortar businesses.  They are successful because of their offline efforts and they are just discovering the benefits of switching to an online enterprise.

I believe that the earning potential online is greater than offline in the sense of the sheer reach of the Internet.  It exposes you to the world.  That's definitely not the case with a traditional offline business. We can safely say that how much people earn online or offline can only be limited by their beliefs and their will.
  

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If you have any comments on the topic.. Email me at Kerry@HaiRadio.com..