10.18.2023
Episode 240: Giovanni Vaccaro, Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer at Glamsquad
Summary
Growing up in a family restaurant, Giovanni Vaccaro was accustomed to the hospitality industry, but at a young age he realized that he was destined for a different type of hospitality. An experience at a hair salon watching the transformation women underwent in the chairs from slouching to smiling after a beauty treatment left him feeling that this was a world he needed to be a part of.
While Gio knew where he wanted to be, how to get there was a different story. Gio tells us of a moment that changed everything: a recruiter from a top salon had come to his cosmetology school-here was an opportunity staring him in the face. He knew that putting himself out there would be risky, uncomfortable even, but the pay off? That could be huge. So he went for it, he asked for a job. And it worked! Gio landed a job as a Shampoo Assistant at renowned salon Frédéric Fekkai & Co. and showed that he was willing to start small and work hard.
Fast-forward and Gio knows the business inside and out and saw that the industry was changing, but not in a way that supported the beauty pros. He thought, “Why not treat the beauty professional like the client?” From there, Gio and his partner David Goldweitz built Glamsquad to be a hospitality-first brand for beauty professionals to book opportunities for events, fashion weeks, shows, photo shoots and more.
For more on Gio’s career journey and to find out the beauty of the “bro-walk” listen to Giovanni’s episode wherever you get your podcasts!
So when that moment is in front of you, you may not know it. But there's so much discomfort in putting yourself out there. And in that moment, I put myself out there and got the gig I wanted.
Giovanni Vaccaro
Transcript
| Announcer | Welcome to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ hosted by Jodi Katz, Founder and Creative Director of Base Beauty Creative Agency. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Hi, Jodi. |
| Jodi Katz | Hello, Aleni. Great to see you. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Good to see you too. And to welcome everyone back. We had a little bit of an end of summer break, but we are back today with an episode continuing our Artistry theme. |
| Jodi Katz | I love this episode. This is with Giovanni Vaccaro. He's a Co-Founder of Glamsquad and I've watched him on social for a very long time, but I got to meet him in person recently at a Women's Wear Daily event. So that's what gave me the idea to invite him to the show. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Oh, I love that Glamsquad is one of those brands that I was so excited to see it coming up on our upcoming episodes because it's just such a buzzed about thing and so many people in my circle, you know, use the service and I'm really excited to hear more and one thing I know that comes up in this episode is what Gio calls “bro walks,” the concept of kind of instead of going for coffee or lunch meeting, he goes for walks. And it reminded me a little bit of what our leadership team got up to this summer. And our quarterly workshops are always great to kind of get moving and get our ideas flowing in the outdoor air. |
| Jodi Katz | Yeah, I love walking and talking. When I socialize. I typically ask a friend to meet up for a walk instead of for a meal. So I love that Gio is using it as a way to connect with people in new ways. |
| Aleni Mackarey | Yeah, so innovative, and I'm curious to hear how that permeates through his leadership. Let's get to this great conversation. Here is Giovanni Vaccaro, Episode 240. |
| Jodi Katz | Welcome to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™. We are career journey podcast talking about what it's like to define success and reach for it in the beauty and wellness industries. Today we are wrapping up our Artistry and Influencing theme with Giovanni Vaccaro, Co-Founder of Glamsquad and former brand ambassador and senior stylist for Frédéric Fekkai as a top hairdresser in New York City. He parlayed his experience in hairstyling with his passion for innovation and hospitality by starting the mobile beauty app Glamsquad, which helps you get ready in the comfort of your own home with top artists. I'm excited to get into this conversation about his career journey from salon stylist to Glamsquad leader on Episode 240. Hi Gio, welcome to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Hi, thank you for the introduction. That was great. |
| Jodi Katz | I'm so excited to have you here. And two o'clock is not unusual time for recording episodes. So I'm curious, what would you've been doing today? If you weren't recording with me right now? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Oh, I wouldn't be in meetings, for sure. So thank you for taking me out of them. I appreciate that. |
| Jodi Katz | I want to shout out to Simona your CMO or I know from back in the day and she helped make this happen today. We're gonna get started geo with my favorite questions. Since this is a career journey show. I want to go way back way back to when we were all ambitious little kids. So what did 11 year old do want to be when he grew up? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | I grew up in Westchester, New York, and I come from an immigrant Italian family. And my dad is five, seven and my mom is five, two. So you'll understand where I'm going with this in a second. I was very athletic. I love basketball. I love soccer. I love football, but never wanted to be an NBA player. Because I just thought there's no way this is happening. Like I'm not, I'm not built for this in stature. I'm five nine now. So I think I made a pretty okay. But I wanted to be an NBA coach. And I wanted to be a coach I loved seeing Pat Riley for those of you who are sports fans, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson and the Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and had loved how I guess how much command they had of their teams itself. It seemed like they were with them in it together. And there was just a level of, I guess, relationship and camaraderie that I loved. And so it was never about the sport itself. It was more about the relationship between coach and player. So I think that I've kind of found how that has evolved into my own life. But yeah, a basketball coach. |
| Jodi Katz | I love this because, like being in the query or in your coaching, like literally, yeah, and I'm sure when you're on the floor as a stylist, there was somebody there really coaching and guiding. So I love how this theme is going to leave. It's the ride. So let's talk about the other place. You could have landed for a career in your family business. Tell us about that. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Yeah, so I come from the hospitality world. My father, immigrant Italian, you could not have stereotyped anymore came from Sicily and then comes to New York and like at 17 opens up his first pizzeria. So like, he was living the American dream. That was not my dream. And it was an incredible business. He had a bunch of restaurants at the time. He still has a couple of them. He still works many hours. But for me, what I captured in those moments as I worked for him at a very young age was this idea of hospitality. This idea of, you know, taking care of people serving people meeting them where they're at At going above and beyond, and it's very easy to see that in that world, you're serving somebody food, you see the experience you've created for them. And then you get that sort of instant gratification afterwards. And it's like, thumbs up, or thumbs down. This is great. I loved that part of the business. But I didn't love the business itself. So I had to make a very tough, uncomfortable decision at a very young age to say, I'm going to take the path less traveled in my family and not follow suit and take over the family business, I'm going to create my own path. And at 17, I was very proud of myself for for doing that, I think, obviously, would have been an easier path to take. And I'm proud that I was able to do my own thing. |
| Jodi Katz | I want to talk about that path. So you're 17 years old, you know what you want to do, which surprises me that any 17 year old really not that they wanted to do what you did, so what was it? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Well, I didn't really and I'm sure your listeners probably you know, at that age, you really don't know what you want to do. But I started getting signs of what I was attracted to. And I was also learning what I was not attracted to what did I not want to do? But I was, again, I love the hospitality world. And I was studying psychology and I love people. But I'd love people on a very like deep level and not like surface big circles. You know, socialite, that's, that's not who I am. For me. It was much more about the depth of building relationships with people and my circle is very small intentionally. So when I was at that age, I had a friend who was his mom was had a salon in Greenwich, Connecticut, I'd go there after school. And I would observe and watch this transformation that was happening in the salon client comes in. She doesn't look confident, she already but there was an energy that was like non existent or it was low. And then there was a lack of confidence in St. She slouching in a chair haircut happens. All of a sudden, she styled and she looks she can take on the world. And I quickly fell in love with that transformation. I was like, I want a part of that. Because I love making people look people feel good. I said, Well, sure I can make people, I'm sure I can learn this craft and make people look good. I love the one on one in the relationship and as loved the idea of helping to build someone else's confidence and their self expression. So I had never done here before. I didn't I don't have any sisters. I'm one of three boys. I've never done my mom's hair, who was my biggest fan and it still is. But she allowed me to test every single hair cut and color and product on her hair. So God bless her for allowing that to happen. But I realized that at early age before my 20s that I wanted to be a hairstylist. |
| Jodi Katz | Okay, so I love this idea of making people feel cared for and this element of hospitality, how does one get their first job at a salon? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Well, how does somebody do it? So I went to a great cosmetology school in New York called Capri Cosmetology. And I knew from the second I walked through those doors, I said, I think I need to work harder than everyone else, because I do not have this natural skill set. That is not the case, I've got no sisters never touched hair before on anybody else's head. And I'm in a school with 25 other women who have had their own hair, or sisters or moms that they're working their craft on. So they've done braids, before they've done up dues. They've done all of these styles, I've done nothing. So I knew I had to work harder for myself to really push myself to learn how to hold the brush, how to hold scissors how to do all of these things, right? And I did. My big thing is you never know when that person in front of you is going to change your life. And there was one person who showed up at my school. And she was doing a demo, but really she was there for recruiting. And she was at the salon that everybody talked about Frédéric Fekkai. This is back in early 2000s. And I'm like, I gotta get a job at this place. This is the only this is the only place I'm working at. I'm not working anywhere else. I don't care about the other salons. She comes in and she does a demo. I'm raising my hand. I'm asking all the questions probably annoying, but I was like she's not leaving this place. Without knowing that I'm her guy. And sometimes that's my personality. Sometimes it's not but something came over me. I was like, I need to speak to Jenna. And so before she leaves, I pulled her aside and I was like, you gotta give me a job at Fekkai. You gotta give me a job because you haven't even graduated yet. Like there's so many people that want a job here, but you seem great. So like, just hit me up after you graduate, and I'll see if I can get you in. And I said, Sure. And I'll start at the bottom. I don't care. I ended up the day that I graduated school actually the day before because I was like I'm going to have this in my hands is this diploma. I sent her a message and she goes great. A week later, I have my interview. The next day, I have the approval to be a Fekkai shampoo, shampoo assistant started from the bottom. Like, that's just what how it happened. And I was a shampoo sister for a year and a half. And I loved it. And I gave the best shampoo, I swear I did. And, and that's how I did it. And I ended up I was there for 10 years of my career. So when that moment is front of in front of you, you may not know it. But there's so much discomfort in putting yourself out there. And in that moment, I put myself out there and I got the gig that I wanted. So I was really, really excited about that. |
| Jodi Katz | I love this story. And you're really being so vulnerable, right when you like raise your hand and try to get notice and pull someone aside and ask for help. But it's so important because no one's going to do this for you. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | That’s exactly right. And I, and I don't. And I don't always do that. That's the thing. There was something in that moment that made me say I need to go for this. And there's many times in my life, I have many other examples where the putting yourself out there. rarely have I been, rarely have I been negatively impacted. By putting myself out there. I'm become more proud of myself for doing so. So for any of the viewers or listeners who struggle with that, as I've done in the past, it's like, sometimes just once you pass through that discomfort, you can only be proud of yourself afterwards. |
| Jodi Katz | There's so much dignity building and walking through that wall, right? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Yes, very much. |
| Jodi Katz | Okay, so a year and a half shampooing, eight and a half years of building relationships in your chair. When did you get this idea for mobile beauty. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | So the beauty industry wasn't really evolving salons or salons. You call, you make an appointment, client comes to see you. The freelance economy was still, I would say, very lonely. And people struggled. I had friends all over the industry, the industry is very, very tight and very smart. So friends all over the industry. And I was getting this sense that something was something was gonna break, there was product and tool innovation. But there wasn't really industry wide innovation. And for me, I always love transforming my clients. I always love transforming the people around me. That's why I love coaching and supporting people and making people around me work better and think better and achieve their dreams. The idea had come to me and my business partner who's still my business partner today, David goway. It's very different industry and is, you know, has a very different brain. But he's incredible at what he does, we start to think through how do we how do we support a beauty professional community different than today. So pros, as we know, freelancers, it's a lonely job. You're trying to build your own book, you've got you got to rent places to do hair to do make up any of those things, you got to ask for the two of you got to move clients around all of these things that I felt like, there's no umbrella brand that can do this for you in 2013 2014. And so we started to think through that. And we said, hey, we'll be a hospitality first brand, we're going to serve and take care of our pros, we're gonna treat them like clients. We're going to build our client community through our bros made a great connections at the time in New York and other places as well. And we started really building Glamsquad. For the pros. Yes, access for clients to be able to have the convenience of doing Glamsquad in your own home was absolutely a byproduct of this too. But to be able to build it for the pro community to give them opportunities, Fashion Week's shows, photoshoots events, influencer activations that they didn't have before, that they had to find themselves. And so that was the key for us and never had, I've been more proud. You know, we're 10 to 10 years in now. But I remember our first event for our beauty professionals in New York, and I talk to my business partner Dave about this all the time. That moment where we had our first event that 30 out of 30 Pros showed up which I mean that attendance rate is pretty fantastic. And you just saw it in people's faces that they felt like they were being they would be joined something that was special and transformative by the way that we treated them and the way that we made them feel and by the opportunities that we gave them so we knew that we were onto something. |
| Jodi Katz | So we were talking about this the inception of Glamsquad being really pro first by giving them community which is so fascinating to me because of course I realized that you are giving pros other ways to earn an income right other than just standing in the salon. But it feels so consumer first to me that I'm almost caught off guard that this was actually like built for pros first. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Yeah. And that's great as a consumer that you'd feel that way because it I think creates more attraction to Glamsquad, but for so, under the hood, we are, we're a Pro driven brand, we with every decision we make, we think about how that's going to impact our BD professionals, as well as our clients. So it's the empty chair concept. And you know, in the meeting room, it's like, you've got one for the client, you got one for the Pro. And you think about what decisions are we making? What initiatives are pushing forward? And how are they going to positively impact her client? And how are they going to positively impact our Pro, and if it's just impacting the business, meaning we make more money, usually, it gets pushed aside, and we move on to something else. |
| Jodi Katz | So let's talk about some mindset stuff. Because you said something earlier that you keep your circle really small in terms of your relationships, which I also find super fascinating, because with your personality and the industry you're in, I would think that you'd have to have a huge circle that you'd have to just kind of be everything for everyone in a sense. So tell me about how the you're creating these boundaries and what they mean to you. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Well, I do have a nice network. So that's, that's, that's important beauty. It's a very big industry and knowing people, and adding value in their lives is really, really important. That said, my wife is the opposite. She comes from the beauty world as well, I think you know, of her, and she has a huge circle, and loves talking to new people and different people, and everyone is our friend. And I think that's a beautiful thing, too. I think where I have, what I've really found about myself, is that I love going below the surface and getting deep. And so what I found is that having those relationships with people, it's hard to go deep with everyone really is. So I always look at how do I create depth with my friends, my family and the people in my life in my life. It requires a lot more attention per person. And I have to admit, I'm not good at this. I'm getting better at it. I promise you. I've done a lot of work on this. But that boundary creation is so important. Because as a creative as somebody who runs a business, as somebody who was a hairstylist for one of the top salons in the country, saying yes was very important. And it continues to be important in my life. But creating those boundaries, because yes, has gotten me some amazing things. Like I don't want to lie. I mean, I've said yes. And it's gotten me, you know, trips to do hair in Italy, because of the Yes, I said six months ago. So I think yes, I'm available is a beautiful thing. I think when it starts impacting your soul, where you actually feel like I'm saying yes to please. But that guess is not pleasing me. Then I think your boundary. Like I think the pendulum has swung a little bit too far to one side. |
| Jodi Katz | I think we're a lot of like, I know a lot of people and I like a lot of people, but I don't feel connections, deeper connections with everybody. And when I want to build real friendships, not just knowing people, but like real friendships, I really do want it to be with someone who's not just surface, right. But it's hard to find. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Yes, it's very, it's very hard to find. And not only is it hard to find, but it's also sometimes uncomfortable to put yourself out there and you don't know how that's going to be reciprocated by the other individuals as a man in this world, that it's also very hard to find, I can tell you that, you know, a lot of times guys want to talk about sports and money and business and, you know, partners. And what I have tried to do is actually break away from that as much as I possibly can and really open up that conversation, which is really uncomfortable sometimes when you're talking to other guys, especially in group settings. So I'm with you, it's hard to find, but what I found is that a lot of people want to go out there, and they're just waiting for that door to open up. They're just waiting for the door to open up so that it's like cool, I want to step through. And I found that that has been it's added a lot of value to my life, for sure. |
| Jodi Katz | And love that. I feel like I have an added level of complexity. I don't drink or drug and I feel like that's a real comfort for people right to have the drink in their hand. So I'm, you know, I feel like I'm probably come on really strong because I'm like, I'm craving real connection craving like daps I'm, you know, almost asking people to do it without their comforts of, you know, a buzz, right. So it's, especially with limited time, right? Like, I want to spend my time at work. I have a lot of fun at work. I'm gonna spend my time with a family. So like what's left over for like building friendships. It's not really that much, right. So I'm committed to doing it. But I see that like I'm always kind of climbing up a hill. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Absolutely. I said one quick story. I had a friend of mine in the area. I live in Westchester and it's a guy who hasn't For a year and a half now he's wonderful. He's like a guy's guy. I said to him yesterday, hey, let's, let's get together in the afternoon, evening. And he goes, cool. Do you want to grab a drink at this place locally? And I said, we can do that. Or we can go for in the moment, I called it a bro walk. And I was like this, do you want me to go for a walk and just talk and he's like, a bro walk? Let's do that. That sounds healthier. And I feel like we can have real conversation. We walked for two hours together. |
| Jodi Katz | Oh, that's so nice. No alcohol, no food. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | We didn't eat. And of course, I got a text message last night saying like, “Man, that was that was pretty awesome. I've never done that before.” So. |
| Jodi Katz | I love that when my kids were little, and I was meeting a lot, a lot of new parents like preschool and stuff. I had to figure out like, how do I make new friends, right? Because like, you make friends in school, and then you make friends at work. And then then you make friends with, you know, parent, friends, if you have little kids. It's like a resource too. But like, I had to figure out like, how do I find where my people are? And it's the people who would be like, Oh, hey, do you want to meet up? And like, instead of saying, like, oh, let's go for drinks again, bombed? Like the people who said, Oh, you want to go for a walk? Be like, Yeah, this is like, this is this feels right? Like, I can do this, right? It's a great way to get to know each other. So it that's sort of a lens that I've used to figure out, like, you know, where can I put my time, and a walk and talk is the best. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | And that can also influence your your business world as well. I mean, where we're still work from home, but for those who work in offices, and are together, taking taking walking meetings, I found, you know, in my former life, I Glamsquad, where I was, you know, in person, I found that to just be really not only productive, but there's a different level of connection. And there's so much science behind how the brain works with movement versus, you know, being stagnant. And so I think it, I think it translate to business as well. |
| Jodi Katz | I love that. Yeah, we try that every once in a while. We're mostly work from home organization. So sometimes when we get together, it's walk and talk. But we did it, we did a leadership team meeting in New Jersey in the town that I live in. And that was really productive. The Walking and talking in New York is a little harder, like the stopping the light, like the noise. But in the suburbs that worked really, really well. Okay, last topic, this topic is really important to me. And it's the seduction of success. So we're in an industry, that's super fun. We're surrounded by people who are smart, ambitious, we see everybody leveling up around us. And then we get a taste of like reaching our goals, I'll speak for myself, I'll get a taste of reaching for my goals, I'll reach for it. I like the way it tastes. And I want more. But getting more of that means more hours, you know, on my computer, more hours traveling more hours working, but balance with the fact that will actually like I don't want to be working all the time, I wanted to be like hanging out with my kids or watching the Real Housewives or whatever it is that I like to do. So I find a seduction happening with success and reaching success and wanting more. And I'm wondering if you've had that experience and how you would manage it for yourself. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Such a great complex question. I have had many moments in my life where I have been really proud of the success that I built for chi, add Glamsquad, starting nothing, and then turn to transforming it into what it is today. So there's been the moments of like, financial success and success, I would say, the social proof of success, people see you, they say, wow, you're doing great now that all of a sudden, you know, gives me the dopamine hit that I'm looking for. When I look back at the moments in my life now at almost 40. And I look at where I felt the journey was the most exciting, the most fulfilling, which is how I measure success now, it would be starting something new. It would be a transformative moment in my life, not the money that came with it. Not the end result. And I know this could sound a little bit cliche, but it's very true. I mean, I journaled about this, I have a life coach that I work with. And I go back to these moments. And I'm like, What's the biggest measure of success for me? And really knowing what that is? So for those who are watching, define success for yourself. What is Success? Success to some people is I want to make a million dollars this year. Great. What are you going to sacrifice? Because you're going to have to sacrifice something? Well, I want to spend time with my kids. We might not be able to I want to travel and vacation to Europe for the whole month summer. That's not going to happen. So really defining what success is. And then what do you think it will require? What do you have to say yes to and what will you have to say no to and that's something that I have worked through for the past couple of years in this like COVID In the world of you know, being with my family is incredibly important to me having raising my kids, as a father, I want to be an involved Dad, I want to see them. I want to have great nights with my wife and and treat her the way that I believe she should be treated. And that might put some pressure on my career. What are the trade offs? What how do you define success? And what are you going to say no to? And what better boundaries are you going to create? This is all a work in progress, by the way, I promise you it, it goes well, sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. But it's really, really important to really know what success actually looks like in means, because I think a lot of us associated with money or fame or acclamations, or you know, social proof, and Halo stuff is all great. But like, you really have to feel that deep down inside. And your soul will let you know what success actually means to you. |
| Jodi Katz | I love this response. Because it's actually touching a nerve. For me, I was recently in conversation with my business coach. And we were talking about how long I've had my business based beauty. It's been just about 17 years since a really long time, he asked me Could I have done what I'm doing now faster? Right? Like, how could I have gotten to this point faster? And I certainly could have, by I like completely led my decision making by my initial personal goal, which was so I'd be the mom the way I want to be a mom. So yeah, of course, I could have done it faster, I could have not have been the mom the way I wanted to be a mom and I have, you know, I had the flexibility and opportunity to do that. I could have just ignored all my, you know, maternal instincts and desires. But I didn't have to sacrifice anything to take the slow path, right. But I would have had to sacrifice a lot to take the fast one. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | That's right. So you you intuitively were designing that life for yourself knowing full well that you could have gotten some are faster, but what would have been impacted would have been your relationship potentially with your family. |
| Jodi Katz | Right? And with myself, right? This is this was a personal desire. Nobody said this is what mothering looks like, right? Like I decided what I wanted it to look like for myself. So I started my own company to honor that figure out how to work at the same time. And really, I'm so proud of myself for sticking to it all these years. It's beautiful. And then in the end, I have you know, like, I think I'm a really good mom. You know, I really have I enjoy it. And I also get to enjoy my work. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Yeah, that's beautiful. My Life Coach said to me something a couple weeks ago, I was like that I need to I need to steal that. Design it how you want it. And you really need to know how you want it to actually design it. And so that's something that I have in the back of my mind every time that I'm doing something that is going to have some sort of impact on my life. Is this how I would actually design? |
| Jodi Katz | I love this conversation. I feel like you and I can talk forever. I'm going to transition a sorry after show to be mindful of time. So thank you, Gio. That wraps up our interview segment. I really appreciate appreciate your wisdom and honest answers. Okay, so let's get to our final part of the show, which is found questions. Oh, this is really sweet. What is your first memory of having an interest in hair? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | My first memory and having interest in hair was when I was 16 years old. And I was watching TV and Heidi Klum at the time was showing her new hair cut. And I saw it go from one thing to like, I think she had crazy, super sharp, very cool bangs. And I was like, Oh, that totally changed her face. And her hair was shorter. And I was like, somebody did that to her. That's really, really cool. That's my first memory of thinking, Oh, this could be something. But very quickly. Funny enough. My mom was on a plane to Toronto because your family in Toronto, and the lady I was with my mom and the lady who sat next to us. I was like seven years old. The lady who sat next to us said to her, I just want to tell you I think he's going to be a hair hairstylist who grows up. |
| Jodi Katz | Wait when you were 7. So why did she think that? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | I haven't even gone that far. I'm like still trying to process this, you know, 32 years later. But yes, she said and I wish I knew who she was. She had an intuition for sure. |
| Jodi Katz | Wow. Okay, Lou was listening and asked a really great question. This is a big one. How do you prepare yourself to handle the responsibilities and role changes when you transition from being a stylist on the floor to running your own business? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Wow, that's a fantastic question. I am still active. As a hairstylist. I still cut hair and I still take clients. I would say that a lot of the same character and a lot of the same tools apply. They really do. Because when you're one on one with clients, what are you trying to do? You're trying to understand you're trying to consult with them understand what they need, what they want, what are the desired desires, you're trying to make them feel seen, valued and understood in your own way. And then you're trying to create a space and an energy for them where they look great, they feel great, and they can thrive when they leave you. And I'm like, well, all of that can apply in the business world. I want to run my meetings with compassion, and understanding without having to negatively impact effectiveness, I want to make sure that the people around me that I'm consulting, communicating incredibly well with them. So community communication is key, transparency, listening, the way I listen to my clients in the same way that I listen to my team gathering feedback. So I actually think a lot of the same tools apply from being a hairdresser, and helping to transform somebody's life in that moment, to being a business owner, and leader and helping to transform your business and your team's life individually. And collectively. |
| Jodi Katz | I love that. Okay, I think we have time for one last question we can squeeze in, okay. Oh, this is really hard one to completely change careers today, like walk away from beauty, what would you be inspired to do? |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | To completely walk away from beauty? From the beauty industry? Let's say I am. I love people. And so I know that my path will continue on in the service and hospitality industry. I love the idea of coaching people. I love the idea of building people up. So I find that I'm a big personal development guy. I love podcasts. I love listening to all of the men and women out there and we're doing incredible things and helping people create the best version of themselves. I become much more built into my faith and and also I have a science and spiritual side of me as well. So I would say that the personal development, mindset space, I think is the most fascinating to me. And I think that there's a lot of great stuff happening there. So I'm very, very much inspired by that. |
| Jodi Katz | Cool. Well, this takes us to the end of our 240th episode Gio, so thank you for being a part of that. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Wow. Congratulations to you. That's a major. |
| Jodi Katz | Thank you when I'm with you next time we're eating rainbow cookies together. I've got a jersey. Thank you so much for joining us and to our fans. If you'd like this episode, please rate and review. And as always, make sure you're following us on your favorite podcast platform and Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming episodes and all the fun we have along the way. Thank you for joining us. Thank you Gio. |
| Giovanni Vaccaro | Thank you so much for having me. Thank you, goodbye. |
| Announcer | Thanks for listening to WHERE BRAINS MEET BEAUTY™ with Jodi Katz. Tune in again for more authentic conversations with beauty leaders. |
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