BIRD WILLIAMS: You're listening to Bird Means Business Episode 23.

Well hello there, and welcome to the Bird Means Business podcast. Y'all, I am so excited to introduce our guest that we have for this episode. Her name is Brandy Lisenbi, and she is just a jewel. She started Do or Dye Tx, a hair salon here in Houston, in 2011. And she is just an incredible person with an incredible story. I think you'll really learn a lot from just hearing about how she launched her hair salon, how she quickly had to move it, how it's like working with her business partner, and a lot of other really great things. I met Brandi actually through my gym, The League. She began to come, I think we actually knew her through her friend. Her and her husband, Jacob are just some of the best people, and she's awesome. She also has The Bueno Shop. She has, Do or Dye Brandi. She has Hair to Class. She has so many different businesses. So you can check her out on Instagram @buenobrandi, and you're going to just love her page. I like drool over it.  Her amazing plans. And she's such a fun and happy person and also really really transparent. So I'm just really excited to welcome her to the show today. Here we go. 

Brandi, thank you so much for being on the show today. I'm so happy you're here.

BRANDI LISENBE: I think that I'm really excited to be here with you today.

BIRD: Yes.

BRANDI: So nervous.

BIRD: You're gonna do great. It's gonna be so fun. I know that you're one of the owners of Do or Dye hair salon here in Houston. And you also own The Bueno Shop, right? Tell me a little bit about your businesses.

BRANDI: I am co-owner of Do or Dye. It’s a hair salon here in Houston. And my business partner is Grace Goodson, salty. And we've had this hair salon since 2011 now, and it's been a journey. It's been awesome like we've loved every minute of it. But we weren’t like we're going to be business owners, we're going to be, you know, salon owners. That was really never our intention. It was just kind of built out of necessity. So, we both started doing hair pretty early, and we knew that we wanted to work for ourselves, but we didn't know what that meant. So we both worked out of different salons that were booth rental. And eventually, we just like wanted more. We were in the Montrose area, and we worked with a couple of other girls, and we just wanted a better experience for our clients. And we wanted like a front desk. Someone to greet them. Someone gets them a drink. Someone to kind of take away from us, interrupting our clients when someone else would come in, you know. So we just started talking and we were like, we need to get a commercial space or a bigger space. And we need to hire a receptionist and that would elevate our clients’ experience like 100%. We just started talking it up, and eventually, it happened. And we opened up a salon out of a house in Montrose, another house, and got a receptionist, but we quickly like outgrew that. And I guess the lady across the street was trying to sell her house. Then we had issues with the lady across the street. And then they changed the rule of like parking, and we needed three parking spaces per client.

BIRD: Oh wow!

BRANDI: We had five people in the house. So that was then like 15 parking spaces. So we quickly had to find another space, so we were just in that house for three months before we had to go find another space for the salon. That was the first like, you know roadblock in that because we didn't just rent that house. Like we bought it for the salon. But thankfully now Grace lives in that house. So it definitely was a good investment for her. And a client of ours found this space that we're in right now because she went to Joy Yoga. And we took a look at it and it was pretty rough but we saw the vision and we saw what it could be. So we went for it. And it was bigger than, like what we needed, but we knew that people were gonna come, you know. Because when we were in the house people and friends that were also hairstylists wanted to like come on and join our team, but we didn't have space for them, so. It was interesting at first. So we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We just said that we wanted that space for us and then now we have a team of 11. 11 of us hairstylists and a receptionist.

BIRD: That's amazing. You know I love so much about that is, like how you said that you started with just a heart for basically serving people better, Like that customer experience and customer service. It was kind of similar for Terry and me whenever we launched The League. He was working at fitness studios all over Houston, but he didn't like the way they were doing it. He was like, man, they can tweak this or that. And they weren't really budging when he would give suggestions. And so he was like well I just want to do my own thing one day. I know a lot of people listening might be thinking, well how do I know if my business is going to work or what is the secret sauce? And I think when you think about the people you're serving and how you feel kind of elevates an experience that you already see. Or maybe you're working in an environment that can be better, and you provide a solution to the problem that you see. Like that is a huge key in making a business work.

BRANDI:  Totally, yeah. Like how you're making people feel. And you know like when Terry’s teaching a class, and someone just walks in. Like he has to stop the class. And then, you know, go over and talk to the person. And it just puts you in such an uncomfortable situation because you don't want to take away from your client. But you also don't want the person walking in your business, feeling shunned, or feeling alone, feeling confused or intimidated, you know. So having someone in the front to do that for you makes all the difference. Because when you walk in somewhere, it is intimidating walking into a business that you've never been in. And you just want to feel welcomed and loved, and you just want to immediately feel taken care of. So, that was super important, because that's what people remember whenever they leave your place of business.

BIRD: So true. So what was it like, kind of moving from the house into the more commercial space. Like I know you said you didn't know what you were doing and guess what I didn't either. I feel like none of us knows what we’re doing. How did you navigate that process? Were you just kind of looking at other salons and how they did it and figuring it out? Or what did that look like?

BRANDI: So, there was no other salon at the time that was doing what we were doing, which was, we were not doing commercial. We were not doing commission. Every stylist was their own business, and everyone paid rent. So it's like, it was one open area though. So no one coming in knew that every stylist was their own business. They thought that you know, this was just like one salon. So we had to figure out how to remain like a team and have that environment that we were a team. But also like respect that everybody was their own business. So, people were very confused when they like called in to like try to make an appointment. And we had to navigate and tell them how to make an appointment with each individual stylist. So then we're like, we need a website. We didn't think we were gonna need a website. But you do because then you can refer stylists and be like, you to contact them with their email, their phone number or however they want to book their appointment. That was one of the main obstacles. 

BIRD: I love that. I love that so much like what you're bringing out like so much. I just want to like jump around right now because I hear so many people starting a business, who think they have to have, you know their logo and their business cards and a website and all these things done before they actually start and you don't. Like there's nothing wrong with those things. They're great things. But it bothers me so much when those are the things that hold people up from starting. Because what you're saying is,  not only had you gotten into the house and then outgrew that space, and had to get into this new space before you had even started a website. Or it was like actually being in it was how you figured it out and learned that you needed something else. And so it's like, go and actually test your product and try and start and then figure it out as you go,

BRANDI: Trial and error.

BIRD: Yes, a lot of Google searching.

BRANDI: Yeah, and I'm like trying to think of some of the other things. Like just trying to like all agree on the same things and how we wanted to salon like branding and like vibe. And that's also why we had to come up with a name like Do or Dye, Texas. Our friend actually came up with it for us, because, you know me and Grace were in our businesses before. So she just went by her first name. My salon, like room, was called Sunshine Salon. Another girl that we worked with, she had like Blonde Salon. So when me and Grace came together and we're opening up this salon, we were like, well we just like one name. That was another thing that you know we had to come together and like, agree on it. And when we heard it, we're like, yes, that is it. Do or Die Texas. 

BIRD: And it seems like you and Grace met each other at that initial salon that you both worked with. How has your partnership been? I know people have a lot of questions around that. I've only ever worked with my husband, which I know people think is just like, oh it's so amazing. And I mean it is a lot of times. But a lot of times I'm like, ugh! So what has it been like having a business partner and how do you kind of work through, you know, things that maybe when you don't agree? Or how's it been?

BRANDI: Grace is the perfect business partner, for me, because she is so good at the numbers. And she's really good at seeing a big picture where like I can go a little like nutty and like go off brand, like hey what about if we do this. She’s like, okay Brandi, like hold it in. Don't get too carried away. But she's also good to bounce ideas off of, and I think a good word is like, practical. It's good to have somebody that you know is not good at the same things that you're good at, you know. We have totally different roles. 

BIRD: Yes, 100%. 

BRANDI: And I think a lot of the reason why a lot of businesses and business partners fail is because they're good at the same thing, and they want to do the same thing. And things get neglected, and it's actually like, You're too much alike so you're going to clash. But we have had, like, you know disagreementS. And we just like talk it out. We have meetings. We hear each other out. If she’s annoyed with me, I can kind of tell. So I just give her some space. But we do not like when you know the other person is upset with the other. So we try to figure it out immediately, because everyone on our team is like looking at us and if we're not getting along, then no one feels safe.

BIRD: That's so true. I love that and I 100% agree. I see the same thing in our business with Terry and I. We have two different roles and so it helps a whole lot when it comes to making decisions and navigating the business. I'm not trying to tell him how to program the workouts, you know. And he's not jumping into Excel saying, you know, we should think about our financials this way.

BRANDI: And we never even sat down, in the beginning, to say, hey this is your role, and this is your role. We just kind of just started doing things, and we stuck with, you know what worked. And the things that didn't work, we've like talked it out. Just recently we started trying to learn more of the systems and like inventory so that, like, if one of us is sick or not able to do something the other one knows how to do the other person’s. But I don't know, also, we're learning that all over again too.

BIRD: That's awesome. I love that. I'm all about systems. Like it lights me up. Systems and processes. And it's funny with all this stuff going on with COVID-19, I was on a mastermind call with my financial planner. She does it every month. It's amazing. And she asked us all if we had a business continuity or business disruption plan. It was like crickets. We were like what? And basically, that's what it was. It's like, given everything going on. Do you have a plan in place, where even if you were to die or something if you were to become incapacitated? How does your business run? Where all the things? What happens if the internet goes down? What happens if you can't work from the office and everyone's working from home? What does that look like? I was like that is brilliant. So having something, I know you're talking about it, just in terms of y'all not knowing everything and others being able to do those functions in your business. But that's so important for growth, you know? And just for ease of mind knowing that, okay, it's not all on me. If something were to happen to me, or even if I just want to take a vacation and not want to have to be bothered about how to upload the thing about the inventory, whatever it is. So I encourage new entrepreneurs like at the start of your business, to go ahead and write those things down. Record all of that so that it's something that you just kind of get used to and you get in a rhythm with. And so it can really help your business grow and scale faster.

BRANDI: Yes, I hope that nothing ever happens to Gracie. Because she does so much of the behind-the-scenes, and none of us see. Like, she talks with our tax guy. She does our orders. She was the one that you know, our landlord during all of this. She's like the brain, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I need her. So, this whole Coronavirus is making all businesses think about, you know, getting all these plans in place and like what changes we want to make in the future.

BIRD: Absolutely. It's real. I want to talk more about just entrepreneurship in general. Like what do you think is kind of one of the bigger misconceptions about entrepreneurship?

BRANDI: That's a good question. I think that a lot of people that know me, probably think that I have so much free time, and I don't really work. But it's not true. Like in reality you're working all the time and you don’t really stop. So, even if I'm not behind the chair. That's why, if I'm not at the salon, they think that I'm not working. But I'm home, I am working. And another one is like that you're rich or you get to take home like all this money, you know, and that's not true either. That you have to like take out, you know things for taxes and then you have to pay the bills and you have to pay for, like, especially like for stylists, themselves. Like going from commission, and then you start you know. The booth rent. The stylist has to pay for their chair, their rent. They have to pay for their product. They have to pay for an assistant if they're using an assistant. So when people are actually paying for a service, I think a lot of clients think, Oh, they get all this money, but they don't. And that was like the case with some of our stylists when they first came over to booth rent. Their clients even would say something like, oh this is so great, now you get all this money. But they don't. 

BIRD: I love that.

BRANDI: We have to pay bills just like everybody else.

BIRD: Right, and I love asking that question just to remind people when you're starting a business, it's important to be passionate about it. It's important to really love what you're doing because it is a lot of work. You're not just working when you're at the business. You're often working at home especially in the beginning phases. It's a lot. And it's not the glamour you see like #CEO. Like oh, I'm out here, stunting on everybody. There are expenses, that's very real too. So I love that you brought that out.

BRANDI: Yeah, for anybody who is starting a business, you definitely have to be super passionate about it because it never stops. You know you wake up and you're thinking about your business. You're going about your day thinking about everything that you could do to make it better. Right before you go to bed, you're thinking about tomorrow and everything you did for your business. You like have notebooks by your bed because you have to remember all these ideas. Like you wake up in the middle of the night. So, it's so important to be passionate about it.

BIRD: What would be the number one piece of advice that you would give someone who is starting out in business? Like if you could go back to Brandi in 2011, and say something or encourage in some way, what would be that? What would you tell someone just starting out?

BRANDI: Maybe I would have gone with a bigger space to begin with, instead of, you know, going with the house first, and then the bigger space. You know, just like having more faith.

BIRD: That's great.

BRANDI: I think go ahead and dream big because if you are passionate about something, like what could go wrong? You're gonna give your business your all. So you're just gonna keep on growing. And we ran out of spaces for clients to come, like, immediately. So, we had to keep on building out stations for them, even in the bigger space. So, I just think that people just need to push a little bit out of their bubble, so that they don't limit what they can do.

BIRD: That's so so good. I recently had a client meet with someone in the space that they were looking to go into. And they were going to start with this smaller version of their idea and then branch out into the bigger version later. And this like veteran business person said no, just go straight to the bigger version because you just waste a lot of time and resources and energy building everything up for this phase one, when phase two is going to be right around the corner. So yeah, I love that. Having the space to just dream and believe that you know you can kind of have the bigger thing.

BRANDI: Exactly. I went through this whole journey from like start to like where we are at currently on Instagram. I had like each little post was like our journey into it and so it was more in-depth. But yeah, I think that even looking back at it, even that roadblock of us, you know, getting the house first, and then going into this space. I don't really regret that just because it was like, every step of the way like determination. We're gonna do it because we didn't let anything stop us. And now Grace has this awesome house in Montrose, you know. But all of it was like perfect timing, because if we didn't get the house, and we weren't in that in the beginning. Maybe we wouldn't have found Do or Dye at our current location. You know, because there were other renters in it before. So I think everything's been like perfect timing. But I definitely think that people need to dream bigger, and believe in themselves a little bit more, and ask God for what they want, you know? 

BIRD: Yes, that is so so good there aren't regrets right we learn from every single step in the process.

BRANDI: You can definitely find the like the good and the positive out of every like negative situation.

BIRD: Absolutely. I am a firm believer that nothing is wasted. That everything kind of builds upon each other and like you said, had you not started small, you may have never been able to do the next thing. So I love that so so so much. 

This is a question I asked every single guest, and it's just what is the one thing that you can do this week to bring you closer to the best version of yourself? And I ask that question because I love to make things as practical as possible. And when we have goals and dreams and you know, we think of ourselves in terms of what does success look like and that sort of thing. But like what is something I can do within the next seven days to actually bring me closer to that. And it doesn't have to be super deep. It can just really be whatever really is on your heart. 

BRANDI: The one thing that makes me like the best version of myself, is something so simple and yet I neglect it, is like reading the word. Because if I have a day where I don't read the word and I get into a situation and I wish that I like handled it differently. If I would just have read, like, a little piece of scripture from that day. I would have been able to handle it so much better.

BIRD: Yes. 

BRANDI: But also, it just gives me peace and comfort and it makes me realize it's not about me. And if I'm not thinking that, you know my day is about me and my business is about me, it's going to be better, because it's all for God. And just taking myself out of the equation my day is going to be way better.

BIRD: That’s so real. It's so real. I love that. 

BRANDI: When I know that, I'm like why do I neglect it? Why do I forget to read? 

BIRD: I actually just had my quiet time right before we got on this interview, like right before we sat down. Because in a time... 

BRANDI: Me too.

BIRD: I love that. Yeah, there was a time in my life where you know I'd make more excuses about it. Of course, I'm not perfect with it now. But like, I think now I like to yearn for it so much and it. Like you said I can notice when I haven't had it, and it's just not worth it. So now it's just like, I don't care, sometimes it might be two o'clock, like if I didn't get to do it earlier in the day. But I'm going to make sure that I make time for it because it's going to kind of set everything right. And to your point, whenever you take yourself out of the equation and realize like, you know what I'm doing is for something much bigger than me. So I don't have to worry and stress about all of this. Like God got me here. He's going to get me through like whatever else comes at me. So again I'm working as unto Him, not so much as unto myself, or as unto people in that sense. And that really helps me refocus and realign. So I love that.

BRANDI: You know, it started when we were little when we would leave for school and we asked our parents like, pray for us, you know, before we go. And now whenever we don't start our days like that, something feels off.

BIRD: Yeah, that’s so good. I love that. You're awesome, Brandi. I'm so happy I got to have you on the Bird Means Business podcast. And I want to know how can people connect with you, or Do or Dye, or any of your businesses online? What's the best way for them to connect with you?

BRANDI: I think Instagram right now because our new website is actually getting worked on right now. But, Do or Dye Texas, or @doordyetx on Instagram. Or @doordyebrandi on Instagram. Each of our stylists though have their own account. But yeah, through our DMs. We like to engage our clients online, especially right now. We sent them an email telling them how they can stay connected. And we've been giving them hair tutorials and what to do while they're stuck in quarantine. So Instagram has been like our number one way to connect with people and also like for marketing it’s great. That's how we get a lot of our clients too. They see us on Instagram.  The one day that Instagram went out. It was sometime last year, everyone started wondering, oh my god, what would we do without Instagram? Would our business survive without Instagram? And I feel like a lot of seasoned stylists would. But so many people might depend on it now to get new clients. Like new stylists. That's how they build their clientele. So Instagram has been a huge blessing for us in our business,

BIRD: Same. It's been huge. Instagram or word of mouth have been the most effective marketing channels for us. So I'm right there with you. Awesome. Well, I am so glad to have had you. And yeah I love this interview and I think so many people will really glean from it. And thank you so much for your time.

BRANDI: Thank you so much for having me, Ashley. This has been so much fun.

BIRD: Now wasn't that just a treat. I told you Brandi's a gem. And I'm honestly just so grateful to know her to be able to call her friend and so glad that she's stopped by and joined us here on the Bird Means  Business podcast. I hope that you were able to just really draw a lot from this episode. That it was helpful to you as you're looking to launch and grow your small business. 

There's nothing like listening to stories from other entrepreneurs to kind of see how they navigated things. So I'm going to keep it up, having one guest each month to come here on the Bird Means Business podcast, I'm going to try to keep it diverse with different businesses. We've had Terry Williams, my husband. We've had Patsy Vivares talk about her restaurant business. And now you heard Brandi with her hair salon. So I'm going to keep it going. I just want to thank you so much for being here, for taking your time to listen, and for sharing Bird Means Business podcast with any entrepreneur friend you know, anyone you know who needs to launch or grow their business. That's what we're here for. I'm just sharing tips based on my seven years of experience as an entrepreneur and really just hoping that it helps you in your journey. All right. Awesome. Well, I'll talk to you next week.