Eight - Beyond Hair

I have followed Nick Mirabella on social media for a long time, and he is one of the most generous educators in our industry. He owns The Warehouse Salon in New Jersey and Florida, he is a former Marine, and he runs Level Up Academy where he helps salon owners stop letting their business suck the life out of them and actually turn into CEOs.We got into ALL of it.Nick walks through how he took a salon from $200,000 a year to $1.2 million in 16 months, and how he is now doing $180,000 a month in retail alone. Not services. Retail. He breaks down exactly why your product should live on your own website instead of down the street at Amazon, how local SEO actually works, and how to build pages that get you served up inside the AI overview when someone searches for a salon in your town.Then we went into the trenches, because that is why I started this podcast. Nick tells the story of the day it all fell apart. He was crushing it in the salon, funneling money into an online store, running Google ads with no tracking and no idea what he was doing. Free shipping, free returns, losing $30 on every order that went out the door. He burned through $98,000 in three months, blew through his savings, ran it up again, and went from the top of the world to completely broke right before his wedding. And then he got back behind the chair and ground his way out of it.We also talk about the stuff every salon owner is quietly dealing with. Why your team drama is actually an avoidance problem. Why ignoring a behavior makes it your new standard. Booth rent versus commission and how to convert without losing everyone. Whether you really need to be in the building. How to fund your ads out of your commission structure so it never comes out of your pocket. And why paying for education is not paying for information, it is paying to time collapse somebody else's ten years.If you are a salon owner, a stylist who wants to be one, or you are just tired of feeling like you are working for your business instead of the other way around… this one is for you.FIND NICK:Instagram: @nickmirabella TikTok: @nickmirabella YouTube: @nickmirabella Website: nickmirabella.comNick is also giving away a FREE salon assessment on his site. He will audit your salon, find your biggest constraint, and hand you an action plan to fix it. No charge, no catch. Go get it at nickmirabella.com.FIND ME:@kellymaxwellextensions for education and products @kellymaxwellhair for client work Kellymaxwellhairextensions.com

He's built one of the biggest names in hair… and he did it without a single $2,000 scissor.This week I'm sitting down with Jacob Khan… 19 years behind the chair, founder of Fancy, creative director for Hairbrained, global partner for L'Oréal, and one of the most generous educators in our industry.We get into the grit it actually takes to build a brand, why new stylists are wasting money on expensive tools, how he sold out his first launch in minutes, why followers don't matter anymore, and the one piece of advice he'd give every young stylist. This is your reminder that nobody is coming to build your brand for you… so let's talk about how to build it yourself.Find Jacob on Instagram @jacobhkhan and at fancyhairdressers.comFind me @kellymaxwellextensions and at kellymaxwellhairextensions.com

I sat down with Alex Yarber (one of Elevate's educators, straight out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama) in a hot tub of all places, and we got into EVERYTHING.We talked about: ✨ running a salon when you're never actually home ✨ what happens when the internet turns on you, and how to not let it wreck you ✨ buying back your time (hiring help is not the flex people think it is, it's survival) ✨ the WILD scrappy things Alex did to book clients before he made it... including a Tinder profile that got him banned for life 😂 ✨ why it's not enough to just be good at hair anymore ✨ doing makeup for Megan Thee Stallion's swim line and what New York Fashion Week is actually like backstage ✨ Alex's coming out story, growing up gay in a small conservative town in Alabama ✨ and yes... we taste tested possum flavored candy live on the episode. Don't ask. Just listen. 🙃Alex is about to start teaching mesh integration classes with me at Elevate this year and honey, I cannot wait to show y'all what we're building.This one is funny, it's real, and it might make you tear up a little too. Go give it a listen and tell me your favorite part 👇FInd Alex Yarber on Instagram: @alexyarberr

Okay, this one is WILD… we filmed it on an airboat in the middle of the Everglades, alligators and all, and I sat down with the one and only Derek Cash.Derek's been doing hair for almost 20 years, and he just spent THREE years building his own extension line, Pretty Gang Official. We're talkin flying all over the world chasing quality hair, getting it wrong, starting over, and finally creating something that actually blends the way extensions are supposed to.We got into all of it…✨ Why "natural" beats thick + blunt every single time✨ Mesh integration + toppers for women with hair loss (so slept on, it still amazes me)✨ How to stay inspired so you never burn out✨ Money is a frequency… and why your energy sells before you ever doAnd then Derek dropped THE story. The client who didn't pay for her extensions… and how it ended in felony charges, handcuffs, and a text asking for another appointment 💀 You have to hear it to believe it.Whether you're a stylist building your thing or you just love a good story, honey this one's a ride.Go follow Derek + check out his line 👇📲 Instagram: @derekcashstyles💕 Pretty Gang Official: @prettygangofficial🌐 https://prettygang.shop/

Success in the hair industry isn't always pretty.In this episode of The Eight Podcast, I sit down with Cassandra De Rossa for a real, unfiltered conversation about business, salon drama, navigating challenges, and what it actually takes to keep moving forward when things get hard.We talk about the lessons that come from setbacks, the realities of building a career behind the chair, and why resilience is often the difference between those who make it and those who don't.If you've ever felt discouraged, questioned your path, or wondered if the hard work is worth it, this conversation is for you.Go find Cassandra on Instagram:@cassderossa@whiteopalhairco@whiteopalweddingFind me:@kellymaxwellhair@kellymaxwellhairextensions