The Anxious Creative

Today, we’re talking all about how to get others to trust and respect you. Trust me, I had to learn this lesson the hard way, and I’m going to share that story with you so you can hopefully learn a lot faster than I did. Buckle up, because this is quite a ride.

I get nonstop questions about pricing as a self-employed service provider. How do you know what to charge? How to raise your prices and tell your clients? How to deal when they don’t take it well? Are you squirming just reading this?

This week, we’re getting right into it with my anxiety journey. You probably know that anxiety is a big thing for me. I was always a shy, nervous kid, and those traits stayed with me through my teens and into adulthood as I developed full-blown anxiety.

Creativity and anxiety tend to come together, and sometimes it makes creativity feel like a curse. And it doesn’t help that creative careers involve a lot of anxiety-inducing activities, like putting yourself out there and talking to people when you’d rather hide from everyone and just create stuff. In this edition of The Anxious Creative, you’re going to learn all about overcoming the anxiety of...

Today on this solo Dawn episode, I’m talking about why I decided slow down my business and specialize in hair painting. Quick background: Like pretty much everything that’s changed my life and business, I got into hair styling kind of by accident. I took a class in high school, went to hair school after I graduated, and took some time to travel around and keep learning.

I’m so excited for you guys to hear from today’s guest, Sarayah! She’s been in the industry for six years, and she’s only 22! Sarayah is from New Jersey and got started at 16 in a high school vocational program that allowed her to graduate with a high school diploma and a cosmetology license. She started by sweeping and doing bowls in salons, then moved up to assisting. She decided to start an Ins...

He’s back! In this episode, I chat with my boyfriend Nick about one of my all-time favorite topics: communication. Nick is a minister, which means he has to communicate a lot with staff, volunteers, and the people in his congregation. With lots of practice, trial, and error, he’s learned a thing or two about communicating.

Hey hey, it’s another super special Dawn episode! I’m having so much fun doing these solo episodes, and you guys seem to be loving them! This episode is all about how my ego got in the way of my success. Now, ego isn’t the most fun thing to talk about sometimes, so this gets kinda vulnerable.

It’s the Dawn show today! Just me for this episode, but trust me, it’s a good one. You probably know that I have a mandatory paid consultation for new clients. I implemented this a few years ago when my business was going through a growth spurt and I just couldn’t keep up with all the new clients.

I’m so excited for you guys to meet one of my favorite people ever, Constance Robbins! Constance reached out to me on Instagram about three years ago and we were instant friends. (Wow, just realized I make a lot of friends on Instagram!) Constance is a California girl and just opened a gorgeous, all-white, 1300 square foot salon. Pretty cool, right? She’s been a hairstylist for about 15 years and...

A few weeks back, my American twin, Shirley Hagel had me on her podcast. I had such a fun time I just had to share it over here with you guys. We chat about how we randomly found each other, plus she asked me about parts of my career I’ve never shared online before, like working for Aveda..

Okay, I’m going to go out on a limb here: I bet a lot of you don’t have boundaries. That’s exactly how I used to be. I lived most of my life not even knowing what boundaries were. If someone asked something of me, I had to say yes. I didn’t even know “no” was an option, and I doubt I’m on the only one.

In this episode, I’m chatting with Pamela Adam. She’s a hair stylist, mom, and one of the sweetest people I know. I met Pamela about two years ago when I taught a class at the salon where she works, and we just hit it off!

In this very special episode, I chat with my very own therapist, McKenzie! I’ve been seeing McKenzie for 2-3 years (neither of us can quite remember, lol). I started seeing her after ending up in the hospital with a panic attack. McKenzie specializes in treating anxiety and trauma with talk therapy and other methods like EMDR.

I met Nina in person at a class she taught shortly after I moved to Calgary. Her story moved me and resonated so much that I had a minor emotional meltdown in the middle of the class. That was a big deal, because trust me, I do not usually cry in front of people. It was that powerful.

I met Shirley on Instagram of all places when she commented on one of my posts. I creeped on her profile and immediately started noticing similarities: we both have nose piercings, similar tattoos (we both have a heart on our wrists!), and we have the same anxiety necklace. Whaaaaat?! *cue Twilight Zone theme.

This week on the podcast, I had an awesome conversation with Alicia Soulier, owner of Capelli Salon Studio and founder of the incredible SalonScale app. Alicia is an entrepreneur and award winning hair stylist, and I had a blast talking with her. A year ago, Alicia’s life changed.

I absolutely loved talking with my fellow anxious creative, Gina, way back in episode 13. So of course, I had to have her back for an encore! This time, our conversation is all about dealing with social anxiety when you’re an entrepreneur, a stylist, and when your livelihood depends on talking to people.

We're getting back to the Overshare! Do you remember my first episode of my podcast? Back when it was called "Overshared in the Salon Chair"?! I'm bringing Becky back to chat!

A decade ago, blogging was in its infancy. Not many people were doing it, and no one was doing it to make money. It seems like everyone wants to become a professional blogger these days, but that ambition was completely unheard of when Mike got started.

This episode is all about the week I did the unthinkable: I turned my phone OFF, put it in the glovebox of my car, and unplugged for a whole week. Seven whole days, sans phone and internet. I know, nuts right? I even took the week off work so Nick, Leroy and I could spend the week at my parents’ cabin in Saskatchewan. At the height of my anxiety, I realized I needed balance, so we started doing th...

This week I sit down with Mallory Chapman. She's a kick ass entrepreneur in the wellness industry. She has brought surfing to us landlocked Calgarians and won us over with her amazing outlook on life and positive attitude. I'm so excited for you to listen in to this episode all about mindset. Mallory has over 10 years' of experience, has built and ran her own brick and mortar fitness studio, creat...

Josie is a fellow Canadian hairstylist who I’ve admired since joining Instagram. We’ve texted back and forth, and I am so pumped that we got to sit down and chat. She does a killer bleach and tone and has the most hilarious sense of humour I’ve seen. Listen while Josie and I chat about business, dealing with bad reviews, and our biggest challenges with owning a Salon. Find Josie on Instagram @josi...

I interview my client Jessica. When she was just 6 years old her Mom packed up her and her two sisters and left an abusive marriage. They came to Calgary where they lived in a women's shelter for 3 months. Her story is powerful and full of courage and bravery. It affirmed again why I am in this industry. It's so much more than just hair. It’s about connections and community and to have women know...