Hard work beats talent. But something beats hard work.
"You don’t need proof to believe.
You need belief long enough to create the proof."
🖤 From Jen: The #1 Predictor of Success Isn’t Discipline
Hi BEAUTISTA Fam,
I came across a video on social this week and the girl talking said something that made me stop. She said, “The number one predictor of success isn’t discipline.” WAIT. what?
If you know me you know that I am obsessed with human behavior, psychology, success, entrepreneurship... all of it. And I am a HUGE believer in discipline. Building a career takes discipline. Building a business takes discipline. Changing your life takes discipline. The person willing to keep doing what everyone else stops doing usually has a pretty serious advantage. I say some version of “hard work beats talent every single day” to my kids ALL THE TIME. Because talent without the work and without the discipline only gets you so far.
Then she went on to say "the number one predictor of success comes before discipline. The number one predictor of success is belief." And I thought, omg yes. We teach limiting beliefs in our BEAUTISTA curriculum. I talk constantly about how what you believe about yourself can either push you forward or keep you small. But for whatever reason, I had never connected belief and discipline in this way before. If you don't believe that you will achieve the goal you won't put in the work or have discipline to see it through.
Belief doesn’t replace discipline. Belief FEEDS discipline. Think about it, you can force yourself to be disciplined for a while. You can wake up early. Put in the reps. Make the calls. Post the content. Practice the skill. Try strategy #1, #2 and #3. But eventually there is going to be a period when you are doing ALL of that and the result still isn’t there. THAT is where belief becomes really important. Because if deep down you don’t believe you can actually build the career, make the money, open the business, get the promotion, change the industry, become the educator, fill your book, lose the weight, whatever the dream is... how long are you going to keep doing the work when there is very little evidence that it’s working? Probably not very long.
And this immediately made me think about the Wright brothers story. I’ve read their story in leadership books for years and I love an underdog story. Because the Wright brothers were not the obvious people who were supposed to figure out how to fly. They were two brothers from Ohio who owned a bicycle shop... A BICYCLE SHOP. No engineering degrees. No government backing. No giant team of experts.
Meanwhile, there was another group trying to fly and they had every advantage you could imagine. Government backing. Money. Scientists. Engineers. Resources. If you were placing bets at the time, THAT was the group you would have bet on. The Wright brothers were the underdogs by a mile. And things did not just magically work for them. Their early gliders didn’t perform the way they expected. The numbers weren’t adding up. Instead of deciding flying must be impossible, they started questioning the information everyone was relying on. They built their own wind tunnel. They tested different wing shapes. They changed things and tried again. And again. Because they believed flying was possible. And that belief kept them going every single day. That belief kept the discipline it took to keep showing up every single day.
They had every reason to look at the people with more money, more education and more resources and think, Who are WE to believe we’re going to solve this first? But they didn’t. Eventually, the government-backed project failed. And the bicycle-shop brothers, without all of those resources, flew. Not because belief magically made an airplane fly. They still had to do an unbelievable amount of work. But the belief kept them doing the work. Belief kept them disciplined, showing up day after day, failure after failure.
Discipline is easy to talk about when the work is producing results. It gets a whole lot harder when you’ve been working and working and there is still no proof that you’re going to get where you’re trying to go. If you stop believing the result is possible, eventually you start asking yourself why you’re putting in all this work in the first place.
And I love when I hear mindset leaders say this: When does a toddler give up when they’re learning to walk? They stand up. Fall. Try again. Fall again. Over and over and over. They don’t fall five times or even 20 and decide, well, walking isn’t for me. They have absolutely no reason to question whether they’ll eventually walk. So they keep trying until they do. Somewhere along the way as adults, we start attaching meaning to falling. Maybe I’m not talented enough. Maybe I started too late. Maybe people like me don’t make that kind of money. And those thoughts matter because our beliefs change our actions.
That is exactly why we talk about limiting beliefs in our BEAUTISTA curriculum. If you don't believe an outcome is possible for you, you may never even give yourself the chance to find out. And sometimes you WILL get evidence along the way. You take a step. Something works. You get a small win. That gives you a little more belief. But what happens when you DON’T get the little win?
What happens when you’re putting in the work and nothing is happening yet? No traction. No applause. No proof. That is when belief is hardest.
It’s easy to believe once things start working. It’s a whole different level of belief when your current reality is giving you almost no reason to. Lady Gaga talked about being famous before she was famous. People around her thought she was crazy. She believed in who she was becoming before the rest of the world had any reason to believe it. The Wright brothers believed humans could fly before they could point to an airplane in the sky and prove it. If belief only comes after the result, that’s confirmation. The belief I’m talking about comes before the proof.
So if there is something you gave up on because you decided you just weren’t disciplined enough, I want you to go back and ask yourself: What did you believe?
Did you believe you weren’t talented enough? That you started too late? That people like you don’t make that kind of money? That you didn’t have the right connections? That the industry was too saturated? That nobody would choose you? That you weren’t capable of building something that big? Because maybe discipline wasn’t the first thing that disappeared. Maybe belief did. And once you stopped believing the result was possible for YOU, of course it became harder to keep doing the work required to get there. So change the belief.
Read the underdog stories. Read about the people who had absolutely no logical reason to think they were going to be the ones who figured it out—and somehow believed anyway. Find someone who came from where you came from, started later than you, failed more times than you, had less money than you, fewer connections than you, and still did the thing you want to do. Borrow their belief until you build more of your own. And maybe you need to be a little delusionally certain.
Certain enough to believe that if you keep learning, keep adjusting, keep putting in the reps and stay disciplined long enough, there is no reason it CAN’T be you. Two bicycle-shop owners from Ohio believed they could do something humans had been trying—and failing—to do for centuries. Then they did the work required to prove themselves right.
Discipline matters. Hard work matters. Talent matters. Strategy matters. But you have to believe there is something on the other side worth staying disciplined for.
xoxo,
Jen Martinelli
🚀 The Shift: Weekly Mindset + Strategy Upgrade.
Change the Belief. Change the Behavior.
Think about something you’ve wanted for a long time but have started to back away from. Maybe you stopped working toward it altogether. Maybe you’re still going through the motions, but if you’re being really truthful with yourself, you don’t believe it’s going to happen anymore.
Before you tell yourself you need more discipline, go underneath that. What do you believe about the outcome? What belief is making you hesitate, quit early, play smaller, stop asking, stop trying, or convince yourself something probably isn’t going to happen for you?
Do you believe you’re too late? Not talented enough? That you don’t have the money, connections, audience, experience or whatever else you think someone needs to pull it off? Because THAT belief is going to affect how hard you’re willing to work when there’s no proof yet that the work is paying off.
Pick ONE belief. Then challenge it.
Then ask yourself:
What would I HAVE to believe to make this possible?
I would have to believe I’m good enough.
I would have to believe I’m smart enough.
I would have to believe I can figure it out.
I would have to believe it can still be me.
Start there.
Then go get it.
Change the belief. Change the behavior.
🎙️ In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)
11 classes. THREE days.
If you couldn’t make them live, there is a LOT waiting for you on-demand — color, blonding, textured cutting, styling, retail, social media, shear care AND the business behind the chair.
Mizani — Curl Haircutting Foundations: preview the signature Aircut system and learn five glide techniques for creating shape + movement in textured hair.
Scruples — Hypnotic Single-Step Creme Lowlights: rich, dimensional color in one step with built-in fillers — no pre-filling needed.
VoCÊ Haircare — Styling & Extensions Intensive: effortless volume, styling techniques clients can recreate at home, PLUS retail + retention.
Bonika Shears — Beyond the Haircut with Derek J: shear maintenance, convex vs. bevel edges, quick fixes and the truth about sharpening.
Redken — Honey Melt: Trending Copper Pro Connect: the Honey Copper Melt, seamless lived-in transitions and the high-shine finish clients are asking for.
Redken — Lift & Tone Pro Connect: Blonde IQ + the full Redken lightener portfolio, including how to choose the right lightener for each technique.
Matrix — Make Bank With Retail: how your voice, body language and client conversations can make retail feel WAY more natural.
Redken — Shades EQ Pro Connect: seamless glossing with Shades EQ + Shades EQ Bonder Inside and how to build glossing into your service menu.
Amika — Cutting With Intention Sneak Peek: stop just copying haircuts and learn the WHY behind shape, weight, movement and sectioning.
Harper Ellis — Forget Follower Count. Here’s What Actually Makes Clients Choose You: why you don’t need 100K followers to get booked — you need to be known for the right thing, by the right people.
Matrix — Super Sync & Tonal Control 101: acidic vs. alkaline demi-permanent color, formulation, mixing + processing and when to use each.
And yep... ALL were FREE on BEAUTISTA.
(And if you're a salon owner, school leader, or educator—share these with your team. One class can change a service. A habit of learning can change a career.)
💻 Tech-Forward:
Where tech meets beauty (and your next big move begins).
Your Next Caller Might Be AI
Not that long ago, “deskless salons” were a big conversation in the industry.
Online booking. Self check-in. Chairside checkout. Texting. Less overhead. Some salons removed the physical desk but kept a concierge. Others got rid of the traditional receptionist role altogether.
And now there’s a new wrinkle I don’t think we were thinking about when that trend started: Your next caller might be AI.
And I mean an ACTUAL phone call. Google’s “Have AI check pricing” feature can contact multiple local businesses—including hair salons—on behalf of a customer. Someone tells Google what service they’re looking for and when they need it, and Google can literally call nearby salons to ask about pricing and availability. Google then sends the customer the answers.
So instead of a client calling five salons asking:
How much is a partial highlight?
Do you have anything Thursday afternoon?
Do you offer curly cuts?
Are you taking new clients?
Google may be doing that legwork for them.
That means the person—or in this case, the AI—calling your salon may already know exactly what the customer wants before you ever speak to them. And THAT is the part I find so interesting. We’ve talked a lot about AI changing how people search and discover businesses. Now it’s starting to move one step further and actually interact with the business on the customer’s behalf.
Welcome to 2026. Your next inquiry might not be from the client. It might be their AI.
What we're learning from Hiring Funnels:
Your January Hire Starts Now
October through December is the busiest stretch of the year for beauty professionals. Fully booked. Heads down. No time to think about anything other than getting through the holiday rush.
Which means it's also the worst time to try to hire.
But January is a different story. New year, new goals, new chapter. It's when stylists who have been quietly thinking about a change finally act on it. The ones who have been watching, waiting, almost ready — January is when they move.
The salons that win those candidates aren't the ones scrambling to launch something in January. They're the ones who started in October.
Campaigns take time to build momentum. Candidates need to see your opportunity, consider it, and self-select. That doesn't happen overnight. By the time January arrives, the salons already in market have warm leads, prequalified candidates, and real conversations happening. The ones who waited are starting from zero in a crowded moment.
This is the quiet moment before the rush. It's also the best time to hire.
🔥 What’s Happening:
Virtual Live Events You Don’t Want to Miss
Next Live Virtual Classes
Next week is PACKED. Color, cutting, texture, skin, business, bridal, certifications... there’s a LOT going on.
⭐ FEATURED: Bioelements — 2.0: The Next Facial Evolution
September 17 · 11:00 AM ET| ESTHETICIANS... this one is for you.
Bioelements is going beyond the basic facial with advanced protocols designed to help you create more customized, high-performance treatments. They’re covering hydration, firmness, resurfacing, microbiome support, improved extraction techniques AND how to layer professional actives based on what your client’s skin actually needs in the moment.
If skin is your thing—or you want to take your facial services to another level—put this one on your calendar.
REGISTER FREE →https://beautista.com/watch/
Design Essentials — Short Hair Chic: Modern Pixies & Precision Cuts
September 14 · 10:00 AM ET
Modern pixies, precision cutting, advanced texturizing + how to balance structure with movement.
K18 — K18 University: Intro to Innovative Haircare
September 14 · 10:30 AM ET
The science behind K18, service integration, product knowledge AND how to make it work for your business behind the chair.
Summit — Salon Success Formulas
September 14 · 11:00 AM ET
Growth, sustainability and the financial strategies that keep a salon healthy in any market.
Pulp Riot — Pulp Alchemy: Intro to Pulp Riot
September 14 · 11:00 AM ET
The Pulp Riot story, full product overview + multi-product technique.
OLAPLEX — Transform Your Business: The Business of Backbar
September 14 · 11:00 AM ET
How to turn the backbar into a real business-growth tool through treatment menus, consultations + marketing.
Matrix — Seamless Money Bronde Technique by @ColorByCarlos
September 14 · 12:00 PM ET
Carlos Rojas breaks down his Signature Money Bronde using BlondeMax 9+ + Super Sync, including placement, when to stop lifting at a level 7 vs. push to a 10, and the formulas behind a seamless luxury-bronde finish.
BosleyMD — CUT for LIFT with JB Shelton
September 14 · 1:00 PM ET
Advanced haircutting techniques designed to create fullness, spring + bounce for fine and thinning hair.
Pureology — Color Care Certification
September 14 · 1:30 PM ET
Color longevity, personalized retailing and client retention—PLUS earn your Pureology Color Care Certification.
Mizani — Texture Haircare Essentials
September 14 · 2:00 PM ET
Assess curls, coils + waves, build personalized care regimens and grow your texture business through better recommendations.
Endure Beauty — Lash Lift & Tint
September 15 · 12:00 PM ET
Learn the lift + tint method, how to protect natural lashes and how this add-on can increase rebooking + service revenue.
OLAPLEX — HairBestie Live: The Guy Tang Experience
September 15 · 1:00 PM ET
Guy Tang LIVE from LA with time-saving color, luminous dimension + a first look at the NEW Shape Set Hairspray.
L’Oréal Professionnel — Metal Detox Certification
September 15 · 2:00 PM ET
Learn how metals inside the hair fiber affect breakage + color results, how to use the Metal Detox regimen and earn a certificate of completion.
T3 — Modern Updo Techniques
September 15 · 4:00 PM ET
Polished, long-lasting updos with efficient techniques, smarter tool selection + pro finishing methods.
Pureology — Bridal Hairstyling & the Business
September 16 · 4:00 PM ET
Not just the hair—the BUSINESS of bridal: long-lasting styles, pricing, consultations, client flow + avoiding burnout.
Bioelements — 2.0: The Next Facial Evolution
September 17 · 11:00 AM ET
Advanced facial protocols for licensed estheticians + cosmetologists covering hydration, firmness, resurfacing, microbiome support and more customized treatments.
Redken — Shades ALK Pro Connect
September 17 · 1:00 PM ET
Go deeper into NEW Shades ALK, the science of alkaline demi color + how to use it alongside the Redken color portfolio.
And yep... they’re ALL FREE on BEAUTISTA.
(And if you’re reading this as a salon owner or educator — send your team. One class can shift an entire culture.)
👀 Watch This Space
(Jobs Worth Seeing)
👀 Watch This Space
Salon Largo |📍Charleston, SC
OPEN ROLES
This one caught my attention because Salon Largo is clearly looking for someone who already has experience—but they’re not treating experience like you should be “done” growing. They actually talk about what comes NEXT.
One of their longtime cutting-focused stylists wanted to expand into color, so Largo supported him with the education and space to do it. That says a LOT to me. They offer ongoing education, mentorship, support with client relationships, rebooking + retention, and regular insight into how your book is performing.
The videos on their BEAUTISTA page are worth watching too. There’s one from a stylist and one from an owner, which I love because you actually get a feel for the people and the culture before you ever apply. A job description can tell you what a salon offers. Hearing directly from the people who work there tells you a whole lot more.
A few other things I noticed:
Level-based commission
Flexible scheduling
Front desk + assistant support
Ongoing education with brands including Milbon
Support around building a stronger book of business
Full-time OR part-time opportunity
Downtown Charleston location
Why I’d want to work here: I could come in with the experience I already have, but still have people around me pushing me to get better, try something new and grow the business side of my career too.
That’s a VERY different feeling than walking into a salon that just wants you to bring a book and produce.
CHECK OUT THE OPPORTUNITY →
🎤 Educators Wanted: Your Dream Role Just Went Live
Ready to teach, inspire, and represent iconic brands?
💥 Educator roles at Pravana and Kérastase are LIVE on BEAUTISTA.Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a rising educator, this is your moment.
🔦 BEAUTISTA Spotlight
Sara Kubeka 📍Rockford, IL
🎓 Educators of Beauty
Sara is a cosmetology student at Educators of Beauty in Rockford, and they are already doing something we coach students to do ALL the time: use your portfolio link everywhere.
Sara has their BEAUTISTA portfolio linked directly in their Instagram bio. So if someone finds them through IG, they aren’t just seeing a few posts and trying to figure out who they are. They can click straight into a page that tells their story, shows their work and gives them a much better picture of the stylist Sara is becoming. That is SUCH a smart use of the portfolio.
Sara is building skills in color + haircutting, is Open to Opportunity, and is clearly thinking beyond school. Their goal is to keep learning, build meaningful client relationships and create the kind of experience that makes people feel confident and cared for.
And because this is exactly the kind of thing we teach in our curriculum, I have one piece of advice for Sara too:
Add your online booking link to your BEAUTISTA portfolio.
Then the flow becomes stronger: Instagram → BEAUTISTA portfolio → see your work → learn who you are → BOOK
Sara is still in school and already thinking about how to turn visibility into actual opportunity. LOVE that.
Want this for your students?
Reach out to hello@beautista.com and we’ll show you how to make it happen.
💫 WE WANT TO FEATURE YOU
Have a story about how BEAUTISTA helped or inspired your career? Email us at hello@beautista.com to be spotlighted in an upcoming issue.
💡 BEAUTISTA Tips & Tricks
Make Your Bio Work Harder.
Go look at your Instagram bio right now. If someone loves your work and wants to know more about you, what happens when they click your link? Don’t make them hunt.
Your bio should take them somewhere that helps them actually DO something next—see more of your work, learn who you are, book with you, or connect with you for an opportunity.
That’s one of the reasons we built the BEAUTISTA portfolio the way we did. You can show your work, tell your story, add video, link your booking page and use ONE link anywhere you show up online.
The easiest setup:
Instagram → BEAUTISTA Portfolio → Booking
And if you’re still in school or not taking clients yet, your portfolio can point people toward your work, opportunities, certifications and everything you’re building.
QUICK CHECK: Open your IG profile as if you were a stranger. Click your link. Can someone figure out what to do next in under 10 seconds? If not... fix that this week.
💌 Pass It On
Know someone who needs this kind of real talk in their beauty journey?
Share The TRIMM with a fellow BEAUTISTA and help them grow, too.
To catch up on last week's newsletter, click here.
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