Zuryna: Welcome to operations unfiltered.
The podcast that takes.
Takes you behind the scenes of
influencer and talent management.
I'm your host Zurina.
And I'm expecially excited about
today's episode because we're.
We're featuring my very own hairstylist.
The amazing Lakia digs.
Gigs owner of the key experience,
Kia is a senior cosmetologist.
Who's carved out her own
path in the hair industry.
And this episode we'll talk.
About her favorite tech tools.
The challenges of capturing content and.
She'll talk about what it
takes to thrive in this space.
We also discussed some of her career.
Career highlights, styling
for the big names and brands.
And her inspiring.
Firing future career goals.
So without further ado, let's
get into this week's episode.
Today I'm joined by senior
cosmetologist and hair goddess.
My personal hairstylist,
Lakia Diggs, welcome.
Hello.
Thank you for having me.
Yes.
Thank you so much for joining me.
I want to get started by telling people
how you got started in the hair industry.
Did you take the conventional route?
Did you go to the Paul Mitchell school?
Tell us about your journey.
Oh yeah.
That was completely.
, unconventional.
, I was a little, I was doing it for
a long time, but then eventually I
went to beauty school, , years later.
I ended up eventually going to
beauty school after college.
, you know, once I had the bandwidth to go.
So that was my journey.
I went to school first, then
I went to beauty school.
And then, after that, my continuing
education, it was very unconventional.
I didn't go right after high school.
It took some time.
Well, we love an unconventional
route and how long have you
been in the hair industry?
So in a total this no next year
will be 30 years officially.
Oh my gosh Are you kidding me?
How and you're only 30 what's going on?
No, that's what I'm saying.
I came out.
I was like
Oh well, here on operations unfiltered,
we like to get into the nitty
gritty, the behind the scenes, the
logistics, what makes your business go?
So can you talk a little bit about
the tools or technology you use?
Well, not the tools, because we're gonna
be here all day with the hair tools.
But what technology do you use to run
the logistics side of your business?
And of course, your content creation?
. So I am a regular, regular Google
and iOS girl, but then I also
use , you know, for my bookings, I
use my, , acuity, , book your system.
I'm going to be converting to,
, Square soon, but I left sleep, but
I love both of those platforms.
Oh my gosh, I use so much.
I use WordPress on my website.
, Now, are you behind the scenes
doing all of this, or do you
have somebody to help you?
What's, what's the, how can
you do all this and do hair?
Like it's a lot.
I know, right?
It's, it's, and, and you are,
you know, you are wearing
multiple hats within a business.
I mean, for some people, you know,
once you get the coinage to, you know,
have certain people for certain things,
you tend to wear hats on top of hats.
Yeah.
Um, but I have, , I had an amazing
web designer who started me off really
well with my website and she just
did everything and then while she was
building she was teaching me that way
I can update little things here and
there on my own and as long as I, you
know, make sure my plugins are up to
date, you know, it's automated and then
if I have any backend things that I'm
afraid of touching, Next slide, please.
I just hire her to go on the back
end and do the things, you know,
do all the coding and all the
things that I don't know how to do.
Okay.
Talk that talk.
I'm going to hire her to come put it back.
That's what I do.
She, you know, I, Hey, you know,
Hey, Tasha, I'm scared of this.
It's too many characters and digits
and numbers and all the things.
That's not my, that's
not my area of expertise.
Not my ministry.
It's definitely not.
And I'm not trying to,
you know, be the DIY girl.
So.
Let me know what the fee is,
if at all, and I will send you
the coin because I need to make
sure that my things are running.
Period.
Moral of the story, be a lifelong student,
but spend and outsource when you need it.
I hear that.
Okay.
So another big part of
operations on the filter.
We love learning how people
capture their content.
Now you being behind the chair, I know
that might be difficult, but how do you
capture content for Instagram for TikTok?
Are you a batch content type of girl?
Do you schedule your days
where you're going to record?
Let us know.
Yeah, I'm bad with that.
So no, I don't have, I do.
So this is the thing.
I, I intend to batch film.
I just don't put it out.
So I have a lot of things in my
phone and everything that I have
yet to put out that I have to be
more intentional with putting out.
But I'm also, the things that I do
put out, it's reactive and impulsive.
So, so for the first part, for the
first part, yes, I am that person.
It's a matter of clicking posts.
You know what I mean?
Like, and you booked a business.
Yeah.
I want to be that girl.
I promise.
I want to be that girl, but it's a whole
nother job and I haven't found, you know,
and I don't, I don't think it's, I don't
know what to call it, but I don't know.
I'm just a behind the chair girl.
I want to get the girls in and out the
chair and getting them on their way.
. So would that look like me having to
have someone coming in and doing that
for me and taking my phone and doing it?
I may have to do that, but I'm a,
I'm a, I'm also a delegating girl.
So I have to do that because
I don't have that range.
Yeah, listen, so this
might be a help wanted ad.
Please help LaKia with her social media.
I'm struggling.
No, but to that point, have you
ever worked with influencers to
capture your content for you?
I have not had that happen
for me successfully yet.
Ah, let's get into it.
Spill the tea.
Yes, it is.
Oh, so there's a lot of people
that want to attach themselves to
your brand for whatever reason,
whatever their motivation is.
And often in the beauty space, you
know, their motivation for the most
part, not all, but for the most part,
they want to make sure that they
can secure their end of the bargain.
And then when it comes
down to the deliverables.
They're not, you know, meeting you where
you where they agreed to, you know, it's
just, it just doesn't happen that way.
It's more of an opportunistic kind of
situation when you in a beauty industry.
And then if it's content, it
kind of goes hand in hand.
And that's one of the bigger.
, duos, when it comes down
to content creation is the
influencer and the beauty person.
Cause the imaging there has to.
Get put out there so they can get their
hair done for free or whatever the
contract is, and then they can go to what
other brands with their hair already done.
And that's something
that can be completely.
, recycled many times by them, but you
get nothing from it cause they didn't
hold the end of the bargain with you.
You know what I mean?
So it's like session.
Yes.
It's crazy.
It's really crazy.
So right now I work with one person
that I had been, , I have a really good
relationship with, , that I'm actually
doing something with her later today.
, and I'm working with someone
else that I just kinda.
, unofficially brought on board.
, but she's the one that, , has, good
motives that I believe that will
be a good partnership for me.
But yeah, it's not the easiest thing when
you're someone who is, , sought after,
, or someone who, you know, You know, people
just have their different motivations
and you want to make sure that, you
know, you're vetting the person and
they can hold their end of the bargain.
Yeah, it's always a mutual, we want
it to be mutually beneficial, right?
You want to be slaving behind that
chair and, and get nothing in return.
So I definitely get it.
I definitely get it.
And that's a, that's a really big
challenge, but can you speak to any
other challenges you've experienced,
whether it be in the hair industry,
content creating, anything along your
journey in this, in this industry?
So initially with all the content creation
thing, , and like you and I were talking
about recently was identifying what
your voice will be when it comes down
to the content creation and with what
I do, but then also with my personality
and then also what the demand is.
And for me, it was trying to
navigate what my place will be in it.
And I feel like I have a.
, a personality type that's almost like, I
don't want to say comedy because I don't
just want to put myself in that space, but
I feel like I have an invited personality.
And people love, you know, my sense
of humor and my perspective on things.
But I don't want to be boxed in.
No, I get you.
You, I, you told me you didn't want to
be give auntie vibes and I, I totally get
you and it's not that I'm not honest about
who I am with, you know, with my age, but
I don't think that that encapsulates me.
You know, yeah, it shouldn't box you in.
It doesn't and it doesn't because I
appeal to so many different people.
Yeah.
Oh, and my, my clients,
I was pretty diverse.
So it's like, I don't want to accept kids.
You know, you don't take kids.
I've been trying.
I'm gonna bring my child to you.
I'm sorry.
The only exceptions I can not, but
yeah, you know, it was definitely,
like I said, trying to find my voice.
And the content space, because I don't
want to be known as the girl trying to
be funny, . But I'm also true to the
beauty industry and, , the authenticity,
the integrity, all those things.
And I feel like I don't want to be all
these different types of people and
people, people be confused about who I am.
So I don't want to add confusion.
, so how I display myself has been one
of the challenges when I come down
to what I want to put out there.
Well, you know, I've always said you
need to be more consistent on social.
I follow you and I'm like,
Lakia, come on, let's go.
So we waiting.
The people want you.
I know.
This is the part of the show where
I need you to talk that talk here.
I need you to brag on yourself.
Can you share with the people
what have been some of your
greatest accomplishments?
And if you don't tell enough, I'm going
to start going down the list for you.
So, so, um, like I said, I've been in
the beauty industry for 30 years and,
outside of being behind a chair and doing.
I'm an extensive clientele for many years.
I've had some of the same clients the
entire 30 years that I've been doing hair.
, I've also been in the film and
TV space and the fashion space.
, I work with a lot of beauty brands.
, I've collaborated with a lot of
internationally known photographers.
, Fashion houses.
, I've done things with Vogue.
I've done things with Gucci.
I've done things with so many brands.
So that means that because you do my
hair, I'm a celebrity by proxy because my
hairstylist is a celebrity hairstylist.
Let's get into it.
So I work with a lot of people,
whether it be, different celebrities,
whether it be Reali, yeah, I've
done Ming Lee, Simmons, I've did T.
S.
Madison, , I've done And the list is
gonna keep growing, especially after
this podcast and you get back more
on social, you're gonna be Hard to
get an appointment with, so don't
forget the little people, just saying.
Oh, never.
You don't never do that.
You know, you know me enough to know that.
I'm so fortunate to have done, , our
vice president, , Kamala Harris's hair.
That was definitely, , one of the
highlights of my career so far.
Give us the secret though.
The Silk Press.
Come on, tell us how, what tools
did you use to achieve that look?
Because the people want to
know the biggest thing is clean
hair and moisturize there.
That's the biggest, that's
the biggest thing she said.
Clean hair.
If you didn't hear her clean hair,
start with a clean hair, please.
Moisturize there.
You've gone through this list of all these
amazing people that you've worked with.
Are there some dream collaborations,
whether it be with brands,
celebrities, who else is on your
list that you need to work with?
Need.
I don't want to leave this
earth not touching Beyonce.
Amen.
I don't want to, you know,
just certain people that's just
like, if I do that person, I can
just I could die happy, okay.
I will be alright.
Mr.
Rapture can come now.
Once I do that.
That is hilarious.
And talk a little bit more about your
dream collaboration with any brands.
I know I've seen you do some posts about
with the sacred, but any other prominent
hair brands that you'd like to work with?
That I haven't worked with yet.
, talk that talk.
I will say a professional brand.
, well, uh, I love, , the things that they
stand for and a professional beauty space.
, I would love to work more because I
did a lot of work with Danessa Myrick.
So I've worked on a lot of her campaigns.
, that has been, , Displayed in
Sephora and different campaigns.
So I really enjoyed that.
And I would love to do a lot more
work with her because she's amazing.
I would like to work with Pat
McGrath, love her down, love her down.
, so for me, I think that I'm
more into working with more
brands than the celebrities.
Cause the celebrities come
with personalities and
you always mess with them.
And there's a level
of, , sometimes entitlement.
And excess that they may want from
you that may not translate into the
financials that you may want because
sometimes they feel that their fame is
currency and fame does not pay rent.
Fame does not buy flat irons.
So no, thank you.
Yeah.
So I will, I love working with, you
know, I love, I'm blessed to be able
to have worked with a lot of people and
I'm okay with working with so many more.
, but.
It's not on the top of my list.
I don't, I, I, it's, I have more
brands I will work with, more
people I will work with more than I
would say, Oh, celebrities for art.
That's not my thing.
No, for sure.
I, I totally get that.
And I see that in the future.
You know, I'm, I'm always say, remember
us little people when you make it big,
cause I'm going to be pointing at the
billboards like, she does my hair.
So I'm waiting for you.
Yeah.
, thinking in the future, what
is on the horizon for you, the
brand, you as a hairstylist?
And let me give this caveat, I've
known you for so many years, so I've
seen you through being in a salon,
owning your salon, salon suite, being
traveling, like, so what's next for you?
You've done so much.
, so right now, my freelance work, when
it comes down to the film and TV,
it has converted, , from less of New
York and more, in the Atlanta, Miami,
Houston, like more on that region.
So I will be doing more of
that work down in those areas.
, New York has changed a lot
when it comes down to, that
particular part of the industry.
A lot of that work is getting
transported to, just certain states
where they operate differently.
. So, , I will be more south bound when it
comes down to that part of my, Career.
So I'm excited about what's to come.
I'm actually, I'm looking
at spaces down there.
I already have a space to work when
I, when I, if I do decide to take
clients there, but a space to lay
my head, if I go down there, cause
I know that so much is, is available
to me that I have been turning down,
but now I had to take advantage.
Uh, this is an exclusive.
So that means you're about
to be out of here by coastal.
We love to see it.
And my ears perked up when you say
Houston, cause that means I don't
have to give up my hairstylist yet.
. So how can people keep in touch and
keep up with all things Kia, all things,
the Kia experience, how can they get
an appointment, but don't take my
appointment, but how can they follow you?
Okay.
So you can follow me on Instagram at.
Laquia digs underscore L A
K I A D I G G S underscore.
, that's my, well, my
freelancing kind of page.
And then my salon page is Laquia
Experience Salon, both on Instagram.
And I'm on TikTok as well.
I gotta do better with that.
Don't go on there and look for a lot.
But I am on TikTok.
, and is it the kid experience on there?
Yes, the kid experience.
No, not you don't know.
I'm telling you, I'm terrible.
But on TikTok, it is the kid experience.
I have a couple of things on there,
but I am now in a space where I am,
I've made it a point to try to post
way more, so I'm excited about that.
Okay.
So I'm going to hold you accountable.
I'm going to text you next week
and say, um, where the videos at?
Uh huh.
I got you.
I got you.
. Well, I appreciate you so much for
joining us on Operations Unfiltered.
I hope everybody learned
something because I know I did.
And as always, thank you for joining,
Lakia, and we'll see you guys next time.
Thank you so much for having me.