At Serious Business 2022, Qnity President Erin Kuhn will lead an interactive class that will help owners and beauty professionals learn more about financial literacy and how that knowledge can help them make better business decisions about their businesses and careers.

Kuhn believes when COVID-19 and the subsequent shutdowns prevented many beauty professionals from going to work, it also forced them to look at their bank accounts and realize they lived paycheck to paycheck. That also happened for many small businesses which on average  have only 14 days of liquidity.

“It boils down to a lack of education about financials,” says Kuhn who recently launched a program for cosmetology schools that helps educate students on financial literacy. “Our program is highly simple and highly visual and developed for creative, visual and artistic learners.”

According to recent studies, Kuhn says 60% of beauty professionals have some form of math, numbers or money anxiety, meaning that they feel fear, angst or dread when it comes to money. She believes the industry can change that with education.

At Serious Business, Kuhn will help owners and managers reflect on their own financial statements and learn how they can start to talk about financial literacy with their employees.

“Many people believe they can rely on their technical skills and if they are doing what they love, the money will come,” Kuhn says. “And, while there is some truth to that, if you also pay attention to your numbers and develop some foundational financial and business skills, it can be transformational.”

As part of Kuhn’s class she’ll walk through the different ‘preneurships’ revealing the financial pros and cons of each situation, including:

  • Entrepreneur who is a business owner with a team of employees who takes on all the financial risks.
  • Solopreneur who is a business of one with a ceiling to what they can earn and also faces a number of financial pros and cons. 
  • Intrapreuner who has a business within an existing business and tends to have the financial benefits and possibilities without the risks that come with entrepreneurship or solopreneurship.

Serious Business 2022 will be held January 16 and 17 in New Orleans. To learn more about Serious Business 2022’s roster of speakers and to purchase tickets, go to seriousbusiness.net.

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