On this episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, I talk about a TikTok that showed up on my FYP and stopped me in my tracks: a hairstylist working inside a Walmart salon known as @walmarthairstylist

At first glance, I thought it had to be AI. Not because I was judging her. But because I rarely see content that shows this level of care, communication, and client experience coming from a value-based salon on TikTok.

So I watched more. And then I read the comments. Hairdressers, from every business model and market position, from luxury salons to independents, were cheering her on.

Katie is a passionate hairstylist and aspiring content creator. She's intentional. She's thoughtful. And her content isn't about ego or going viral, it's about client experience.

Her TikTok bio says: "Luxury beauty on a budget." And what she's showing us is the fundamentals of building a brand, and that Value isn't only your price point, it's how people feel in your chair.

In This Episode

• Why brand trust is built in the experience, not the marketing
• How Katie embodies the fundamentals of care, trust, and value.
• Why stylists at every price point resonated with her content
• How our industry has lost perspective chasing viral moments and "charge your worth" narratives
• The power of bringing people back to what matters: the client experience

Katie is building a personal brand and creating content, but she's doing it through the lens of service, to both clients, and other hairstylists. Because long term trust isn't built by showing off the work. It's built by showing how you treat people. There is so much our industry can learn, and relearn, from Katie. Be sure to follow and give her lots of love on TikTok @walmarthairstylist And if you are ready to get back to what matters and build a brand that feels aligned and good to you, join me inside MENTORED. Simply tap Subscribe on the @passionsquared Instagram.

Thank you for listening and sharing with your business besties!

Other episodes mentioned: Care, Trust, and Value in 2023 2024: The Year of Perspective for The Salon Industry

In this Extended Encore episode, we're combining three episodes, from three iconic legacy brands, Trader Joe's, Costco, and In-N-Out Burger, and what they all share in common, and can teach every salon, stylist, and beauty professional about the truth that never changes: your salon brand story is your foundation.

Each of these brands knows exactly what problems they are solving, how they solve those problems, who they are solving problems for, and the solutions they deliver, and they never stray from it. Trader Joe's isn't trying to be Whole Foods. Costco isn't chasing Amazon. In-N-Out Burger isn't expanding its menu to keep up with fast food fads. They all built trust by being consistent, keeping their brand promises, and staying focused.

That's what so many in the pro-beauty industry miss. Your brand story isn't something you write once and forget. It's the foundation that guides your decisions, your pricing, your marketing, your content, your leadership, your client experience, everything.

In This Episode From Costco: How a clear promise of value and fairness turned a warehouse into a high lifetime customer value. From Trader Joe's: How storytelling and culture created a shopping experience people actually love.

From In-N-Out Burger: How a simple, focused menu became their secret to obsession. What it all means for your salon: when you know your brand story, you stop chasing trends, comparing your brand to others, and start creating from a place of clarity, focus, and alignment.

Because brand story is your foundation. It's what builds trust, loyalty, and higher lifetime client value in every great brand and every great salon business. If you are ready to stop comparing and start creating and leading with more clarity and alignment, join me in MENTORED. with Nina L. Kovner. Our first step is building your brand story. To get started, tap Subscribe on the @passionsquared Instagram page. Thank you for listening and sharing with your business besties!

In this episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, we're talking why the nostalgia macro trend has become one of the most powerful trust-building forces in business and why so many brands are leaning into the familiar, the simple, and the human.

Through the story of Sundance Film Festival and its decision to leave Park City, Utah, we take a closer look at what happens when a brand abandons the very home that built its experience and value, and why nostalgia isn't about the past; it's about trust.

From film to beauty, the message is the same: your experience is your brand. Nostalgia might look like a place, one of the 'little things', a sound, or a feeling, but in every case, it's an emotional connection. And when you trade that for scale or change without a new brand story, you risk breaking the very trust you've spent years building.

In This Episode Why nostalgia is more than a trend, it's a strategy grounded in emotional connection with the people you serve How brands like Sundance lose their differentiators when they abandon their foundation (brand story) Why consistency is still the most powerful tool we have in business

If you're ready to stop guessing, stop chasing, and start making decisions for your business with clarity and intention, that's exactly what we do inside MENTORED. with Nina L. Kovner

We build your brand story together so every decision, post, and client experience comes from clarity, not chaos. To join us, tap Subscribe on the Passion Squared Instagram page here.

Because clarity builds consistency, and consistency builds trust. And that's what builds brands that last.

Thank you for listening and sharing this episode with your business besties!

Apple didn't just design products; they designed and consistently delivered an experience.

In this episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, we look at how Apple used brand story clarity and experience design to build trust, reinvent retail, capture a significant share of the computer market, and reshape an entire industry, and what happens when that trust starts to erode.

In This Episode

• How Apple's brand story clarity and simplicity became its greatest competitive advantage
• Why experience design, not advertising, built Apple's success
• The moment the rebel brand started to drift and what that teaches us about alignment, consistency, and trust
• What salons and beauty brands can learn about designing experiences that create loyalty and belonging
• Why brand story must come before strategy, and how clarity and consistency build trust that lasts

Apple didn't invent the phone, the computer, or the music player; they reimagined what it felt like to use them. They made tech human, built loyalty through design, and told a story people could live in.

And salons and beauty brands? We can do the same.

If you're ready to stop guessing, stop chasing, and start making decisions for your business with clarity and intention, that's exactly what we do inside MENTORED. with Nina L. Kovner

We build your brand story together so every decision, post, and client experience comes from clarity, not chaos. To join us, tap Subscribe on the Passion Squared Instagram page here.

Because clarity builds consistency, and consistency builds trust. And that's what builds brands that last.

Thank you for listening and sharing this episode with your business besties!

In this episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, we are doing something a little different.

Instead of unpacking another company's brand story, I'm sharing my own brand evolution, moving from Passion Squared (a business brand) to Nina L. Kovner (my personal brand), and why I created MENTORED. with Nina L. Kovner.

This isn't just a rebrand. It's me stepping into what I've resisted the most: my personal brand, and the gift I've been given as a mentor.

In This Episode

· Why I resisted building a personal brand for so long

· How content consumption has shifted since I launched Passion Squared in 2012

· Why wasted time, money, and energy are eroding trust in our industry

· What this rebrand means for me, and the brand lessons it holds for you

And if you're a hairstylist, beauty professional, salon owner, creative, educator, or coach who's craving brand, business, and healthy boundary mentorship you can trust, with clarity, context, care, and a fuck-ton of love, then MENTORED. was created for you. And if you are a pro beauty brand or distributor looking to create more value for the people you serve, MENTORED. is for you too! To join MENTORED. simply tap Subscribe on the Passion Squared Instagram Page @passionsquared Thank you so much for listening and sharing with your business besties!

In the 90s and early 2000s, GAP wasn't just a store; it was a cultural force. Then came overexpansion, distraction, and one of the most infamous logo fails in branding history. For years, GAP drifted in a sea of sameness, losing clarity and connection.

But today, under the leadership of CEO Richard Dickson, GAP is staging a reclamation, not by chasing trends, but by staying true to its original brand promises and reclaiming who they are. Their latest campaign proves that legacy brands don't need to reinvent, per se, to stay relevant; they need to evolve while protecting the soul of what made people fall in love with them in the first place.

In this episode

· Why growth without clarity leads to confusion and broken trust

· How cosmetic fixes like logos rarely solve deeper brand problems

· The leadership lesson: brand clarity first, then building a team of brand stewards

· How to evolve your brand in ways that feel relevant today without abandoning your core brand promises

At the end of the episode, I also share a personal note on closing A School and the launch of my next chapter, MENTORED, an accessible, affordable, and actionable way to help thousands more people, and meeting you where you're at on Instagram. Be sure to follow @passionsquared on IG to join MENTORED when we open September 15th. OMG, it's all happening!

In this short follow-up episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, we're revisiting e.l.f. Cosmetics, a brand we recently celebrated for its clarity, consistency, and connection with its audience. But something shifted. After releasing their most recent ad campaign that contradicted their values-forward brand and staying silent when their audience called it out, e.l.f. showed us just how fragile brand trust can be.

In this episode

• Why your brand promises aren't misson statements or marketing, they're a commitment
• What happens when brands veer from the values they're known for
• Why silence can speak louder than any campaign
• And what salon owners, hairstylists, and pro beauty brands can learn about consistency, courage, and listening when it matters most

Because brand trust isn't built by perfection, it's built by consistency and alignment. You can listen to the original episode on e.l.f. Cosmetics here. Thank you so much for listening and sharing with your business besties.

In this episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, I'm diving into the story of Red Lobster's recent comeback and what it teaches us about brand clarity, decision-making, leadership, and trust.

From the chaos of the Endless Shrimp promotion to the arrival of new CEO Damola Adamolekun, this isn't a story about flashy reinvention or performative PR. It's about showing up, listening, simplifying, and making decisions that align with your brand promise.

In This Episode:

· How Red Lobster lost alignment with its brand promise and how it showed up to fix it

· Why visible, responsive leadership builds trust (and what that looks like on TikTok)

· The power of simplifying your menu, service offerings, or product offerings

· How to make decisions that strengthen, not dilute, your brand

· Why transparency is one of the most powerful trust-building tools you have

· The role consistency plays in turning things around for good

And, as always, I'll connect the lessons back to you, salon owners, hairstylists, creatives, and pro beauty brand leaders so you can apply them in your own business.

Plus, I give a little sneak peek into MENTORED. by Nina L. Kovner at the end of the episode. Be sure to follow @passionsquared on Instagram to be the first to know when MENTORED. launches! Thank you for listening and sharing this episode with your business besties!

In this episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, we take a closer look at Rihanna, not just as an artist, but as a personal brand that has redefined what it means to lead, serve, and build businesses that matter.

We explore how Rihanna's brand began with a purpose, to challenge the lack of representation in beauty and culture, and how that clarity shaped everything from Fenty Beauty to Savage X Fenty. This isn't about celebrity. It's about service, trust, and an emotional, human connection.

You'll also hear why I've decided to transition Passion Squared to a personal brand after 13 years (spoiler: I've resisted this for a long time), and why personal brands, when built in service to others, are becoming more powerful than ever in today's trust economy.

In this episode

• The difference between personal and business brands and why both are built around who you serve
• A breakdown of Rihanna vs. Fenty using Nina's brand story framework
• How to leverage your personal brand to grow your business brand
• What the Red Lobster CEO and ELF's Twitch strategy have to do with personal brands and leadership
• Why your brand is not what you do, it's how people feel when they experience your brand

Whether you're a hairstylist, salon owner, creative, or a pro beauty brand exec, this episode will help you rethink how your personal brand can impact your business.

Thank you so much for listening and sharing this episode with your business besties.

In this episode of BUILDING & BREAKING, we take a closer look at how Southwest Airlines went from beloved to broken, by abandoning the very promises that made them different.

Southwest wasn't built by analysts. It was built by Herb Kelleher, a rebellious, people-first founder who believed business and air travel could be joyful, human, and accessible.

From the single aircraft model to the "bags fly free" benefit to the heart in their logo, everything they did reflected clarity, consistency, and care.

But over time, the brand lost its edge. Systems aged. Culture shifted. The Southwest key differentiators disappeared. And with them, so did the trust, and also, their customers.

In This Episode

• How simplicity creates consistency, efficiency, and builds trust
• How real culture is built through everyday decisions, not contrived mission statements on a wall
• What happens when you remove the things that differentiate your brand
• How brand identity is meant to help tell your brand story
• How beloved brands break, not all at once, but decision by decision

Whether you're a salon owner, hairstylist, or beauty brand leader, this is a reminder: Your brand is a promise. And every decision either keeps it, or breaks it.

If you are a salon owner, educator, coach, or independent stylist seeking more clarity and simplifying your decision making, click here to learn more about Creating Your Awesome Brand, a complete course for beauty professionals.

Thank you so much for listening and sharing this episode with your business besties!