From Small-Town Stylist to Fashion Week Leader

I always say that we're a town of 3,000 people and that's with cats and dogs.

But when you walk into our Salon and Boteek in coffee shop, it's a completely different experience. I didn't want to be a small town Salon, like we need to make this big and exciting and so. Jody Krishawfner is a multi-passionate entrepreneur, educator, and the founder of Styline Usalon and Boteek and solid ground coffee shop. Drawing from her experience, building businesses and mentoring beauty professionals across the country, she inspires others to

lead with faith, embrace their creativity, and build lives and businesses rooted in purpose, confidence, and impact. I always say I'm at work more than my I'm at home. So if you don't love what you do, you're going to not love your life. Things just kind of happen for me. I make them happen. My whole journey in this world is really about leaving the world better than I got here with.

And I just want to inspire people. I want to inspire other women to be powerful and business-like and do the thing. The living your legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy. To open, check out the list of my years and fall in the boxes now on the planet. You can live your dream.

Welcome back to another episode of the Living Your Legacy podcast for Insights Access. I am Reggetares. Fresh off an episode of filming a woman in power,

“joining me today is JodyTot.coosh. Jody, Jody, what's your last?”

Jody.coosh. Perfect. It's okay. I always but on

anti-intently you screw up the intro. So it's definitely a Monday, but it's a good Monday. Jody, we literally just finished filming your episode. What a will we learn about you? Well, you're going to learn all the things about me. I have so many different aspects of my life, but you'll learn about me behind the chairs as a hairdresser. You're going to learn about me as a business owner. You're going to learn about me as a teacher to other stylists and salons.

And yeah, I don't know. All sorts of good stuff. Right on, Tode. Sorry. I'm going with the flow. First of all, thank you so much for a vibrant energy and I'm at disbelief that you have never done a podcast. You guys won your own brand. So I'm actually quite eager and excited to see where you go next after this. Hopefully you've had some realizations and we've encouraged you to just go for it. Whatever that

it is, but here you are. Talk about your journey. What came first education? The hairdresser, like what what came first do you think? What came first was going to hair school beyond the idea that I didn't even want to. Didn't even think that was really my thing. Went to cosmatology school. And I didn't even fall in love with it there. It was just a bunch of girls that were, you know, drama. And then my first salon out of hair school is where I really realized that I fell in love

with the industry. I was working under a pulmetile educator. Her name is also Jodi. And so I don't know. She inspired me. I loved how she spoke with her clients and her clients. Just loved her. And I'm lying. I want to be like this. So that's where it all started. Then I moved to this little town in the middle of nowhere and got married and decided,

“you know what? I'm just going to buy a salon. That's 22 at 22. Yeah, why not, right?”

So Vavasalan really never ever had any intention of doing them. But my husband's family are

entrepreneurs and they kind of urged me like, you got to do this. So did that? And then it's just like, who exploded from there? Boom. You were on the path. Then early on, you were discovered and got by him. Oh, yeah. Talk about this journey now. I feel like we didn't talk much about your husband on the interview. What does he do? I'm just kind of curious. He said he has a family of entrepreneurs. Okay. So my husband and his family own Rugby Homes and RV Center, which is expanded into three

dealerships. So they have three different. They sell RVs and motor homes and mobile homes. And so they do that and they, yeah. But there are so big experiences on wheels. Yes, they are. And it is an experience on wheels. Oh, for sure. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. He's got fireplaces and they just, you kind of want to live in it forever. Oh, for sure. Like, that and micro homes are on my top, like, short list of, like, things to invest in. Like, that's the way of the future. Like, I just want to pick up and go and just,

like, document it on, like, an RV is the way to go. Yeah. Um, yeah. Let's talk about you now. Like,

“you've got your, your actual styling you location. Where is this location at? And what does it look like?”

And what does heck? What does it feel like? So styling you salon and boutique is in a little town called Rugby North Dakota. It's like the sport rugby. But we, uh, we have, we're, I always say that we're a ton of 3,000 people. And that's with cats and dogs. That's also like in the, just tiny. Yeah.

It's actually more, it feels like you're walking into a something in a city. That was my

“whole goal. Like, I didn't want to be a small town salon. Like, we need to make this big and exciting.”

Yeah. And so you're going to walk in and you're going to be greeted and you're going to hopefully order a coffee and get the day started. And then in the middle of your service, maybe you're processing. You can go wander around and check out all the cool stuff in our boutique. We do clothes and shoes and home decor. We give, we have, we have everything. Yeah. So it's really just like kind of quaint journey like, place you can go to get away and just feel lifted up. Right on, that's awesome.

It's, it's cool because you were obviously on the path and you, it was all designed by some, the viner of engine I'm hoping. But you start off as a salon and then a coffee shop magically just appeared. And then it was kind of like legos of awesome where you, you were systematically building your empire without even knowing it. Talk about that little montage of how you went beyond just, you know, here. Yeah. That's so true. It was just building without me knowing it. And it was all

like accidents. Actually, I don't believe they were accidents at the time. They may seem like accidents.

“But I think they were just put in my path for a reason. But the coffee shop just kind of like”

fell into my lap when a, she's actually a coffee roaster. She came to me and just said, she just really liked to put a coffee shop in my salon and like, I like coffee. And I like you. So let's do it. So yeah. So she did that. So she put the coffee shop in and then she ended up not wanting to stick with it, wanted to move on, spread her wings and was just going to close it down. I'm like, no, I'm addicted now. We're going. So I took that over. So that's all

part of the same little business in the same building. And then the boutique just kind of was an accident also because I just was at this craft show and checking out these purses like they just were so beautiful. I'm like, I love all of them. What do I do? And the lady said, well, you know, actually I want to get out of this. I would sell you this whole business right here at a craft show in Bismarck, right? Yeah. So I went home and I'm like, honey, can we bring the

pick up to the craft show? He's like, why? Because I just bought a purse business. So why not, right? Yeah, I'm right on. Dude. That's all for that in the salon. And it went so well that it just spiraled in our boutique became what it is now just from a few purses into it's crazy. But it's crazy how like, uh, see what it did there. It's crazy. It's crazy how you walk into a room and then these, I'm sure that lady was not expecting to sell her inventory that morning. Like, I'm sure

that folk that person was not expecting to sell their coffee shop or vice versa. Like, you obviously are walking into rooms and things are happening. Have you taken notice of that

super power? Or are you kind of just like, aloof? I feel like I was always aloof. Like,

older, I guess, the older I get. I mean, people always point that out to me. Like, how does this stuff always happen to you? I think I'm just open to it. And you just have to be open to it and open your mind to it. I think it's there for everybody. Maybe you're just not catching it. I don't know. Oh, no. Or maybe a magical. I don't know. That's the thing. The part of the magical part of being a magician is the fact that you don't realize you're working the magic. But I'm sure your husband's

“caught on to the energy. Yeah. That's why I always like to bring him up. I'm like, is he documenting”

your journey? Like, he's, he's the husband and the partner. But he's also I'm sure staff. Yeah. He's amazing. He does like all of the work for me. He's, he actually designed. He built our whole salon that we have. Right on. He does all that stuff. And he knows there's nothing I can do to surprise him anymore. Like, I try. And you just like, well, yeah, I know. Not even like it. Yeah, I'm going to be on the inside success and hang out with Ray for a minute. He might have

been a little bit surprising. But I'm not really. Well, tell my work that PlayStation for five years. I worked. I thought, dude, I worked that PlayStation. Me without change in the mind. You're also a mom to three wonderful children. Yeah. You're also a twin. I don't know where to start. Where do

you want to start? Well, we can start with the twin because I had him first. Oh, rather than I'm like,

you were twin. Yeah, I have a twin. But you also had twins? No. Oh, okay. I was just going to ask that. I like he was in my life first. That's what I meant. Yeah, no, so I have a twin brother. And yeah, it was kind of he's my only sibling. So we just grew up not knowing any different. And one's like, what's it like being a twin? I don't know. What's it like? Nothing a twin. Oh, I don't know. Look up. That's cool. And yes, three wonderful children. My oldest just graduated

the series in college. So, and then my daughter's a junior. And I have a little my youngest baby. I call my baby. But he's an eighth grader. So he's not a really a baby. But he's my baby. Oh, that's all from. So yeah, so they have kept life busy. So somehow in the midst of raising these wonderful, beautiful humans, I've been able to keep my business booming. That's awesome. Are do you put your children to work or are they helping out at all? Yes. Good for you.

Thanks for it all. My oldest Maddox. He started the coffee shop at 14. I have Movelin. She's at the coffee shop in my youngest malloc. He started even before 14. He's like, I just couldn't wait. He wanted to be like his brother and sister and get in. Well, these are great names a lot. What a beautiful name. So I got to ask, why do you feel like I already know it's a spoiler? But for folks that are

I feel like I don't know. Like you said, things just kind of happen for me. I make them happen.

“My whole journey in this world is really about leaving the world better than I got here with.”

And I just want to inspire people. I want to inspire other women to be powerful and business like and do the thing. And don't be held back. And I have a bullet because in your script,

this is that you, you, you, you always bring joy and you, you, you're all about the happy.

I have, I have, I have, I have my happiness in. I make depressed people over I so annoyed. I don't know. But it is about being happy. That's what life is. And if you don't love what you do, I always say, I'm that work more than my mad home. So if you don't love what you do, you're going to not love your life. Yeah. Yeah. So pick something that you love. But I think, no matter what, I would have ended up doing. I think I'd have been the same way. Yeah.

“I think it's just in me. Yeah. I want to be happy. Why wouldn't you want to be happy for sure?”

Yeah. I'm the same way. I use the house that I live in to sleep on weekends and come right here. But this, it's every day. It's like a different energy even though we have so many

sporadic rooms, but folks like you always bring a absolute different energy. I'm always here for it.

So what, what is the easiest way folks can and obsess over you and find you on the internet? Like, how can folks go to your salon? So I have like a million different Instagram and Facebook pages. And TikTok. Of course. Because we have all these. There's a legion. But you can find them all from mine. I'm just, I'm Jody. Kirkton, Instagram. I tried and managed 10 pages, but as you can imagine, when you try to do 10 none of them really. Yeah.

It's time. But um, and I do some funny silly tech talks to you. I don't really usually share it, but if you find me and there go for it, my husband and I just took our daughter and her friend to a concert. And yeah, we just made some funny tech talks about just being stupid. I just feel like you got to laugh at yourself. Yeah, I'm around. I think we're gonna laugh at you. Well, I've been laughing this entire time. Mostly at myself, but this has been a great, great, great warning.

Thank you so much for that. Okay. So this is Jody. I was gonna have you say that.

“Kirk. Kirk, toughener. Right on. That's why I can't, this is, this is, do that one more time.”

This is Jody. Kirk, toughener. And she's the founder of styling you. Yeah. And I'm Regretier's podcast host. And we are inside success.