We had the good fortune of connecting with Liz Diaz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Liz, do you have a budget? How do you make lifestyle and spending decisions?
As my business partner Julz Coda and I teach in our financial literacy class titled, ‘Networth and Bill’ expenses or debts don’t necessarily need to feel overwhelming at the end of each month. In our personal lives we both like to travel, go out to dinner with friends and save but if you’re not prepared for those expenses all those luxuries can feel impossible to enjoy without being in debt. This is why we like to teach our students to break down their monthly and annual debt into week expenses. This method makes us feel more financially organized and credit card statements due each month feel less intimidating because the money is there. Whether with our business or personal spending habits we categorize spending with essentials and discretionary lists and when debts become overwhelming, we simply eliminate spending in the discretionary list. We do this for however long we need to get back on track. Having a strong foundation and healthy relationship with finances is crucial for any lifestyle or spending decisions.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Beyond Beauty School, we’re committed to creating a unique learning experience within the beauty industry about finance education. Centered around the philosophy that we are more than just hairdressers, we provide a portal to business, finance, social inspiration and everything in between. We started Beyond Beauty School three years ago and throughout our journey sharing with beauty professional’s life within the beauty industry we realized that most people didn’t talk about learning finances and how to run a business. We wanted to fill that void but make it fun and relatable to all hairdressers, so we created a class titled, ‘Networth and Bill’- Financial literacy for a new generation of hairstylist’s! Our journey with Networth and Bill has really been a lifelong project. Launching our class at the beginning of 2020 was the perfect time to have a fresh start on the year and decade! Once the the Coivd-19 pandemic hit our states, stay at home and socially distancing orders went into place, we had no idea how we were going to continue teaching since all of our in-person classes had been canceled. Hairdressers were now, mandated to close their salons and fearful of the unknown, including us. We decided the only way we could still continue to share our class was to teach it digitally. Thanks to a grant Julz won through Spanx, we filmed our entire curriculum with the help of our trusty production company team, Manhattan Beach Studios. Networth and Bill Academy and will be launching in the fall of 2020. Moving forward with our series 65 and becoming certified financial advisors specifically to beauty professional we hope to help rebuild the salon economy with financially strong hairdressers.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would bring my bestie to have some of the best coffee in town at Steelhead Coffee which just so happens to be in the same building as Salon Republic Torrance. Our building is in the heart of the South bay and home of the Daily Breeze newspaper for many years. It even has a beautiful graffiti mural of Torrance hero, Louis Zamperini. Not a bad view to look at every day! We would then head for lunch at my favorite restaurant, Hank’s Italian in Torrance where they have some of the best pizza, salad bar and cocktails in town! Heading out to LA we could hike to the Hollywood sign or go to a pop-up museum during the day. We could stay in one of Hollywood’s historic hotels and get ready for a night out at one of the many venues this great city has to offer. We could even go dancing, one of my favorite things to do. Next day we could head back to the South Bay and relax at one LA’s best destination resorts, Terranea. Sky’s the limit when you know how to budget for it 😉

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A company that has not only helped me but thousands of other hairdressers, would hands down be Salon Republic. Salon Republic have given Julz and I the opportunity to become salon owner’s and have a creative space to combined all our passions under one roof. Eric Taylor, the CEO and founder has given us multiple opportunities like sharing our story on his podcast The Hair Game, and teach our financial literacy curriculum digitally through their platform. Eric Taylor and his company, Salon Republic have been one of the leading voices advocating for the beauty industry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has helped lift financial worry throughout these hard times to many beauty professionals. It’s an absolute honor to be a part of this family.

Website: www.beyondbeautyschool.net
Instagram: beyondbeautyschool
Facebook: beyondbeautyschool
Youtube: Beyond Beauty School
Other: Personal Instragrams: @iamlizdiaz_ @julzcoda

Image Credits
Dani Van Buren @Danixcanon Nicolas Putnam @Manhattanbeachstudios

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