Meet Jess Tergesen, Strategies' New Director of Education

In this episode, Jenn Cody sits down with Jess Tergesen, the Director of Education at Strategies, for a heartfelt conversation about leadership, empowerment, and the future of beauty business education. Jess shares her unexpected journey from reluctant cosmetology student to industry leader, her 11-year tenure at a values-based team company, and her vision for transforming how beauty professionals learn and grow.

Whether you're a salon owner looking to build a stronger team culture or a stylist wanting to step into leadership, this episode delivers powerful insights on creating businesses where everyone thrives.

Key Topics Covered

• From Behind the Chair to Director of Education: Jess's unconventional path into the beauty industry and why she stayed at one company for 11 years
• Values-Based Business Culture: What it really means to lead with values and how it shapes team loyalty and retention
• Leadership Is Not a Title: Why everyone in your business can (and should) be a leader, regardless of their role
• Empowerment Through Self-Trust: Jess's personal definition of empowerment and the growth cycle every leader experiences
• The Future of Strategies Education: A complete breakdown of N.E.X.T. Austin 2026 and the new CoLab class format
• Team + Owner Collaboration: How shared language around numbers, leadership, and culture creates transformation
• Felt Experiences vs. Taught Information: Why education should be experienced, not just absorbed

Episode Highlights

On Choosing Hair School: "I had my daughter when I was in high school and I was like, what am I going to do with my life to quickly get a job, be independent? I'm super creative and I like to talk to people. So I thought, I could be a hairstylist."

On Leadership Being a Behavior, Not a Title: "Leadership is not a title. Anybody can be a leader no matter what their tenure is, no matter how long they've worked there. I believe that people can lead at each and every level."

On Her Definition of Empowerment: "Empowerment comes from within. It means learning to trust yourself as a leader. It starts with humility, saying 'I don't know everything and I am willing to learn.'"

On Building Shared Language: "When you're anchored in your values, when everybody knows why you're doing what you're doing, it becomes easier to coach to the behaviors that are required to hit the goals."

On the New CoLab Education Format: "CoLab stands for collaborate and L.A.B. stands for Leadership, Action, and Breakthroughs. I wanted collaboration between owners and team members, and collaboration between diverse topics."

What's Coming in 2026: N.E.X.T. Austin

Strategies is launching a reimagined education experience March 2-4, 2026 in Au

To learn more about how Strategies can help you create more profit, fun, and growth potential for you, your business, and your team, schedule a free 60-minute strategy session: Strategies: https://www.strategies.comSalon/Spa Business Coaching: https://strategies.com/memberships/In-Person Salon/Spa Seminars: https://strategies.com/educationPodcast: https://strategies.com/podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strategiesteam Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strategiesOnline Education Portal: https://learning.strategies.com/The Beauty Business Strategies Podcast is designed to give salon, spa, medspa, barbershop, and lash studio owners, just like you, quick tips to make more money, inspire your team, and create world-class clien