Lady and the Hair by Louise May

Lady and the Hair owner Prue Taylor started out as a business owner in her garage at home in Melton, Victoria. Prue began her hairdressing journey as a young apprentice at a local salon, but had big dreams and was hungry for the best in education, so she found the perfect salon in St Kilda and completed her apprenticeship there, where she received some amazing training and met so many great people who had a such a positive influence on her career.

The home-based salon business grew, and 4 more chairs and another basin were added, but it came to a time where Prue needed to find a bigger space!

Prue found her first shop front salon with 15 chairs, and then had to renovate that one to add another 4 chairs.

Prue then introduced the new Sunbury Salon in Victoria, which is growing along beautifully. We absolutely love the community there and feel like we fit in really well, says Prue.

After 5 years in my shop front in Melton it was time for a revamp…. Prue says. So, the “super salon” was born! with 27 stations and 10 basins of absolute heaven… It’s truly such a fun space to work in.

The salon experience has been designed to be all about your comfort and relaxation, delivering not only a great service to each and every person, but also by providing an exceptional experience. Our guests feel at ease from the moment they enter the salon, thanks to our down to earth environment. When their service is finished, they bounce out the door looking and feeling amazing, with the hair they have always wanted!

Amazing hair doesn’t end when they leave the salon, they are given the tools, the products, and the know-how, so they can recreate that salon-fresh finish at home.

Our Team is made up with strong technical hairdressers who are not only talented but also extremely passionate about what they do.

We are always up skilling with the latest hair trends and education, so that we can deliver a level of service and care found nowhere else. We take great pride in being a sustainable salon, which means we recycle 95% of all of our salon waste. We love leading the way in sustainability and being part of such a great cause.

I absolutely love doing hair and everything about the industry… says Prue. I’m back on the floor 5 days a week, because after Covid lockdowns I just wanted to keep busy and be back on the tools.

I love how the industry is always growing and changing, because it keeps me on my toes and needing to always stay ahead of the game. I love all things colour! there isn’t a colour I don’t love to create. I also have a passion for hair extensions because I love how they make a client feel.

I love having my salons because it gives me an opportunity to train young woman to become the best hairdresser they can possibly be, and offer them an exciting career where they will always be able to support themselves.

The sky’s the limit for lady and the hair. I would love to see more salons and I would love to develop a training and education plan that will help build up apprentices skill up quickly, but also hopefully help the industry with our currently skill shortage

Hair Biz Editor, Louise May, spent some time chatting with owner PRUE TAYLOR.

Tell us a little about your career prior to opening your salon.

I worked for some really amazing salons that moulded and inspired me to be the hairdresser I am today, such as Hair Room in St Kilda, Luxe Cutter and Heading out, where I developed my skillset as a stylist. I started in my garage in Melton and while in that space I did a marketing session with Carissa Hill and had Business Coaching with Caitlyn Menzel, which propelled me to take my $7000 and create a salon space in Bakery Square, and start a team of stylists that became Lady and the Hair.

Prue Taylor

Was business ownership always a priority for you?

Yes definitely, I feel like I reached a point where I was unemployable and was ready to forge my own journey in the industry.

Share with us some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the journey and how you overcame these?

Staffing 100%, I feel like the excitement of being a hair stylist is not there anymore. I feel like we need to make the industry better and draw the younger generation and kids to the industry, this is something that I am very passionate about and want to work on in the future.

Who were your industry heroes in your early years and who inspires you today?

Tracey Hughes was a big influence and motivator for me in the early days and has been a big influence on how I train my team within my business. These days I look to Jaye Edwards who said something at a 2-day private session I had with my team that really changed the way I look at colouring “you can’t use old techniques to achieve modern colouring”. Loz Main from The Rumours are True with her approach to business and running a team, Carl and Belinda Keely from Chumba and the way they take to time to educate and train salon owners. Also, Loreal Australia, I have one of the most amazing business managers in Melissa Drinkwell, who is always helping me grow.

What do you enjoy most about your business, team, or clients?

I absolutely love working with my clients and spending time with them when they are in my chair. having a personal connection with my clients that I have been seeing for years is a real privilege and something very special about hairdressing. I still have a weekly client that comes in that I learnt to shampoo on Team – where do I start, I love my team and they are my FAMILY, from my Area Manager/PA to my reception staff and my stylists we are not just a work team, but we are family who support each other in professional and our personal lives. Business – being able to support myself and my son as a single mother, and that I can offer to show young stylists that they can support themselves and build a successful career in our industry.

What do you feel is so unique about your brand/ business?

100% our down to earth, inclusive, and relaxed vibe.

What specific qualities or characteristics do you look for when selecting potential staff for your salons?

Passion for the industry and the want to be a stylist also making sure they are the right fix for the salon atmosphere that we have created at Lady and the Hair.

How do you find, keep, and grow high performing staff?

Word of Mouth and social media is how a lot of the team have come to Lady and the Hair, we have great incentives in place for team members like profit share, great working hours, team lunch on a Saturday, team building and a huge focus on the mental health of the team where we have an EPA program and also, they have a Culture and Wellbeing program that we have introduced since covid 2020. Lady and the Hair and the family values.

What are your secrets to juggling the demands of running a busy salon and large team?

Firstly, my amazing Area Manager and Personal Assistant Wil Wegert, Good Systems down to taking the rubbish out to how to make a coffee to how to blow wave and foil, We have a Lady and the Hair system for it all and lastly by putting trust in my team around me

How do you achieve your balance between the creative and the commercial needs of your business?

As above and having discussions with the team on dated trends and upcoming trends and products on the market such as introducing K18 and adding Redken Flashlift with Bond inside to a growing range of Loreal Australia products that we use.

What’s your advice to others who aspire to open their own salon?

Get ready to work hard, make sure you constantly grow and learn from your peers and don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for help – take that leap and don’t let anyone hold you back.

What has been your greatest lesson or piece of advice along your business journey?

Tracey Hughes told me – you should always invest in your team and train them as much as you can, even if they leave, they might stay… and this changed my business.

How do you develop your team to help them be the best they can be?

With the unique training systems and training plan that we do in-house each week and we are always attending training through Redken, Loreal and Kerastase as well as other industry leaders like Jaye Edwards and Chumba .

What would you say are the core values or philosophies which define your business and leadership style?

Honesty, Trust, Fashion-Forward, Hard Working, Loyalty and Family.

What’s on the agenda for the future?

I can see Salons in the future, growing this empire that I am so proud that I have created, and I want to shape the future of our industry – Develop the future training and education for our industry.