THE ART OF
BRAND BUILDING By Phil Smith
In the second of a series of masterclasses, one of the biggest names in British hairdressing, business mastermind Phil Smith talks us through some of the lessons he’s learnt in years of running a global salon portfolio and launching his own successful haircare ranges. In 2013, I opened my salon Smith England. Prior to that, at the height of my success and during TONI&GUY’s global expansion, I owned 28 TONI&GUY franchise salons throughout the world, with over 600 staff and annual sales of £16m. When I chose to downsize my business, selling back the salons and scaling down, it was because I wanted to start again at the roots. Smith England is family owned and run business, and while in relative terms, it’s a tiny salon, we have big principles and high ambitions. It’s a refined, quality-driven business that has a sense of community and social conscience. The philosophy amongst clients and staff is that ‘it’s nice to be nice’. The team is nurtured and well rewarded and we see ourselves as a cornerstone of our local community. In essence, you could say it has family values at its heart. I believe though that you don’t have to own a familyrun business to run your business like a family. In fact, I think hairdressing is one of the industries where a family mindset can be a huge plus to the way your company 32
Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 3
performs. According to Harvard Business review, well-run family businesses have been proven to retain employees better because of higher trust, stronger culture, more investment in training, clearer purpose, and closer relationships with employees and stakeholders. So, it got me thinking, what are the key benefits to instilling family values throughout your workplace and how can this approach make your salon stronger?
THE VALUE OF FAMILY VALUES
Perhaps the most significant characteristic of a ‘family business’ is a personal, close-knit approach to the culture of your organisation over a more formal, strictlyprofessional way of doing things. Whether you’re bloodrelated to your team or not, creating a family-like atmosphere and structure for your business encourages your team to work more closely together, promoting goodwill and a better spirit of collaboration. By creating this kind of environment, I’ve found employees feel more invested in the business and in their work, which leads to greater levels of enthusiasm and productivity.
RESILIENCE OVER PERFORMANCE
Another key finding from the Harvard Business review is that family businesses focus on resilience more than performance. They forgo the rewards available during
