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 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 good times in order to increase their odds of survival during bad times. In short, they can outshine other businesses during times of adversity. Perhaps this has to do with a spirit that you’re in it together. Let’s face it, there’s one thing that makes family businesses different from all others. In a non-family business, you can quit your job. In a family business, you can’t quit your family when the going gets tough.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL I work in partnership with my wife Louise Smith’s TONI&GUY salon in Salisbury and we share resources and invest heavily in finding and nurturing talent. Both of our children have joined the respective companies and I’m proud to say that this approach had led to award-winning success. We have team members within and outside of our family who are establishing notable reputations in the hairdressing world. We don’t just give those advantages to family members though. We reward all dedicated members with opportunities the same as we would our own children. When you choose to work with us, we work for you.

WHAT MAKES YOUR TEAM TICK Family businesses have been shown to retain talent better than their competitors do. If I had to take a guess at why this is, I’d say that higher trust, getting to really know a team and becoming familiar with their characters and behaviours and including them in any decisions all make a stronger culture. It’s the same as the family dynamics in a household. If you take time to learn what makes everyone tick, you stand a better chance of them being able to play to their strengths and you being able to rely on them more. Happy families!

CARING ABOUT CASH There is also a key benefit to a family business in that family firms have more of a sense that the company’s money is the family’s money, and as a result they simply do a better job of keeping their expenses under control,

avoiding wasteful behaviours and really caring about the bottom line. If you can get your staff to acknowledge and mind about every pound (or dollar) in the till, it’s a huge bonus for your business.

CREATE A LEGACY If you asked anyone, I’m sure they’d say they’d like to create a legacy for their kids, set an example, and shape opportunities for them to thrive. Rather than as a boss just focusing on being personally successful, I would rather see those opportunities go to my team. This way, not only do you help others achieve their goals, you also grow a stronger, more successful business in the process. In general, family businesses don’t rely just as much on financial incentives to increase retention. Instead, they create a culture of commitment and purpose, going the extra mile for their team, being sympathetic to wider lifestyle concerns and issues, plus promoting from within, and investing in people.

EVERYONE’S IN IT TOGETHER I believe in involving everyone in the business so there is a feeling of ownership. Being open and trusting of others is how you get the best from them. It is equally important to celebrate and motivate the individuals around you. I’m hugely grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to build my career. The most significant one being the most renowned family-owned hairdressing business of all time, TONI&GUY. I’m also proud that at least 40 people who have worked with me have gone on to open their own successful salons. It’s like a parent feeling proud of their kids. Seeing others succeed is the essence of success in the ‘business family’ you create around you.

A strong family hairdressing business is when you create a salon with heart, integrity and resilience. Even in difficult times, acting in the interest of others whether it’s the team, your clients, the planet, the community, or the wider hairdressing industry, having a culture of ‘family’ will help you stay accountable for these vital things every day.

Phil Smith