Year 16 Issue 4
Be the Colourist you want to be. Because everything you need is already Inside.
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ON THE COVER 36 Be Who You Want To Be With Schwarzkopf True Colours REGULARS 10 Editors Letter 16-18 Industry News 68 Dateline Imports 70-71 Hair Shop INTERNATIONAL FEATURE 12 Terri Kay Celebrates 40 Years in Hairdressing FEATURE 10 Minutes with Anthony Nader By Louise May 38 Master of the Craft – Dario Chicco By Louise May 42 Dreams Really Do Come True – Yuki Kano 44 Hair Unlimited with Michael Wolf 62 O&M and the Clean Movement AUSTRALIAN HAIR INDUSTRY AWARDS 2022 20-21 Hair Icons Celebrate at AHIA Creative 2022 22 2022 AHIA Creative Winners 24-29 Meet the Winners 30 Hotshots Team ‘22 31 The Dennis Langford 2022 AHIA Hall Of Fame Award – Dario Cotroneo
www.schwarzkopf-professional.com.au
contents
on the cover
PROFILE 46 Session Styling By Louise May EDUCATION 48 ‘The Art of Brand Building’ Part 3 By Phil Smith 49 Industry Day 2022 By Anthony Gray 50 Tips For Building A Successful Colour Crown 51 The Craft Salon Staff Induction Bible EVENTS 52 Hair Festival Wrap Up 60 milk_shake International Hair Fashion Show BLOGS 74 How Would Your Team Members Rate & Review You as A Boss? By Clive Allwright 75 Savvy Consumers Want You to Wash Their Hair, Not Your Marketing By Paul Frasca 76 Winter Wellness in The Workplace By Brodie Lee Tsiknaris 78 The New Normal By Gary Latham 80 Searching for The X-Factor By Lyndal Salmon
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MARKETING 84 Digital Resuscitation… It’s Time to Bring Your Business Back By Hayley Mears 85 10 Hooks to Use for Instagram Reels By Nicole Healy BUSINESS 86 Forgive Your Younger Self, Believe in Your Current Self, Create Your Future Self By Angeli Marie Shaw 88 Building Community in and Around Your Salon Through Purpose By Nicole Inskip 94 No Signed Lease? Landlords Are Locking Tenants into New Leases with an Implied Lease. How? By Kelly Cunningham 96 Wage Review Time! Are You Increasing Your Wages by the 2.5%? By Kiera Maloney 97 Why There’s Never a Better Time to Take Your Salon Experience Online By Tamara Reid 100 The Three Keys to Nailing Consistent Behaviours By David Watts 102 6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Leave the Industry 104 Understanding the Math Behind Running a Business By Tom Donato 106 Owning and Running a Salon: Is It Worth It? By Jenni Tarrant 108 The 5 Stages of Business Grief By Kym Krey 110 The Great Divide. Suite As… In a Salon Environment By Kerrie Di Mattia 112 Business Foundations to Take Your Salon from Alright to Amazing By Rebecca Miller
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EDITOR’S LETTER
PUBLISHER
Linda Woodhead linda@mochagroup.com.au
EDITOR
Louise May louise@mochagroup.com.au
ADVERTISING MANAGER Nina Barbara nina@mochagroup.com.au
ART DIRECTOR
Kellie Woodhead kellie@mochagroup.com.au
ADMINISTRATION
Jess Richmond jess@mochagroup.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS Louise May Linda Woodhead Phil Smith Anthony Gray Clive Allwright Paul Frasca Brodie Lee Tsiknaris Gary Latham Lyndal Salmon Hayley Mears Nicole Healy Angeli Marie Shaw Nicole Inskip Kelly Cunningham Kiera Maloney Tamara Reid David Watts Tom Donato Jenni Tarrant Kym Krey Kerrie Di Mattia Rebecca Miller
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HAIRBIZ is published four times a year by mocha publishing ABN 65 091 846 189 No Part of the publication may be reproduced in any manner or form without written permission. HAIRBIZ does not accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, transparencies, original artwork or other material. The views expressed in HAIRBIZ are not necessarily those of the publisher. No responsibility will be accepted if the publication is delayed or prevented by factors beyong the control of the publisher. No responsibility will be accepted for errors in copy, or for any loss arising from the failure of an advertisement or any part thereof to appear. © 2022 mocha group All rights reserved.
What a huge couple of months it has been since I put pen to paper and mapped out my last Editors letter! Monday the 13th June saw Australia’s leading creatives joining together in Sydney for the annual Australian Hair Industry Award’s Creative 2022 gala awards evening to honour their peers. Coming off the back of a difficult few years for salons around the country due to the impact of COVID, this was a chance to celebrate one another in person as the industry looks ahead to more exciting times. The event was held as part of the iconic Queen’s Birthday long weekend, alongside Hair Festival, an exciting new initiative which maintains the legacy of the industry’s much loved and most celebrated hair event, Hair Expo, which was sadly cancelled in 2020. With 2 leading media companies, Intermedia, owners of Hair Festival and mocha group, owners of the AHIA Creative, these two powerhouse media companies have come together to host the best of the best in hair. The 2nd annual AHIA Creative saw 800+ of the most talented hairdressers, and their salon teams, watching on, as the awards were announced with the gala night MC’d by Creative Director, Host and Media Personality Adam William. Adam produced the two epic runway shows for the night featuring 33 models and dancers in an explosive fashion rocks, runway spectacle. Hair teams from O&M, ghd and Revlon Professional with hair extensions provided by Amazing Hair also sponosred by Excellent Edges, showed fashion forward runway style hair to compliment the theatrics of the showcases in true high-end luxury style. The feedback for our 2nd event in the creative arena has been fabulous not to mention Hair Festival and the AHC Events over the weekend, all an outstanding success and we are excited to showcase all of this and more in this jam-packed issue! As well as all the AHIA coverage and Festival weekend highlights, we bring to you in this issue great business advice from our business writers, educators, bloggers, and marketing experts! We also spend 10 minutes with the fabulous Anthony Nader, we cross over to the UK with a feature on the amazing Terri Kay, we chat with Dario Chicco, get to look at a stunning new salon that has recently opened in Sydney “Salon Sessions” and we feature Michael Wolff and his stunning new book. With 154 pages of beautiful black and white beauty and the occasional splashes of colour pages. This book is to create awareness for regular bowel cancer health checks and to raise funds for St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. Before I sign off, I just wanted to add that as we are at the beginning of a new financial year, don’t forget to make sure that you revisit your business breakeven, and ensure that what you are charging for your services, aligns with what you need to be turning over for the hours you are trading on a weekly basis. Salons should be looking at their pricing, and I always like to remind salon owners and their teams, that when prices go up, so should their standards... Exceed Expectations always! I am delighted to be bringing you this issue, and I hope you enjoy it! Much love,
Lou x Louise May, HAIRBIZ EDITOR
F I NALI STS A N N O UN CE D L IVE AT 7 PM AE S T
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TERRI KAY CELEBRATES 40 Terri Kay, salon manager at Mark Leeson in Mansfield, UK, and a multi-awardwinning hairdresser, is celebrating 40 years in hairdressing this year. Known for her stunning photographic collections, which have won her two places in the British Hairdressing Awards Hall of Fame, Terri is also at home in the salon looking after clients. “I think my career has lasted so long because it never feels like an effort,” says Terri. “I have never felt like it’s a chore to go to work. I still enjoy every day.” It may surprise many who are used to seeing Terri’s incredible collections and her live work on stage, that she still spends around 95% of the time behind the styling chair. “I love my clients,” she says. “They become like family. You get to know so much about people. I would really miss working behind the chair. I enjoy helping make people feel better.” And it was in a Mansfield salon, four decades ago, that Terri’s career began at the age of just 16 as part of a YTS training scheme. By the time Terri’s apprenticeship officially started at the John Hawley salon, she was already so confident in her craft, that she was running a busy column exclusively looking after male clients. And so, the seeds were sown for some incredible success with men’s hair collections later in her career. It was at this salon that Terri met Mark Leeson, unaware at this time just how significant a part Mark, a future British Hairdresser of the Year, would play in her career. Terri went on to manage a number of salons in the local area and also worked as a freelance hairdresser while her son was young because of the extra flexibility this offered her. Once her son was a little older, Terri began to enter live hairdressing competitions, something she hadn’t done since the beginning of her career. It was while competing on the competition circuit that she met Mark Leeson again. By now, Mark owned his own salon in Mansfield — he’d actually bought
the John Hawley salon where they had both trained — and he was keen to expand his team. Mark offered Terri a job at the salon, and stressed that there would also be opportunities to work outside of the salon doing more creative projects such as stage work and assisting on collections. “Going to work for Mark was definitely a major career move for me,” says Terri. “I’ve done hair shows across the world, and worked on so many award-winning collections, including my own.“ Terri sites many highlights in her career since joining the Mark Leeson team, but possibly the one that stands out the most was working on her first winning collection for the British Hairdressing Awards’ Eastern category, which she went on to win three times. “This was the first time I had shot a collection for British,” recalls Terri. “I was in tears when I finished it. I found it so stressful, although I enjoyed it immensely. Putting together a collection is exciting and nerve-wracking — a lot of emotion goes into it.” Continues Terri: “This side of things gets easier over time as you get to know more. I had to learn to think of how hair will look in 2D when I was used to working in 3D. I’ve learned a lot over the years, this is just what comes of doing it regularly.” One of the biggest challenges when putting together a photographic collection is finding models that won’t appear in every other collection that year. One way that Terri and the team at Mark Leeson have found to get around this issue, is to do photoshoots abroad.
YEARS IN HAIRDRESSING! “I did a couple of shoots for Eastern in Australia, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne,” recalls Terri. “Andrew O’Toole, the photographer, lives there so it was easier to go to him. It also meant we got to use models that weren’t in every other collection that year. The model agencies in Australia are also a lot more accommodating when it comes to changing the models’ hair so it was a great decision to shoot there.” In 2016, Terri joined forces with her Mark Leeson colleague Andrea Giles to create a collection to enter for the Men’s Hairdresser of the Year category of the British Hairdressing Awards. “Men’s hair was where I started, so creating this first men’s collection was going back to my roots,” says Terri. “I love everything about working with men’s hair — I actually find it easier.” Something both Terri and Andrea wanted to avoid with their men’s collections were overtly masculine looks “When we started to do shoots, I became aware of how men’s hair had moved on, from very masculine cuts and beards towards androgyny,” says Terri. “Our collections were beautiful. Men’s hairdressing is moving on from barbering. It’s moved full circle to how it was in the 80s with movements such as the New Romantics.” Terri and Andrea also made sure that for the first two men’s collections they concentrated on the hair and not the clothes. “We also had the models looking straight at the camera, which got us a lot of front covers,” says Terri. I was a winning formula, with the pair going on to win the category again in 2017.
For their third win, the pair changed things up with their 2020 collection featuring two models in each shot. “This is my favourite collection of the three,” says Terri. “The other two were beautiful, but the 2020 collection felt more raw, which I liked.” Terri’s inspiration for her collections and other creative work comes from a range of sources. “I take inspiration from the catwalk, pop culture, and music. It’s also important to listen to younger people — They have ideas and they are the future.” Terri also acknowledges the huge influence Mark Leeson has had on her work. “My biggest mentor has to be Mark because we share a lot of ideas,” she says. “He listens as well as advising. He has a good eye and a creative mind.” Terri believes it’s vital for anyone wanting to enjoy a long and successful career like hers, to be aware that you never know everything. “My main advice is to keep learning, don’t let it become mundane. The best thing about our job is making a suggestion to a client about how they can make changes and the client trusting you and going with it. Don’t just do 20 bobs in a day. When I was 21, it was perms, highlights and blow-dries. The great thing about today is that everyone is different. It has definitely changed for the better.” Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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10 MINUTES WITH
ANTHONY NADER By Louise May
Celebrating a silver anniversary of 25 amazing years in business, with RAW Anthony Nader. Anthony Nader is no stranger when it comes to being backstage at Fashion Week around the globe, this is where he absolutely thrives. When not in the salon, Anthony’s on photo shoots for print and online publications in Fashion and beauty. In his downtime, Anthony loves to immerse himself in reading autobiographies, updating his Spotify playlists, and sketching. We caught up with the gorgeous man himself recently, to get a little up close and personal, and to also find out a little more about ‘love thy nader’…
Tell us what you do in the industry today: I’m fortunate that I can split my time up between being on the salon floor and being on photoshoots for fashion brands and publications. I’ve always loved being on shoots from the very start of my thirty-year young career. It’s an avenue that I feel keeps me excited about playing with hair. In saying this, I love my salon clients immensely and wouldn’t be where I am today without them all. From time to time, I hold editorial workshops on a Monday and the class is capped at seven
students which has a mixture of makeup artists and hairdressers. I designed the workshop for those wanting to feel more confident being on a photoshoot and knowing how to master strong hair shapes with an editorial feel.
Help us get to know you a little more with your personal history: I grew 300 km south of Sydney in a small town called Moruya. My family owned a clothing store and in the back of the store was a hair salon. I loved being in the store as I used to help with the window displays and merchandising in the store. Needless to say, when I hung out in the hair salon, this is where I got my real taste of the ‘what and where’ playing with hair could take me. Years went by, I finished year eleven and said to my parents that year twelve was going to be such a waste of time as I knew I wanted to just start my hairdressing apprenticeship. With my parents blessing I then started my career in my elder sister’s salon up the road. Ok so here’s where I came across old but I’m not ok!!! Back then an apprenticeship was four years, so I used to write letters (yes, write letters) to hair salons in Beverly Hills to see if I could do work
experience in their salon for three weeks and without pay. Between you, HAIR BIZ readers and I, it was purely a shopping trip, but I wasn’t going to tell my accountant this each of the four times I made the trek over to America. Then the day I finished my apprenticeship I moved to London for one year, where I worked at a salon in Kensington.
How did you first get involved in the industry?
First and foremost, playing with my twin sisters barbie and ken dolls… she’s still bitter that I did better hair than her. When I turned eighteen, I started my career in hairdressing and I all knew was that there had to be a bigger picture of where doing hairdressing could take me.
What achievements are you most proud of in your life/career?
A small handful as I don’t want to bore you... Living and working in New York for ten years. The AHJ industry awards I’ve won. David and I celebrating our salons Silver Anniversary this year and lastly and most thankfully, good health.
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what alternative career would you consider? I’d either be an architect or an interior decorator.
Three things you’re passionate about: My family Fashion and Beauty Scented candles
Describe your ideal Sunday:
Anyone that really knows me well, knows I’m such a creature of habit and Sundays especially. Priority is waking up late-ish, reading my weekly digital magazines in bed with a Sisley Black Rose Cream face mask slathered on, bottomless coffee’s while watching music videos or the latest Netflix series while still in bed, then heading out for brunch before having at least a two-hour nap… and you guessed it in bed.
What’s on your bucket list?
To travel the globe, first class and stay at either an Aman or Six Senses resorts. Have you got a contact you could flick me? I did a three-day photoshoot at the Amangiri Utah, and didn’t want to leave. To this day, it’s the best work trip I’ve done in my entire career.
Craziest, funniest, or most unusual thing/s you’ve ever done?
How about being “pushed” aside quiet abruptly by one of Madonna’s security people when I got too close. I even made the news!!! Please don’t ask me to explain it any further… lol
Favourite Travel Destination you have been to and why?
Mmm that’s a hard one as every travel destination is special in some way. Seville, Spain is wonderful. The fusion of different cultures and architecture in one little city is just so inspiring. The tiny cobblestone streets and the food, the tapas is just incredible. I think I gained three kilos on that Spanish holiday.
What’s playing on your Spotify right now?
Caprisongs – FKA twigs and anything from Sébastien Léger
It’s been a fun process and not for the faint hearted that’s for sure. Much respect for anyone with a product range on any scale.
What trends are you loving right now, in Hair & Fashion?
What’s something interesting or quirky we might not know about you?
My hair and fashion aesthetic has really always been the same, I have a bible if you will. My favourite two designers are Hedi Slimane at CELINE and Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent. Every campaign and Fashion Week show they do, hair and fashion is what I look at for future referencing. Then I take that on board and filter this down to a ‘consumer level’ for the salon floor.
I’M NOT INTERESTED IN COMPETING WITH ANYONE. I HOPE WE ALL MAKE IT.” ANTHONY NADER
If you could leave this industry having achieved just one thing, what would that legacy be?
Staying true to my work and not trying to be someone I’m not.
A career highlight?
Last month David and I just launched the @ ltn range (it only took 25 years!). We have two straighteners/styling irons and a deluxe range of 100% Mulberry Silk pillowcases in seven beautiful colours. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, and it’s a no-brainer to release hair care essentials that I can recommend to my clients in the salon Over my 30+ years in the industry, I’ve always been using other brands in the salon, on shoots, and backstage at fashion shows. The salon’s silver anniversary felt like the perfect year to launch my own brand.
I don’t wear denim. Is this interesting or quirky? I’ll let you decide. Oh yeah and David just reminded me, don’t ever touch my Adam’s apple!
If you could invite 4 people, living or passed, to a dinner party at your place, who would you invite?
The Fren family from Travel Guides (Channel Nine travel show). My stomach would be in stitches from the second my front door opened to the moment they left. I think they’re hysterical.
Do you have a motto or signature life philosophy?
I’m not interested in competing with anyone. I hope we all make it.
What does contentment mean to you?
Having a tight group of people around you that you can trust.
What makes you laugh?
Will and Grace, always every time. David will always say very questionably, “Haven’t you already seen this episode”? My reply “NO cherub never!!! I don’t know how I missed this one” hehehe.
How do you like to unwind after a busy day/week at work?
Curl up on the couch with a nice glass of Rose and switch on Netflix.
Your greatest indulgence? Surry Hills Wednesday!
Dumplings
for
lunch
every
What’s on the agenda for the future? More holidays and more carbs x
INDUSTRY NEWS | INDUSTRY NEWS | INDUSTRY NEWS RICHI GRISILLO WELCOMED AS MOROCCANOIL AMBASSADOR
Richi Grisillo is an ingenious artist, inspirational mentor and multi award-winning hairdressing professional. Spend a short few moments in his company and you can be sure to make a connection to last a lifetime. With a genuine commitment to the constant progression of the hairdressing industry, his passion and drive for hairdressing is infectious. “I’m so excited to be able to partner with Moroccanoil. It’s such an iconic brand that helped introduce oil-based haircare to the world, as well as a brand that has a strong core of environmental and social conscious since its start. I am looking forward to what we are able to create together” says Richi. Having a strong understanding of the basic fundamentals, a high respect for technical proficiency and a comprehensive understanding of the interdependent relationship between hair and fashion, Richi demonstrates the perfect balance between creative vision and the fundamental skill set that define him as an expert both in and out of the salon. Richi’s hairdressing career commenced at the landmark flagship TONI&GUY Pitt Street Salon in 2005, where this self-proclaimed ‘day-dreamer’ was instantly taken with the energy and lifestyle hairdressing offered. Fast forward more than 15 years and Richi’s career as a hairdressing professional knows no boundaries. Now he adds owner and creative director of ACADÈMIE SALON to his extensive list of achievements, cementing his position as a force to be reckoned with. @richi_grisillo @academie_salon @moroccanoil_au
HAIR AID RESTARTS
Always wanted to join a Hair Aid International project? To celebrate ten years since the first training team started in the Philippines, Hair Aid has released a one off opportunity to win a spot on the team! Known originally as the ‘Kuya Collaborative’ it’s been 10 years since Hair Aid began and the Hair Aid team is once again bursting with excitement as they plan for their 31st international project to Bali in September 2022. A team of twelve volunteers from all over the world will gather in Bali and continue training the people who live in critical poverty, the skill of five basic haircuts. ‘For this project we will be returning to the women’s Kerobokan jail, working with people that live in the dump and forage a living by scavenging recycled plastic water bottles, and also training those in a local community’ Selina Tomasich, CEO and founder of Hair Aid said. Selina said she can’t wait to get back to the women’s jail in particular. Just before COVID closed down international travel, Hair Aid was in the final stages of building a full training Salon in the women’s jail. 16
Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
With international travel open, Hair Aid has recommenced international projects into Cambodia, Thailand Indonesia and the Philippines, with Vietnam beginning in 2023. That makes five countries where Hair Aid will be training people living in critical poverty, basic haircutting skills. Not only is the Hair Aid team planning international projects, but they are very busy organising their main fundraiser for the year, the Global Cut-a-Thon. This year, to celebrate international projects reopening, everyone that participates in the Global Cut-a-Thon goes in to win a spot on a Hair Aid project of your choice. ‘It’s our way of thanking Hair Aid supporters for their continued support over the last 10 years. In January 2023 it will be exactly 10 years since Hair Aid began training people in critical poverty in the Philippines. What better way to celebrate then offering a chance to win a place on a project’. To participate in the Hair Aid 2022 Global Cut-a-Thon simply sign up to cut ONE haircut on the 7th September and donate the cost of that haircut to Hair Aid. People can join the Global Cut-a-Thon by signing up on Hair Aid’s web page. The winner will join the team on any one of the projects they choose in 2023. Hair Aid Community Cuts is also growing, and volunteers who are able to offer two hours every six weeks to provide haircuts for the homeless and those in need in our Australian communities are welcome to join the Hair Aid team. Jump onto their web page and sign up. Just two hours of your time, every six weeks, could make a huge impact, in the world that’s still hurting. It’s a perfect way to give back. https://hairaid.org.au/pages/global-cut-a-thon https://hairaid.org.au/pages/community-cuts
NEW PLANS FOR THE BRITISH FELLOWSHIP
Following its 75th anniversary, the Fellowship for British Hairdressing has unveiled its plans for the next 75 years to come – with new initiatives, a new direction, and new faces to lead it into the future. With President Robert Eaton at the helm, the Fellowship is embracing the diversity of the industry, the challenges it faces and the opportunities available with the launch of its Executive Board, Fellowship members who have come together to share ideas, inspirations, and determination to take the British hairdressing industry to new levels. Each member not only brings a wealth of experience, but will also be responsible for driving the Fellowship forward. Robert explains: “The launch of our dedicated Executive Board is about recognising the great work that has already been done, celebrating our heritage and driving the Fellowship forward in a fresh and modern way.” The Executive Board members are: Robert Eaton, President Ashleigh Hodges, Vice President Andreas Stavrou, Chair Michelle Griffin, Vice Chair Karoliina Saunders, Chancellor Colin McAndrew, Head of Business Nick Irwin, Head of Creative Simon Shaw, Head of Education Ken Picton, Head of Finance Barry Stephens, CEO Rob added: “Hairdressing is an exciting career and our Executive Board want to inspire people both new to the industry and those who have worked in the industry for many years. We will be collaborating and bringing the industry together from all corners of the UK and inspiring, educating and motivating salon owners, salon stylists, freelance independent stylists and barbers, as well as our product houses and our press. Working together we want to re-energise the next generation
INDUSTRY NEWS | INDUSTRY NEWS | INDUSTRY NEWS PATRICK CAMERON AWARDED MBE
One of the most respected personalities in the global hairdressing community, Patrick Cameron, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 2022 Birthday Honours List. Patrick will be given the honour for his service to the hairdressing industry with particular recognition for his extraordinary work during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a career spanning over 40 years, Patrick is known throughout the hairdressing world for his exceptional long hair work and unique educational skills. Since arriving in the UK from his native New Zealand in 1987 and as one of Wella’s global ambassadors, he has presented shows and educational seminars in every continent, sharing his long hair knowledge with eager students and always looking to the future of the industry. As an early advocate of digital education with his ‘Access All Areas’ platform he quickly reacted to the situation and reached out to his peers on his social media channels. From his home studio Patrick set about producing free weekly online programmes making it his mission to keep an optimistic and upbeat spirit. He inspired others to stay positive and use the time whilst forced to stay at home to increase their hairdressing knowledge and skills and encourage others to be the best they could. Over 300K eager hairdressers tuned into ‘Education in Isolation’ and the programme even inspired many other would-be educators to start their own training platforms. During the lockdown he was invited as a guest on many live sessions and podcasts, entertaining and inspiring others. Realising the importance of self-care Patrick also presented a series of “Mindfulness” videos on You Tube.
TIMELY ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF LATEST BRAND AMBASSADOR, SHERIDAN SHAW.
An expert in blonde, balayage and vivid colour hair, Sheridan the owner of Mamawest in Maidstone, Victoria, has made a name for herself in the small business space and recently secured finalist status in the AHIA Creative Awards in both the Hot Shots & New Creative Talent categories. Timely has been Sheridans' go-to business management brand for Mamawest since 2020 and has enjoyed a close relationship with them since thanks to her involvement with the launch of Timely’s new Pronouns feature, where the Mamawest team collaborated on an in-salon photo shoot showcasing inclusivity within the hair and beauty industry. Along with regularly illustrating the infamous Mamawest exceptional client experience through use of the Timely Business Management Software system, Sheridan is set to create a bespoke learning module exclusive for Timely customers in the hopes of expanding their knowledge and upskilling their treatment understanding when performing bold colour transformations. “Working alongside Timely, a progressive, innovative, global brand that values community and client experience - could not be any more aligned with the values of MAMAWEST. This is a dream come true & I am beyond excited for our future together!" “Sheridan is a remarkable talent, and we know she's only going to continue to rise to new heights," said Tamara Reid, Global Head of Partnerships. "When we first approached her about a partnership earlier this year, we were drawn to her confidence and fierce ambition as much as her power to hold nothing back. She loves to express herself through hair and is a constant inspiration to her clients on living boldly. It's that authenticity and unapologetic spirit that we admire, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the Timely family.” www.gettimely.com
AFFINAGE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COLOUR COMPETITION WINNERS ANNOUNCED
OVERALL WINNER Domi Pinalli
APPRENTICE AWARD Sonita Aziz
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD Natalie Carter
The talented winners of the annual Photographic Color Competition's 2021/2022 have been announced, rewarding those who best implemented the brief of inspired colour combined with exceptional finish and elegance. The looks were inspired by current trends and inventive styles, as well as a passion for creative coloured hair. With their inspiring appearance, this year's winners in all three categories embodied these qualities. Congratulations goes to everyone who entered particularly in-light of Covid, the lockdowns and how difficult these times have been across Australia and the globe. Congratulations to the winners. For the main prize of Overall Winner of the 2021/2022 Affinage Professional Photographic Colour Competition, Domi Pinalli won for an artistic, multifaceted, and trending cut with striking yet gorgeous colour details. The look presented an editorial flair as well as offering an edgy, captivating style. In the category of 2021/2022 People’s Choice Award, Natalie Carter took home the prize. Her look showed off a bold wavy technique within a brunette hair look, with dynamic colour tones of purple, violet and pink expertly weaved into the hair design. The 2021/2022 Apprentice Award was won by Sonita Aziz, whose colour transformation with brilliant copper tones and a flawless styled finish showed enormous skill and creative potential. Well done to all the winners and everyone who entered for channelling their most creative selves and investing in their artistry.
FINALISTS
Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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INDUSTRY NEWS | INDUSTRY NEWS | INDUSTRY NEWS DISCOVER HOLISTIC AND BOUTIQUE HAIRCARE BRANDS ALL IN THE ONE LOCATION
Great hair care comes from industry expertise and precision, and Eva Professional are proud to have 100 years of international experience. Est. in 1922 they are constantly evolving to create on trend products, simply by listening to Eva Professional salon stockists in over 55 countries worldwide. Eva Professional have strived for greatness while listening to hairdressers who stock their brands to reform and restructure colours to be on trend at all times. They have created three specific colour ranges to respect the wishes of the salons that choose to partner with Eva Professional as their holistic brand. Eva Professional also delivers a variety of retail professional products which has been expanded over years to match up in perfect harmony with our boutique colour lines. E-line, Vitamin Recharge, Capilo and Hydra.In encompass our retail brands that offer to enhance your salon experience and client satisfaction. To ensure salons only receive the highest quality products, Eva Professional has invested in their very own manufacturing facility. This allows their brands to be manufactured inhouse together with their own R&D facility to test and develop advance formulations at any point in time. Securely having the ability to host and protect our organic ingredients in a controlled environment is a priority for the brand. Hairdressers all over the world give Eva Professional the stamp of approval and invite you to discover their brands. Eva Professional Australia has also teamed up with FRAMAR, which means they can supply you with boutique colour, retail and the hottest hair tools in the industry all from the one location! Convenience is key which is why Eva Professional offer shipping 3 times a day to salons Australia wide. To find out more go to www.evaprofessional.com.au. Get social on IG and FB with Eva Professional Australia
DEVELOP REAL CONFIDENCE WITH SNIPT APP
is a streaming lesson on demand APP that teaches how to cut hair, from Beginners to Professional. It is available on the APP Store and Google Play for Phone and Tablet and is the brainchild of acclaimed hairdressing educators Kylie and Mick Dwyer. SNIPT has been developed for two reasons. Firstly, as training resource to help students revise and master the basic cutting skills their teachers have taught at TAFE or College. Secondly, to show step-by-step commercial and fashion styles that their clients will be asking for. There are two sections to the SNIPT APP: 1 - BASICS - All Basics Videos are FREE, no personal details or card needed, just a free download. 2 - PREMIUM - Only $3 per week, containing hundreds of commercial and fashion videos, including personalising and finishing techniques. With the SNIPT app, each lesson is less than six minutes and covers basic haircuts to professional level. The latest trending haircuts are updated monthly, and you can track your progress in each category. Develop real confidence as your skills increase by understanding where to start and how to breakdown a haircuts components into clear, progressive stages. www.snipt.com.au
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Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
RUMBIE MUTSIWA OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES THE RUMBIE & CO. ACADEMY.
Master in Wavy, Curly and Afro textures, celebrity stylist, and CEO of Rumbie & Co - Australia’s leading curl specialist salon – Rumbie Mutsiwa, has officially launched the Rumbie & Co. Academy in Sydney. Although originally established in 2019, the Academy is an acclaimed online and on-site training institute committed to up-skilling hairdressers in the art of curls! The demand from professional hairdressers and curly-haired clients and parents to be educated in the art of taking care of, and styling, curly hair has grown significantly in recent years. Says Rumbie, “"Going Natural" has become a lifestyle, not just a trend; clients are looking for salons they can trust with their curls, and trust-building with our curl clients is our strength!” “The professional hairdressing industry, more often than not, remains scared and anxious to serve curly-haired clients, which unfortunately, has led to salons losing clients to YouTubers, influencers and backyard operations who have gained their trust. The question is will you and your team be hairdressers that move with the time?” Rumbie has grown her Curly Bizz from 3000 clients to 7000 clients in just 2 years! With 65% of the world's population living with Wavy, Curly or Afro Hair, we can't realistically service them all. Because of that, we created an Academy, which simplifies curly hair for professionals. Whether it's cutting techniques or styling, we have carefully curated these courses to empower professionals at any stage of their career to deliver confident care to their curly hair clients. Choose from: • Curl Like a Pro – Wavy & Curly • Fro Like a Pro – Afro • Grow Your Curly Bizz • Curl Mastery • Afro Mastery • Academy to Salon. For more information on the courses, visit: www.rumbie.co/product-category/academy/courses-for-professionals
Everything you need to know about Framar: Their story beyond the foils Here at EVA Professional Australia, we don’t try to be everything to everyone. We carry a convenient everyday salon supplies range that ensures you never run out of anything you need to run your salon daily. No matter the size of your salon, or if you are newly established with our brands, both you and your salon will still receive the same respect, care, and education from our team.
With that said, Eva Professional Australia is now in partnership with Framar to provide both Australia and NZ with the hottest and on-trend salon supplies. Anything needed for the colour room, in one location. From foil to brushes, clips, and all of your favourite accessories. Framar products provide you with all the advantages needed for being a top-notch colourist!
FUN FACTS: • Frank and Maria met while he was styling her hair in 1985 at a salon in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. They tied the knot 3 years later. • After cutting foils every day for her stylist husband, Frank, Maria decides to create a foil products pecifically for colouring hair. • Framar, known as Foil It at the time, becomes the first company to sell hair foil in Canada and introduced the concept to the market.
• Changes the hair colouring game by selling foilin roll form to allow stylists to choose their own length. • Framar moves into their first warehouse down the street from the family home in Niagara Falls, Canada, where they began in-house manufacturing. • Foil It is renamed Framar, as combining of the names FRAnk and MARia. • Framar’s Ethereal foil becomes the first ombre patterned foil evercreated.
ONE LAST THING-HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE FRAMAR? It’s Fray-mar, FRAMAR began when FRAnk met MARia, they fell in love and their family has been a staple in the haircare world ever since.
SORRY TO FOIL YOUR PLANS Since their first foil product in 1985. Framar has developed dozens of foil products. Whether you want the rainbow, classic black, party animal print, or iridescent foils these Pop-Up boxes of pre-cut and pre-folded foils mean that you can just grab and go. The fun doesn’t stop at Pop-Ups, there are plenty of incredible colours and patterns available in pre-cut boxes and rolls of different weights. What you choose is entirely up to you. Many of the foils from Framar are embossed. When a foil is embossed, it helps to grip the hair better and prevents slippage. Don’t worry if you aren’t a fan of embossed foils though! They have plenty of gorgeous smooth foil products to choose from.
Framar products will definitely help you to give your clients Instagram-worthy selfies for the entire salon experience.
HAPPINESS IS A GOOD HAIR DAY! Spend $100 and receive 10% off your order Spend $200 and receive 15% off Framar and receive a free gift. We ship across Australia 3 times a day! 07 3124 4019
EvaProfessionalAustralia
14b Devlan Street Mansfield, QLD 4122
sales@evaprofessional.com.au
evaprofessionalaustralia
www.evaprofessional.com.au
HAIR ICONS CELEBRATE BEST OF THE BEST AT THE ANNUAL AUSTRALIAN HAIR INDUSTRY AWARDS CREATIVE 2022
AHIA CREATIVE Winners Creatve Director Adam Williams dressed in Politix Menswear
Monday the 13th June saw Australia’s leading creatives joining together at International Convention Centre, Sydney for the annual Australian Hair Industry Award’s Creative 2022 gala awards evening to honour their peers. Coming off the back of a difficult few years for salons around the country due to the impact of COVID, this was a chance to celebrate one another in person as the industry looks ahead to exciting times. Launched in 2012 by esteemed trade visionaries Mocha Publishing, the AHIA’s are celebrating their 10th year as the trusted national award platform which provides a benchmark of excellence across both specialist and individual Educational and Business categories and the second year that the Creative categories have been given their own awards program. The event was held as part of the inaugural HAIR FESTIVAL over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, an exciting new initiative which maintains the legacy of the industry’s much loved and most celebrated hair event, Hair Expo, which was sadly cancelled in 2020. The evening saw 800 of the most talented hairdressers and their salon teams watching on as the awards were announced with the gala night MC’d by Creative Director, Host and Media Personality Adam Williams, styled to
Danny Pato NZHOTY and Dee Parker Attwood AHOTY
AHOTY Dee Parker Attwood
Owner of mocha and AHIA LINDA WOODHEAD
perfection in a stunning Jade Green velvet jacket from Politix Menswear. Adam produced the two epic runway shows for the night featuring 33 models and dancers in an explosive fashion rocks, runway spectacle. Having previously collaborated with Vogue, Bvlgari, Meta, Harpers Bazaar and many more, Williams brought the ideal blend of elevated editorial and theatrical flavour to the AHIA runway shows, which featured pyros in abundance, waterfalls of aqua fog, fashion direct from the 2022 fashion week catwalks, and an intricately choreographed explosion of fashion and dance against the backdrop of a 32 meter LED screen and custom show tracks reminiscent of a Madrid circuit party. Hair teams from O&M, ghd and Revlon Professional with hair extensions provided by Amazing Hair showed fashion forward runway style hair to compliment the theatrics of the showcases in true high-end luxury style. Owner/Publisher Linda Woodhead was thrilled that this second year was so successful; “After launching the Creative AHIA’s last year, we were thrilled at the overwhelming industry response and the huge amount of entries. These very special awards continue to highlight the
quality of the industry’s editorial and trend focused skills and have allowed our entrants to show their clients and communities just how talented they are. The quality of the Australian hair industry is clearly evident here and every finalist and winner should be incredibly proud of their work.” AHIA’s Creative partnered with the best names and brands in the industry to bring the evening together including brand partners O&M, Revlon Professional, ghd, Excellent Edges and Amazing Hair. The awards were judged by a phenomenal group of esteemed international and local experts enlisted to hone in on the impressive entries with business, media and industry icons including Angelo Seminara, Errol Douglas, Sally and Jamie Brooks, Sam McKnight, Charlotte Grant-West of HJI, Sergi Bancells of Esthetica, Cameron Pine of Instyle, Louise May of HAIR BIZ and Christina Butcher of Hair Romance. The evening also saw announcement of the much-anticipated HOTSHOTS team for 2022, putting a spotlight on the industry’s most exciting next-gen talent and providing the chance for these 31 and under superstars to take their career to a whole new level. This crew were judged by familiar faces including Dee Parker-Attwood, Jayne Wild, Benni Tognini, Stevie English, Sharon Blain and Brad Ngata.
2022 HOT SHOTS Team
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Instagram: @mochahair
#ahia2022Hair Biz Year 15 Issue 4
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2022 AHIA CREATIVE WINNERS AUSTRALIAN HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Dee Parker Attwood - Wieselmann Salon NEW ZEALAND HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Danny Pato - D&M Hair Design INTERNATIONAL HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Errol Douglas - Errol Douglas, UK NSW/ACT HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Nathan Yazbek - Salon Yazbek WA/NT HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Stephanie Bellairs - Cabello by Stephanie Bellairs QLD HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Bill Tsiknaris - Tsiknaris Hair SA/TAS HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Lisa Robertson - Pipsqueek in Saigon VIC HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Bernadette Beswick - Beswick Education Services APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR Ella Stewart - Stevie English Hair MASTER CUTTER OF THE YEAR Shae Tsiknaris - Tsiknaris Hair INDEPENDENT STYLIST OF THE YEAR Carolyn Gahan - Carolyn Gahan for 'Joico' AVANT GARDE HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Chung-Yang Su - Su-Atelier NEW CREATIVE TALENT OF THE YEAR Elle Coco - Jack Horton Hair COLOUR EXPERT OF THE YEAR Stevie English - Stevie English Hair MEN'S HAIR SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR France Khamees - By France THE DENNIS LANGFORD HALL OF FAME Dario Cotroneo CREATIVE TEAM OF THE YEAR Jack Horton Hair HOT SHOTS TEAM Elle Coco - Jack Horton Hair Hayley Warner - Oscar Oscar Salons Louise Graham - Hey Hair Tia Wright-Pihama - Toni&Guy Perth BEST COLAB OF THE YEAR Stevie and Bernie
(Stevie English and Bernadette Beswick)
PEOPLES CHOICE PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION OF THE YEAR Paul James Graham – Paul and Paul Salon
Australian Hairdresser of the Year Dee Parker Attwood Colour: Dee Parker Attwood & Casey Ryman Salon: Wieselmann Photographer: Andrew O'Toole Make Up: Kylie O'Toole Styling: Ella Murphy
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Now in its 2nd year the Australian Hair Industry Awards (AHIA) Creative celebrate the very best creative talent in the industry. To be recognised for this prestigious award, hairdressers, colourists and teams put together a collection of hair photographs, before their work is blind judged to select the finalists and subsequent winners in each category. The stakes are high and the talent on display is immense, so only the very finest hairdressing collections that demonstrate well-thought-out concepts, imagination, flair, technical skill, perfect execution, suitability and beautiful photography can be chosen as the award winner. Here we celebrate the stunning and inspiring 2022 AHIA Creative winners.
AUSTRALIAN HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Dee Parker Attwood - Wieselmann Salon
Dee is one of our most accomplished hairdressers globally, having taken out numerous awards and accolades against her peers around the world. As co-owner and Artistic Director of Wieselmann salon in Melbourne, her career spans over 20 years including being international ambassador for Schwarzkopf Professional and 2019 Hair Expo Australian Hairdresser of the Year and Best International Avant-Garde Collection at the International Hairdressing Awards 2020. She is also one of the leading visionaries of the local industry having been named president of the Hairdressing and Beauty Industry Association where she uses her passion and love for her craft to help to educate and share with the community. But, it’s her skill in the salon where she truly shines, creating some of the most incredible colours, cuts and styles Australia has ever seen.
NEW ZEALAND HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Danny Pato - D&M Hair Design
Co-Founder and Creative Director of D&M Hair Design, Danny Pato grew up in Greece with five sisters, the very women who sparked his passion for hairdressing. That passion has taken him all over the world and seen him recognised as one of the most awarded hairdressers in the industry. Indeed, the D&M team are proud to have been consistently recognised as the top salon team in the country since first opening more than 15 years ago. The combination of unique cultures, specialty skill sets and creative passions is what defines them, alongside their comprehensive in-house training program focused on international trends and techniques. Today, Danny works full-time on the salon floor, and juggles training his team, doing fashion editorials, writing industry commentary and adding to his trophies for Hair Expo NZ Hairdresser of the Year 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, AIPP International Trophy 2020 and top-three finalist for International Hairdresser of the Year 2020.
AHIA International Hairdresser Of The Year Errol Douglas MBE. Collected By Lee Cohen
INTERNATIONAL HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Errol Douglas MBE - Errol Douglas, UK
With over four decades in the hair industry and a lifelong ambition to represent the craft, both in the UK and around the world, Errol is the current title holder of IHA International Hairdresser of the Year, Fellowship Hairdresser of the Year and Belgravia Local Hero. He also holds the prestigious title of Patron of Honour for the Fellowship of Hairdressing – one of only four others ever to have been chosen to receive it. Whether on stage or behind the scenes at a shoot, educating or as an ambassador, his passion and dedication is showcasing the best of British hairdressing. Hailed as a centre of technical excellence and accredited as one of only 12 Leading Salons of the World in the UK, his salon is a destination for international and UK based hair clients, celebrating their 23rd year in business in 2022. Errol is the ultimate artisan within the hairdressing industry and renowned for his photographic, session and event work.
Proudly owned by Mocha Group | Official Media Partner HAIRBIZ Facebook: mocha hair
Instagram: @mochahair
#ahia2022Hair Biz Year 15 Issue 4
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NSW/ACT HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Nathan Yazbek - Salon Yazbek
Nathan created the stunning Salon Yazbek salon in Neutral Bay over 10 years ago and not only does he create beautiful hair, provide excellent customer service and a fantastic experience, he also leads the industry in the benefits of an eco-luxe approach to business. With an estimated 6 out of 10 Australians now looking for environmentally preferable products the need for this is only increasing, particularly among North Shore clientele. Working alongside Aveda as a brand Ambassador he is inspiring other salons to make the switch whilst providing clients with professional results whilst helping the environment and having a positive impact on sustainability. Winners of the 2012 Australian Small Business Champion Awards – Most Outstanding New Business, they also have several industry accolades under their belts.
WA/NT HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Stephanie Bellairs - Cabello by Stephanie Bellairs
Stephanie is a self-made and successful Salon Owner and Creative Director who has been in the hair industry for 27 years, establishing her popular salon over 19 years ago. Cabello by Stephanie Bellairs is now a sought after hair destination, a busy and successful salon and one of the longest running independent salons in the state. Stephanie and the team specialise in on-trend, lived-in colours, customized cuts and professional hair extensions, all delivered with their trademark exemplary customer service. Indeed, her stellar reputation led to one of the most exciting developments of her career, with the creation of the critically acclaimed Cabello Education-an independent education platform unlike anything else offered in WA.
QLD HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Bill Tsiknaris - Tsiknaris Hair
Bill created Tsiknaris Hair back in 1994 and has since become a household name in Brisbane fashion and hairdressing circles, regularly spotted backstage at fashion shows, campaign and editorial shoots and working with VIP’s. He has an impressive list of accolades including 2020 and 2019 AHFA Avant Garde Hairdresser Of The Year and has also recently been appointed elite professional hair brand Alfaparf Milano’s Global Ambassador for Australiatestament to his global reputation.
SA/TAS HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Lisa Robertson - Pipsqueek in Saigon
Lisa is one of the most exciting names in the industry and has been steadily growing her profile before taking out this huge award. The Pipsqueek in Saigon brand was established in 2005 and is currently a small team of highly trained and well skilled hair stylists and colourists across two salons. Incredible colour work, precision cuts and showstopping styles are all their trademarks and Lisa wows with all of these.
VIC HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Bernadette Beswick - Beswick Education Services
Based in Mt Martha, Bernadette is a truly unique hairdresser given her 35 years experience and dual roles as Salon Owner and Stylist at Bezaboo Hairdressing as well as leading industry educator through Beswick Education. Bezaboo Hairdressing is a boutique salon which focuses on delivering her skills as a cutting expert, color specialist and styling maestro all while putting her education principles to work. Her renowned education offering Beswick Education is an esteemed organization which offers a mix of online and face to face training courses as well as free resources aimed at keeping this industry thriving in good times and bad, teaching everyone from apprentices to experienced hairdressers. Her skills have most likely transformed your last great trip to the hairdresser, such is her phenomenal reach!
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR Ella Stewart - Stevie English Hair
Ella has been mentored closely by the man himself, Stevie English, as she embarks on her apprentice journey. She has already achieved so much in such a short amount of time and has styled hair on multiple photo and video shoots for Australian musical acts such as Muki and Merci, Mercy. She also has a broad styling repertoire of weddings, awards ceremonies and black ie events including live music shows for Abbey May March and David Potter of Stand Atlantic. Soaking up everything she can in the busy and successful Stevie English Hair salon she has discovered that hairdressing is her true passion and it is her mission to be creative and make others happy every day at work.
MASTER CUTTER OF THE YEAR Shae Tsiknaris - Tsiknaris Hair
Director Stylist Shae has been in the industry for over 20 years and is known for her expertise with both cutting and straightening, with precision unlike any other stylist! Alongside Bill Tsiknaris, qld Hairdresser of the Year, this dynamic duo are further putting Tskinaris Hair on everybody’s lips. With Shae’s wealth of experience she can advise what is best for your face shape and hair texture.
INDEPENDENT STYLIST OF THE YEAR Carolyn Gahan - Carolyn Gahan for 'Joico'
Whether you’re lusting after dreamy pastels or searching for the ultimate celebrity blonde with the expertly-crafted cut to match, Carolyn Gahan is one seriously amazing stylist who has the skills to get you there. Starting her career in Ontario, Canada, Carolyn has travelled the world honing her craft, moving to call Australia home in 2011, she has been locally recognised as a force to be reckoned with. Carolyn loves traditional hair cutting and colouring but is also hugely passionate about her editorial and competition work.
Proudly owned by Mocha Group | Official Media Partner HAIRBIZ Facebook: mocha hair
Instagram: @mochahair
#ahia2022Hair Biz Year 15 Issue 4
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AVANT GARDE HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR Chung-Yang Su - Su-Atelier
Chung-Yang’s work is truly inspirational and unique, with his Avant Garde collection for this award needing to be seen to the believed. As an independent hairdresser he has only recently opened his own space, with Su-atelier opening in February 2021. This beautiful studio was a courageous leap into the unknown for this up and coming industry talent.
NEW CREATIVE TALENT OF THE YEAR Elle Coco - Jack Horton Hair
Hairdressing was truly in Elle’s blood with her mother a hairdresser, Salon Owner and her mentor, however it took her some time to decide on this path. Growing up in a small town in regional QLD, her priority, apart from creating amazing hair that people love, is to create a safe environment that is wholehearted and inclusive to people of all walks of life, inadvertently resulting in a notable percentage of new and repeat business coming to her as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Growing up as a social minority, this fills her with gratitude and enforces the power of connection through her craft. Ensconced at the acclaimed Jack Horton Hair since the start of 2021, she has very quickly made her mark.
COLOUR EXPERT OF THE YEAR Stevie English - Stevie English Hair
Stevie needs little introduction to those who appreciate the power of a great cut, colour and style and has been manning his Glebe salon, Stevie English Hair, since 2007 alongside his talented team. Dedicated to driving green innovation, they were the first salon in the world to use the acclaimed evo hue.verse colour. This unique and proudly Australian product is ammonia-free and was used to create the stunning collection of images that led him to take out this award. Now the Global Colour Creative Director for evo, he inspires those both in the salon as well as the global community as an exciting and engaging national and international educator. He also showed the amazing support and comradery that he is famous for by also taking out AHIA Best Collab of the Year 2022 for the second year running, this time with Bernadette Beswick as well as celebrating one of his team- Ella Stewart who was named AHIA Apprentice of the Year 2022.
MEN'S HAIR SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR France Khamees - By France Since opening his own shop in October 2021, France has had a huge impact. BY FRANCE. is a bespoke men’s hair studio set within an exquisite heritage building designed with the discerning male in mind. Personalised lighting, in-built Sonos sound system, luxurious leather chairs and the scent of Le Labo Santal 26, this is not your average barber shop. Having dedicated 16 years to his craft, France has worked alongside countless talented hairdressers and barbers and at many high-end hair salons, learning from the best in the industry and combining his knowledge in this new location. Referred to by his loyal clientele as the "King of King Street" it’s not only a nod to his shop’s enviable location but also to his skills and standing in the hair industry. He has an unwavering dedication to quality and high standard of service which is evident in every consultation.
CREATIVE TEAM OF THE YEAR Jack Horton Hair
Multi-award winning and certified Wella Master Colourist, Jack Horton opened his boutique style salon located in Brisbane inner-city suburb of Albion in June 2014, but 12 months later he relocated to a much larger space in RED HILL catering to the ongoing growth and recognition as one Brisbane's up and coming colour experts. Jack Horton Hair is now an intimate salon located in Red Hill which specialises in personalised haircutting, and creative colouring - along with a sincere approach to every individual’s hair service. Renowned for their creative nuance, the team have a stellar reputation within the industry and this award only seeks to further their standing within the hair community.
BEST COLAB OF THE YEAR Stevie and Bernie (Stevie English and Bernadette Beswick)
Stevie and Bernie have collaborated on different projects for the past 3 years and are the original odd couple. Stevie the head of colour for an international brand and Bernie, educating young hairdressers all over Australia who started collaborating as Bernie wanted her dolls heads coloured for her classes. Stevie and Bernie have completely different skill sets so there is never any competition, just pure collaboration. The common purpose is to achieve the best result for both parties there is no supernova star in their galaxy, they are more of a constellation!
PEOPLES CHOICE PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION OF THE YEAR Paul James Graham – Paul and Paul Salon
Voted online and at hair Festival for the favourite collection was for the 2nd year running Paul James Graham for his Avant Garde collection, Le bijou de Julie. His collection is inspired by a story from his mothers youth about acceptance, love and friendship. Aspiring to create a modern take on the elegant French Provincial style with a soft innocent vibe, his missions was to think 'high fashion pretty' over the usual 'too cool chic'. Motion, sound, texture and smell are all emotive qualities that make up the fabric of this collection with Paul succeeding in conveying a sense of wonder.
Proudly owned by Mocha Group | Official Media Partner HAIRBIZ Facebook: mocha hair
Instagram: @mochahair
#ahia2022Hair Biz Year 15 Issue 4
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NEW HOT SHOTS TEAM FOR 2022 ANNOUNCED AT THE AHIA CREATIVE A key highlight at the recent AHIA Creative Gala night was the announcement of the muchanticipated HOTSHOTS team for 2022, putting a spotlight on the industry’s most exciting nextgen talent and providing the chance for these 31 and under superstars to take their career to a whole new level. Judges look for hairdressers who excel in the areas of cutting, styling, editorial and colour work, have a unique style, unparalleled passion and a clear vision of the future. This crew were judged by familiar faces including Dee Parker-Attwood, Jayne Wild, Benni Tognini, Stevie English, Kobi Bokshish, Sharon Blain and Brad Ngata.
HOT SHOTS Team 2022 with sponsors: Jordan Thomas - ghd, Ariana Mantzaris - Amazing Hair, Pete Walstab - Excellent Edges and Rita Marcon - Goldwell
Unearthing the most exciting next-gen hairdressing talent making their mark on the industry and providing mentoring, global training, prizes and more. The ultimate celebration of the hairdressing industry’s next gen talent, HOT SHOTS provides the chance for these rising stars to take their career to a whole new level on their road to fame and fortune. Hairdressers (including Barbers) submit their collection and work created during the awards period. Winners require passion, dedication and trends focused skill in order to be named on the team!
The HOTSHOTS team for 2022 includes: Elle Coco- Jack Horton Hair, QLD Louise Graham- Hey Hair, QLD Hayley Warner- Oscar Oscar, QLD Tia Wright-Pihama- Toni&Guy Perth, WA Owner/Publisher Linda Woodhead was thrilled to recognise the achievements of the new team;
Elle Coco- Jack Horton Hair, QLD
Louise Graham- Hey Hair, QLD
Hayley Warner- Oscar Oscar, QLD
Tia Wright-Pihama- Toni&Guy Perth, WA
“The hair community should be so proud of the Elle, Louise, Hayley and Tia having firmly proven themselves as some of the industry’s most exciting up and coming talents and I can’t wait to see where winning this award will take them. They are all perfect example of up and coming industry leaders and will make excellent ambassadors for the HOT SHOTS program” The team will enjoy a plethora of prizes including a full styling kit from Goldwell, an enormous tool and product kit from ghd. An editorial styling kit form Amazing Hair and over $5000 worth of scissors from Excellent Edges! They will also enjoy time in the Hot Shots House visited by international and national mentors and icons ad well as a full photo shoot with Andrew O’Toole directed by Jayne Wild.
WATCH THIS SPACE!
THE DENNIS LANGFORD 2022 AHIA HALL OF FAME AWARD
DARIO COTRONEO In January of this year, The Australian hairdressing industry suffered a massive loss with the passing of hairdressing legend and TONI&GUY Australia CEO, Dennis Langford. In her opening speech as the recent AHIA’s, owner of mocha group, Linda Woodhead announced a very special development in the renaming of the AHIA Hall of Fame Award. “Dennis was my friend, a mentor, an educator and a hair fashion trailblazer to so many, but for those who knew him well, his most important role was that of a husband to his wife Sara and father to his children,” she said. “Dennis’ long-standing dedication and passion for hairdressing revolutionised the Australian hairdressing community and I know I am not alone in saying that he touched the lives of many, both near and far.” Following in the footsteps of the AHIA Business awards, where personal and exclusive permission by Eden Sassoon was given, to re-name the AHIA Vidal Sassoon Humanitarian Award, it was time to announce the special renaming of Hall of Fame in honour of Dennis Langford. Having been given permission from the Langford family, it was only fitting that Sara Langford and Dennis’ sons Thomas and Jackson announced the first recipient as well as a tribute to their much lived husband and father. Sara spoke on behalf of her late husband and the entire Toni&Guy community saying how this renowned and invaluable member of the Australian hair landscape and beyond had left an undeniable mark on many whom he crossed paths with. “Dennis dedicated more than 25 years to our Industry - cultivating an army of hair enthusiasts as he reimagined the world of Hairdressing when he brought TONI&GUY to Australia. I am not alone in saying that Dennis’ longstanding commitment to his profession has been paved with the most incredible people. As a mentor, industry icon and legend, Dennis’ legacy lives on through the successful career paths and opportunities he created for countless hairdressers - I witness this daily,”, said Sara. “A future without Dennis feels unparalleled - but it is a journey that we feel proud and honoured to be part of. Our strength is ignited by the passion of the TONI&GUY support office, our salon partners and staff - or how Dennis would refer to it - our T&G family.” As Sara stood on stage with Dennis' sons, she said how it felt even more apparent than ever that the family values that Dennis instilled in the company would continue to live on.
Jackson and Tom also spoke to the 800+ audience saying how their dad lived with passion, both personally & professionaly, and what an honour and a privilege it was to witness his name live on through the hairdressing industry and such an honorary award. Sara then went on to announce the 2022 recipient of the Dennis Langford Hall of Fame award as none other than Dario Cotroneo. Regarded as an elite haircutter, mentor, educator and salon owner, this multi awarded icon has over 32 years’ experience within the hairdressing industry. Known for his exceptional dry cutting skills and street-based creativity, he creates strong, cutting-edge looks whilst retaining beauty, sensitivity and harmony having developed a very unique and holistic approach to hairdressing. Dario began his career working for several high-profile salons within Australia and as his career unfolded, he realised he wanted to further himself outside of the salon space, entering the fashion and beauty industry as a session stylist. In 1999 he became an educator, teaching and mentoring other hairdressers worldwide soon to form a well-recognised, multi-award winning education company. He also has a love of modernist art and architecture and an intuitive feel for hair fashion and the founder of the Gino Fossano Scholarship After a very touching video tribute, together, the Langford family then invited Dario to the stage, inducting Dario Cotroneo, a great friend to the awards new namesake, to the 2022 AHIA Dennis Langford Hall of Fame. With a heartfelt and touching speech form Dario, this was certainly a highlight of the night.
"DENNIS’ LEGACY LIVES ON THROUGH THE SUCCESSFUL CAREER PATHS AND OPPORTUNITIES HE CREATED FOR COUNTLESS HAIRDRESSERS"
Proudly owned by Mocha Group | Official Media Partner HAIRBIZ Facebook: mocha hair
Instagram: @mochahair
#ahia2022
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COVER STORY
Continuing on their mission to reinvent hair, Schwarzkopf Professional launch TRUE COLOURS in a celebration of creativity and craft. In line with the launch of their TRUE Colour campaign, Schwarzkopf Professional recently announced their all-new magazine. The magazine, sharing the same name, explores natural beauty within our diverse surroundings. The TRUE COLOURS magazine, mirrors what's at the heart of the campaign through tapping into the unique hues of Australia's iconic flora and rugged landscapes. This is brought to life on the page, infused with whimsical pieces from the renowned Australian design duo, Romance Was Born. The industry-led publication showcases innovative hair styling enriched with unexpected colour combinations that have been inspired by earthy palettes of clay, to vibrant sunbursts of coppers and the reds of wild botanica. The team have worked with National Ambassador Dee Parker Attwood, Head Colourist Kristie Kesic, Guest Artists Jason Fassbender and Nic Shiun, Schwarzkopf Professional Creative Collective members Dylan Hooper, Jacob Perkins and Chin Chin Yeap, and local ASK Educator Oli Cirillo to curate experimental looks in this exciting new format.
Once again, Schwarzkopf Professional partner with fashion leaders Romance Was Born, to bring the muchanticipated True Colours campaign to life, celebrating the power of collaboration and bringing together the fashion label with both IGORA Royal, Vibrance and BLONDME. With thousands of beautiful shade combinations and some of the world’s most exciting formulas, this year you’ll see an even deeper focus on colour.
“I love working with both IGORA Royal and Vibrance, ranges marry up to each other. It’s so easy having a permanent and demi-permanent range that match tones. I’m really happy with the rich autumnal tones and how shiny and glossy Reid’s hair has turned out. It’s a naturally beautiful look.” Kristie Kesic, Head Colourist
The True Colours campaign has found seven iconic floral bouquets and landscapes that have inspired the unique shapes and unexpected colour combinations found within the hairstyles in these pages. From natural palettes of clays and browns that emulate our rugged coastline, to vibrant sunbursts of coppers and reds inspired by our wild botanica, the True Colours campaign traverses both hair innovation, and creativity. Whether it’s adding a subtle twist to reimagine classic lines, or creating surprising and rewarding colour combinations, the True Colours campaign aesthetic presents these naturalist themes with vibrant hues, diverse hair textures, and vivid movements. At the heart of it all, of course, is a celebration of hair. In our beloved industry, it’s crucial to establish creativity and craftmanship and to hone your own individual style. Whether that be through a modern take on the classics, a beautiful rounded line, or something more ‘felt,’ where hands mould and manipulate – whatever your skill and craft, it is important to celebrate the art of hairdressing as a form of self-expression. Colour is the essential pillar; the make-or-break factor for each salon’s business, and at the same time the most demanding service. Everything this season is about colour and its power to transform. Whether it’s a super bright temporary transformation, or a cool new technique to try, a little change gives us all a bit of a boost.
IGORA Royal and Vibrance
• Developed with colourists for colourists IGORA Royal and Vibrance lets your creativity run free, providing you with the tools to transform imagination into reality, with true-to-swatch colour results. • This year sees the expansion of IGORA Royal and Vibrance, with the new highlifts range, which combines optimal lift and neutralisation, and is specially formulated to achieve ultimate light blonde shades.
BLONDME
• The innovative BLONDME range guarantees perfect hair quality and brilliant colour results for all the colours of the blonde rainbow. True Colours explores the power of colour with Schwarzkopf Professional’s heritage colour brand IGORA Royal and Vibrance, and the most Googled professional brand for blondes – BLONDME.* In 1960 the world welcomed the eternally popular IGORA Royal and Vibrance, the new salon colour brand, an industry innovator for over half a century and today a name synonymous for colour with over 140 vibrant shades. Developed with colourists for colourists IGORA Royal lets your creativity run free, providing you with the tools to transform imagination into reality, with trueto-swatch colour results for ultimate reliability – even under the most challenging conditions.
The Team: National Ambassador Dee Parker Attwood, Head Colourist Kristie Kesic, Guest Artists Jason Fassbender and Nic Shiun, Schwarzkopf Professional Creative Collective members Dylan Hooper, Jacob Perkins and Chin Chin Yeap, and local ASK Educator Olivera Cirillo
2022 sees the expansion of IGORA Royal and Vibrance with the new highlifts range, which combines optimal lift and neutralisation, and is specially formulated to achieve ultimate light blonde shades. Everything you need to challenge and empower you to be the colourist you want to be. *Google Analytics Global search results p12
For more information on TRUE COLOURS and to enquire on receiving the new Magazine, please visit
www.schwarzkopf-professional.com.au
MASTER OF THE CRAFT
DARIO CHICCO By Louise May
Sydney-based hairdresser, Dario Chicco has been mastering his craft since the 60s. He began when cutting hair was an art, it was the Sartorialist “tailored” individual period of hair cutting. At that time the great hair cutters like Jacques Dessange, Jean Louis David, Bruno Pittini and Vidal Sassoon re-invented the hair industry by wash and wear – “Pret-a-porter” cuts. From the 60’s to now, Dario still continue to cut hair into shape. His cuts are 100% organic – no chemicals, brushes or irons are used in the process. Operating several successful salons, including the famous ECRU in Melbourne’s South Yarra, VOI Haircuts in Sydney and now Dario is self-titled in Paddington and is one of Australia’s leading experts on ‘dry cutting’. After decades of working with women, Dario knows how to enhance their natural beauty with hair. By analysing their potential, he can make women of all ages look their best. It’s not a matter of what is fashionable, it’s what suits you! It was great to catch up with Dario recently and get an insight into his journey throughout the years and his ‘genius zone’ of dry cutting.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Trieste Italy and came to Canberra Australia at the age of 5... did my schooling in Canberra and left at age 14.
Where did you start hairdressing and what inspired you to do hairdressing?
I left school; I didn’t know what to do but my father’s barber asked if I wanted to become a Hairdresser, so I started my apprenticeship in a unisex salon in 1964 in Canberra. It was at the time when women didn’t want to have rollers and sit under a dryer for hours ... they just wanted a haircut ... no fuss. This was a good grounding for me at I learnt the art of haircutting . which has stayed with me all through my career.
Tell us a little about your career prior to opening your salon?
After finishing my apprenticeship, I moved to Sydney and worked for Denise of Paris in Potts Point. At that time, I met John Sahag who was working in the Eastern suburbs. He was dry haircutting as well, so professionally we got on, as our styles were similar. John moved to Paris and then New York where he became famous for his haircutting skills. I then moved to Melbourne and worked for Edward Beale where I exposed to Vidal Sassoon precision style haircutting.
“DRY CUTTING IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT IS A VISUAL ART… NOT LIKE PRECISION CUTTING WHERE A HAS TO JOIN WITH B.” When did you open your first salon?
I opened my first salon Ecru Cuts in South Yarra Melbourne 1974 which is where my fame grew. I worked with the music industry, artists, models, magazine shoots and featured in too many media releases to mention. I did the Rolling Stones, Santana, just to name a few.
Share with us some of the challenges you’ve faced along the journey and how you overcame these. What’s the most challenging aspect?
I’ve really had little challenges along the way. I’d say the financial pressures of running my own business at times was hard especially recently with Covid. Creatively I’ve always felt totally in control... I’ve never been pressured to follow trends or be something I’m not .. I believe I’m unique in my profession.
What do you feel is so unique about the dry cutting concept and why do you prefer it?
Dry cutting is unique in that it is a visual art… not like precision cutting where A has to join with B. When the dry cut is finished it falls into its natural state and is not in need of utensils or products to give it a look. My belief is that wet cutting and blow waving looks good whilst the client is in the salon, but when they have to do it themselves, it’s very hard to replicate, meaning they have to maintain the constant blow waving. Whereas with a dry cut, how you leave the salon is how your hair will look after you wash it, and that is a huge benefit to the client.
Who introduced you to this method?
It goes back to how I started, individuality.
Are all hair types suitable for this method? Yes, especially curly or wavy hair.
How do you feel the Industry has changed and what would you like to see in the future of our Industry?
It hasn’t really changed... the styles may have changed but the technique is much the same. More individuality is needed.
Clients travel near and far for your niched skills and even some well-known famous people! Who have you had in your chair that we all may know of?
Rolling Stones, Santana, Martha Marlow, Joe Camilleri etc etc just to name a few as there have been hundreds. In the 90s I was flown to Hong Kong to do a Japanese TV commercial for Vidal Sassoon because of my cutting skills.
Do you have any future plans of passing on your legacy and teaching others your amazing skills?
I’ve been an ambassador for many scissor companies which has allowed me to pass on my skills during cutting seminars. I have held many workshops over the years and demonstrated at Hair Expos. I would love to teach dry cutting through Tafe hairdressing courses, but they can’t seem to get their head around what I do!
Who is Dario outside of the Salon? Would love to know more about you, how do you like to spend your spare time?
I must confess that my life does really revolve around the Salon. If I could cut hair every day I would but when I’m not at the Salon I try and keep fit by cycling and walking. Sydney is such a great city to do on foot. I love fashion, clothes, art, music and spending time with my two beautiful grandchildren.. Oh and of course cruising through life with my partner of 50 years, De. Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE
YUKI KANO
4 years ago we featured a bright up and coming young star called Yuki Kano and since that time she has won multiple awards, is globally renowned for her unique approach and love of traditional barbering techniques, not to mention a member of the Wahl Japan Education Team who lives and works in Sydney Australia.
Starting her journey in hairdressing with TONI&GUY, she quickly realised her love for cutting short hair and men’s hair. “I felt that I really needed to add traditional barbering skills to take me to the next level in my work and as an educator,” says Yuki. And that she did! We spoke to Yuki while she was travelling overseas recently about what’s been happening over the past few years and what she has set her sight on for the future.
Some years ago, you met Kevin Luchman, awardwinning London based barber/men’s stylist and photographer renowned for his blend of traditional barbering and high-end male hairdressing. What effect did this meeting have on you? I always enjoy meeting with like-minded people, and Kevin was the one of them. I met Kevin when he came to Sydney, giving me my first experience with barbering techniques, and I knew from that moment on, I wanted to perfect them. I respect him for his super friendly personality and his positive attitude towards life as he always challenges himself with many things. He reminds me to stay humble and also positive and I think of him as a perfect role model for any educator.
“THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO RESPECT VARYING CULTURES AND PHILOSOPHY, BE OPEN MINDED AND NOT JUDGEMENTAL.” 42
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Having worked for TONI&GUY, knowing the sad loss of CEO Dennis Langford earlier this year, what influence did he have on your career? Dennis was actually like my hairdressing dad. He had noticed me from day one at the TONI&GUY academy and he saw me grow as a hairdresser and barber. I learned so much from him. His
‘presentation skills course’ was phenomenal and every time I got stuck, I would often go to see him for advice. He taught me the importance of being yourself, being positive and surrounded by like-minded people. After I left TONI&GUY, I didn’t see him often, however he always kept his door open for me and when we did cross paths, he always told me how much he continued to enjoy watching my hairdressing journey. I miss him. I wish I could tell him that I’m in Japan now and doing education for Wahl. He would have been so excited to hear my stories.
Having travelled to the UK, Europe, US and Asia to educate, how has this influenced you and how do you adapt to the various audiences in different countries? I really enjoy travelling to different countries because each country has their own style and culture which inspires me a lot. Since I’ve been traveling, I think I am getting very good at adopting different cultures and audiences. The important thing is to respect varying cultures and philosophy, be open minded and not judgemental.
Do you think your hairdressing background and training has assisted you in your barbering?
Definitely! I feel grateful to have had a TONI&GUY background, which is very technical with its terminology and methodology. This became my strength and therefore it is very natural and almost easy for me to combine different techniques and design into new haircuts. Also it helps me a lot when I’m teaching as I am able to explain and communicate my techniques with the students.
When we spoke last. One of your dreams was to work for Wahl Education. Congrats! How did this come about and what does your role entail? Thank you so much for remembering. I always wanted to be an Educator for Wahl, and when I went to Japan to compete at a Barber Battle in 2019, I had the chance to meet Masa Kawakami (the leader of the Wahl Education Team) and Ken Tajiri (the Managing Director of Wahl Japan). I let them know that I really wanted to be part of the education team. And the rest is history. I’ve learned that we don’t have to be scared to ask people if you really want something. Worst case scenario, they can say “No”, and so you have nothing to lose. You will be surprised by what life brings you. My role is delivering Wahl education and seminars either to small venues like salons and barbers or to huge venues such as the hair trade shows and thank goodness I can now travel again to different countries after Covid. Also, I’m getting involved with the selection process for the Wahl brand ambassadors and members of Wahl Education Team members for Wahl Japan. I am also getting involved with some new product developments which is also very exciting.
You are currently in Japan. What are you doing there?
I’m in Japan for Wahl Japan working at various hair shows and seminars. The Japanese barber industry is growing so quickly at the moment that there are so many teaching opportunities here and I love to challenge myself via teaching in Japan. Also, I could not see my parents for 3 years since Covid, and my sisters family for 6 years, so I am enjoying spending time with my family at the same time as working which is really amazing.
Do you have a favourite Wahl tool and if so what is it and why? This is a really good question, and I have often been asked. It is not easy to choose only one favourite Wahl tool, because each clipper has different features, so I LOVE THEM ALL…. I really do! I use clippers the same way an artist uses their paintbrushes. Each one creating different strokes, meaning I use lots of them when I create a haircut. However, if I have to
mention one Wahl tool, I have been really into the “All-in-One Blade” since 2019. It has changed my hairdressing and barbering life. It is a texturising blade, and similar to the razor but not exactly the same. It is a very unique blade and I highly recommended them!
that and I’m also collaborating with different hairdressers and barbers and doing lots of new projects such as education events as well as filming education videos.
What are your thoughts on the current gender debate at the moment especially in barbering, and what has traditionally been known as ‘Men’s Hairdressing’?
I will be based in Sydney but I would still love to travel to different countries doing hair (could be education, photoshoots etc) and meet people. I am really interested in talking to people and listening to their life experiences. I would like to create text books and publish them, and while it may seem complicated and not easy, just like last time, if I say it in this article then I really have to make it happen. Hahaha!
In society, generally gender boundaries are problematic for me and I personally don’t relate to the concept. For me, it is about creating something this person loves to wear. I believe the same can be said about the person who is holding the clippers and scissors. If you love what you are doing, it doesn’t matter if you’re female or male. I think gender debates are really interesting. For me Australia is a very forward-thinking country as people are very aware and accepting of gender topics. At the moment, Unity and crossover of Hairdressing and Barbering is happening. Hairdressers are mastering fading techniques, and Barbers are learning long hair and colours which is creating new trends and bringing the industry forward to the next level. With all that in mind, I think it is more adoptable to describe barbering as being a “short hair specialist’ (more focused on the technique itself) instead of using the gender boundaries.
What personal projects, to further your reach and career, are you working on at the moment? I’m learning and practicing editing photos and videos at the moment so hopefully I can master
Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time?
SPEED DATE
Favourite Destination: London and Tokyo Favourite Food: I love Thai food!!!! Favourite Drink: I love coffee, XPA, Cab Sav Music I’m currently listening to: 90s MUSIC If I wasn’t a hairdresser/barber I would be a: Photographer 2 celebs I’d love to cut their hair: Elliot Page and Ruby Rose To follow Yuki on IG and Youtube: Instagram: @yukikano YouTube: www.youtube.com/Yukikano Yuki is heavily involved in the relaunch of the Wahl Australia education platform. This is coming soon – keep an eye out on the Wahl Professional socials: FB: Wahl Professional Ausralia IG: @wahlproaus
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HAIR MUNLIMITED ichael Wolff With
Michael Wolff
Michael Wolff is a Sydney based hairdresser and the owner off the infamous Michael Wolff salon on 35 Orwell Street, Potts Point. Over the past few decades, Michael has been working as a commercial and creative freelance business doing hair and make-up. Over the years Michael has worked on many fashion shows and graced the pages of many fashion magazines, he has also been responsible for the imagery of many DeLorenzo campaigns and beauty editorials. This is what I now have to tell you! Says Michael… Having left school at the age of 16 I really didn’t know how my life was going to turn out. My favourite subjects at school were the entire creative subjects based around the arts. So, from an early age I was influenced by fashion, music, books, and magazines. My passion for this was to pave the way of what was to become. I became interested in hair after being offered a hairdressing apprenticeship at the age of 17. Having lived in two different states of Australia and two different continents, I was beginning to grow confidence and was influenced by a wide range of cultures. I only ever worked in 4 other salons. I chose the salons I wanted to work in and enjoyed every one of them equally. London calling! In 1980 I moved to London to continue my dream and passion and through this dedication I was able to work alongside some of the best hair stylists in London. On my return to Australia the time had finally come for me to open my first salon, launching it in Sydney in 1990, forging my passion and professional career in the enchanting world of hair, fashion, and beauty. My reputation in the industry is one of a wealth of knowledge and creativity. My work is renowned for cutting edge vision, it’s of real-life feminine beauty adding a personal stamp to all of my work. Michael Wolff Salon remains the creative headquarters for the commercial and creative divisions still today. Returning from Europe at the beginning of 2016, my decision was to put all health checks in place. Shockingly I was diagnosed with colon cancer. Immediately I began cancer treatment but still remained working in the salon and doing freelance hair and make-up. July 29th, 2016, I had come through 9 hours of surgery at St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney. During my time in hospital and 44
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convalescing at home I decided that I wanted to make some awareness for other people to make regular health checks for their own health and wellbeing. Being a hairdresser, I could use my skill sets and knowledge to drive this message forward. Also, I could give something back to the incredible medical industry for further research, and this would be my appreciation for the wonderful care I received at St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney. Deciding on doing a beautiful hair book was my goal. I have many contacts in the industry with a list of great photographers I could work with. James Mills was to be the man for me to work on this project with. And then Hair Unlimited was born. I had a definite idea of how I wanted to do this book. Mapping out and planning this project was considered in detail. I wanted timeless appeal, so that meant natural hair styling and corrective makeup. I would make notes of real-life emotions and write words to create this book. James and I would book all the talent who were of all nationalities, they were all beautiful young people. We would shoot 3 or 4 models a day and spend 2 hours with each one of them and create as many different looks as possible. Shooting would go over 2 days at the beginning of every month, then we would break so that the looks would remain fresh, new, and different. My task each shoot day that I set myself would be to only use a limited number of tools and product. This enabled the hair to stay fresh and moveable. The make-up was all mono toned and about fresh glowing skin. I had made some hair accessories myself and that would be the only styling I would require. I particularly didn’t want the clutter of any styling with these beauty images to allow each page in the book to be able to breath. Throughout my career I have travelled around the world working on creative assignments from
runway shows to fashion and beauty shoots. This experience enabled me to take on the art direction and lay outs for the book. James and another great creative friend Julie Ewington would help also oversee each stage of this process. James would keep me inspired with his fabulous lighting and he would create 3 different set ups in the studio each time. He’d motivate me to move the hair and tell a story within the way I would use my hands or to even put some wind through the hair creating real life moments. Finally, all the shoots were completed over a period of many months of working. We had a bank of 2300 images to edit down to 173 looks. With the wonderful help and great eye of Julie Ewington, we had the excruciating task of editing. I thought there was something missing and I needed to find a young First Australian person to photograph and then I would be satisfied that the job was well done. And so, we did. At this point of time Covid 19 had hit Sydney and we were in lockdown, this then slowed down the process of the production of the book. It’s now 2021. I have made a great recovery from stage 3 cancer, and I have a book Hair Unlimited ready to go. Hair Unlimited is a limited edition retailing at $130 a book. I intend to donate all profits to the Curran Foundation for future research for bowel cancer at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. Book sales will be available through selected bookstores and at Michael Wolff Salon. A formal launch is on hold until lock down restrictions permit.
HAIR UNLIMITED CREDITS:
Hair and Makeup by Michael Wolff @MichaelWolffSalon Photography by James Mills Published by Wolff and Mills Beauty Publishing. I especially thank all of the talent who donated their time for awareness and the cause. Thank you, all of my assistants and production team. And thank you St Vincent’s and the Curran Foundation.
SESSION STYLING
By Louise May
Proudly established in 2017 by Angelo Palumberi, Salon Sessions fast established a strong reputation for quality colour work and styling, keratin treatments and extension transformations. This success saw the salon recently outgrow its original location in Westfield Hurstville and make the move to a brand new home in the heart of Hurstville. The new salon design is an Instagram dream, with soft curves and cutouts, fresh white walls and natural light giving it a cool and minimal Mediterranean aesthetic. Angelo and his talented team are well known for their color work, made famous for the salon’s lightening and balayage expertise on Asian and European hair types they call the ‘Sessions Signature’. Aligning with Goldwell brings this color creativity to a new level, opening up a new world of color opportunities – from Goldwell’s core Topchic and Colorance lines through to the new LightDimensions Lightening portfolio, powered by unsurpassed technologies and the highest standards to deliver the fastests and clearest result for the perfect blonde. Angelo sees his partnership with Goldwell as intrinsic to the Salon Sessions business commenting, “Color is a major part of our business and I wanted to partner with the front runners. Goldwell’s innovation makes our work easy, they are the magic behind our brand. The Goldwell range is perfect from beginning to end, from the professional colour to take home hair care.” “Goldwell is thrilled to welcome Angelo and his brand new Salon Sessions location to the Kao Salon family,” said Rita Marcon, General Manager, ANZ Kao Salon Division. “Our relationship with Salon Sessions has always been a strong one and we’ve long recognised Angelo’s talent for expert colour work when it comes to lightening even the darkest hair. This brand new salon and location presents an exciting new future for Salon Sessions and we look forward to a longstanding partnership.” Salon Sessions has a ‘real people, real hair’ culture which Palumberi says aligns well with Kao. “The Kao team have supported me with education, sales support and have provided me with opportunities 46
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that support our salon. As our salon culture is ‘real people’ it really feels in sync with the Kao team. I value that I can always be my authentic self with the Kao team.” Says Angelo.
HAIR BIZ EDITOR LOUISE MAY CHATS WITH CO-OWNER ANGELO PALUMBERI How did you end up in hairdressing? Can you please tell us your background and career path?
I saw hairdressing as a fun and cool job when I finished school so thought I would try it until I figured out what I wanted to do. It was fun, working with young teams it was fast paced but relaxed. The years have gone by, and I never thought I would still be here 14 years later. I was lucky enough to work with such a great boss Elio Nappa who I am still very good friends with and still get lectured by him to this day, I worked with him for 10 years managing different salons and seeing how the business works. Until I bought his Hurstville salon with his son Anthony, rebranding it to Salon Sessions.
You established Salon Sessions in 2017, can you tell us what your biggest challenges have been establishing and navigating the business?
It was such a nerve-racking change, as I had to step out of my comfort zone and take this leap of faith into rebranding such an established salon. The biggest challenge was the rebranding of the salon, creating a new salon aura and ensuring we created a space that is unique to the salon team’s talent but also making sure all our clients
felt comfortable and not feeling like it was a completely different salon. I guess there will always be challenges in business and there is something new every day, but I knew as soon as I opened the business, that I needed a bigger and more empowered space for our clients to come and feel the ‘sessions’ experience and my ultimate goal was to move the salon.
Do you each have your specialist areas of expertise?
Each team member does have their own expertise, whether its extensions, a sharp blunt bob, or a killer blow wave but we do get all of the heat for our balayage’s! If I have to be specific, we specialise in creating bright, blonde results on Asian and European hair types. We call it the session signature.
What has been your motivation to open the new Kogarah salon, was there a pivotal point where you decided to look for a new location?
As soon as we opened Salon Session in Hurstville, I had a vision to create a bigger, lively, energetic, minimalistic, raw, modern, creative, and massive space. The Hurstville space was never really me and didn’t show my style or who I was, so as soon as I took over, the plan was to move. There were so many things we couldn’t offer in our previous space, whereas now we have so much space, natural light, and such a calming cool atmosphere, giving our clients a Mykonos vibe.
seats salon, jam packed, crazy busy, buzzing salon. Now Kogarah is a completely different vibe, still busy and full but just doesn’t feel like it is. Making us a true destination salon.
but our space didn’t really match what we were doing. It has definitely pumped a lot more hype behind us and everyone likes coming into a vibe. Giving all the locals the best colour salon.
We would love to hear more about your design vision for the salon, you’ve mentioned it will be more luxe and instagrammable, are there any design specifics/features you can share with us?
Can you share any new services that will be available at the Kogarah salon?
As hairdressing evolved and came out with “balayage” we evolved it further perfecting our balayage technique for our clientele. As we started playing and trying different things, we found our really ashy grey tones were getting such good reach on socials and we started getting so many messages and requests for them, so it just sort of happened and here we are. It’s our favourite technique which we love doing and you don’t see too many salons posting a lot of. We call it our SESSIONS SIGNATURE.
I teamed up with Anastasia from studio ANR, who was so cool to work with. I wanted it to feel like no other salon around us. With 165 square metres of space and a 10-metre frontage, we had the opportunity to really make a statement and make the salon pop from the rest. I wanted a Mediterranean vibe, earthy, neutral, calming feel with cactus features at the entrance making you feel you have stepped into an oasis. No dark colours everything cool toned but still bright, with ventician plaster giving different textures. Very, very curvy, like Kimmy K I say. You won’t find a straight wall in the salon, everything is rounded and curved, from the mirrors to the front desk, centre table, walls and benches. No off the shelf fixtures, everything is custom made. Our luxe curved salon mirrors with a terrazzo stone which I get endless dm’s about where I got them from, Our 6 metre terrazzo centre colour table running through the middle of salon and green handmade Japanese tiles giving it the pop.
What about your favourite way to cut and stye?
Your salon has a ‘real people, real hair’ culture – can you sum this up for us?
Salon Sessions is known for its expertise in lightening Asian and European hair as well as your balayage service, can you tell us how this came about? And is this your favourite color technique?
We love our longer balayage clientele which we do most of however, I do have passion for short hair cutting. I love the texture and movement you can create so I will be the first to put my hand up for a short woman’s cut and have a massive men’s clientele with a killer fade.
How will Salon Sessions Kogarah differ from the original salon in Westfield Hurstville?
Our Hurstville space was your traditional bums on
We want everyone to feel comfortable coming to our salon, they love the photos and the reels they get to be involved in. you don’t have to be an influencer to get your face on our page. The smile on our client’s faces is priceless, it makes it all worthwhile.
What do you hope this new salon will be best known for? Will it build upon your current reputation?
We always produced great hair and we knew that,
We have expanded our extension range offering invisible wefts now and a have an eyebrow specialist working in our space.
Will there be any sustainable practices and initiatives we could talk about?
We have taken on Goldwell Can which ensure minimum color wastage and are also fully recyclable.
Who inspires you in the hair industry and who’s hair would you most like to do? Joey Scandizzo and Massimo Motirimacco
What do you value most in your partnership with Kao?
The KAO team have supported me with education, sales support and providing me with opportunities to support the salon. As our salon culture is “real people” our culture really feels in sync with the KAO team. I value that I can always be my authentic self with everyone in the KAO team.
Can you share your favourite Goldwell products?
Goldwell Stylesign Magic Finish Hairspray and Goldwell Dualsenses Bond Pro Day & Night Bond Booster.
How would your team describe you in three words? Easy going, funny, sarcastic
If you had to do something different for a living, what would it be?
A CHEF, I love the passion and the buzzing vibe. Keep a look out for the coffee hole I have in the works at the salon! Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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‘THE ART OF BRAND BUILDING’PART 3 By Phil Smith
In the third 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. All publicity is good publicity, they say. But when you’re running a salon or launching a product range, you want to make sure it’s talked about in all the right ways by all the right people. Many business owners can put marketing low on their list of priorities, but I’d say the key to building up my brand throughout my career has been all about good PR. The trouble is that PR can be quite misunderstood. It’s not just about getting your hair pictures published or your name in a magazine. To me, PR should drive awareness to your business and make sure you’re on the radar of all the right people. Whether that’s on a local level making sure you’re thought of as THE best salon in town – or on a bigger scale establishing you as one of the leading hairdressing talents in the country, PR is a pathway to getting your name and your salon seen and heard. Here’s the PR lessons I’ve learnt along the way:
Great reviews are gold
One important thing to remember about PR is that is that it starts with you. Building a positive reputation for your salon is about what you say, what you do, and what other people say about you. So, in essence, great PR is great customer service. Working on every detail of how you deliver your service and improving every detail of the business regularly is crucial. At its most fundamental level, PR is word of mouth and someone leaving you a top review. I’m the first to admit that everyone can get complacent, but you should never take a good reputation for granted. More often than not a bad review is about the experience than the haircut. Five-star reviews that are left from the heart are gold dust for your business. According to research, 92 per cent of people will trust a recommendation from a friend and 70 per cent of people will trust a review from someone they don’t even know! Shout about and share your reviews as it can make all the difference when it comes to attracting new clients.
Get social
The PR landscape has changed massively since I started out. There was no social media 30 years ago, but it’s given us all an opportunity to showcase our salon from our smartphone. 48
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When done well, social media is a behind the scenes glimpse at your salon and reflects what you do best. It’s a way to establish a know, like and trust factor with prospective clients and existing ones. Before you spend a single penny on a PR agency, I’d make sure your social media – which, let’s face it, is a free resource – is up to scratch. Yes, it can be a time suck, but it is a distraction that is worth your time. Get junior members of your team on board - if they’re really keen, they can be creating original content, which will be a great boost for your salon.
Are you showing up online?
Your shopfront used to be your salon’s best advert but now your online presence has become just as important for making a good first impression. Your website is an opportunity to give a flavour of what your client can expect when they visit. A professionally built website should include all the relevant Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) work to get your salon seen by anyone searching for a hair service in your area. It doesn’t have to be complex, but it does have to be a good reflection of your brand.
Call in the pros
When you’ve done as much as you can to build your PR reputation from its foundations, I’d stop to think what your ambitions really are. Do you want to become a brand ambassador (or even launch your own product range), or do you need some direction on what it takes to win those coveted industry awards? Everyone will have a different goal and a smart PR will know which pathway to steer you on.
It’s really important to know your ‘brand’ even if that brand is YOU. To give you an example, when I started out, I was never a glossy Mayfair hairdresser, or the equivalent of what Gordon Ramsay was to the restaurant world. Instead, I was more of a ‘Jamie Oliver’, reachable and affordable to all walks of life. Knowing who I was and where I fit into the hairdressing landscape has helped me hugely and I still refer back to those principles today.
Scoop yourself an award or two!
Being an award winner is a good business move. There’s no shortage of awards competitions in the hair world, plus there are local business awards you can get involved with too. Yes, it can seem like a lot of fuss to get an entry together but even so, nothing quite beats the thrill of winning. It feels great to be recognised by your peers and it’s a great motivator for your team too if you back them in their quest to win a trophy. There is an element of vanity about entering awards but becoming an ‘award-winning salon’ lends a lot of cachet to your brand and it will 100 per cent get you noticed. Growing the visibility of your salon to clients and in the local area is one of the best PR strategies there is. Everyone loves a success story. Trust me, if you think of PR less as a ‘campaign’ and more something that you practice every day, you’ll be hitting the headlines for all the right reasons.
INDUSTRY DAY 2022 By Anthony Gray, MIG Training
Hair Festival 2022 and the AHIA Creative awards seemed like a coming out party for the industry after 2 long years of disruption and virtual events. The chilly long weekend was a showcase of education and collaboration. Taking advantage of the hair community coming together, the Australian Hairdressing Council (AHC) ran two oversubscribed education events on the Friday and Saturday before Hair Festival. The Industry Day on the Friday saw 95 educators from all over Australia come together at the Park Royal in Sydney. A further 220 then attended the Leadership Summit on Saturday at the Hilton. Industry day is absolutely unique on the Australian hair calendar. It is the only industry event that brings educators together from across the entire industry and across the country. Facilitated by the AHC’s national training committee the room was full of the who’s who of industry educators including: • salon owners and in-salon educators, • company and supplier educators, • independent industry educators as well as • RTO management and teachers from both TAFE and private providers. The theme of the day focussed on “What does the best training Experience look like for our apprentice Hairdressers and Barbers”. The hair industry is crying out for great people. Like never before we need to attract, develop and retain new Hairdresser and Barbers. To do this we need to offer the Best Training Experience possible. A full day of collaboration was interspersed with three incredible speakers. AHC CEO Sandy Chong provided a snapshot of where we are headed as an industry before keynote speaker Mark Mackenzie helped the attendees to understand the changes on the horizon for skills training and how our hair and barber qualifications are managed from 2023 onwards. Finally, Paul Frasca shared his sustainability story and in particular how he has been able to share his message through education, collaboration and connection. Spread throughout the day was a series of short and sharp workshops to firstly map out what the best training experience looks like before focussing in on how to build relationships between Salons, Registered Training Organisations (RTO’s), Independent and Company Educators to make the apprentice experience gold standard. The room was abuzz as they worked through all aspects of the apprentice journey from how we best attract and engage new entrants before turning its attention to retention and development of apprentices as they progress through their training
toward qualification and beyond. The learnings from the day were incredible with the best thinking from the 95 attendees refined into a roadmap for the training system moving forward. The top priorities identified for attracting new entrants to our industry and apprenticeship system were: • To market what success looks like for school leavers through Social Media • To promote Hairdressing & Barbering apprenticeships to every secondary school by developing an information kit while Including opportunities to experience Hairdressing firsthand. • To develop inspiring content to showcase career diversity In terms of engaging apprentices once they have made the decision to choose hair, the key outcomes included: • Developing individualised training designed to match the expectations and capabilities of the individual. • Developing induction programs with practical training that covers all salon skills • Provide training for the owner on how to develop career plans and training programs, as well as positively mentoring apprentices on their journey. When the delegates turned their attention to the next part of the student journey the best training experience the question posed to the collective was. What is critical to developing skills and creating an incredible training experience from the 6 months to 2-year time frame? The top responses were to: • Develop career plan to set goals and dedicate time to identify the training activities. • Define the training and development responsibilities for everyone in the salon. • Build confidence and esteem through consistent feedback including recognition and reward. Rounding out the student journey workshops saw the delegates turn their attention to the final stages of training and development culminating in qualification as a Hairdresser or Barber. The key messages from this workshop were to: • Identify skill areas of strength and develop specialised training programs. • Ramp up client skills including benchmarks,
goal setting and growing their income. • Help build their profile within the salon and with their potential client’s. The clear message across each of the accent points examined as part of the student journey was heard loud and clear. Relationships are what matter. An approach to training that includes all parties working together to make the apprentice experience the best possible. This includes salon owners working hand in glove with their RTO, supplier /product companies and independent educators. To this end the delegates were challenged to dig deep into the training relationships to unpack what are the key components of the training relationship. The first step was to identify the critical components that make up an inclusive industry training plan that enriches the apprentice experience. The components identified were: • Milestone check-ins between salon owner, aprentice and RTO to discuss the progress of the in-salon training. • Develop mutual respect by creating clear role responsibilities for each stakeholder. • Simplify the ‘training’ language to reflect company, supplier, industry and salon training. Drilling in deeper into how the critical components identified should then be managed the delegates came together to identify the most important training plan management aspects to focus on: • Creating a central database for all stakeholders to access. • Provision of more ongoing support and active engagement from Apprentice Network providers. • To keep it flexible Not only did the delegates who attended walk away with a host of new connections to share their education journey with, but they also took away real ideas and solutions to implement in their own education and training businesses to improve the training experience of their students and clients. Finally, everyone who attended left with a feeling that they had a strong input into the direction of hair education in this county. The responses and outcomes captured by the AHC over the course of the Industry day will inform how the AHC engages with regulators to shape the training landscape now and in the future. Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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TIPS FOR BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL COLOUR COLUMN By Kristie Kesic
Colour. The money maker! Yes, some would argue, apart from wages most businesses probably spend more on their colour orders than their rent, BUT whether you’re a business owner, employee, free-lancer or rent a chair, there’s no secret in knowing that having a successful colour column and colour business brings in big bucks. I mean these tips and tricks can be used just in general to build a successful fully booked column regardless of colour or cut, but as this is a colour blog, I’m going to keep it specific to colour. Now I write these tips as specialist colourists with 14 years’ experience, building up my own column within the business and now also as a successful business owner.
CHARGE YOUR WORTH.
This one is very important to all hairdressers and something I am so passionate about. BUT to me there’s also a line between charging what your worth and ripping people off.
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The secret to finding this balance and knowing what you should be charging is in the word YOUR! What’s YOUR skill level, what’s YOUR experience, what’s YOUR speciality, what do YOU invest into YOUR career to then justify YOUR prices. It’s because people don’t know how to price themselves that we’ve ended up with two situations. Firstly, under skilled and overpriced colourists. These colourists aren’t giving clients value for money, they are giving unrealistic expectations. The number of times I have had people come in for colours to be fixed up and they’ve finished
with the words, and they charged me this amount, I expected them to be good if they charge that much. Truth is I would absolutely expect the same. These overpriced negative experiences are then resulting in consumers having the perception colourists charge too much. NO! Unskilled colourists charging $400 for a colour is too much. $400 plus for a highly trained specialist colourist is what should be expected and be the normality. Secondly, we’ve got highly skilled colourists, under charging because they think consumers won’t pay the price they deserve to be charging.
I will say it again. Charge YOUR worth. Not what the salon down the road is charging or what that person on Instagram is charging. If you’ve got the skills, the experience, the speciality, charge for it! If you don’t have the skills to justify the pricings, then wait, be patient, gain more experience, participate in more education, grow your skill set to support what you want to be charging.
KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS.
I think it’s very respectful and shows you have humility when you can just as easily recognise your weaknesses as well as your stregnths. You might recognise as a blonde specialist but struggle with choosing copper tones. Ask for second opinions from someone else in your team. You might be able to do a killer balayage but what your client wants is a massive colour correction and your skills aren’t quite as good as a more experienced person in salon. Recommend the more experienced person. Trust me your client will have more respect for you recommending someone else, than you not giving them the result they expected because your skills. There is nothing more damaging to a business than an overconfident, under skilled colourist.
PERSONALISE YOUR SERVICES
Clients come to us by choice, and they are spoilt by choice. There is a lot of great hairdressers out there, but what makes a client come to you over someone else. Develop your own signature looks and techniques to give you the results you want. Give your clients something no one else can do to make them only want to come back to you. You may have 1 or 10 other colourists in your salon team, or a salon 2 doors down from you, so why should your clients choose you.
RELATIONSHIP.
This continues from the above. What makes a client come back to you. Simple, it’s how you make them feel. This is done through the service they receive from you. This includes the result you get and the relationship you have built with them. You could be the best colourist in the world but if just rely on that and don’t build up your relationship with them, you won’t have a loyal client. Your business relies on clients rebooking, build that relationship that makes them want to rebook time and time again, because you make them feel incredible. Now this doesn’t mean you have to talk to them the whole time, some clients like having a chat because that’s the relationship they have with you, you know about all their family or ex boyfriends and dogs. Some clients will love that you make them comfortable by allowing them to sit In silence in your space. You will only know this by building a relationship with them.
CONSULTATION AND REBOOKING
First part of the service where you also plant the seed for the following service. During your consultation in those first few minutes of interaction and how confident or inexperienced you come across will determine how much faith your client has in you. Especially firsttime clients. Make them feel confident in your abilities and the fact you are the expert. They are coming to you for a reason, show them that reason. Talk to your clients about their next colour. Plant the seed to let them know you have a plan, and they will want to keep following that plan. Rebook them. When they ask how long they should wait to come back in, give them an answer. If it’s a 6-week colour tell them 6 weeks or if it’s 12 weeks, tell them 12 weeks but in about 6 weeks why don’t you come in for a blow-dry and toner to refresh the colour. Because remember low maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenancce. You’re the expert, they are asking you to tell them what to do.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Ahh social media. Our biggest advertising tool and our most time-consuming activity. I know salons who have built their very success businesses purely through social media and then know salons that social media isn’t a focus who has just as successful businesses. Hands up whose had that feeling of regret after you’ve done the most amazing colour but then forgotten to take the photo, because dam now you can’t put it on social media. It’s almost as though we have that mentality of it didn’t happen if I haven’t posted about it. But reality is, that client loved their colour, they are now going to go and tell their friends and family and colleagues they love that colour, if people compliment them and you’ve given them a great experience, they are then going to tell that person about who you are, regardless off the fact you forgot to take an after photo or its on social media. So next time you forget to take that perfect after photo don’t beat yourself up
over it and remember that colour on that client looked just as good even though you didn’t post it. Use social media in a real way. There’s no space for this Instagram vs reality in our business because the proof is in your work. You can edit the shit out of photos and colours to make them whatever you want, but if you can’t produce that work in actual reality, you’re not fooling anyone, and your clients just simply won’t come back. Put out your real work and the work you want to attract into your salon. Social media is an insight into your work. What you put out there is what you will attract. Make it real, make it authentic and make it you. Don’t judge your success by how many followers you have or how many likes you get per photo. I’ve had to fix some of the worst colours I’ve ever seen from salons that have the greatest number of followers. Sometimes is all smoke and mirrors. Also, sometimes clients just don’t want to have a photo taken, whether that be they don’t want to feel like you’re taking their photos and then using it for your own benefit to advertise or they just don’t want to. And then some clients can’t wait to take the perfect Instagram worthy selfie in your space.
PRODUCTS.
Use products you believe in and give you the best results. I know when you’re not a business owner you don’t get to choose the products you use and I’m a big believer in clients come to you for your work you produce not the products you use, but I also believe to produce great work, you need to have a superior product you trust and will give you the results you need. At the end of the day to build a successful clientele you need to be authentically you, charge your worth, and find your reason as to why clients come back to you and only you.
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THE CRAFT SALON STAFF INDUCTION BIBLE!
A GAME CHANGING ONLINE EDUCATION FROM ONE OF OUR BEST!
Want a comprehensive video and pdf short course for onboarding new staff to your hairdressing or barber salon so you don’t have to? Then welcome to one of the most RELEVANT and PRACTICAL courses of our time… Whether you own or manage a Salon and find it challenging to train new staff in all the basics, or you’re a new hairdressing or barber salon employee and want to hit the ground running as a valuable and confident staff member – this easy to follow online program has got you covered! THE CRAFT SALON STAFF INDUCTION BIBLE COVERS ALL THE FOUNDATIONAL HAIRDRESSING AND BARBER SALON BASICS: • Communication, salon etiquette & ethics • Client & customer experience • Working as a team • Scheduling appointments • Preparing the client for a service • Basin services • Long & short hair styling • Barbering skills for a salon assistant • Cleanliness, hygiene & salon safety • Salon sustainability • Advice for the first day & beyond What’s even MORE incredible is that not only is it delivered via an easy to follow and beautifully detailed online LEARNER HANDBOOK, but all 52
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the topics are also supported with outrageously inspiring and relevant videos from talented young guns in both hairdressing and barbering whose stories and guidance are absolutely priceless. This short course is a wonderful opportunity to supercharge all the foundation skills a new salon staff member could possibly need. If you’ve ever come across Sharon Blain, and let’s face it, most of us who love this industry have, you’ll know that she is one of the most acclaimed and awarded hairdressers and educators in the world today. In fact, there are not many industry icons who have such an unheard-of dedication to the industry of over 55 years+! She was even awarded an ORDER OF AUSTRALIA just this year for her outstanding achievements. What an honour for our industry as well as Sharon! Passionately dedicated to shaping our future generations and supporting salons, she has also created THE CRAFT – a training organisation
that has completely re-imagined CERT III & IV in Hairdressing, as well as this short course, THE CRAFT SALON STAFF INDUCTION BIBLE. “My legacy is to ensure our industry continues to attract top talent – from salon assistants, to hairdressers and barbers who are the future of our industry – which is why I’m so proud to offer the perfect non-accredited mini course that thoroughly prepares students for the excitement and challenges that salon life brings.” Sharon Blain
BUT DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT… COME TAKE A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD HERE
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Find out more: info@thecraftbysharonblain.com
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The Wrap Up
The first Hair Festival, held at Carriageworks in Sydney earlier this month, was a celebration of the hair industry – its people, its products and its creativity. It’s been three years since the hair industry gathered for a dedicated weekend of hair and, judging by the energy in the room over two full days of Hair Festival, the excitement of that reunion and celebration was palpable with 4300 industry members walking through the doors of Carriageworks. Over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, as is the legacy of hairfocused weekends; it was two days all about the salon industry. The MarketPlace floor was more than the proverbial candy shop promised, it was a packed haven of every hair innovation. Attendees grabbed a hot drink at the Festival Hub, had their business questions answered at the Business Hub and checked out AREA Academy and their inspiring collaborations at the Barber Hub. Beyond that, a vast assortment of stands showcased everything from the latest in hair tools, products, extensions, supplements, uniforms, sustainability, education, media and so much more. Attendees left with handfuls of bags of the best and latest the hair market has to offer. Thank you to AMR for supplying portable basins, stools and barber chairs for the MarketPlace and Education Sessions. We also saw the 50 metre AHIA Creative Gallery showcasing over 500 beautiful images that constituted the collective works of all 2022 AHIA Finalists. Attendees were asked to vote for their favourite collection which saw Paul James Graham, Paul and Paul salon win for a second ear running for his Avant Garde Collection, and which was announced on Monday night at the 2022 AHIA Gala. “Hair Festival has truly positioned itself as the seminal event on the Hair Industry calendar and I’m so proud of our team who have worked tirelessly to create an experience to meet the needs of the community,” shared Bethanie Tobin, Hair Festival Director “Faced with the uncertainty of organising a significant event during a pandemic, there’s been an unbelievable amount of flexibility – we’re all very good at pivoting and thinking outside of the box in order to deliver a memorable event and the results speak for themselves.” “We welcomed over 4300 hairdressers, barbers and business owners to explore over 80 leading brands in the MarketPlace, three networking hubs, and multiple dedicated education rooms with a curated program from leading brands, energetic competitions, and a full-day business forum. The event was crowned by 1000 guests at a spectacular party overlooking the city’s skyline at the Australian National Maritime Museum,” she continued. “An event of this size takes a full-year of planning and we’re already underway for 2023. Without revealing too much, we can certainly say that we’re raising the bar, again.”
Sunday was a day particularly dedicated to business elevation, as salon owners and managers learned from the REALTalk Business summit from morning until evening. Five panel presentations from industry leaders as well as keynote speaker presentations from MC Terry Hawkins, Phill Nosworthy and Australian Hairdressing Council CEO Sandy Chong delved into the state of the industry, leadership, customer service and a continuous thread and focus on sustainability. The worthwhile day had a multitude of key insights and takeaways to inspire salon leaders in their innovation, eco footprint, services and more. The education didn’t stop there, taking over the rooms of Carriageworks on Sunday and especially Monday with 15 dedicated Festival Education Sessions, educating to full rooms of hundreds of hairdressers eager to learn and be inspired. From major brands to leading educators, artistic inspiration was front and centre, while business tips and industry knowledge were also in full force. Turning the stage into both a runway and salon with live hair cutting, styling and colour and true artistic creations, brands such as Piloroo, ANTI Collective, Showpony Professional, ghd, Dyson, Pivot Point, Excellent Edges, De Lorenzo, TONI&GUY, Piiq, Seamless1 and Area Academy inspired the crowd, and business sessions from Caitlyn Menzel Coaching, Elite Hair Education and The Sales Catalyst left them with important insights. Wonderland was an unmissable event on Sunday night, becoming the unofficial overdue reunion of the hair industry as complemented by an open bar and boxtails, food trucks and installations, dance troupes, a live DJ and band, photo wall and so many other festivities. The competitions closed out the Hair Festival event, with an energetic showdown in four categories of editorial, men’s hair, salon teams and colour on Monday afternoon, keeping the tradition of live hair competitions alive and well and highlighting the immense talent not just on the stages but on the floor. Hair Festival 2022 was worth the wait, a multi-day beacon of all things hairdressing that reconnected the community as anchored by every facet of salon values – education, innovation, competition and connection. The long weekend of hair is officially back and we couldn’t be happier. Hair Festival is Australia’s Biggest Hair Event brought to you by the teams at BHA Media (a subsidiary of The Intermedia Group, publisher of INSTYLE magazine and styleicons.com.au and supported by the Australian Hair Industry Awards (AHIA) and Australian Hairdressing Council (AHC). www.hairfestival.com.au
STEP INTO SPRING WITH THE NEW
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INTERNATIONAL HAIR FASHION SHOW 2022
The spectacular Son Amar theatre in Palma de Mallorca was the backdrop for the exclusive live international fashion show by z.one concept which took place on the 6th of June 2022, transporting guests to the world of carefree ‘90’s hair fashion. The “L’amour toujours” evening, organised by the z.one conceptTM and milk_shake creative director, opened with flamenco dancing, acrobats and contortionists in a magical and evocative context that pervaded during the dinner.
important part of the presented looks. Among the skilled stylists who contributed to the creation of the looks on stage, z.one conceptTM is proud to include talents such as Francesco Maria Ferri, Diego Avellini, Clinton Attard, Cristina Morariu, David Baker and Shelley Lane.
The stylistic team, directed by global artistic ambassador Andrew Smith, created hair looks inspired by three great musical genres of the ‘90’s: dance, grunge and pop, working on stage and alternating cuts and beautiful collections with technical and creative innovations.
The hair colours and their perfect combinations were created by Maurizio Velotti, Milo Bellucci, Elena Cafà and Michael Bonadduce. The show ended with a tribute to the history of fashion to evoke the iconic characters of the time, following with a large ‘90’s themed party with an engaging live DJ set that entertained over six hundred professionals and industry insiders late into the night, who were all excited to finally take part in such an event and meet in person.
The natural volume and fullness of the hair were the starting point for the stylists, who showcased a more eccentric and modern reinterpretation of the looks, using products to increase volume. The result: bobs with fringes and deliberately exaggerated high chignons, gels combined with sequins or glitter-embellished creations, harmonizing with the clothes worn by the fifteen beautiful models. Hair accessories were also an
z.one concept partners with local distributors Conceptual Brands & Mylk Brands for the distribution of milk_shake in Australia. Contact them through their socials @milkshakehair_aus and @milkshakeproaus
/ icy blond / cold brunette Haircare products for perfect cool tones in blond or brown hair.
To stock the collection in your salon, contact your local milk_shake distributor on ®
QLD+NSW: Conceptual Brands / 1300 110 032 VIC: K Two&Co / 0409 596 771 SA: Beautopia Hair & Beauty / 1800 635 545 WA: Ultimate Salon Supplies / 08 9204 2200 TAS: AJHS / 0409 014 070
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AND THE CLEAN MOVEMENT
O&M have been the pioneers of the Clean Colour Movement for over 15 years. Founded by Jose Bryce Smith in 2007, O&M is a is a value led business and Clean has always been at the heart of the brand. Passionate about sustainability and caring for the planet, the brand is dedicated to making a positive environmental impact through conscious engagement within the global hairdressing community.
“WE’VE BEEN ON A SUSTAINABLE MISSION FOR OVER A DECADE AND ARE CONTINUALLY EVALUATING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AT EVERY TOUCHPOINT. BY THE END OF 2022, ALL OF OUR PROFESSIONAL CØR.COLOR TUBES WILL BE TRANSITIONED TO 100% RECYCLED ALUMINIUM.” JOSE BRYCE SMITH
Born out of the need of hairdressers, Jose Bryce Smith, felt that hair professionals didn’t understand the long-term health effects of putting chemicals on hair and their own hands and was positive there had to be a cleaner way to do it. Jose believed that hair colour would become a health choice like, food, make up, skincare and cleaning products and that led her on the journey of creating clean hair colour and hair products that performed at a salon professional level.
The brand is incredibly proud to have recently expanded their range to include Clean Liquids, their Ammonia, PPD and Resorcinol free gel liquid colour collection. JBS says: “We wanted high shine, gloss, performance with a clean formula, the smell had to be pleasant, smell is really important to us, or lack of it, we don’t want hairdressers or their clients to breathe in fumes. We have had amazing feedback since launch on the gloss and shine, it’s a great edition to CØR.color, our permanent colour.”
The innovative founder challenged the artificial norms of hair colour and created the world’s first ammonia free hair colour in 2000, and in the 20 years since, continues to research new ways to reduce harsh chemicals in hair colour whilst still delivering exceptional results. Jose Bryce Smith says: “Health has been my no 1 value and I have always been a lover of life and I just believe that chemical overload is causing disease and haircare and hair colour is my small corner of the planet where I would like to make a difference.
As sustainability continues to evolve, so does O&M’s journey. Did you know 75% of all plastic produced has become waste? O&M did and have been working towards transitioning their whole range into PCR (post consumer recycled packaging). Some of the O&M heroes such as Know Knott and Atonic are already in PCR and the rest of the range will follow by the end of the year. In addition they are transitioning all professional colour to recycled aluminium tubes by the end of 2021. JBS says: “We are committed to the journey, we’ve done lots of small and big changes within our business. While the vast majority of O&M’s packaging is recyclable, we are now developing sustainable packaging across our range of products where possible. Additionally, while some of our products currently use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) packaging, we aim to have new product packaged in FSC board. FSC forest management certification confirms that the forest is being managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers, while ensuring it sustains economic viability.
“It’s been a long journey to get to where we are now and I can confidentially say that O&M is the clean alternative that performs as well and if not better than traditional ammonia colour, we tested it on hundreds and hundreds of heads, it took years and years to perfect the formula and there were a lot of challenges. In 2016 we launched CØR.color and that was our third generation, and the performance was so good, hairdressers were becoming more concerned with their health and that of their clients and the business exploded.”
“We love Australia, it’s where we were born, O&M is manufactured in Australia in our own solar powered factory. We source all our native ingredients from our home soil. And will continue to support our beautiful country.
In addition to the brand’s sustainability efforts, O&M is cruelty free and PETA certified with 98% of the range being vegan. “At O&M we are free-from animal cruelty and with only good intentions towards all living beings.”
“Our O&M factor is 85% solar powered and within all of our workspaces, office and factory we eliminated single use plastics, we use who gives a crap! recycled toilet paper and we are incredibly careful in discerning the need to print emails and other collateral.
O&M’s mission is to be the global leader for clean professional colour and high performing kind haircare. In January 2022, they launched Clean Colour Academy, a place for the O&M tribe to learn. An online education portal created for apprentices, senior hairdressers and salon owners to learn from World Class Clean Colourists, Cutters, Stylists, Influencers, Salon Business Mentors & Wellness Coaches. O&M film new content every month with their champions, their customers, their techniques, and their creative genius in their custom built studio at the O&M HQ in Redfern, Sydney. Best of all, this incredible knowledge resource is FREE for all hair professionals.
“Also, our eco towels and gloves are biodegradable and sold into salons to provide further protection while applying colour; and O&M also advocates salons partner with Sustainable Salons. "Our core has been to provide a healthy, environmentally friendly product within a chemically driven world, we will continue to blaze a trail in the green beauty space. Health and wellness are at the heart of the O&M brand; and we see sustainability not so much as a challenge, as part of our evolution.”
O&M’s clean, kind and high performing luxury professional hair range is stocked in 17 countries and their commitment to evolving their sustainability journey continues.
You can find out more about O&M at: originalmineral.com.au. Also, access to their Clean Colour Academy is FREE for hair professionals. Visit cleancolouracademy.com for more info.
“CLEAN IS AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO. WE SEE SUSTAINABILITY NOT SO MUCH AS A CHALLENGE BUT AS PART OF OUR EVOLUTION.” JOSE BRYCE SMITH
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Brushes made from sustainable, self-regenerating, recyclable and eco-friendly bamboo. New Brushworx Earth Bamboo Collection includes aerated radial brushes, paddle brush and cushion brush for faster drying and styling.
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THE EVOLUTION OF PERFECTION
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Parlux goes digital. Arriving Q4 2022, Parlux DigitAlyon Air Ionizer Tech Hair Dryer is MORE powerful, MORE lightweight and MORE quiet. Longerlasting digital BLDC motor propels blow-drying to new heights.
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100% vegan haircare for colour protection. Bokka BOTANIKA harnesses the world’s highest quality botanicals to extend the longevity and vibrancy of all colour treated hair. Mindfully created, clean beauty.
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Ten key new upgrades for a more extraordinary blow-dry. iQ2 Perfetto Hair Dryer is here. Elevated perfection with new filter, turbo function, antibacterial element, Venturi nozzle and even alerts you when the rear filter needs cleaning.
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HAIR SHOP CHROMA ABSOLU BY KÉRASTASE PARIS
The Kérastase Chroma Absolu collection consists of 6 products to care for colour treated hair at home and 2 in-salon treatments designed for hair that is sensitised or damaged from colour procedures. The range is a modular and customisable system that is designed to be tailored based on hair type and goals, consisting of: Bain Chroma Respect 250ml: A gentle, hydrating, protective shampoo for all types of sensitised or damaged colour treated hair, mostly adapted for fine to medium hair types. Bain Riche Chroma Respect 250ml: A rich, nourishing, protective shampoo for all types of sensitised or damaged colour treated hair, mostly adapted for medium to thick hair. Fondant Cica Chroma 200ml: A powerful, anti-porosity, strengthening conditioner for all types of sensitised or damaged colour treated hair, mostly adapted for fine to medium hair. Masque Chroma Filler 200ml: A rich anti-porosity, deep filling masque developed for all types of sensitised or damaged colour treated hair, mostly adapted for medium to thick hair. reflecting intense shine, while colour lasts longer. Soin Acide Chroma Gloss 210ml: A resurfacing high shine rinse treatment to sublimate all types of colour-treated hair. Sérum Chroma Thermique 50ml: A universal anti-frizz antioxidant thermic leave-in serum for all sensitized or damaged colour-treated hair. Fusio Dose Concentré Acide Aminé (in-salon only): A white nourishing concentrate to recover fibre from colour damage for a healthier, brighter colour. Can be used after a colour service or in-between colour appointments. Can also be mixed with any Fusio Dose booster. Fusio Dose Booster Resurfaçant (in-salon only): A transparent fluid booster transforms fibre surface for reduced damage and a more homogenous sealed fibre. Can be used after a colour service or between colour appointments. Can be mixed with any Fusio Dose concentre. www.kerastase.com
CONSCIOUSSTYLE CLEANSING MIST BY KMS
A moisturizing hair mist that refreshes hair, infusing it with weightless hydration, creating the ideal foundation for quick and easy styling. Each mist is housed in packaging that is made of up to 98% post-consumer recycled materials and formulated with key botanical ingredients that are sustainably sourced and ECOCERTcertified. Designed to be used in between washes or post-workout, this convenient nonaerosol spray is a power cleanse that neutralizes odours, absorbs oils and removes styling product residues and environmental pollutants from the hair and scalp without leaving behind white residues. The cleansing power is courtesy of a natural clay that gently purifies the hair by absorbing and separating pollutants and oils. Ideal for medium to fine hair and safe for colour-treated strands, it also provides weightless hydration. The CONSCIOUSSTYLE Cleansing Mist uses sustainably sourced, efficacious ECOCERT-certified extracts of natural origin, including: • Moringa Seed Oil, which is known as the miracle tree and the most nutritious plant on earth. This rich smoothing oil is replete with natural antioxidants to support optimal hydration while protecting the hair and scalp from environmental pollutants. • Oat Oil, known for its gentle and soothing properties, helps maintain the scalp’s natural balance by replacing lipids lost everyday. The natural extract infused with vitamins hydrates the scalp, locking moisture into hair and restoring natural luster and elasticity. www.kmshair.com
PRESLEY RECEPTION DESK IN MARBLE LOOK AND BRASS FINISH BY COMFORTEL
When first impressions count for your front welcome area, Comfortel’s new reception desk, Presley is perfect for salons spaces wanting a modern, minimal look. The epitome of contemporary design, this compact reception desk boasts structural brass metal, marble look finish and a contrasting white gloss top adding a sophisticated touch. It features two cupboards full of shelves, plus a handy shelf to hide the cash drawers or all those messy bits and pieces that come with a busy salon. The best thing about Presley? It’s neat compact design, so makes it’s the perfect standing desk. www.comfortel.com.au
HI LIFT NEW LOOK BY M&U IMPORTS
Hi Lift Professional launches new packaging. Featuring the new look Hydrate shampoo and Conditioner, available in 350ml and 1 litre. www.muimports.com.au
PRO ONE AEROLITE BY M&U IMPORTS
The new Pro One Aerolite has revolutionised the industry with its amazing power to weight ratio. This new advanced hair dryer features a high speed 110.00 rpm brushless motor which incorporates reverse self-cleaning along with ionic and ceramic technology. Available in Titanium and Black. www.muimports.com.au
PROCARE 24*7 ELECTRIC FOIL DISPENSER BY COMFORTEL
Perfectly cut foils at the touch of a button! Comfortel’s Electric Foil Machine is a mini wonder, doing the hard work for you Available in black, each machine dispenses 450m rolls of foil in a choice of four lengths and four-fold options into a handy tray ready for use. Simply choose the length of foil, the size of fold and the amount of foils required, and the machine takes care of the rest. Once seduced, you’ll be amazed at how easy the Procare 24*7 is to use. If you’re determined to see your colour business grow, this will make a real difference. Comfortel is making your job easy thanks to their fully automatic 24*7 Hair Foil Dispenser – Time, money and energy – saved! Remember, all aluminum products can be recycled and with the added bonus of the 24*7 it eliminates waste whilst saving you time and money! New Features: The 24*7 produces perfectly trimmed and folded foils to your specification, quickly, quietly and without fuss. • Fully programmable – choice of 4 foil lengths and 4 fold options. • Foil lengths: 160mm | 230mm | 300mm | 350mm • Custom Length Feature. You are now able to create your own custom length. • Produces perfectly cut and folded foils at the touch of a button. • Cuts and folds each strip immaculately. • Seriously reduces wasted foil costs. •Dramatically reduces staff costs on foil preparation. • Made in the UK www.comfortel.com.au
DUALSENSES BY GOLDWELL
Whether you’re considering the season’s hottest hair color trends; scandi blonde, natural copper, adding warm chocolate tones to your tresses or sticking to your favourite hue, Goldwell’s newest Color Care product, Dualsenses COLOR Repair & Radiance Balm has your hair covered with a specially and efficaciously formulated balm that works to maintain and refresh salon treated hair. The new product hits shelves in June, the perfect time to focus on protecting and nurturing colored hair in preparation for the winter months ahead. The winter season can be very harsh on hair, colder temperatures leave hair dryer than usual and in need of special treatment. The new Dualsenses COLOR Radiance & Repair Balm targets these hair concerns delivering outstanding color brilliance, providing maximum protection against environmental pollutants and UV light while working to reduce your split ends by up to 99%. www.goldwell.com
RAW ANTHONY NADER
HARRIET ELECTRIC RECLINING WASH LOUNGE WITH MASSAGE IN TAN BY COMFORTEL
If you’re looking to invest in a slimline shampoo lounge and hairdressing basin, Harriet in Comfortel’s signature tan is for you. Modern looking, this electric reclining hairdressing wash lounge with pulsating massage has detailed piping and curved lines. For salons looking for a neutral, laidback style, the tan colour upholstery provides the pops of natural textures you need to complete the look. The added pulsating massage is that extra touch to make clients feel relaxed. Did we mention it’s comfy too, with Comfortel’s Comfort Series‘ Memory Foam’ Technology. Also Available in Comfortel’s Signature Textured Black Upholstery. www.comfortel.com.au
Anthony Nader is an award-winning hairstylist and owner of the esteemed Surry Hills salon, . Coinciding with his salon’s 25th anniversary, he is delighted to announce the launch of his haircare brand, ltn (love thy nader). The ltn Hair Straightener has ceramic plates which creates sleek and smooth looks and maintains constant heat for impeccable and consistent results. The temperature-controlled hair styler ranges from 100 °C to 230°C to suit all hair types and needs. This tool is perfect for straightening and the rounded barrel allows for adding waves or curls. It is available in two plate sizes (25mm and 38mm) and has universal voltage (110-240V) making it a suitcase essential for international travel! ltn also offers Certified 100% Mulberry Silk Pillowcases, available in seven beautiful shades. Each standard-sized pillowcase (70cm x 50cm) is made from 25 momme mulberry silk, which is a high-density and durable fabric that feels luxurious and unbelievably soft. • ltn Hair Straightener Original Styler 1” Plates • ltn Hair Straightener Wide Styler 1.5” Plates • ltn Certified 100% Mulberry Silk Pillowcase (available in black, blue, gold, grey, pink, plum, and natural white). For Trade inquiry please contact rawsydney@rawhair.com.au
BLOG SPOT.
HOW WOULD YOUR TEAM MEMBERS RATE & REVIEW YOU AS A BOSS? By Clive Allwright
The Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend has long been etched into our hearts as the hairdresser’s weekend. We all had our various reasons to celebrate this year. It was our first “Hair Festival” industry style event for many years. Followed by the glittering Australian Hair Industry Awards night at the Sydney ICC. Congratulations to all the amazing finalists and winners. It was a brilliant night and weekend full of frivolities. It was certainly a fantastic feeling being back amongst our friends and hair idols, face to face once again. June 11th also marks my sober anniversary; I am very proud to say I am now well into my 4th year, free from alcohol & drugs. I would also like to congratulate my good friend Dario Cotroneo in being awarded Hall of Fame in honour of the late Dennis Langford. I am proud of you mate! Another highlight from the weekend was working with the young “Hot Shots Team” with 6 previous winners of “Hairdresser of the year” at the Open Mic presentation with my mate Gary Latham. It was so great to see the highest levels of passion, confidence and professionalism shown from all the next young generation of superstars. Which got me thinking “Why do we struggle to attract the next generation of future hairdressers?” I was informed it was a hot topic at some of the other open forum discussion events over the weekend. We work in an industry where results matter, we only get paid from what we produce. It’s no surprise client reviews are super important when attracting new clients intro our businesses. We are all focussed on ensuring our clients receive the best customer service, hair cutting, colouring, refreshments, professional advice etc. We welcomed the mystery shopper / client idea to randomly test our professionalism. How would you feel about being rated and reviewed by your staff, in order to attract more staff? Maybe the industry could introduce an “Undercover Boss” style program. Placing young people into our salons to highlight our downfalls and also our wins. We might possibly then understand why so many young adults choose to stick their fingers up at our industry 74
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and walk away! I am so tired of hearing “Young people just don’t want to work” anymore. Young people often just don’t want to work with us, and we need to understand why and hopefully try to change that. Some of our own kids wouldn’t choose to work alongside us, maybe some just don’t want to end up working like us! Why aren’t we bussing groups of school leavers into our industry open forums, in hope of us all understanding this generation better? Then asking the tough questions to the school leavers, why don’t they want to join our industry? or why they don’t see our industry as a serious long-term career? Listening to the people who have chosen to leave our industry all together would be more confronting. Imagine asking the once young and upcoming stylist when she left to have a baby. Why didn’t she return to work in a salon? Was it because of the rising costs of childcare and she couldn’t afford to come back to work on a hairdresser’s salary? Or did she just decided it was all too hard managing expected KPI’s alongside family life with limited flexibility on offer? We are often so focussed on how the free coffee is presented to our guests in the salon. But when does the person actually making it, serving it and washing up afterwards become invisible? How would you change the way you operate your business, if your staff could rate and review you as a boss? I have been so privileged to work with so many young people starting out in our industry for the first time. I have personally trained hundreds of new assistants with our company Piloroo.com. You would be shocked to learn of some of the stories that get back to us in the way some of these young people are sometimes treated. It’s all well and good making lovely promo videos of how great our industry could be and how successful you could become if you
put in the hard work. However, when young kids enter the hair industry, they often soon discover it’s like navigating a mine field. They realise that all salons operate very differently. Some employers don’t even offer any training or treat their assistants as if they are low paid apprentice cleaners until they eventually leave. Then complain they are lazy and unmotivated. I need to be clear, the vast majority of salons we deal with are incredible salons with beautiful people and treat their staff amazingly well. That’s why they are so busy and need extra assistants from us in the first place. Some salon owners sadly think it’s okay to poach our Piloroo assistants without paying our minimal recruitment fee. 90% of the assistants eventually come back to us when the offers of cash and promised shifts eventually dry up. Maybe we should add another awards category that celebrates our best and kindest employers that focus on wellbeing in the workplace. Celebrating employers that nurture young minds into a world of creativity in becoming whomever they want to be. Maybe running a successful business nowadays means focussing a little more on letting people can choose a better work life balance. Working the days that suit everyone. Maybe the possibility of being offered into a profit share in the success of the business. Just maybe… We might then see a bigger show of hands of young people wanting to come and join us…
BLOG SPOT.
SAVVY CONSUMERS WANT YOU TO WASH THEIR HAIR, NOT YOUR MARKETING By Paul Frasca
Greenwashing is not just a dodgy marketing practice - it’s a dangerous game for businesses to play. Today’s consumers are more eco-conscious than ever before, and they can sniff out bad faith sustainability marketing from a mile away. Do your research and make lasting change; it will positively impact you, your staff, your customers, and your bottom line. As hairdressers, we know what we’re good at - washing, cutting, drying, curling, straightening, perming, crimping, teasing… maybe I’m just pining for the 80s. It was a pretty glorious time for hair, and also the decade that gave us the term ‘greenwashing.’ It’s a term first coined by an environmentalist, Jay Westerveld, criticising the ‘save the towel’ movement in hotels. Westerveld claimed that encouraging hotel guests to re-use their towels was not about saving the climate but saving the hotels the trouble of washing every towel every day, i.e., one of the first notable instances of greenwashing. It means precisely what the above example indicates. A company makes grand claims about how environmentally friendly it is, but its business practices haven’t changed in a meaningful way. Plenty of big corporations have been accused of greenwashing and with good reason. Oil and gas companies, big players in the aviation industry, even rock bands are not immune to accusations. The truth is, we’ve likely all been guilty of greenwashing at some point, whether intentional or not. The movement toward sustainable hair and beauty products makes our industry particularly vulnerable to falling for it ourselves or unintentionally our businesses. However, it’s worth remembering that in this case, impact trumps intention. You can be as well-meaning as you like, but your unintentional greenwashing can still have a significant negative impact. As a salon owner, when was the last time you really investigated whether the companies you buy your products from actually follow through on the promises they make on the bottle? Not whether they give your customers silky soft strands, but whether that bottle really is made from 30,50 or even 80 per cent recycled plastics, or whether the shea butter used in the product comes from a sustainable source. The answer is probably never. And that’s okay. You should be able to rely on what a company says about itself and its eco-
credentials without turning in to a private detective to verify the claims. Your customers expect the same. If you say your salon is sustainable, your customers expect you to walk the walk on sustainability too. It’s not good enough anymore to just recycle via your council curb side recycling; your customers expect you to be taking one for team earth and making some real changes to your business model. The good news is that the process of greenifying your business isn’t as daunting as it might seem. Think about where and how you can make sustainable changes. Some of them are so easy you’ll barely notice a difference, but the planet will thank you. Start by thinking about where and how you can minimise waste in your salon: - Can you replace your regular coffee pods with refillable pods? - Could you invest in a mineral water maker rather than buying bottled? - Could you switch to biodegradable garbage bags? - Can you join a program like Sustainable Salons? - How about starting a mismatched crockery collection from your local op-shop to give your employees a sustainable option for when they grab a coffee or lunch? Once you’ve made the easy changes, you can move on to some more complex sustainability challenges: - Can you switch to a sustainable banking provider? - Could you switch energy providers to have your salon run on renewable energy? - Better yet, is it possible to install solar
panels and generate your own electricity? There are likely a million little things you can do to minimise your salon’s impact on the planet, and you should do these before you start marketing yourself as sustainable.
Consumers know what they want, and they are not afraid to punish businesses that try to pull the wool over their eyes. Don’t risk alienating your client base by making unsubstantiated claims about how green you are, especially when going green is simple and affordable. Be transparent with your clients, and they’ll keep coming back, not just for your great haircuts but because they know they’re putting their money into a business that cares for the environment. Greenwashing can seem like an attractive way to engage with the customer base you’re trying to woo, but it’s not the answer. You can take simple steps in your salon that will have you walking the walk (not just talking the talk) on sustainability in no time. Stick to washing what you’re good at! Keen to join the movement? Scan the QR code to learn more
BLOG SPOT.
WINTER WELLNESS IN THE WORKPLACE
By Brodie Lee Tsiknaris
If the past two years have taught us one thing, it’s how important our wellness is. Wellness in the workplace should be a priority, it’s one that gets pushed aside but if we don’t make time for our health, it will force us to make time generally at the most inconvenient time! What better way to influence our team and help navigate a healthier work place this winter than starting at the top, at ROKSTAR we are all about ‘health is wealth and making health cool’. Wellness to me is made up of much more than just healthy eating however these are my 3 key factors: • fuelling our bodies with healthy and nutritious foods • making sure we get enough sleep and • maintaining a healthy routine and mindset. Whilst we love taking care of our guests hair time and the business side of things, are we sound in making sure that we lead by example by practising good wellness and encouraging wellness hygiene in the workplace. Let’s start with looking at sleep hygiene - as business owners it’s so easy to push this baby aside, especially with the weight and stress of business on you. I suggest including sleep hygiene in your team meetings. You would be surprised how many of your team members aren’t sleeping great, with so many daily distractions including the good old social media, Netflix in bed and caffeine stimulates. Start by looking at sleep cycles and get into a healthy circadian rhythm. Try and go
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to sleep and wake at the same time every day. A good night’s sleep is sometimes the best thing you can do to boost your immune system. A lack of sleep can not only make you feel fatigued, but it can have a serious effect on your immune system making us more susceptible to catching colds. There have been studies done that show a lack of sleep decreases the amount of white blood cells produced. White blood cells are essential in helping to fight away infection in the body. Another important thing to remember to do is shutting down appliances and screens an hour before you go to bed helps to boost the release of melatonin in the brain which helps us fall asleep and get a deeper sleep too. Eat the rainbow, yep that’s right - fill your plate with as many colourful veggies as possible all healthy and nutritious foods. Eat produce that is in season. Making sure that you are eating foods that are high in vitamins such as vitamin C will help boost your immune system during the months where the weather is cooler. Fruit and vegetables such as oranges, lemons, kiwifruit, sweet potato, and broccoli are great sources of Vitamin C and are super easy to add into your diet. If you struggle with eating fruit and veggies, a great way to ensure you are getting your 2 serves of fruits and 5 serves
of veggies is to introduce smoothies and juices into your diet! A carrot, beetroot, spinach, and lemon combination are a great mix for boosting your immune system! Lean meats, fish, poultry, low fat dairy, legumes, wholegrains, nuts, and seeds are also important in a balanced diet. Make sure that you support your body with the vitamins and minerals that it needs to nourish, thrive, and protect itself. A great way to encourage your team to look after themselves is by bringing in a nutritionist to educate them on how to eat and sustain energy. Make lunch platters! I often engage a nutritionist when I feel I, or my team need some inspiration! Include some natural vitamin D, the average person does not get enough vitamin D from their diet. In summer a few minutes mid-morning or mid-afternoon (outside UV Index 3 or above) is generally adequate for vitamin D and in winter longer exposure times are needed. There are also some great apps out there to help with monitoring sun exposure and maintaining a healthy mindset, don’t be afraid to do some research and share with your teams – sharing is caring! Until next time ROKSTAR’S Brodie x
GET THE LOOK
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GET THE LOOK WITH COMFORTEL 1.VERONA ARCH Salon Mirror 2.CHLOE Styling Chair 3.SUPERNOVA Footrest 1 4.SALON STOOL BLACK 5.COLOUR BAR II Tint Tube & Sink Cabinets 6.HAZEL BLACK Washlounge
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lovers of black & modern monochrome Less is more with this salon look, with structural clean lines and a monochrome colour palette. The salon look embraces natural, often light textured materials combined with black structural furniture to create a ‘modern monochrome’ look. Simplicity in every element, this sleek salon look has no clutter with an abundance of raw materials that can include concrete, metal, glass and steel.
THE PALETTE
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BLOG SPOT.
THE NEW NORMAL
By Gary Latham
Firstly, a big thank you and congratulations to the organisers of the Hair Festival and the Australian Hair Industry Awards. It was fantastic to get the Hair profession together and get a taste of what life was once like. It was even worth the seven days of isolation from the “festival flu” I picked up. A great reminder that things are getting back to normal but aren’t quite there yet. Maybe this is the new normal. The Market Place lived up to its name, especially on the Sunday. If you had something worth selling, it sold. Judging by the crowds and queues It seems that there is still a place for a “real world fair” where people can source new products, test tools hands on and pick up a bargain or two. Whether we ever see the big-name companies on the floor again I don’t know but will they be missed? I am not so sure either. Maybe this is the new normal. The education I was lucky enough to be involved in. My insightful blogger mate Clive Allwright had a spot for his Piloroo Events launch and asked if we wanted to put on an Open Mic. You bet. It was time to get the band back together. Benni Tognini, Sharon Blain, Caterina Di Biasie, Shane Henning, Jayne Wild, Ali Holmes, Dave McCulloch, Adam Dyer, Louise Graham, and the 2021 Hot Shots Team. Proudly we had a combined 16 hairdresser of the year titles and 6 Hall of Fame inductees. We all had a great time and the energy from the 200 strong audience was intoxicating. The buzz in the prepping area was a rare experience, particularly for the Hot Shots team, which was only surpassed for them by sharing the stage with their hair heroes. With the thirteen hairdressers presenting thirteen models, mixing cuts, colours and styling the audience left with ideas, inspiration, and information. Those on stage chatted and laughed candidly and were obviously enjoying what they were doing and where they were. Call us all dinosaurs but it seemed to buck the current trend in hair education events, which is not to have any. Well, no real hair content at least. Whether its due to the nervous 78
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environment in which we now live as things may be cancelled on the eve of opening, or that organisers take too much notice of feedback forms or that the big-name suppliers that once sponsored these events no longer either have the desire or means to do so. Is Talk as cheap as they say? Maybe this is the new normal. Anybody who knows what time the Pyrmont Bridge HoteI closes knows I love catching up with hairdressing friends over a drink or two, but are we now over doing the networking and sharing of ideas thing? If there are no shared experiences, then there is nothing to chat about. Hairdressers love to hear that we all share the same issues more than they like to solve them. Be careful that we don’t talk ourselves out. There is no point standing around a fire to talk when there is no fire to stand around and talk about. Maybe this is the new normal. Congratulations to Mocha, all the finalists and awards winners. Special mention to Dario for his well earnt induction into the magnificently named Dennis Langford Hall of Fame. Also hats off to Dee and Danny for taking out the top honours. The awards as many have in the past left me wondering if they are commercial or creative? Going off the style of the collections I would say creative, but I’m sure the titles won will be used commercially to attract clients. More confusing is why we need to have two Australian Hairdressers of the Year Awards? This is not the place for these discussions, rather it is time to celebrate that we have been able to get together as a collective rather than dissect the reasons why. We can save those discussions for our next Talkfest Panel or Networking night. Maybe we can sort out what is the new normal then.
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SEARCHING FOR THE X-FACTOR By Lyndal Salmon
Hey, everyone! It’s Lyndal Salmon here to share my musings and hopefully open a thought- provoking dialogue with your subconscious. Today’s topic is the great creative dream. If you’re reading this and thinking, “Lyndal has odd taste, and a lot of her stuff makes me feel icky!” Then, that’s great! In fact, that’s exactly where I want to sit, my friend. One of my best friends once told me that when university lecturers are assessing their students’ fashion collections, they are waiting and hoping that a budding designer will push their taste and challenge their eye. It’s in the moments when our eyeballs are put to the test that we know we are seeing something original... Something that is actually NEW. And if you’re a creative that’s not trying to create, then what are you doing? “You want to seduce but also create a repulse-and-attract dynamic. I always talk about things having a sort of vibration between good and bad taste?” Patrick Li When educating my students at Biba Academy I tell them not to spend their train ride home looking at hairstyles on people that appeal to them. I tell them to seek out hair that they don’t like and ask themselves, “why doesn’t this work? Why is this irritating me?” I mean, we even do it with people, don’t we? Think of someone in the industry that irritates you and ask yourself why? Is it because they are actually trying things and testing out the waters you wish you swam in? There’s a lot to be learnt from leaning into the negative, the awkward and the original... Wow, I just got side-tracked. Back to creative work... Colours actually work in a similar way. Sometimes adding a dab of “wrong” can really make something right. Throughout my years of creative colouring and producing eye- catching concepts, I’ve learned a few things. One mind-blowing tip is to add black to your high fashion tones. Yes, that’s right, a teeny dab of black. It’s this drop of black that turns a perfect tube of vibrant colour into a bespoke, lush, and expensive-looking tone. A dab of black into a baby blue is heaven. A dab of black into your candy pink grounds it and takes off that overly fresh “hairdresser” feel. The craziest thing about this practice is that chefs do the exact same thing. When creating bespoke icing tones for cakes and dessert, my husband adds activated charcoal into the colours for the “x factor”—the unseen unattainable wow. Can you imagine how blown away I was when I discovered the similarities between our two crafts? In a world filled with algorithms, fillers, fast fashion rip-offs and high anxiety I say—be like a salmon and swim upstream. Search for the feeling of DIY because that’s where you will find your own flavour and your own voice. Add a dab of wrong into your perfect cut of tea and have a lovely day. Xx Lyndal P.S. Do NOT Add 2/0 into your Bondi Blondes and come at me...
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DIGITAL RESUSCITATION…
IT’S TIME TO BRING YOUR BUSINESS BACK! By Hayley Mears
Nothing changes if nothing changes. Yep, I know, you’ve heard that a million times… But have you explored the true essence of making big changes and taking a calculated risk? In ten years’ time, we will look back at 2022 and think, that was the beginning of the CHANGE. All the collective learnings to come from a global pandemic were implemented in our industry to create a new normal. A brand-new era in our industry and our lives. So why… after so much disruption and chaos, would we go back to doing the “same” thing we were doing two years ago? Values have shifted and what is important to us individually is completely varied from one person to another, so offering a “one size fits all”, employment or service experience will fall short of the new expectations set by staff and consumers. The most daunting consideration is… Where do I start? It’s as simple as a list. Can you articulate what your pain points are? Recruitment? Social Media? Team Culture? New client acquisition? If it’s a pain point, then that means whatever you’re doing now isn’t working. Stop, assess and plan. Suffice to say, whatever you’re currently doing needs to change. Take recruitment for example. It’s not about YOU and your business, it’s about the applicant. What can you offer? What are your 84
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points of difference? How are you advertising? If you’re wanting to bring a younger dynamic team culture into your business, then use the mediums that truly embody that message. Create Instagram Reels and advertise on Tik Tok. Make sure your messaging is about: Flexibility, diversity, inclusion, MONEY and most importantly RE EMPHASIsE flexibility. If this isn’t your pain point, but social media is, ask yourself these questions: What am I repeating? If what you keep putting out there isn’t working - CHANGE IT. Maybe it’s time to assign content creation to your front-of-house team member? Can you introduce incentives for content creation? Each time a team member sends you something to feature on socials they go into a draw to win a prize? Hot tip: Backs of heads… Yeah NAHHHHH. Not EVER going to convert into likes and especially not going to convert to dollary-doos. By now you’re probably thinking, well this is easier said than done. You’re right, the setup will require time. The shifting change in attitude and culture will also take time. But… like anything, if you want to yield the result, you have to invest in the output, and it is never instantaneous.
My TWO biggest tips for changing your social strategy are: 1) THINK LOCAL. How many local businesses are around you? Butcher, baker, retail, café, restaurant. All the small businesses just like yours that rely on the local community to keep them in business. Collaborate with this group and use your social platforms to uplift each other. Share prizes for crosspromotions. Remember their audience is a HEAP of new clients that you can convert into loyal salon devotees. 2) Your team needs to be SEEN. Every client that comes into your salon has an emotional connection to their stylist. They tell their friends about “their hairdresser” and are the BEST form of referral. So use this emotional connection to channel access to their online network. Share profiles of your team. Share their news and milestones. Watch the engagement blow up and thank me later. 3) Organic growth is 0.01%. Sorry. Totally crap news but your page (even with Ads) will grow slowly! The FASTEST way to convert followers and re-engage dormant followers is to get them onto your pages while they are in the salon. Incentivise a “like”, “comment” or “review” and it will feel like 2010 again… the numbers will grow, and your page will regain its health. Need more help. Slide into our DMs: @sixundergroundmedia
10 HOOKS TO USE FOR INSTAGRAM REELS
By Nicole Healy
Do you ever wonder why your reels views aren’t as high as others on Instagram? It might be that you’re missing one key strategy to increase you reach and engagement! Using a Hook at the start of your reel is what will help to tell the person who has landed on your reel, what your reel is about, and make your reel scroll stopping! You see, you only have 1 second to get the attention of someone scrolling on Instagram, so by adding a Hook can help someone to stop and watch what your reel is about! Instagram are pushing Reels content more and more, and this means you need to know all of the strategies on how to grow using Reels. Having a hook from 0 to 3.5 seconds at the start of your Reel, is what could make or break your content piece from being successful or a total failure! Creating content around ideas is essential for social success. The one think I find salon owners and hair stylists struggle most with when it comes to Instagram, is that they have no planning in place and quickly rush to put content together for the sake of posting. When you have well put together and planned out posts, this is where you will find you will have the best luck at growing and going viral A lot of the time I find people think if they post
an Instagram Reel, they will be an overnight success, where this can be a really toxic mindset to fall into. Just because someone else did this overnight doesn’t mean their business is successful and they have clients lined up outside the door desperate to get in. Yes, a reel may attract a handful of new clients but not thousands and thousands that we might think of and in-fact I’m sure you couldn’t fit thousands upon thousands of client in your salon like that anyway. I have close to 130K Followers on Instagram and my engagement to very good, however I sure don’t have all those people enquire about my services, even though it would be nice, that’s not reality! Think of Reels as a way to increase brand awareness for your business, as it’s a feature that Instagram is giving the most organic reach to right now. You can add the Hook in the Text Feature on Reels, and time to only be on the reel for 3 seconds ! When creating Reels, the ones that perform best are those that add Value, Educate, Inspire, Relatable to your audience & Entertaining. Reels that get the most engagement and views are those that get all four stages of engagement, being Likes, Comments, Shares
and Saves - this tells Instagram that people are really enjoying your content and they will rank you Reel higher and be shared in recommended reels. To make your life a little less stressful around Instagram, I have created 10 Hooks that you can use on your Reels straight away — you just need to create the content to match up with these hooks! • How to Curl Your Hair with a Hair Straightener • Hair Styles for Busy Mums Pt1. (you can make a series of these by adding pt. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc) • Tips for Healthy Hair Pt1. • Must have shampoo for (hairtype) • Stop doing this if you have Blonde Hair • Styling Tips for Naturally Curly Hair • How to correctly brush long hair • Hair Accessories everyone needs in their life • Do you suffer from a dry flaky scalp • POV: Me doing my hair as a teenager If you are looking for Instagram Coaching for your Salon, let’s connect! Follow me on Instagram @social.salon.school & @melbournehairblogger In Your Salon Education is back on - book today by email melbournehairblogger@gmail.com
FORGIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF, BELIEVE IN YOUR CURRENT SELF, CREATE YOUR FUTURE SELF By Angeli Marie Shaw
For most of us, we already have a clearly defined vision of our lives, but like the past few years has shown us, things can change dramatically, and that clarity can get skewed as we find ourselves getting caught up in the past, experiencing current self-doubt and uncertainty and not knowing what lies ahead or what to do next. The good news? The future isn’t set and what you do today will contribute to the future that you’re wanting to create. The process of reinvention will often begin with a sense of dissatisfaction. We realise we’re not happy with where we’re at, and our minds both consciously and unconsciously start exploring those thoughts, pulling us into different states of past, present and future thinking. Whilst reflection is a great tool in which we can learn from our pasts, being hard on yourself or holding onto regret for what you may have done serves you absolutely no purpose at all in creating your future self. One thing I’ve come to realise is that the past has a pushy way of occupying a lot of space in your head, but serves you no purpose dwelling on it. As the past is ‘done’ I consider most of these thoughts ‘freeloaders’, meaning they bring nothing to the table, unless of course you’re recognising what you can learn from them, which in that case once learnt, they’re no longer freeloaders, instead turning into wisdom you can apply as life goes on. Annoyingly, low points seem to be particularly good at creeping into our thoughts, and we find ourselves asking ‘why’, ‘what if’ and ‘if only’ but the truth of it is the past is done and cannot be changed. Sure, your current self could bestow a tonne of wisdom on your past self, but honestly, your younger self probably wasn’t ready to hear it, and I remind myself constantly that everyone does the best they can with the resources they have at the time. I myself, did what I believed was my best in my younger years, and although I may not have always got it right, I forgive my younger self and all its experiences. Holding onto negative feelings about the past only teethers me to my past and letting go actually allows me to free myself and removes the negative feelings I have on past actions and decisions. Through the practice of forgiveness, I give myself permission to release the past and move forward, something you should practice doing too! Again, why forgive yourself? Because for every failure, you were trying to do the right thing. Forgive, release and go forth! 86
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This brings me to your current self. An obvious, but well known fact is that if you want to succeed, you must belief in yourself. Our inner faith is what will create our outer results. Unfortunately, people lose faith in themselves when encountering setbacks, fear and failure. We make mistakes, we are challenged and we make poor decisions, but these are not the end, we must get back up again. Accept your current situation and start believing in yourself again. Talk with yourself; after all, we are the ones who create who we will become. And what we become is done every day by our self-talk and beliefs. Self- belief influences behaviour, behaviour influences your actions, and actions influence your outcomes. Remember, your current self is a crucial building block to your future self. Take care of your current self to make it easier on your future self. Adopt new habits and skills which will help create and shape your future self. And remember, you can’t create the future self you want if you don’t believe in the current self that you are. Now for your future self. What your future self look’s like will depend on your current self and the habits you adapt. Visualise your future self and all its aspects; physical, professional, financial, social, spiritual etc. If we believe in our current selves, then we can certainly take control of our future self and what it will look like. Bring into your awareness where you want to go so your subconscious begins to pick up ways to help you achieve your goals. Generally speaking, we all have this romantic, idealistic vision of our future, but what do we easily forget? That our future self is actually…. us, only tomorrow. Therefore we must support ourselves now, to support ourselves tomorrow.
Our future selves are built in THIS. VERY. MOMENT and thinking this way will help you in your decisions, choices, and actions you take now. Just like a tree, the seeds you plant today will sprout in your future. Start planting, nourishing and cultivating those seeds NOW! And remember, with every action you take, you’re building your future self today. Your past self, current self and future self are all connected. If you don’t learn to forgive your past self, your current and future self will suffer, and your desired success? Put simply it cannot be achieved. Your future self is your navigation. It gives you a sense of direction making it clearer when deciding the steps you need to take to get there. Its about creating the life you want and taking inspired action as you do so. Don’t put limits on yourself by thinking small, think BIG and use your future self as a guide for where you are going and where you want to be. There’s never a wrong time to start giving yourself what you need. Right here, right now, the current moment is yours, and yours to choose what to do with it. FORGIVE – BELIEVE – CREATE, whatever your life is in this moment, it’s yours to claim, so claim it! Love & Bliss, Angeli xxoo Angeli is a Holistic Empowerment Coach, Mindset Mentor and founder of The Bliss Coach. To work with me in 2022, get in touch by visiting www.theblisscoach.com.au or follow us on our socials @theblisscoach to find out more.
BUILDING COMMUNITY IN AND AROUND YOUR SALON THROUGH PURPOSE By Nicole Inskip
With 19 years of industry experience and countless conversations with salon owners, staff and clients, it is very clear that all salons run differently, and this is dictated by the person/people at the top. This is something that I love about our industry because it means that we are not competitors when it comes to the clients or staff we attract; we have the incredible opportunity as an industry to collaborate and build strong communities inside and outside of our salons.
One of the biggest changes transforming businesses in our world today is a focus on purpose and sustainability. According to Tim Duggan, new media entrepreneur, Millennials expect more and are actively seeking businesses who act ethically and with integrity. This generation is not only our conscious consumer but the staff we are hiring and the future of our industry. It is time to consider what your purpose as a salon is and how you can act upon it to attract the super star staff and loyal clients your business needs to thrive.
Below I have detailed the 5 key benefits of volunteering and how they will amplify your salon.
In my salon Sessions Hairdressing, I have built a strong culture around giving and community contribution. I actively seek community partnerships, with whom we volunteer 100+ hours a year, of our time and skill, to people in need. These partnerships build a strong sense of community in and around the salon and leave our team with an extremely high level of satisfaction and wellness, not to mention the elation and connection that those we are giving to feel.
Strengthen ties to your community
Volunteering Australia defines volunteering as ‘time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain.’ I would argue that this is not entirely accurate. I agree that your intention should not be to make money through the act of giving, but in the age of the conscious consumer, it can be a wonderful by product of a well-intended and executed purpose. Give the people what they need and want.
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The “Helpers High”
Giving increase the production of ‘feel good’ hormones such as dopamine, serotonin & Oxytocin which generate feelings of satisfaction, trust and a sense of purpose. This is essential to keeping your team engaged, happy and more productive in the salon. Building your brand story with your new purpose will increase your client retention and attract new clients of the conscious consumer variety to your salon.
Volunteering is a great way to get out into your local community and meet new people with similar interests. By being more involved in our communities we can better understand the needs of the people inside them and how we can help meet them. This could lead to collaborations with other businesses to tackle a challenge that you are passionate about and create a bigger impact. This is not only great for your team but can attract new clients that are aligned with your contribution mentality and your purpose.
Develop social skills
Volunteering teaches us how to engage and communicate with people from all walks of life and may even provide a humbling experience. We live in a world where we tend to communicate more through devices than we do face to face. Skills such as active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication are all vital in our industry to create a harmonious and fun salon environment that is attractive to clients and staff.
Increase customer engagement
The benefits of social media engagement for salons are very obvious. Sharing your salons purpose in small chunks will show your followers and potential clients what you are doing that sets you apart from other salons and defines your culture. With the support and permission of your selected charity, you can even share your volunteering days and the stories of the people you meet. Remember, this is exactly what the conscious consumer is looking for.
Health benefits
Social interaction improves mental and physical health; the benefits of volunteering show up quickly and can have long term effects. Consistent socialising can improve brain function and lower the risk of depression and anxiety, it can even boost your immune system. Improved mental health and less sick days? I say that’s a win! I encourage you to sit down with your team and define your values as a salon, pick a local charity who aligns with your purpose and start volunteering. Perhaps you might even pick a few charities and do a volunteer day with each one. Remember to make it fun and if you want to go really big you can even include your clients. The sky is the limit! If you would like to book a discovery session with me to assist you in defining your salon values, email: nicole@sessionshairdressing.com.au
The AMBA provide the Australian Barbering Industry a much needed and often requested benchmark of excellence and platform to showcase and be recognised for creative and business skills.
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GENERAL ENTRY DEADLINE 1st Aug ‘22 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED 12 Sept ‘22
CATEGORIES PHOTOGRAPHIC AND SUBMISSION Australian Modern Barber of the Year Australian Modern Barber Business of the Year NOMINATED CATEGORIES Special Recognition + Hall of Fame PHOTOGRAPHIC ONLY Best Barber Collection Junior Best Barber Collection Classic Best Barber Collection Freestyle Best Barber Team Collection
BUSINESS CATEGORIES Best Director/Owner of the Year Best Customer Care Best Men’s Educator of the Year (Individual) Best Men’s Educator of the Year (Organisation) Best Barbershop Design of the Year
CLEAN SKIN PROFESSIONAL PRODUCT AWARDS CATEGORIES // CLOSED FOR ENTRY
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NO SIGNED LEASE?? LANDLORDS ARE LOCKING TENANTS INTO NEW LEASES WITH AN IMPLIED LEASE. HOW?? By Kelly Cunningham What is an “Implied Lease” and when can it be imposed on a Tenant? Put simply, sometimes the actions of the Landlord and the Tenant can unwittingly trigger an “Implied Lease”, even though no one has signed a formal Lease document. Leases are not normally binding until both the Landlord and the Tenant have signed the Lease, right? Well, sometimes this is not the case. As was found recently in the Supreme Court, the actions of a Landlord and / or a Tenant can lock the parties into a long term agreement, where they didn’t think they were locked into anything.
Background: Jacob* had been a Tenant in
a shopping centre for the last five years. His lease was due to expire in six months, so he started discussions with the Landlord about a new Lease. The Landlord provided Jacob with a Letter of Offer, outlining the terms upon which they would like to renew Jacob’s Lease. The terms were not quite what Jacob was hoping for, with an 18% increase on his base rental. They were also offering another five-year lease when Jacob was hoping to sign for only three years this time. Discussions commenced in an attempt to reach an agreement and negotiations were progressing well. Three months out from expiry, Jacob signed a Letter of Offer, happy with the revised terms they had now agreed. This included a small 2% rent increase and a three-year term. He sent the signed offer back to the Landlord to finalise the documentation.
Business closed due to COVID
Fast forward one month and Jacob’s business was closed down due to the government enforced COVID lockdowns in NSW. Jacob’s business remained closed for 5 months. During these five months, his lease expired. Because Jacob had not yet signed a formal Lease (only the Letter of Offer), Jacob assumed that his existing Lease was now in holdover on a month-to-month arrangement. While Jacob’s business was closed, he received a draft Lease from the Landlord, recording all of the new terms agreed in the signed Letter of Offer. Given Jacob’s business was closed, and he was unsure how long it would be closed for or the potential financial implications of the closure, he made a deliberate decision not to sign the Lease just yet. He thought that he would reconsider this, once his business had reopened and he had a better understanding of the future outlook. During the period of closure, Jacob continued to receive the automatically generated monthly rent invoices from the Landlord.
Upon reopening his business, after five long months of closure, Jacob was hopeful that his business would recover from the huge impact of no revenue for five months and bounce back over time. Not too much time hopefully! Two months after the reopening and after Jacob working long hours and incredibly hard to try and get his business back on track, he made the heartbreaking decision that it couldn’t be saved, and he would need to close the business.
An “Implied Lease” is issued
Given that Jacob had not signed the new Lease, that had been issued months earlier, he felt comfortable in providing the Landlord with one month’s written notice that he would be ending his month-to-month tenancy and moving out. It was then with great surprise that he received a notice from the Landlord to advise that, whilst the Lease had not been signed and returned, it was in effect anyway and he was locked into a new three year “Implied” Lease. He was unable to close his business. You can imagine his shock and panic. Why? I haven’t signed a Lease. My situation has changed, and I can no longer extend? Is this real? Is this legal?
Triggers of an Implied Lease
1. Paying the increased rent. What Jacob had failed to notice was, the Landlord had applied the 2% rent increase to his monthly invoice and Jacob had continued paying as the increase was so small, it wasn’t really noticeable on a monthly basis. 2. The signed Letter of Offer indicated that terms for a new Lease had been agreed between the Landlord and the Tenant, given the Lease was about to expire, it showed an intention to renew. 3. The Tenant had continued to occupy the space and the Landlord had also changed the rent to match the terms of the signed offer, which the Tenant had paid.
Solution
Jacob used the services of an experienced Tenant Representative to meet with and negotiate an outcome with the Landlord. The outcome negotiated included the following: 1. Being able to exit the Lease after 12 months, rather than three years. 2. Paying a reduced rent. The trade-off provided the Landlord more time to find a replacement Tenant and allowed Jacob an opportunity to continue trading without losing money.
Tips and Key Takeaways to Avoid this Risk
• A court is required to determine the existence of an Implied Lease. This is a lengthy and costly process that is potentially best served by a Tenant Representative negotiating a commercial outcome prior to any litigation. • Start your negotiations early, (ideally 6 months out from expiry), so that you can have finalised your position, one way or another, well before the expiry of your current lease. • Be sure of your position, before you sign a Heads of Agreement. • Be cautious when the Landlord or their Agent tells you “the Letter of Offer isn’t binding” …. you might find it is later on … • Don’t take possession of a premises until you have a Lease signed by you and the Landlord. • If your Lease has expired and you are occupying as a month-to-month Tenant (without a new Lease signed yet), check your monthly invoices to make sure changes to the charges have not happened without you realising. If changes are made to the invoices, reject these changes as the deal is not yet finalised.
Your Leasing Co. specialises in being a Tenant Representative and negotiating lease terms for Tenants. If you have any questions about renewing your lease or entering a new Lease, you can call Kelly Cunningham for a free, no obligation conversation on 0419 001 093. *Our clients name has been changed to protect privacy.
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WAGE REVIEW TIME! ARE YOU INCREASING YOUR WAGES BY THE 5.2%? By Keira Maloney, HeadHunter Recruitment Australia
By the time you’re reading this, the National Minimum Wage would have increased by 5.2%, and the Hair & Beauty award by 4.6%. Business owners have frantically tried to work out where they are going to find the money to cover this additional expense and employees everywhere have rejoiced over the prospect of a wage increase – even if they’re technically not entitled to it. Above award wages are paid by most hairdressing employers across the board for senior staff, and the ultimate question is, should their wage be increased in line with the award increase? “I already pay above award, so the increase doesn’t apply to me and my staff wages” – a common response from business owners when the increase was announced, But what are the dangers of NOT increasing staff wages annually, even if they are already paid above award? 1. We are in the most competitive recruitment market that the industry has ever seen. In a candidate-poor market, skilled hairdressers have become more assured of their worth. Employee benefits are more competitive than ever, the war on wages is driving up the cost of a qualified, senior stylist substantially and salons are employing staff without even so much as an in-person interview. To not review staff wages annually is a major risk to a business, as it leaves you open to staff shopping around on what else is out there. 2. Inflation impacts the lifestyles of everyone. A stylist that has been paid above-award for the last 12 months will no doubt have their current lifestyles impacted by inflation. They too have to pay more for petrol, groceries, interest rates and childcare, and have to find a way to cover those costs. The last thing you want is for them to be looking at options in another business, or worse, working for themselves on the side.
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3. We’re competing with the black economy. In the AHC’s recent surveys, it was established that many sole traders would like to return to a salon environment because they miss the culture, the vibe, and the team atmosphere. In order to ensure these opportunities, remain lucrative to this pool of people, paying aboveaward is essential, and equally, so is reviewing the wage regularly. 4. Not increasing wages annually can affect morale, performance and even attendance. Some staff feel incredibly uncomfortable about bringing up the ‘wage increase’ conversation. But with everyone on the internet talking about what they earn now, and the 5.2% wage increase being splashed across every news outlet in Australia, they will likely be expecting the conversation to come up. Complete transparency is important with team members, and if you’re not able to facilitate a wage increase this year, you need to let them know when they can expect one. If the topic is left undiscussed in your business, you may find your employees disappointed, lose a sense of motivation, and they may look to where they can take advantage of other employee benefits, such as sick leave. Best practice - Wage reviews should be set, and take place annually without the need for prompting. There should be some KPI’s set in place, an overall formal review process, and once the review is complete and agreed upon, clear expectations should be put into place for the following year.
Pass it on to the consumer - Everything in the world is costing more and it’s important to consider whether your pricing structure is in line with the current and future expense increases. Consumers, to some extent, expect that costs of living and services are going up, and price increases are reasonable to expect from small business in 2022. Reach out to your industry association for a referral to an expert that can work with you on ensuring you’re covering these upcoming cost increases. Most importantly, don’t forget to ensure that if you’re increasing your staff wages by a certain percentage, you increase your own by that amount, too. You deserve it! How to use HeadHunter: If you are a candidate and would like to upload your resume and become available for businesses to view head to – https:// headhunter.org.au/submit-resume/ If you’d like to review candidates on HeadHunter, you just need to have a position actively advertised with us. Packages are listed here – https://headhunter.org.au/pricing/ Reach out to our recruiter directly: Keira@headhunter.org.au if you need a hand! Keep up to date with the latest in employment and recruitment in the hair and beauty industries at the HeadHunter blog.
WHY THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO TAKE YOUR SALON EXPERIENCE ONLINE! By Tamara Reid, Head of Brand at Timely Business Management Software
If you’re not selling online, you’re missing out. Tamara Reid, Head of Partnerships at Timely Business Management Software, explains why enhancing your digital presence is a game-changer for small businesses. Where are your clients right now? If they’re not already in your salon, chances are, they’re scrolling through their phone either at home, work or on-the-go. In this digital age, it’s never been more important to meet your clients where they are: online. During the pandemic, ecommerce grew by over 50 per cent. In 2021, consumers clocked up a whopping $4.9 trillion in online purchases globally – and this year, that number is only expected to grow. By opening an online store, your products are available 24/7 A digital-savvy client won’t wait until their next appointment to pick up a bottle of their favourite hairdresser-approved shampoo – more than likely, they’ll snap up a new one online as soon as their stash runs out. By opening an online store, you won’t miss the opportunity to sell to your client between appointments. You’d be surprised how many shoppers would prefer to support small businesses, given the chance. Spas and salons that use Timely Business Management Software can set up an online store in a matter of minutes. Thanks to Timely’s integration with Shopify, it’s incredibly easy to
manage stock and sales across both systems. Plus, Shopify lets you link your store and social media accounts, which is a fantastic way to grow sales via Instagram and Facebook. Rather than looking at an online store as a completely new venture, think of it as an extension of your in-salon experience. If your salon experience is top-notch – which we know it is – you can use your online presence to build client loyalty between appointments. Diversify your income to future-proof your business
While we don’t want to dwell on the events of the last two years, the reality is that ecommerce was a lifesaver for many small businesses during lockdown. Diversifying your income streams helps to stabilise your business and create consistent cashflow, even in the midst of a crisis. Pandemics aside, selling online will only strengthen your business by reaching new clients and could even allow you to earn more while working less. So, I guess the real question is… What are you waiting for?
THE THREE KEYS TO NAILING CONSISTENT BEHAVIOURS! By David Watts
Maintaining your motivation is one the biggest struggles you will face as a salon owner, you generally know what you want to achieve yet struggle to execute consistently. How you show up for yourself is how you will show up for your team and one of the secrets to showing up is consistent behaviour. When you decide to implement something new in your business, it is fresh and exciting, something you know is going make a difference, unfortunately the shine wears off, and this new action often gets neglected. Being consistent with your actions is not as straight forward as it seems, we are programmed to follow past decisions and behaviours. Let’s put this in perspective, it is a bit like people setting new year’s resolutions to go to the gym four times per week. You may have seen it yourself, in January (the honeymoon phase) the gym is chockers day in and out, but then the gym traffic starts to slow as people return to their previous learned behaviours. Finding motivation from thin air is almost impossible, it is like searching for a needle in a haystack. There are three keys to unlocking your potential when it comes to nailing consistent behaviours. 100
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One - Find Your Purpose
You need to know WHY you do what you do every single day. Why you are in business, why you are in the industry, why you turn up every single day. Without understanding this you could be walking through life on autopilot, with a blind fold on, simply going through the motions to get to the end of the day. Doing things that are heart driven, things that have an impact on your life or those around you will always be easier to maintain, they will generally keep you excited and motivated. I can comfortably say to you that as a business owner it is critical you uncover what your purpose is, this will help you maintain direction. My business journey changed the day I sat an uncovered my true purpose, it cleared the brain fog I was experiencing and enabled me to start having an impact again. It allowed me to serve with purpose and more importantly to be happy with the actions I was taking and truly
understand the activities I needed to complete. Your purpose needs to be authentic, it’s not about your goals or your services, it must be something that inspires you. When you are in alignment with your why it is easier to attract what you desire but to also stay motivated to complete the tasks you need to keep doing.
Two - Share the Love
When you share something with others, you are more likely to stay constant in your behaviours. It creates a particular type of social pressure that will see you more likely to follow through. While being inconsistent creates an amount of guilt for yourself, when you share with others you up the ante and are more likely to follow through. You have access to a network of people who can support you, although who you share with is important, it should be someone you look up to or respect. If you don’t care about the opinion of the person, then you are less likely to show a willingness to commit.
Being successful requires a certain level of commitment from you, having someone in your corner is essential to you maintaining your motivation. They can’t give you the drive nor do the work for you, but they can provide you some social pressure or at your request provide some external accountability. Introducing new actions into your routine and being consistent is hard, you could not only share with someone but engage them to be an accountability partner for you. This is where the working with a mentor or coach can be beneficial as they can help hold you accountable but also provide much needed clarity from outside the square. Once you are sharing with someone, they are not only there to hold you accountable but to talk with you about any progress you have made too. In my work with salon owners, I find that people forget about celebrating the small wins they achieve along the way. Celebrating the wins is an incredible way of reigniting your motivation and keeping you on track.
Three – Discipline Baby!
Self-discipline frequently gets a bad rap because it is often shoved down your throat as something you must have mastered to be successful in business. Realistically selfdiscipline is something that you will continue to learn as you continue your business journey. Your ability to be disciplined relies on staying true to your core values, your convictions, your work ethic but more importantly on the structures you put in place for success. Personally, it’s my brain that lets me down, I am clear on what I need to do but without structure it would never happen or at least never happen on time. Putting structures in place is a winning move, particularly when it comes to managing your time. One of the advantages in this industry is you are used to operating from your column,
doing a particular task at a set time. Where so many salon owners fall down is not scheduling their other work in a diary too. Your diary needs to be detailed; you cannot block out time for admin and leave it to hope that you will achieve the work that needs to be done. You need to break down it down to specific tasks and allocate time to those activities. Start by making a list of all the tasks you complete and get them into your diary. Having discipline does not mean you become a robot, sometimes things will get in the way, but your ability to stick to your boundaries and practice self-control will serve you well. Repetition is the greatest form of mastery and instituting a new way of thinking won’t always go according to plan, the key is to keep moving forward. When you bugger it up, recognise what caused it and move on. It’s easy to get frustrated but this will not help build you improve self-discipline Use these three steps to give yourself the best chance to make your behaviour consistent. Trust in yourself and the power you have to achieve what you sent your mind to; believe in what you do so deeply that you commit to your own success with an unwavering focus on your purpose. Motivation is an evolving phenomenon, and your sources will alter as your circumstances do. David. XoX
More technology doesn’t have to mean more hassle. Our business management software is seamless, super-easy to set up and simple to use. Which means you’ll have more work time for your clients – and more free time for yourself.
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A salon owner and support coach on Team Chrissy – The ZING Project. David has a diverse background in sales, marketing and operations and is passionate about improving the professionalism of the industry. Contact David via email davidsc@zingcoach.com.au or DM on Instagram @davidwatts_zing
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6 REASONS YOU SHOULDN’T LEAVE THE INDUSTRY!
It’s been a challenging few years for everyone, whether you’re a stylist or salon owner. And while the world is trying to get back some sense of normality, there are many people still struggling. HOB Academy international creative director Akin Konizi, says we all need to recognise that nothing will be the same as it was in 2019. “Life as we know it has changed client’s habits have changed, the way we run our businesses has been re-evaluated and our priorities have been questioned. Many hairdressers have reconsidered their careers, and some unfortunately have left the industry. “We know hairdressers are some of the happiest people in their job, but there are many reasons why we fall out of love with our work. Pressures at home as well as the salon, cost of living and a determination to create your own destiny are just a few. But we need to step back and remember why we came into this industry in the first place. There may be challenges and concerns ahead, but this is still an incredible industry to be working in, sometimes we just need to remind ourselves.” So, if you’re feeling deflated or thinking about leaving the industry, Akin has these tips to remind you why you’re a hairdresser and why you love your job:-
1. No other job puts a smile on other people’s faces. The pandemic showed us the importance of self-care and wellbeing and a visit to the salon can raise self-esteem and confidence. How amazing is it that we can have that effect on people with a pair of scissors or a tint brush? 102
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2. You can be as creative as you want to be.
Whether it is playing with bright colours or creating beautiful shapes, we get to play with a blank canvas every day.
3. No other industry is as sharing as hairdressers.
We love to share our skills, knowledge and thought processes. If you feel you’ve become a bit stale, speak to your product house who offer a myriad of courses for beginners through to the advanced.
4. Social media can inspire you.
Come away from the gossip sites and toxic platforms and follow people you aspire to be and who inspire you. Check out their collections, listen to a podcast or take time out to watch Insta Lives. Only follow inspiring and uplifting people and don’t get dragged into the nastiness of social media.
5. There’s plenty of events to attend and network at. We’ve got trapped in a cycle of staying at home but there are lots of industry events happening now where you can meet like-minded people and speak to your hair heroes to boost your confidence.
6. Remember what attracted you into our industry. Working with creative, young, energetic, fashionable people in an environment where you can make it whatever you want it to be. A
club, a bar, a workplace, it can be all of these things, where you go and meet up with your friends you work with, and your extended friends who come to your work every day to see you there. No other job is as sociable as ours. The buzz may be a little muted at the moment, but it will return. Fashion is starting to look up, shorter hairstyles are coming back in, more tribal fashion is on the horizon where we can all express ourselves creatively and socially. Hang on in there, it’s going to be great again! HOB Academy is the award-winning training academy, based in Camden in London, founded in 1997 as part of the HOB Salons group. Home to the HOB Creative Team and led by 4-time British Hairdresser of the Year Akin Konizi, the Academy caters for hairdressers of every level from across the world, and delivers first-class courses and seminars covering the full spectrum of hairdressing education from creative to business to fundamental, as well as bespoke and one-to-one tuition. The Creative Team has received numerous accolades and awards, including four British Colour Technician of the Year titles, British Artistic Team of the Year, and a British Hairdressing Business Award for Education, and produces annual photographic collections to wide critical acclaim. Find out more about HOB Academy: Instagram: @hob_academy www.hobsalons.com/academy
STAY IN CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCES! By Phil Jackson
Business consultant Phil Jackson from Build Your Salon, offers these tips for managing your money within the salon.
We are living in turbulent times and even world events occurring far from home are having an impact on your business. Energy prices are on the rise and it won't be long before our manufacturers have to pass increased costs along to our salons. It's easy to feel overwhelmed. So much seems outside of your control. There are, however, a few simple moves you could be making to protect your business and ensure you remain profitable. Firstly, review your prices. I'm hoping you do this regularly anyway, but I've heard of a few salons that are delaying their pricing review 'until things settle down'. To be blunt, things won't settle down any time soon and you run the risk of running on reduced profit in the meantime. Holding out to see what your suppliers are doing could mean delays of weeks or even months. Far better to decide your prices on the information you have now and make an educated guess on what might happen in the next couple of months. Then implement any changes sooner rather than later. Price reviews can cause a little upset with your customers (though few will expect your prices to remain the same, particularly in the current climate). You can take some of the sting out of the increases and ensure your prices are set where they should be by reviewing prices more frequently. Six-monthly price reviews tend to mean smaller increases and some services may not need reviewing at all. In times of drastic change don't be afraid to increase sooner than that. I am certain your customers would rather that than see you operate at a loss or even have to close your doors for good. Changing prices is far easier if you have made the decision to finally ditch physical price cards. Make your pricing available online or alternatively, if you have something you want to physically give your customers, exclude the prices and instead provide them with a link or QR code where the latest prices can be accessed. That means that changing your prices is a simple two-minute job rather than paying hundreds of pounds for a print run of price cards. It’s also friendlier to the environment than binning a box of unused cards.
Encourage online bookings. Not only does it mean you can take bookings 24/7, it means your customers are shown the latest, up-to-date prices at the point of booking too. It will never suit everyone but it can make a huge difference to your business, particularly if you implement a booking fee to reduce no-shows. Finally, take the opportunity to review your costs. Some increases are unavoidable but shop around as much as you can for utilities and other supplies. Even 1% of costs saved can make a massive difference to your profits over a year. Sadly, we can't exclude wages from this review. If you set your commission to an affordable level a few years ago but your fixed costs have increased, either your variable costs (including commission) will need to reduce or you are going to have to reduce your profit margin. Remember to take legal advice before making changes to contracts or pay. There is currently an affection for small businesses and salons that means your customers are less price sensitive. The best
way to weather a financial storm is to remain nimble, adapt quickly and keep a firm grip on those things you can control.
With 20 years in the salon industry and a passion for innovation, Phil Jackson is an international business coach offering a unique perspective on the challenges of salon ownership. Phil works with many salons, barbershops and spas around the world to build a business they can feel proud of, making sure they look outside the box and consider all aspects of the business. For more information: www.buildyoursalon.com
UNDERSTANDING THE MATH BEHIND RUNNING A BUSINESS! By Tom Donato
It’s almost that time of the year when we get to know the truth about how well our businesses performed throughout the financial year. Unfortunately for some businesses the hard truth hits home and that there was actually little to no profit and in too many instances was actually a loss. The last couple of years have been a roller coaster of emotions and financial tug of war with so many lockdowns and restrictions. For most there was financial assistance from governments, which saved many small businesses from going under and for some there was turmoil and uncertainty. It’s time to put the pandemic behind us now and concentrate on the future. First things first! The business finances! When you run a business the most important aspect is understanding the basic equation that all business owners need to know. That is that all money coming into the business is the Turnover. All money paid out in order for the business to run I like to call the Handover (expenses) and any money that’s left I like to call the Leftover (profit).
owners lose track or are not aware of some of the costs associated with running a business. They may be somewhat aware, but they fail to constantly keep their finger on the pulse. Often, they find themselves not having enough funds to pay the GST or the Superannuation or the PAYG tax or the insurance bill they forgot about in April. The key is to budget. I often speak to businesspeople that are very good at budgeting their turnover but sometimes don’t take the time to budget their expenses. It is critical that time to compile an expenditure budget is allocated at the beginning of a financial year in order to track and ensure that there are profits left over in the business. The most common question is how will I know how much I am going to spend next year?
So, the turnover minus the handover equals the leftover.
The answer is usually easier than most people think.
That’s a very simple way to remember that in order to have profit a business needs to turnover more than it hands over.
It’s easy to look at the previous year’s expenditure and just add a percentage increase to all the categories. For example, most leases stipulate what the rent will be for each term, you can expect wage rises within the year, insurance will usually go up as will the cost of
What’s not so simple about that equation is keeping track of spending. Many business 104
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goods a business needs to service their clients. If a business owner understands a profit and loss statement then an expenditure budget is just that, with an increase. An expenditure budget should look exactly like your P/L only it hasn’t happened yet. It should also include the expected turnover and the expected profit. Why is this so important? The answer is it will help businesses budget for their turnover and help you assess and adjust pricing to make sure that what’s coming into the business is greater than what’s going out. It will also help you understand that if the turnover declines, then there are certain costs that can be cut such as a nonperforming team member, or look at product wastage or can you afford that photo shoot? Having a benchmark of cost vs percentage of turnover also makes it easy to calculate what you can afford in your expenditure budget. For example, if you expect your turnover to be $1m and you budget for a 40% wage cost then you know that you can only spend $400K in wages. If you budget for 12% product cost, then
you only have $120k to spend on product.
There are so many varying factors.
Obviously, this is an example only as every business has different turnover capacity from a one-man show turning over $100 -$200k p.a to thirty or forty employees turning over $2-3 million.
Does the owner work on the floor? If so, the wage should be included in the wage expenditure.
The most important percentage of all is the Leftover percentage.
Looking at your P/L every month as ‘a per month’ and ‘year to date report’, will help you evaluate how you are travelling to reach your desired financial outcome.
I always say that the owner’s wage has to be separate to the profit.
The trick is to act swiftly when the numbers don’t add up.
No matter what, the owner must draw a wage. The higher the wage of course the smaller the profit margin.
What I have always found is that the expenditure is always spot on but sometimes the turnover can vary for a number of reasons. Pandemics, staff leaving and taking clients, council doing work in front of your premises for months and so on. The power of checking P/L every month is invaluable for controlling your profit margin.
This is really important for those that are ever thinking of selling their business. A business is valued according to the Leftover. It’s always going to be your money but think about the value of your business when presenting a P/L statement to a prospective buyer. One of the most frequently asked questions is ‘What should my profit percentage be?’.
When you continuously look at your finances inevitably what happens is the opposite. Your turnover actually increases. Where you budgeted for a 6-8 % growth you may find a 1011 % growth.
I always say to begin with the end in mind.
Keep in mind that in order to do a higher turnover you may have had to employ more staff and inevitably used more stock, unless of course you simply increased your prices. Now there’s an idea!
Then you work backwards.
Increasing Prices
Always determine how much money you want to make first and then add in what you can afford to spend on everything else based on the turnover you think you can achieve.
The single biggest block that some business owners have is knowing their own worth and when to increase prices.
That’s the one-million-dollar question!
When doing next year’s budget, a price increase
should be at the forefront. Wages are now at record highs and getting higher. Product companies will be looking to recover some of their losses from the last few years of pandemic, freight costs are going through the roof. Even petty cash items will be increasing exponentially. Whilst there is always that fear of clients going elsewhere because we put prices up, years of experience has proven otherwise. Just because one client says “oh I have never paid that much before “ ninety-nine won’t even blink. The “hey day” of hair salons was early to mideighties when profit margins were incredibly high. Owning a well-run salon was like printing money from the mint. Profit margins were as high as 40%. As time went on expenditure increased, new costs crept in EFTPOS charges, Superannuation, using quality products at the back wash basins, offering café quality coffee to the clients, having to pay for apprentices TAFE fees and the list goes on. We absorbed those costs without increasing our prices enough to accommodate and maintain our profit margins. It is critical that businesses look at their expenditure and adjust pricing to ensure your return on investment. Now is the time to do it. Clients expect it. Most of your clients or their partners might be small business owners themselves and know the struggles that all other small businesses are enduring. They have put up their prices and are expecting you to put yours up as well. Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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OWNING AND RUNNING A SALON:
IS IT WORTH IT? By Jenni Tarrant
When I began to write this article, I started to think about the lessons I have learned; the lofty and challenging goals I have kicked; the days that nearly broke me; and the many celebrations that have been part of my 17 years as the owner of Bond Hair Religion. I sat back and asked myself honestly, ‘Has it all been worth it?’ My immediate response was, ‘100% YES!’ This sounds a bit like I am retiring, but I assure you, I am still going strong!
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The challenges that come with being solely accountable for so many things in business has given me invaluable wisdom. I have learned more about myself than I ever imagined - and that's the key, right there. Running a business and achieving success all rests on your beliefs and values in life, and they evolve and are honed over time largely by learning from your mistakes. I became a salon owner when my boss of 10 years approached me with the opportunity to buy what was then called ‘Classics of Kingston’. All I could think of was, ‘Why me?’ She recognised the potential in me, and after considering all the pros and cons, I decided to take the leap. What a leap it was - straight into the frying pan! In the first year 80% of the team left with their clients - as often happens with change in ownership of a small business - and the salon had become financially unsustainable. I shed soooo many tears back then. I had to find staff immediately which led to me employing a number of unsuitable stylists and probably managing them poorly due to inexperience. Bankruptcy loomed, and my anxiety felt overwhelming. My first 12 months in business was a baptism of fire. That's when I reached into my foundation value of determination. I picked myself up and made some critical decisions to turn things around. I chose to stop listening to people who expected - even wanted - me to fail, stopped the pity party, and focused on the future. I started with small goals as stepping stones, and with every achievement, no matter how seemingly insignificant, my confidence grew and so did my business. Bigger goals started to feel within reach, and the business as a
reflection of myself, surged forward. What do you do when your successful business consistently runs like a well-oiled machine? You keep on pushing. To stop evolving is to stagnate and die so I choose to continuously expand personally and professionally. I dedicated time and resources to raise awareness of various groups of vulnerable people in my community. I chose to eradicate the salon’s contribution to landfill and put hundreds of hours each year into creative hair collections with my team. People started to recognise just how many goals I was kicking and how high I was kicking them, so I entered some awards to get peer feedback on everything I was doing. As a result, I have received state and national recognition for training, environmental sustainability, community contribution, and different business awards including management style and customer care. The pinnacle so far is winning the AHIA Australian Salon Business of the Year Award in 2015, 2017 and 2021, and receiving an Order of Australia Medal for humanitarian activities and contribution to the Australian hairdressing industry in 2021. One of the deepest beliefs I have is that every hurdle we face in business or life gives us an opportunity to reflect and reevaluate how to move forward. My secret to being a successful business owner is this: work on yourself because your business is a reflection of yourself. The way you personify your values and beliefs directly informs every aspect of how you operate from the culture of your team, and the way salon guests are treated, to the decisions you make and the risks you take. You must adapt to change - which is much easier if you are the one choosing
which changes to make. You must own your mistakes so your team will do the same and learn from them. You must, must, must continue to grow - not in a way that makes you feel burdened, but in ways that make you feel proud and joyful about what you are choosing to create. Keep in mind that without your team you are one person in a very large rental space. Focus on honing your communication skills and mentoring your team so you can have a bond between the members. Allow them to contribute to their workplace in ways that align with your vision. Take the time to feedback and help each individual to flourish through professional education opportunities and by polishing their soft skills. You teach people how to treat you so be prepared to ‘invite’ salon guests who are disrespectful to your team members to go to another salon. Is it worth it? You bet. I am grateful for it despite the many tough times. I am proud of the women I have become; I am proud of the business I have grown, and I am excited to be using my business as a vehicle to challenge myself and bring me more wisdom and joy. Each person associated with my salon has taught me something - even if the lessons were painful at the time - and I am thankful to them. When I think back to that unexpected meeting with my old boss on that Saturday after work, I could have never imagined the course my life would take. Here’s to celebrating the past, focusing on the present, and surging towards goals for our exciting future. Jen xx Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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THE 5 STAGES OF BUSINESS GRIEF ACCEPTING THE UNACCEPTABLE By Kym Krey
We usually relate stages of grief to dealing with the devastating loss of someone dear, or maybe a serious and unexpected diagnosis or injury, however after experiencing the last 2 years I’m sure we can all relate to the sense of grief and loss in business. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified the 5 stages of grief commonly accepted today in her book On Death and Dying and explains the grief process that we experience when faced with catastrophic personal loss. Those five stages are: • Denial • Anger • Bargaining • Depression • Acceptance When we look at these more closely, it’s uncanny how similar the process has been for so many business owners navigating through the calamity that has been Covid-19 and I feel there is much that we can learn from this model to support us as we continue to adapt to a future we possibly never saw coming. 108
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THE 5 STAGES OF BUSINESS GRIEF
Just like personal crisis, these 5 stages of business grief are related to loss. No doubt, this included financial loss, however, it can also have been loss of treasured long-term clients or long-term trusted staff, loss of the lifestyle you had worked so hard to build, loss of the savings you had so diligently put aside, or for some, sadly even loss of their entire business. Whilst we’ll all progress through the grief cycle at our own pace, for business owners, there are other things at play. Other responsibilities, other commitments, other pressures, other people’s livelihoods that are constantly on our minds. And because these pressures often continue to build, the longer it takes us to arrive at the final stage of acceptance and forward action, the more it’s going to hurt for business owners.
Stage 1 – Denial
In denial, the first stage of business grief, we can’t believe what is unfolding and don’t want to accept that it is actually happening to us! This wasn’t how it was meant to be. This wasn’t what you’d be planning for, working for, dreaming of.
We often shut out reality by telling ourselves it will all be OK. If I just wait… see what happens…. but essentially do nothing… it will hopefully resolve itself and go back to normal. Because that’s what we crave… normal. We convince ourselves that this is just temporary. It won’t last or it won’t affect us. It may affect others, it might be on the news, but surely it can’t affect me! Hopefully it will all just blow over. Some will go to great lengths to seek out information to back up their theory… to find comfort and reassurance in others confirming their view. Of course, we all find ourselves in this stage. It’s only human. However… what we’re not doing while we’re fighting hard to ignore it is actually dealing with the problem.
Stage 2 – Anger
When we’ve spent a period of time in denial, but then realised that it is actually happening, the delayed reaction we experience fuels a sense of anger. We start to play the blame game. Whose fault is this? Who is going to take the rap? Why aren’t the politicians doing something to help me? Who’s going to pay my bills? Why isn’t my landlord more supportive? How was I
to know this was going to happen when I took out that loan? I’m going to lose my house/ business and it’s all someone else’s fault! It’s so unfair! (Note: Not wanting in any way to minimise the genuinely stressful experience some did have at the hands of their landlords during extended lock downs, who were, no doubt, reacting from somewhere in their own grief cycle!) How could that staff member leave me? After all I’ve done for them! I can’t believe my clients are acting like this! You get the picture…. Again…. all part of the natural reaction process, but you probably don’t want to hang around in that headspace for too long. While you’re stewing about how you’ve been ‘wronged’, who needs to pay or what you’re going to do in retaliation….. you’re not dealing with the problem. The solution isn’t ‘out there’.
Stage 3 – Bargaining/Rationalization
By this stage, we know this situation is real. We’re feeling the effects, we’re dealing with the myriad of stresses, and no doubt we’re working out how on earth we’re going to pay the mounting pile of bills that are now overdue. We may ask suppliers to extend payment terms. We might try to negotiate with banks for additional time to make repayments. We are also no doubt watching our credit card balance get scarily out of control. It’s enticing to get lost in our daydream of the big payment/supplement/handout the government/insurance company/party-at-fault is likely to pay to get us out of this situation and turn things around. But if all our ‘eggs’ are in that particular ‘basket’, i.e. relying on someone else to save us, we are very much at risk. Many will start rationalising their situation by comparing their own predicament to others. “I heard they’re so far behind in rent they’re about to be evicted! At least my situation isn’t that bad.” Just like calling your industry friends to ask how bad their week is going when your numbers are looking grim… it might comfort you for a moment, but it keeps you stuck exactly where you are- and that’s likely somewhere you don’t want to be.
Stage 4 – Depression/Despair
Whilst some of this ‘bargaining’ might buy us some time or soothe our frayed nerves as we’re navigating our way through, it’s not your longterm solution. Your suppliers are likely overextended to their suppliers, your landlord has payments due on their loan, banks at some point will start to tighten up on controls and possibly clients are stretching out appointments or not spending like they used to. As the pieces come together and the reality of all this sets in with no ‘magic bullet solution’ in sight, this is when our truth bomb really explodes. We’ve seen so many business owners fall into despair as they come to terms with their situation, including many in our industry. ‘What’s the point in soldiering on if there’s no certainty? What if it doesn’t improve soon? Am I just going to slide further into debt? I was just starting to have a decent lifestyle/income- I
don’t know if I have it in me to do this all again!’ Often, the underlying cause of this angst is the sense that you have no control over the outcome. There are no guarantees. Your future, stay or go, is uncertain. You’ve been through a lot right? You want to know it’s going to be worth it if you dive in again and keep swimming. You want to know that at some point, this situation will end, and things will be good again.
Stage 5 – Acceptance
But in business, as we know, there are no guarantees. There is no safety net. The greatest asset we have is ourselves. Our own resilience. Our own determination. Our ability to think clearly and make good decisions under pressure. Business is a game of adaptation and response. With that freedom that drove you into your own business comes great responsibility. You’ll never know what you’re going to be in for when you sign that lease, all you can do is back yourself to rise to the challenge whatever that may be, and then keep showing up each day to do just that. But most of the business owners I know are made of pretty sturdy stuff. You’re not throwing in the towel so easily. You’ve taken a few hits and you’ve had moments of despair, but this will not be the end of your story. You’ll get yourself up tomorrow and you’ll keep the wheels turning. You’ll show up physically and mentally because people are relying on you to do just that. It may be far from perfect and there are days when you might barely hold it together and nothing on your To-Do List gets done, but you’ll be back again tomorroweven when you are mentally and physically exhausted from constantly holding the weight of responsibility for so long. I see you. You will need compassion (for yourself and others), you will need to embrace surrender and imperfection, you will need to draw on reserves of determination that you never knew you had, but most of all….. you will need to be willing to sit with uncertainty and discomfort. Navigating through such times requires us to not
only be willing to change once, but to be willing to do it again and again…. and again. To begin each new week by asking “What is my situation right now?”. “What am dealing with today?” “How can I move from here to there?” The ones who will succeed long term in this wonderful game of business are the ones who were able to continually adjust, reconsider, change plans and generally adapt to the constantly changing environment. ‘What worked last year or last month may not work today’ has never been more true that it is right now. Your comfort zone will sink you. Your answers are out there somewhere on that scary-looking limb. The expert guidance tells us to not allow ourselves to wallow in self-pity for long. Make peace with ‘what is’ and start working on how to deal with it. You won’t have any magical guidebook. You’ll just try and see; test and measure; focus on what’s working and eliminate what isn’t. Add new services, delete unprofitable services, correct your pricing, nurture your best clients, and fire the problem ones, hire new staff, induct them in your vision and values and don’t-stopcoaching, release those who are no longer fully ‘on your bus’. Learn how to be profitable on a lower turnover or with fewer staff or be willing to hire, train and grow your own. And above all else, keep talking to your team through every win, crisis, and bump in the road. They’re not looking for someone who gets everything perfectly right every time (no one does), they’re looking for someone real, whom they trust and who they’ll back in a storm. Crisis and catastrophe are inevitable in business. The key is to recognize it quickly, and resolve the Stages Of Business Grief Process to allow you to move into ‘Action Mode and get back on track. Kym Krey is a salon industry veteran with the runs on the board to help you get real results. She’s the gal you’ll want to have in your corner when things get rough or when you’re planning that next big, scary jump. Reach out at www.kymkrey.com.au or kym@kymkrey. com.au Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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THE GREAT DIVIDE.
SUITE AS…. IN A SALON ENVIRONMENT By Kerrie Di Mattia
For those of you who were in Sydney for Hair Festival……. How freaking good was it!!!! For those who didn’t make it this year put it in your calendar NOW, you will not be disappointed! A huge THANK YOU to all those involved in bringing us all back together, my cup truly did runneth over & I’m not just talking about the Mango Sour being served out of the Excellent Edges van!! Festival (formally known as HAIR EXPO) for me is my truly my TEDDY BEARS PICNIC! (And only my vintage buddies will get this reference) It’s that one time every year when ALL the likeminded people I love & admire in the industry come to gather in the one place & I can I tell you it is the event I look forward to more than 110
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anything else each year, & aside from the cool crew I work alongside each day, it is one of the biggest & most influential motivators in my life. I attended everything at Festival that I could fit in! Industry day, Top Salon Summit, Schmoozefest, Real Talk, Wonderland & numerous other workshops on a glorious array of subjects… And the common thread I heard in most, if not all of them was FLEXIBILITY & CHANGE & why we need to rethink the way look at salon life & teams.
And I’ve got to admit, I feel like I’m repeating myself!! Banging on about the same old chestnut I have in my last 2 or three articles!! Believe me it’s not intentional (ok maybe just a little) but it’s just that we are surrounded by the same message everywhere we turn. Now I had planned prior to heading to Sydney to base my entire piece this edition around what is often the bone of contention in the room when a bunch of industry professionals get together - The rapid growth of the independent stylist or as I heard the term coined recently “Solopreneur”
And I must admit, I was heading in the “Us (Salon owner) VS Them (Solopreneur) direction once again. I’m not sure why a lot of my articles start this way… Oh, wait yes, I do! It’s that Gap in the Industry I’m hell bent on trying to bridge!!!
HAIR FESTIVAL 2022
So, with the perfect environment to learn in, I thought, let's survey the crowd! And I did, I had as many conversations as I could in seminars, workshops and even on the trade floor, I asked salon owners, I asked stylists that still worked in salons and had done for a very long time, I asked friends who had made the decision to go on the Solopreneur journey working in Suites or renting a chair, I even asked educators their thoughts on WHY our industry was dividing & WHAT could we do to get it back on track! And what came out of all my poking & prying was this in a very blunt nutshell:
WHY IS OUR INDUSTRY DIVIDING? Stylists go out on their own for many reasons but mainly because they want more than they are currently have! Fully qualified hairdressers that I spoke to that went out on their own just didn't feel like they had the freedom they were looking for in the salon space, they didn't feel like they had the opportunity to grow, they didn't feel like they had autonomy and they didn't feel like they had enough flexibility within the workplace to actually have the life and lifestyle that they were after. They want to run their own race, make all their own decisions, and have the freedom to be flexible with when they work, the old school ways of doing things like set hours, weekend work, 4 weeks annual leave per year & a team structure in place just isn’t on their radar, it’s not what they want out of life. Now If I were reading this through the cynical eye of the Salon Veteran, I can just imagine the comments I might be tempted to make like …… So that’s its then I guess, for the salon owners out there that are crying out for qualified staff, give up, it’s all over…. They ain’t never coming back! But not only am I an optimist, I’m an optimist with a plan!! Call me crazy & so many will, but this is what I believe…Let them go & wish them all the success, but also let them know your door is always open! How many times have we as Salon owners spread our wings? We did it when we first opened our salons, when we first left our employers, & we did it. to bring about change, to do it our way, to beat to our own drum! No maybe it wasn’t to go solo & yes, we were still looking to grow a team but none the less we went out on our own because we wanted more than what we currently had!
I went out on my own in 1988 in my first salon in Sydney, I had a team of 4 & no idea what I was doing! That lasted 7 years before I sold it, made no profit & moved to a country town where I still live today. Did I want another salon? HELL NO Did I want employees? - HELL NO Did I want freedom & flexibility? - HELL YES And I loved the freelance life (no suites back in the day) for about 8 years… Until one day I didn’t! I woke up one day & realised I missed being part of a team, missed having people to bounce off as I worked, missed the support & camaraderie & believe it or not most of all I missed the structure! Now I know things aren’t like they were in 1988 or 1995 & yes, we as Salon owners do have to rethink & restructure the way we do things, but hey let me ask you this… What it? What if just some of the fantastic stylists out there that have carved their own path & gone solo, found themselves one day wanting to come back into the welcoming arms of a salon team, if some of what they loved about being a Solopreneur could be interwoven with some of what they missed about working for a salon.
What if, we as salon owners learn to grow & flow with the times & provide the perfect environment for stylists of today who have very different needs to those of 10, even 5 years ago, an environment which when structured well benefits the salon owner just as much as the stylist! And to drive my point home, I have 2 beautiful daughters both of whom have followed my path, I ask you to look at this through the eyes of someone in your family, someone you love and adore, would you not want them to have what’s important to them? If the answer to that is yes and you need to find a way to provide what it is stylists are looking for today, provide a brilliant open minded flexible salon culture with everything they need, because if they've got everything they need as an individual plus the support of the salon team plus the support of a fantastic employer plus the support of not having to do every goddamn thing themselves right from making their own bookings answering their own phone getting back to their own clients buying their own stock then you'll find that you may just have the winning combination that may one day turn this divide around & see us evening the balance between them & us!
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BUSINESS FOUNDATIONS TO TAKE YOUR SALON FROM ALRIGHT TO AMAZING. By Rebecca Miller, The Zing Project
Owning a salon over the past few years has been no mean feat! The strength, resilience, and determination we’ve needed to come out the other side is second-to-none so as we enter a new financial year, make sure you take a moment to celebrate all the wins, lessons learnt, the wisdom gained from the challenges and all those little magical moments in between.
If your salon business has just been going through the motions, now is a great time to take stock of the way you’re operating. You can be unshakeable & unstoppable and in flow & alignment when you surround yourself with the right people, systems and of course, the mindset to match. Heartfelt leadership is the key and right now our industry needs more inspirational leaders to leave their legacy behind for our future emerging leaders. Throughout the article, I’ll ask you questions. Write down your answers and use this as a guide to see where you have gaps in your business.
FOUNDATIONS
Your purpose, mission and values play an essential role in your business. Without them, it's almost impossible to align your team with your strategic goals, enhance team collaboration and culture or empower your team to be the best version of themselves. When we create an environment where our team can truly feel our purpose, we’re delivering a space of inspiration, motivation, and empowerment.
PURPOSE
It all begins with your WHY. Your purpose is the reason that you jump out of bed every day, this is your calling, the reason you step into your business and why you do what you do. Having clarity on your purpose and articulating your why in such an inspiring way others want to follow. It’s your cause, the legacy you leave behind and it’s the reason your business exists. Can you articulate your purpose (WHY) right now?
MISSION
This is your 5-to-10-year big hairy audacious goal (BHAG),so you and your team understand where you are now and where you want to be and know they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Your mission is a commercialisation of your PURPOSE and I encourage you to think about the impact and value you want to create and bring into the world. Clarity is key so think BIG… If you can think it, you can create it! A great mission is clear & compelling and will serve as a catalyst for growth and inspiration. What is your 5-to-10-year BHAG? 112
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VALUES
Your company values are the heartbeat of your business, the DNA. In essence, your company values are the beliefs, philosophies, guiding principles and behaviours that drive your business. They impact your team's experience you deliver, as well as the relationships you develop with your customers and the companies you partner with. Your cultural values are your company's DNA. That's why you can't make any important business decisions without having them in mind. Having a clear set of values helps your team understand what you as a business stand for. Your company values also give them guidance for their work and provide a sense of meaning. Well-defined values provide a moral direction to guide you and your team in difficult times. As a result, you’re more likely to make the right decisions — the decisions that help you all achieve the company's vision and goals. Your core values support the company's vision and shape its culture. That's why every single business decision should be aligned with these values. How can you build great teams, deliver excellent customer service and foster innovation if you haven't defined and found your company values as a team? Yes, include the team! Are your team aware of, connected to and living your business core values? Do you use your values to make decisions in your business?
PLANNING
If you’re still feeling like a hamster on a wheel, you’re not embodying the greatness of your purpose! Let’s get you off that wheel and
embracing the power of planning. It’s the secret sauce of every successful salon business after all. Planning goes beyond your day-to-day and looks towards the year ahead and what needs to happen to achieve everyone’s personal and professional goals. Planning means creating your future in advance. So, is your planning setting you up for success in the coming financial year?
NEEDLE-MOVING BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
One of the biggest mistakes I see salon owners make is not allocating time each week to work on their business rather than in their business. If growth and scaling is one of your business goals, it’s imperative that you block time off in your diary for the needle-moving business activities. These are the activities that are going to propel your business. Do you have regular allocated time for working on your business?
TEAM PATHWAYS
As leaders, it is our job is to create more leaders and generate opportunities for our team to evolve and feel empowered by new skills, knowledge, and experiences. Every team member should have a personalised pathway established that includes opportunities to work on their professional and personal goals. Do each of your team members have a pathway for success for the new financial year?
CELEBRATE THE SMALL STUFF
An integral part of maintaining an engaged
and motivated team is rewarding them for their efforts but what may surprise you is that whilst money is a motivator, it’s not the be all and end of all why people work with us! Many rewards structures in our industry revolve around financial renumeration but research indicates that employees hold feelings of acknowledgement and appreciation for their efforts in a much higher regard. Meaningful actions, taken by leaders, can boost your employee satisfaction much higher than some extra cash in their pocket; it comes down to uncovering what it is that motivates them. One of the best reward systems you can use to motivate your team is social acknowledgment. You can acknowledge team members in your daily huddles when they do great work, utilise ‘Wednesday Wins’ where each team member shares their greatest achievement for the week and choose stand out team members with ‘Monthly Wowser Awards’. How are you acknowledging your team’s great work?
DAILY HUDDLES
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
What experience does your client have at every stage of interaction with your business? This means even before they walk through your doors! Every step of this journey should be well-defined with touchpoints that keep them wanting more. Once you have identified your client avatar/ideal client, you’ll design & define their ultimate customer journey, truly visualising the steps you need to take to deliver a flawless experience. One of my favourite ways to refine your customer journey is to go through it yourself, with your team as if you were a client! Do your customers have a clearly defined journey from the moment they book?
In additional to personalised pathways, your business should be engaging in regular training opportunities. This could include internal and external training, recommended books, practical experiences, and role-playing activities to consistently improve the delivery of your services and customer experience. Are you offering weekly training opportunities for your team?
ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS
This is deep connection time with your team as individuals. When we provide each team member regular undivided attention, we can attain an authentic insight into the needs of our team, understand any prospects for growth as leaders, identify their opportunities for learning and up-skilling and acknowledge their commitment to the business. Gratitude goes a long way. These regular meetings should be diarised and never moved – not even for appointments! Remember, listen to hear, not to respond. Have you scheduled 1:1 catch-ups with your team members?
PLANNING YOUR MARKETING
This means not being reactive with last-minute promotions but instead, knowing exactly what you’re offering and when. Your marketing calendar should feature all major dates throughout the year and guide the promotions on offer. My coaching clients and I plan their marketing every quarter, so they know exactly what they’re working towards over those months. Is your marketing and promotional calendar prepared for Q3of 2022? Is your team aware of and prepared for upcoming promotions?
SYSTEMS & PROCESSES
Systems and processes have gotten a bad rap as being the ‘boring part of salon owner life’ but they’re actually the gateway to a profitable and productive business! They provide you, as a salon owner, FREEDOM.
This is a great way to start the day on a high and ignite your team! Daily huddles are an opportunity for your team to share their goals, wins, challenges and illicit the values they’ll be showcasing in the business that day. Are you getting each day started with a team daily huddle?
CONSULTATION PROCESS
Is your team consistent with the questions asked during a consult? Creating a system around this can enable you to get to the crux of the client’s concerns sooner and maximise their experience. By roleplaying or mystery shopping your existing consultation, you can identify its strengths and opportunities, and make tweaks to support bringing more value to each client. This formalised system is then used in onboarding for new team members. What’s your method to ensure consults are consistent and profitable?
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
CLIENT RETENTION
Most salon owners don’t know their retention numbers! If you’re noticing a trend in clients not returning or rebooking, then this could be a sign more training and development is needed in your business. It’s also an opportunity to ensure you’re attracting the right kind of clients. You only find these things out if you have a system in place that regularly measures, compares, and acts upon your retention numbers. Is your team following a client retention process that works?
KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS
Do you know what your breakeven number is? Understanding your numbers and exactly where you can access them is fundamental to the profitability of your business. Check in weekly, have clear KPI aligning behaviours, values, and goals to these to create an autonomous culture that are intrinsically motivated. A business health check is essential to creating a consistently profitable and sustainable business. Do you know exactly what numbers you should be looking at and where to find them?
MINDSET
The number one thing holding people back from living their best life is their own mindset. Having a thriving mindset keeps you focused
on your game plan and means any negativity or limitations that arise don’t stand a chance!
LIVING YOUR PURPOSE
Every leader should know who they want to be, where they’re going and how they’re going to get there. This is the reason that you’re waking up each morning and should align seamlessly with your values. When we know our purpose and live through our values, we are setting an expectation for ourselves and those on our journey with us. They support our decision making, our behaviours and give each day of our lives innate meaning. Are you leading through your purpose, mission, and values?
MINDSET, HEARTSET + HEALTHSET
The three components to a thriving mindset and the key to living your best life. This comprises of daily rituals that have you moving your body, invigorating your mind, visualising your purpose, and setting your intentions. Are you taking time each day to enrich your mind, body, and heart?
MASTERING MANIFESTATION
If you truly want something in life, you need to believe it will happen in every inch of your soul. Visualise it in your mind being part of your life and the feelings of accomplishment that come with it. Manifestation is the actualisation of the saying, “anything can happen if you put your mind to it”. Do you truly believe you can achieve your longterm goals?
KNOWING IS GROWING
The more you can grow and experience as a leader, the more influence you can have on those around you. Influence is a key component of leadership – it’s where people really see our greatness! This comes from continually learning and expanding what it means to be a leader in 2022. A growth mindset comes from reading, joining courses, watching seminars, attending events and anything that encourages you to expand your way of thinking and leading and of course having a coach support your journey. Are you expanding your knowledge as a leader and business owner?
CREATING YOUR TRIBE
Business owners need their own support team to ensure they’re truly giving their best each day. Coaches see what you don’t see, know what you don’t know, keep your accountable and focused on your purpose and mission and have the hard-hitting conversations with you. When you have someone keeping you aligned to your personal and professional goals, you’re on your way to transforming the way you lead, the culture you cultivate and start living a life you love. Are you aligning yourself with the right people to help you achieve your goals? For more free salon coaching, advice, resources and daily salon inspiration, join my community on Instagram: @rebeccamillerzingcoach Hair Biz Year 16 Issue 4
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COLOUR COMPETITION 2022 WINNER DOMONIQUE PINALLI OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
COLOUR COMPETITION WINNERS
WWW.AFFINAGE.COM.AU 1800 804 757
