HAIR BODY & SOUL EDUCATION

By Louise May

Melbourne hair and beauty institution Hair Body & Soul launched their HBS Education division in 2022.

Founded by best friends and business partners, Michelle McCubbin- Gannon and Pina Khalaf, HBS Education offers Salon Business Coaching, Apprentice Education, Masterclasses, and In-Salon Training.

With a desire to share their combined 70 years of salon business expertise with both new Salon start-ups and those needing to reinvigorate, Michelle and Pina believe that lifelong learning is the key to the ever-changing and quickly evolving salon industry.

To support, grow and elevate capability within the hairdressing industry, and tackle the nationwide salon staff decline of recent years – all delivered with passion, understanding and fun!

This dynamic duo offer the perfect balance of creativity and commercial acumen, and between them, they’re “confident we’ve seen and heard it all”. Dry cutting and curl expert, Pina Khalaf is the in-house Educator. With 40 years of experience in the hair game, 20 of those co-owning Hair Body & Soul, her passion lies in empowering and educating Salon Owners and their teams.

The perfect complement to Pina’s passion for Education is fellow Hair Body & Soul co-owner Michelle McCubbin-Gannon, an award-winning entrepreneur who has helped thousands of small business owners increase their revenue and personal earnings by offering profitable business solutions. Michelle’s secret power is her ability to combine hair and business seamlessly.

While Pina and Michelle bring different skills, talents, and passions to the business, they are firmly aligned in their core values and dedication to sharing their knowledge with the industry. “The biggest mistake any business can make is thinking they know it all.

We’ve worked on our self-development in our craft, in the creative space and in the business space and we’re ready to share our knowledge, experience and learnings” explain Pina & Michelle.

Delivering insightful and authentic advice to Salon businesses, the HBS Consultancy Division helps Salons identify their unique pathways to success, focusing on the full breadth of their business from staff training and hair services through to recruitment and retention.

For Salon Teams, the HBS Education Division offers something for all levels of experience, from Apprentice through to Senior Stylists. Their Apprentice Program is designed to educate and empower First Year Apprentices before they even set foot in the Salon, while the renowned Dry Cutting Masterclasses offered by Pina are designed to expand the expertise of Salon Stylists, removing the fear factor, and demonstrating go-to techniques and signature styles.

In-Salon training comprises half a day of education at Hair Body & Soul or within individual Salon environments.

We recently caught up with Michelle and Pina to chat about the HBS Education Platform.

Please share what drove you to launch HBS Education and what we can expect from the services?

First and foremost, we truly believe in what we do. So, you can expect a lot of passion when working with us.

With 70 years of combined experience and knowledge between us, we’re pretty sure we’ve seen and heard it all. We’ve worked through many varied business challenges in our time, and we’ve thrived. We want to share that!

Not long ago it dawned on us that we needed to look at our business through a different lens. It’s really easy to become fatigued and stale when your focus remains the same.

So, we started to change! We worked on our self-development in our craft, in the creative space and in the business space. We’re ready to share this wealth of knowledge, experience and learnings with other salon owners and stylists.

We’re blessed that we both bring different things to our business. Together we’re the perfect balance of creativity and commercial sense.

So, we’ve harnessed our strengths, skills, and experience to develop a strong and dynamic education platform that will inspire salons and stylists across both of these facets of their salon business. Our dry-cutting concepts and unique way of approaching hair have proven to be our point of difference.

Our mission is to support growth and elevate capabilities within the hairdressing industry by optimising and engaging salon professionals. By sharing and giving back.

You are passionate about coaching and supporting the Salon industry – from new start-ups to long-term salons – what can you bring to salons you work with?

We know there are many ways to succeed. However, understanding what got you there isn’t always enough to keep you there. We want to help salons identify their gaps, on the floor and in their business. We take this information to clarify their vision, make a plan for success, and develop the systems they’ll need to continue their growth.

What salons would benefit and how does coaching support take place?

We truly believe that everyone needs a mentor or coach. The biggest mistake that any business owner can make is thinking they know it all. We still have a mentor, and we always will.

In our consultancy business, we offer a free ‘clarity call’ to precisely and concisely identify the salon owner’s business requirements, from staff training, hair services and everything in between.

We also offer expertise and guidance for young stylists right through to senior stylists. We run masterclasses at our salon in Camberwell, Melbourne. Or we can come to you.

Our Apprentice Elevation program is an online self-paced introduction for each year of the apprenticeship journey. It’s designed to take the pressure off busy salon owners and give apprentices a kick-start to build their skills and confidence.

Please share a few challenges you are seeing salons needing support with. And without giving away all your knowledge, some ways how you might work through these challenges.

The first thing salons need to do is a health check on their business. Break it down across all areas, from business practices, education, staff, and productivity. The biggest problem we see is that salon owners can feel like a prisoner in their own business.

Staff shortages combined with economic uncertainty can make it easy for despair and fatigue to kick in, and that’s got danger written all over it.

But there is a way forward! Every business owner should have a clear vision, and a clear plan to move forward. It’s essential to understand exactly what type of business they’re in and to remember never to think they know it all.

The Salon Industry is ever-changing, and the last few years has seen a decline of staff in the industry. How do HBS retain their team? Honestly, it’s what goes on at the top that matters. Let us put it to you like this, why should anyone want to work with you, and would you work for yourself? That will give you your answer.

At HBS we always make an effort to understand the diversity and the challenges that we and our team are faced with, and we approach situations in a way that promised a positive outcome for all involved. We stand strongly by our culture and team, we really do. If they don’t fit, well they don’t fit.

How will HBS education up-skill apprentices?

We need to focus on our apprentices and give them the time they deserve. They need to feel part of the team and they need to be heard. At HBS we make it a priority to bring the best out of our apprentices, understanding that everyone has weaknesses and strengths.

Knowing how to position education so apprentices feel supported by the salon, school and personal life is essential. We have an apprentice program available that is designed to take the pressure off busy salon owners.

This is an online, self-paced program that reinforces exactly what they should expect at every stage of the apprenticeship journey. It helps give apprentices a kick start and build their confidence.

Feedback from salons who have taken part in HBS Education? We’re often told that our education is like nothing they’ve seen before, simply because it is real and can be implemented straight away. It’s practical and also very commercial.

What does success look like for you both?

Knowing that we can open our doors every day and be really proud of our achievements. The 100s of people we’ve mentored, educated, and developed from young adults into amazing stylists, managers, and business owners. That’s the true sign of success.

What makes this dynamic duo work? What’s the secret?

We’re so different, but we just get each other. We each bring different things to the business, but the most important thing is that we share the same passion and vision. And we certainly have a lot of champagne and fun along the way.

To find out more visit www.hairbodysoul.com.au/hbs-education