10 Minutes with Louise May

10 MINS WITH OUR NEW EDITOR LOUISE MAY

With a history in skincare formulation, hairdressing and ingredient technology, teamed with a successful hair and beauty salon and mentoring business, Louise May is an expert in her field.

Taking over the helm of Beauty Biz as the new Editor in 2022, Clare Lamberth sat down with Louise to learn more about her history and what readers can expect from her new role.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I reside in a little coastal town on the Mid North Coast of NSW. I have a gorgeous husband James and 3 children, Luke 22, Ryan 14 and Abby 12, and 3 animals! Coco the Groodle, Cupcake the Cat and Romulus our Warmblood Horse. Originally from Sydney we made the “Seachange” move back in 2012 after selling our Hair and Beauty Salon and our home. We have never looked back. I first started in the industry some 36 years ago in a place called Griffith in NSW where I grew up, as a Thursday night and Saturday salon assistant. This is when my love for the industry began! It was a fast paced, large, high-end salon and I was very much in my element as they were like “fashion-gods” in my eyes! 18 months in I was offered an apprenticeship. After my apprenticeship I moved to Sydney and started a management role for a large chain of salons. I opened my first Hair Salon in 1998 with a business partner and it wasn’t long after that I had fallen pregnant with my eldest son. My business partner took over the business when I was on maternity leave and during the time, I was off I was offered a role with Matrix Haircare Australia, which really excited me, and so I decided to take it.

After working with Matrix for a couple of years I opened my 2nd salon which was Hair and Beauty, and over the years of owning it, it grew exponentially. As stated previously, the salon was sold in 2012 and we made the move up the coast. We sold everything and made the move out of Sydney and up to a small coastal town, unemployed. It was scary but the best thing we have ever done! My husband started his own business and has been trading now for 8 years and is absolutely nailing it. I bought into a Private Branding company that formulates Haircare and Skincare products for the professional industry. This is where my absolute love for business and mentoring began. My role in the Private branding business was to help Hair, Beauty and Spa owners in building their own salon brand and brand personality, in setting KPI’s with their teams, and working closely with the business owners to grow their business financially, with their own branded professional and retail products. What I learnt in this role was that 80% of salon owners were having similar issues to each other, and I could see a common theme amongst these businesses in the hair and beauty industry. Working so closely with these salon owners and later focusing on their issues, we would set goals and targets, and reverse engineer the steps needs to achieve them and then I would help them track their progress. This lit a major fire in my belly when I saw the results and the smiles on their faces when they were seeing the changes it was making financially to their business. This is what led me to investing in myself and my own education and for 2 years I spent learning the things I didn’t know. I took all that I had learnt and all the experience I had gained over the years of being on the floor, being a salon owner, managing a large chain of 22 salons, what I have learnt about business with Matrix Haircare and the skills I had with Private Branding and Formulations and I launched The Educated Owner Academy; an online Mentoring Group for Hair and Beauty Salon Owners here in Australia, NZ and for those in the UK and US also. I have also recently obtained my certification as a Qualified NLP Practitioner and have been in the salon mentoring space now for 6 years. desire to be a hairdresser! I still to this day have all my Barbie’s from my childhood, and none of them have any hair! Lol. There is something magical about changing the way someone feels about themselves. To be able to give the gift of confidence to people is just sensational. I get a major kick out of people looking in the mirror and seeing their eyes light up and the smile broaden on their face. I am not on the floor anymore, but I get that same awesome feeling seeing someone’s face light up when their salon is kicking arse.

Tell us about your mentoring role?

I created the Academy as a way to support salon owners in the most effective way possible. It has always been my mission to help business owners go from bogged down and stressed to confident and comfortable. Success isn’t always defined by 7 figures! My purpose is to make sure you are PROFITABLE – regardless of what your financial goals are. Because so many businesses are bringing in a lot of money but don’t have any left at the end of each week and have no idea where it’s all going! I don’t want salon owners to get caught in that cash flow trap!

You are the editor of Hair Biz Magazine for the mocha group, what have you loved most about this role?

I have always been extremely passionate about the hair and beauty Industry, so for me to be able to be in a role where I can share the love that I have is just so awesome. I absolutely love showcasing people’s talent, hard work and dedication and I just love being able to share people’s stories. There is just so much valuable information for salon owners from coaches and mentors, other business owners, social media and branding experts etc., it’s just full of goodness. I feel so blessed to be able to share all of this with our industry.

What aspects of the professional, skin, beauty and aesthetics industry so you love most?

My love for the beauty industry is the same as why I love hair so much; it’s personal. It’s a career defined by making others feel good about themselves. I absolutely love that the skin and beauty business is constantly evolving. The lack of personal contact in a digital age is seeing more people seek out relaxation, pampering, and professional beauty services.

Do you have a favourite treatment or technology?

Yes, I recently had a Hydra Facial and I think it’s my new love!

Your skill set span both the hair and beauty industries. Can you tell us about this and how your passions combine?

I am not a Beauty Therapist, however during my time in working in private branding and formulation of Professional Skincare and Haircare I learnt the ins and outs of ingredients and how they perform. My passions combine from a business perspective, I have worked with Beauty Salon and Spa owners for years with systems and processes, team building, KPI’s and mentoring in all shapes and forms.

What are you looking forward to most being appointed the Editor of Beauty Biz Magazine?

Supporting small business owners is a real passion of mine, so to be able to give to the Beauty Biz readers what I have given thus far to Hair Biz really excites me, and I am looking forward to helping salon and spas with sharing as much valuable information as possible.

What has been your most prominent lesson from the past 2 years?

“Time is a precious commodity.” Time is the only commodity in life that cannot be bought, sold, borrowed, given out as a gift and it cannot be inherited. More than ever over the last 2 years I learnt just how important it is to take the time to spend with my loved ones.

What are your looking forward to most in 2022?

I am hoping it is a year of no more lockdowns! I myself am a salon owner and my salon is in the heart of Melbourne, so a year of solid trade would be beautiful! I am so looking forward to a year of helping others succeed in smashing their goals in the beauty industry and giving as much help and guidance as possible.