Immersed in the Industry - Getting to know Kerrie DiMattia

Over 40 years of taking part in everything from Fashion week to Main Stage at Hair Expo, writing content for magazines, newspapers, and online blogs, educating for major product companies all over Australia, producing outstanding collections which have been featured in industry magazines worldwide, and now finalist in 4 categories of the upcoming 2021 Business AHIA, Kerrie DiMattia certainly has made her mark as a powerhouse in the Australian Hair Industry.

Kerrie DiMattia

"Growing up in Sydney and like a lot of hairdressers, school just wasn’t my thing!" Says Kerrie…

"Hairdressing was all I ever wanted to do! To be honest I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything else.

I remember as a kid going to the salon with my mum weekly, it was evident to me even as a kid that the environment was always a happy one, people wanted to be there and there was an energy that just felt upbeat!

I started fresh out of Year 10 in 1982 in a busy Shopping Centre salon in Sydney that was a ‘Fair Work nightmare’ before its time! That lasted 6 months, not the best introduction to the industry, I can still remember the boss telling me that I’d never be any good and I should just work in a supermarket!

6 months working retail (selling cash register rolls…Not exactly riveting stuff) and I was ready to give it another shot. This time applying at a small suburban salon run by a beautiful man and his wife who treated me like one of their own and taught me the core skills I still have today, including how to treat people with kindness and build them up, something my first boss (like so many) sadly lacked.

I have ALWAYS lived to do hair! I don’t think there has been a time over the last 40 years that

I’ve considered doing anything outside of this industry, I just love it. I love working alongside my team and I love looking after my clients! but like so many salon owners I thought being able to do hair and deliver a great client experience meant I could run a business! - insert face-palm here!

I thought I had a great business… I had a fantastic team, we were really busy, turning out great hair, our clients loved us and kept coming back, the salon was thriving… But there was no profit!

So, as we do, I worked harder, longer hours, advertised more and so on… This went on for years and all I had was a good job!

I constantly felt like an imposter amongst other salon owners who had there shit together and I know I’m not alone there, so many talented stylists struggle with the business side of salon life, and so many don’t survive it.

It took around 30 years of being self-employed and just working my butt off for me to realise that I had to ask for help, I had to face my greatest fear of looking stupid and get myself a business coach!

I started out with Carl and Belinda Keeley and believe me I was probably that one student that they will always look back on wonder how I survived the first 30 years in business without going broke ha-ha, I was (in Carl’s own words) like a deer in the headlights when it came to Metrics.

Thankfully I retained enough of what he taught to make changes to how I ran the business, but I still had a lot to learn.

Fast forward another few years and I approached Julie Piantadosi who I had followed for years to help me with my team and everything including what I thought I didn’t retain from The Keeley’s, fell into place!

I bought my first salon at the age of 23, I had no experience in business. I had only worked in three other salons prior including that nasty first 6 months of my apprenticeship, but I was good at hair and even better with people, and I guess I thought that was enough to succeed in business…

I sold my first salon after 7 years for the same price I bought it for, I definitely made a lot of mistakes, but I learnt a lot also. I always knew how to keep the money coming in and keep the clients and my team happy… But I also knew how to spend ha-ha! and there lay the problem! I had absolutely no clue about stock control, and I think I was a product company Reps best friend.… I’m sure so many small biz owners can relate.

My husband, myself and our 3-year-old daughter left the city life behind and moved to rural NSW where my parents had moved to, I built a small home salon, raised two beautiful girls, did some freelance wedding work and settled into life in a small town…. Until boredom set in! After a few years I really missed salon life and took the plunge yet again and opened a small studio salon in town with the intention of just doing a few days a week on my own.

This lasted 6 months and I had taken on my first apprentice, then another and then we moved into the large 140sq foot space we still call home today.

There has and will always be challenges in business, the high and lows are how we grow…. Each year of owning a salon has taught me something, not just about being a stylist and employer, but about embracing change!

The industry could not be more different to when I stared 40 years ago.

Its worlds apart - the culture, the language, the technology, and the way we communicate. It’s a vastly different landscape than when I started, and it can all be challenging, but that’s a good thing! change is good, growth is good, its necessary, but what I love about being my age and still active in the industry is that I get to combine the best from both worlds, and I see that as a win!

I like to think I’m 100% involved and immersed in our industry! I just love every aspect of it. Over the 40 years I’ve taken part in everything from Fashion week to main Stage at Hair Expo,

written copy for magazines, newspapers, and online blogs, I’ve educated for major Product companies all over Australia & attended and trained at major Industry events overseas, I’ve done several collections which have been featured in industry magazines worldwide, trained too many stylists to count including my two daughters and I’m a very proud member of the AHC… but most recently I have overcome yet another of my Fears and entered the AHIA Industry awards which I think may just be my greatest achievement yet!

I also like to say I have G.A.S. - I truly Give- A-Shit! I care about my team, their careers, and their wellbeing. I care about our clients and community and the service we provide. I am passionate about the culture we create and impression we leave on people.

My goal is to create cohesion and loyalty in my team by showing I care; I’m invested in them. Their growth is important to me, and I like to think I’m leaving a legacy; to know I’ve grown exceptional artists (including my two daughters) who are incredible ethical Stylists with a passion for our industry, a love for making people happy and an intention to take what they’ve learned and share it.

Being rural, finding qualified staff is tough, especially these days, I mostly grow my own from the ground up! I’m a huge fan of the school-based apprenticeship, it’s a great Segway into a fulltime career while breathing space to really know if this industry is for them.

I feel communication is the key to a great team culture, I like to think that despite being in my 50’s I relate to my guys really well, I believe they all feel heard and valued and I try to be inclusive of the whole team, with any decisions concerning the day to day running of the salon, after all they are the ones with their finger on the pulse of what consumers are shopping for AND how they are doing it! (I am struggling with Tik Tok though) there are only so many new tricks you can teach an old dog ha-ha!

THIS INDUSTRY DOESN’T STAND STILL… IF YOU STAND STILL, IT WILL RUN RIGHT OVER THE TOP OF YOU!

Our team is mentored and cheered on to achieve their targets each week. We encourage our stylists to see their column as their own, their business within our business, educating and empowering each team member in every aspect of what it takes to drive a successful column, gain, and retain clients through building a brand, having incredible technical, customer service, marketing skills and most importantly, consistency of care.

We often hear in our industry that we should “charge what we are worth” and I fully agree! But as a regular exercise for our team, I like to flip it and ask, “Are we worth what we are charging?”

It starts and finishes with your Salon Culture! Build a great team, treat them well, teach then your values, be the steppingstone for their success and they will help you build a great business!

Value your customers, deliver a great experience, treat them as your Hero’s and lastly be worth what you charge!

There will always be high and lows, but you grow from these and you get stronger, whether it’s a business coach or someone in business you look up to, don’t be like me and wait 30+ years to reach out and ask someone to help guide your journey.

Move with the times, keep evolving, learn the new technology, learn the new trends and most of all learn the new language of your people to stay connected! This industry doesn’t stand still…If you stand still, it will run right over the top of you!

Soon a second salon will be born! 18 months ago, I purchased a small commercial property on the ground floor of the building that DiMattia & Co is in, and work starts on that very shortly which is super exciting!

When I’ve got that up and running, I would love to try my hand at sharing my experience with other salon owners, I’ve developed one or two skills in growing a successful Salon Culture over the years and I’d love to help others do the same.

Kerrie xxx