Trusting Your Heart & Your Instincts

By Louise May

Tabatha Coffey is one of the most well-known hairdressers in the world. She has devoted her professional life to achieving excellence as a successful businesswoman, iconic educator, and artist. She is the Matrix global business ambassador, and facilitates, supports, and shares knowledge and learnings with fellow industry professionals on ways to grow, support, structure and sustain themselves and their businesses.

Tabatha also works with individuals and creatives in her personal business to support them in shifting their mindsets and perspectives, empowering them to get out of their own way, tap into their creative genius to live their authenticity, truth, and reclaim their power and apply it to their lives and businesses.

Editor Louise May caught up with Tabatha recently, to find out how she is going over in the US during these unprecedented times, and to get her thoughts on our Industry as a whole with some words of wisdom for fellow Salon Owners here in Australia.

What do you love most about the industry?

I love everything about our industry. I love the people, and that we are creative beings and get to express that in so many ways and share it within our industry. To be of service, inspire and support each other. I love that the heart of our industry is transformation and supporting change through selfexpression. I love that we are a heart centric community and want to uplift others and make them feel amazing and beautiful.

3 things you are passionate about?

Only 3?... That feels limiting! I am always finding something new I am passionate about and want to explore, but these are my never wavering ones that are always aligned with my values. Our industry and everything it encompass. Being of service to others and helping them feel seen, heard, and supported on their journeys. Helping them to reveal their true potential and uncover and let go of the limiting narratives we all tell ourselves and move past them. Growth in all ways and always, if I am not moving forward learning and expanding, I am stagnant and that is no way to live.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

I don’t want to “CHANGE” anything about the industry per se, for me that is like saying we aren’t a great industry already and focusing on perceived problems/ limitations, not coming up with ways we can evolve and be stronger as individuals and collectively. There are always ways to improve and grow, through our own learnings and experiences and those of others. There are always new technologies and products that help us improve our businesses and our craft and service our clients better. We are an industry that promotes change, that is what our profession is about. So, I would prefer to contribute to the everevolving landscape of that, and not play into the it’s broken and needs to be fixed one.

How were you affected by the pandemic and is life getting back to some kind of “normal” for you?

I was affected and continue to be like everyone else, we are all in a different boat but facing the same storm. For me personally, it renewed my values and what is important to me and what isn’t. It allowed me to reflect, do some soul searching and change some things that I was too busy to give my attention to before, or they were too challenging to face, so I just keep moving on full steam ahead and keeping busy, so I didn’t have to. Life is opening again. Is it how it was before NO, do I really want it to be how it was before NO. I am optimistic about the future, I am looking forward to getting back on the road and travelling and being at shows and live classes. I have missed the in-person interaction and connection. I have missed being in a room full of my peers and that beautiful laughter, excitement, camaraderie, and creative connection we have when we are together and celebrating our industry and all the unique creative and innovative individuals that contribute to it, and I hope that happens very soon for me and us all.

Here in Australia, we have experienced several lockdowns in each state, with Sydney and Victoria copping the brunt of the pandemic. What advice do you have for salon owners trying to navigate reopening after such lengthy lockdowns?

we have seen everywhere in the world because so many feel like they have no control over anything. I have seen, as we started to reopen here in the US also after such long lockdowns, the emotional fatigue everyone is feeling and also the trepidation many feel about being back together, although we missed it, can also feel overwhelming because we were isolated for so long. I believe the thing that is important to keep in mind, is that we were missed. Missed by our teams and clients and communities. Our businesses and the services and experiences we provide help people feel better as individuals and as communities. We need to cut ourselves some slack, have empathy for each other and ourselves as we come out of this and move forward and create environments where people feel safe and welcomed. It’s holding on and focusing on what we love to do and create as we move forward not dwelling and rehashing where we have been, which I know is easier said than done. As we come out of this if all our energy and focus is put on how hard it has been, how things have changed and what we have lost we become stuck in that. It’s also important to remember that if you haven’t worked for a while, you will be literally flexing muscles and muscle memory that hasn’t been used for a minute so give yourself time. Although yes, it’s like riding a bike and it all comes rushing back it can take some time to build up the physical stamina required of us also. I want to share this with you all as it was sent to me from a Nurse during our covid lockdowns when many of us were feeling like we weren’t valuable because of the term non-essential that was given to us and many businesses and professions. It is something I have kept and still read, and I hope for anyone that is reading this, that it resonates for you and reminds you that what we do and how we do it, is so very valuable.

“As Nurses, where we can, we will fix their bodies, but we will absolutely NEED the beautiful, compassionate, inspiring people in your profession to help us fix their minds, making them feel human again by providing the crucial service of care to each and every person on this planet one by one, to boost each person’s confidence through all the services your industry provides to us. You are all essential in the recovery process of the world. So, all of you, sharpen your scissors, start preparing yourselves psychologically, and gather all the tools and assistants you need because your time will come. Please know that as nurses we know how important you all are, and when this is over, we will be your clients too. With an intentional amount of love” -anonymous Nurse

There is no crystal ball and predicting the future especially after what the world has gone through is not something I am going to do. Are there trends that will come out of this mess that I believe will allow us to have more balanced, stronger, and more focused businesses, absolutely. Can we embrace change more readily after this, see what is and isn’t important to us and more forward in a way that has more intention and alignment and balance with what we want to achieve in our business and how we want to live YES. Hopefully there is a renewed sense of appreciation, passion and commitment for our teams, clients, craft, and business’s which will invigorate us to go after what we want and not get stuck in the minutia or fear of changing what isn’t working for us. One of the biggest challenges coming through the pandemic was for many owners realising they didn’t have any financial safeguards and structures in place. As owners we often get caught in the grind of the day to day but don’t contemplate the what if’s or make sure we have a safety net available to us, and let’s face it something is always going to happen in business. We live on a rinse and repeat cycle. We live for the day, which is great, and spend what we have which is fun and we believe we can just go at it hard every week and make what we need often to just make ends meet and keep us afloat. This experience showed so many of us that we need to get savvier and smarter about what we are doing with our finances, how we are spending and saving and what we need to not just survive but thrive So, for me future proofing a business is not just focusing on the day-to-day slog, but the long-term plans. Setting yourself up financially and having a succession plan, looking at the ways you can maximise and grow what you already have, and implementing the changes that will support your vision and thinking and approaching it like the creative thinkers we are. We often think we need more to do more which isn’t always true we need to utilise what we have and optimise it effectively. The tenants of business hasn’t really changed, but the values, how we go about our business and what is and isn’t important to us has changed. I believe moving forward we should embrace those things and build an even stronger foundation taking ownership of what we can control.

We have a huge shortage of hairdressers here in Australia, thousands of salons looking for staff with no one applying. Salon owners are desperate, and this is a major talking point in our industry right now. What do you feel is the reason that we have a major shortage? And do you have any advice on what the industry should be doing to improve this issue?

I believe it starts with the perception of the industry which for many is still unfavourable or thought of as a hobby not a career path. I also think we need to teach those coming into the industry the business skills they need, not just technical proficiency, so they have the essential mindset and commitment to the craft but also the skills needed to grow, sustain, and support themselves. We don’t spend enough time teaching new to the industry people what it takes to be successful in all aspects. There is a misconception that you learn how to do hair and the clients will come and you become an overnight sensation, which equals success and make it!! which is utter BS as we all know. So, let’s teach people and share what it takes. We also need to look at pay structures and how we are compensating people in our industry so they feel valuable, can make a good living, and keep reinvesting in themselves and their craft which will ultimately help our industry overall. Some of these things are outside of our immediate control, but we should stand and fight for them as business owners and industry professionals. Some are in our control like educating, mentoring, sharing, supporting and being equitable, fair, and inclusive. We also need to ask the bigger question if there a shortage in people coming into our industry or a larger portion leaving because they can’t make a decent living or don’t have the skills and tools they need? So how do we solve that? And how do we structure our businesses and our learning institutions differently to so we can maximise what is available to us without burning ourselves or our teams out and still servicing our clients in the best way.

You are a B.I.T.C.H. can you tell our readers a little more about this please, and what this means to you?

Like many of us women out there, when you are strong, honest, no BS ask for what you want or stand up for what you believe in you are often labelled a Bitch. I certainly was when I first went on TV although it obviously wasn’t the first time, I just had many people now calling me that to my face or online. Some said it as a compliment but when other words could be used to describe me like my name, or the Australian, or the hairdresser on tv the fact that that word was used was disconcerting and upsetting frankly. So, I wanted to reclaim that word for myself, based on who I am what I stand for and take the sting and negative implication out of it. So, I came up with my own acronym for B.I.T.C.H based on who and what I believe and the tenants and values of how I live my life. Brave Intelligent Tenacious Creative Honest. By coming up with my acronym changing the meaning of it and reclaiming the power of a word that is used to hold us back and keep us small it helped me and many other people. I did a TedTalk on why you should be a Bitch to a women’s thought leader event that has had 4 million views, I do many speaking events around the topic and teach classes about it. For me the most important part is the mindset shift. We all wear labels that are either selfimposed or placed on us by other people. We do not need to wear them or allow them to hold us back, makes us feel less than, shamed or fit in with what is comfortable and conforms to others’ perceptions of us or the world. So yes, I am a B.I.T.C.H and proud of it.

If you could leave this industry having achieved just one thing, what would that legacy be?

I don’t know about leaving a legacy, but this industry has helped to make me the person I am today. I hope I can honor it by sharing my passion for it, supporting others, and showing them there are many paths available to them that they may not have thought possible or imagined and always celebrating, advocating, and contributing to it in a positive and productive way.

Do you have a motto or signature life philosophy?

One of my favorite quotes is by Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t you’re right”

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

ARGH, that’s so hard. I think the simplest things I have always found the most truth in and one of those is to follow your heart and trust your instincts, neither will lead you astray.

What’s on the agenda for you for the future?

More of what I love, less of what I don’t and hopefully some exciting twists, turns and adventures along the way!