Anna Munnelly
“My father's a hairdresser—he started the Hair Creation salons in Dublin before I was even born. So even as a kid, I’d spend every summer holiday in the salon; it was just part of my upbringing. I qualified as a hairdresser in 2003, so I’ve been working full-time for over 22 years now.
Because I already had the Super Stylist course, enrolling in the Management course was a given. I really enjoyed the structure of the Super Stylist course, so I was curious to see what the Management course had to offer. I’m always looking for things that might help me.
It’s a family business, so my role has evolved over the years, but I’ve been running the business since 2016. We already had systems, a strong culture, and a clear brand, but I think I was going through a bit of an identity crisis with the business.
The Management course helped me clarify the vision for the future of the business for myself and for the team. It helped me distinguish my vision from my dad’s and ask: Does my vision align with the team’s?
We’d had instances in the past where people were working more as individuals than as part of a team. The Culture section of the management course helped me identify that. We had a very strong culture and a strong brand, and we were really only trying to evolve it, but what is it? I had to understand what our culture actually was, and what I wanted it to be, and then to get it down on paper and be clear about who we are and what we stand for as a brand.
The course really helped me do that, helped me map it out, ask myself: What am I trying to achieve this year? Next year? In five years? Because we were just sort of rocking along, we didn’t have a huge amount of direction. I was constantly putting out fires and losing focus. So the structure of the course has helped immensely across so many areas.
I also love the podcast element. If there’s ever a challenge, I can tune in to a section of the course and think, OK, that might help.
When I first started the Management course, I didn’t have a specific problem I was trying to solve, it was more of a general need for guidance. Our systems were already established, but the course made me think more deeply about everything, and every little part, from daily cleaning jobs to consultations to the entire client journey. We really did pull it all apart. It gave me a great framework, that’s what I was looking for, it was great!
I’ve done many management courses over the years, but most of them weren’t relevant to salons. Finding this one and finding you was like ‘wow’ this is exactly what I’m looking for.’ It wasn’t just about fixing one thing; it was more overall, and it really was helpful in so many ways.
Without Antony and the Management course, I’d never have been able to get this organised. That’s what I loved, it gave me structure, removed so much doubt, and showed me real examples from different salons and business models. That was so enlightening and gave me more confidence. Because before, I was constantly asking myself, Are we doing this right? Is there a better way? What do other people do?
I think it really did help eliminate a lot of doubt and give me like an organised structure to go by when I'm trying to plug holes in my business that are currently leaking. So it was good for me from an organisational and structural point of view.
The private podcast version of the course was such a good addition because I spend a lot of time in my car between salons, sometimes an hour commute, So now when I’m in transit, I can listen and often find something that helps me resolve the problem in my head before I even approach it with the individual or team. That alone is incredibly valuable, and having the audio-only option made it so much easier.
We’ve done many exercises with the team as well, everything from mapping the client journey to redefining our values and salon culture. It’s been great, it really has been.
If someone’s unsure about the return on investment, whether it’s worth the time and money, I’d say absolutely yes. The Management course was absolutely 100% a good investment, and I come back to it all the time.
Of course, the return depends on what you put into it. But if you do the work, there’ll be no regrets. It’s been invaluable for me.
And it’s one of the first courses I’ve bought where you get lifetime access. In the past, I’ve bought programs that expired before I had the chance to finish them; life just gets in the way. But with this, being able to dip in and out whenever I had the time has made all the difference.
There’s so much valuable, relevant content, things you come back to at different times, depending on what’s going on in the salon. No one would regret doing it.
Honestly, I think it’s the most comprehensive course I’ve come across. And I wouldn’t change a thing; the more in-depth it is, the better.
You can work through it from start to finish or dip into the sections you need. There are parts I return to again and again. It’s just been incredible.
