If you are one of those people just starting out on a career in the hairdressing industry, ‘congratulations and welcome’ to what can be an exciting, fun, worthwhile and potentially well paid career.
Now, I say ‘can be’ because for some people it doesn't become an exciting and well paid career, but I want it to be for you so I have 5 bits of advice that will help you on your way…
The first one is ‘Never stop learning!’
Now, if you are just starting out then there’s a real possibility that you have not long finished school and perhaps this is your first job.
But, perhaps, unlike school, you are now learning about something that you are excited and passionate about!
In fact, I’d take it the next step and say that you need to be passionate about it, because as well as a lot of fun there is also a lot of hard work and sacrifice in the years ahead if you are to succeed!
So my number ‘1’ piece of advice is ‘to be the best hairdresser you can be’
And for that to happen you must never stop learning, soak up every opportunity that comes your way and look for every opportunity to learn from everyone you can.
Learning is an attitude, so don’t wait for someone else to organise or pay for it, remember that it’s no one’s job to make you successful it’s down to you.
There is a great little quote made up of 10, 2 letter words “If it is to be it is up to me”
My second bit of advice is to acknowledge and understand that ‘Productivity matters’
You are now part of a business, someone owns it, and as well as doing great haircuts and colours etc you need to balance that with the recognition that the purpose of the business is to make a profit, in fact if it doesn't make a profit then the business won’t be able to exist and you won’t have a job.
So just like in school ‘results ‘matter’. When you’re at school your results in the form of exams etc are what matters.
In business it’s not so much results based on exams that your performance is measured on, its results based on your productivity.
In hairdressing that's things like the amount of clients you have each day, how many of them come back to you, and how much they spend on products and services. These things are often referred to as ‘Key Performance Indicators’ or ‘K.P.I’s and the results that you get will ultimately determine how much you earn.
My third bit of advice is to understand that ‘You can’t do it alone!’
You are now an important part of a team and you need to remember that other people are relying on you, because if someone on the team is not doing their job properly it affects everyone else on the team.
Now, you might feel like you are at the bottom at the moment and that you are not important, well that’s not true, everyone on the team matters and everyone has a contribution to make to the success of the team. The only difference is that other people on the team have different roles and responsibilities than you. But trust me when I say, “you are definitely an important part of the team!”
My fourth piece of advice should be an easy one and that is to ‘Have fun!’
Working in a salon is a great job, and it can be a lot of fun and I loved it!
You’ll often read that in surveys where they measure ‘career happiness’, hairdressing is always near the top and often comes up on the list as being number 1!
We are not usually saving lives or changing the world but we do have a huge impact on people and how they feel about themselves.
It’s important that we are professional at work, but it’s also important that we have fun and having fun doesn’t mean being unprofessional.
If you have fun, people want to be around you. If you have fun the day goes quicker, fun is more conducive to creativity and happiness for yourself and those you come into contact with. So make work fun!
My fifth and final piece of advice is ‘Sweep to perfection!’
What I mean by that is that if you are just starting out in a hairdressing career then you will probably begin with jobs like sweeping up, shampooing and making coffee etc but make a commitment to yourself that whatever you do you will do it to the very best of your ability.
Don’t be one of the those people that say, ‘When I’m a stylist I’ll’ be a perfectionist’.
Perfection is a habit and there is a saying that goes, “As you do anything is how you will do everything” so if you sweep the floor, “then be a perfectionist!”, if you’re shampooing make it the best shampoo that client has ever had, and if you make a coffee present it like you work at the Ritz!
Remember, ‘As you do anything, is how you will do everything’
I have an online course called Super Stylist it has helped many people all over the world become more successful in the hair and beauty industry and it can help you too.
We launch it 3 times a year and if you want to get on the wait list for the next launch, or are just curious about it and want to find out more visit growmysalonbusiness.com and register your interest to be notified when it’s next open for enrolment. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.
And if you don’t already follow us, then don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram @growmysalonbusiness
Thanks for watching! Have a great week!
