DAY TWO: MAINSTAGE (part 1) #salonsmart17
Simon Tickler, managing director of Salon Success, kicked off day two of Salon Smart 2017 with everyone on their feet practicing a little Tai Chi (and in the process patting everyone on the back!). “As the owners of your businesses, you probably don’t get told enough that you’re a genius leader, you need to congratulate yourself!” he said. But he reiterated a theme of the weekend – that there’s a lot of change in the industry, and everyone needs, in the words of Blackadder’s Baldrick, a “cunning plan”. Simon stressed that salons needed to be committed to what they do different, and do it better. “Our marketplace is an island, and the sea level is rising,” he warned, “the island is getting smaller. How high up that island are you?”
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door” – so said band, While She Sleeps, and what 2016 It List Entrepreneur, Ky Wilson, chose as his opening statement.
And so began a fascinating insight into Ky’s world and his unconventional route to becoming salon owner of The Social. Ky himself began by cutting people’s hair on the streets, so it is no surprise that he eschewed the more traditional path and his two salons – both in derelict buildings with one in London and the other in the Lake District – highlighted that there is no longer just one way to being a hairdresser or even a right way to running a salon. Both of his salons have no reception desks, and the two women that work at the Lake District branch are chair renters (something he thinks isn’t right or wrong, but just works for him). For his salon in London, he roped friends into helping him design something different (for a free haircut), such as drawings on the walls and custom made mirrors that he now retails to clients. “Little quirks make a difference that clients notice,” said Ky. 
But what received a round of applause from the audience was Ky’s announcement that staff need to “stop trying to be f***ing famous”. “Make sure they’re good at the job first and then the rest follows,” he added. 
It’s clear many are baffled by the National Minimum Wage rules and regulations, and the NHF’s legal helpline expert, Laura Chalkley, was on hand to paint a clearer picture. She warned against using tips to top up wages to hit the NMW, and also against making deductions that would take wages below NMW. An astonishing 10 per cent of HMRC’s Names and Shamed list of employers failing to pay correct were hair salons. She urged attendees to get back, check rates and agreements, and talk to HMRC first if you spot an issue – report the fault and make the assurance that you’re putting it right, otherwise you risk employees reporting you and facing subsequent fines.
Owner of the salon chain, Matthew Luke Professional, Matthew Sockalingum showed why he won the 2016 Most Wanted Award for Innovation as he gave a fascinating insight into what women really want. He opened with the shocking insight that if 100 women were given £100 each, they would choose make-up first and hair last. In fact, the research Matthew carried out in conjunction with L’Oréal Professionnel, revealed that only eight per cent would choose to spend that £100 on hair.
Following this revelation, Matthew looked at why consumers value hair the least, concluding that it comes down to wish list verses reality, that consumer behaviour needs to change and for hairdressers to stop devaluing what they do. One way Matthew has tried to change how clients spend their money in the salon is introduce the Blow Dry Pass (what he won his Most Wanted award for), which sees clients commit to spending £40 a month but receive unlimited blow dries. This not only fills white space, it increases retail opportunities and is a bulk income each month.
“We’ve tried to build a brand, not a person,” explained Most Wanted Business Thinker, Mark Woolley, as she took to the stage to discuss his 10 year old brand, Electric. With a six salons, a studio, education and products, he showed how he has taken inspiration from mainly British brands – such as Soho House and Virgin – and he told the audience how Electric is about creativity, with everyone on a journey together. With a new Electric Hub being built to house his HQ, lab, a studio and education, and with a new salon and academy set to launch in Asia this summer, Mark still has plenty of buzz powering his brand and his team.