Uniting the industry in a vulnerable environment of honesty, community and connection, ‘In Conversation’ at Sydney’s swanky Salon HER gave industry guests an ‘up close and personal’ conversation with Salon HER owner Michael Kelly, Renee Marshall (Allure the Salon), Maria Unali (Salon Kiin) and Sheree Knobel (Bixie Colour) on Tuesday February 6, writes Cameron Pine.

Compered by Rogue Beauty’s Chris Hammond and with input and a whole lot of love and admiration from a salon full of passionate industry identities, the first gathering for this close-knit group of salon owners is set to only get bigger. Committed to being better in business and life and showing up to be their best, fans and colleagues from near and far all rolled out and spoke out in support of having honest conversations to better navigate the changing landscape in hairdressing.

With a completely relaxed environment that gave each guest the confidence to take part, ‘In Conversation’ was so much more than just an open mic to the floor. Allowing the topics of the night to jump around and delve deeper, the entire way through guests, colleagues and general fans each had the opportunity to share their personal stories and enlighten each other with messages of resilience, perseverance and some fun learnings many of us would typically not have the chance to discover.

Tackling topics from geography to clientele, service and setting boundaries as a leader, the idea of ‘In Conversation’ was for walls down uncomplicated learning. Not only this, but from the goodness of their hearts, completely free for all to attend and with a beautiful spread of fruits, cheeses and snacks.

“If you’re trying to run a luxury salon and build a brand of luxury in an area where people think Sydney is too much, too fast paced, it can be really challenging to build a brand of luxury but what I’ve learnt is that It’s really important for my team to celebrate them and bring something to the space – it’s important I’m on the floor, I still enjoy it,” Renee Marshall shared.

“My dad was a barber and owns his own salon, I originally went to university before I came back to hairdressing and having my parents owning small businesses really gave me so much. I then had my kids, which changes a lot in business, it changes how you lead a team,” Maria Unali added.

From how they named their salons, their personal journeys and struggles with building teams and how to continually embrace change, the common thread came from choosing the right mentors and friendships circles around you, but most importantly the continued support of friends, partners or family that’s essential to create further success, industry wide and beyond.

The usual hot topics such as salon pricing and setting clear boundaries with clients came to the fore while standing by those moments where you need to embrace change, back everything you do with great marketing and make sure the language of your salon meets the service standards.

“The percentage increase over the last 15 to 20 years is huge compared to where hairdressing was and I’m grateful to people who are ripping off the band aid and doing it. There is always a fear that we’re going to lose this way, but so far, that I’ve witnessed, and people that have done it, they’ve actually won, because they might lose one or two clients that just can’t afford it but you also attract stylists who want to elevate their craft of work and insurance environment,” Michael Kelly said.

Just like sharing conversations and their salon space and brand with a forever increasing calibre of stylists and colourists, each agreed on the importance of sharing knowledge, inspiring their teams, but also being accountable when they’re wrong as keys to success.

“I was always that type of colourist that shared. I just wanted to share my formulas with other people and everything I did. I was a gypsy and I didn’t want to own a home and wanted to move around a lot, let alone a salon, but opening a business and building a team has been by far the most rewarding. I love the change and challenge it brings.” Sheree Knobel said.

Each with luxury leading salons, but all so different in terms of location, clientele and in so many ways, the learning was really on, regardless of our differences, we can still all learn from each other by sharing our similar struggles.

“It’s very rare and obviously there’s a huge love and admiration for each other sitting here tonight, but it’s very rare you meet someone with such love and passion. It’s not a student teacher relationship anymore and not often you meet someone with that capacity to be so secure and selfless, that’s why we come together we all want what’s best for our teams,” Michael said.

 “Doing what we do is about the future of our industry as well. Especially in the mountains of western Sydney there are so many salons that weren’t training well. So, I had such a big space and I realised I needed to offer them more and bring them in to build what I have today,” Maria said.

“I love the change, in 30 years it’s also about sharing the passion and knowledge we all have – I’m all for change,” Sheree said.

“Even though two decades seems like such a long time, I still feel like I’m quite young in my career and one thing I have noticed a huge change in what brings people together – it was often just the brands at studios bringing the industry together but now it’s the people and us, we are all inspiring each other,” Michael said.

Being accountable and elevating the industry standards collectively came up as key ways to overcome challenges, attract the right people to your business and create not just long-lasting connections, but also long-lasting profitable businesses.  By tackling some of the biggest lessons and the small unknowns we don’t always know about each other, the energy in the room shifted to one of reward and gratitude, but also the knowledge we need to keep moving ahead.

“I absolutely love – you have to come from love, it might sound a bit tacky but every decision you make and thing that you do have to come from love,” Sheree said. “In the beginning I maybe had too much love and learnt some very hard life lessons.”

“Because I’ve been in this industry for a little bit I’ve learned so much and you realizs some salons are living off cash flow do not have a clue terms of what the wage costs were or a hairdresser. I think that’s the biggest difference, you’ve got to learn the business side and you’re straight in the deep end.” Renee added.

“Some people are so focused on instant gratification of engagement, they just forget about everything else. Like what are you going to be in ten years like what do you what have you contributed to the industry that’s bigger than just engagement so it’s a really interesting shift,” Michael said.

Boundary setting also came into play, debating days on the floor and the importance for owners to have a balance and some days off the floor by mentoring or working on the business. However, each different example showed it’s more about finding exactly what’s right for you and continuing to do what you love as the only way to have longevity.

“We always look at areas of development, like what we need to work on to be the strongest team creatively. I just outsource to the best people for this, even though I’m an industry educator, I know I give my team everything that they need to see, because they see it every day, like their hobbies. However, it’s imperative that I bring in other people to influence and to guide to inspire them because I’m not the source of inspiration,” Sheree said.

Renee, in detail, discussed the importance of open communication and to really see and listen to staff – with personal examples of how she has adapted to make a difference to some of her staff under difficult circumstances. “It’s not the same for everyone,” she said.

“We aren’t always right and some people are happy to tell you. Some people are really nervous about admitting what’s really bothering them. So, once you can get to that point you break down the walls,” Michael said.

One common thread in the room is that everyone admitted they never set out to be managers or believed they are the best managers of people or salons, but you stick to your visions and learn as you go.

Ultimately, with the aim to continue conversations long after the event and to further encourage the industry to stick together, build strong bonds with other salons, educators and artists, we all met someone new. By sharing you can aim to eliminate the idea that owning a business or leading a salon can be lonely at the top.

Kudos to the conversations and congratulations to this fine collection of people that rolled out. I can’t wait for the next one! Rather than just take our word for it – share and keep in touch.

For more information visit www.salonher.com

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